Genius Blacksmith's Game

23,000 territory residents and a total of 4,500 forces.

The alert said:

[Among counts, you are the user who possesses the most territory residents and forces.]

“Among counts” meant the entire world.

Hyunsoo looked over the countless territory residents and soldiers staring back at him, and he felt worry and anticipation together.

The worry was the same one he’d already had before.

Am I really supposed to walk the Saint’s Path?

A dual-class Saint would obviously be an outstanding lord class.

And according to what Kern had said, a Saint’s power was in raising the people around them.

A power that raises the people around me.

Hyunsoo couldn’t deny he needed that more than anything.

But there was another way to think about it.

If I take Saint here, I’ll never be able to take another class.

Triple class?

That kind of thing wouldn’t exist until ten years from now.

Meaning: if Hyunsoo became a Saint, then for the rest of his life, he’d live as the god of blacksmiths... and a Saint.

A Saint is incredible.

There was no question the Saint’s power tempted him.

That temptation came straight from Kern’s words.

The Saint was the one who created the Story Stone.

And Kern had said it himself:

If Hyunsoo became a Saint, wouldn’t Hyunsoo inherit the power to craft the Story Stone?

But Hyunsoo was greedy, and all he felt was regret.

I don’t even know what other dual classes are out there....

Then Hyunsoo hit the real core of it.

I already took the two biggest things I could get from the Saint.

The Legendary stat, Overwhelm, and the Transcendent-grade skill, Ultimate Art.

He already had them, which meant no matter what happened next, he couldn’t “open” anything bigger than those.

The fact that Hyunsoo had already pulled so much of the Saint’s power without even becoming a Saint—yet was still being pushed to walk the Saint’s Path...

That was when Hyunsoo finally realized something.

“Are you our new lord?”

“Lord...!”

“Are you someone who walks the Saint’s Path?”

Hyunsoo might not have a choice.

Seeds of Life were said to awaken people—nobody ever said they would hand over reverence and devotion for free.

As many as 23,000 territory residents, and around 4,000 soldiers.

The easiest way to calm down that chaos and make them accept reality was for Hyunsoo to walk the path of a dual-class Saint.

Kern approached.

“My lord, please inherit the Saint’s power.”

Hyunsoo knew why Kern was saying that.

It came from the quest Hyunsoo had received from Kern.

[Job Quest: Seed of Life]

Grade: ???

Restriction: Lord of Atlas.

Reward: Dual Class Saint.

Penalty on failure: You cannot change classes into Saint.

Description: You are the lord of Atlas. You can obtain Seeds of Life through quests, monster hunting, and everything else, everywhere. Gather as many Seeds of Life as you can.

Looking at that quest, it wasn’t just about collecting Seeds of Life. The reward explicitly said Hyunsoo could obtain the dual class Saint.

“Don’t you have qualifications that are more than enough? Why haven’t you inherited it yet? Once you walk that path, their confusion will subside.”

“I know.”

Hyunsoo was just as flustered.

Because Hyunsoo was supposed to be seeing an alert like this by now:

[Dual Class. You can change classes into Saint.]

But it wasn’t happening.

Why am I not hearing it?

Whether Hyunsoo was full of anticipation or full of anxiety, that alert should have come the moment Hyunsoo used Seeds of Life.

“My lord?”

When Hyunsoo didn’t answer, the territory residents seemed to grow even more confused.

And they weren’t the only ones confused.

*****

Saint Harun.

Harun was more shaken than anyone.

Forty percent awakened...?

In the beginning, Harun had set it so that Seeds of Life would awaken only around 7% of the territory residents and forces.

And even if only that 7% awakened, as long as Hyunsoo wasn’t an evil person, Hyunsoo would be able to walk the Saint’s Path.

But a variable far too large had appeared.

And [Job Quest: Seed of Life] was, in the end, a trial Harun had given.

If Hyunsoo cleared it with results this astonishing, then Harun had to give something worthy of it.

Saint isn’t enough.

