Genius Blacksmith's Game

Paewang Barok was the most special figure among the absolute rulers.

The Tyrant and the Holy Lord.

It was true that both kings were strong.

But what made those two possible was a strong army.

A Holy Lord is a ruler of all people who amasses more virtue than anyone, and in {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a moment of crisis can unite every army.

A Tyrant is a ruler who forms an independent army using power, madness, and their own specialness.

But Paewang Barok was different.

The king of the smallest country, with a population of only three million.

And yet even Tyrant Jabar, who loved plunder and invasion, didn’t set foot in Paewang’s domain.

Why?

To Hyunsoo’s question, Luxiu answered.

“Because he’s too strong.”

“.......”

Hyunsoo’s heart pounded.

Right now, Kabel the informant was struggling to obtain information about Paewang.

But Paewang’s information was hard to find anywhere.

Meaning, it was a story that would start getting revealed around the latter half of the second Ares.

A notification proved it.

[You are hearing information about the strongest king. Paewang.]

He was the first user to come into contact with Paewang’s information, so every word Luxiu said felt like a jewel.

A king who resembles what I’m pursuing.

Paewang’s country only held three million—an extremely small nation among small nations.

Not long ago, the minimum condition Nell mentioned for a “kingdom” was around that level, where the system would even announce that a kingdom could be established.

But the nation Paewang led had one million fewer than the four million Nell mentioned.

“It wasn’t just Tyrant Jabar. Even imperial emperors with hundreds of millions of people and more than ten million soldiers tried not to clash with him.”

It wasn’t like the Kingdom of Enya.

The reason people didn’t touch Enya was because it was filthy.

Paewang’s country, on the other hand, wasn’t touched because it was genuinely terrifying.

“There’s always a mad dog.”

Luxiu let out a scoffing chuckle.

“Someone tried to invade Paewang’s country. Palama’s king—he was the king of a nation with thirty million civilians. He was young.”

This was a story from the time Luxiu lived.

“Not long after ascending the throne, the king of Palama was filled with reckless arrogance. He wanted to create a historic incident and grow Palama. So he sent a hundred thousand scouts.”

GULP—!

Hyunsoo swallowed his dry spit.

A hundred thousand.

Recently, Hyunsoo had purified nearly four thousand at once.

Beating four thousand alone was an incredible feat.

Of course, back then he’d had the Sain Sword and Saint Aria’s help.

“Those hundred thousand were annihilated in a single day.”

“......Then how much damage did Paewang’s country take?”

Luxiu shook their head, as if to say the question itself was wrong.

“......Paewang fought alone.”

A massive shock crashed into Hyunsoo.

Paewang Barok had slaughtered a hundred-thousand-strong army alone.

“After sending the hundred-thousand scouting army and watching that battle, Palama’s king said this.”

Hyunsoo focused on Luxiu’s mouth.

“Humanity’s only Transcendent.”

[You learn about Transcendents.]

“......!”

Transcendent.

A special name attached only to beings like demons or dragons.

And “transcendent” meant surpassing some standard or limit.

In other words, it meant the one and only human who was born with a human body—and surpassed that limit.

“What happened to Palama’s king after that?”

“......They became his follower. Of course, Paewang didn’t accept them.”

It could sound like a ridiculous story.

But to Hyunsoo, it landed differently.

A king filled with reckless arrogance—after witnessing one man’s martial might, tried to offer up their entire country.

Paewang proved that level of power.

“And on top of that, he fought Vepar, one of the demons.”

Luxiu didn’t add anything more.

Because what results the modifier attached to Paewang’s name had created was already proven.

Just like the name—a king who never once tasted defeat—he fought Vepar alone, and did not lose.

Is that even possible...?

Unlike the Holy Lord and the Tyrant, Paewang was a singular individual who possessed unrivaled strength.

A true Transcendent.

And that gave Hyunsoo a hint.

Right now, across the world, something connected to Transcendence was beginning to show itself.

Transcendent-grade materials.

Hints for obtaining a Transcendent-grade artifact.

Ways to obtain Transcendent-grade skills.

It had been a foretold progression from the moment the second Ares opened.

And among them, Paewang was the Transcendent whose outline appeared first.

......If he’s a Transcendent, then most of the skills he has are Transcendent-grade.

It was insane.

And because Hyunsoo already possessed a Transcendent-grade skill, it hit harder than anyone.

The Transcendent skill he held was [Extinction].

That [Extinction] was the pinnacle.

It first displayed its power when he fought Legion Commander Robs, and it was defined as Ares’s first instant-kill move.

In reality, one trigger of [Extinction] could kill Robs.

Meaning Paewang has things like that.

And there were parts that resembled Hyunsoo.

Just like Hyunsoo dreamed of a small nation, Paewang was the king of a small nation.

Just like Hyunsoo held the desire to become a strong ruler and protect an anxious country, Paewang had the power to protect their country alone.

Just from the name, they made people unable to even form the will to invade.

There was one most important point.

This story began with “how to become Paewang.”

“How do I become Paewang?”

He wanted to become Paewang by any means necessary.

Just knowing the method alone made the possibilities infinite—.

“Beat Paewang.”

“......What?”

Hyunsoo’s mind went white.

[Dual class. You learn about Paewang.]

[Job quest. Paewang is generated.]

[Job quest: Paewang]

Grade: SSS

Restriction: Those who heard how to become Paewang

Reward: Dual class. Paewang.

Penalty on failure: Cannot become Paewang.

Description: Paewang is a powerful king who never once tasted defeat. If you break his legend, you can become Paewang.

Hyunsoo stared at the quest window, speechless.

Paewang’s number of battles might have been tens of thousands or more.

He had to hand defeat to a king who had won every single one of those tens of thousands of battles, to inherit that power.

