Genius Blacksmith's Game

Bahala.

World Rank #1, and the absolute sovereign no one could deny.

And yet there was one man who could make even him wait anxiously.

That man was Hyunsoo, who had had him blocked for six months straight.

[Hyunsoo: I think I heard you were the Floor 8 record-holder. Is that right?]

A whisper had come from that guy.

Bahala stopped hunting and moved to a quiet place before replying.

[Bahala: That is true. Besides that, I also set the records on Floors 4, 5, and 7.]

[Hyunsoo: ......No wonder there weren’t any videos of the record-holders after Floor 3. Can you tell me what the Floor 8 trial is?]

Most users did not normally share things like that.

But then Hyunsoo said:

[Hyunsoo: I’ll think about unblocking you.]

Where in the world was there anyone who could toy with World Rank #1 Bahala like this?

And Bahala certainly was not telling him because Hyunsoo might stop forging items for him.

It’s because I feel bad about what happened before.

[Hyunsoo: You’re not rationalizing it by telling yourself it’s not about item crafting, but because you feel guilty, are you?]

[Bahala: .......]

[Hyunsoo: Don’t misunderstand me. You do need item crafting.]

Bahala finally realized why he had been blocked.

That line telling him not to misunderstand it felt incredibly strange!

[Bahala: I will tell you about Floor 8.]

[Hyunsoo: ^^, changing the subject.]

[Bahala: ......The trial of Floor 8 is ‘infinite monsters,’ and it is a trial with an episode attached to it.]

[Bahala: The core is that someone called the Nameless King, who can endlessly send out monsters, keeps sending them, while the challenger hunts them.] 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

[Bahala: The average level range is 400 to 440, and from time to time sub-boss-class and boss-class monsters also appear. And the Floor 8 challenger has to kill as many of these infinite monsters as possible without dying even once.]

[Bahala: The required number for clearing it is 1,000 monsters. That is the clear condition—you must achieve it without dying even once.]

[Bahala: The important thing is that on this Floor 8, I achieved growth equal to several floors combined. Every monster gives artifacts and experience. And statistically, users hunt an average of around 20 monsters per hour.]

[Bahala: As you know, ‘mobs’ are ultimately finite. Once you go out into the field, you’re tangled up among hundreds of users hunting monsters, so even leveling up becomes competition.]

[Bahala: High rankers may have hunting grounds they monopolize, but those places have now reached the point where they can no longer satisfy them. So the fact that monsters appear ‘infinitely until the entrant dies’ is an incredible privilege.]

[Hyunsoo: So how many did you kill?]

As expected, I thought someone like you would be most interested in how many I killed.

Because Bahala regarded him as a good-natured rival.

And in truth, this was not the kind of achievement he would casually talk about.

But he was confident.

[Bahala: I killed exactly 5,411.]

He had done it without dying even once.

[Bahala: Of course, that was six months ago, when I was far weaker than I am now.]

At that, Hyunsoo did not reply for a long time.

Bahala judged that various complicated emotions were probably tangled together inside him.

[Bahala: Hyunsoo, I think someone like you could manage about half of what I did. Of course it won’t be easy, but the you I know would still do your utmost to make it happen. And right now, you’re probably burning with motivation, seized by fierce competitive spirit. Yes, this is good-natured competition.]

And Bahala was about to say:

Come climb up to where I a—

[Hyunsoo: What kind of bullshit are you talking about? Gremory might revive any second.]

That was not the reaction he had expected.

[Hyunsoo: So you’re saying it’s a sweet trial where bonus mobs spawn infinitely?]

It was not a sweet trial.

Under normal circumstances, the point was to kill 1,000 monsters without dying.

No matter how high a ranker someone was, killing 1,000 was by no means easy.

[Hyunsoo: Nice info. Like I promised, I’ll unblock you.]

Bahala was happy to finally be freed from six months in block-prison.

And he wanted to warn Hyunsoo, who seemed to be treating it like some sweet freebie trial.

[Bahala: There’s no way it can be a freebie, because in there—]

[Bahala: Hyunsoo?]

