Genius Blacksmith's Game

Hans had lost many subordinates to the Orc Warrior’s solid armor.

Today was no different. Even after concentrating their assault on a single point, they ultimately failed to pierce him.

I almost died.

There is no such thing as a person unafraid of death.

Hans, his neck about to be snapped, desperately wished—just this once—someone would save him.

The one who saved Hans was the outsider in front of him, named Hyunsoo.

The one who, in a desperate moment, fashioned an arrow with tremendous destructive power!

The one who felled two Orc Warriors.

“You are the hero of our subjugation force.”

[The Orc Subjugation Force will remember you as a hero.]

[Those in the capital of the Prime Kingdom will recognize and honor a hero.]

[You gain Renown +30.]

[You gain Charisma +10.]

“I, Hans, Captain of the Subjugation Force, bestow upon you the Hero’s Blessing.”

[The Hero’s Blessing descends upon you.]

[You gain All Stats +3.]

[From now on, in any subjugation force you join, you can start from at least Leader of Ten.]

A blessing...?

Hyunsoo, too, had heard of blessings.

Blessings can be granted only by high-ranking NPCs or Named NPCs.

What matters is that this thing called a blessing is not something NPCs can grant without limit.

He knows that, in a lifetime, it’s exactly once—or, in the case of a king or emperor, perhaps three times.

A Level 48 Subjugation Captain’s blessing raises All Stats by +3...?

Hyunsoo marveled. In Ares there are kings, emperors, and a pope.

He briefly wondered how tremendous the blessings they bestow would be—then the thought vanished quickly.

The soldier Ben, whom he first met upon arriving here, approached.

“When I first met you and heard you were an aspiring blacksmith, I was worried, but I see you differently now.”

[Affinity with Ben is MAX.]

“Recruit! Truly, thank you!”

“You saved my life!”

Hyunsoo watched the soldiers crowding around him to offer their thanks and allowed himself a small smile.

Before he knew it, the subjugation force began its return.

Hyunsoo’s chest swelled as he headed back.

At last, I can transfer into the blacksmith class? I wonder what power the Legendary-class Blacksmith holds?

His steps toward the tower were light.

****

The Tower Masters of the Blacksmith’s Towers gathered in one place for the first time in ten years. Because of a single outsider.

The Stone of Talent is linked among all Blacksmith’s Towers. They confirmed the Stone of Talent, split cleanly in half.

Ten blacksmiths sat around the round table.

And Colson, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Bow, thought he’d found his chance.

I might be able to drag him down.

Colson, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Bow, disliked Deng, the de facto head of the Tower Masters.

It was a common human greed.

The greed to stand in that seat instead.

And now, a very fine pretext had appeared.

“You told an outsider who just set foot in this land—a blacksmith, no less—to go join the Orc Subjugation Force and come back with 70% Contribution?”

“Hmm...”

“Hah.”

The other Tower Masters let out voices tinged with groans.

Rex, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Shield, sighed.

“It was innate talent. Splitting the Stone of Talent means a genius whose talent surpasses even you, Master Deng. So why did you impose such a reckless trial?”

Reckless.

Yes, any Tower Master would call the trial Deng set reckless.

The Tower Masters of the Blacksmith’s Towers had long awaited the one who would inherit the seat of the god.

For the qualified one, the Tower Masters may impose subjective trials.

Most of those trials are very difficult.

But the problem was that Deng’s trial—beyond mere difficulty—looked, no matter how you saw it, close to impossible.

Colson spoke in a scolding tone.

“Master Deng, we are blacksmiths.”

What kind of profession is a blacksmith?

“Even for us who lead the Blacksmith’s Towers, it is not easy to defeat an ordinary knight from the Knight’s Tower.”

His voice grew louder and louder.

“And yet you told a blacksmith—no, someone who hasn’t even transferred yet—to achieve 70% Contribution? I looked into it. Outsiders who transfer during the Orc Subjugation Force generally manage only about 10% Contribution. But seventy percent? How, exactly? What, are you telling him to go hunt an Orc Warrior? Someone who hasn’t even transferred?”

“...That’s right.”

“Pardon?”

At Deng’s words the faces of the Blacksmith’s Towers’ members flushed.

The Blacksmith’s Towers had long awaited the one who would become the successor to the God of Blacksmiths.

“You’re saying it’s true? That your intent was to have him hunt an Orc Warrior?”

Colson intended to use this opportunity to prove his incompetence to the other Tower Masters.

Thud—!

He slammed his fist on the table and twisted his lips.

“Thank you, truly, thank you! The peerless talent that appeared after millennia will, in the end, be unable to walk the path of the god. Telling a blacksmith to hunt an Orc Warrior!”

“Master Deng, you were far too reckless.”

“We should never have forgotten that we are blacksmiths...!”

Deng, arms folded as he listened to them, knit his brows.

“What is the problem? Do you not know what sort of being the God of Blacksmiths is?”

With a sharp voice he looked at the Tower Masters one by one.

“As you also know from the myth, the God of Blacksmiths is said to be able to defeat anyone with a single sword of his own making.”

The reason the Tower Masters wait for the successor to the God of Blacksmiths.

He is the only one who can shatter the perception that blacksmiths are, in the end, weak.

Even now, blacksmiths hold the very important duty of crafting artifacts, yet it remains one of the positions subject to scorn.

