Genius Blacksmith's Game

Hyunsoo, who had cried as much as he wanted and rejoiced as much as he wanted, suddenly went limp.

I’m so tired I could die.......

Looking at Full Bloom made him smile, but the exhaustion that had built up over a long time was still there.

Even so, there was something he had to check.

[Total Honor Points: 878,000]

For only making it to Floor 3, that really is an absurd amount of Honor Points. The Desired Transcendence Material Draw I used cost 400,000, so does that mean the total Honor Points I earned was around 1.27 million?

The Desired Transcendence Material Draw was definitely a scam-level reward.

Now that the second Ares had opened.

Only around forty Transcendence-grade materials had been discovered across the entire world.

Just around forty in Ares, a game played by over 1.3 billion people.

And he also had to take into account that blacksmiths capable of handling them were still rare, and that materials were ultimately worth far less than an artifact.

Almost one-sixth the price.

If a Transcendence artifact was assumed to be worth around 3 billion, then a Transcendence material was worth 500 million.

That sounded cheap, but it still was not something one could buy casually.

First of all, even if you bought it, there was no guarantee that getting a Transcendence material would produce a Transcendence artifact.

And it’s not easy for the material to contain the effect you want, either.

Out of fewer than forty materials released into the world, how many could possibly contain exactly the effect he wanted?

So the fact that, for 400,000 points, he could draw a desired Transcendence material.

That showed just how irrational the 1.27 million points Hyunsoo had earned so far were for climbing only three floors.

There was another reason Hyunsoo was thinking this way, and it came from the wares sold in the Honor Shop.

[Five-Floor Jump Scroll 400,000 Honor Points.]

If I jump five floors, I can go straight to Floor 8.

The reason he was hesitating was because the Five-Floor Jump Scroll was a double-edged sword.

Even Kabel had only made it to Floor 6, and Bahala had failed on Floor 9.

He had set new records on Floors 1 through 3, but the problem was that he could not be sure he would keep doing that going forward.

So if he jumped Floors 4 through 7, he could eliminate a huge amount of risk.

No matter how well Hyunsoo knew the location, and no matter if he could reach this place more smoothly than others.

The tower still applies the forced logout penalty if you die.

Suppose he died several times between Floors 4 and 7.

Also.

There could be a floor I can’t clear no matter how hard I struggle.

He could skip even that.

And.

[When purchasing the Five-Floor Jump Scroll, the rewards of Floors 4 through 7 will be settled at a level better than ordinary, but lower than a new record.]

That meant he would still receive some degree of rewards even though he was merely jumping.

In Hyunsoo’s estimation, Floor 1’s reward had been two Raise Anything Points.

He judged that it would probably be reduced to around one, and although spending 400,000 Honor Points definitely made his stomach hurt.

If I climb four floors in one shot, the Honor Points I’ll gain should cover a decent portion of it.

Now he looked at both sides.

The downside was that he would not be able to achieve a new record, meaning he would lose the chance for the power growth and massive point gains that came with that opportunity.

So Hyunsoo still could not come to an easy conclusion.

Then something suddenly flashed across his mind.

Come to think of it?

He recalled the countless notifications he had heard after Full Bloom and the Blacksmith had been recorded.

I heard the part about getting Honor Points, but I never heard the floor reward.

And when Hyunsoo scrolled back up, he felt the shock of being struck in the head by something blunt.

“Huh!”

Why hadn’t I heard that?

This Floor 3 was about what he was best at.

And the reward for this Floor 3 had been related to him.

[You will be granted the mineral you need the most.]

[However, it must be a mineral you have possessed before.]

[The reward changes in accordance with this marvelous achievement.]

[The mineral you need the most will be granted as a Transcendence-grade material.]

Hyunsoo’s body trembled violently.

This could not even be compared with the rewards from Floors 1 and 2.

A reward on the level of 400,000 Honor Points!

