Genius Blacksmith's Game

(Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.)

Grade: Mythic.

Restriction: Level 450 or higher blacksmith.

Difficulty: Upper-Mid.

Special Abilities:

· The enhancement success rate is 10 times higher than with ordinary enhancement stones.

· No matter what artifact’s enhancement is attempted, the artifact will not be destroyed.

· However, the enhancement level may decrease.

· Enhancements of 1 to 4 are possible.

· It can enhance artifacts of any grade.

· Each enhancement level increases Attack Power by twice as much as an ordinary enhancement stone.

· Each enhancement level additionally increases bonus damage, attack success rate, Critical Rate, and more.

· Each enhancement level improves the various effects embedded in the artifact.

· Each enhancement level imbues it with demonic energy based on the Evil God’s power.

Description: An enhancement stone the Evil God hid through the divine beast Hydra. It is an enhancement stone passed down only as a Myth in the Demon Realm. No human has ever possessed it before.

PRICKLE—

This is thrilling......

The forge.

After placing Full Bloom on the anvil, Hyunsoo’s heart pounded as he checked the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.

Hyunsoo was a blacksmith.

Because of that, the concept of enhancement stones, which did not exist in reality, excited him.

In particular, the fact that he was holding a possession of the Evil God that no human had ever possessed before made his heart race.

Will there ever be another day when I can get an enhancement stone like this?

That was how absurdly overpowered the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone was.

First, the meaning of “It can enhance artifacts of any grade.”

It means it can enhance Mythic grade, and if anything higher exists, it can enhance even that.

Mythic artifacts could not be enhanced.

That was what many users thought.

And if Hyunsoo had not obtained this enhancement stone, he would have judged the same.

Until now, the highest enhancement ever achieved on a Transcendent-grade artifact was only +4.

That is how viciously difficult enhancement is compared to what people expect.

Of course, in the case of Legendary artifacts, or Legendary Above Legendary artifacts, there were a few examples of +9.

Even a Level 1 knows that the higher an artifact’s grade is, the more absurd the enhancement odds become.

Of course, users could not know exactly how much the difficulty rose.

However, there was a table created by self-proclaimed Ares experts and users.

Since Hyunsoo was a blacksmith, he naturally knew it.

Normal artifact enhancement success rate: 80%.

Rare artifact enhancement success rate: 50%.

Unique artifact enhancement success rate: 20%.

Legendary artifact enhancement success rate: 10%.

Transcendent artifact enhancement success rate: 3%.

Mythic artifact enhancement success rate: 0.01%.

The success rate for Mythic artifacts had been written almost as a joke.

However, the Ares experts and users who made the table asked this question.

They even said this:

The reason enhancement was so difficult and complicated was that once an artifact had been enhanced beyond a certain level, failing enhancement could destroy the artifact.

An artifact someone spent their entire fortune to buy disappears right before their eyes.

If Hyunsoo imagined the Twin Dragon Sword disappearing while he tried to enhance it, his vision nearly went black.

Moreover, Transcendent and Mythic artifacts had the risk of destruction starting from the very first enhancement.

That was why.

That was why Transcendent-grade artifacts existed only up to +4.

Also, the claim that the enhancement success rate for Mythic artifacts was practically close to zero was true.

However—

The Evil God’s Enhancement Stone possessed ridiculous power.

Even if enhancement fails, the artifact does not disappear.

Furthermore, its enhancement success rate was ten times that of an ordinary enhancement stone.

And Hyunsoo was now trying to apply this to Transcendent-grade Full Bloom.

Of course—

It might be better to enhance it when it reaches Mythic grade.

But it had taken Hyunsoo roughly nine months to raise Full Bloom from Legendary to Transcendent.

At this rate, it’ll take at least five years.

That was how long it would take to obtain Mythic-grade Full Bloom.

By then, Full Bloom’s value would have fallen exponentially.

Also, the Mythic success rate was 0.01%.

Of course, it was only a hypothesis, but Hyunsoo agreed with it to some extent.

Even multiplying 0.01% by ten doesn’t mean much.

It was better to be the tail of the dragon than to challenge its head.

And considering the enhancement success rate, a +7 Transcendent artifact may be better than a +2 Mythic artifact.

