Genius Blacksmith's Game

[Legendary monster Fenrir Lv.493]

It was Fenrir’s level, visible to everyone except NPCs.

In the NPCs’ case, it wasn’t like they could directly check a level, but they could feel it from the aura alone.

That Fenrir was insanely strong.

And proof of that was the fact that knights pushing into the 430s couldn’t even leave so much as a scratch on its body.

But now.

“YIP......!”

Silence swept the field at the sight of Fenrir intermittently twitching with its head buried in the ground, and Hyunsoo fluttering his coat as he landed lightly.

The three marquises.

They were the ones who still doubted whether Hyunsoo could truly become king.

Even though the Goyard army had escaped the crisis thanks to the opening Hyunsoo created.

Still, Goyard was a somewhat special country.

Small-country Goyard.

To begin with, the Asgan Continent itself was on the smaller side.

So if you combined all the continents in the world, this country called Goyard would be an even smaller country by comparison.

But no one could ignore Goyard.

Because Sword King Barad exists.

That was why his descendant had to be strong—of course.

But becoming strong ultimately required time. That was simply how it worked.

And yet, Hyunsoo had just knocked Fenrir down in one hit.

And just like the others staring in shock—

...Just how strong have you become?

—even Nell couldn’t believe it.

All across the battlefield.

There were members of Hyun’s Forge.

Hyunsoo, isn’t this completely broken?

The dragon knight Resil breathed out in awe.

...I need to keep improving too.

Tank Bark, among others—

Even my arrows couldn’t deal any massive damage to Fenrir.

Ian, and countless others scattered everywhere, watched Guild Master Hyunsoo and marveled.

But that amazement and stillness couldn’t last long.

Fenrir’s HP had originally been around 59%.

It had taken quite a bit of damage in its fight with Barad.

Its current HP.

[Fenrir’s HP drops below 58%.]

Fenrir had definitely taken an enormous shock just now.

But the HP it lost was only 1%.

Hyunsoo had grown stronger, yes—but it was also showing just what kind of monster Fenrir truly was.

*****

[A critical hit triggers.]

[You deal 44,310 damage.]

TZZZT—

Hyunsoo’s arms buzzed and rang as he brought the Twin Dragon Sword down on Fenrir.

It felt like he’d slammed it into a massive steel beam, not a monster.

And even though it was damage maximized by both a critical hit and the acceleration from falling out of the sky, Fenrir’s HP still dropped by only 1%.

That proved it.

Fenrir wasn’t just a monster with high defense—its total HP pool was enormous, too.

And with a body that huge, it would surely have an attack power he’d never felt before as well.

It’s boiling.

Watching Fenrir slowly push itself up, Hyunsoo’s chest grew hot.

Hyunsoo had defeated Legion Commander Robs before.

But the reason he’d been able to bring Robs down back then was because his Ultimate Art had activated.

If you asked which of the two was stronger, Fenrir was far superior.

Legion Commander Robs had a high level, sure, but in the end, it was only a tamer.

And Hyunsoo also knew.

-Demon Descent. With that breaking news spreading worldwide, most viewers are currently flooding in to watch the fall of Goyard.

-Right now, they’re focusing on Hyunsoo, the one who pinned Fenrir into the ground!

The public—people who denied him, mocked him, and believed countless things were impossible.

What can Hyunsoo possibly do after hiding for two months?

The ones who dragged his worth through the mud with words like that would see it today: what Hyunsoo looked like now, after those two months in hiding.

Fenrir rose to its feet.

With eyes as big as Hyunsoo, it unleashed its aura.

“Grrrrr.......”

“Ugh.......”

“Khk.......”

“Urgh.......”

Groans spread everywhere just from facing an enraged Fenrir.

And Fenrir knew its own epithet well.

“I am called the Great Mountain.”

A great mountain.

A massive mountain that had never collapsed.

No one could deny it.

Fenrir stood fully upright—11 meters tall.

It was as high as a typical castle wall, and in stark contrast, Hyunsoo was barely one-sixth its size.

“AWOOOOOOOO!”

It activated.

The power that had crushed the Goyard army’s morale and carved massive fear into them—the Wolf King’s Howl.