This shows starkly in the professions chosen by outsiders.

Among outsiders, those who choose blacksmiths are a mere 2%.

The work is grueling; they cannot properly hunt; and they cannot easily join the group hunts outsiders commonly undertake.

What use is the most outstanding blacksmith?

There are eight kinds of towers on the continent.

The Swordsman’s Tower, the Mage’s Tower, the Archer’s Tower, the Assassin’s Tower, the Tamer’s Tower, and so on.

And among these, the Blacksmith’s Tower is the most shunned.

Why? Because it’s weak.

“The God of Blacksmiths’ might is said to be tremendous—so are you saying it’s fine if the one to become the God of Blacksmiths is weak, contrary to the myth? Or would you prefer he become strong by borrowing the god’s power? The one with the qualifications must become the God of Blacksmiths! If he cannot even kill an Orc Warrior, then it is right that he cannot inherit that name.”

Deng’s words also had merit.

Of course, Deng’s standard was exceedingly strict.

Would he be called a once-in-an-era prodigy for nothing?

“Even so, to steer him toward hunting an Orc Warrior—that was too much.”

Rex, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Shield, spoke with a sigh.

“Hmm...”

Deng, too, let out a shallow groan.

In truth, Deng regretted it. He regretted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ that perhaps it had been his own greed.

By common sense, it’s impossible.

That someone who just set foot here would kill an Orc Warrior.

What’s more, as they said, he was in an unclassed state, not even transferred.

Even so, his thinking did not change.

Perhaps only the one who accomplishes what no one else could can ascend to that seat?

“His talent has already been proven by splitting the Stone of Talent. However, if he cannot even draw the sword—if the sword does not so much as budge—I will not sit still. Because you will have lost the first genius in millennia.”

Colson delivered his warning with an icy expression.

One who receives a mission from a Tower Master to become the successor to the god must perform a rite upon return.

Through that rite one may glimpse whether he has indeed completed the presented mission.

That rite differs depending on which tower issued the mission.

One who received it from the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Bow must grasp a bow imbued with the god’s power and loose an arrow.

But that is not something one can do merely because he wants to.

One who has completed the mission and is acknowledged by the bow can shoot; one who has not, cannot shoot in the end.

In the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Shield, the rite is to lift the shield.

In the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Hammer, the rite is to lift the hammer placed upon the ground.

And since the outsider named Hyunsoo received his mission from the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Sword, he must pull free the sword buried deep in the earth to show that he fulfilled it.

Moreover, when he tries to pull the sword, how far it comes out indicates with what level of achievement he completed it.

As Colson said, the sword not even trembling—

That would mean proof that the man failed the mission miserably.

“Understood.”

Deng accepted Colson’s warning.

Perhaps, by imposing too excessive a trial, the Blacksmith’s Towers had indeed lost the one long awaited to become the god.

Just then—

“Tower Master, that outsider named Hyunsoo from before has returned!”

At Han’s voice, the members of the Blacksmith’s Towers brightened with interest.

“Escort him to the top floor.”

It was time to conduct the rite. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The reason the God of Blacksmiths requires such rites—

The weapons or armor used in the rites are creations forged by that god.

Those weapons, possessing a certain degree of self, wish to see on his behalf whether the candidate is truly qualified.

The Tower Masters left the council chamber and headed to the top of the tower.

And there, they were able to meet the outsider named Hyunsoo.

****

Guided by Han, Hyunsoo climbed to the top floor of the Blacksmith’s Tower.

As they went up together, he heard, in outline, what he had to do.

So I just have to pull the sword?

Beyond the transparent door of the top floor of the Blacksmith’s Tower—

Hyunsoo could see a single sword driven deep into the earth.

Is it because it’s a Legendary class? This is incredibly grand.

Hyunsoo’s heart pounded. The Legendary class grasped by Smith, the #1-ranked blacksmith!

He could not hide his excitement at the fact that he, too, would take that seat.

Just then, Hyunsoo saw Deng, the Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Sword he’d met before, and the blacksmiths who had come up with him.

[Lex, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Shield Lv.345]

[Colson, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Bow Lv.365]

Wow...

Hyunsoo could not help but be impressed.

Tower Masters were top-tier Named NPCs.

Of course, Deng’s level was the highest, but seeing such high-level Named NPCs gathered in one place was no easy thing.

A fresh thought arose—that if he rose to the Legendary class, he might one day stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Soon Deng approached and spoke.

“You’ve heard the explanation, but you need only pull the sword. Go on in.”

Hyunsoo nodded and opened the door to the place where the rite would be held.

The moment he stepped inside—

Rrrr-r-r-r-r—

A massive tremor filled the hall.

[[Class Advancement Quest: Join the Orc Subjugation Force] has been completed with astonishing results.]

[???’s Sword responds to you.]

[??? Sword acknowledges your talent.]

[??? Sword longs to be in your arms without delay.]

Hyunsoo’s gaze swung to the source of the tremor.

The sword, driven firm and deep, pulled itself free of its place.

Fwoooosh—!

And then—

Flaaare—

Bursting with brilliant light, the drawn sword shot forward like a flash toward Hyunsoo.

Vvvm—

Resonating, the sword seemed to speak to Hyunsoo.

Hurry and grasp me.

I’m going mad wanting to have you.

I crave your talent to the point of madness.

[Only you have the right to grasp this sword.]

The alert proved it.