Moreover, the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone was special.

Each time enhancement succeeded, it raised attack success rate, Critical Rate, and other values by twice as much as ordinary enhancement.

And the fact that the effects of the artifact’s skills improved was insane.

Ordinary enhancement stones only increase Attack Power. And even things like Blessed Enhancement Stones only stop the artifact from disappearing. They don’t have effects like this.

Hyunsoo thought carefully.

How much would a single Evil God’s Enhancement Stone be worth right now?

Three billion won.

That was how rare and valuable it was.

And Hyunsoo understood Full Bloom well.

The 6% recovery is applied, but that’s nowhere near enough.

Tankers had skills that restored their own HP.

And if they were high-rankers, the number and power of those skills surpassed common sense.

At a time like that, Hyunsoo had to endure with a single sword.

Hyunsoo took a deep breath.

Three billion for one!

Hyunsoo still picked up the cheapest bean sprouts when he went to the supermarket, and he bought one-plus-one tofu too, but there was no helping this.

It was consumable, and if enhancement failed, he gained nothing while the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone disappeared.

Also, this would decide the Endurance event.

Hyunsoo used one Evil God’s Enhancement Stone, which scattered a faint light mixed with black and purple.

“Enhance.”

[You possess the title Blacksmith God.]

[Enhancement probability increases by 50%.]

[Attempting enhancement using the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.]

He also had expectations because of the power he had obtained as Blacksmith God.

However, the result was terrible.

[Enhancement has failed.]

[Evil God’s Enhancement Stone (1) disappears.]

Enhancement.

For Hyunsoo, who had been a handcraft blacksmith relying on skill, experience, knowledge, and know-how until now, it was perhaps the most difficult field.

My experience, knowledge, and know-how are all useless.

The realm of enhancement was purely entrusted to luck.

That was why Hyunsoo took an even greater hit.

Because three billion had vanished in one go.

However, since he still had five enhancement stones left, Hyunsoo used another one.

[Attempting enhancement using the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.]

Bright light filled Full Bloom, which had the form of a flamberge imbued with the enhancement stone.

My instincts tell me this succeeds.

Until now, Hyunsoo had trusted his instincts as a blacksmith.

However—

[Enhancement has failed.]

[Full Bloom’s enhancement decreases by 1.]

“......?”

He could not hide his disappointment as he realized that only applied when he was crafting things himself.

The Evil God’s Enhancement Stone had the overpowered ability to stop artifacts from disappearing.

Instead—

If enhancement fails, the enhancement level drops......

Hyunsoo had thought it would be safe at +0.

But Full Bloom had now become -1 Full Bloom.

The Evil God’s Enhancement Stone was by no means only sweet.

Hyunsoo realized that.

He trembled again and attempted enhancement.

[Attempting enhancement using the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.]

[Enhancement has failed.]

[Full Bloom’s enhancement decreases by 2.]

“......?”

That was the moment -3 Full Bloom was placed in Hyunsoo’s hand.

Hyunsoo was not used to gambling.

And for the first time, he felt that gambling ultimately depended only on luck and that he could lose.

Hyunsoo was swept up in an indescribable shock.

And those who had lost were bound to grow more desperate.

Hyunsoo attempted enhancement once more.

[Attempting enhancement using the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.]

[Enhancement has succeeded.]

[Enhanced by 2.]

Full Bloom was still -1.

Hyunsoo also could not understand it.

One of the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone’s greatest advantages was that it could enhance by up to 4 at most.

However, far from 4, it had only enhanced by 2 at most.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Am I really this unlucky?”

Since only two hours remained before the Endurance event began, Hyunsoo was even more flustered.

Also—

I burned 12 billion won and got -1 Full Bloom?

If someone asked him to participate in an anti-gambling campaign, Hyunsoo felt like he could emphasize the dangers of gambling while talking about the damage he had suffered.

Also, Hyunsoo was unquestionably Team Korea’s captain, and he had forced his way into participation after originally being thought unlikely to enter.

For that reason, Team Lead Kim Taeseok, both the coach and a member of the Special User Management Team, was monitoring him.

“It’s true his luck is bad, but it’s also because he skipped the process. There’s a hidden truth to the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone.”

