Genius Blacksmith's Game

At first, people in our country had no interest in the Savage Labyrinth Time Attack Dungeon.

Korea stayed outside the top 13 every time, and naturally, it drifted out of people’s attention.

But this time was different.

-Crazy, our country is 9th?

-For real?

-How’d they do it.

-They said they were looking for a new party member with Highest-grade Orichalcum—guess they found someone good?

They marveled at an unexpected name.

-Blacksmith Hyun?

-No, you recruit one blacksmith and the ranking changes like this?

That day.

After recruiting a new party, they shot up to 6th in a flash, and in the evening, the U.S. user Will provoked Korea.

That provocation instead pulled even more users into the community.

FindNet real-time search keyword rankings.

[19th. Will interview.]

JoyTubers and personal-streaming BJs who needed provocative content started moving.

Omniverse Encyclopedia, with 2 million subscribers, criticized Will.

“Ah, brothers, this really isn’t it. How can a user representing the United States say that in an official setting? Korea team, take first this time and flatten his nose.”

[Current viewers 298,414.]

Omniverse Encyclopedia’s live stream drew in a huge audience.

-For real, crossed the line.

-Hanul, Hyeji, Taehun, Hyun. Please show us!!!

There were also those who said the U.S. reaction was only natural.

-Honestly, our country can’t really compare to the U.S......

-How do you beat 11 minutes 11 seconds...... let’s drop the patriot hype and look at reality......

Ares’s hottest expert channel.

It’s run by what people commonly call the Expert Team.

This expert channel also has 1.5 million subscribers.

Among them, the most famous expert turned on a live stream.

“It’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t look like taking first will be possible. A time gap of five minutes is hard to narrow. Think back to the long-distance run you did in physical fitness tests. A few seconds, a few tens of seconds, that difference separates the tiers. Just like that, in a time-attack dungeon, reducing a five-minute gap is a difficult thing. I only hope our country’s team can overcome the wall of fifth place.”

[Current viewers 270,031.]

-But that’s actually true......

-Yeah but...... we believe in miracles!

-Oi, oi!

Credibility tilted toward the Expert Team.

Even the well-known rankers in our country raised the Expert Team’s hand.

But then......

[Rankings are updated.]

[1st Republic of Korea 8 minutes.]

-?

-??

-?????

A tremendous shift happened.

This number—nothing more than text—instantly reversed the situation.

Omniverse Encyclopedia shouted in excitement.

“Brothers! Our country did it, I told you it would happen!? 8 minutes is a revolutionary number!”

[Current viewers 370,313.]

-What...... this is possible?

-How is something like this even possible?

-This is a miracle.......

The expert channel moved immediately too.

“I apologize for my rash statement. Many viewers are hoping we will explain how a record like this was possible.”

[Current viewers 431,741.]

“After consolidating the opinions of our Expert Team, we judge that Blacksmith Hyun must have created some wondrous artifact, just like when he crafted a legend above legend. The reason no world message rang out is likely due to the restriction that it doesn’t ring when you craft an artifact you’ve already reached before. And our Expert Team is extremely happy.”

-Why are you guys happy, lmao

-Let’s hear why you’re happy.

“Because Blacksmith Hyun is a citizen of our country, and.......”

-Old man, don’t get your face red.......

-Why is he getting embarrassed, lmaoooo

-That blush is real, lmaoooo

“I subscribed too. To Hyun’s Forge.”

The viewers realized.

That this wasn’t the time to be doing this.

Everyone tried to go to the auction house and hit the subscribe button.

But then......

[Temporary error occurs due to a large increase in subscribers.]

[Please try again later.]

Even if they wanted to subscribe, they couldn’t.

-Ah, Hyun, please let me subscribe......!

-God Hyun...... are you even blocking my subscription now? Keh-heh-heh......

And then things got even worse.

-Will is calling Hyun a user who’ll remain in history...... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

-Hey, foreign kids are subscribing too......!

-Here is the nation of Blacksmith Hyun, Korea?

-World rankers said they’ll commission Hyun the moment servers merge, so it keeps trending and people keep flooding in......

The next day.

The ones who got up early in the morning succeeded in logging in.

-Hey, it loads......!

They couldn’t stop themselves from being shocked.

-The subscriber count is real......?

Because it was a number that was hard to believe even after seeing it with their own eyes.

*****

Early morning.

Hyunsoo woke up to a loud ringing phone.

After the Savage Labyrinth Time Attack strategy run.

Exhausted mentally, they had decided to take a full day off.

