Genius Blacksmith's Game

Pureum had an obligation to make the first-ever Continental War: World Championship more successful than anything before it.

Because the success of the first event could lead directly into the next one.

So Pureum prepared a story everyone would enjoy, and on his way to the press conference, Sejin said:

“There are two types of people who play games. The first type only plays the game. Whether it’s game broadcasts, rankers, or someone else’s Mythic artifact, they don’t care about any of it. They only play their own game. And the second type plays the game while also faithfully watching game broadcasts.”

Just as Sejin said, users were divided into two types.

And from Pureum’s perspective, that first type was the most difficult.

Because they truly only enjoyed the game.

But that day.

As Sejin headed to the press conference to announce one of the events Pureum had prepared, they spoke with confidence.

“Even people from that first type will have no choice but to show interest in this event.”

That was how confident Sejin was in the event they had prepared.

Not long ago.

Before reporters gathered from all around the world.

CEO Lee Sejin stood in front of the press.

“I have come here to announce an event I believe everyone will enjoy. The name of this event is ‘Endurance.’”

Endurance.

It meant standing firm and withstanding pressure without being pushed back or bent.

The reporters who had rushed there in a single breath fell into deep disappointment.

Endurance?

I rushed here all the way from New York, and the event name is Endurance...?

What terrible naming sense.

It was rare for Lee Sejin to personally hold a press conference.

So the reporters, who had come with high expectations, were disappointed, and one middle-aged reporter asked:

“Endurance... You gathered all of us reporters just for that?”

It was a question that represented the feelings of every reporter present, but Sejin answered without wavering.

“That’s right.”

At that, the reporter asked:

“What are they enduring against?”

That was the key.

What they would have to endure against.

At the time, the viewers who had shown great expectations for the event but then expressed disappointment at the word “Endurance” were in a similar mood.

—The event name is Endurance?

—CEO Lee Sejin, want to try enduring users leaving!?

—Wow... I waited from thirty minutes ago... I’m so disappointed...

—Continental War: World Championship is doomed, lol. They say the event name is Endurance.

At that, Sejin looked around at the reporters from all over the world.

Sejin’s answer to the reporter’s question shattered all that disappointment.

“Baal.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

The reporter who had just asked the question was startled.

One reporter who had been pressing their shutter was so shocked they stopped taking pictures.

The noisy hall fell silent.

Baal.

The Great Archdemon ranked first in the Demon Realm.

An incomprehensible realm that users had yet to reach.

Everyone was flustered, as if a being whose name should never be spoken had been mentioned.

As if Sejin had expected that reaction, they looked around at them with a calm expression.

“I’m sure all of you remember the trailer for Continental War: World Championship.”

The reporters nodded.

The trailer for Continental War: World Championship.

That trailer, in which Hyunsoo had participated as the narrator, had quite literally become a massive hit.

Today.

A full month after its release, it had produced the astonishing result of ranking within the top 100 most-viewed videos in JoyTube history.

“...There is likely no one who doesn’t know it. ‘Form ranks’ was powerful.”

One reporter muttered.

That was right.

It had been powerful.

More so than any trailer before it.

“As you know from watching it, Baal appeared in the trailer. And instead of NPCs, the new protagonists of Ares—users, in other words, users worthy of participating in Continental War: World Championship—appeared as well.”

High-rankers loved tearing into one another and slandering one another.

But in the trailer, humanity had gathered together before the end.

“Form ranks.”

Sejin spoke the famous line.

In accordance with those words, users all over the world became one.

Unlike usual, they gathered in one place and charged toward Baal, the sole target, with thunderous explosions.

And the video had ended there.

However.

Users had felt regret.

Because it had only been a trailer, and the video had ended right as the united users clashed with Baal.

Here, Sejin revealed a design that gave everyone chills.

“Now, their story begins once more.”

FLASHFLASHFLASHFLASHFLASHFLASH—!

