Genius Blacksmith's Game

Hyunsoo, who had activated Lord’s Command, let out a breath of admiration.

‘For now, all I can do is lift and stop the things around me. That’s it.’

But as time went on and he grew more familiar with it, he thought he’d be able to use it over a much wider area.

Then the sound of the door opening made him turn his head, and when he saw Nell there, he gave a small smile.

For some reason, Nell stared at him for a long moment, then finally let out a relieved smile.

“Looks like the coat’s recreation went perfectly. You seem a good deal stronger than before.”

In a way, it was only natural.

Back when he swung the Four Tigers Sword and killed Jack, he’d been in the 180s. Now he was in the 220s.

“Congratulations on becoming a noble.”

“It’s all thanks to the guild members.”

Nell got to the point.

“Junior Baron is a noble title, but it’s only on the level of a knight. Even so, the advantages of being a noble are very clear.”

Hyunsoo listened carefully to their words.

“Because you’re a noble, you can obtain things ordinary users never can. First, you can secure territory and become a lord. Second, even without territory, you can command personal soldiers.”

At those words, Hyunsoo’s heart started pounding.

‘I can become a lord?’

He’d met quite a few lords already.

He thought of Lord Vance, who had been lord of the smallest territory, the Beginner’s Territory.

Even though it was only the Beginner Zone, thousands of territory residents had lived under his rule.

To rule such territory residents—

Of course, that wasn’t something possible right now.

“If you become a lord, the big advantage is that you can collect taxes every month.”

Once again, Hyunsoo found himself thinking that nobles were incredible—even if he was “only” a Junior Baron.

Then, remembering the reality of a knight-level Junior Baron, he asked a question.

“Has a Junior Baron ever actually become a lord?”

“...There have been a few. Maybe one in a hundred?”

Right. Hyunsoo had basically chugged down a whole jar of wishful thinking.

“Usually you receive that when you achieve merits the kingdom and the people can’t deny. It’s probably easier to just have your title raised instead.”

A new question occurred to Hyunsoo.

“How do we compare to Hwarang, the number one guild in our country?”

Nell’s expression turned bitter.

“Like a lion and a day-old pup.”

It was a painful thing to say, but the facts had to be stated.

“Radiance is made up of an elite few. The best people in each field. The problem is that the number one guild, Hwarang, has too many high-rankers. About twenty-five percent of the high-rankers in our country belong to that one guild.”

It was enough to make a person groan.

“On top of that, their guild master holds a Count title—there are only two Counts in the whole country—and he already owns two territories. They have over five hundred guild members, and more than a thousand soldiers under their command.”

Hyun’s Forge was growing quietly so that when the clash came later, they could endure it—and go on to win.

Hyunsoo still felt he didn’t yet have enough strength to protect what he had.

‘We’d lose if we fought a guild in the top twenties in the rankings.’

But Nell gave a small smile.

“Even so, there’s one thing I can guarantee. Globally, if you add up all the Viscounts, Counts, and Marquises, there are over a thousand of them. But Radiance is probably the first to rise this fast while having such a strong combat force.”

The first.

Come to think of it, Hyunsoo had started Ares three years later than the people who got in right at launch.

“You really are incredible, Guild Master.”

At Nell’s words, Hyunsoo gave a small smile.

“Then we just have to keep closing that gap.”

In the end, it was a matter of time.

‘I’ll raise us to the point where we can stand alongside Hwarang.’

Soon, Nell revealed the reason they’d come to see him.

“You probably received a kingdom quest when you became a Junior Baron. The one called Subjugation Captain.”

Hyunsoo checked the quest he’d received when he’d been raised to Junior Baron.

[Kingdom Quest: Subjugation Captain]

Grade: A

Restriction: Junior Baron

Reward: 3 soldiers.

Penalty on failure: Stripping of title.

Description: Araham Territory, located at the furthest border of the Kingdom of Goyard. Meet Commander Philip there.

It was a quest that had left a deep impression on Hyunsoo as well.

‘A quest to gain three soldiers.’

Just a few days ago, he’d won Bella’s heart.

