Genius Blacksmith's Game

The laws of nature were something that could not be defied.

It was a rule that applied in Ares as well.

The Special User Management Team.

Associate Lee Jihee’s eyes were red.

Being part of the Special User Management Team did not mean they had no emotions.

[Many people are awaiting the birth of a child.]

That notification, which had sounded today of all days, on White Tiger’s delivery day, made Associate Lee Jihee even sadder.

Team Lead Kim Taeseok.

Even he, who was calmer than anyone and usually hid his emotions well, felt a tightness in his chest.

The first.

This was the child to whom a user had given the name “White Tiger.”

And because of that, user Hyunsoo had heard a notification like this.

[White Tiger will grow up hearing the story of the Monarch who named White Tiger.]

Just like that, White Tiger had grown in an unusual way, hearing Hyunsoo’s stories from inside the womb.

And astonishingly, those stories had made White Tiger grow.

The most recent notification had been this.

[White Tiger hears the story of a Monarch who cherishes his retainers and citizens.]

[The White Tiger who will be born will become a being who cherishes many people in the same way.]

In this way, White Tiger had continued to grow.

To the point that no one could know what kind of being the child would become once born.

Team Lead Kim parted his dry lips.

“It may be because there’s a child with absurd power inside the body of an ordinary human. And White Tiger, who hasn’t even been born yet, even had the power of a Legend dwelling within.”

At the time, Team Lead Kim had been awestruck by the power of a Legend possessed by a child who had not even been born.

But even if he explained the reason in order to stay calm......

He only came to realize that it was simply the natural order.

It was White Tiger’s fate not to be born.

Right then.

[Someone is heading to the boundary between life and death.]

An astonishing notification sounded.

That someone was in the most terrible Abyssal Hell.

Even within the same Hell, the areas were different.

And the passage between them was filled with enormous dangers and traps, preventing anyone from crossing it carelessly.

—KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!!

—CRUNCH, KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAK!

But that someone crossed the traps.

He ran at full speed through a rain of tens of thousands of arrows and took them head-on.

—BOOM, BOOM, BOOOOM, BOBOBOOM!!!

Amid massive explosions, he was flung this way and that, but he clenched his teeth again and ran.

—KHAAAAAAK!

—KRAAAAAK!

—KHOOOOOOOOO!

He ran while looking at the swarming monsters, as if they were saying they would not permit entry from Abyssal Hell to the boundary between life and death.

—SHRIIIIIP!

Blood spurted from claw wounds, and a gigantic monster struck his gaunt body down.

Even as he vomited blood.

—BOOOOOOOM!

Even after being hit by an attack, sent flying far away, and slammed into a wall.

—Slide......

The man picked up the spear he had dropped, bleeding as he looked at those monsters.

—Divine Step.

BOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOOM!

He poured out all his strength.

Despite the barrage of traps, the monsters blocking him, and the wounds that continued to multiply, he advanced.

—THUD!

At last, after stabbing down the gigantic hell beast that had blocked his path, he stood in the damp, filthy Abyssal Hell.

Hwaaaaa—

He slowly walked onto land made entirely of light.

As he took one step, then two, he deliberately calmed his exhausted breathing.

Rustle, rustle—

He straightened his clothes once and wiped away the blood covering his body.

How had he known of White Tiger’s death?

Team Lead Kim and Lee Jihee recalled the past.

“Please become White Tiger’s grandfather.”

That day, when the woman had said that while stroking her swollen belly.

He had stroked the woman’s belly and infused it with power.

That power was one that would allow him to notice whenever the child faced danger.

At last, from Abyssal Hell, he stepped into the boundary between life and death.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

When he lifted the sorrowfully crying child into his arms,

“Ahahahaha!”

the child laughed, and Lee Jihee and Team Lead Kim were facing the fate they were creating, just as Lee Sejin had said.

—Squeeze

Holding the child tightly, he called himself a “Guardian Deity.”

And at last.

[Returning the child to life.]

“Ahahahahaha!”

He placed the child where the path led to life.

Shaaaaaaa—

As he watched the child scatter away, he looked like an old man seeing off his family.

