Genius Blacksmith's Game

Lee Jihee recalled something Team Leader Kim Taeseok had said not long ago.

User Hyunsoo had met the conditions for a new class.

One of them was to refuse a Legendary class once, and another was to accomplish two “ridiculous achievements” in the same job category.

At present, Hyunsoo had accomplished one ridiculous achievement.

“Team Leader. Crafting Radiance counted as one ridiculous achievement, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then this restoration would count too, wouldn’t it?”

Kim Taeseok let out a small sigh.

“Yes, if he pulls off that restoration, it would be a ridiculous achievement.”

An indisputable fact.

But Kim Taeseok shook his head.

“However, the restriction makes it anything but easy. I wish it were purely a matter of skill, but...”

In reality, a blacksmith’s skill can decide everything.

But this is a game, after all.

Just as a swordsman with a higher level is far stronger than Hanul, the greatest kendo prodigy in reality—

There are things you can’t do on real-world skill alone.

Before long, Kim Taeseok tapped at the keyboard.

“It may well take longer than the mithril did, and in fact, the real crux might be this.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is a restoration job. You could say it’s different from an original creation that User Hyunsoo brought into the world. It’s restoring something that already existed.”

Lee Jihee wore a look that said she didn’t see why that was a problem.

“Let me put it this way. A chef creates a dish from scratch. Then someone else, given only a taste and the same ingredients, is told to make it. Can they reproduce the exact same flavor?”

“...Ah.”

Lee Jihee understood.

“Right. The materials laid out before User Hyunsoo are the same. Like tasting and then cooking by feel—restoring it is not simple.”

“Unless he’s an extraordinary restorer, it won’t be easy.”

“Exactly. And when a restoration manual meets the matching skill, the system should guide the method—but because of the restriction, there’s none of that.”

That was certainly true.

Then something occurred to Lee Jihee.

Cooking with the same ingredients...

“Team Leader.”

“Hm?”

“But what if the second chef produces a dish better than the first?”

“...?”

Caught off guard, Kim Taeseok’s eyes went round.

“W-well, of course...”

The commission was restoration.

If the other party ended up with a dish that looked the same outside but tasted better, what would they say?

“They’d be thrilled it tastes better... wouldn’t they?”

****

From the moment he began the restoration, Hyunsoo could feel it for certain.

VVIP capsule versus standard capsule. Night and day...

It was “just” a 15% difference in sync rate. But human limits can be decided within that 15%.

The Olympics, where national champions gather!

Do the winners possess skill twice that of the rest?

No—just a little more. Often, only slightly better than their rivals.

That 15% carries an impact far greater than you’d think.

Which is why Hyunsoo was sure.

That he could now work far more precisely and perfectly than when he forged his first sword, Radiance.

Also—

Restoration work is fun.

If others heard that, they might say this:

“How is that fun?!”

Maybe it’s like saying, “Studying is the most fun thing in the world!”

But Hyunsoo truly enjoyed it.

Perhaps people who say studying is fun feel that way for this reason?

When you study, you keep stacking new knowledge.

They’re not enjoying “study” itself so much as the act of acquiring that knowledge.

Hyunsoo was similar—but a little different.

He enjoyed the act of making, and he found joy in the anticipation of the result at the end of his effort.

What kind of piece will I get this time?

Can I make something better than before?

“First of all...”

The first task was to bend the woods.

He had to bend mulberry, bamboo, oak, and the rest.

Hold end to end and shape them so the curve would hold.

But—

Why won’t you bend?

Hyunsoo caught on. It was the restriction.

Just like before, that restriction existed to stop things from being made easily.

“Shall I lend a hand?”

“...You’re not busy, my lord?”

“It’s fine. Besides, is this not the process of restoring my father’s keepsake?”

Lord Vance remained at Hyunsoo’s side.

“Will you keep helping me, then?”

“...If you wish it so, I will. Restoring my father’s keepsake together—quite meaningful.”

At that, Hyunsoo gave a wry smile.

“You’ll want to run away.”

“...?”

Wearing a baffled grin, Vance sat across from him. Together, they pressed down hard on the wood he held.

“Don’t say such things. I am the lord and regarded as a fairly skilled swordsman—would I want to flee from work of this trifling sort? Hahahaha!”

Three days later—

“May I go back now...?”

“No.”

“...”

Vance was about to go mad.

Ahhh, this tedium—he was going insane!

For three days straight they had done nothing but repeat the bending work.

His back felt like it would snap; both arms trembled with spasms.

But ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) not Hyunsoo. He tied the wood ends with wire.

“Take a break, my lord.”

“I’m all right. This job is easy.”

“...?”

Vance looked at Hyunsoo, uncomprehending.

“Are you mad?”

Hyunsoo chuckled and shook his head.

“When you work every day in a blazing hot forge, doing this in the cool air can only feel easy.”

“...Ah?”

Vance understood. Right—put that way, it did make sense.

Then a question arose.

“Do blacksmiths ordinarily take this long, like you?”

“Not here.”

“...Not here?”

“Yes. Here, you receive aid from mystic power and from Lord Ares. Things are probably made and restored in no time.”

“And where you live?”

“Where I live, labor like this is commonplace.”

Vance studied the young man Hyunsoo.

Truth be told, he still wondered if Hyunsoo could really restore it.

But the way he pierced through the materials without even looking closely had been deeply impressive, and Hyunsoo brimmed with confidence.

What he trusted most were the man’s palms.

Blisters burst and split over and over again...

Those palms were proof.

As a swordsman himself, Lord Vance got blisters whenever he trained.

But for calluses to be that thickly set—was rare.

