Genius Blacksmith's Game

The contest where blacksmiths competed, Master Blacksmith.

As the name suggested, it was a contest to determine the Master Blacksmith.

There was no upset in that event.

After the words of William, the world’s most famous appraiser.

Smith, who confirmed it himself, acknowledged it, and the other judges changed their earlier statements that Smith’s victory had already been decided.

They could not hide their admiration and shock, and because of that, the result of the Master Blacksmith event was decided.

[Republic of Korea’s Hyunsoo wins gold.]

[United States’ Smith wins silver.]

[France’s Bonjar wins bronze.]

It was the moment Korea astonished everyone by claiming two total gold medals, and there were people watching the scene in admiration.

The VVIP room.

CEO Lee Sejin was watching William’s interview.

—It was truly precise and perfect craftsmanship. Not merely in the game called Ares, but even in reality, a Jeoneodo as perfect as that would not be easy to create, even for me.

—I have already seen Yi Seong-gye’s sword, the Jeoneodo, at a Korean museum. The astonishing fact is that this Jeoneodo surpasses the Jeoneodo made in the past. Tale. It is clear that he breathes power into an item beyond the Grade of its material. Even so, the point is that it should not be possible to raise it that far.

—In other words, the reason the Jeoneodo became Legendary was because it surpassed the Jeoneodo of the past, and Ares, the supercomputer, acknowledged that.

A reporter asked William a question.

—Appraiser William, in your view, will another Jeoneodo like that ever appear in the future?

William, wearing a cautious expression, gave his opinion.

—Impossible. This is an age when blacksmiths have all disappeared. And even if there were blacksmiths, I guarantee that the only one with skill as exceptional as mine would be Hyun.

At that moment, Sejin felt a certain desire.

......I want it.

Lee Sejin’s wealth.

It was the greatest in the world.

Prince Ali of Saudi Arabia?

He could not even present a business card in comparison.

Lee Sejin was the man who had everything.

And there was only one reason such a Sejin wanted that Jeoneodo.

Because it is the Jeoneodo.

The Jeoneodo was a symbolic weapon.

Also, while Lee Sejin was the CEO of Pureum, he could purchase the Jeoneodo through his personal assets.

I never thought I’d be buying an artifact from Master Blacksmith Hyun. Would about 2 billion do it?

Then.

Something happened that Sejin had not expected.

“......The Jeoneodo. The sword that symbolized Taejo Yi Seong-gye. Does it not suit me perfectly?”

The chairman of Daehan Group.

The chairman of Korea’s second-largest company after Pureum smiled gently.

He was expressing a strong intent to purchase it.

Then another chairman reacted.

“Excuse me? I have already contacted my secretary and told them to approach Master Blacksmith Hyun.”

“......So have I.”

“Huh? What are men as old as you trying to buy a sword for?”

“......Do you even know anything about Ares, Chairman?”

“Ahem!”

Sejin was flustered.

The chairmen.

Even they knew about the Jeoneodo, and they had seen its value.

But what flustered Sejin even more was this.

Have they ever worn such greedy expressions before?

The desire of chairmen who already possessed everything, the desire to have something, was incredible.

“Sorry, but I must purchase it.”

“......I cannot lose either.”

“In my eighty years of life, this is the first time I’ve wanted something this badly. And is it not our country’s treasure?”

Sejin looked at the bickering chairmen and spoke with a sigh.

“......How could you do this?”

“......Ahem.”

“We showed an ugly side of ourselves.”

Only then did the chairmen become embarrassed, thinking they had behaved disgracefully in front of Sejin, who was the youngest among them.

However, that was not why Sejin had said it.

“As the one with plenty of life still ahead of me, it is only right that I buy it!”

“???”

“......?”

“......!”

Sejin had entered the competition to buy the Jeoneodo too!

Soon, an auction began among the chairmen.

No, even an auction?

And Sejin could not hide his shock as the price of the Jeoneodo soared endlessly.

*****

After the award ceremony ended.

Hyunsoo waited for something like a child filled with anticipation.

Hehe.

He was looking forward to receiving a reward for building an awe-inspiring achievement in the competition.