He looked like a person sinking into loneliness, emptiness, sorrow, and the long wait that would begin once again.

But the old man waved his hand, as if telling the child to hurry along.

Hwaaaaaaa—

The old man watching the child disappear was smiling brightly, and the disappearing child vanished toward life.

And so.

[The God of Death’s punishment descends.]

KUUUUUUUNG!

Even as he felt the iron door behind him appear, leading into the most terrible agony.

“Ahahaha!”

he kept smiling until the very end as he watched the child vanish with laughter.

[Life has been chosen.]

Once the child disappeared, he walked into the door with his own two feet.

Watching the punishment about to begin, Team Lead Kim turned the screen away.

Because he did not want to see that man being punished.

As members of the Special User Management Team, the two felt many things today between a user and an NPC.

That, at times, the bond between a user and an NPC could change someone else’s fate.

And that a story this beautiful could happen between a user and an NPC.

*****

[The expected delivery time has passed.]

The home where the delivery was taking place.

Many people of the nation of Hyun had gathered and were waiting.

Luxiu, Bella, Borne, Akao, Arbel, and even guild members who had briefly found time to come from the Continental War: World Championship.

They waited for the birth of a new life.

And the person most anxious at the notification that had sounded was Hyunsoo.

Why is it so late?

Unable to stay still, he kept pacing back and forth.

The words that the expected delivery time had passed.

Hyunsoo knew those words were by no means good.

“Nothing happened, right?”

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

Nell calmed Hyunsoo down.

And while Hyunsoo was fidgeting like that,

“Waaaaaaaah!”

a ringing cry announced the birth of a new life.

A relieved smile settled on Hyunsoo’s face.

And Akao, Luxiu, Borne, and Bella.

The central figures who made up the nation of Hyun were people with gravitas.

They were not people whose smiles were easy to see.

Those people smiled softly.

White Tiger has finally been born.

......The child must be very beautiful.

At least one thing was clear.

White Tiger will be proficient in swordsmanship, if nothing else.

Because Luxiu, Bella, and the other powerful figures of Ares were there.

At the same time, notifications were sounding for Hyunsoo.

[White Tiger has been born.]

[This is the child whose prenatal name you gave.]

[You can observe every detail of White Tiger’s growth process.]

[You may use the on/off function as needed.]

Of course, Hyunsoo would never use off.

Because he would continue watching over White Tiger’s growth process.

[White Tiger is a special child.]

[White Tiger is more outstanding than any other child born in recent times.]

And in truth, Hyunsoo had some worries about this part.

Too much strength isn’t necessarily only good for the kid.

To put it crudely, the child could grow up with a rotten attitude.

But the notification that followed informed him that such a thing would not happen.

[White Tiger learned love and sacrifice through someone.]

[As White Tiger grows, White Tiger will learn how to love and sacrifice.]

“......?”

Hyunsoo could not understand.

Learned love and sacrifice through someone?

Another incomprehensible notification sounded.

[White Tiger has acquired the title One Who Defied Death.]

One Who Defied Death......?

It was something he could not understand.

His mind abruptly fell into confusion.

At that moment, Aria appeared while holding White Tiger.

Many people gathered to see White Tiger, who was wrapped in pure white cloth.

“The child resembles me.”

Luxiu said as he looked at White Tiger, and Bella shook her head.

“Judging by the luster of the hair, I think the child resembles me.”

And Borne, whose temper was not exactly good, said,

“Look at those sturdy legs. Is it not obvious the child will be good at riding!?”

Of course, Hyunsoo joined in too.

“Look at those hands the child was born with. They’re perfect for gripping a hammer.”

At that, one man said exactly one thing.

“That’s my son......?”

“.......”

“.......”

“.......”

That was right.

This was the child born to Pan.

And Saintess Aria, who had also been thinking, I think the child resembles me......, gave up on the thought after hearing that.

She simply voiced the question she had felt while assisting the delivery.

“......White Tiger’s heart stopped.”

“Pardon?”

Only then could Hyunsoo understand the reason the title had been acquired.

And Aria told him about the boundary between life and death.

“Until now, there has never been a child among infants who could choose ‘life’ there. There’s no way a newborn could choose such a thing.”

