Genius Blacksmith's Game

A message reaches Hyunsoo as he leaves the scattering Kali behind.

[Rewards are being measured.]

[The puzzling elixir is special.]

This puzzling elixir, set by CEO Lee Sejin, carries the power to raise all stats by 5.

But that’s only in the case of a normal victory the System deems “ordinary.”

Atlas’s victory can’t be ordinary.

Sejin proposed it to the alliance side, hiding it in a subtle way.

What’s funny is the alliance side let it pass even though they understood the subtlety.

Because Atlas’s win rate was slim.

[The System measured Atlas’s win rate as 1.2%.]

[A wondrous achievement.]

[The System’s analysis of soldier performance in the Atlas War is the highest.]

[The System’s analysis of Bahala, Kabel, Luxiu, Lucky Lump, and KyooKyoo’s performance at each gate in the Atlas War is scored higher than the highest.]

[The System’s analysis of user performance in the Atlas War is scored higher than the highest.]

The System is saying it.

Not only Hyunsoo, but everyone in Atlas showed an irrational level of performance today.

[The System cannot assign a score to the lord who commanded everything in the Atlas War.]

[The System praises you.]

Hyunsoo gave a bitter smile.

The System recognizes what he accomplished.

The System is the coldest supercomputer—something like a robot.

He knows what it means for that kind of existence to acknowledge you.

In truth, Hyunsoo knows.

This time, we won.

But if they fought again with the same force, Atlas would be utterly defeated.

No—crushed, catastrophically, inevitably.

This victory was seized by exploiting “carelessness.”

But they put an excellent reward into weak Atlas, filling him.

[The puzzling elixir’s stat value is being decided.]

DING!

[The puzzling elixir is upgraded from +5 all stats to +8 all stats.]

[It is distributed to all 21,317 participants in the Atlas War.]

[You have obtained the puzzling elixir.]

Hyunsoo’s chest burned hot.

An army approaching twenty thousand now held an elixir that raised all stats by 8.

Soldiers would gain at minimum 40 total stats.

Knights would gain at minimum 70 total stats.

The strong would gain close to 100 total stats at minimum.

They had secured the power to face people who were twenty to thirty levels higher than those who used to be their equals.

The nation Hyunsoo wants.

Another puzzle piece clicks into place—for a small but great country.

And because Hyunsoo had more stats than others to begin with, he could raise his stats by over a hundred.

And another great power he would advance with after today—

[Because you won the Atlas War, you do not need to fulfill the crafting of 20 artifacts.]

[Participants of the Atlas War cannot invade Atlas for one month.]

[You obtain the lord’s reward.]

DING!

[You have obtained Black Tortoise’s shell.]

The first divine beast shell ever obtained in Ares.

Preparations were complete.

[The lord’s speech will begin soon.]

Now is the time to walk toward the throne.

After hearing the reward notifications, Hyunsoo heard something more.

[Great Atlas War was conducted in an Atlas that is 100% identical to the real Atlas.]

[You may deliver the speech in the fake Atlas.]

[You may deliver the speech in the real Atlas.]

Hyunsoo understood the difference.

Even if it was copied 100%, there was something it couldn’t copy.

Not appearance.

The people the real Atlas possessed.

Hyunsoo was confident.

Even if he showed the real Atlas, they couldn’t invade for the time being.

Hyunsoo chose.

The real Atlas.

It begins in my Atlas.

Beyond the walls, far away—

[You synchronize with the real Atlas.]

Hyunsoo walks toward the throne in his Atlas.

FWOOM—!

Light bursts in succession, and the twenty thousand troops who had died in the fake Atlas appear.

Still drenched in blood, his brown coat fluttering, Hyunsoo walks—and twenty thousand troops watch.

A disciplined stride, noble and immaculate, not an inch out of place.

A lord walking toward the castle, step by step.

In front of the twenty thousand troops—

Luxiu, Bella, and Bon in white cloaks.

And the twenty thousand who believe in him and follow him shout.

“LOYA—”

The soldiers open the gate for him.

The moment he steps through the opened gate—

It begins to be broadcast to the entire world.

What they saw was twenty thousand troops.

