Genius Blacksmith's Game

“Give me, your loyalty.”

Luxiu stared at the huge hand.

Loyalty. The meaning—serving and respecting him with sincerity.

Luxiu, the Unyielding Knight, was someone who had been abandoned by the king Luxiu had protected.

And the moment the man held out his hand, Luxiu was feeling a powerful impulse.

An attraction that made Luxiu want to take that hand.

Part of the description written under Give me, your loyalty.

“If you are the one to first recommend that someone become your vassal, then depending on various factors besides that someone’s story, you may be able to make them become your vassal by stirring emotions such as higher respect and loyalty toward you.”

In this way, Give me, your loyalty could exert even greater power on someone who carried many reasons.

Right now, Luxiu had more than enough reason to pledge loyalty to Hyunsoo.

Because of Hyunsoo, Robs had died, and Luxiu—who had been turning into a demon—had become human.

But Luxiu asked a question.

If I take this hand... can I take revenge?

The difference between Luxiu as a lesser demon and Luxiu now was enormous.

Back then, Luxiu had been level 600.

Now Luxiu was only level 457.

On the other hand, Luxiu knew how powerful Demon Gremory was.

So when Luxiu asked whether this man could create that possibility—

“......So that’s how you put out that kind of attack power with a sword like that? You’re insane.”

The man’s gaze landed on a sword off to the side, nearly snapped in two.

Gremory and Robs had treated Luxiu as nothing but a tool, with no interest beyond turning Luxiu into a demon.

The sword Luxiu had been holding. A worthless sword ordinary human soldiers carried—so rusted it was even worse.

In that moment, a new possibility was presented—one more chance for Luxiu to cut down a demon.

“I’ll lend it to you. Cut Gremory.”

What he handed over was a longsword made of black light—Supreme Blade.

Supreme Blade was Ares’s greatest famed sword before the Twin Dragon Sword.

Luxiu had held many swords before. The instant Luxiu accepted Supreme Blade, Luxiu was shocked.

[The Unyielding Knight and a great famed sword meet.]

[It is a wondrous combination.]

[It produces the greatest synergy.]

[Luxiu’s level is being updated.]

Ding!

[Luxiu Lv.486]

Just from gripping a new sword, Luxiu felt as if power was boiling up inside.

And Luxiu was a swordsman who had once represented an entire kingdom.

The synergy of the greatest swordsman meeting the greatest famed sword went beyond common sense.

......A possibility opened.

Just from handing over one blade—opening a possibility like this.

And Luxiu couldn’t help wondering how the man standing before Luxiu—someone with such power—possessed a famed sword like this.

The man smiled faintly.

“......I’ll make you armor later.”

“......?”

In that moment, Luxiu finally realized.

The huge cleaver in his hands.

The brown coat and artifacts that gave off the aura of evil.

And besides that—there was even the man in white armor holding Babylon, and the man called Asura holding a dagger.

All of it was made by this man.

The hand was offered again.

GRIP—!

Luxiu clasped it with all his strength.

It meant Luxiu would fight together with him—and that after the battle ended, Luxiu would follow him.

And the moment Luxiu took that hand, Hyunsoo’s possibilities were opening, too.

*****

[Sudden Quest: Sealing]

Grade: SSS

Restriction: The one who caused Gremory’s descent

Reward: The same experience points and artifact drop as killing Gremory.

Penalty on failure: The fall of Atlas.

Description: To you, the creator of Babylon, Gremory has etched an indelible mark.

One marked like this allows Gremory to identify their location, and by peering into their mind, glean various things.

After learning that you are the sovereign and the owner of Atlas, Gremory feels an even greater desire than when she created the lesser demon Luxiu.

If you cannot seal her now, Gremory will destroy Atlas and use you as her limbs.

A quest triggered on Hyunsoo the moment he was branded.

The instant Hyunsoo saw it, Hyunsoo’s head went white.

There was no way Hyunsoo and Bahala alone could seal a demon.

And this would spread into cascading damage.

The moment Gremory descended leading 22 legions, the Kingdom of Goyard would fight to stop her.

Barad—whom Hyunsoo cherished—and everything Hyunsoo had brushed past could be erased.