“That will do. I’ll take it from here.”

Hyunsoo smiled. Saying “No” to Vance’s plea to leave had been a joke.

“...I’ll just stay by your side.”

Too grueling and exhausting, Vance decided he would simply watch.

Because Hyunsoo’s expression amused him.

How...

How could he smile so happily?

Working on something all day might be fun.

But after a day, two, three—you’d grow bored and want to run.

Yet Hyunsoo hummed and enjoyed himself.

Is he madly in love with his craft?

And so Lord Vance watched the youth named Hyunsoo.

Three days passed.

Scritch, scritch—

“Now I’ll be trimming the mulberry.”

Five days passed.

“Finally trimmed well. Now I’ll use mulberry and bamboo to form the bow body.”

Another week went by.

“Phew—at last the joining work is done. Next I’ll shape the water buffalo horn.”

Vance watched Hyunsoo in silence.

Another four days passed.

“Now I’ll boil the adhesive mix.”

Bubble, bubble—the adhesive simmered down to a thick consistency.

Vance kept watching him.

It was a feeling he couldn’t quite name.

Seeing a young man give his all for his father’s keepsake—without realizing it, a smile took root on his face.

“Now I’ll make the core thread with whale sinew.”

The core thread spun from whale sinew was literally stark white.

How many days had it been already? 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Close to twenty?

Lord Vance slowly rose and drew his sword.

Shiiing—

“No matter how bored you are, you’re not going to kill me... right?”

Hyunsoo joked, and Vance shook his head.

“I won’t kill you out of boredom—I was thinking of training with the sword.”

Vance was speaking around the truth.

It had taken over twenty days.

And it might take far longer still.

A young man pouring himself into restoring his father’s keepsake.

Vance wanted to be of help to him.

Which is why he considered passing something on.

“Well then—would you like to learn?”

****

[You gain Dexterity +1.]

[Affinity with Vance increases.]

[You gain Dexterity +1.]

[Affinity with Vance increa—]

Over more than twenty days,

Hyunsoo kept hearing those alerts as he worked.

Then suddenly Lord Vance spoke.

“Well then—would you like to learn?”

Ding!

[Skill Quest: Prime Swordsmanship Training]

Grade: B

Restriction: One who has received Vance’s offer.

Reward: Prime Swordsmanship.

Penalty on Failure: Affinity with Vance decreases.

Description: Vance, the lord and a reputed swordsman. Learn his swordsmanship through training. Acquire the skill upon achieving 80% or higher training progress.

A swordsmanship skill? And rare at that?

Taken aback by Vance’s sudden offer to pass on swordsmanship, Hyunsoo wore a puzzled look.

Seeing his small smile, Vance nodded.

“Very well.”

Blacksmiths belong to the production class in Ares and are known to be quite weak.

But if he learned a swordsmanship skill, it would be a great help to Hyunsoo.

“I will show you three movements of the sword. You will watch with your eyes and keep working.”

“Yes.”

Hyunsoo continued his work.

Two more days passed.

[Training Progress 5% achieved.]

The quest description clearly stated he needed to reach at least 80% training progress.

Even while restoring the horn bow, Hyunsoo spent about two hours a day learning Vance’s stances.

You can acquire skills by taking on a skill quest like this, or more easily by using a skill book.

Before long, the restoration had reached 99%.

In truth, Hyunsoo was exhausted.

No matter how much you love your job, a task that stretches for over a month wears a person down.

Only the final step remained.

That step was using heat to balance the horn bow.

Worn down by the hard labor, Hyunsoo spoke.

“Do you have a particular reason you insist on restoring this bow?”

Vance, mid-swing, smiled faintly.

“When I hold that bow, I remember when my father was still with me.”

One reason Hyunsoo loved this craft:

Because sometimes it meant touching someone’s memories.

Hyunsoo worked, and Vance spoke on.

“My father was a cold man—one who barely spared a glance for his son. Then one day my mother passed, and my father changed. The change began with this: ‘Vance, would you like to learn the bow?’”

Hyunsoo’s hands grew more practiced, balancing the bow.

“He must have been trying to change—for my sake, left alone after my mother died.”

Hyunsoo lifted the bow, checked that the balance was right, and held it to the fire again.

“When I first shot, I couldn’t shoot well. But in a voice gentler than usual, he taught me—arrow by arrow—how to loose.”

As the balance settled in, the bow became nearly the same as the one Vance had first held.

“After he passed, I took solace in that bow. It felt like my father’s warmth.”

Yes—what Hyunsoo was restoring was no mere bow.

It was his memory—his time with his father.

“And that is why.”

Looking at Vance’s pale smile, Hyunsoo smiled back.

“Good memories.”

As he had his own, so Vance had his with his father.

Watching Vance’s eyes grow misty with that bittersweet remembrance, Hyunsoo slowly rose.

At last, Hyunsoo carried out the final step.

It was the end of bow-making.

Twang—

He set an arrow to the string and drew with all his might. In the next instant, that single arrow flew true into the target.

Thump—

An alert rang out at once.

[You have performed blacksmith restoration techniques that defy common sense at your level.]

[You have accomplished a miraculous feat that can never be repeated in the Beginner Zone.]

[You have restored it more precisely and superbly than the original blacksmith.]

[The grade of the Marksman’s Horn Bow increases.]

[A Rare artifact is promoted to an Epic artifact.]

[You gain All Stats +1.]

[You gain Dexterity +30.]

[You gain Fame +30.]

[You acquire the Title: Restorer Who Surpasses Limits.]

Hyunsoo handed the bow to Vance with a smile.

“Please—confirm your memories with your father.”