“Ugh...... hello?”

Hyunsoo answered with a tired voice.

-Hyunsoo, it’s me, your landlady.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Hyunsoo snapped awake.

It was Landlady Kim Hyesuk, who had taken good care of him with side dishes and this-and-that while he stayed in the two-story house.

-I watched TV. Hyunsoo, you’re that blacksmith named Hyun, right? Congratulations, really. I’m so proud of you.

From beyond the receiver, he could also hear the landlord’s voice.

-Wahahahaha, I told you. I said that kid would do great once he got out there! On TV it’s nothing but Blacksmith Hyun!

Hyesuk said,

-And we’re not the kind of people with no sense, so don’t worry too much. I didn’t tell anyone.

“Ah, yes. Anyway, thank you!”

Hyunsoo made a puzzled expression.

‘I did expect the news to come out, but.......’

But yesterday, he had been too exhausted.

And if he checked Hyun’s Forge subscriber count in real time or watched TV, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he had gone straight to bed.

The moment he hung up, another call came in right away.

It was his real best friend, Jihoon.

-I’m kinda proud. Congrats.

“......What is this, first thing in the morning. What rank am I in subscribers that you’re doing this?”

-Go look yourself. Anyway, congrats.

After that, he also got calls from his doctor, Dr. Kim Jinseop, and Nurse Lee Ji-hye, and others.

“Why won’t anyone tell me......?”

With a puzzled expression, Hyunsoo turned on the TV.

-Last night, there was an incident where the Ares auction house could not be accessed for a long time. This is presumed to be because many users from around the world gathered toward Hyun’s Forge, which led the time-attack dungeon......

Hyunsoo {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} sprang up.

‘I thought I’d be happy just making it into the top five.......’

The reason he challenged the time attack at first was to get Highest-grade Orichalcum.

The subscriber count increase was an unexpected extra, as a side benefit.

‘Still, an 8-minute record really is unbelievable.’

Hyunsoo sat down in front of the computer.

‘JoyTuber Omniverse Encyclopedia......?’

Skimming through it, it seemed a lot had happened while they were clearing the time attack.

Soon, with a trembling expression, Hyunsoo logged into the auction house.

‘The last time I checked, it was 7th in subscriber ranking, around 1.7 million, right?’

And he ended up being shocked at the number that appeared in front of him.

[Hyun’s Forge subscribers 2,216,013.]

[Current Korea forge subscriber ranking: 2nd.]

‘Second......?’

While he wasn’t looking, subscribers had increased by around 500,000.

It was shocking enough to leave him dumbfounded.

‘If we consider around a month as the stabilization period.......’

Usually, once it spikes, subscribers keep flowing in steadily for a month.

‘After a month, it could reach 2.5 million subscribers.’

Now, the gap in subscribers with Black Anvil was 500,000.

If he secured 500,000 more subscribers, Hyun’s Forge could establish itself as the number one in Korea.

Hyunsoo let out a small laugh.

‘That shabby forge is aiming for first place.’

And Hyunsoo suddenly recalled the notification he heard when he became Level 300.

‘A new class quest.......’

Hyunsoo logged in.

*****

“Is it finally going to be revealed? He held out for a long time.”

Special User Management Team.

Taeseok, Jihee, and Sejin were all watching the monitors together.

On the monitor they were watching, there was an assassin who had infiltrated and hidden inside the lord’s castle of Vallas Territory.

The information broker, Kavel.

An unofficial ranker, a top-tier powerhouse comparable to the number one assassin ranking.

And Kavel was also famous as someone with excellent information power, digging up all kinds of information.

Recently, he had pursued the truth of Hyun’s Forge, reached Vallas Territory, and learned it.

“Will Kavel sell the information right away??”

Once Kavel obtained information, he sold it for a high price.

Hyun’s Forge, which had been hidden, might end up revealing itself, and they might run into danger.

“Probably.”

Kavel’s stealth ability was transcendent.

Right now, no one had discovered him.

But a single existence, in that monitor, noticed Kavel’s presence.

“......?”

“......?”

“......?”

That existence was none other than Lucky Charm.

-MAAANG?

Lucky Charm found Kavel hidden in the darkness.

Its tail spun like a helicopter.

Snot streamed endlessly from its nose.

And then it......

THUD-

Flopped over in front of Kavel and showed its belly.

[The passive skill Lucky Charm Is Cute is activated.]

The three watching couldn’t help smiling like proud parents.

Then Jihee’s face crumpled.

