Genius Blacksmith's Game

“Can you stake your neck on it?”

To Lord Vance’s furious question, Hyunsoo answered without a flicker.

“Yes.”

Vance knit his brows.

Before he could speak, Bell cut in.

“Your Lordship, do you need to listen to the likes of him? That’s the word of a Level-1 user. Hey, what kind of con are you pulling?”

Hyunsoo was dumbfounded, and so was Bell.

What kind of lunatic lies that a Level-1 can pull off a restoration?

What blacksmith like that exists in this world?

No—this Hyunsoo isn’t even a blacksmith right now.

He’s just some passerby Level-1 with the “Unemployed” job.

And such a user says he can restore it?

Bell chuckled low.

“You’re dead now.”

He drew a finger across his throat.

He’d dared to spout nonsense about staking his neck before the lord.

But Hyunsoo looked at him with a flat, emotionless gaze.

This bastard’s eyes...

Eyes that dismissed him completely.

No—eyes that didn’t even find him worth engaging!

At that, Lord Vance spoke.

“Be silent, outsider called Hyunsoo. Prove that wagging tongue of thine.”

Hyunsoo met Vance’s eyes and asked:

“May I know how you came by that bow?”

Hyunsoo is never foolish.

If you unwind things step by step, the answer will come.

The lord does not trust me; I need only prove it.

“A blacksmith friend of my father’s made it and gifted it to me.”

“Then it was made from materials that can be obtained near this territory?”

“Yes.”

Hyunsoo smiled faintly.

“I see. Are there water buffalo in these parts?”

“...There are no water buffalo, but there is a monster called the Great Water Buffalo.”

Vance was a little surprised.

This man was a Level-1 outsider.

Outsiders usually don’t know of the Great Water Buffalo’s existence.

They pass through the Hunting Training Yard and then head out.

So how did he even know water buffalo exist?

“That’s not what people call an archery bow (Olympic recurve).”

Bell’s eyes went round at those words.

The situation was starting to twist in a peculiar way.

So he hurried to raise his voice.

“What the hell are you spouting... Your Lordship, there’s no need to—!”

Vance lifted a finger to his lips.

“Speak.”

“That bow is a horn bow, entirely different from what is called an archery recurve. The main material used is the horn of a water buffalo. Also—”

At some point, Lord Vance, who had walked over slowly, was standing right in front of Hyunsoo.

“Also?”

“In these parts, there should be plenty of bamboo, mulberry, and oak as well. Am I right?”

“...You are.”

“Bamboo, mulberry, and oak are used as materials for a horn bow. However, that horn bow seems a little special.”

“Special how?”

“Ordinary horn bows use bovine sinew. But...”

Hyunsoo narrowed his eyes.

His gaze rested on the bow that had been charred pitch-black.

“They used whale sinew.”

Lord Vance paused to think.

He recalled something his father had said long ago.

‘The fellow who made this bow said he used whale sinew for my sake.’

But there was something Vance found even harder to believe.

“How did you know that? Without any mystic power. And you’ve only just set foot on this land.”

Every piece fell into place.

The materials Hyunsoo named were all found here, and he’d even seen through the special use of whale.

“Even if it’s burned, the essence of that bow remains.”

He had made horn bows hundreds, thousands of times.

Even burned, he knew how certain materials burn.

Vance turned his body.

His gaze landed on the one called Bell this time.

“Then what of this man?”

Hyunsoo had no intention of speaking falsehoods.

“I am certain he is not a blacksmith. I doubted him from the start the moment he called it an archery bow.”

Bell suddenly sprang to his feet.

Screee—

Thud!

But the door slammed shut even faster, and the soldiers near Lord Vance rushed in and bound him.

Bell, trussed up, could not believe it.

“You—how did you know those materials...?”

This was the reason Bell couldn’t accept it.

He had, beyond doubt, researched everything thoroughly beforehand.

This was a restoration job that should only be possible around Level 100.

But no matter how he looked, the user named Hyunsoo was Level 1.

Soon the soldiers began to drag Bell away.

With a vacant look on his face, Bell was hauled off and thrown into a cell.

