Genius Blacksmith's Game

“In ten minutes, we can break through the barrier and enter.”

The Goyard royal family wasn’t just sucking their thumbs.

Barad went to the barrier. He only had to wait ten minutes.

But Barad doubted it.

‘Can they hold on for that time?’

Watching the fierce pattern of battle, Barad made the coldest judgment.

Within his common sense, the coldest judgment possible right now was for Hyunsoo to get out of the way.

‘The ones who can live should live.’

If there is a way to live, then that is what is right.

A cruel judgment, but the judgment of a king.

And he had this thought.

‘Hyunsoo.’

Before the kingdom’s crisis, Barad felt it.

‘I’ve grown old.’

And even though he called it a cold judgment, there was also a worried thing he said because they were close friends.

Barad in his youth would never have said such a thing.

What made Barad sad was this.

‘It’s still too long of a road for you to come.’

And at Barad’s words, Hyunsoo said,

“I won.”

Barad’s chest heated up.

Because he knew his close friend was not someone who would say that out of arrogance.

‘Did you see something I couldn’t see?’

Also.

‘Are you accomplishing what I could not?’

He was walking a few steps closer.

He couldn’t even imagine it.

GULP-

Barad swallowed.

If that truly became reality, what would happen?

Contribution.

It is being applied to Hyunsoo.

No, the moment the kingdom message activated, it was being applied to all citizens.

Leaving aside those petty rewards, if he truly killed Helenya, what would happen?

‘The hero who saved the nation, Hyunsoo saved the country!’

‘A new world has opened!’

‘A hero!’

The people would chatter.

‘Ah~ a new one walking the king’s road~.’

The bards would sing.

And he was curious what reaction Marquis Constinu and the talented people inside would show.

Also.

‘What am I supposed to do for you?’

Even thinking about it was overwhelming.

What he should do for a hero who saved the nation.

******

A chill ran down Helenya’s back.

[The legend of the Divine Archer is written.]

One archer staring her down.

Even bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose, he didn’t collapse.

-T-this is Ian.

-An incredible power is felt from Ian!

The commentators, spitting out admiration and shock in succession, grew excited.

-...?

-Ian was hiding his power!

1.8 million.

No, now it was different.

As the battle reached its peak more and more, it drew in even more viewers.

[Current viewer count 2,031,011.]

Before the whole world, cold sweat ran down Helenya’s back.

Helenya had believed that only a Legend-grade could kill her here.

No Legend-grade existed in this place.

No one could be her match.

But she felt the power of legend.

‘T-this can’t be.......’

Is that one the legend of the Divine Archer?

In this moment, Helenya realized.

‘Only that single shot is legend.’

Helenya grew urgent. Her spear shaft was being held by Hyunsoo.

Without even remembering to retrieve the spear shaft, she sprang up.

TAH!

At that moment, the arrow was fired.

Then Hyunsoo said,

“My friend’s arrow never misses.”

Ian possesses many archer skills Hyunsoo does not have.

A power that temporarily helps him output the force of a Turtle Ship-class.

Now, the reason that power was applied to Ian is revealed.

The fired arrow twisted its trajectory and flew at Helenya.

It was a speed Helenya couldn’t even react to.

An instinctive movement activated.

[Queen’s Hardness]

[Defense increases by 50% compared to usual.]

Even compared to the same level, Helenya’s defense was already about three times from the start.

Now Helenya became even harder.

But.

FWHEEEW-

KWAJAAAAAK-

Helenya’s eyes rolled back as she took the arrow head-on.

This wasn’t even something you could call pain.

Her body was literally being gouged out.

KWA-RRRRRK-

The arrow, generating a fierce rotation, blasted Helenya away.

KWAAAANG-

Helenya slammed into the fortress wall, and as she was, bored into the wall.

UUJIIIJIIIK-

Helenya, buried inside the wall, couldn’t come to her senses.

[You dealt 138,031 damage.]

[Helenya’s HP falls below 10%.]

In this moment, Helenya had a single thought.

‘I have to run.......’

Now it was truly a moment of crisis.

With the defense she had, she could still escape.

From inside the wall, she dragged her body out.

Then she spread her wings and flew up into the sky.

The open sky of Boldrom Fortress, made like a giant colosseum.

Reaching the barrier, she laughed, sinking into relief that she’d lived.

Then.

[Pull]

The space where she was changed.

Her face, just °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° about to cross the barrier, was dyed with confusion.

In her view as she looked at the sky, a man was captured.

Hyunsoo was bracing his back foot and pulling with all his might, dragging the Twin Dragon Sword with all his strength.

To Helenya, it felt like time had stopped.

Humans are like that.

They do not pass the ball to others, and instead seek a way to win by themselves.

“H-how.......”

Her trembling voice showed how overwhelmed she was.

“I only know myself.”

It was transmitted along the Twin Dragon Sword.

Story—someone who saved the nation is not a hero made by one person.

There were countless things that supported him.

“I knew I would lose.”

[Know the enemy and know yourself.]

“And my companions knew strength.”

