Genius Blacksmith's Game

Jinseop took Hyunsoo’s call.

He stroked his chin and thought it over carefully.

‘I was planning to inject the K-31 Injection for his right-hand treatment.’

The K-31 Injection is a miraculous shot that, once injected, revives paralyzed nerves for a few days.

Instead, it could only be used once, and through it, they check how much performance he could produce before treatment—back then.

Because rehabilitation and treatment, in the end, is about how much the condition has been raised compared to before.

“However, there’s a condition. Medical staff must be on standby at all times in case of an emergency.”

-Medical staff?

“Yes. And among that medical staff, I will likely be included.”

After ending the call, Jinseop gave a small smile.

In truth, Attending Physician Jinseop was an extremely busy person, not someone suited to be used as standby medical staff.

But Jinseop was curious too.

‘Just what kind of blacksmith is Hyunsoo?’

His curiosity swelled.

*****

National Museum staff member Kim Jinsu let out a sigh.

Not long ago, Baekje’s relic—the Seven-Branched Sword—had been discovered in Daejeon.

What is the Seven-Branched Sword?

It is a sword with one central blade and six branches attached.

Astonishingly, one has been designated a Japanese National Treasure and is currently stored at Isonokami Shrine.

It was made in Baekje, but there are various interpretations as to why it is in Japan—one being that King Geunchogo bestowed it upon the King of Wa.

In any case, this time, a “fragment” of that Seven-Branched Sword was found.

The problem was that the fragment was only two small blades shaped like branches.

A Seven-Branched Sword rusted beyond rust, with even its form impossible to recognize.

Jinsu searched for someone who could restore or reproduce the Seven-Branched Sword.

But such a person no longer existed.

‘Kang Hyuntae.......’

Kim Jinsu’s mouth tasted bitter.

Without realizing it, he found himself standing before the Dragonlight Sword.

Soon, National Museum Director Park Gwanghun stood beside him.

“The reporters are going crazy.”

Gwanghun was the country’s greatest historian, and a professor.

Now, in his later years, he had become the National Museum Director like this.

“They’re pressing us—asking whether we can restore it or not, saying is this all our country’s restoration technology amounts to.”

What Gwanghun found ridiculous was this.

“Restore? There’s no blacksmith—how do we restore this? And a restoration that’s only imitation, we can do plenty.”

You could produce it with 3D technology as much as you wanted.

“Then they’ll say this. You’re printing Baekje’s Seven-Branched Sword with a machine? Wasn’t the real Seven-Branched Sword made by hand?”

What the National Museum needed right now was a Seven-Branched Sword shaped by a true master blacksmith.

“What should we do?”

“......There’s no way. We have no choice but to display it in this form.”

For now, this was the cleanest approach: write it up as the Seven-Branched Sword’s blade, then broadcast video of the real Seven-Branched Sword on a monitor.

But staff member Jinsu and Director Gwanghun were people with solid professional pride.

They weren’t satisfied themselves.

What kind of place is a museum?

A place that must show people things from history vividly.

Sometimes, leaving it as it was in the past is good, but the problem was that only two blade fragments of the Seven-Branched Sword remained.

For those who come to the National Museum to see the real Seven-Branched Sword, it was hard to show only this.

Just then, a call came in for Jinsu.

He smiled, pleased.

“Hyunsoo, it’s you. Have you been well? What? You want to see the Seven-Branched Sword......?”

Gwanghun’s face twisted sharply.

‘He’s trying to get in through connections to see it?’

It had drawn so much public attention that people like this were popping up now?

But it was strange.

With Jinsu’s usual personality, he would have rejected it coldly on the spot.

Jinsu ended the call and spoke carefully.

“Can I let him come see it?”

Gwanghun’s face reddened.

“You’re saying that right now.......”

“He’s Kang Hyuntae’s son.”

“What?”

Kang Hyuntae?

The restorer of the Dragonlight Sword?

Many weapons across the nation’s museums had been reborn anew by Kang Hyuntae’s hands.

The National Museum had benefited from him.

‘Whatever the reason.......’

It could be.

He was a blacksmith’s son, so he would also be interested in ancient swords.

And since the master blacksmith had left behind many things, they could grant this much courtesy once.

Gwanghun approved it.

