Genius Blacksmith's Game

The people of Hyun’s Forge were excellent. To be honest, they did far better than Hyunsoo expected.

Because they were able to reach legend, even if only briefly, they could create this opportunity now.

But the crisis came once again.

Even in a do-or-die moment, Hyunsoo moved to stop them.

A sentence-type title.

A title given only to Hyunsoo in Ares.

And the skill Reverse. The power hidden within it, the power to combine artifacts, even if only for a moment.

He drags two artifacts together and makes them into a single artifact.

But what he had to remember was that one of them was the Supreme Saber, Hyun’s masterpiece, and the best greatsword in existence.

And the other, though newly reborn and now firmly established as a complete debuff, was the Transcendence Twin Dragon Sword, which perfectly retained its attack power and the advantages of a saber.

The moment the two artifacts gathered in one place, a massive heat haze rose.

[It is the most perfect combination.]

[It is recognized as the single most powerful sword in the world.]

[All effects increase by 6%.]

And the remark, history.

-China’s viewers mocked and condemned us.

-As citizens of the Republic of Korea, it was an insult we couldn’t endure.

-But Crazy Rookie scratched that unbearable emotion of ours in the most satisfying way.

-The name Crazy Rookie being spammed is carved vividly before my eyes.

-Just now, as a result of checking, it’s been confirmed that Hyun’s Forge’s subscriber count has increased sharply.......

-What matters is what comes next. Do you hold, or do you fail to hold!

150 Chinese users. 81 Korean users before they knew it.

The gap in forces was huge.

Korean users who were already exhausted to the bone appeared everywhere.

Crossing the main gate meant immediate fall.

Beside Hyunsoo, Lee Hwan, the master of Hwarang, stood.

“The rental time is already seven hours. That’s one hundred forty million. Too expensive. Next time I’d like you to cut me a deal.”

What is he talking about?

With a small smile, he produced the legend-grade Twin Dragon Sword.

“The whole world said our country wouldn’t even last four hours. But it’s already been over ten hours. It’s true that Hyun’s Forge contributed a lot.”

If you asked Lee Hwan whether he was a moral person, he wasn’t the kind of person who could answer yes without hesitation.

But in this moment, he acknowledged what he had to.

“Can you tell Hyun? Thanks.”

That greeting was delivered properly.

More than fifty Korean users behind them moved together.

“Let’s go.”

[The sentence begins.]

Hyunsoo had gone through many crises, and he didn’t fail to know that this was the greatest crisis.

A newly honed sword from the Hyunsoo who charged forward.

Seeing Hyunsoo gripping the blackened greatsword, the Chinese users sneered.

In the moment of crisis, a sentence that gave Hyunsoo the power to overcome that crisis was carved into the sky, piece by piece.

[Even if it breaks]

[You can increase one desired skill by 2 levels.]

The Chinese users were thrilled.

“Kyahahahahak!”

“It’s finally falling!”

“Mages, pour it down!”

“Tired Korean user bastards, you can wipe them with one bombing spell, can’t you?”

At the same time, the mages’ casting was about to begin.

The benefit of raising a desired skill level was better than expected.

Even if it wasn’t raw power, it created an upset.

Like this.

[Pull]

[Instantly pulls 5 enemies.]

The mages who had been casting panicked.

In an instant, their field of view flipped.

“Ah, hello?”

Flustered, they could see Hyunsoo glaring at them.

Hyunsoo, who had drawn the blackened greatsword back behind him, swung with all his strength.

SSSHRAAAK-

-F, five mage users, all-kill!

-I, it happened in an instant!

-Five level-380-range mages who were preparing wide-area magic were cut clean in two with a single slash!

Hyunsoo could see knight users approaching him.

The armor they wore stood out.

Artifacts closest to legend.

Those kinds of armors were visible on the knights closing in.

In this moment, Hyunsoo realized.

The true powerhouses had been watching the whole time.

To put on the final flourish at the last moment, they had sent the weaklings forward, stepped back, and waited like they were watching a fire across the river.

The fact that the best-crafted artifacts were concentrated on those still remaining was proof.

Those between level 370 and 380 even possessed superior artifacts, so they couldn’t help but be arrogant.

Seventeen melee knights approached.

Once again, a sentence was carved into the air.

[Without backing down]

[Sword cutting power increases by 215%, destructive power increases by 197%.]

And one more fact was added: Hyunsoo’s cutting power was already outstanding thanks to the Calamity Gauntlets’ modifier.

Also, the Twin Dragon Sword and the Supreme Saber had been combined for one minute, but when fighting enemies with the current Twin Dragon Sword, there was only this one advantage attached.

The fact that it was the saber with the highest attack power in all of Ares.

One user swung their sword up from below.

‘Got him......!’

Crazy Rookie had performed greatly. If you killed someone like that, your chances of approaching MVP rose sharply.

You were stealing a large portion of his contribution points.

Soon, that user was horrified.

KWAAAAANG-

The moment the greatsword struck their sword, their balance collapsed and the sword was driven into the ground.

[You have been afflicted with the status effect Shock.]

[A strong shock spreads through your entire body.]

BZZZT-

They couldn’t hide their fluster at the impact spreading through their whole body.

But they quickly got up and sneered as they looked at the greatsword thrown back.

“This is armor closest to legend, you you little—”

The one who spat out the line they’d seen in a Korean movie as if to mock it froze.

KRRRACK-!

The sound that came the moment the greatsword and the armor collided.

[The armor’s durability drops sharply.]

RATTLE-RATTLE-

The armor literally broke apart. The very armor that hardly ever even got scratched when fighting same-level users.

‘This armor, the best among uniques......?’

The melee users, about to rush Hyunsoo, hesitated.

