Genius Blacksmith's Game

[Atlas’s financial status is at the lowest.]

Hyein was struggling desperately to change this notification.

Financial status: lowest.

This was the stage where Atlas’s civilians felt intense hunger.

And on top of that, preparing for the Great Atlas War...

Her head hurt like it was going to burst.

Even in this situation, Hyein had to enter a dungeon with the guild members.

They needed the users’ strength for the Great Atlas War, too.

So they couldn’t stop leveling up.

Just as Hyein was about to enter the dungeon, her face twisted.

[Lord Hyunsoo promised to give a portion of a true World Tree to the Kingdom of Praham.]

[If you do not fulfill the promise, your relationship with the Kingdom of Praham may be damaged.]

[Lord Hyunsoo must pay bereavement support for the fallen to the families, in exchange for receiving support of a 100,000-strong army from the Kingdom of Goyard.]

[If you do not pay, you may be met with the civilians’ resentment.]

“......?”

Through these notifications, she realized Hyunsoo had pushed things too far.

Of course, Nell had also heard the notification that Luxiu had left.

And the fact that Hyunsoo had been humiliated.

So Hyunsoo had asked Nell if it would be okay to proceed with this.

Nell had said she wanted him to do it after they built more strength and Atlas had some breathing room.

But with Hyunsoo forcing it through, Nell’s feelings turned complicated.

She focused on clearing the dungeon with the guild members, and when they finished, she said:

“We need to discuss something. Let’s meet at the cafe.”

*****

“Starting two weeks from now, it could even get to the point where our civilians are starving day after day. Atlas ended up going into debt to both Goyard and Praham.”

“Our civilians might starve?”

The guild members recognized how serious it was—and realized why they’d gathered at the cafe.

“Yes. I’m going to chew Hyunsoo out hard about this.”

She didn’t want to, either.

But there were times when moments like this were necessary.

No one could be perfect.

It was also a fact she couldn’t deny: when Hyunsoo charged into the Blood King, emotion had gotten there first.

Because they’d gone into debt to Goyard and Praham, Atlas’s hunger could last even longer.

“We need to make him recognize that ‘financial status: lowest’ is truly serious. It takes no time at all to go from lowest to worst.”

“If it becomes worst, what happens?”

At Hyuksu’s question, Hyein answered honestly.

“People will starve to death.”

“......!”

“......!”

The guild members flinched.

Hyun’s Forge carried the duty to protect them. The thought that people could die of starvation in a situation like this hit them like a shock.

And it wasn’t just about chewing Hyunsoo out—they also reflected on their own failures.

“I got too obsessed with my own growth.”

“And meanwhile, there are more hungry people in the territory. And winter’s coming, too. I was foolish.”

“What if I pay the funds?”

It was Taeha—the youngest son of a chaebol family.

Hyein shook her head.

“It’s only a temporary measure. We can’t pull real-world money into the game’s finances and let that become a repeating pattern.”

Of course, if it truly came to the point where people would starve to death, Hyein planned to pull in real money anyway.

Taeha, now fully grasping how serious it was, said:

“This time, we really need to speak sharply. And I’m also reflecting a lot.”

“I didn’t realize things had gotten this bad. I know Hyunsoo’s path was the best option, but we failed to look at what we truly needed to look at.”

“Yes. Sharply. We need to make sure he never acts unilaterally again.”

Their resolve ignited.

Right then, a KkakkaoTalk message arrived from Hyunsoo.

[Kang Hyunsoo: Nell, where are you^^?]

Hyein took a deep breath, then replied with a stiff face.

[Kim Hyein: I was in a dungeon. I logged out after clearing, so when I log back in, I’ll be in Atlas. How about you?]

[Kang Hyunsoo: I’m on my way back.]

[Kim Hyein: Perfect. We have something to talk about, so let’s meet in Atlas.]

TAP—

Hyein lowered her phone and put on a cold expression.

“Everyone, log in.”

“Sounds good.”

“See you in Atlas.”

They split to log in, then met again in Atlas.

Among them, Dragon Knight Resil felt the strongest sense of mission.

Because they were the same age and friends with Hyunsoo, they could talk the most openly.

And the thought that people could starve to death after seeing Atlas’s civilians made them furious.

The moment Resil logged in, they saw Hyunsoo approaching with a bright smile.

“Everyone, it’s been a whi—”

“You bastard!”

“......?”

Resil exploded. When Hyunsoo looked confused and startled, Resil pointed around and shouted:

“With the territory in THIS state, why the hell did you go and do the one thing we told you not to do!? Huh!? BLAH BLAH BLAH!”

Resil took point and tore into Hyunsoo.

Some kind of notification sounded in the middle of it, but Resil was getting angrier by the second, and didn’t hear it.

Someone tugged at Resil’s collar.

“Uh, Resil... um....”

“Hey, let go. Hyunsoo, if you keep doing this kind of—!”

Hyunsoo listened, and he fully understood.

This really had been his unilateral decision, and it was true that promising the World Tree to the Kingdom of Praham and accepting military support from the Kingdom of Goyard would become a burden on Atlas later.

Hyunsoo spoke to the guild members.

“My thinking was shallow. I’ll be more careful from now on. Thank you for calling out what I’m lacking.”

At the same time, it was obvious he looked visibly dejected.

But Resil believed that when you had to call someone out, you called them out.

“Don’t do it again!”

“Yeah. Thank you for telling me what I’m lacking.”

Had Resil gone too far?

Just as that thought crossed their mind, Nell poked them in the side.

“No—stop.”

“......W-why? Why?”

Resil made a baffled face.

Only then did they realize: everyone had agreed they’d all say something together, but Resil was the only one yelling.

“The notification...”

“Notification...?”