It was ridiculous at this point.

So Harun had another thought.

Then Virtuous King...?

That also made no sense.

What Hyunsoo had done was far too great to be “just” Saint, yet still too paltry to become Virtuous King.

On top of that, Virtuous King was power a nation’s king could claim—not power some mere lord could ever hold.

Harun closed their eyes for a moment and sank into thought.

Then Harun derived the best possible solution ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) for the current situation.

Harun opened their eyes.

“WOOF-WOOF!”

Lucky Lump barked softly at Harun’s side.

Harun gave a bitter smile and patted Lucky Lump’s head.

“Yeah. This happened because your master is exceptional.”

Harun put the new plan into motion.

*****

[The awakened territory residents and forces are confused.]

It reached Hyunsoo like an alert.

And maybe that was only natural.

Eight hundred years ago, before the Saint turned into a handful of ash and disappeared, the Saint had said:

‘You will awaken again someday, so don’t be too afraid.’

‘Saint... are you telling us to serve someone else?’

Their sorrow and anxiety grew.

Of course it did.

To suddenly have the master they served... changed.

But the Saint had said:

‘Don’t worry. He is the one who will inherit my legacy.’

That was enough to ease them.

If Hyunsoo was someone who would carry the Saint’s pride, then Hyunsoo was someone they could trust.

But Hyunsoo still hadn’t said a word in response to whether Hyunsoo was the Saint’s successor.

From Hyunsoo’s perspective, Hyunsoo truly wasn’t one yet—so Hyunsoo couldn’t answer.

That was when a voice rang out—one that felt familiar to those who had awakened, yet unfamiliar to Hyunsoo and to Hyun’s Forge.

—He cannot become a Saint.

[You cannot become a Saint.]

“What?”

Hyunsoo’s face twisted.

At that definitive voice, the territory residents grew even more confused.

To them, it sounded like Hyunsoo didn’t have the qualifications to become a Saint.

But then the situation flipped.

—Because he is Virtuous King material.

[You are Virtuous King material.]

[A Virtuous King was someone who led a continent.]

Virtuous King.

The moment Hyunsoo understood what that meant, Hyunsoo was stunned.

I’m... Virtuous King material?

Then more followed.

[A Saint is nothing more than an inferior version of a Virtuous King.]

The alert spoke as if asking how someone meant to become a king could walk such a lowly path.

[Virtuous King material is special.]

[You do not need to walk the Saint’s Path.]

[When your kingdom is founded, you will be able to obtain Virtuous King.]

[You already possess two of the strongest powers a Saint should have.]

[You can unlock the last one through a quest.]

Hyunsoo’s mind spun for a moment—then a new fact clicked into place.

When my kingdom is founded, I’ll walk the Virtuous King path... which means I don’t need to take a dual class right now!

To Hyunsoo, it was pure relief.

All of Hyunsoo’s fear—that the one-and-only dual class opportunity in an entire lifetime would vanish if Hyunsoo became king—was gone.

It’ll take at least a year before I become a king.

In that time, if there was a better dual class, or a better road altogether, Hyunsoo could choose it.

And on top of that...

Even in this situation, Hyunsoo ended up taking more of the power the Saint had left behind.

Those three powers were the core powers that represented the Saint.

Without even changing classes, I have the Saint’s power—and later I could become Virtuous King, or I could choose another road.

Hyunsoo was overwhelmed with emotion.

Everything Hyunsoo had worried about melted away in an instant.

And the voice that had been Harun’s faded like a mirage, no longer reaching Hyunsoo.

But the certainty of the one they had once served carried enormous weight.

“Virtuous King material...!”

“Long live our new lord!”

“Please lead us from now on!”

[The awakened territory residents and forces rejoice in the path their new lord walks.]

Of course, earning their true loyalty would depend on Hyunsoo from here on out.

*****

The China branch’s monitoring period for Hyunsoo ended.

—If you want, we can extend it one more week....

“No, it’s fine! It’s really fine, truly, absolutely fine!”

