Genius Blacksmith's Game

Bols had once been an elder of Goyad, and now he had become a lord of the nation of Hyun.

The same went for the ten other lords.

Hyunsoo had thought they meant to rebuke an incompetent king.

And because Bols had once been an elder of Goyad, Hyunsoo had thought he would raise people who shared his will all across the nation.

He had been wrong.

Bols had gathered the lords and collected the citizens’ assets.

Before parting with Bols, who had fainted twice in a row, and the ten lords,

Hyunsoo had been deeply moved as he looked at the endless, sprawling line of wagons.

They were loaded with all sorts of odds and ends, and so many other things.

I haven’t even done a proper job of being king.......

He had spent ten days buried in grief inside the Prime Kingdom, and when his nation was wavering, he had participated in the World Championship.

As Hyunsoo’s eyes reddened, Bols spoke before leaving.

“My king, if there is anything you wish to do, do all of it. We will protect it.”

Bols had proven that those words were not mere words, but something he could put into action.

Hyunsoo had also gained something else that day.

[You have gained Stars of the Nation.]

[The nation of Hyun will endure without wavering, firm and steadfast.]

Stars of the Nation.

Just as stars had existed in Goyad, stars that illuminated the king were beginning to arise in the nation of Hyun as well.

After they left.

“I don’t regret the 30 billion at all.”

Without even discussing it with Chancellor Nell, Hyunsoo had poured in all his money because of the people who had offered up everything they had.

It was clearly a mistake.

Yet Nell, who was cold-blooded and ordinarily should have said, “Have you lost your mind?” only smiled faintly.

“......How many citizens would be able to offer their entire fortunes?”

Even in reality, would there truly be anyone capable of doing something like that for a nation?

“You did well.”

That day, Nell was simply glad because she had seen just how upright and admirable a king Hyunsoo was.

And Hyunsoo had, quite literally, poured in everything.

To what extent?

For a while, it’s three meals a day at Takashi’s soup-and-rice restaurant.

He was in such dire straits that he would have to eat blood sausage soup every single day.

But Hyunsoo did not regret it, and the result revealed itself.

It was the title King and People.

[King and People is a special title that only a king can obtain.]

[The conditions for King and People have been fulfilled to a far higher degree.]

[You have achieved an awe-inspiring achievement.]

[The grade has been raised from S to SS.]

(King and People.)

Unique Title.

Grade: SS

Special Abilities:

·When collecting taxes from citizens, the king gains 1% additional revenue.

·This rises by 0.2% each time the kingdom’s scale increases by one grade.

·If the kingdom grows into an empire, the title will rise by one grade, granting 5% additional tax revenue.

“......?”

Hyunsoo’s face went deathly pale.

A king’s title.

It’s a title that applies to the entire kingdom!?

The fact that it applied to the entire kingdom was terrifying.

Taxes.

The taxes generated through transactions in a single day alone were enormous.

The reason none of it remained was that once taxes were received, they had to be invested.

Hyunsoo, who was faster at calculating money than anyone, calculated how much extra would remain for him per day if he received 1% of the current taxes.

“Several million won.......”

Per day.

Over a year, that meant hundreds of millions to more than a billion won.

Of course.

I have to invest this again too.

As Hyunsoo guessed it,

Originally, didn’t King and People probably only have the 1% additional tax?

But now it rose by 0.2% each time the kingdom’s scale increased by one grade.

And the current kingdom scale of the nation of Hyun was......

“Dead last out of more than two hundred countries on the continent.......”

It was a tear-inducing rank.

The scale was divided into Lowest, Low, Mid, High, Highest, and Great Power.

In other words, once it reached Highest, the rate would rise to 2%, effectively doubling the revenue.

Also, a Great Power was the kingdom closest to an empire, and if the nation of Hyun someday became the Empire of Hyun, he would gain an additional 5% from taxes.

In other words.

An endlessly rolling wad of cash.

Pureum had explicitly stated that Ares would never shut down its servers.

If.

If the nation of Hyun stays Lowest forever or collapses, then in the end it will remain worth less than ten billion won.......

But if the country kept growing, the amount of taxes collected would naturally rise, and the percentage would rise as well.

Each step up would become a multiplier.

And also.

“The second weapon the nation of Hyun possesses.......”

The nation of Hyun’s only weapon had come from outstanding artifacts.

But the fact that it could obtain more taxes from the same investment became a weapon.

Because it meant he could invest more into the nation and achieve an even greater rise in national power.

And with that, Hyunsoo had gained another reason to grow the kingdom further.

“I’m rich now.”

After boasting like that, Hyunsoo logged out and ran straight to the soup-and-rice restaurant for free soup and rice.

Sob, sob.......

Because, by the nature of the title, that wealth would only come in the future.

After eating a solid meal, Hyunsoo felt especially good today.

Part of it was because, in exchange for 30 billion won, he had gained a title called King and People that could produce tens, perhaps even hundreds of times that value.

But the notification he had heard today was what made Hyunsoo smile.

[It is White Tiger’s delivery day.]

[Please celebrate the birth of White Tiger.]

White Tiger.

It was the name Hyunsoo had given the child.

He had given the name with the meaning that the child should be strong and steadfast like a white tiger.

Hyunsoo had also told Pan and his wife that when White Tiger was born, he would become the child’s uncle.

The reason for that was this.

[White Tiger will grow up and protect you at the cost of White Tiger’s life.]

It was a notification he had heard before.

There was a very high chance that the White Tiger about to be born would become a treasure of the nation of Hyun.