[You have logged out.]

Back in reality, Lee Sejin wore a puzzled expression.

What is that bastard...?

He couldn’t make sense of it.

He was definitely Level 1.

Yet to have a grasp of an artifact’s information—that defied common sense.

No, he hadn’t even touched the artifact to check it.

He eyeballed it and got it right.

Then Lee Sejin’s jaw dropped.

Can he actually do the restoration?

He couldn’t believe it. How could this be possible?

He logged into the Ares community.

And he posted a question.

[Hey folks, can a Level-1 Unemployed restore an artifact?]

[What nonsense are you spewing, you idiot.]

As expected, all that came back were incredulous replies. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

****

After the one called Bell disappeared—

[Affinity with Vance increases.]

Hyunsoo reasoned it out.

Why have blacksmiths visited until now and still failed to restore it...?

Soon he could see the reason.

In Ares, when you undertake something like a restoration, a restoration-guide alert pops up—or so I’ve heard.

What materials to find, and how to carry out the restoration.

Mithril was the same way.

The mithril with a level restriction could be hammered, but it did not tell him how to smelt it.

In other words, a restriction ultimately means you can’t receive the game system’s help at all.

Those who had visited in the first place were blocked by the level restriction and couldn’t perform the restoration itself.

“Would you like to touch it yourself?”

Lord Vance’s voice had softened to the fullest. And the moment Hyunsoo touched the bow, something special happened.

[You have seen through every material in the bow.]

[You acquire the Hidden Marksman’s Horn Bow Restoration Method.]

He hadn’t opened a restoration manual through a skill, but it seemed to be a kind of Hidden Piece.

Oh...?

Hyunsoo immediately checked the restoration method.

(Marksman’s Horn Bow Restoration Method)

Grade: Rare

Attack: 90–210

Restoration Restriction: Level 60.

Restoration Materials: Horn and sinew of the Beginner Zone’s Great Water Buffalo; well-grown bamboo and mulberry from the Beginner Zone. (Alternate materials may be available)

Special Abilities:

· Accuracy increases up to 16%.

· Agility increases up to 4.

· Bow Attack Speed increases up to 12%.

· Passive Skill: Swift Archery.

· Active Skill: Double Shot.

Description: A bow gifted by a fairly skilled blacksmith to his friend. If the restoration results in 70% or less, the restoration is considered a failure.

The restoration restriction is...

A whopping Level 60. At minimum, you need to have a restoration skill to even attempt it.

But Hyunsoo was different.

They restore with the system’s help.

In the first place, 99.9% of Ares’s blacksmiths are ignorant of real forge work.

Yet restoration is possible by the system.

I can do it through experience.

There was, however, one thing that bothered him.

The Beginner Zone’s mithril ore took far too long in smelting and refining.

On careful thought, it was highly likely a matter of level restriction.

This will probably take a while too.

While he was thinking that—

“As I said, that bow is also my precious father’s keepsake. I’ve never seen a blacksmith wield such power without mystic aid... Might you restore it for me?”

Ding!

[Hidden Quest: Meet the Lord complete.]

[A chained quest is generated.]

[Chained Quest: Restore the Marksman’s Horn Bow.]

Grade: A

Restriction: One who has received the lord’s request.

Reward: 500 Gold.

Penalty on Failure: Affinity with Lord Vance decreases.

Description: Restore his Marksman’s Horn Bow.

The quest that had started at Grade B shot up to Grade A in an instant, and the reward was 500 Gold.

If he succeeded, that’s about ₩500,000!

For Hyunsoo, it was more than worth the attempt.

“I’ll do it. Could you prepare all the materials I mentioned earlier?”

“Indeed, most of those materials are rare in these parts.”

Hyunsoo felt the same.

These materials were not there for users to obtain in the first place.

“But that much is hardly difficult.”

Vance was the lord.

At his confident words, Hyunsoo nodded.

“I’ll begin as soon as the materials are ready.”

****

The forge in the Lord’s Castle.

The materials were prepared in an instant.