As camera flashes erupted around Sejin, they answered the expectations of the entire world.

“The trailer ended immediately before the clash with Baal. Endurance shows the story after that. The format can be called simple. Users who enter the Endurance event must endure against Baal, and the user who endures for the longest time will win the gold medal.”

Only then did the reporters realize that “Endurance” was merely the name.

The viewers who had fiercely criticized Sejin also changed their tune.

—Users from all over the world are enduring against Baal?

—Isn’t Baal literally a being in an incomprehensible realm? The Great Archdemons, who are already Transcendent species, are insanely strong, and he’s the strongest among them.

—This is a chance to see Baal’s power?

What they were interested in first was the being called Baal.

Even those ignorant about games knew Baal.

That was because Baal was an extremely familiar concept.

He was also one of the strongest “monsters” classified among the mightiest beings in Ares.

—Then how long can the strongest rankers endure here?

That single question dramatically raised the entire world’s expectations.

At that moment, a veteran reporter asked:

“What happens if Valhalla and Master Blacksmith Hyun appear and each strike him once with Destroy Evil?”

It was something everyone would be curious about.

The two most famous users.

One was the actual owner of Babylon, and the other, Hyunsoo, had once shown Destroy Evil during the raid against the Great Archdemon Gremory.

Sejin’s answer was simple.

“Unfortunately.”

Lee Sejin gave a bitter smile.

“According to the setting, holy power does not work on Baal, and he possesses countermeasures against it.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

The entire world was shocked, and experts said:

—We cannot know whether this is truly according to the setting or whether it is aimed at Valhalla and Master Blacksmith Hyun. However, this shows that even if the two of them enter Endurance, they will not be able to perform well.

—Valhalla and Hyunsoo are outstanding dealers. Also, what must be remembered is that this event itself is one where “tankers” are the mainstream from the beginning.

Of course, Lee Sejin was telling the truth.

Baal knew Babylon in the past. Because of that, he prepared sufficient countermeasures against Babylon. It is also true that holy power does not work on him. That is why Baal was able to stand in that position.

Sejin was not foolish enough to arbitrarily change the setting of a being right before the tournament.

Also, by the nature of this match, users of the “tanker” type, not dealers, could shine.

Every event targeted certain types of users.

And just as Sejin had expected.

—I have to watch this one too.

—I can’t resist this!

—Wow, amazing. Lee Sejin!

The first type.

Even users who only played their own game were looking forward to this event called Endurance.

And after Lee Sejin’s interview.

Two users drew attention.

Ivan.

He had originally been an unofficial ranker, but after recently switching to the official rankings, he had shocked the entire world.

Because Ivan had overturned the position of the world’s number-one-ranked tanker at the time.

Also.

Ivan was a High Class user over Level 500, and an even more shocking fact was revealed.

“Like Sword God Valhalla, I too serve and follow the Shield God.”

A god class.

It had been made clear that Ivan stood among those ranks.

Ivan also put forward one armor set.

“It is the Shield God’s Armor Set. All of it is Transcendent-grade. Of course, since they are class-exclusive items, they cannot be sold.”

The entire world was shocked.

Class-exclusive items.

In addition, when artifacts were part of a set, the set effect made those artifacts even more outstanding.

In other words, it became certain that the Shield God’s Armor Set Ivan wore would unleash at least power beyond Transcendent-grade, and he declared confidently:

“Enduring Baal’s attacks for a long time? It has already been revealed before, but my total HP is three times higher than a warrior of the same Level. My Defense is roughly twice as high. Naturally, I will endure against Baal for the longest time.”

The next to draw attention was a high-ranker from the United States.

She was a woman.

Her name was Emily.

Her class had also become a hot topic the moment it was revealed.

“Valkyrie. That is my class.”

“Can you explain exactly what a Valkyrie is?”

America’s young supernova.

