Genius Blacksmith's Game

Reporter Im Songhee from KJ Broadcasting Station heard an unbelievable story.

Master Blacksmith Hyun is building a Turtle Ship with other people!

But something about it was strange.

It was the reward Hyun had put on the table.

There was only one reward.

Just one.

He said he would accept a crafting request from a single user—the one with the highest contribution.

If there were lots of competitors, people should’ve known they probably wouldn’t get picked.

And yet, she’d heard that a huge number of people were joining the Turtle Ship construction with no clear reward at all.

It’s exaggerated. There has to be some reward they’re keeping secret—something we don’t know about!

When Im Songhee arrived on site, she had no choice but to fall into shock.

A crowd that easily exceeded around four hundred people!

A gaunt old man was hauling a cart piled high with raw materials, sweat pouring down his face.

“Ugh....”

A young man even collapsed while using a carrier frame to move a rock nearly as big as his own body.

And then, almost immediately, the young man sprang back up and started carrying it again.

And then...

“Just a little more. You can do it, okay?”

“Yeah! Big brother, I’ll do my best!”

Im Songhee gaped.

A brother and sister who looked like they couldn’t be more than six to eight years old!

Soon, the little girl clenched her teeth and started hauling stones with that tiny body.

Im Songhee couldn’t help feeling baffled.

What kind of reward are they hiding?

Otherwise, how could everyone—men and women, old and young, seniors and children—work this hard without exception?

To dig out that hidden secret, Im Songhee approached the old man.

“Sir, what kind of reward is it that made you join the Turtle Ship construction? This is a hidden quest, right? Right?”

“...I’m busy.”

But the people here didn’t tell her anything, like they wanted to hog the reward for themselves.

In truth, it was the exact opposite of what Im Songhee assumed.

They really were doing it without any reward at all.

The old man pulling the cart thought to himself.

Is this really what ‘hard work’ is?

He recalled what he’d been told by Hyun.

Back then, even the elderly and the women fought for the nation.

Even old men who, as nobles, had only ever held brushes swung sickles to save even one more life.

They had it a million times—ten million times—harder than me!

The old man was simply grateful.

That an ordinary person like him had been given the honor of reenacting their nobility.

The young man carrying stones wasn’t much different.

I never cared about history.

Whenever a movie about Admiral Yi Sun-sin came out, he’d watch it.

That was it.

But because of Hyunsoo, he’d learned something.

Blacksmiths are never insignificant. Small strengths gather and gather, and become a colossal strength. I’ll become one of them and build the biggest Turtle Ship in the world.

The young man had always been an ordinary person—someone who’d never done anything particularly great.

Today, because of this work, he was going to do something like that.

And the little brother and sister, too.

Children’s purity. Respect for history. And beyond that—stories about the adults who had protected them.

“Hyemin, every stone we carry will help honor them. Come on—let’s do our best!”

“Mm-hm!”

The kids, bodies covered in dirt and dust, pushed themselves harder.

Because they were children, they were the purest.

Each stone they set down.

Each piece of timber.

They believed, with all their hearts, that it was an act of honoring those who had fought for that day.

But reporter Im Songhee didn’t know any of that, and she was panicking.

What reward is it, then?!

They had to be trying to monopolize some incredible reward—obviously.

The reality was that, rather than waste time talking, they wanted to protect their own noble hearts by carrying even more.

Anyway, with a baffled expression, Im Songhee began snapping photo after photo of the scene.

That was when Hyunsoo appeared behind her.

“Joseon was a nation that was invaded for five hundred years.”

Huh?

Out of nowhere?

Five minutes later...

“...!”

Im Songhee covered her mouth as a tear slipped out before she even realized it.

“It’s such a cool and heartbreaking story!”

If it were something fabricated, sure.

But this was history she knew as a citizen of the Republic of Korea.

After learning the fine details she’d never known before, Im Songhee’s chest ached.

And what delivered their pain the hardest was this.

“Women carrying babies on their backs soothed crying children while hammering.”

Ah...!

Each strike of the hammer was a heart honoring the husband marching to the battlefield.

And each strike was a future for the child strapped to her back!

Im Songhee took every photo.

This would become a single, breathtaking piece of imagery.

Their hearts, purely honoring those of that day.

And after she finished taking every picture...

“HEAVE-HO! HEAVE-HO! HEAVE-HO!”

Before she knew it, she was hauling building materials up the slope herself.

And Hyunsoo kept spreading his Legendary Mouth.

“Joseon was invaded for five hundred years...”

“Yet even then...”

“Couldn’t even eat watery gruel...”

“Khuh-huh-huh-huh-huhk!”

“That truth!”

“So that’s what you’ve been doing... something this amazing!”

A ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) bizarre spectacle was unfolding—reporters who’d come to cover the story were tossing their cameras aside(?) and carrying materials instead.

And even after finishing their day’s workload, the reporters wrote their articles with the same burning heat still in their chests.

—It has been confirmed that those building the Turtle Ship with Master Blacksmith Hyun (Hyun) are voluntarily participating without any reward...

—An elderly man, Mr. Lee, who lives near Sillim Station, said, “It is an honor to be a descendant who can reenact their history,” as he broke into a wide smile on his grimy face...

—A site where a Turtle Ship is being built with burning passion. Astonishingly, not a single person is slacking off...

—I personally joined in carrying materials. There were times it was hard, and some raw materials were so large that dozens of people carried them together. After we succeeded in moving them, we cheered and rejoiced together... I felt it was a more fulfilling day than any other, and I realized again how grateful I am for that day. This has been reporter Im Songhee for JK News.

It wasn’t that the reward was incredible.

In response, reporters from around the world logged into Ares, visited the Turtle Ship construction site, and conveyed that burning heat in their own articles.

—Koreans advancing through obsession and will...

