Genius Blacksmith's Game

Pureum Co., Ltd.’s conference room.

This meeting included the regional branch heads as well, joining over video chat.

The first agenda item was Babylon—crafted at Hyunsoo’s fingertips.

“Originally, Bahala was someone who couldn’t hunt a lesser demon. This demon-hunting quest was supposed to fail from the start, and the story was supposed to unfold into a new quest in a different way, with Bahala set to walk the Sword God’s Path.”

That projection had been completely shattered.

Because Bahala met Hyunsoo.

Of course, even when Hyunsoo first met Bahala, Pureum Co., Ltd.’s reaction had been lukewarm.

Even if he was a master craftsman, Babylon at the time was an artifact that was absolutely ‘impossible to restore.’

But using the advantage of Dang’s Hammer of Replication, and using 200g of divine ore, Hyunsoo established a new Babylon.

Second.

“To already encounter a demon—this is surprising.”

Sejin nodded, and the Story Team Lead continued.

“Of course, Gremory is currently in the weakest state among demons.”

It was true.

Awakened through a demon offering descent, she was under countless restrictions.

Her true nature—her real power—was in a legion that defied common sense.

A peerless figure as a lord.

She commanded as many as twenty-two legions.

So compared to other demons, she herself was the weakest.

However, what had to be remembered was that she was a peerless lord.

If she had her army, no demon could treat her lightly.

-That’s fortunate.

John, the U.S. Branch Head, spoke from beyond the screen.

-This means Bahala won’t be able to clear the Job Quest according to the original story.

China Branch Head Tao continued.

-Gremory is under far more restrictions than what appeared in the alerts to users Bahala and Hyunsoo. Originally, her regeneration should be at least twice as fast as that, and her total HP and MP pools should be 50% higher, and her melee attack power and magic attack power should be at least 30% higher. But even so, even if this is only sealing rather than killing, there doesn’t seem to be any raid possibility.

-Right. Even if Babylon shaved off 80% of her HP, Bahala and Hyunsoo can’t even shave off the remaining 20%.

Russia Branch Head Fun chimed in.

-In reality, user Hyunsoo used [Link.] and [One Strike, Two Halves], but all it did was shave off 2% of her HP.

Sejin agreed.

Chance of victory: 0%. There’s no denying it.

And then Gremory, stepping over fear, carved a mark.

A mark lets you read the other party’s memories and pursue them.

“......”

Sejin’s eyes wavered.

Maybe user Hyunsoo revealing that he was Babylon’s creator, while swinging it, had been a mistake.

Because it made Demon Gremory bare her greed.

And Sejin judged that everything Hyunsoo had built might collapse.

...A side effect that occurs because he seized power that’s too strong.

Sejin’s chest ached.

Because Korea’s one and only legend was facing a massive side effect.

On the other hand—

-Hm.

-So this is.......

-How unfortunate.

The branch heads’ words didn’t match their expressions.

Their faces were flushed.

For those who wanted their own countries’ users to shine, user Hyunsoo was a thorn in the eye.

In contrast, Sejin, with a bitter expression, sent all the team members out.

Then.

Gremory began summoning worshipers.

-Worshipers?

-If it’s the strongest among Demon Gremory’s worshipers, isn’t it Asura, who rules hell?

-As expected of Gremory, the demon of legion commanders. To summon Asura as a legion commander... it’s over.

Something flashed through Sejin’s mind.

Asura?

Before joining the meeting, Sejin had received a report from Team Lead Kim of the Special User Management Team.

Kabel has begun battle with Asura.

User Kabel—whom the branch heads didn’t know—had been user Hyunsoo’s nameless friend.

The moment Asura crossed the gate to hell, the branch heads realized.

-What is that?

-Why is Asura in that state?

-Like he’s been fighting someone......

-He’s covered in wounds......

And then something bizarre happened.

Another person crossed the gate to hell, split Asura in two, and immediately looked toward one man.

What he saw was Hyunsoo, kneeling.

He moved like light and pinned Gremory’s glabella as she flew up.

And with it—

[World Message rings out.]

[The second legend is written.]

-......!?

-......!?

-......!?

-......!?

The branch heads couldn’t hide their shock, and couldn’t conceal their confusion.

-Why, why......

-What is this......

-This is...... right now......

What had just happened—there was no reason for the new Asura to oppose a demon.

Rather, he should have inherited the existing Asura’s will and become Gremory’s dog.

-I’ll take point.

He was aiming his dagger at Gremory.

Seeing him, Sejin’s heart began pounding like crazy.

And Supercomputer Ares was linked to Sejin’s phone, and Sejin had asked a question.

Was there any possibility of sealing?

Of course, it had been 0%.

That 0% had been the same even when Extinguish Evil activated.

Sejin checked his phone and froze.

[Chance of sealing success: 6%.]

A new possibility opened.

I can’t believe it.

Up until a moment ago, user Hyunsoo had been on the verge of losing everything.

But through the bond he’d built with his nameless friend, he had made a way out of that crisis with his own hands.

Sejin marveled.

An unprecedented—no, a demon-sealing party that will never exist again is being formed.

And the rising probability still wasn’t over.

*****

People around the world said—

-If the second legend is born, he’ll have strength that far surpasses the first legend.

You couldn’t deny it.

Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo was, in the end, only a craftsman.

Next, what people focused on was this—

-Depending on what kind of legend the second legend becomes, even Bahala’s position is in danger.

Not all legends were the same.

The top high-rankers’ speculation—

-If you had to pick the best user in the world right now, after Bahala, you’d pick the information broker Kabel.

