Genius Blacksmith's Game

Yi Seong-gye.

He was the king who founded Joseon.

There were many stories about him.

What was certain was that he had been Goryeo’s greatest war hero.

And whenever King Taejo Yi Seong-gye was discussed, there was one thing that was always mentioned together with him.

That was the Jeoneodo.

The king’s sword.

*****

“It was my dream from the time I was young. The moment I saw the Jeoneodo displayed in Changdeokgung Palace as a child, my eyes reddened. Yes. The true owner and the sword had met.”

Daehan Group Chairman Kim Juhwan.

The man ranked second in Korea’s business world spoke while immersed in lingering emotion.

He even looked around at the other chairmen with reddened eyes.

Juhwan thought they would yield the Jeoneodo to him.

But......

“He’s gone senile.”

“It is about time.”

“......?”

It had no effect whatsoever.

That was how badly the other chairmen also wanted the Jeoneodo, the sword that had symbolized Yi Seong-gye.

Surprisingly, the chairmen gathered here played Ares.

It was to understand recent trends.

“I am willing to spend 5 billion.”

“I say 6 billion.”

“How about 7 billion?”

Also, the pride contest among the chairmen added fuel to the fire.

Unable to watch any longer, Chairman Kim Juhwan spoke.

“It would have to be around 9 billion.”

The chairmen went silent for a moment.

And Sejin, watching this, smiled gently.

I’ve won. If I call 10 billion, I’ll be able to buy it.

Lee Sejin was also in a position where he wanted the Jeoneodo.

Especially because Lee Sejin was someone involved with Ares, he knew that this Jeoneodo had been crafted with an absurdly excellent level of completion.

Also.

The Jeoneodo’s value will soar endlessly.

Master Blacksmith in Continental War: World Championship had only just finished its first match.

However, even after this, and after that, there was a high chance no work would surpass the Jeoneodo.

If that happened, the Jeoneodo would be discussed endlessly.

“I will offer 10......”

Just as Sejin was about to neatly end this dispute.

“......I will buy it for 15 billion.”

“.......”

“.......”

“.......”

“.......”

At Hansung Group Chairman Lee Taesung’s words, silence swept through the room.

No matter how rare and valuable the Jeoneodo was.

In the end, it was a Legendary artifact.

It held symbolic meaning, but this was too much.

Has he gone mad?

No matter what, 15 billion?

Hahaha...... This is not right.

He’s gone senile too.

Soon, Taesung spoke.

“I am close with Hyunsoo.”

“??”

“??”

“??”

Lee Taesung was also one of the most prominent figures in Korea.

Such a man shrugged his shoulders as if boasting.

He looked almost like a childish boy, but then Taesung said,

“I plan to ask for a 60% discount.”

There was no robber quite like him.

However, at the same time, the chairmen felt a flash of envy.

I never thought being close with Master Blacksmith Hyun would feel this enviable.

Will priority on future works go to Chairman Lee Taesung?

At this moment, the chairmen were so envious of Lee Taesung they could hardly stand it.

I’m close with Hyunsoo!

The effect of that simple thing was far greater than expected.

Just as it was about to be settled that Lee Taesung would purchase it.

“20 billion.”

“......!?”

“......!?”

The room was swept by shock.

It was Lee Sejin.

At the amount Lee Sejin called, no one raised an objection anymore.

And Lee Sejin realized it while looking at Chairman Lee Taesung, who comfortably leaned back in his chair.

As expected, you really are a sly old fox.

If Lee Taesung had not sharply raised the price, Sejin would have purchased it for 10 billion.

To be honest, even 10 billion felt excessive.

However, Taesung had read the desire in Sejin’s eyes, the desire that said he absolutely wanted it, and had used it against him.

No one raised an objection.

Also, it was true he had purchased it for an excessive price.

However, the value of money differed depending on the person.

Sejin earned tens of billions of won a month.

In other words, for him, this was like an ordinary person saving a salary and splurging on a new phone.

*****

Hyunsoo’s home.

Hyunsoo checked the transaction history of his personal bank account and the state of his assets.

As expected, there isn’t much.

Hyunsoo’s account did not contain as much money as one might expect.

All the money he had earned recently.

He had poured it into the kingdom’s finances.

Of course, the kingdom itself was Hyunsoo’s asset.