‘Of course, users are important too.’

But he also needed soldiers and knights—and other capable NPCs.

“It might only be three soldiers at first, but I’ve heard their caliber is divided based on your performance.”

Not all soldiers were the same.

“One of them might have the talent to become a knight.”

Those three would stand firm and protect Hyun’s Forge.

“And the quest gives pretty good experience too. If you perform great feats, it also opens up the possibility of becoming a higher-ranked noble.”

Nell laughed a bit awkwardly.

Hyunsoo nodded, and something suddenly came to mind.

He took out an egg from his inventory.

It was the Wolf Egg he’d obtained after hunting the Ashen Wolf.

The reason he’d taken it out was this:

[??? is pleased.]

[It may hatch before one season passes.]

He’d received that notification the moment he became a Junior Baron.

The egg was pleased? Pleased about what?

“Do you happen to know anything about this kind of egg?”

“It’s a pet egg. One moment.”

Nell inspected it.

(Wolf Egg)

Grade: ???

Type: ???

Description: A wolf egg carried by Ashen Wolf, third child of Fenrir. No one knows what kind of wolf will emerge from it, or when it will hatch.

Nell was stunned.

“This is an egg carried by Fenrir’s third child?”

“Yes.”

Fenrir was one of the eight great monsters, said to be comparable to—or beyond—the Ten Legends of the continent.

“You might be able to get an Epic-grade pet. If it’s even better, you could designate it as a guardian.”

A guardian is an animal or monster that symbolizes a guild, kingdom, or, on a larger scale, a church.

As for the egg reacting to him, Nell could only wear a baffled expression.

They said they would look into it and then took their leave, and Hyunsoo set off for Araham Territory at once.

*****

[The Wolf Egg is preparing to hatch in user Hyunsoo’s arms.]

Pureum Co., Ltd. CEO’s office.

CEO Lee Sejin looked at the notification that had popped up only for him and wore an intrigued expression.

Just like before the God of Blacksmiths appeared. This was information known only to CEO Lee Sejin and a tiny handful of others.

The egg Ashen Wolf had carried.

At first glance, you might predict that an Ashen Wolf pup would be born.

But that was completely wrong.

‘It might hatch into an ordinary wolf far weaker than Ashen Wolf.’

An ordinary wolf was level 15.

‘Or it might hatch into a wolf so strong Ashen Wolf can’t compare.’

Right. The design intent behind that egg was special.

‘The moment hatching preparations begin, the egg starts using the achievements of the one who holds it as its nutrients.’

After a certain amount of time, the egg would hatch on its own.

But even that depended on conditions.

If the holder had no title—and no one who followed them—then a normal wolf would be born.

And what were Fenrir and its offspring?

At the very least, they’d all been kings of their respective domains—and Fenrir was the king of all wolves.

‘How could a king serve some ordinary user?’

That was why, even if enough time passed, without a title or any followers, only a trivial wolf would emerge.

When Hyunsoo gained his title, that changed.

At least as a being within the egg, it now had something to look forward to.

And once hatching preparations began, from that moment on it would feed—literally—on everything Hyunsoo stacked up as a commander, noble, or knight.

[Current nutrient rate 0%.]

The wolf that would hatch was determined by the nutrient rate. Just having a title wasn’t enough to guarantee a good wolf.

At 30% nutrient rate, a mid-boss–grade wolf.

At 50%, a boss-grade wolf.

At 80%, a legendary wolf would dwell within.

Lee Sejin rose to his feet.

On one wall of his office, there was a map of Ares servers in Korea and around the world.

Across the world, a total of thirteen Legendary monsters had been designated as guardians.

Figures of Legendary monsters were pinned over various countries.

‘I wonder how far the Wolf Egg will go...’

Looking over the figures of the Legendary monsters, Lee Sejin felt his heart beat faster.

Two of the figures were the most splendid and impressive of them all.

The figures of the Four Divine Beasts.

One of those figures was pinned over Ares Church.

Divine Beast Phoenix.

The other was pinned over the Cult of Calamity.

Divine Beast Hydra.

And that was it.