How is that different from me killing Gremory alone?

Paewang was a being who didn’t lose even to a demon.

And the reason Hyunsoo could kill a demon was because he had Bahala, Kabel, Luxiu, and Annihilating Evil.

Paewang isn’t evil, so Annihilating Evil won’t work, either.

He had to beat Paewang alone, with Paewang at 100% full HP.

“Paewang is waiting. In Alterion, his country that has already vanished into history.”

“......How is he still alive?”

Was it like Brad?

“He’s clinging to life to wait for a successor who will follow after him. Rather than misfortune, it’s heavenly luck—and the last chance.”

“Last chance?”

“The more he resisted time, the more he weakened until there was nothing left. And having reached the point of rest, it means he’s lost the strength to hold on.”

“......So Paewang has become much weaker?”

Luxiu nodded.

“The remaining period is estimated at six months.”

Meaning, he had to challenge Paewang within six months.

“Even if you can’t become Paewang, there’s no need to despair. That is the natural order. The natural order that the king who never once tasted defeat still does not taste defeat.”

Luxiu looked at Hyunsoo with concern, and at the same time, tried to encourage him.

“Alterion in history is no longer an ordinary place. Paewang doesn’t grant everyone the honor of crossing blades with him.”

Luxiu, too, had once walked Paewang’s path with the epithet of an unyielding knight.

“I couldn’t even reach the honor of crossing blades with Paewang. Alterion has countless trials and hardships, and only at the end of that entire process can you reach Paewang. You’ll grow stronger each time you overcome a trial. Even if you can’t become Paewang, it will still help you greatly.”

From what Luxiu was saying, Hyunsoo could infer Alterion operated like a stage-based progression.

And Luxiu was worried about Hyunsoo.

Only six months remained.

And Luxiu already knew the method of becoming Paewang was to beat him—and everything had collapsed inside them.

Because beating a king who never once tasted defeat felt like a realm beyond comprehension.

After hearing how to become Paewang, he might despair or give up.

That was why Luxiu had spoken of it as “the natural order,” even if he couldn’t reach it.

And only six months were left.

If it were Luxiu, they would have given up.

But then—

“Six months... I have to try.”

Luxiu was impressed.

Because fighting spirit had settled in Hyunsoo’s eyes.

Through that, Luxiu realized something.

The Hyunsoo they would newly serve possessed a heart and pride even harder than Luxiu’s.

“I have a new goal. You’ll help from my side, right?”

Luxiu felt their chest tremble.

In an instant, an image flashed through their mind.

Hyunsoo who had truly become Paewang—and themselves serving him.

Today, both Luxiu and Hyunsoo gained a new goal.

Luxiu’s goal: to raise Hyunsoo to Paewang no matter what.

Hyunsoo’s goal: to grow drastically over six months and become the king who would inherit that epithet.

*****

In the place where the supercomputer Ares was.

“User Hyunsoo has been shown the path to fight a Transcendent....”

Muttering, Sejin twisted into a bitter smile.

What was a Transcendent?

It could mean surpassing human limits—but it also might not.

To Sejin and the supercomputer Ares, a Transcendent was someone who possessed a one-and-only power that stood at the absolute summit in some category.

Sejin chuckled.

“By that logic, isn’t user Hyunsoo a Transcendent too?”

Even in reality, Transcendents existed.

At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Usain Bolt ran the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds.

Even now, after decades, that record still hadn’t been broken, and some people even said Usain Bolt hadn’t gone all out back then.

Like that—someone with a record that remains unbroken even after decades.

A one-and-only person.

That could be called a Transcendent in reality—so wasn’t user Hyunsoo also a Transcendent, as the only hand-forging blacksmith and a master blacksmith?

But the supercomputer Ares thought differently.

-User Hyunsoo is not a Transcendent.

“......?”

Sejin made a puzzled face.

So Hyunsoo wasn’t someone who produced overwhelmingly dominant power like Usain Bolt?

The supercomputer Ares could access and record all information from every media outlet in the world—articles, images, videos, even records from decades past.

Sejin jolted.

“......That’s true.”

A conversation between user Hyunsoo and Nell flashed through his mind.

It was from when Hyunsoo had crafted the Dragon Light Sword.

That’s incredible. To craft the Dragon Light Sword this perfectly... there’s no one in the world who can craft like this except you, Hyunsoo!

No. There is someone who can craft it more perfectly than this.

......Someone can craft more perfectly than you?

Yes. Unfortunately, after years of hammering, they can no longer work.

Recalling that, Sejin looked at the hundreds of articles the supercomputer Ares displayed—restored weapons and crafts, or the products that person had made.

Watching the holograms, Sejin let out a hollow laugh.

“So the real Transcendent was someone else.”

Hyunsoo’s father, Kang Hyuntae, might be the one-and-only Transcendent—like a real-world Usain Bolt.

Goosebumps crawled up Sejin’s back.

“He left all the work to user Hyunsoo. If he wakes up someday and crafts in Ares...?”

That day, Ares might witness a Transcendent who never once tasted defeat—Paewang—and a Transcendent who crafts the most perfect creations.

But what gave Sejin goosebumps was something else.

“......It also means user Hyunsoo’s blacksmithing still has room to grow.”

Kang Hyuntae had lived thirty more years than Hyunsoo.

Meaning Hyunsoo could, from here on, refine himself for another thirty years—just like the life Hyuntae had lived.

Hyunsoo wasn’t lacking.

His life so far had simply been short, and it implied he had a long span of training time ahead of him.

Sejin allowed himself to hope.

For the day Hyunsoo would grow into a Transcendent as a blacksmith.

And for Hyuntae—the Transcendent who would someday awaken.