But filling the real Atlas—

Two hundred thousand residents.

All of them look at Hyunsoo with eyes of belief, respect, and awe, parting to make a path.

He passes each and every one of them.

On one side, Bahala—still wearing a mask—stares, eyes filled with shock at history being carved anew.

Far away, Kabel, arms crossed as always, protecting him, wears a faint smile.

“BARK, BARK!”

So happy its owner is happy, Lucky Lump follows behind, tail swishing, looking happier than anyone.

At the end—

The gates of the lord’s castle, flung wide open.

He climbed the steps, stood at the highest place, and looked down over Atlas.

This is where the throne begins.

Right now, the whole world is holding him in their eyes.

And then, looking at the world, he says—

“I will build Hyun’s country.”

That sight is broadcast across the world.

News spreads at a frightening speed.

Breaking news like “Master Blacksmith Hyun. Declares he will become king.”—thousands of articles explode outward in moments.

But Hyunsoo knew.

It was impossible for him to become king right now.

No—no matter how he struggled, it would take at least ten months.

And what he needed for that—

“I will accept membership applications from blacksmiths.”

The commentators react.

-...Blacksmiths around the world have already built their own factions. It’s true that the entire world was shocked that he led Great Atlas War to victory. But at the same time, by declaring he wants to become a kingdom, Hyun has risen as one of the most influential figures in the world, and that means he has become a target of attention.

-Hidden top-name NPCs, other unofficial rankers... and more. It means he’s become a target for everyone.

-It’s dangerous. Blacksmiths won’t risk their lives for a country that only has “possibility.” I’ll be honest. Hyun is reckless right now.

Time passed—and there was no response.

No one answered his declaration that he would accept membership applications.

-I don’t know what he’s thinking.

-Having two hundred thousand residents is praiseworthy, but the minimum condition for a king is to have four million resi—what?

Then the commentators began to panic.

You could hear them talking to someone and reacting.

-What did you say...? Why would they...

-No, why on earth?

-What?

-Membership?

-They’re stating their stance?

-No, I mean—why are they...

-...A highlight reel?

Soon, the whole world saw a breathtaking sight.

-No, what is that?

-What in the...?

Something black filled the sky.

And it was flying toward Hyunsoo.

*****

Meanwhile.

Director Lee Taeho at AJ Internet Broadcasting Station couldn’t make it feel real.

“...Something was off.”

“That’s right.”

Ian—Hyun’s Forge’s best archer and an editor.

The moment he logged out, he sent AJ Internet a video and requested it be aired.

It was a highlight reel.

And inside the truth of that highlight reel was this.

“Made by hand—without receiving class bonuses......”

“If there’s someone in this world who deserves the name ‘national treasure,’ wouldn’t it be Hyun?”

That was the reality.

It was all but confirmed that South Korea was the only country in the world that possessed a Master Blacksmith.

“I’m so happy.”

Producer Kim Minwoo was hopping in place.

Master Blacksmith Hyun—the first to become a legend.

What people thought was a legendary-class Master Blacksmith class turned out to be personal skill.

Director Lee Taeho and Producer Kim Minwoo moved, turning their eyes to the billboards in Gangnam.

Across dozens of billboards, only one highlight reel filled the screens.

On a dark screen, Hyunsoo sits in a chair.

When asked why he started Ares, he lifts his head and says—

-I wanted to live.

Starting from that, the highlight reel was slamming into the world.

*****

Somewhere else.

Black Anvil—the former #1 forge in South Korea.

After watching every highlight reel, Roun sprang to his feet.

“...Do you know why this matters?”

The executives focus on Roun.

They were the ones who had said they would oppose it even if they had to drive Roun out, when he first said he wanted to go under Hyun.

“It means he has thousands—tens of thousands—of crafting methods that don’t exist in Ares in his head. Japan’s Chōjigiri, China’s Ganjiang and Moye. He can even make Arthur’s Galatine and Siegfried’s Balmung!”

Things that don’t exist in Ares—but blacksmiths now desired.

To craft, even once, something they knew in real life.

But for them—crafting through skills—they had no power to make that dream real.

One man made it possible.