And.

She didn’t even feel I was worth dealing with. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The emotion she felt was nothing more than wanting a certain tool.

So she summoned a worshiper to end him.

And in that process, she likely meant to plant helplessness and despair in him—make him submit.

But the situation was changing.

In the brief opening where Gremory couldn’t move—after taking a massive impact to the forehead—

In that shifting situation, Hyunsoo judged he had to raise the odds even higher.

Just like The Lord’s Grace and Give me, your loyalty had already proven once.

After handing over Supreme Blade, Hyunsoo offered his hand—and Luxiu clasped it with all his strength.

[Give me, your loyalty]

[Luxiu will follow you.]

Give me, your loyalty is the superior version of Give me your blessing.

What you get from Give me your blessing is, at best, a blessing.

But Give me, your loyalty is different.

The moment it succeeds, if the other party approves—like with Give me your blessing—and takes Hyunsoo’s hand, it bestows a blessing together with a vassal.

And that blessing—

It changes depending on what potential the one who takes my hand has, and what kind of power they hold.

Hyunsoo was curious.

Whether Luxiu, willingly or not, had gained the potential of a demon once.

Even if Luxiu had become human—would that potential fade?

[You have obtained a vassal who will lead the era.]

It hadn’t.

Here, now—Hyunsoo grew again.

Even if it was only a blessing equal to 50% of Give me your blessing.

[Sword Mastery increases by 2.]

[Sword attack power increases by 10%.]

[All damage of sword-related skills increases by 15%.]

[Total HP and MP increase by 6%.]

[All skill cooldowns are reduced by 5%.]

[You acquire 30 bonus points and they are evenly applied.]

One step further.

Hyunsoo and Luxiu. Bahala and Kabel. They walked toward one place.

Where they gathered, Gremory was there—her forehead already recovering.

They still didn’t have certainty about sealing a demon.

[Kang Hyunsoo: Why is everyone at a sliver of HP......?]

[Bahala: ......]

[Kabel: ......]

Luxiu was included.

“.......”

Luxiu had died, then awakened human.

The amount of HP Hyunsoo could see on Luxiu was less than 5%.

The problem was—Bahala, Kabel, and Hyunsoo weren’t much different.

Bahala and Hyunsoo had both dropped below 10% HP from fighting Gremory.

The bigger problem was that even if Bahala had awakened new power, most of Bahala’s mana was already spent, and many skills’ cooldowns still hadn’t returned.

The same went for Kabel.

Kabel had just fought Asura in a brutal battle—and had been brought to the brink of death.

[Kang Hyunsoo: Feels like Gremory’s perfect for someone to last-hit? Did we turn into Golden Goblins?]

[Bahala: ......]

[Kabel: ......]

Luxiu.

“.......”

Everyone faced reality.

And then Hyunsoo began to feel a brilliant light surging up from inside his chest.

That light—came from something given by a certain existence he had met before he left.

*****

CEO Lee Sejin rushed into the executive office.

......This is insane.

In the end, CEO Lee Sejin was still a person—someone who could become a viewer.

He didn’t want to miss a scene this fun.

It was different from the time Graut was hunted.

Back then, NPCs had been the main force that brought down a demon.

Now, users were the main force.

But CEO Lee Sejin recognized reality.

“......What’s with their conditions?”

He knew they’d awakened and become stronger.

The problem was—they were only half-finished.

And the sealing success probability that supercomputer Ares was sending—

[Chance of sealing success: 24%.]

It wasn’t rising. It was stuck.

Then—

[Chance of sealing success is being updated!]

The probability climbed in an exponential leap.

And the moment CEO Lee Sejin found the reason, CEO /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Lee Sejin stood up from his seat.

“......He’s not there, but he’s fighting with them?”

Besides the four members—there was another existence opening yet another possibility.

*****

“Lucky Lump, you didn’t go home.”

“How many hours have you been standing here.”

Atlas.

A puppy stood at the entrance, sniffling—staring toward where its owner would be.

“Wheeen, whine.......”

Lucky Lump, whining while sitting, had heard not long ago that its owner and Bahala were going to hunt a demon.