“......Won’t Kavel hurt Lucky Charm so he won’t get discovered?”

Kavel is a dangerous person with no blood and no tears.

In fact, even the Special User Management Team had seen plenty of Kavel’s behavior like that.

Lee Sejin shook his head.

“Do you know what grade the passive skill Lucky Charm Is Cute is?”

Lucky Charm Is Cute.

Every skill Lucky Charm possesses is displayed as ??? for its grade.

Taeseok let out a hollow laugh.

“Don’t tell me it’s God-grade?”

“......It is.”

Right—Lucky Charm may look like that, but it is undeniably one of Ares’s Four Divine Beasts.

Each of its skills was special, and most of their effects were hidden.

And there was also this written under the passive skill Lucky Charm Is Cute.

‘Something special may happen.’

Lee Sejin said,

“That power sometimes displays a force similar to the Liege’s Grace that User Hyunsoo possesses.”

Liege’s Grace.

A power that draws people in and makes them feel loyalty.

Of course, it would activate in a slightly different direction, but.

Then Lee Sejin let out a hollow laugh.

“Come to think of it, User Hyunsoo really named Lucky Charm well.”

Lucky Charm.

It meant it brought luck.

“How it will go from here, we’ll have to watch.”

Lee Sejin also looked at Kavel and Lucky Charm on the monitor.

*****

The information broker, Kavel.

Recently, he had been chasing the hottest traces of Hyun.

In the process, he judged that the Teacher who revitalized Vallas Territory might be connected to Hyun’s Forge.

Because of that, after sneaking into Vallas Territory, he learned an astonishing fact.

‘Hyun and the Teacher. Crazy Rookie were the same person?’

It was truly shocking.

Kavel planned to gather more information inside the castle for a few days, then sell it.

Then he ran into one existence.

“......?”

From the very first meeting, the thing flopped over and showed its belly, looking at him with an unbelievably wistful(?) expression.

“Maang.......”

[Lucky Charm is asking you to pet it.]

Absurd.

‘How did it even find me?’

It made him reflect on whether he was lacking.

Anyway, Kavel thought this had become dangerous.

He scattered killing intent.

Usually, those who face Kavel’s killing intent either run or even pass out on the spot.

But then......

“GAAAHM.......”

Lucky Charm, belly-up and pink-pink, yawned.

Kavel couldn’t understand what was going on.

At that moment.

[The passive skill Lucky Charm Is Cute is activated.]

Kavel made a puzzled expression.

It felt like some suddenly oppressive force was drawing him in.

‘What is this power......?’

Kavel is a high-ranker.

A power that pierced his high resistance to status effects.

And Kavel didn’t know it, but this power didn’t activate randomly on just anyone.

The content written under Lucky Charm Is Cute.

‘It activates only on those with special power.’

Kavel was more than qualified to be among those with special power.

In the end, drawn in by that oppressive force, Kavel had no choice but to pet Lucky Charm’s belly.

Lucky Charm’s eyes blinked shut, again and again.

And a strange notification sounded.

[Vitality fills your body, and your mind becomes calm.]

[You are a valid target for Lucky Charm Is Cute.]

[You cannot harm Lucky Charm.]

‘What the......?’

Just petting a puppy made his mind clear, and strength welled up through his body.

And that thing written there—‘Something special may happen.’—revealed its power.

DING!

[Hidden Quest: Lucky Charm and One Walk a Day!]

Grade: A

Restriction: Those who touched Lucky Charm

Reward: Increase 1 level in one chosen assassin skill

Failure penalty: None

Description: You have been chosen by Lucky Charm. If you walk Lucky Charm for 1 hour every day for one month, you will receive a special reward.

“......!?”

Kavel, after playing Ares up until now, was the most stunned he had been today.

‘W-what is this?’

If he walked this unidentified puppy once a day, for a month, one skill level would rise in a skill he already possessed.

For top-tier high-rankers, raising stats or skill levels any further had become nearly impossible.

And wasn’t it just walking for a month?

And he realized.

‘This is extremely important, incredible information.’

The one granting this reward was this mysterious baby village-mutt mix.

If he sold this information and people flooded in, they might find out about it.

“.......”

Kavel looked at the puppy named Lucky Charm, now asleep in his arms.

‘It’s not too late to sell the information a month from now.’

The reward was too big to refuse the quest.

Maybe after a month of walks, he could receive a new quest too.

‘For now, I should stay here and walk it.’

And at this time, he didn’t know.

That just like its name, the person called Kavel would become an enormous stroke of luck for the Radiance guild.