The executives’ attitudes flipped.

“We have to be included, no matter what!”

“The number of members he accepts has to be limited!”

“We have to become his people!”

“If we can’t, blacksmiths who miss out will fall behind!”

*****

Somewhere else.

Rune of Golden Hammer Forge.

“We’re joining Hyun’s country as initial members right now!”

Master Coconya of the Black Dwarf guild.

“Send the application right now! Our guild is joining Hyun’s country too!”

Someone asked—

“How do we contact him?”

Hyun hadn’t explained how to apply for guild membership.

It meant: find it yourselves.

“There’s a carrier-pigeon code for Master Blacksmith Hyun at the end of the video. We should be able to apply through the carrier-pigeon code.”

“Launch the carrier pigeons—now!!!!”

“We have to launch faster than anyone.”

A video that began in Korea spread to the world.

Across the world, applications were sent via carrier pigeons.

On portal sites worldwide, the #1 search term became “Hyun’s country.”

The number of articles connected to it exploded.

Articles that had been around fifty thousand ballooned to over three hundred thousand worldwide.

-Breaking: Russia’s dwarf guild master announces intent to join Hyun’s country...

-Breaking. America’s Hot Mine guild states publicly they want to become Hyun’s strength.

-Breaking.

-Breaking...

-Breaking......

The whole world was seizing up.

*****

Hyunsoo, after saying he would accept blacksmiths, watched the world—silent and still.

Suddenly, the road he’d walked flashed through him.

Once, his world had collapsed.

His father became a vegetable, and Hyunsoo’s body was covered in burns across half of it, to the point he suffered social phobia.

He struggled under his father’s hospital bills, and every time he held a hammer, his trembling hands told him it was over.

The petals of the Master Blacksmith’s flower fell to the ground.

Then one day, he encountered the world called Ares.

It was the moment the withered petals slowly seeped into the earth.

Many things happened.

For someone who only knew how to make things, many connections were born.

Those connections became rain—nutrients for petals that had sunk into the soil.

He crossed many lines of death.

Those lines of death became the rising sun, telling him, “Grow well.”

He was deeply grateful.

To the connections that became water, and to the lines of death he overcame that became the sun.

In the middle of those words of gratitude, he looked at the residents and people now following him—and he understood.

I’m the one who let the sun shine.

I’m the one who drank the water and sprouted with force.

All of this began with me.

So he did not doubt himself.

He didn’t say how many blacksmiths he would accept.

He simply knew.

I have the qualification to lead many blacksmiths.

Within that certainty, Hyunsoo could see it.

“......”

Those black things covering the sky.

-They’re carrier pigeons.

-W-we can’t count them! Carrier pigeons are flying in!

-Three thousand? No—ten thousand? No—fifty thousand!?

-Carrier pigeons from each country look /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ slightly different, or have different colors!

-Carrier pigeons from the entire world are covering the sky!!!!

Carrier pigeons land all around Hyunsoo.

[There are too many carrier pigeons.]

Tens of thousands of carrier pigeons flap around Hyunsoo.

[Hot Dwarf’s guild master Han requests to enter your service!]

Someone who dreams of being a craftsman.

[Black Dragon Forge’s guild master Wanggang requests to enter your service!]

Someone who wants to make China’s Ganjiang and Moye.

[Black Anvil Forge’s guild master Roun requests to enter your service!]

[Golden Hammer Forge’s guild master Rune requests to enter your service!]

[Golden Dwarf Forge’s guild master Coconya requests to enter your service!]

People who want to become real blacksmiths, not automatic-crafting.

And—

[There are too many requests from individual blacksmiths to join the guild!]

[The total number of those who wish to enter your service is being calculated.]

People who dream of a new realm.

Hyunsoo’s breathing quickens.

He knew.

Bloomed petals eventually fall again.

He was a single flower in riotous bloom.

[In total, 428,710 blacksmiths apply for guild membership!]

“I declare it.”

And petals that will fall again.

Standing among tens of thousands of carrier pigeons scattering away, Hyunsoo speaks before the whole world watching in shock, awe, and wonder.

“I will become the first king.”

A flower that bloomed prepares the next season.