And it could choose from minerals Hyunsoo had already possessed, and there was something he needed right now more than anything.

Story Stone!

He did not forget that he would soon have to forge the Four Tiger Sword.

And the Four Tiger Sword, like the Twin Dragon Sword, was an artifact based on a tale.

I’d been regretting that I could only pour the power of Tiger Year and Tiger Month into it.

Of course, in Hyunsoo’s personal view, Tiger Year and Tiger Month was more important than Story Stone when it came to making a true Four Tiger Sword.

However, if it was Transcendence instead of legendary, that changed the story.

[Story Stone is selected.]

[You obtain the Transcendence material: Story Stone.]

(Story Stone)

Grade: legendary

Restriction: blacksmith level 550 or above

Difficulty: highest grade

Special Abilities

·Depending on how perfectly the tale is reproduced, the artifact’s effects increase from a minimum of 100% up to a maximum of 500%.

·When forging a sword, if there is no tale, it will merely produce 80% cutting power; if it is a decent tale, it will produce 80% to 150% cutting power; if it has led a tale no one else could ever imitate, it may produce 200%+ cutting power.

Description: A special mineral, Story Stone, that can contain a tale.

“Jackpot......!”

Hyunsoo’s body trembled.

It could not even be compared ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) with the legendary mineral Story Stone, and even its outward appearance had changed a little.

Especially the part that said, if it has led a tale no one else could ever imitate.

Originally, that part had been written as 200 to 300%, but now it had been changed to 200%+.

In other words, depending on what tale had been reproduced, and how perfectly it had been reproduced, that percentage could vary infinitely.

“One by one, they’re falling into place.”

The first material would be Tiger Year and Tiger Month.

The second material would be Story Stone.

Just like Full Bloom, multiple different materials would come together to create the true Four Tiger Sword.

However.

“......So what do I do?”

Hyunsoo still had not made his decision.

Should he skip ahead in one leap, or break through one floor at a time?

For now......

I’ll sleep on it!

Hyunsoo was suffering from extreme fatigue.

He thought it would be better to make a clean decision with a clear head.

[You have logged out.]

He jumped onto the bed and sank into a deep, sweet sleep.

SNORE—!

He dreamed.

“How’s Full Bloom, the one I made?”

With the look of an ordinary son.

It was that kind of dream, the sort where he proudly showed his creation to his father.

And while someone slept so deeply at that hour.

At a time when that sleeping person believed no such thing should happen, a meeting that should never have taken place was taking place.

*****

The fact that the Ares Church had recently detected that the movements of the Calamity Church were unusual.

That was true.

The Calamity Church was currently moving for the sake of one being.

That name was Gremory.

She was a great archdemon who commanded legion commanders.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the source of her power lay in controlling those mighty legion commanders.

Those legion commanders were stationed throughout the world in strongholds structured like dungeons.

Inside his own dungeon, the 2nd Legion Commander, Fuoruo, the Legion Commander of Explosions, burned with rage.

“If only Lady Gremory were to awaken, she could turn everything into utter ruin......!”

The legion commanders were bound by many restrictions, so even if they wanted to avenge Gremory, they could not.

Then, in the eyes of Legion Commander Fuoruo, a mark appeared on its own.

It was the act of recording the day Lady Gremory would awaken again.

There were still exactly 474 long days left.

Just then.

Legion Commander Fuoruo sensed an unfamiliar presence.

“You are......?”

A woman wrapped in a ragged robe.

Her name was Vera. She was a high ranker ranked #98 in the world, and her class was Gremory’s Proxy.

Not long ago, she had received a quest.

[Class Quest: Sealed Gremory]

Grade: SS

Restriction: Gremory’s Proxy

Reward: legendary class: Gremory’s 1st Legion Commander.

Penalty for Failure: Unable to revive Gremory.

Description: The great archdemon Gremory was sealed by beings called the Lamps. Gather some of the legion commanders bound by restrictions and rules, and find a method that can revive the sealed Gremory early.