Lucky Lump knew it was something extremely dangerous.

Lucky Lump wanted to follow.

But Lucky Lump couldn’t.

Because Lucky Lump was so weak right now it would only become a hindrance.

But Lucky Lump knew that soon, Lucky Lump would change into another existence.

And that Lucky Lump could also imbue special power into something Lucky Lump had held onto for a long time.

On the day Hyunsoo left—

Lucky Lump gave him what Lucky Lump cherished and loved the most.

“Woof, woofwoof!”

A soft light poured out of Lucky Lump’s body and shot up into the sky.

That light raced faster than lightning—toward the item Lucky Lump had given him.

*****

Gremory had lost 80% of her HP in a single blow.

With that shock still lingering, the dagger lodged in her forehead clouded her mind with confusion.

It was only a few dozen seconds, but she shook her head violently—feeling powerful forces everywhere.

What are these powers......?

They were far too strong.

The Sword God who had once protected the continent from demons.

They said demons had felt fear at the aura of the Sword God.

Demon Gremory trembled—not at something that could be called the Sword God’s aura, since it was weak—but at the convergence of many powers that were too strong for a human to produce.

Still, she recognized reality.

No matter what made them stronger, Gremory knew it.

They’re dying embers.

No matter how those embers tried to blaze—without firewood, they couldn’t rise.

Gremory’s pierced forehead fully recovered, and at an absurd speed her HP restored up to 25%.

“Even if you worthless bug bastards gather, what changes—”

She couldn’t finish.

A light dropped from the sky.

And something that slipped out of the Babylon creator’s chest—floating in midair.

It was, at most, a ridiculous object.

A barbecue doll chewed up in spots by a small puppy, frayed all over.

But a Transcendent species could see what lesser species could not.

The light falling from the sky met the pathetic doll.

FWOOM—!

The true existence hidden inside projected into her vision.

7 meters tall.

White fur that shone with a glossy sheen.

Eyes of a massive, violent beast.

A gigantic existence only Gremory could see let out a roar.

“Kuh-ahhhhhhhhhh!”

Flinch—!

Seeing what others couldn’t, she recoiled.

A gigantic existence that a mere Transcendent species couldn’t even dare meet eyes with left her shaken.

And then—

It drifted apart, as if it had only ever been a mirage, and something else began to reveal itself.

“......What kind of existence is Lucky Lump?”

“What’s certain is that Lucky Lump protected you. And today, Lucky Lump protects us. Such an adorable puppy.”

“......I’m Lucky Lump’s owner, though?”

The holy existence vanished, and at last those who remained revealed themselves.

Not embers dying out.

[The benevolence of Lucky Lump descends.]

[It restores the HP and MP of all targets judged as allies by 100%.]

[All skill cooldowns are reset.]

They were flames—blazing so fiercely they could devour all demonic energy.

And even the system knew.

[Strong opponents are existences that are difficult to gather.]

Normally, that was true.

Just like Barad and Ben had snarled at each other.

[In a formation never seen before and never to be seen again, powerful individuals gather their strength and form a party.]

This alert rang out to everyone except Luxiu.

They knew each other.

From this moment on—whose back each of them would entrust, and fight.

[The Sword God’s descendant Bahala Lv.487]

“I’ll take the left.”

[Asura Kabel Lv.468]

“Then I’ll take the right.”

[The Unyielding Knight. Luxiu Lv.486]

“I’ll take the front, then.”

The three of them looked at one man at the same time.

A man in a brown coat, gripping the Twin Dragon Sword.

[Master Blacksmith Kang Hyunsoo Lv.372]

Hyunsoo accepted their gaze and aimed at Gremory.

“I’m just gonna beat her down.”

Everyone nodded like it was a good idea.

And an alert sounded—something they could all agree with.

[Hidden Piece. The party formation of the greatest individuals is complete.]

[You acquire the title Party of the Supremes.]

And Hyunsoo was feeling it.

A demon—this Transcendent species.

They’d been reduced to mere prey by her.

But not anymore.

Gremory’s face, sweating cold, told him.

“We start sealing the demon.”

Now the demon—

Was our prey.