Genius Blacksmith's Game

Before Continental War: World Championship was held.

Branch heads from around the world all gathered through video chat.

It was to finalize the events and approve additional rewards for users who achieved awe-inspiring results in a small number of those events.

“In the case of the Mascot Selection Match, Ares appears likely to grant rewards at its own discretion. In the case of tug-of-war, the event is extremely simple and the match time is short, so Ares likely won’t set a reward.”

The fact that outstanding performance inside each event announced by Pureum could result in a reward.

Rewards were divided between those set by Ares and those set by the branch heads.

Before speaking about “Endurance,” one of the next most important events, Sejin looked around the meeting room.

Usually, around ten to twelve people participated in branch-head meetings.

But today, more than 110 branch heads had joined.

It was proof that every country in the world was deeply interested in Continental War: World Championship.

“It should be easy to determine which user deserves a reward in the Endurance event. If someone’s score is overwhelmingly high compared to other users, that person should receive the reward.”

At Sejin’s words, the Indian branch head laced their fingers together and said,

“To begin with, setting rewards for Continental War: World Championship is a device meant to draw greater public interest. Everyone here must have analyzed this already, but it seems difficult for a user with an ‘overwhelming’ score to appear in Endurance.”

The reason was simple.

“Among tankers, there is no one who can be called overwhelmingly dominant in that sense. In other words, there is no Valhalla-like figure from the swordsman category, and no Kabel-like figure from the assassin category.”

It would be one of the most talked-about events, but the problem was that there was no one who would stand out.

At the Indian branch head’s words, the other branch heads nodded, and Portugal’s branch head said,

“It seems the gold and silver medals will be decided by only a few dozen points. At the very least, I doubt there will be anyone capable of seizing that reward.”

Everyone agreed.

In truth, Lee Sejin thought the same.

And because it was impossible, the reward they set was the simplest and easiest kind.

“EXP and gold. What could be more certain than that? If someone truly builds an overwhelming score, they gain a massive amount of gold and EXP.”

“That is a good idea.”

“The most important things to users are EXP and gold.”

The Indian branch head spoke bluntly.

“Anyway, no one will be able to achieve it. Well, let us proceed that way.”

No one could deny those words.

However, right now.

In the VIP viewing seats.

The Indian branch head sitting there had gone deathly pale.

This is impossible......

His thinking had been rational, and the other branch heads had accepted it the same way.

After all, the tanker world did not have people like Valhalla in the Sword God category, Kabel in the assassin category, or Raon in the thief category.

But right now, Hyunsoo, a blacksmith, was displaying tremendous force.

He hurriedly moved his feet.

Sejin, who should have been seated, was staring in astonishment at the enormous screen large enough to fill Jamsil Sports Complex.

The Indian branch head offered pure admiration without holding back.

“Korea’s Master Blacksmith Hyun is truly incredible. And strong. Is that man really a blacksmith?”

Valhalla.

The strongest person in the world was him.

The Indian branch head had believed that to be an unchanging truth, but even that belief was starting to shift in part.

The Indian branch head was purely astonished by the user named Hyunsoo, and curious about him.

Lee Sejin looked at his phone.

Each branch head could check the current state of the users from the countries they oversaw through their phones.

Just moments ago.

User Hyunsoo had been like a beast waiting for the right time.

Awaken, tournament-score potion, Even If It Breaks, Unconditional One-Kill.

And further, through refusing to submit to Baal and gaining Hidden Piece: One Who Does Not Fear the Evil God.

SLAAAAASH—

User Hyunsoo had severed Baal’s arm.

Lee Sejin was shocked when he confirmed that sight.

[User Hyunsoo receives an added hit count as a reward according to the critical wound he inflicted!]

[A total of 28 hit counts are applied.]

[You have succeeded in a total of 31 hits.]

“Thirty-one hits...... A total hit count of 31 has been applied.”

“What!?”

The Indian branch head also received the report through his phone.

A new story had begun for user Hyunsoo.

And when his attacks succeeded, his score rose by a tremendous amount.

The Indian branch head focused on the score.