The current value of the nation of Hyun easily surpassed 100 billion won and more.

However, that was only if he sold it.

So what Hyunsoo took out was a real estate contract.

In the past, after paying off all his debt, the first thing Hyunsoo bought as soon as he made money was a building located in Mapo.

I was so happy, thinking I’d finally become a god-tier landlord.

He remembered being overjoyed, though it was a building with a mountain of debt attached to it.

Let’s do whatever it takes, even if I have to sell this.

After organizing his thoughts, Hyunsoo connected to Ares.

When he connected, notifications sounded.

[The lords of Aldron Territory, Bolaon Territory, and Graan Territory are gathering lords.]

[They will arrive at the capital before long.]

“......?”

A chill ran down Hyunsoo’s spine.

They were moving far faster than he had expected.

Also, at this very moment, when Continental War: World Championship was in full swing.

Many of the nation of Hyun’s core executives were scheduled to participate in the team events that followed.

The perfect timing?

That was right.

The kingdom’s capital was currently empty, and they might have judged this to be the perfect timing.

[They are meeting the lords from the former Kingdom of Goyad.]

Also, the nation of Hyun was formed from places that had originally been held by Hyun’s Forge guild and territories separated from Goyad’s lands.

As Hyunsoo was flustered.

[Nell: Hyunsoo, where are you?]

[Hyunsoo: The place where we parted yesterday.]

Hyunsoo thought he needed to discuss this with Nell.

Soon, Nell warped in and appeared.

Nell was extremely flushed, and soon she explained the situation.

The chairmen competed against one another, and CEO Lee Sejin decided to buy it?

Hyunsoo guessed that if it had been a competition among chairmen, it would have gone for around 5 billion.

However, soon Nell returned all the money he had given her yesterday and the proceeds from the sale.

[You have acquired 29,993,100 gold.]

Hyunsoo was flustered after receiving the gold.

Yesterday, including the Jeoneodo, Hyunsoo had given her gold coins worth exactly around 10 billion won.

But the amount before his eyes right now.

It was 30 billion won.

“The amount CEO Lee Sejin paid for it was 20 billion won. According to CEO Lee Sejin, while he purchased this artifact with his personal money, he intends to display it in the Hall of Honor, a museum established inside Ares. For generations. Users who play Ares will see this Jeoneodo there.”

Hyunsoo felt as if he were dreaming.

“You are more than qualified to be king, Hyunsoo. We simply did not know it.”

Filled with emotion as he looked at the money that had entered his inventory, Hyunsoo could not believe this sword was only a Legendary artifact.

However, he also faced the truth that it was a legend no one else could create.

Also, Nell had heard something through a notification as well.

She spoke to Hyunsoo in a powerful voice.

“Now, please show them what kind of king Your Majesty is.”

*****

Aldron Territory.

It was a territory that had belonged to the small country called Goyad and carried on for several hundred years.

Though it was not a large or grand territory, its lord was a man who had been called an elder of Goyad.

His name was Bols.

Bols was a loyal subject back when he belonged to the Kingdom of Goyad.

Such a man had obeyed His Majesty Barad’s command and become a citizen of the nation of Hyun.

“It took ten days for him to hold the funeral of King Ben of faraway Prime Kingdom. Since he participated in the feast of outsiders and left his seat, an unknowable amount of time has passed.”

A newly risen nation was bound to shake.

“He is a young king. Therefore, the shaking is even greater.”

However, that wind blew even more fiercely.

They had sent dozens of petitions, but they had failed to reach the tears the king shed.

They had sent them even before Continental War: World Championship, but those too had failed to reach him.

So Bols gathered the lords of territories that had once led Goyad with him.

“Let us go.”

A procession of over ten thousand wagons set out under the elder named Bols.

Beside him were a total of eight men who had originally been lords of Goyad.

They had not yet met the king, nor had they ever visited the capital.

The moment Bols reached the castle gate, he was impressed.

Because someone named Luxiu, the center of the nation of Hyun, had come out to meet him.

The aura radiating from him was enormous and powerful enough to cover the entire long procession of wagons.

They knew we were coming?

Bols was flustered.

Based on the ignored petitions, Bols had led one hundred thousand people here without making any report whatsoever.

And yet it seemed the king had known.

Bols slowly headed toward the capital and entered with the procession of one hundred thousand wagons.

“.......”