—It has been confirmed that more than 99% of the Turtle Ship construction site is Korean...

*****

[The temple’s completion is high.]

[All 841 participants have strong cohesion.]

[The temple may be crafted even more excellently.]

Hyunsoo had never done group crafting like this before.

And this kind of group crafting had a special quality that solo crafting didn’t.

Normally, when a lot of people gather, someone always slacks off.

But these were voluntary participants, so there wasn’t a single such person.

Hyunsoo walked toward the Turtle Ship that was nearing completion.

It’s true that I needed people I could work hard.

But his sincerity was in it, too.

He genuinely wanted them to learn the Turtle Ship’s history more carefully, and to understand what the blacksmiths of that day had been like.

I talked them into it.

But it wasn’t only talk.

When Hyunsoo climbed onto the Turtle Ship that was taking shape, people spoke up.

“Hyunsoo, shouldn’t you rest a bit? Aren’t you tired?”

Hyunsoo gave a small smile.

“Do you think they rested because they were tired?”

At that, people broke into bright grins.

Hyunsoo gripped his hammer again to keep building the Turtle Ship.

What drove them when Hyunsoo led them—

It wasn’t words.

It was something else.

He set the example more than anyone.

And the result of that—

[The temple builders’ faith in you increases.]

They didn’t know Hyunsoo could hear notifications like that.

But Hyunsoo was watching the numbers directly.

In the end, this was temple construction.

And what he needed to become the God of Blacksmiths was people’s high faith in the Church of Hyunsoo.

If I finish this beautifully, it’ll grow even bigger.

Hyunsoo unfolded the Turtle Ship blueprint.

“Alright. Shall we go again?”

A large portion of the participants were advanced blacksmiths.

Or people who actually had experience in construction and the like.

They, too, enjoyed the process of crafting with Hyunsoo.

When in your life do you ever get to learn how to build a Turtle Ship...?

Damn....

And with Hyunsoo at the forefront, they worked day and night.

“The Turtle Ship was a ship that could fire cannons—six each—from the front, back, left, and right.”

“Yes!”

“We made a dragon head on the bow and placed cannons inside it to smash the enemy ships!”

“And do not forget.”

The builders listened closely.

“The enemy called it a Turtle Ship.”

That’s right.

We were building the Turtle Ship that defeated hundreds of ships with a mere twelve.

The enemy must have mocked those twelve ships.

But because of its power, they called it the Turtle Ship.

As he built this astonishing Turtle Ship, Hyunsoo was enjoying himself immensely.

How could I even....

A mindset that couldn’t be compared to the time he’d used Emergency Crafting.

A level of precision that couldn’t be compared to then.

Sometimes tearing down what they’d hammered in and rebuilding it—rearranging it—until it became more perfect.

A forced march that continued for more than ten days, and a heart that wanted to repay their sweat and effort.

Throwing away the heart that made fakes, and making something real.

And now, as Hyunsoo worked to fit the final dragon head into place, hundreds of people watched him.

This was the capstone of the Turtle Ship construction that had continued for around twenty days.

KUUUUNG—!

At last, it was complete.

From the beginning, Hyunsoo had designed this museum to be four times larger than a normal Turtle Ship.

Stepping back several paces and looking at it, Hyunsoo could barely believe it.

Of course, since this was ultimately a game, people sometimes used skills to carry materials, which made the work far easier than it would’ve been in the past.

And many users had abnormal stats unlike real people, which also made it easier.

Still, building a Turtle Ship of this scale in only around twenty days was undeniably astonishing.

[By repeatedly dismantling and rebuilding, you compensated for deficient parts.]

[Among the structures created by users in Ares, it is large and magnificent enough to rank within the top ten.]

[Relative to its scale, construction speed has been shortened by 52%.]

[During the crafting period, outstanding cohesion has been imbued.]

[You have achieved 92% completion.]

[The structure’s legend is written.]

[It is the fifth legend among all structures.]

The important point was that a “legendary structure” was far rarer than an artifact.

[Job Quest: Temple Construction completed]

[You acquire the skill ‘God’s Forge’.]

[Those who enter the Turtle Ship Temple will receive the ‘Defended the Nation’ buff once every 3 years.]

[The ‘Defended the Nation’ buff increases Physical Defense and Magical Defense by 40%, Experience Gain by 25%, and Artifact Drop Rate by 25% for 2 weeks.]

[Those who participated in Turtle Ship Construction will receive the buff effect once every 3 months.]

[All those who participated in Turtle Ship Construction level up by 1 for building a legendary structure.]

[You acquire 1 to all stats.]

“Ghk!”

“Huh...!”

“Kyahaa!”

The users who’d received special benefits unlike everyone else were genuinely overjoyed.

“Hyunsoo, thank you!”

“I learned a lot.”

And since there were many blacksmiths here—

As they looked around at one another, their hearts trembled when they saw Hyunsoo wearing the brightest smile in the world.

“I’m glad.”

At those words, the blacksmiths were overwhelmed.

They clearly wore expressions that said they were truly happy to have learned, through his teaching, what a real blacksmith was.

And he was pleased by their growth—so much that some even shed tears.

Hyunsoo... he’s a god...!

Long live Hyunsoo!

From now on, I’m Hyunsoo’s diehard fan...!

[Your faith increases greatly.]

But that thought was wrong.

I’m really glad.

Hyunsoo swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out.

Normally, to build this Turtle Ship, you’d need at least 1.5 billion won.

Wasn’t it four times the size?

The labor and material costs would be insane!

But how much had Hyunsoo spent?

He’d given them nothing but castella cake and milk every day, and finished the whole thing with a total expense of 1.58 million won!

Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!

Hyunsoo’s temple construction had been a success!

The very next day.

Hyun’s museum was revealed to the world.