At the time, after the meeting with the branch heads, the overwhelming score threshold they had decided on was 200 points.

And now.

[Hyunsoo’s score is updated.]

[1st place, Korea’s Hyunsoo. 216 points.]

His score had already surpassed that level.

The Indian branch head recalled the reward details.

“Five hundred million won and twenty million EXP......”

Of course, those were not enormous numbers for a high-ranker.

But the reason the Indian branch head was tense was something else.

The score could still rise further.

“What happens if his score rises even higher?”

“......He will receive a new reward beyond the one we set.”

“......!”

The Indian branch head looked at Hyunsoo on the monitor with a shocked expression.

As if laughing at more than one hundred of Ares’s highest authorities, Hyunsoo activated the next thing.

It was the step of an old man who had lived for one young man.

*****

It had become certain that Hyunsoo would not win any medal, let alone gold.

Because Baal had recognized Hyunsoo, and it was certain he would receive concentrated attacks.

In the end, the Endurance event awarded medals to those who lasted longer.

A high score was advantageous, but a high score did not mean one would endure longer.

Then why are you trying so hard?

Someone might have asked him that.

To that, Hyunsoo recalled the old man’s final words.

Become a true king.

There had been many meanings in those words.

Do not let the nation waver because you are lost in grief.

May you, who were a young man, become an adult.

And do not give up. Keep moving forward.

Because of all those things.

The old man had created one power.

“Ghost Spearmanship Final Chapter.”

He deliberately spoke the old man’s name because he wanted everyone to remember him.

And because he wanted everyone to see the power the old man had left behind.

[Baal’s HP falls below 96%.]

[You have destroyed one arm that was nothing more than a shell.]

It was revealed that what he had struck with all his power had been nothing more than a shell.

It also announced that he had only shaved off 4% of Baal’s HP.

But this time would be different.

“Divine Step.”

[All Stats rise by 20%, Physical Attack Power by 200%, Critical Rate by 90%, Cutting Power by 300%, and attack success rate by 500%.]

[Movement speed and attack speed rise by 300%.]

[When you strike the precise point along a line, x2 damage is applied.]

[It lasts for 10 seconds.]

Hyunsoo’s body was engulfed in light. Baal, having lost one arm, was shocked by the fact that he himself had been afflicted with the status ailments Panic and Confusion.

I......

He found it hard to believe that he had been driven into panic and confusion by a mere human.

But it lasted only for a moment.

[All status ailments are resisted.]

Baal resisted in an instant and aimed at Hyunsoo, who was being wrapped in light.

[Regression.]

[It returns the target to its original state.]

He intended to neutralize the power Hyunsoo had forged with the power of a Great Archdemon.

But soon, Baal was shocked.

[No one can defy a Myth.]

Regression did not take effect, and Hyunsoo, now three times faster than usual, charged straight in with the Twin Dragon Sword.

CRAAAAASH—!

The advantage of high attack success rate was that attacks could succeed even against higher-level targets, and cuts could sink deeper.

High Cutting Power meant it allowed him to cut what could not be cut.

High Critical Rate meant that attacks that might sometimes be shallow could be made stronger.

And the synergy created with movement speed and attack speed tripled was enough to startle even a demon.

CRACK, CRACK-CRASH, CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRASH—!

[You have dealt 234,031 damage.]

[You have dealt 323,301 damage.]

[You have dealt 312,903 damage.]

Hyunsoo’s form repeatedly vanished and appeared in different places as he struck.

With damage completely different from the beginning, blood visibly surged from Baal’s body.

However, Hyunsoo judged that this amount of damage was insufficient.

Hyunsoo focused.

At that moment, just as written in Divine Step’s details.

[When you strike the precise point along a line, x2 damage is applied.]

He saw hundreds of lines connected to the Great Archdemon Baal’s body.

Ben was a strong man who needed no such lines.

But he must have judged that Hyunsoo, who would inherit the power he left behind, needed these “lines.”

Hyunsoo looked at the hundreds of connected translucent lines invisible to everyone else.

He took one step along those lines.

BOOOOM—!

[You have succeeded in attacking a line!]