[Bahala: Hey.]

[Bahala: ???]

No reply came from Hyunsoo.

H-He left me on read......?

That was right.

He had said he would unblock him, not that he would not leave him on read!

*****

“Excuse me? The mobs get duplicated?”

Hyein took Hyunsoo’s call.

The main topic was the Tower of Honor’s Floor 8.

Even to Hyein, it sounded absolutely insane.

Those mobs would give enormous amounts of money and experience, enough to literally remind her of the old idea of “duplicating money.”

Soon Nell made a puzzled face.

“But it’s not like you can go to the Tower of Honor just because you want to, right?”

-Don’t forget that we have Kkoko.

“......Gasp!”

Kkoko, whom Lucky Lump had kidnapped!

Just a few days ago, Lucky Lump had also entered the Tower of Honor.

It had been thanks to Kkoko’s special power: it can even go to places with restrictions.

-Bring everyone who needs levels right now, every guild member who wants to get stronger, and all the vassals too. This is a mob duplication opportunity.

“Understood.”

She logged into Ares and spread the news.

One man showed interest.

It was Luxiu.

“......Mob duplication? Are you saying such a thing is really possible? Interesting.”

“If Floor 8 is cleared brilliantly, it will lead to Hyunsoo’s growth. Because the tower will acknowledge that number.”

“......If it helps my lord, then naturally I must go.”

Luxiu’s motivation flared.

And like him, guild members whose growth had recently been slowing down.

Guild members who had been unable to find any particularly worthwhile dungeon to hunt in began gathering.

“Is mob duplication really possible?”

“Miss Nell. Is that true? How fascinating. Mobs duplicating.”

One by one, the main figures of Atlas gathered.

Asura Kabel, Luxiu, Bella, the Gale members.

Along with them, Resil, Hyuksu, and the core members of Hyun’s Forge, as well as the key figures of the Olympics.

And since they thought this would also be a good chance to power-level the soldiers, a large number of Atlas’s knights gathered too.

“So when are we moving?”

“Hyunsoo said he would open the Floor 8 gate at exactly one o’clock and use Fire Bird, so it should be soon.”

There, with everyone gathered.

As one o’clock approached, the countdown announcing mob duplication began.

“10!”

“9!”

“8!”

“7!”

Luxiu, Bella, and Commander Bon.

They were tense, determined to kill as many as possible to help their lord.

Power-leveling!

Let’s do one crazy level grind today!

Resil, Hyuksu, and the other guild members felt their hearts pound at the thought of a power-leveling moment.

And because under normal circumstances they would never even get to enter the Tower of Honor, they were incredibly excited.

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

At last, they thought they would burn hot and disappear......

But nothing happened.

“???”

“???”

“What is this?”

“Huh?”

They counted again.

But even when it became 1:01, and then 1:02.

They were still there.

Only then did Hyuksu speak.

“Back in college, I tried to duplicate money and lost everything...... and now again.......”

“.......”

“.......”

Only then did they remember the nightmare of those old days.

Whether it was “money duplication” or “mob duplication,” life always swung both ways, and nothing was ever easy.

And they faced an even bigger problem.

“Th-then what about Hyunsoo?”

“My lord......?”

“Gasp!”

They could not help but worry about Hyunsoo.

Because they had imagined it.

The sight of Hyunsoo, dreaming of infinitely duplicated mobs, getting swarmed and beaten senseless by infinite monsters!

*****

Hyunsoo’s plan had been perfect.

The moment he entered, he would use Fire Bird to summon everyone from Atlas.

They would hunt mobs infinitely.

Atlas’s forces would grow /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ stronger, and Hyunsoo would grow stronger too.

And to top it all off, by hunting huge numbers of mobs, Hyunsoo would earn an astonishing number of Honor Points through a truly incredible new record!

But there was one problem with this plan.

“Fire Bird.”

[Kkoko does not remember.]

“Fire Bird.”

[Kkoko does not remember.]

“FIRE BIRD!!”