—...?

China Special User Management Team shuddered.

In any case, China Branch Head Tao entered the video conference with Atlas’s compiled information.

—What!? 23,000 territory residents and 4,000 forces!? No user has reached that scale yet!

—The Saint class you’re supposed to obtain in Chapter Two? And you’re saying the user became Virtuous King material, awakened a large portion of the Saint’s power, and couldn’t even become a Saint!?

Even hearing it out loud, Tao couldn’t believe it.

What is this...?

Atlas—planned entirely by China—had turned the user Hyunsoo into an overwhelming lord.

And everyone latched onto this “Virtuous King material” point.

Tao let out a hollow laugh.

“He simply hasn’t changed classes yet. Later, he will become Virtuous King. In that process, nothing will happen that would make the user Hyunsoo choose another class.”

Tao’s words made CEO Lee Sejin respond.

—Branch Head Tao, I’m a fantasist.

It was well known that CEO Lee Sejin indulged in fantasies.

—Most of those fantasies can’t be put into practice... but too many of them have been put into practice. The most representative example is this Ares.

What is he talking about right now?

Tao didn’t understand why Lee Sejin had brought up fantasies.

—Even if it’s a 0.1% possibility, you should never say “absolute” inside this Ares. The user Hyunsoo has become a one-of-a-kind user.

A one-of-a-kind user.

Every branch head listened.

—That one-of-a-kind user is someone who can turn their eyes to other choices after obtaining the Saint’s power to the limit. And as you know, Virtuous King is not a class.

That was right.

Virtuous King wasn’t a class, so it didn’t belong to dual class.

It was a king’s epithet—an elevated seat.

“What are you trying to say? What kind of fantasy are you spinning right now?”

Tao pressed.

—In my fantasy, the user Hyunsoo walks the Virtuous King path while challenging the path of Overlord King(?), and drawing closer to the power of Tyrant.

“...Isn’t that fantasy a little too absurd?”

And yet every branch head quietly agreed.

They accepted that the fantasy was ridiculous.

But they also understood what Lee Sejin meant.

John, the U.S. branch head, spoke.

—You get one chance to choose a dual class. But the user Hyunsoo is the only user who gained yet another chance to choose. That means the Tyrant path, the Overlord King(?) path, and countless other paths are all open. You’re saying the fact that an extra chance was granted at all is, in itself, an absurd event.

“...”

Only then did Tao understand.

Just one extra chance meant limitless possibilities.

And every branch head looked at Tao with solemn eyes.

All of those eyes were saying the same thing:

—You will take responsibility.

*****

Sejin ended the video chat.

Sejin knew it was a fantasy that made no sense.

Walking the Overlord King(?) path, challenging the Tyrant path...

But Sejin also thought this:

How many fantasies did I spin like that?

Strangely, many of the fantasies Sejin had spun while watching the user Hyunsoo had already come true.

Then, when CEO Lee Sejin returned to the CEO office—

KNOCK-KNOCK—

World Promotions Team Lead Ayaka entered.

With server merge right around the corner, Sejin knew Ayaka had been wrestling with story setting headaches for a long time.

But Ayaka’s expression was confident.

“The preview is out. Better than the first one.”

“What...?”

Sejin knew, too.

Beating the first is hard.

It’s like how most commercial film series fail with the second installment after a strong first.

“The user Hyunsoo helped with the story setting, so we could get this result.”

“The user Hyunsoo?”

“Yes. In three days, along with the server merge, all Ares players worldwide will see the server merge preview.”

They wouldn’t have a choice.

The instant they connected to an Ares capsule, the preview would appear.

After Ayaka left—

The user Hyunsoo helped...?

That was what made Sejin happy.

The preview that 2.5 billion Ares users would watch.

This was one of my fantasies, too.

When that fantasy began, the user Hyunsoo had been small and insignificant.

CEO Lee Sejin found themself looking forward to server merge day.

For one reason only.

“I want to see it already... that server merge preview.”