Emily said:

“A female warrior who protects Ares. My class’s distinguishing feature is that I can use the buff skills possessed by Ares.”

“Y-you can use the buffs Ares possesses?”

“Is that possible?”

“...I am a warrior who protects him. Using his power as the basis, I apply buffs. I possess a buff skill that instantaneously increases my Defense by more than five times.”

“...!”

“...!”

The entire world was shocked.

They could not hide their astonishment at the fact that her Defense could rise by more than five times.

Like this, prominent tanker-type users from around the world declared their participation.

Experts from each country investigated the average of those users.

—Participants in Endurance have been found to possess roughly 90% higher Defense than users of the same Level, and total HP approximately 2.8 times higher.

—The variable is national support. Supported by their countries, they are expected to enter armed with world-famous shields and artifacts.

—With fierce competition among tankers expected, roughly one hundred users are predicted to participate, and the strong candidates for victory are...

At the time, due to the nature of the event, Hyunsoo’s name was not even mentioned.

Perhaps that was only natural.

Because he was not a tanker.

He was a blacksmith.

*****

And now.

The first day of Continental War: World Championship.

After the Mascot Selection Match, several events took place.

The event worth noting on the first day was tug-of-war.

A Korean user participated as well, but unfortunately, they were eliminated quickly, far from winning a medal. After the Mascot Selection Match, Korea had no events on the first day where they performed well.

The United States won one gold medal.

Korea won one gold medal.

Portugal won one gold medal.

And as the end of the first day approached, while everyone showed great interest in the “Endurance” event scheduled for tomorrow.

One user’s eyes gleamed.

It was Hyunsoo.

Team Korea had not applied to participate in this “Endurance” event.

Because they had judged that they had no chance.

But Hyunsoo had been greatly shocked by Liu’s words and arrived at a certain thought.

Why did I think it wouldn’t work without even trying? When there was such a good method.

Standing at the end of that thought, Hyunsoo quickly moved, and immediately confirmed his participation in the Endurance event.

“I will participate too.”

Because of tomorrow’s Endurance event, interviews with players participating in Endurance were in full swing at Jamsil Sports Complex.

The place with the greatest crowd was where America’s Valkyrie Emily and Shield God candidate Ivan were.

The fact that Hyunsoo would participate in the Endurance event reached the reporters faster than anything else.

“What? Team Korea is participating too?”

“Master Blacksmith Hyun himself!?”

The reporters focused on Hyunsoo, who had come out in front of Jamsil Sports Complex.

Following them, American Emily and Shield God candidate Ivan also looked at Hyunsoo from nearby.

Ivan and Emily, in particular, were the most puzzled.

Does he want to humiliate himself? Why is he participating now after not entering before?

The Endurance event may be receiving a lot of attention, but this is a different matter.

The two of them were tankers.

Of course, Emily was a Valkyrie, so her field was somewhat different, but from the beginning, Valkyrie was a class that fought by maximizing Defense and HP through Ares’s buffs, making her advantageous.

Like this, events were things that suited what each individual was good at.

So when Hyunsoo, who belonged to an entirely different field, entered, they could not hide their confusion.

Standing before dozens of microphones, Hyunsoo said:

“I believe everyone will do their best to endure. However, compared to tankers, my total HP is low, and my [N O V E L I G H T] Defense is noticeably lower. No matter how much I cover it with items.”

It was true.

Hyunsoo was not a tanker user.

Then Hyunsoo looked around.

“Therefore...”

Emily, Ivan, and the entire world focused on him, and Hyunsoo said:

“I will beat him up.”

“...!”

“...!?”

“...!?”

The entire world was swept into shock.

“You’re saying you’ll beat up Baal?”

“You intend to attack Baal!?”

FLASHFLASHFLASHFLASHFLASHFLASH!

Camera flashes erupted endlessly.

No matter where one went, there was always bound to be a lunatic.

And this time, that lunatic simply happened to be Hyunsoo.