Genius Blacksmith's Game

[Guild Master Hyunsoo delegates the lordship of Vallas Territory.]

[You have become the lord of Vallas Territory.]

Vallas Territory, the blacksmiths’ territory.

Bark had been delegated as the new lord.

After finishing the lordship delegation ceremony without Hyunsoo, Bark looked at the ones who wielded enormous influence in Vallas Territory.

The former lord, Belin. Luk, Lukburk’s son.

Sage Arte, and Per—the old man who led the blacksmiths.

And beyond them, Vallas Territory’s total forces had now reached close to 700.

“Did Hyunsoo leave?”

A few members of Hyun’s Forge still remained as well.

“Yes. He left just a moment ago. We should’ve gone with him...” Ressel said.

Bark gave a bitter smile.

“It can’t be helped.”

Hyun’s Forge had to operate two territories: Vallas Territory, and the newly obtained land called Atlas.

What’s one of the essential conditions for becoming a king?

A wide territory.

Think of water and a vessel.

If territory residents and troops were the water, then no matter how much there was—if the vessel was small, it couldn’t hold it all.

He’d said it couldn’t be helped, but Bark couldn’t hide the bitterness either.

Before the delegation ceremony began, Bark and the guild members had said goodbye to Hyunsoo.

Of course, once Hyunsoo and Nell arrived in Atlas Territory first, Atlas would be registered as the guild return point.

What left him bitter was the number of people who had departed for Atlas.

Relocating territory residents wasn’t easy.

They were people who’d stayed in one place for a long time.

So among the territory residents, only about forty had said they would relocate.

And the biggest problem was troops.

The forces that went with Hyunsoo to Atlas amounted to only about fifty.

Even if the Gale Squad was included in those numbers, it was still far too few.

“Our Hyun’s Forge got too famous.”

In some ways it was exciting, and in other ways it wasn’t.

The reason Hyunsoo went to Atlas with only the minimum forces was painfully clear.

It was because, in case something happened, Vallas Territory still had to be protected.

Hyun’s Forge had become famous.

That was true for users and for NPCs alike.

Especially among NPCs, since Hyunsoo was a royal successor, there would be those who coveted what he had.

And among users, there would be those who aimed at him to gain something.

“All we can really do in Vallas Territory is supply excellent gear and farming tools and things like that.”

So they decided to completely separate the two territories.

And the world knew Hyunsoo had been granted an additional territory—but didn’t know where.

So the plan was to # Nоvеlight # keep Vallas Territory as the second territory, and grow Atlas as the main territory.

Now the new lord, Bark, went outside with the guild members.

He stared at the place Hyunsoo and the others had departed from.

Even though this was a game, Bark couldn’t help thinking: Have we made Hyunsoo carry too much?

And beneath the towering name of First Legend, he felt like the footsteps heading toward Hyunsoo’s new land were far too shabby.

It’s certain. Hyun’s Forge is in a very bad situation right now.

That was when Bark saw an unexpected person entering Vallas Territory.

The moment he saw who it was, the shadow that had hung over Bark’s face cleared away completely.

Right. We had this person.

Bark felt an overwhelming sense of reassurance.

*****

Hyunsoo had made a Bokdeongi-only backpack.

Bokdeongi was sleeping in the backpack he wore on his front, and the horse he rode was advancing toward Atlas Territory.

Looking at the soldiers—only fifty—and the forty-some territory residents, Hyunsoo felt bitter.

What was fortunate was that Nell had analyzed the map to Atlas and planned a route where monsters didn’t appear.

Riding beside him, Nell spoke when she saw Hyunsoo’s face full of worry.

“The good thing about Atlas is that it’s an independent territory.”

“An independent territory?”

“Yes. An independent territory belongs to the country, but isn’t affected by the country. And since Atlas itself has a setting where it’s a territory granted by a god, it has even more independence.”

“Why is an independent territory good?”

“Because expansion is free.”

“Ah...”

“This place is separated from the Kingdom of Goyard, and there aren’t any other territories around it. If we pioneer land, it becomes ours.”

“Then pioneering won’t be easy.”

“Right. But if we do pioneer it, you might be able to call them not territory residents, but citizens.”

A bitter smile formed on Hyunsoo’s face.

Because if it was an independent territory, then to the people there, the lord was like a king.

My citizens...

Normally, territory residents—no matter how much they belonged to that land—were still bound to a nation.

And Hyunsoo was feeling it clearly.

“We need strong forces. Guild members or NPCs.”

“I agree. But we already talked about how it won’t be easy to accept people. Still—what kind of forces would you want?”

Hyunsoo thought of Hyun’s Forge.

Hyun’s Forge had perfect harmony.

Belia the priest.

Ressel and Hanul the swordsmen.

Ian and Hyeji the archers.

Taehun the fighter and Bark the tank.

But there were gaps too.

“Hmm. First, we need a mage. Especially a great mage—someone who can crush enemies with massive area spells in player combat.”

“I agree. And I believe we’ll need an assassin as well.”

“An assassin? Oh—yeah, that’s definitely true.”

Assassins didn’t only exist to assassinate enemy leaders.

Skilled assassins protected people like shadows.

“Come to think of it, we don’t have anyone in the guild who uses a spear well either. A great spear-user’s damage output is better than most swordsmen.”

At Nell’s words, Hyunsoo chimed in.

“Yes. And now that I think about it, aside from me and Belia, we don’t really have any non-combat classes in our guild either. It might be good to bring in outstanding people from those non-combat classes too.”

The two of them smiled like people lost in a happy daydream.

Of course, if Hyun’s Forge really wanted to, they could bring in people like that right now.