“Why has something as lowly as a servant come here?”

To the legion commanders, Vera was little more than a servant.

In fact, Vera had received and completed many quests, but all she had really done was handle errands for the legion commanders.

There was a limit to what she, a mere user and a mere human, could do.

A leisurely smile spread across her face.

“You shouldn’t call me a servant anymore.”

She revealed the item she had obtained.

Inside a very small glass vial, it was black.

“Lord Baal’s Original Sin......?”

The great archdemon Baal.

The most outstanding of demons, and in truth virtually an evil god.

Baal’s Original Sin contained a special power.

“Because this will free Lord Fuoruo from this dungeon without any restrictions.”

In fact, the effect of Baal’s Original Sin held the power to save from that penalty all beings except the great archdemons who suffered penalties on the surface.

“You can only use four drops.”

With four drops, five legion commanders could be awakened.

“I do not understand.”

Each legion commander possessed power comparable to a legendary being.

But even if the legion commanders awakened now, nothing would change.

“In the end, the real goal is Lady Gremory’s revival.”

Vera was a clever woman.

“I have found a way to revive Lady Gremory.”

“......!”

Fuoruo was astonished. It had thought she was no more than some lowly servant?

And it also came to understand why Gremory used humans as servants.

So she knew there would come a day when they would be needed!

Fuoruo was curious.

“And what is that method?”

“It is to offer the Pope’s blood to Lady Gremory.”

Fuoruo understood.

To offer the holiest blood as a sacrifice.

That was the only way to bring about the revival of the one who had been sealed.

“I accept.”

Through Baal’s Original Sin, Fuoruo was freed from all restrictions.

Fuoruo moved to awaken the remaining three legion commanders with Baal’s Original Sin.

They were legion commanders best suited for war.

And Vera, who had once been nothing more than a servant, had now earned Fuoruo’s recognition and could be entrusted with a role.

Once this quest ended, she would rise to the position of 1st Legion Commander.

She had gathered so many members of the Calamity Church that they were impossible to count, a black mass of them.

“Bring down the Ares Church.”

The legion known as the Calamity Church, already prepared, began its advance toward the Ares Church.

Vera believed.

That she would awaken Gremory, use her as backing, and become the greatest villain and villainess player of this era.

She believed she could turn this era into a world of blood, and before long she could see the Ares Church appearing in the distance.

And she did not know.

That one man, already becoming a central figure of the era, was interfering in this.

And that this man, by sheer coincidence, was now about to make the best possible decision.

At that time, before the Calamity Church and the Ares Church had yet collided.

With a clear head, he reached his answer.

“I’m jumping.”

Blinded by greed and desire, he had briefly failed to see the truth.

He recalled the real reason he had begun climbing the Tower of Honor in the first place.

That reason had always been to forge the true Four Tiger Sword.

[I will jump five floors.]

And the blacksmith who led an era came to realize that he had made an incredibly good choice.

The moment he entered Floor 8, the Ares Church and the Calamity Church began their first collision.

[474 days remain until Gremory’s revival.]

That notification, which had once matched the time flowing on the clock.

[??? days remain until Gremory’s revival.]

He was witnessing it change into a notice steeped in fear.

As mentioned before, he had now obtained or identified two materials for the Four Tiger Sword.

The Transcendence Story Stone.

The time of Tiger Year and Tiger Month.

At that moment, the final material was about to reveal itself before his eyes.

Because one of the skills he had newly gained the moment he entered Floor 8 was reacting.

That was none other than God’s Crafting Method.

It had the following effect written in it.

The Crafting Method guides you to the method for obtaining what you need.

[The Crafting Method for the Four Tiger Sword is reacting on Floor 10!]

Only then did he understand.

Why only Floor 10 was flowing along the timeline of Tiger Year and Tiger Month.

“There’s a real tiger there.”

It was the moment the blacksmith who led an era discovered the final material.