Team Lead Kim wore a bitter expression.

It was exactly as he said.

Hyunsoo had obtained the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone by skipping the process.

Originally, in order to obtain the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone, he would have had to meet several NPCs and, at the end of it all, obtain it through Hydra.

However, due to the variable of the Mascot Selection Match, Hyunsoo had obtained it without that whole sequence and was now suffering the side effects.

“He should have learned the truth while progressing through the quest to obtain the enhancement stone.”

Associate Lee Jihee stated that truth.

“That the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone is also called the ‘Enhancement Stone of Blessing and Curse,’ right?”

“That’s right.”

The Evil God did not permit just anyone to possess what belonged to him.

If one proceeded according to the quest, one would learn it.

They would learn that the chance of a decrease due to enhancement failure was higher than the chance of enhancement success.

However, Hyunsoo knew nothing about that.

He did not know that the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone was both a blessing and a curse.

And as coach, Team Lead Kim’s vision went dark.

If those two also land negative enhancement, this is bad, isn’t it?

If that happened, there was a high probability both Korea and user Hyunsoo would be humiliated.

In fact, even from Team Lead Kim’s perspective, Hyunsoo as he was now would have difficulty enduring for long.

Moreover—

He said himself that he would beat him up.

That made the side effect even greater.

He also thought Hyunsoo’s mind would have collapsed from the sense of loss and the loss of five Evil God’s Enhancement Stones.

However, on the monitor—

Team Lead Kim was surprised when he saw Hyunsoo’s expression.

What is this?

Hyunsoo’s expression, which had been anxious instead, was becoming calm.

*****

Hyunsoo gave a bitter smile.

“I was trying to rely on luck?”

There was not much time left.

However, he rebuked himself for entrusting his fate to something like luck.

It doesn’t matter if I fail.

Also—

“It’s fine even if people point fingers at me.”

Hyunsoo would do everything he could, by any means necessary, in the Endurance event.

He took out the remaining two enhancement stones.

He decided to let go of all expectations he had for this thing called enhancement.

Even if -3 or -5 Full Bloom appeared, he would somehow find a way.

Also—

I’m a blacksmith. Trying to rely on luck was foolish.

With a comfortable heart, Hyunsoo used the two Evil God’s Enhancement Stones on Full Bloom at the same time.

[Attempting enhancement using Evil God’s Enhancement Stone (2).]

At that moment—

An astonishing notification sounded.

[Hidden Piece: One Who Sees the Essence has been achieved.]

What was One Who Sees the Essence?

[The system has read your brainwaves.]

[Though ordinary users rely on gambling and probability, even after failing, you sought to find your own method.]

[Thus, by overcoming the frustration of enhancement and moving forward, by showing strong mental fortitude and a model unlike others, you contemplated the essence and achieved this.]

DING!

[A reward is given.]

[The title Rampage shines brightly.]

[Enhancement probability increases by x5.]

“What?”

Hyunsoo looked surprised and hurriedly checked the title he possessed.

(Rampage.)

Unique Title.

Grade: S

Special Abilities:

· When crafting an artifact, there is a 15% chance that all effects you possess or are wearing that can create a “better artifact” will be applied as if rampaging.

As the description said, Rampage was an effect granted when crafting an artifact.

It was an absurdly overpowered title that allowed all probabilities to create a better artifact from Hyunsoo’s titles, artifacts, skills, and so on to be imbued into the craft.

And naturally, it had nothing to do with enhancement.

But—

[As a reward, the Evil God’s Enhancement Stone’s enhancement success probability increases by 5 times.]

[As a reward, for one time only, all probabilities from the title Rampage to create a “better artifact” will be changed into probabilities to succeed in enhancement and applied!]

What!?

Hyunsoo was shocked.

Toward Full Bloom, where the two enhancement stones had been used, powers based on the artifacts, titles, skills, and more that Hyunsoo possessed struck down all at once.

Literally Rampage......!

Just as Hyunsoo could not hide his awe—

FAAAAAAT—!

An indescribable light bloomed from Full Bloom.

The brilliant light was powerful enough to fill the entire forge, and soon, an astonishing notification reached Hyunsoo.

[An unprecedented enhancement is being written.]