[x2 damage is applied!]

[You have dealt 612,903 damage.]

Then he entrusted his body to that line and walked straight along it.

[You have succeeded in striking a line!]

[x2 damage is applied!]

Hyunsoo’s form was so fast that viewers could barely follow it.

However, many of the commentators were high-rankers.

They followed the user’s movements faster than the viewers could.

Each time Hyunsoo flashed into view, they predicted where he would go from his gestures.

-Where is he?

-Where did he go?

-Where the hell did he go?!

At the viewers’ curious questions, Korea’s commentator quickly answered.

-He is in front of the head!

Even the cameras shifted according to the commentators’ words, and Hyunsoo, who appeared in an instant, was already pulling back the Twin Dragon Sword behind him.

And once more.

CRAAAAASH—!

The moment he swung the sword with a tremendous tearing sound and struck directly.

The entire world saw Baal stagger.

[You have succeeded in striking a line!]

[Title Unconditional One-Kill is applied.]

[x3 damage is added.]

[You have dealt 1,390,301 damage!]

One time.

With one attack, the entire world was thrown into shock.

-Until just moments ago, the HP gauge seemed to be going down so slightly it was hard to notice.

-But this one attack was clearly different. For the first time, the HP bar visibly decreased!

However, luck was good.

[You have succeeded in attacking a line!]

[Title Unconditional One-Kill is applied.]

[x3 damage is added.]

CRAAAAASH—!

[You have dealt 1,403,100 damage.]

Once again, the demon called Baal staggered.

[The hit count is too high.]

[The score increase is too large.]

[It will be totaled and settled.]

As mentioned before, Hyunsoo could not win a medal.

However, Baal was the one who had tempted him.

The one who had tried to tempt him and steal the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying he had made.

Also, Hyunsoo had done nothing wrong, yet the notification had said it.

This bastard felt anger toward him.

But.

CRAAAAASH—!

Hyunsoo, who twisted Baal’s head aside, was also angry at him.

He punished the bastard who had tried to take what was his, plunder it, and trample it underfoot.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

With sword strikes unleashed more than ten times per second, blood surged from places too fast to see.

Only afterimages remained as he moved along the lines.

However, Hyunsoo realized one thing.

The bastard had not moved at all, and that meant he had simply been watching Hyunsoo’s little tricks.

The tip of the bastard’s black finger now pronounced that Hyunsoo would die.

BOOOOM—!

[You have taken 401,030 damage.]

BOOOOOOM—!

[You have taken 409,634 damage.]

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

The explosive force of demonic energy erupting from Hyunsoo’s body told humanity.

What Hyunsoo had shown was incredible, but he was still far from enough.

Fragments of Hyunsoo’s Overlord’s Armor, from which his HP had dropped by dozens of percent with each explosion, rolled across the ground.

CRACKLE—!

The helm he was wearing was knocked loose and sent flying.

FWAAAK—!

Of course.

[It returns to its owner after 10 seconds.]

As the helm came off, Hyunsoo’s HP amount was revealed.

[HP falls below 5%.]

Before he knew it, Baal stood in front of Hyunsoo, sneering as if he had finished watching a pathetic human’s struggle to survive, and enormous demonic energy condensed at the tip of his finger.

At that moment.

Hyunsoo’s body, which had been drooping and falling, regained its balance, and he took a parchment from his chest.

“The end.”

“......?”

The entire world and Baal were puzzled by the incomprehensible words Hyunsoo murmured.

And Hyunsoo felt elation.

The notification he had heard when his score reached 200.

[You obtain a parchment that can instantly activate one passive skill related to percentage chance, regardless of %.]

The reward from his overwhelming score was contained within it.

RIIIIIP—

Hyunsoo tore it completely apart.

Before he could choose.

BOOOOM—!

An explosion erupted across Hyunsoo’s body, and his flesh slowly began to vanish.

However, the entire world and Baal were watching.

STAB—!

The last force of the vanishing Hyunsoo pierced Baal’s torso.

[Extremity activates.]

Ares’s first instant-death skill had lodged itself in Baal’s abdomen.