What are they going to give me this time? Maybe they’ll evolve the Jeoneodo all the way to Transcendent!?

To be honest, Hyunsoo found this Jeoneodo regrettable.

The Jeoneodo’s completion quality surpassed the White Tiger Sword, the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying, and the Four Tiger Sword.

Yes.

If the Jeoneodo had been crafted with material above Legendary, it might have been Mythic.

Of course, this place was Ares.

An artifact could not become Mythic merely because its completion quality was 100%.

As Smith had said, the game called Ares was influenced by luck, skills, materials, and many other factors.

Among them, the importance of the material was certainly large.

Still, let’s not be disappointed.

There would be a reward for the awe-inspiring achievement!

He kept waiting like that, but......

What is this?

No notification rang.

No way, is there no reward......?

It was the moment Hyunsoo fell into immense shock.

When crafting the same artifact, if one created something outstanding once, it became difficult to create another outstanding one again.

It was a truth most blacksmiths knew.

Therefore, even if he later made it with higher-Grade material, there was a high probability that the Jeoneodo would no longer be able to come out at a good Grade.

But there’s no reward......?

Hyunsoo was shocked, and Nell happened to visit at just that moment.

“Congratulations on the gold medal. But why do you look like that?”

Nell heard the whole story and explained the reason as she understood it.

“Even if you crafted a Legendary artifact from Normal material, there are already over one thousand Legendary artifacts by this point.”

An awe-inspiring achievement was never granted easily.

Being exceptional in the competition did not mean being exceptional across all of Ares.

“According to our investigation, half a year ago, a user named Recipic made a Legendary artifact using Normal Grade material.”

“......How?”

“It was a different method from yours, Hyunsoo. Every time that user cleared a quest, they received a reward that could raise the artifact’s Grade. After that user completed all the quests and forged it, they received several effects and crafted a Legendary artifact. People even said that user was blessed with heavenly luck that day.”

Of course, the user called Recipic was not more special than Hyunsoo.

It was simply that a once-in-a-lifetime heavenly-luck quest and heavenly-luck chance had burst open, causing such a thing to happen.

Crafting a Legendary artifact from Normal material in the competition.

Thinking that doing it in a game played by over one billion people meant it was the first ever was foolish.

He also recalled what Smith had said.

You obtained the title One Who Does Not Know the Impossible. But it was a Multi-Title. Did you perhaps already create a high-Grade item from low-Grade material in the past?

A Multi-Title meant that there were already people who had achieved the accomplishment, and it also meant multiple people could obtain it.

“Of course, making a Legendary artifact from Normal Grade material in the competition is special. It will be remembered for generations and talked about for the rest of your life.”

Nell consoled Hyunsoo, but for some reason, Hyunsoo’s expression was sorrowful.

Far more than Nell had expected.

Wearing a bitter expression, Hyunsoo shared a notification he had heard in the past.

“Could you look at this?”

[The situations in Aldron Territory, Bolaon Territory, and Graan Territory are not good.]

[If they fall to a lower level, it is unknown what may happen.]

“.......”

Nell was the chancellor of the nation.

It was a notification she had heard as well.

“I think this ‘unknown what may happen’ could mean a rebellion.”

Nell could not deny it.

“......I believe it is one of the growing pains of becoming a kingdom. However, as chancellor, I feel guilty that this happened because I could not put the finances perfectly in order.”

Most reasons for poor public sentiment were tied to finances.

Hyunsoo shook his head.

“No, it isn’t your fault, Nell. It’s mine. The nation of Hyun rapidly became a kingdom, and those places are territories absorbed from the Kingdom of Goyad. It is proof that I fall far shorter in their hearts than His Majesty Barad did.”

Nell silently listened to Hyunsoo.

“Also, most of the citizens of the nation of Hyun probably did not want me to participate in Continental War: World Championship. The king of a newborn country being absent for this long is itself a burden.”

The work Hyunsoo had to handle was piled up like a mountain.

He had to fill the financial shortages of each territory.

Before collecting taxes from them, the first priority was to make them prosperous enough that taxes could be collected.