Not long after approving it, Gwanghun let out a hollow laugh when he saw the person who entered the National Museum.

‘He’s a complete kid?’

At minimum, Gwanghun had been imagining someone in his early thirties.

Soon, the kid named Hyunsoo, whom he had been watching closely, said,

“Can I reproduce this sword?”

*****

Hyunsoo understood the National Museum’s situation.

The public had great interest in the Seven-Branched Sword.

And thanks to the director’s consideration, he could check the fragments of the Seven-Branched Sword.

Even though they were only fragments, they were precious items.

And between restoration and reproduction—if he had to choose one, he judged that reproduction was the right choice.

“Can I reproduce this sword?”

“What? You?”

Jinsu’s expression was dyed with embarrassment, and Director Gwanghun openly showed displeasure.

“Ahem!”

“That’s a bit.......”

Jinsu looked troubled.

They couldn’t entrust an item that might become a national treasure to an unverified person.

Then he caught himself.

‘He isn’t asking us to entrust it, is he?’

Reproduction and restoration were completely different.

Restoration meant returning it to its original state, or adding onto what remained.

Reproduction, on the other hand, meant making something identical to it.

‘We’re not taking on any particular risk.’

Jinsu had seen Hyunsoo a few times.

Even back then, when Hyunsoo was a minor, he didn’t seem childish or reckless.

Hyunsoo began explaining the conditions.

Director Park listened for now.

In other words, what Hyunsoo was saying was to place the blade fragments and the reproduction together.

Listening, Director Park showed discomfort.

“......It’s clear our side loses nothing. But this isn’t children’s play. What you learned from watching your father over the shoulder will be on a different level. And you just said it—put the fragments and the reproduction together. It’s a good idea, yes. Of course it is.”

This fragment originally looked like this.

It was far better than broadcasting it on video.

However.

“Do you know that even if blacksmiths no longer exist in this world, appraisers are overflowing? I was a university professor, but I also worked as an appraiser.”

In reality, there were still many capable appraisers.

“If you’re doing this with nothing more than the intent to just try it once, don’t do it. Countless appraisers will come to see the reproduction, and if it’s poor, the media will make noise. They’ll say, ‘That’s what you call a reproduction?’”

Hearing that, Jinsu suddenly had a certain memory flash through him.

‘Wow, this is really amazing. What would we have done without you, Mr. Hyuntae! Please stay our national-treasure-class master blacksmith for a long, long time.’

Back then, Hyuntae had given a bitter smile.

‘Even without me, it’ll probably be fine.’

‘Fine? We can’t do it without you. Hahaha!’

‘Could it be......?’

Jinsu spoke carefully.

“How about we let him do it?”

Director Park frowned.

What’s gotten into this guy today?

Of course, it’s true there’s nothing to lose.

“You never know.”

“Hmm.......”

Director Park had already warned him.

Even so, Hyunsoo did not bend.

If it was poor, he could simply choose not to display it—since he himself was an appraiser.

Then Hyunsoo said,

“If you’re satisfied, I’d like you to do an interview as well.”

At that, Jinsu glanced at Director Park to read his mood.

Of course, he was asking Jinsu to do the interview.

Worried that the hot-tempered director might say something, Jinsu hurriedly stepped in.

“S-sure. If you make it excellently, then, sure. Ah—can I observe too?”

“Of course.”

After many twists and turns, Hyunsoo got approval for now.

*****

Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang.

Cars were arriving at the forge.

The people who got out of the cars signed the contract Hyein had written.

The contract stated that they would not disclose the Seven-Branched Sword’s crafting process or the identity of the craftsman.

The medical staff were Jinseop and Nurse Lee Ji-hye.

And from the National Museum, a person named Jinsu.

And for filming, Hobum and the people he brought would do it.

Soon, Jinseop brought the K-31 Injection.

“Once it’s injected, you may feel a hot sensation.”

Then he injected Hyunsoo’s right hand.

SHHHHHK-

“Khup.......”

Hyunsoo let out a faint groan.

An unknown foreign sensation came over the right hand he hadn’t used in so long.

In truth, his right hand had no problem at all in daily life.

It was only the detailed parts—and when he overworked—that it was affected.

After the heat faded, Hyunsoo’s heart pounded.

