Genius Blacksmith's Game

Hyunsoo came to the conclusion that the Saint’s Sword was practically a bug.

And he informed Nell of it.

[Hyunsoo: There have been showpiece things like this before, but nothing this severe. What’s going on?]

Hyunsoo was suspicious of one particular thing. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Nell shared the same opinion.

[Nell: Ares is preparing a massive server merge soon. And this territory—Territory Atlas—is land we didn’t receive as a grant from someone; it’s territory we received as a victory reward from the Continental War. It’s possible it wasn’t a territory built from scratch with a finalized setting, but a territory that was already built and then tested. And from what you just said—how there was nothing like this on the Korea server—we can form a hypothesis.]

Hyunsoo focused on that hypothesis.

[Nell: The hypothesis is that the place that built Atlas might not have been the Korea server. There are plenty of showpiece things like that on the Korea server too, but they’re not that extreme.]

It made sense.

And what strengthened the hypothesis was that the server-merge update was about to happen.

Hyunsoo recalled what Lee Sejin had said.

There shouldn’t be a concept of “absolute” in Ares.

They said they didn’t use the word “absolute.”

Absolutely impossible.

Absolutely can’t be done.

Absolute, absolutely prohibited. Who would want to play a game that put constraints like that in place?

So, quoting CEO Lee Sejin of Pureum Co., Ltd., you could say it like this:

“There’s nothing absolute in Ares.”

Hyunsoo thought back to the unrepairable artifact from before.

It was definitely an artifact that couldn’t be repaired by setting, but he had succeeded in repairing it anyway.

If this is a real bug caused by someone’s mistake, it’s a huge win for me.

Because he could obtain an artifact this absurd.

And if he pulled out the Saint’s Sword, Hyunsoo would learn something hidden in Atlas Territory.

Of course, since it’s ‘impossible to draw,’ normally it would connect into another story based on that.

Still, Hyunsoo wanted to try pulling it out.

He put strength into both hands and strained for about ten minutes to pull it out.

But it didn’t budge at all.

However, there was an oddity even in how it didn’t budge.

Rust is coming off on my hands.

Hyunsoo asked Kern.

“How long has this Saint’s Sword been here?”

“Eight hundred years. No one could draw it in all that time, and it ended up like this.”

Despite its grand name, the Saint’s Sword was a blade filled with rust.

Like those ancient swords in the National Museum.

And from the rust coming off, Hyunsoo realized one thing.

“I can pull it out.”

The reason Hyunsoo believed he could pull it out was because physical impact could be applied.

First reason: rust ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) was coming off.

Second reason is durability.

No matter how fine a famous sword is, it loses its edge before time.

The Saint’s Sword, with a total durability of only 5,000, had its durability naturally decline over time until only the 900s remained.

Meaning—

“This sword will break even if we just leave it.”

“What...!”

Hyunsoo started laying the groundwork.

To Atlas’s territory residents, this sword was symbolic.

Even if he was the current lord, they wouldn’t tolerate him breaking or damaging such a symbolic sword however he pleased.

But he could create a reason they would tolerate.

“You can see it yourself. The Saint’s Sword is already falling apart.”

Kern stared at the Saint’s Sword with wavering eyes.

They wanted to deny it, but the first lord’s sword was rusted and had completely lost its old sharpness.

For Kern—who had protected what the first lord left behind in Atlas—it was like the sky collapsing.

“Is... is there no way? No one could draw it, but I can’t bear to watch it break like this.”

Kern didn’t want this holy relic to disappear.

So they looked at the new lord, Hyunsoo, with sorrowful eyes.

And here, Hyunsoo gained a two-for-one effect.

Their desperation.

Hyunsoo had only just arrived.

He was merely a new lord—nothing more—he wasn’t yet a lord they would follow with their lives.

But there was a way to root their respect deep and strong inside them, and also obtain the sword.

“I’ll break the Saint’s Sword, then restore it.”

*****

Team Lead Wang doubted their ears.