“My.”

“This is incredible.”

The reason they were surprised upon entering was not because the capital was impressive.

It was because of the various figures standing there as if they had come to greet them.

Sage Arte.

The principal of the Academy established in the nation of Hyun.

Borne.

The captain of Blackwind, who had led the nation of the Saint King.

And Bella.

“I greet you, elder.”

Now an elegant lady and a person of the nation of Hyun, the silver-haired woman greeted him.

Bols accepted that greeting with a heavy heart.

“I am sorry to meet you like this.”

“.......”

Bella said nothing.

And Bols, along with the other lords, entered the king’s audience chamber.

Surprisingly, Hyun, whom they were facing for the first time since he had become king, was seated on the throne.

Bols realized that his assumption that the king would be absent had been a mistake.

Bols’s face turned deathly pale.

And Hyunsoo clutched his heavy chest.

It was his own fault, but people who dreamed of rebellion had appeared within his country.

Just twenty-one years old.

Perhaps it was criticism a young king had to receive.

However.

[Nell: You must purge Lord Bols.]

Even without Nell saying it, Hyunsoo knew that was the situation.

Because of that, Hyunsoo had no choice but to feel angry.

Bols brought up the main issue.

“I heard the story of Your Majesty falling into sorrow over the passing of King Ben of the distant Prime Kingdom. Stories were heard everywhere that Your Majesty stayed inside without eating or drinking for more than ten long days. The entire country shook, and strange rumors even spread from place to place.”

“We also heard that Your Majesty went out to attend the World Championship. A feast of outsiders we do not even know. All the people wavered, grew anxious, grew afraid, and cried everywhere that they were not being cared for.”

“We also heard that because this is a newly rising nation, its finances are shaking everywhere. Therefore, we came here.”

Bols and Hyunsoo’s eyes met.

Hyunsoo was saddened, knowing Bols would now reproach him and accept his own death.

But that was not it.

Bols, his eyes reddened, spoke in a powerful voice.

“We ran here in one breath so Your Majesty may continue to do exactly that......!”

“......What?”

Hyunsoo was flustered.

Bols, who had prostrated himself at some point and lowered his head even deeper, continued speaking.

“Lord who cut down Fenrir in the Battle of Goyad, general who stood alone with a single ship in Naval Battle, and hero who allowed us to exist here now.”

Only then did Hyunsoo understand.

They had not come to plot rebellion.

“I disposed of all my assets and came here. All the lords disposed of their assets. Our citizens, after hearing the rumors, loaded pickaxes, sacks of food, and family heirlooms onto wagons. These gathered together to form the wagon procession, and today, one hundred thousand citizens have come here to offer them to Your Majesty. Young king!”

Only now did Hyunsoo look at the clothes he was wearing.

The clothes that should have preserved dignity befitting a lord were nothing more than shabby cloth garments.

All the lords were the same.

“If there is something you wish to do, please do it. If you wish to cry, then please cry again......!”

“.......”

[Your citizens remember the days they were able to survive the Battle of Goyad and Naval Battle.]

[They will never betray you.]

[However, they are concerned about your financial ability.]

That concern.

They were filling it by selling themselves.

Hyunsoo’s chest grew heavy.

[Lord Bols offers 7,000,000 gold as the representative of the citizens.]

The money they offered reached roughly 7 billion won.

It was truly money they had brought after selling everything.

Hyunsoo opened his mouth.

“I cannot accept that money. Rather, I will give you money. I have money I earned this time.”

Bols thought the king was clinging to his pride.

He felt the young king’s heart, refusing to accept the sad efforts and rice of his citizens.

Also, though he said he had earned money, Bols was certain it would be no more than enough for the country to endure for a few days.

And Hyunsoo held out a note.

Since gold coins were heavy, it was a means that substituted for gold coins.

Bols received it and counted how many zeroes there were.

Then.

Thirty million gold!!!!?

His eyes widened.

The reason he was shocked.

It was because this was money Hyunsoo had earned in merely two weeks after participating in the World Championship!

Stagger—

BOOOOOOM—!

“L-Lord Bols?”

Bols was so shocked that his mind went faint and he began to pass out.

Even as he did, Bols became overwhelmingly happy.

Ha, hahahaha!

Their king was more remarkable than any other king, and the nation of Hyun had begun to surpass Goyad.