Hyunsoo agreed.

“Maybe White Tiger is simply that special? Special enough to choose life at the boundary between life and death.......”

Hyunsoo wondered if that might be the case.

He found the answer faster than anyone.

It was in the title White Tiger had acquired as soon as he was born.

(One Who Defied Death.)

Unique Title.

Grade: SS

Special Abilities:

·One Who Defied Death grows 50% faster than others.

·At a moment of mortal danger, a barrier is generated for protection.

·The barrier lasts for 1 hour.

·At a moment of mortal danger, Hyunsoo, king of the nation of Hyun, can immediately warp to the child.

Defying death perhaps meant being strong.

As if to prove that, the title was intense.

After stepping over death, this child, who was already a being that could look toward Legend, would grow 50% faster.

Moreover, White Tiger was special.

Because the child was born as a symbolic existence in the nation of Hyun.

Such a being was bound to face endless threats.

But this title relieved those worries.

An SS-grade title right after being born?

It was beyond incredible. It was shocking.

Next, Hyunsoo checked the child’s Status Window.

Before checking, he recalled an update from not long ago.

It had been a notice regarding retainers, pets, and NPCs, stating that the things written about them would no longer be grouped as “skills,” but would instead be displayed as their own unique powers.

In other words, from now on, Passive Skills and Active Skills,

as well as the unique powers they possessed, would appear separately.

(White Tiger.)

Grade: ???

Age: 1 year old.

Level: 1.

Attack Power: 65

Defense: 33

Special Abilities:

·Legendary Grade. Versatile.

·Legendary Grade. Master of Effort.

·Legendary Grade. Teacher’s Grace.

Potential: 187

Description: A special child who encountered a certain fortunate chance and was guided from the boundary between life and death into life.

Children feel many things through the first person they see. According to White Tiger’s possessed power, Versatile, White Tiger first acquired the talent of an outstanding spearman due to the person first encountered.

The moment Hyunsoo saw White Tiger’s description, his heart seemed to drop with a thud.

No way.......

Hyunsoo checked Versatile.

(Versatile.)

Grade: Legendary.

Effect:

·No matter what is learned, White Tiger will perform it splendidly and display power comparable to a Legend.

·However, with a child’s body, learning many things may reach a limit. But if White Tiger meets good teachers, the story will change.

·White Tiger has already encountered the first teacher.

With trembling hands, Hyunsoo checked the next one.

(Teacher’s Grace.)

Grade: Legendary.

Effect:

·The grace of a teacher is special.

·Depending on what kind of teacher White Tiger meets, White Tiger will grow more greatly and become more outstanding.

·The first meeting after birth is even more special. As soon as White Tiger was born, White Tiger met a powerful being who had reached the pinnacle of a certain field, and was influenced as a result.

·Understanding of any spearmanship learned is 80% higher.

·Learning aptitude for spearmanship is 80% higher.

·Spearmanship Attack Power is permanently 10% higher, and the effects of spearmanship skills are 5% stronger.

·After further growth, White Tiger will awaken various skills related to spearmanship.

Hyunsoo’s chest grew hot.

“Ahahaha!”

Looking down at White Tiger, who was laughing happily in his arms, Hyunsoo’s eyes reddened.

“Hyunsoo?”

“Are you all right?”

Everyone was startled by the sudden change.

Was Hyunsoo simply so happy at gaining a nephew that he was reacting this way?

That was true too.

But Hyunsoo, whose reddened eyes were smiling faintly, said,

“......The old man came by.”

“......Pardon?”

Aria wondered whether such a thing was possible.

......It is possible.

However, she deliberately did not say that he would receive punishment.

Everyone simply thought of one old man who had visited the boundary between life and death.

And Hyunsoo thought of him in an even more special way.

He was the man who had set off on a distant journey, saying he would become Hyunsoo’s Guardian Deity.

Old man.......

When Hyunsoo looked up at the sky, everyone there looked up at the sky as well.

Because snow had begun to fall.

November 3.

The old man who had left with the early first snow

on December 6,

on the day the second snow fell,

had gifted them a new life.