Re... restore it? Is that even possible? No—how could that possibly be possible?

As Team Lead Wang saw it, the notification “cannot be drawn” meant “cannot be restored.”

Meaning, it couldn’t be restored by skill.

They hurriedly made a call.

Korea’s Special User Management Team.

That woman from before, Associate Lee Jihee, picked up.

“Is that possible?”

It was China’s first time monitoring user Hyunsoo.

Whether it was possible—only Korea’s Special User Management Team would know.

The answer that came back was shocking.

—It’s possible.

They asked why it was possible, and the reply returned.

Sk... skill...?

Branches shared information with one another, but they didn’t share users’ personal information.

Of course, that would change after the server merge, but it was to prevent personal data from leaking.

Team Lead Wang’s face flushed red.

“Why didn’t you tell us in advance?”

They tried to shift the blame.

Then Associate Lee Jihee replied in a blunt voice.

—Didn’t you say you didn’t need anything when we asked if there was anything you were curious about regarding user Hyunsoo’s information?

They had.

Team Lead Wang had consistently looked down on Korea’s Special User Management Team.

So when asked if they needed that information, they’d said it was fine.

Meaning, it was entirely Team Lead Wang’s responsibility.

Then Team Lead Wang latched onto one hope.

“But still—saying you’ll pull it out and then restore it has to be impossible, right?”

Associate Lee Jihee spoke, recalling the time Hyunsoo restored a horn bow in the Beginner Zone.

—You know that restoration exists as a blacksmith skill in Ares.

Of course. Restoration was a skill reserved for high-level blacksmiths.

—And when you use the restoration skill, depending on the skill’s level, the restored stats apply from 50% to 100%.

Assume the minimum: 50%.

Since it had 200 uses, that meant even if restored, it would still have at least 100 heals.

But that wasn’t what she was getting at.

—Let’s assume a chef tries cooking with the Saint’s Sword.

At the sudden chef analogy, Team Lead Wang looked confused.

—And now let’s assume a chef with far superior skill. If that superior chef uses the same ingredients and makes the same thing, what do you think happens?

Team Lead Wang’s eyes trembled.

“It... tastes better...”

—Right. It tastes better. Then what do you think happens if a blacksmith more skilled than the original creator restores the Saint’s Sword?

The answer was painfully obvious.

“Ares will acknowledge it and apply more than 100%—not just 50% to 100%—within the same ability.”

And then Associate Lee Jihee spoke through the receiver.

—Correct. This happened entirely due to the China branch’s shortcomings. And China Branch Head Tao said they would take full responsibility for granting Atlas to a user.

Meaning, all of this was something the China branch had to carry.

The call ended.

Team Lead Wang had denied it up until now.

They say the Korea team works overtime like they eat meals?

They say their company is their home!

They’d assumed the overtime rumors were just them trying to brag about working hard.

It was approaching 8 p.m.

But there was only one thing Team Lead Wang and their team could do.

“We sit here and monitor until that sword is finished...”

In other words, pray it wouldn’t be restored well.

If all those hypotheses turned out to be true, then the China branch would have to go negotiate directly.

And the team members understood what Team Lead Wang meant.

Until the moment that sword was completed, all of them were working overtime.

*****

Yeah. This is an absurd artifact. If I succeed in restoring this, balance collapse will happen.

That’s why Hyunsoo knew one thing.

Pureum Co., Ltd.’s rule: they must not take away what a user built. But if it’s something like this, they’ll demand negotiations from me.

And there was a way to seize even more in that negotiation.

Restore it even better.

Kern said,

“...Please restore this sword, my lord!”

DING!

[Quest: The Heart of the One Who Protected It]

Grade: S

Restriction: One who received Kern’s proposal

Reward: Atlas’s secret

Penalty on failure: Decrease in intimacy with territory residents

Description: The reason Atlas’s territory residents stayed in this ruined territory is because they believe in the first lord’s legend. Succeed in restoring the holy relic that is part of that legend: the Saint’s Sword.