It was due to abnormal information-gathering—not because of strength.

But the time they’d said that was in the past, and now he was far stronger than they thought.

Because of [Villain’s Dagger] that Hyunsoo had made for him.

[Villain’s Dagger] was a growth-type artifact, but it held the power to grow all the way to Transcendent.

And each time it killed a strong opponent that the dagger itself recognized, it became even more outstanding.

By now, Kabel—holding a fully completed Transcendent-grade [Villain’s Dagger]—was challenging Asura.

Hm?

As the fierce clash with Asura continued,

Kabel was struggling to cut Asura down.

It felt like if he could land a critical hit, he could catch him—but it wasn’t easy.

And then Asura was forcibly sucked somewhere.

It was literally semi-forced, and in that opening, Kabel cut at the being getting pulled in like crazy.

When Asura descended into a prison, Kabel finished him completely with a final strike.

In that moment, he finally broke through—and it rang out to the entire world.

[The second legend is written.]

[By singlehandedly executing Asura, the Hell King, he has ascended to the seat of the new Hell King.]

A message that would throw the entire world into shock.

However, Kabel had set this World Message to anonymous.

The entire world began spitting out breaking news.

-Breaking. Bahala’s seat in danger.

-Breaking. Who is the second legend?

-Breaking. The new legend Asura. Following after the master craftsman.

-Estimated to possess strength that vastly surpasses Hyun.

Asura Kabel, the one at the center of it, didn’t even have time to be intoxicated by the alerts.

Because he could grasp what had happened at a glance.

After pinning down the flying Gremory with his dagger, he stood by his friend’s side.

Kabel was certain.

Without this dagger, I wouldn’t have been able to beat Asura.

This was something his one and only friend had made.

And then the succession alerts that began flooding in.

[Congratulations. You have become the second legend.]

[One of the legends. You have changed jobs to Asura, the Killing Wraith.]

It was different from Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo had gone from blacksmith to master craftsman, while Asura’s case was changing from an assassin class into a new class.

[You acquire the title Second Legend.]

[All Masteries increase by 5.]

[Dagger Mastery changes to Killing Wraith Mastery.]

[All attack power increases by 40%.]

[All defense increases by 15%.]

[A total of 450 bonus points are evenly allocated to fit the Asura class.]

[You inherit Asura’s skills.]

The overflowing power told him.

That Kabel now was at least about twice as strong as before.

That right now, there wouldn’t be many who could match him.

And it etched itself into him.

There were only two people Asura Kabel wanted to protect in this world.

The first was Lucky Lump, who made him feel affection, love, comfort, and warmth.

The second was—

My only friend.

Do you know?

Someone with little they want to protect

does their absolute best to protect that little.

“I’ll take point.”

But even with Asura Kabel here, the possibility was still only 6%.

Meanwhile.

There was another person with possibility.

A man who had been blown away by Gremory’s power gripped Babylon tight.

GRIP—!

Shame, humiliation, and rage surged up.

After being told to run by his companion, Bahala couldn’t even make that succeed.

In this moment, the appearance of one existence opened the possibility.

Gremory, pierced by the dagger, crashed to the ground, buying a fleeting few seconds.

Bahala gripped Babylon in both hands.

His heart beat fast.

More than anyone, he knew.

The lesser demon Luxiu, still unconscious.

Through him, Bahala would awaken new power, too.

THUNK—!

At last, Bahala’s sword buried itself into Luxiu’s heart.

Since less than 2% of his HP remained, killing him wasn’t difficult.

In that moment—

[You have succeeded in executing the lesser demon Luxiu.]

[Job Quest: Sword God’s Path completed.]

[You unlock the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Sword God’s new power.]

In one corner of the prison,

a pillar of light descended from the sky and wrapped around him.

[The Sword God defines.]

[Only you can walk the true Sword God’s Path.]

[Top-tier Sword Mastery changes to Sword God Mastery.]

[All sword-skill-related attack power increases by 15%, and cooldown is reduced by 20%.]

[About 100 bonus points are evenly invested to fit the current situation.]

[You inherit the Sword God’s new skills.]

Once again, Bahala—who had completed the Sword God’s Path—climbed higher, walking toward Hyunsoo and Kabel.

And Bahala was someone who could determine probability on his own.

That probability appeared after accounting for the overall situation.

[Chance of victory: 17%.]

Another possibility was opening.

Where Bahala had just been—

the one with the most infinite possibility was regaining consciousness.

SHIIING—!

The demonic energy dwelling in his body surged up and scattered.

That existence.

The one who had been kidnapped by Demon Gremory, unwillingly having all emotion and reason deleted as he was being demonized.

“.......”

Endless tears flowed from his eyes.

He’d thought it was better to die than become a demon.

But unexpectedly—

As a demon, he died, yet he did not die completely, and returned to being human.

There was no one in this world who wasn’t afraid of death.

GRIP—!

In this moment, the eyes of the one who had once been an undefeated knight reddened, bloodshot.

In his vision—he could see the one who had done this to him!

You are my tool.

The one who had tried to turn him into a mere tool.

Emotions are a luxury for someone like you.

The demon who had toyed with him and laughed at him.

But just as he tried to grab a sword, he realized.

As a human, he was far weaker than he had been as a lesser demon.

There was no way he could cut down Demon Gremory.

No... maybe it’s possible.

That thought flipped.

In Luxiu’s memories, there was one existence.

The one who had cut down Robs—who had trampled and tormented him—in a single strike.

Wearing a coat, drenched in blood, yet with eyes that still hadn’t cooled.

That person extended a large hand and said:

“Give me, your loyalty.”