‘It’s been four years.’

And watching him, Nell and Hyein were also holding their breath.

‘The first crafting video that will be released to the world.......’

And it was Baekje’s Seven-Branched Sword.

The Seven-Branched Sword was a sword that carried quite a bit of attention worldwide.

And domestically, it was currently the hottest topic due to the relic excavation.

‘If it’s successfully pulled off.......’

What kind of ripple effect would it cause?

And if people learned that this was the work of Master Blacksmith Hyun, what reaction would they have?

Soon, crafting began.

RUMMMBLE-

Everyone stared at the furnace, spewing fire.

Smelting.

Refining.

Hyunsoo fixed the vermilion mineral with tongs to forge it.

But something was strange.

Hyunsoo’s right hand, about to strike down, wouldn’t move.

‘This is the moment I’ve waited so long for.......’

Cold sweat ran down Hyunsoo’s back.

For an instant, the falling pillar that had once come down toward his hand flashed before his eyes.

And a fear brushed past him—that if he brought it down now, he might never be able to bring it down again.

“Why is he doing that?”

Beyond the camera screen.

The group Hobum had brought—people working at a broadcasting station—had come at Hobum’s request.

“He’s scared, isn’t he?”

A blacksmith afraid of forging?

Is this shoot really going to be okay?

And Jinseop, who grasped the situation, said,

“Trauma.......”

The one possibility Jinseop had worried about.

Even if the right hand became fine, past ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) trauma was tormenting Hyunsoo.

A man was watching that.

It was Director Park Gwanghun, who had just arrived.

Soon, Jinseop’s words reached his ears.

‘Something like that happened?’

He thought he had heard it too.

That after the son saved Hyuntae at the forge, he suffered a severe injury.

Of course, that and blacksmithing skill were separate issues.

Director Park had not wanted to come at first, but in the end, he came anyway.

Why? He was also curious about the Seven-Branched Sword reproduction.

But he had no expectations.

In truth, he didn’t like it.

When he first saw Hyunsoo yesterday, he had thought this.

‘Is this kid trying to use this commercially?’

Relics.

And national treasures that remain in the country’s history. Countless people have sacrificed their lives for them.

Hyunsoo was young.

That young person seemed to treat such things lightly.

In the end, beyond the camera screen—

“Khup!”

Hyunsoo collapsed to the ground.

“Huk—huk.”

He drew rough breaths.

“L-let’s stop filming!”

“Bring water!”

The set turned chaotic.

Hyunsoo lay sprawled out, breathing hard.

Director Park’s mouth tasted bitter.

‘It can’t exist.’

The new generation no longer likes the things once reserved for the past, and professions are the same.

And the Seven-Branched Sword is a king’s bestowed gift that holds more than a thousand years of time.

‘There’s no way that young man can make something like that.’

Director Park turned his body away.

How ridiculous that he had placed even a moment of expectation.

Then.

“Wait. I can do it.”

A voice rang out.

*****

Gasping for breath, Hyunsoo knew.

Real-life forge work was as important as in Ares—no, even more important than in Ares.

The anxiety and fear that he would never be able to use his right hand again.

He was certain that if he couldn’t overcome this, he would never be able to grip a hammer with his right hand again.

Even if his right hand improved, too.

Suddenly, an anecdote with his father came to mind.

‘Carve it into your head and keep it.’

His father had drawn the crafting methods of countless relics into a book.

With sorrow, his father had said this.

‘Hyunsoo, protect history.’

It was difficult words.

But at last, he could understand what those words meant.

“Wait. I can do it.”

His ragged breathing settled, and his body loosened.

Everyone looked at Hyunsoo with puzzled expressions.

“Will you be alright?”

“Yes.”

Hyunsoo answered Jinseop’s question with a bitter smile.

Then he gripped the hammer again.

Only after time passed did he finally understand his father’s words.

The countless relics that exist in the world.

‘Only I can reproduce and restore them.’

The Seven-Branched Sword was one of them.

Thinking that, boundless confidence surged up.

Without realizing it, he looked around at the people.

Not a single person here had ever seen Hyunsoo’s real-life forge work.

‘I want to show them.’

Hyunsoo raised the hammer.

At last.

CLANGGGG-

A blacksmith moved for history.