Kern was the one who led the territory residents.

All of the roughly 1,000 territory residents were grieving the fact that the Saint’s Sword would break on its own.

“My lord...”

“Please... don’t let the first lord’s holy relic disappear...”

“We beg you!”

Hyunsoo said,

“I’ll show you what kind of lord I am.”

The restoration work began.

When he tried to break it instead of drawing it, the Saint’s Sword snapped cleanly in half.

Since the hint had been in the durability decline, it was something he already knew would happen.

What mattered was this.

Does the remaining sword tip come out, or not?

Hyunsoo smiled in triumph.

[The Saint’s Sword loses its power as a holy relic.]

The broken Saint’s Sword was pulled out far too easily.

And the notification said the Saint’s Sword had now lost any further function.

Then, when Hyunsoo gripped the two halves of the sword, another notification sounded.

[The Saint’s Sword is an artifact that cannot be restored.]

As expected, it was set so you absolutely couldn’t obtain this sword through skill.

And Hyunsoo tossed the Saint’s Sword into the furnace.

Then he smiled like he’d been waiting for this.

The Saint’s Sword is a sword infused with holy power.

And Hyunsoo had a way to make it better—far more perfectly.

He took out an ore.

[Anium, the mineral of legend.]

One of Aska’s three great minerals—something he’d obtained long ago but never used.

Among minerals that held holy power, it was hard to find anything superior in this world right now.

Considering the Saint’s Sword had become useless in many ways, he planned to mix this in.

In other words, better materials plus better skill.

He removed impurities from the melted Saint’s Sword.

Then he put Anium into the furnace and melted it.

Hyunsoo had already drawn the Saint’s Sword’s blueprint perfectly in the past.

It would take a form no different from before.

No—an appearance even better than before.

The restoration began.

Hyunsoo continued the restoration work for two days, three days, without stopping.

The territory residents who wanted a perfect restoration.

And Kern, standing at the center of them, said to Hyunsoo,

“My lord, you should rest...”

“No. I won’t rest. You all protected what remained in this land called Atlas for eight hundred years, so it’s precious, isn’t it?”

Kern was moved.

Of course, Hyunsoo was the kind of man who’d bob with only his mouth above water if you threw him in.

Anyway, Hyunsoo kept crafting—and at last, after five days of restoration work, he finished it.

And the moment Hyunsoo completed the restoration, he cried out.

“Ah—no, no, no! I’m screwed...!”

It was closer to a scream than an exclamation.

Staring at the fully restored sword, Hyunsoo clutched his head.

*****

PUFF, PUFF.

Nicotine.

GLUG-GLUG—

“Bring me another cup of coffee.”

“Team Lead, that’s already your sixth cup just today.”

Caffeine.

“Please fail the restoration, please fail the restoration, please fail!”

GLUG-GLUG!

“Team Lead, if you drink alcohol during work...”

Alcohol.

Dark circles filled the skin under Team Lead Wang’s eyes as they started taking in the “three major nutrients(?)” evenly.

Their stiff neck was stretched forward like turtle-neck posture, and their hair was a mess.

A significant number of China’s Special User Management Team looked like this.

Team Lead Wang finally understood.

They really couldn’t endure without the three major nutrients(?)

After Hyunsoo finished the restoration, the completion notification appeared.

And then Hyunsoo’s reaction—

“Ah—no, no, no! I’m screwed...!”

At that scream, hope bloomed in Team Lead Wang’s eyes.

Thank god. Thank god! I can go home! We don’t have to negotiate! Our branch doesn’t have to take responsibility!

Holding onto that hope, Team Lead Wang checked the completed result.

“...”

After seeing it, Team Lead Wang let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha... hahahaha. Hahahahahahaha.”

Amid Team Lead Wang’s laughter, these words scattered out.

“Such a massive mismatch between what you say and what you do...”

Then Team Lead Wang revealed to the team what kind of sword had come out.

“I don’t think we’ll be going home anymore.”