A strong telekinesis grabbed them.

In that instant, Hyunsoo’s greatsword shattered the users’ armor at high speed.

“Huh?”

“Ghk......?”

“What is this.......”

High-rankers’ defense and HP were at a level that vastly surpassed ordinary users.

When the users who had their skin exposed as their armor broke in pieces were flustered—

“Ghost Step.”

SSSHRAGAGAGAGAK-!

As his afterimage was engraved, the Chinese users panicked.

Their bodies were being cut clean in two by something heavy that passed through the areas where the armor had broken.

‘This is insane.......’

Soon the Chinese users spammed skills.

KUKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG-

Dust rose thickly.

It was destructive power enough to hunt even a strong boss monster in one go.

No matter how strong a single tiger was, in front of dozens of wolves it couldn’t help it.

But there was something they didn’t know.

SSSHRAAK-

Even within that dust, the sound of an ally being cut could be heard.

‘What is that?’

Blood-red orbs formed everywhere in midair.

[Blood Absorption]

[It restores HP equal to the damage dealt and activates with a 6% chance.]

[HP drops below 36%.]

[HP recovers by 16%.]

A tiger that burst through the dust bit the wolves who had used their skills.

KWAAJJAJAJAK-

What they didn’t know was this: even if a tiger would lose to dozens of wolves, it could still tear them apart.

One more was engraved.

[Without fail]

[HP increases by 20%, defense increases by 25%.]

FWAAASH-

Wrapped in bright light, he cut forward with the greatsword.

‘I want to be MVP.’

PHOOOK-

A Chinese user with grotesque attack power that could even pierce the Calamity Armor.

He cut through them and passed.

[13-hit consecutive damage.]

KWAAJJAJAJAJAJAJAJAK-!

From the result created by the combination of the two swords, the user scattered as if torn apart.

“M-monster.......”

“What kind of level-330 trash is that?”

Hyunsoo right now couldn’t be compared to level 330. From the start, his raw stats were on par with current level-380-to-390 users.

And on top of that, the combination of the strongest swords in existence.

But there was also an unfortunate thing.

[The Poison King’s poison spreads.]

The poison he had suffered from Poison King Liu back then.

Even though a long time had passed, that poison still remained.

[The two strongest skills are restricted.]

Those were Fate and Flame.

But when he transcended the two artifacts, Hyunsoo briefly surpassed himself by far.

SKRRRK-

‘I don’t want to be recorded as the weak anymore.’

Fragments of memory flashed past like a panorama.

With the desire and will to become king someday, he cut down his enemies.

Chinese users who judged Hyunsoo to be the most dangerous figure surged in like a tide.

The final sentence was engraved.

[I win.]

[All attack power increases temporarily by 21%.]

‘I will, without fail......!’

In that moment, Hyunsoo’s eyes shook.

PHOOOK-

THUD-!

Two weapons pierced through Hyunsoo’s body.

“Even knowing we were here, you ran wild like a dog.”

“It’s good for us. Pond, thanks to this guy performing so well, when we kill him, we can shine even brighter.”

[You are in possession of Asnium.]

[HP drops below 10%.]

[HP recovers to 15%.]

Hyunsoo, recovering in an instant, clenched his teeth and tried to break away from the two of them.

But Liu, who pulled his weapon out first, stabbed again.

PHOOOORK-

[HP drops below 6%.]

[You have been afflicted with the status effect Dizziness.]

[You have been afflicted with the status effect Delirium.]

Poison King Liu, who had impaled the spear into Hyunsoo as if threading him onto it, grinned.

“Do you know that Pond and I still haven’t even brought out our legend artifacts? Ah, no, you don’t. I just brought them out when I stabbed you.”

It was damage that was clearly beyond common sense.

Pond clicked his tongue, tsk tsk, as if looking at a bug.

“We’ll kill this one at the end. For now, just toss him out. Ah, right.”

Pond whispered.

“You should know your place. There are things you can run wild like a little shit about, and things you can’t.”

Hyunsoo, pinned like a skewer, was thrown outside the castle.

[You cannot resist.]

Hyunsoo fell outside the main gate and clenched his teeth.

‘I have to get up.’

Because of the status effect Delirium, Hyunsoo’s mind was about to drift away.

But the strength left his body and he slumped.

Hyunsoo’s consciousness kept snapping and waking, snapping and waking.

Struggling not to fall asleep, Hyunsoo saw the Korean users being pushed back by the Chinese users.

‘How did we even get this far.......’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

There were those who believed in him and followed him, and there was also a new goal.

But the status effect Delirium caused another break.

THUD-

On his knees, Hyunsoo’s eyes repeated closing and opening.

-The fall is right in front of us.

-The Chinese users cross the fortress gate in nine hours and run toward the flag.......

-They’ve finally reached the barrier.......

Hyunsoo’s consciousness sank into darkness again.

Then.

-W, what is that?

-An unexpected thing has happened.

-This place where the continental war is being carried out is a small island located on the Asgan Continent......

-A powerful barrier has been formed......

KUUUUNG-

-A, a massive vibration across the entire arena.......

-The Chinese users don’t even care and keep trying to break the barrier.......

KWAAJAAAK-

-I-it tore!

-What is it? Why is the barrier......!

With a flash, coming to his senses, Hyunsoo could see a shadow cast over him.

Still on his knees, he slowly lifted his head, his pupils trembling violently.

A moment he had waited for far too long.

A voice he wanted to hear again far too much.

“Hyunsoo.”

A familiar man who drew a gentle smile as he looked at him, breathing roughly.

“Get up.”

His father, Kang Hyuntae, was in front of him.

Hyunsoo couldn’t even think of anything else.

He just hugged his father with all his strength.