It meant he could not impose taxes on citizens who had failed to harvest grain.

“To make matters worse, after Old Man Ben left, I was away for a long time. Yet I created another absence, and maybe that’s why I wished for it.”

Hyunsoo looked down at the Jeoneodo.

The Jeoneodo.

It was the sword of Yi Seong-gye, and it symbolized the king of Joseon.

“For this sword to become Transcendent through an awe-inspiring reward or Hidden Piece or something. So I could sell this sword at least, fill in the money for the period I was absent, and soothe public sentiment. Please tell me honestly, Nell. What happens if they rebel?”

“.......”

Nell felt it.

The growing pains Hyunsoo had to experience, and the aftereffects of those pains, would be far from easy.

Also, Ben’s passing and Continental War: World Championship.

Many things had become intertwined.

But if Hyunsoo had not participated in Continental War: World Championship, that would have carried side effects of its own.

It was a dilemma.

“......You would have to personally behead the leader of the rebels, Your Majesty. If you do not do it, I will.”

“.......”

A king killing his own citizens.

And not merely that, but beheading citizens who had been driven to rebellion because they suffered under an insufficient king.

Nell had no choice but to speak without holding back, and she was saying that if he could not do it, she would become the villain herself.

“.......”

Behind the glory of the gold medal, Hyunsoo could not smile.

Beneath the true “king’s” sword he had forged.

Hyunsoo, who could not be as great as the king named Yi Seong-gye, looked miserable.

After losing his words for a long time, Hyunsoo handed the Jeoneodo and all his gold to Nell.

The gold and a considerable number of miscellaneous items that had come from raiding Hydra.

His personal assets and various other things.

“It should be about 10 billion. And even though the Jeoneodo is only Legendary, I think we can get at least several hundred million for it. Please dispose of this Jeoneodo too.”

Nell did not refuse him.

Money that can truly only put out the most urgent fire.......

10 billion.

It was a large amount, but nowhere near enough to run a country.

“Maybe I was never qualified to become a king.”

Seeing Hyunsoo’s devastated expression, Nell felt she could not comfort him with empty words.

“Maybe the match against Valhalla was also an overreach.”

Nell could only look at Hyunsoo’s sagging figure.

She understood what he meant.

To fight Valhalla, Hyunsoo had many steps he had to pass through.

That would also consume time in the World Championship.

Hyunsoo was doubting whether it was right, in his current situation, to spend that much time.

Even though you waited for it so long.......

Hyunsoo smiled with as composed an expression as he could manage.

“I’ll go rest for a while.”

[Guild Master Hyunsoo has logged out.]

Hyunsoo disappeared like that, and Nell, left alone, grew bitter.

The timing was simply too early, Hyunsoo.

The growing pains of becoming king too quickly were spreading throughout the entire kingdom.

Furthermore, those pains were not only covering the citizens.

They were spreading to the king as well.

There was also a reason Nell could not tell Hyunsoo that it was not his fault.

I know that you are enough to be king, Hyunsoo. But because it was too early, perhaps you should not have ascended yet.

Even as she thought that, Nell shook her head.

Too many things had been pressuring Hyunsoo, and it was right that he had become king before any other user.

[You have logged out.]

Hyein logged out as well.

She shook off her complicated thoughts.

Let’s focus on my duty.

That was to obtain the highest possible value for the Jeoneodo.

I’ll get at least 700 million for it no matter what.

As she looked at her phone to list it on Brand Hyun’s auction house, she wore a puzzled expression.

She had received a call from an unknown number.

And when she answered, a familiar voice came through.

—I got it done.

“......Excuse me?”

It was Lee Sejin of Pureum.

His voice somehow sounded refreshed, as if he were saying, “Whew, that was hard.”

Soon, Hyein heard the whole story.

The chairmen wanted to buy it?

And after a fierce battle(?), Sejin had supposedly bought it.

Hyein heard the price from Sejin over the phone.

She learned two things.

First.

A reward for an awe-inspiring achievement could be obtained not only in Ares, but also in reality.

Second.

Hyunsoo had more than enough qualifications to be a king.