[Kkoko does not remember.]

I’m screwed.

That problem was that Kkoko really was Bird-Brained!

At that moment, Kkoko did not remember the way back to Atlas.

[The trial of Floor 8 begins.]

[An infinite army appears at the Nameless King’s command.]

This place resembled an enormous plain.

And at the far end of that plain, the mobs Bahala had told him about were advancing without end.

Minimum level 400, maximum 450.

And there were even sub-boss-class monsters among them.

“KHEEEEEK!”

“KHYAAAAAGH!”

“KHHOOOOOO!”

Roughly speaking, their number had already reached 3,000.

The problem was that those 3,000 would keep duplicating, again and again.

As Kkoko looked at those monsters, it made a sad face.

“Kie......”

It drooped.

Hyunsoo gave a bitter smile and patted Kkoko on the head.

“It’s not your fault, Kkoko. This happened because I was trying to be too clever.”

Thinking about it, what fault did Kkoko have?

It was simply Hyunsoo’s misjudgment while trying to use a trick.

And then Kkoko saw it.

“......”

Hyunsoo’s expression of despair, frustration, and regret changed in an instant.

Kie?

He looked over the hill at the monster legion picking up speed, and he looked like he was having fun.

Let’s see, what all went up when I skipped four floors?

[50,000 Honor Points are accumulated for each floor.]

[You obtain a total of 200,000 Honor Points.]

[The reward for Floor 4 is settled.]

[All skills increase by 1.]

[The reward for Floor 5 is settled.]

[All stats increase by 2%.]

[The reward for Floor 6 is settled.]

[You obtain a potion that restores everything.]

[The reward for Floor 7 is settled.]

[You are granted a temporary ‘Artifact Grade Rises by One Stage’ potion.]

Things didn’t go wrong. It only returned to what I was originally supposed to do.

The blacksmith who led an era had merely grown impatient from the Gremory revival notice the moment he arrived on Floor 8.

That impatience had led him into reckless thoughts and made him indulge, for a moment, in a vain fantasy.

From the very start, he now saw clearly that the trial of Floor 8 was one only I was meant to undertake.

At that moment, the tremendous competitive spirit Bahala had expected began to blaze up inside him.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP—!

KIHEEEEEK

KRAAAAGH

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP—!

Before he knew it, the mobs had drawn very close.

Only fifty meters away.

The momentum of the countless monsters filling the entire front in black was tremendous.

“Kieee!”

Kkoko trembled in fear.

Then.

“It’s dangerous, so stay off to the side, Kkoko.”

Hyunsoo stood with his back to it and looked at the approaching legion of 3,000 monsters alone, wearing a confident expression.

Holding the Twin Dragon Sword, he took a step forward with fierce competitive spirit boiling inside him.

One step, then another. With his back to Kkoko, Hyunsoo began walking forward.

At that moment.

“Kie......?”

For an instant, Kkoko’s memory returned.

Into its mind flashed the image of its original master, recorded as a legend on a small island.

Standing atop a single ship, facing tens of thousands of enemies alone, he had said:

I am not afraid, Myriad Mile Bird. If I fear, then who will protect this sea?

That image in its memory overlapped too perfectly with the sight of him smiling faintly and saying, Don’t worry, Kkoko.

In truth, Kkoko’s memories returned from time to time.

Whenever that happened, it always thought:

Why am I here?

It was the Myriad Mile Bird, regarded as a legend.

It had no reason to remain by the side of someone insignificant, and it should not have done so.

So the Myriad Mile Bird had wanted to return.

But it could not return.

Because it had forgotten its memories!

But now, through the memory that had connected back to it, it understood.

The reason it had come here.

SKRRAAAANG—!

The sight of Hyunsoo from behind, blasting away a monster the instant they collided, resembled him.

The Myriad Mile Bird’s heart swelled.

KIEEEEEE—!

The Myriad Mile Bird flying through the sky would not miss a single moment.

The new legend who would succeed its former master, who had now grown old.

And this sight.

The King of Stories was watching it too.