Resil looked—and froze.

[You have recruited Undefeated Knight Luxiu into Hyun’s Forge.]

“......?”

Undefeated Knight.

That legendary knight had returned to Hyunsoo’s side.

And with the title Undefeated Knight, for real.

The reason Nell and the guild members had called Hyunsoo reckless was simple: Luxiu’s loyalty to Brad.

In their common sense, Luxiu had that kind of devotion to Brad, so Hyunsoo stepping in was hard to understand.

But he’d brought Luxiu back, so everything changed—and Luxiu hurried over and asked:

“......What happened? Did that one bully you?”

SHIIING—!

“......?”

Just a few days ago, Luxiu was the type who would laugh it off with “Pfft—haha” even if Hyunsoo tripped on the road.

Now they were genuinely worried, like they were about to draw their sword.

“No. I was in the wrong. Resil, thank you for saying all that. I don’t know if this will be any comfort, but somehow... we ended up coming back with people who’ll help us.”

“......?”

Resil made a confused face—then panicked.

BWOOOOOO—!

The horn blast of those who arrived late.

Not the fake one-million army—an actual one million were entering Atlas.

With farm tools like pickaxes and shovels slung over their shoulders, they shouted:

“Let’s go build up Atlas!”

“Let’s goooo!”

[The one million of the Kingdom of Enya will help expand Atlas until they meet rest.]

“.......”

Resil went speechless.

Put even a thousand people into an auditorium and it’s packed.

An endless ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) line of a million was streaming into Atlas.

And they were going to help expand Atlas—even if it was only for a few days?

If you considered the wage value of even one worker, it was an outrageous amount.

And that wasn’t all.

Hyunsoo carefully brought it up.

“Fortunately, I did bring back money, too.”

Every guild member focused on him.

How much?

And the reason the guild members had tried to stop Resil was because they already knew the notification.

[Atlas’s finances change from worst to best!]

Changing from worst to best was an extremely difficult feat.

So when the next notification rang out, everyone stiffened.

[7,113,100,000 gold is filled into Hyun’s Forge’s treasury.]

“......?”

“......?”

“......?”

7.1131 billion won.

This had happened just two days after Hyunsoo went to the Kingdom of Enya and returned.

“Using 3,500,000 gold, we buy food. Using 3,500,000 gold, we purchase raw materials. Then for four days, one million people expand Atlas. I think that would be good.”

“HIC!”

Resil hiccuped at what they’d just heard.

Hyunsoo said:

“Even though this result happened, it was probably just luck. I’m sorry to everyone.”

Hyunsoo bowed again.

Stunned, Resil looked at Nell as if begging for help.

Nell, who had “betrayed” them at lightning speed, made a finger heart.

“......L-love... no, I mean, I like you.”

“......?”

A stance change faster than light.

Hyuksu gently took Resil’s hands and said:

“......Don’t mind that one. I knew you’d pull it off. That one’s been in a bad mood lately. Anyway—such hysteria.”

Hyeji chimed in.

“Why are you yelling at our Hyunsoo!”

Taehun shouted:

“Hyunsoo, long live!”

“Long live forever!”

“.......”

Hyunsoo said:

“No. I really was in the wrong. Resil—thank you for calling me out like that. I’ll improve and move forward.”

Resil, who had suddenly become the only bad guy, said:

“......I want to be alone. Everyone, disappear.”

A whisper came in.

[Nell: Go stand over there alone.]

“.......”

Resil went off to a corner alone.

It was a beautiful day.

Anyway, with enough resources and enough manpower secured, Atlas began changing rapidly.

“We’ll build more buildings and more shops.”

“Is that possible in only four days?”

“One million people, though?”

“......Ah.”

[The number of residences and shops in Atlas increases by 321%!]

“To expand the fields, we need to plow them and improve them.”

“In four days...?”

“One million people, so it’s possible.”

“Ah....”

[The size of Atlas’s fields grows to 11 times the usual scale, and the territory’s overall size expands greatly!]

“We’ll procure every bit of food needed to survive the winter.”

“In four days?”

“Yes. One million people, so it’s fast.”

[Atlas stores over 10,000 kg of meat from various animals to survive the winter!]

When four days passed.

“......May you all rest in peace.”

At the end of Aria’s prayer, they closed their eyes in the most comfortable way—leaving behind the most precious things in the world.

Their blessings and help descended upon Atlas, forging a new history.

[Nearly 200,000 reside in Territory Atlas.]

[Housing satisfaction is at the best.]

[Food storage is at the best.]

[Financial status is at the best.]

[Congratulations.]

Only three months.

Hyunsoo stood on a path no one had ever accomplished.

[Territory Atlas is promoted to a great territory for the first time.]

[You can rise to marquis.]

DING!

[You do not rise to marquis.]

“Let it be declared.”

Before 200,000 civilians, he spoke.

“Great Territory Atlas declares that it is an independent territory that has broken away from Goyard.”

Completely stepping out of Goyard’s shadow, he began building his own power.

That was right.

This was a great territory—yet it was also the start of the smallest kingdom in the world.

And there was a moment Hyunsoo had been waiting for.

Many were watching, worried.

Pureum Co., Ltd.’s Special User Management Team.

“Don’t tell me... it’s real...”

And Lee Sejin in the CEO office.

“Something unbelievable has happened. But what he did is real.”

And somewhere, even the kings of the five thrones were beginning to fear what came next.

Before Hyunsoo—who had declared complete independence—Luxiu approached.

[Vassal Luxiu did not speak of the past at all.]

[Right now, Luxiu’s loyalty to you is high.]

“I have something to tell you.”

Hyunsoo looked at Luxiu with an expectant face.

“I’ll tell you how to become Paewang.”