But—

[Master Blacksmith’s Pride]

[Depending on the situation, you resist any status ailment.]

“Today, the Great Mountain will collapse.”

“......!?”

Fenrir was shocked.

Not only had Hyunsoo resisted it effortlessly, but the aura erupting from a human only one-sixth its size was trying to swallow it whole.

Fenrir tried to move first—before it could be swallowed.

But Hyunsoo was faster.

At 11 meters tall.

In the instant it realized it, its massive body was being yanked toward the man who had already leapt up in front of it.

[Pull]

In one motion, Hyunsoo dragged Fenrir in and smashed it with the Twin Dragon Sword clenched tight in his hands.

GRAAANG—!

THOOM—!

Fenrir staggered back a step from the blow.

And Hyunsoo—

Hoooo......

—let out a soft breath and moved fast.

BOOM, BOOM-BOOM, BOOOM, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° BOOM—!

In an instant he dropped to the ground, then at blistering speed hammered Fenrir from every direction.

“Kh......!”

Each hit slammed Fenrir with a tremendous shock, and it felt as if it were facing Barad.

And what was that massive blade? Every direct impact made Fenrir’s body reel.

But—

KWA-BOOOOM—!

Just from Fenrir kicking off the ground and colliding forward, an absurd alert struck.

[HP drops below 75%.]

“Cough...!”

Blood spilled from Hyunsoo’s mouth.

As he steadied himself from being blasted back and nearly driven into the ground, he met Fenrir charging again to smash him.

In that moment, a small ghost walked before the Great Mountain.

“Ghost Step.”

FWOOMP—!

Hyunsoo vanished like light, instantly slamming Fenrir in the flank—

THOOM—!

—then dropping from above to bring the blade down again.

From every direction.

Fenrir couldn’t respond to Hyunsoo as he moved a total of twenty-seven times.

FSSSHHHHHHHHH—!

And the people—civilians and soldiers alike—watched blood jetting from Fenrir’s body and prayed.

Please.

Please kill Fenrir.

But at the end of those twenty-seven Ghost Steps—

[Fenrir’s HP drops below 45%.]

Despair settled into everyone’s eyes.

Hyunsoo had mixed multiple skills appropriately as he struck.

Even so, the HP he’d shaved off amounted to only around 13%.

It was proof of just how enormous Fenrir’s total HP pool was.

And—

-Hyunsoo has definitely gotten stronger.

-That astonishing damage output. If you get hit by that damage, even most high-rankers would have trouble keeping their head on straight.

-But that won’t kill Fenrir.

Viewers across the world agreed with the commentators.

In that moment—

RIIIP—!

Fenrir’s maw opened.

The sign of an ultimate?

No.

Fenrir was a named monster—and a being that wielded special magic.

With this power, it had dealt Barad a grievous wound.

[Fenrir’s Teeth.]

[Not even a legend can resist.]

[A massive pull drags you into Fenrir’s maw.]

It looked just like “retrieval,” where a weapon gets reeled back into a palm.

Hyunsoo in his coat was dragged in an instant by a power he couldn’t resist.

“Kh—!”

When he snapped back to himself, he was inside Fenrir’s jaws—wide enough to swallow him in a single bite.

And Fenrir’s Teeth, a power that hits with 100% certainty, also carried a near-instant-kill force.

Hyunsoo’s HP had been close to 75%.

The moment Fenrir clamped down, he was crushed.

KWAJAAAAK—

[HP drops below 12%.]

“Khhak!”

In a single instant, 60% of Hyunsoo’s HP was erased.

Limp inside its mouth, Hyunsoo felt a vibration of laughter rising from Fenrir’s gut.

“To think you’d try to kill me with this. Pathetic.”

Fenrir had met many like him.

Some of them had been genuine threats.

But every last one of them had been dragged in and swallowed by Fenrir’s Teeth—a single ultimate.

RIIIP—

Fenrir opened its mouth once more.

-It’s over.

-After filtering and calculating the professional data, even if user Hyunsoo unleashes every remaining offensive skill, Fenrir’s HP won’t drop by more than 20%.