[Unbeaten in a hundred battles.]

“You wretch! That pathetic blade of yours can’t cut me!”

Again, Helenya tried to fly up.

The sword strike she would take would be only a single hit at most.

She would escape faster than that.

Hyunsoo hurled the Twin Dragon Sword he had drawn back with all his might.

SHRAAAK-!

Helenya’s expression was dyed with confusion.

Until just before, the sound she had heard was a KKAANG-like sound.

Because her outstanding carapace had protected her.

Then Helenya looked down.

Helenya’s thick carapace, which had been struck hard by the arrow, had already shattered.

Her face turned white.

‘His arrow neutralized me, and his sword cut me?’

SSS-...

Helenya was bisected horizontally.

Watching the scattering Helenya, Hyunsoo’s chest pounded like mad.

More than ever, the pounding of his heart was violent.

As mentioned, today’s Hyun’s Forge and tomorrow’s Hyun’s Forge would be different.

In that process, Hyunsoo was curious what he would gain.

And there was one more thing that made Hyunsoo’s heart race.

Lord’s Court.

Calamity Necklace.

These two artifacts bound to Calamity were set artifacts.

The effect of a set artifact gives a + effect when you equip more.

Also, Hyunsoo earnestly wished.

‘Please, please, please.......’

There was one artifact he desperately needed.

At last, it came.

[You have executed First Calamity Helenya.]

[You have defeated three calamities.]

[Something special happens.]

Hyunsoo made a puzzled expression.

‘Something special?’

[It is an exceptional event for three calamities to be executed by one person.]

[Cult of Calamity targets you.]

[However, the Ares Church protects you.]

[For hunting the First Calamity, 2x experience and artifact drop rate are applied.]

‘......!?’

It was an unexpected harvest.

[You acquire 2,010,010 experience.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up......]

Hyunsoo’s level surged to 339 in a single leap.

A total of 6 levels.

[You acquire 431,689 gold.]

The gold earned from hunting a single mob amounted to 400 million won.

And the notification Hyunsoo had been waiting for finally showed itself.

[You acquire Calamity Armor.]

“......!”

What Hyunsoo desperately needed and had been waiting for was armor.

Hyunsoo had worn the Mad Lord’s Armor for a long time.

Mad Lord’s Armor is a Rare-grade artifact.

Something he got in what was practically the beginner zone.

Even so, the reason he wore Mad Lord’s Armor was because it had special skills: damage reflection and damage reduction.

But its defense was far too lacking to use at his current level range.

‘If it really didn’t work out, I was going to make one.......’

He hadn’t even obtained suitable materials to make armor, so he’d just left it.

Even Calamity Necklace and Lord’s Court were Unique.

But this was different.

[It is Legend grade.]

Also, Calamity artifacts generally have the power they possessed applied to them.

Calamity Armor was leather armor made of black light.

Hyunsoo checked it at once.

(Calamity Armor)

Grade: Legend

Durability: Infinite

Defense: 589

Requirement: Level 300 or higher

Special Abilities:

·All stats increase by 2%.

·Physical defense and magical defense increase by 35%.

·Passive Skill 3x defense.

·When additionally equipping a Calamity artifact, all effects increase by 5%.

Description: Calamity Armor that the First Calamity wore. Just as her defense was beyond common sense, the armor she wore follows the same principle.

Hyunsoo was aghast.

‘Insane.......’

Calamity Armor’s defense was fraudulent.

A typical Unique-grade armor has defense 300.

But this is 589—almost double.

And the passive skill 3x defense activates at a 10% probability, but it makes him as hard as Helenya.

He equipped it right away.

[As the set effect is applied, all effects increase by 5%.]

A characteristic of Calamity artifacts was that each time you obtained one, it gave additional effects by 5%.

Then suddenly, Hyunsoo thought of one thing.

‘The basic set is three pieces.’

When you have these three, you can gain the set effect as listed.

But sometimes, among such set artifacts, there are cases where you obtain four pieces.

A probability of one out of a thousand sets.

The reason such a case is difficult.

Because it is hard for one set to have that many pieces.

Armor.

Boots.

Helmet.

Necklace, and so on.

It is difficult for these to match and make a set of three or more pieces.

‘But I know if it’s three or more, an immense reward is imbued.’

With that thought, he looked at Helenya, completely scattering away.

Suddenly, something flashed through Hyunsoo’s mind.

His heart pounded once again.

‘No way......?’

[Helenya devoured Second Calamity Rogal.]

What this meant.

[You acquire Calamity Gauntlets.]

[Third Calamity Ran does not possess a Calamity artifact.]

The reason the Third Calamity did not possess a Calamity artifact.

Was because Third Calamity Ran was, uniquely, a user.

Which means.

[You have collected all Calamity artifacts that exist on the Asgan Continent.]

[All set effects become 6% better.]

Because the calamities were the concentrated aggregate of the strongest humanoid named NPCs on the Korea server.

[Something special happens.]

The last notification made Hyunsoo marvel.

[You can create your own calamity.]