Looking at the pile before him—horn and sinew of the Great Water Buffalo, mulberry, bamboo, and oak—Hyunsoo laced and unlaced his fingers.

It’s been a while since I did a restoration job.

There was one thing Hyunsoo could be confident of.

I haven’t toured the world, so I can’t say for certain about everywhere, but...

Among domestic restorers, his father and he were the best.

He had the track record of restoring Haemosu’s Molten Sword.

Besides, when it came to our country’s traditional horn bow, he had made more than enough to overflow.

Crack, crack—

And there was one thing he’d felt when he ran his hand over the horn bow earlier.

It seemed pretty well made, but at best—made by a blacksmith below Level 100?

In the end, NPCs had levels too.

The bow a blacksmith friend of Vance’s father had gifted him was Rare-grade.

When Hyunsoo went over it point by point, he thought he could cook it better.

Ssssh—

A drawing unfolded before Hyunsoo.

It was a drawing the moment Vance’s father received the gift, having a retainer sketch the bow.

No restoration guidance at all, huh...

Even if the restoration manual had popped, there would be no system alert telling him how to restore it.

Because he lacked the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ skill.

But Hyunsoo didn’t need it.

He had realized something through mithril.

Special abilities and attack power arise from the materials.

Whether you get the worst result or the best one depends solely on the blacksmith’s skill.

Before he started, Lord Vance came by.

“...Truth be told, I came because I’m worried.”

Vance was candid, and Hyunsoo was not.

“It will be a difficult job.”

“...As I suspected.”

Without so much as wetting his lips, Hyunsoo said:

“Yes. Instead, if I achieve a result that astonishes you, may I have all remaining materials?”

“The remaining materials...?”

“Yes.”

The truth was, Hyunsoo coveted these materials.

He could never otherwise obtain things bearing the name “Beginner Zone’s.”

There was one thing he intended to gain through them.

Restoration is restoration—but with the leftover bow materials, why not make another bow?

“If you make me gasp ‘Huh!’ out loud, can I not at least grant you that? I am the lord.”

Hyunsoo smiled, satisfied.

What will he do with a bow he makes?

What does a blacksmith do?

Sell it on the Auction Board.

Suddenly, he grew curious.

How much would a bow made from those materials sell for?

The reason Hyunsoo was thinking this was the alert he’d heard upon arriving here.

[Hyun’s Forge reaches 300 subscribers.]

It had definitely been around 211. He hadn’t even posted a new artifact.

Hyunsoo caught on quickly.

Word of me is spreading where I can’t see.

With a small smile, Hyunsoo was just about to begin.

Right then—

[Tr-ring-ring-ring-ring.]

[Tr-ring-ring-ring-ring.]

A phone ring sounded.

Ares could be linked with a mobile phone.

When a call came in, it would alert you, and you could log out and check it directly.

“I’ll step out briefly.”

“Outsiders are truly strange.”

Hyunsoo soon logged out.

And shortly, the VVIP capsule installation team installed a capsule in Hyunsoo’s home.

Magnificent...

At last able to use a capsule at home, Hyunsoo was impressed.

The installers left with a promise that they would absolutely protect the customer’s personal information.

Let’s see what a VVIP capsule is like.

When Hyunsoo logged back into the game, he reappeared exactly where he had been.

Lord Vance was waiting in the forge.

And just like before, he could see the materials piled up before his eyes.

Then he sensed something odd.

Huh...? Why does this feel so real...?

Ares was, in the end, a game. Every time he logged in, Hyunsoo felt a hint of dissonance.

He felt it especially keenly when doing forge work.

Blacksmithing demands precision.

And that precision felt a little lacking, you could say.

Suddenly, something Jihoon had said flashed through his mind.

“Oh... If you get a VVIP capsule, let me try it too. They say VVIP capsules have nearly 99.9% sync.”

“...Well, would you look at that?”

He knew standard capsules delivered about 85% sync.

The one at the PC room had been a standard model.

Hyunsoo ran his hand over the materials. They felt far more real than before.

No—in fact they now felt truly real to the touch.

Which means I can work more precisely, even better, doesn’t it?

And the perfect test subject was right in front of him.