But what made Hyunsoo even happier than that was this.

I’m going to be an uncle?

For Hyunsoo, who had no family except his father, becoming an uncle was something that made his heart pound with joy.

What should I teach the child?

Also, time for NPCs in Ares flowed several times faster than it did for users.

White Tiger would grow in the blink of an eye.

Should he teach the child the Sword King’s swordsmanship?

Or.

Blacksmithing skills?

Or what about teaching both?

What a child learned young determined that child’s future.

With his heart swelling before the birth of a new life, Hyunsoo moved on.

I hope I’m not late.

And in contrast to that pounding excitement, fate flowed cruelly on.

The place where White Tiger’s birth was in progress.

To welcome White Tiger’s birth, Saintess Aria had personally come to assist with the delivery.

This was for the sake of Pan’s wife’s health, and also to bestow a blessing upon the soon-to-be-born White Tiger, the treasure of the nation of Hyun.

Saintess Aria possessed intuition more exceptional than anyone else’s.

This child will lead the nation of Hyun.

Saintess Aria had assisted dozens of births.

Kings, emperors, or heroes.

Or holy knights, popes, and the like.

It was something limited only to special people.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Pan’s wife, biting down on a white towel, was pouring in every last ounce of strength.

Aria continuously infused holy power into her so that she could be as comfortable as possible.

“Just a little more!”

And there was something that startled Aria.

How can this come from the body of an ordinary person.......

Just as humans were born with talent,

in Ares, talent was also naturally passed down.

But Pan and his wife had once been a poor blacksmith couple.

Yet this child in her belly.

Even Aria felt that the child would possess talent beyond her ability to predict.

And because this great birth was taking place in the nation of Hyun, the smallest of all nations, Aria was moved.

“Just a little more. Just a little more!”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Pan’s wife screamed and pushed.

Then Aria began to feel that something was wrong.

What is this......?

The enormous power was fading.

Even when she poured in all her strength to give power to the child in the womb and to the mother, it was the same.

And soon, Saintess Aria closed her eyes.

Her extremely developed senses chased a sound.

As she followed one sound, her expression turned white.

No.......

Her face filled with immense sorrow.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Looking at the woman who was still screaming and doing her best for the White Tiger about to be born, Aria’s lips pressed tightly together.

Because White Tiger’s heartbeat had stopped.

“.......”

Aria was the woman who understood death best.

The dead stood at the boundary between life and death in Hell.

And this little White Tiger was no different.

At the boundary between life and death, if one grasped the thread of life, one returned to this world; if one let go, one met complete death.

But in White Tiger’s case, the child could not grasp the thread of life.

Because the child was never even born.......

White Tiger’s soul would vanish in Hell, disappearing just like that.

Because a child who had not even been born yet could not flee from that boundary with the will to live......

White Tiger would vanish in vain just like that.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Looking at Pan’s wife, who was still pushing, Aria slowly tried to part her trembling lips.

“White Tiger is.......”

Just then.

“......?”

Goosebumps rose all over Saintess Aria’s body.

Flinch—

Because she felt White Tiger’s body move ever so slightly.

What on earth is this?

She wondered whether White Tiger was grasping the thread of life.

Is that even possible?

For a child who had not even been born yet?

She looked up at the sky.

The sky she looked up toward was where Hell lay.

*****

The boundary between life and death.

It was a place among the vast reaches of Hell that ordinary humans often visited.

At the boundary between life and death, there was a gate, and humans were sometimes placed at that boundary.

At this fork in the road, if they let go of the thread, they would take the road of death; if they grasped it and endured, they would return to life.

Hoss.

He was a guard sentenced to work at the boundary between life and death for one hundred years.

Today, he had experienced something truly strange and astonishing.

In a village of Hell.

Onlookers gathered around Hoss, who had climbed onto a table.

“We had a special guest today.”

“A special guest?”

Once the crowd gathered, Hoss spoke.

“A newborn baby.”

“......Oh, dear.”

“A baby? How unfortunate.”

“Tsk, tsk. The child must have been pulled into the gate of death?”

Those who let go of life became ash and were pulled into the gate of death.

Hoss nodded at those words.

“That’s right. The child had turned to ash and was being pulled in like that.”

Hoss’s face filled with sorrow as though he were recalling that moment.

But soon, a smile appeared on his face.

“Then, someone took the child into his arms.”

Everyone looked puzzled.

“Someone interfered with life and death?”

“If one interferes with another’s life and death, one receives the punishment handed down by the God of Death, does one not?”

Hoss nodded.

“That’s right. He would have to endlessly feel the pain of his whole body being torn to shreds, melted by extreme heat, or frozen solid. So I shouted, ‘Listen! If you send that child back to life, you will suffer the God of Death’s punishment!’ And then he said this.”

Everyone leaned in, and Hoss imitated him as he spoke.

“It does not matter.”

Everyone there exclaimed in admiration.

“Who on earth was he, to interfere with that child’s life?”

“Who was he?”

“I was curious too, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} so I asked. I asked, ‘What are you to that child, that you would do this?’”

Hoss continued.

“And he answered......”

*****

Hoss shouted at the man who was walking steadily while holding the child.

“What are you to that child, that you would do this!”

The man was an old man.

He had long white hair, was gaunt, and carried something presumed to be a spear on his back.

For some unknown reason, his entire body was covered in blood.

The old man stopped walking and looked down at the child.

Then he answered with the brightest smile in the world.

“Guardian Deity Ben.”