‘Pointless thoughts.’

Lee Sejin gave a wry smile.

Yes, the creature that would emerge from that egg changed depending on the nutrient rate.

The nutrient rate Hyunsoo would have to build over the coming period—

In truth, even at 100%, a Divine Beast might not appear.

The amount needed was enough to make a person wonder how much you’d have to stack to /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ see one, so Lee Sejin pushed the thought aside for now.

Still, he allowed himself one small fantasy.

‘A wolf Divine Beast, huh.’

Just imagining its roar made him think it would be something truly magnificent.

*****

Araham Territory lay to the north of the Kingdom of Goyard, surrounded by lands crawling with monsters.

It was a place where endless subjugations were carried out every single day.

And Araham Territory had another special purpose.

It was where newly made knights led soldiers in subjugation missions.

There were other things knights could do here as well, and this place also served as a training ground for soldiers.

Commander Philip, overall commander of the territory, glanced sideways at Marquis Lukburk chattering noisily beside him.

“That fellow Hyunsoo will be coming here soon. Let me say this once more—he is a very devious man and far more insignificant than he appears.”

This Araham Territory was exactly where Marquis Lukburk and the nobles had been demoted.

“If you’re not careful, you could lose all your soldiers.”

“Yes, understood.”

Philip nodded.

There were parts of Marquis Lukburk’s words he agreed with.

Commander Philip was a cold and fearsome man, but he had another side to him as well.

His men were the most precious thing in the world to him.

‘An outsider knight...’

He didn’t like outsider players who had just received a title. He’d lost many soldiers because of them.

‘And a blacksmith, at that... with that kind of level...’

The average level of outsider players who’d earned a knight’s title was around 290. But Hyunsoo was said to be much lower than that.

‘Soldiers will have to go on subjugations, led by a blacksmith knight.’

Who was he planning to kill?

The soldiers were afraid too. They were terrified they might be assigned to him and end up dead.

The royal family had only provided Hyunsoo’s personal details, nothing more specific.

The one who had filled in the “details” was Lukburk.

“He became a noble through a lie. He colluded with the Saint and the Holy Knights to pretend he saved the king and us. He never even proved his strength there. He’s just a blacksmith.”

They said none of the nobles had ever once seen him fight.

“I understand.”

Philip nodded and walked off for now.

He needed to prepare for the imminent monster incursion.

He watched the soldiers moving busily.

They were hauling supplies for battle readiness.

Then a small shell rolled out of one of the crates, and Philip’s brow furrowed.

The shell was glowing red hot.

‘A... defective one?’

It was a shell used in something called a Dragonfire Cannon, a siege weapon.

When it exploded, it erased everything within a 10m radius.

The problem was that the crate the soldiers were carrying held more than ten shells.

In other words, if that one went off, a chain reaction would follow and everyone would die.

Philip hurriedly tried to shout.

‘Everyone, get back!!!’

They were his kids.

Whether they annoyed him or pleased him, they were his soldiers.

Dozens of those soldiers were about to be caught in an explosion they didn’t even understand and die.

Just then, the soldier carrying the crate noticed how hot the shell had become.

“H-hiiieeek...!”

The shell, boiling like water in a kettle, finally began to explode.

Fwooooosh...

With that starting sound, dozens of fragments burst out in all directions, and a powerful blaze roared out in an explosion.

Wooooom—!

Then something strange happened.

The erupting flames were trapped by some unknown force.

The hundreds of fragments that had been flying apart scattered in all directions instead compressed into a single point.

And then they shot straight up into the sky.

Philip’s gaze followed them upward.

And up in the sky—

BOOOOOOM—!

A full explosion went off, belching out thick white smoke.

Philip let out the breath he’d been holding as his heart calmed, then saw a man walking toward him through that smoke.

Wearing a coat, walking as if nothing had happened, the man stopped in front of the soldier by the shell and clapped him lightly on the shoulder.

“You all right?”

“Yes, sir...! Thank you for saving me. But who are you?”

The man spotted Philip and spoke up.

“I’m Junior Baron Hyunsoo. I’ve come to see the commander.”