The problem was why they were trying to join.

If they accepted people indiscriminately without knowing what they were after, Hyun’s Forge—centered around a small handful of guild members—would end up in trouble.

As the two continued talking about what kinds of guild members they wanted, there were people listening who flinched.

Assassin Kavel.

Mage Jane.

Spear-User Bangbae.

Territory King Glass.

Thanks to Kavel’s skill, all of them could disguise themselves as NPCs.

So their character information couldn’t be viewed at all, and they looked like ordinary NPCs.

And besides guild chat and party chat, there was also group chat.

[Bangbae: They don’t know it’s us, do they?]

[Jane: Seriously^^; they’re calling us out so specifically...]

They shook their heads.

Because even they thought those were the exact classes Hyun’s Forge needed most.

Then Kavel’s expression changed as if struck.

[Kavel: Could it really be a coincidence that the exact people Hyun’s Forge needs gathered like this?]

At that, the Boksa-mo members looked stunned.

All of them glanced at Bokdeongi, asleep in the backpack, a snot bubble puffing as it slept.

[Kavel: Maybe it was intended.]

Bokdeongi was smacking its lips as if dreaming of eating something.

Only it would know the truth.

*****

The reason Hyun’s Forge’s situation was unstable was because its growth had been too fast.

What took others four years, Hyunsoo had achieved in one.

Still, it wasn’t nothing but despair.

Atlas—the territory they received after being selected as the best guild in the continental war.

Hyunsoo had huge expectations for it.

Since it wasn’t granted by anyone, but was a reward Pureum Co., Ltd. delivered, it was possible that Atlas itself might already have a lot of troops and a lot of territory residents living there.

If that’s the case, I can finally breathe a little...!

Nell seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“We’re almost there. I can finally see it—our new home...!”

Naturally, the horses sped up.

Both of their faces were filled with a strange excitement.

But the moment the two entered the territory, the smiles disappeared.

[You have arrived at Territory Atlas.]

[You learn about Territory Atlas.]

Ares’s notifications sometimes spat out alerts tailored to the recipient.

[It is a territory on the scale of five times Vallas Territory.]

Territory Atlas was far larger than expected.

[1,031 territory residents live here.]

[564 troops are stationed here.]

But the number of territory residents was small compared to its size. Even more insane was the troop count.

In a normal territory, when there were 90 territory residents, there were about 15 to 20 troops.

If it was lower, it could even be 10.

But here, it was basically 50% troops.

“Oooooh... are you the new lord who’s coming?”

“Loooord!”

The territory residents who noticed Hyunsoo and ran up were filthy.

They didn’t look like ordinary territory residents at all—more like people who’d been starving for a long time.

And from near the territory, there were sounds—

SKREEEEE!

SKRAAAK!

SKREEEEE!

[Countless monsters inhabit the area around Atlas Territory.]

[Subjugate the monsters and restore stability to the territory.]

One of the standards of a good territory was comfort.

And that comfort meant how well the surrounding area had been developed, and whether monsters were absent.

This place had no such comfort.

Hyunsoo looked around the entire territory.

Buildings had collapsed everywhere, and there weren’t even many buildings to begin with.

It was basically a slum.

“I heard the new lord is coming!”

A filthy man who seemed to be in charge led Hyunsoo in.

Hyunsoo looked at the territory residents gathering around him, and the soldiers whose armor and weapons were broken.

Their eyes were full of desperate hope.

Hope that thanks to the new lord, they might finally eat their fill and sleep warm.

This isn’t the kind of territory I wanted...

Hyunsoo’s expectations shattered brutally.

He’d imagined a territory with at least minimal finances and minimal business potential.

But it didn’t meet even that bare minimum—only the land was huge.

And the ones gathered—

As Hyunsoo looked at them, words left him.

This is my main territory... and my citizens?

It felt like the world was going dark in front of him.

And in this place where even the lord’s castle had been destroyed, the one leading it raised both arms and made a gesture as if to bow.

Following him, the territory residents and soldiers tried to proceed with the new-lord appointment ceremony.

Watching that, the Boksa-mo members thought:

This is the territory the First Legend is supposed to lead?

This is straight-up a beggar village.

Hyun’s Forge isn’t going to have it easy.

Then—

Kavel’s eyes shook violently.

A single existence appeared—something that crushed all of this into insignificance.

“...Hold on. You can’t hold the lord appointment ceremony without me.”

A clear voice rang out.

And there was the bright sound of excellent weapons colliding.

CLANG!

Hyunsoo’s expression, which had been sinking into despair, flipped instantly.

The Boksa-mo members witnessed something unbelievable.

A knight astride a pure-white horse. Behind her, about fifty troops in splendid armor marching in.

The moment she dismounted and removed her helmet, silver hair spilled free.

She tucked the helmet at her right hip and dropped to one knee with perfect courtesy.

In contrast, the filthy territory residents and troops followed her lead.

Even those who had been about to prostrate themselves hurried to imitate her.

And the troops who had come with her also dropped to one knee in perfect unison.

Finally...

Hyunsoo’s breathing quickened.

It was a moment he had waited for, for so long.

And the one who stood at the center of that long-awaited moment spoke.

“Now you are my sun, Hyunsoo.”

[You can take Bella as a vassal.]

“I swear eternal loyalty.”

Under a sky of despair, the most radiant light formed a vow.

At that moment—

In the CEO office, watching the monitor, CEO Lee Sejin wore an interested expression.

Because the territory user Hyunsoo had arrived at was a place Pureum Co., Ltd. had planned for a long time.

“Finally. He’s arrived at growth-type Territory Atlas.”