-Even if, at this moment right before forced logout, he miraculously succeeds at pouring absolutely everything into it.

Viewers across the world agreed.

And so did the ones watching from in front of TVs and monitors—those who had been aiming for Hyunsoo.

Musashi of Japan.

“Khahahah! Even if he throws everything, he can’t kill it—and he said that kind of thing?”

Kassandra of Russia.

“He got stronger, yes, but not to a level that’s even threatening.”

Mio of Vietnam.

“So that’s all it was? The First Legend dies way too easily.”

And Pond of China.

“It’s certain. Even if he miraculously lands every skill, he can’t kill it.”

But elsewhere—

Two men saw things differently.

No—these were two men with eyes that surpassed commentators and high-rankers.

Bahala and Kabel.

Both of them shook their heads.

They can’t feel it?

The world didn’t understand what the two of them had realized.

First—

Hyunsoo has gained an even greater power now.

It was far greater than the power he’d had before separating from Bahala and Kabel.

[Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo Lv.403]

That meant Hyunsoo, who had been level 399 before, had crossed 400.

When users reached level 400, they received additional rewards as a benefit.

Even if it was only a small amount, even that kind of power could become formidable.

But Kabel and Bahala still couldn’t understand.

I don’t know what power he opened, but even if he uses something now, right before being swallowed, he can’t possibly kill it— huh?

Then goosebumps rose along both their backs.

Something they saw half a beat too late—

Hyunsoo had already seen it.

*****

Fenrir opened its jaws wide, about to clamp its upper and lower jaws together with force.

Then Fenrir panicked.

...What?

Its jaw wouldn’t move.

The voice of the Hyunsoo who’d been hanging limp stabbed into Fenrir’s ear.

“Kneel before me.”

THOOOOOM—!!

An irresistible force of Absolute Domination slammed into Fenrir.

And Fenrir felt it.

As if someone had grabbed its upper and lower jaws and was yanking them apart.

RIIIP—!

Its maw was forced open as wide as possible, and inside it, Hyunsoo—soaked in blood and saliva—pulled the Twin Dragon Sword back with a fierce glare.

“......How am I supposed to kill you the normal way.”

“......?”

Right now, Fenrir was being dominated.

But it wasn’t like the Hydra incident, where it slammed its own head into the ground.

It was simply being brainwashed into opening its mouth wider and wider.

And Fenrir chewed on the words.

If not the normal way, then what?

And Fenrir admitted it.

At Hyunsoo’s vow to bring it down, Fenrir was more excited than usual.

It couldn’t help it.

If a kindergartener looked a grown adult in the eye and sincerely said, I can beat you easily, any adult would be flustered and dumbfounded.

It was exactly like that.

But the thing that feeling produced—

Hyunsoo smiled.

The one who had swept away eight hundred Blood Ghoul Corps and leveled up several times—

[You have reached level 400.]

[A new skill is unlocked.]

DING!

[You are the successor to the Sword King’s swordsmanship.]

[Your growth was special.]

[During the process of reaching level 400, Sword King Barad issued a royal command and designated you as a descendant.]

[It is a path no one else can walk.]

[Because of that, you awaken a power passed down only to the direct bloodline of the Sword King Bastis family.]

[Legendary skill. You acquire Sword Frenzy.]

Sword Frenzy.

A superior version of The sword’s cry used by Sword King Barad.

Hyunsoo felt it.

The one who had been the angriest, the one who had suffered the most, the one who had been the saddest in this place... would have been his friend, Barad.

The country he’d protected his entire life was collapsing in an instant beneath invaders.

And Barad was also Hyunsoo’s friend.

Thinking back, Hyunsoo had always been the one receiving from him.

This Sword Frenzy was the same.

Today, he’d return that grace.

“Sword Frenzy.”

FWOOOOOM—!

A tremendous power that only the Bastis family’s direct line could master went berserk through a single blade.

And the destination of that berserk power—

“I’m going to ram it straight down your throat.”

—was inside Fenrir’s mouth, and as Fenrir realized it, its eyes widened.

Fenrir—and the viewers across the world—felt it.

Today, the Great Mountain collapses.