Genius Blacksmith's Game

Lucky Lump and KyooKyoo believed they could go anywhere.

Even hell, where the most horrific beings lived.

Even heaven, where the most benevolent beings lived.

Or even lands still unknown, places users had not yet managed to pioneer.

They could go there because they had Kkoko.

But every so often, Kkoko would lose his memory.

And according to Kkoko’s Can Go Anywhere skill, if he failed to eat the Fire Worm, he might carry them somewhere completely unintended.

Of course, Lucky Lump believed it would use its own special power to stop that as much as possible, but in the end, everything depended on Kkoko’s will.

Lucky Lump, who had always played the role of the kind eldest brother every day!

The eldest brother who shared snacks and smiled fondly whenever his younger siblings spoke gave a signal to the second brother.

At that, KyooKyoo spoke to Kkoko as he flew.

“Kyoo!”

If we get a new youngest sibling, their snacks will be yours.

“Kkie?”

“Kyoo!”

You can even make them bring you toys.

“Kki, kkiee?”

Kkoko had only done it for a few weeks at most, but he was already tired of life as the youngest.

And, according to what KyooKyoo said—

A younger sibling, by nature, had to be an excellent and amazing little one, because that way they would run lots of errands and bring back lots of snacks.

It was an incredible lesson from the second brother.

And as a result, it produced an incredible outcome.

Why?

Because right now, Kkoko—the being who had lived for hundreds of years, the one once called the Myriad Mile Bird—

the Kkoko who had gone everywhere and traveled everywhere—

had nothing in his head except thoughts of outstanding younger siblings!

And also—

“Kkieeeee!”

Kkoko’s motivation to gain new youngest siblings was blazing fiercely.

At the very least, until he gained those youngest siblings, he would not let go of the thread of his mind.

“Kkieeeeeee—!”

Kkoko chose the first destination and flew at top speed.

“Mang?”

Where’s the first destination?

“Kkie!” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The underground prison of the castle where Sword Emperor Bolond of the Parion Empire is!

“Mang?”

What’s there?

“Kkie!”

There’s a special being called the brightest moon!

FWOOOOSH—

They flew away at the speed of light.

*****

TATATAT—

A man sitting in front of a computer finished his work by hitting Enter.

It was Ian, a guild member of Hyun’s Forge, and also the capable editor Hobum.

Not long ago, Hobum had parted ways with Hyunsoo on the mob duplication floor, and Hyunsoo had made one request of him.

‘I recorded all the Tower of Honor clear footage. Edit the Floor 1 video and upload it to JoyTube.’

The Tower of Honor.

Up until about six months ago, it had been red-hot.

But now it wasn’t.

Why? Because there were no more new record-holders.

And yet now, footage from the Tower of Honor had been secured.

And not just any footage, either. Truly incredible footage.

This is a honey pot.

A honey pot filled with sweet, high-quality honey!

Why?

Because a few months ago, the rankers made such a huge fuss, saying nobody would ever break their records.

It would definitely help Atlas and Hyun in the future.

And since every floor was basically a honey pot of its own, there was no way it wouldn’t be sweet!

But Hobum did have one concern.

It was true that this was a honey pot, but...

...He cleared Floor 1 like that*? I feel like people might react badly to it.*

That honey pot was guarded by a gigantic Winnie-the-Pooh.

That Winnie-the-Pooh meant a certain minority of people who loved tearing others down, and the trash reporters who made money the more they tore people down.

Lately, there had been more and more of those people around Atlas and Hyun.

What Hobum was worried about was whether this might be adding fuel to their fire.

Hyunsoo had said this.

‘Don’t worry about that. I had my smart little brother prepare for it.’

Since they were just about to warp, Hobum hadn’t had the chance to ask properly.

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, Hobum uploaded the video.

“Okay, work’s done.”

Then he made a ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) puzzled face.

His smart little brother?

Did Hyunsoo actually have a younger brother?

*****

He did.

And one had appeared not that long ago!

Before climbing the Tower of Honor, Rund, the world’s number one great mage, had boldly declared:

If anybody clears Floor 1, that guy’s my big brother.

Rund remembered the message he had received.

[Hyunsoo: Big brother^^.]

It had been horrifying.

Rund was forty-five this year.

And as far as he knew, Hyunsoo was about twenty-two.

Back then, Rund had come to know him, but from the start, Hyunsoo had also given off the feeling of I don’t need a younger brother like you!

That had been a relief, at least—

[Hyunsoo: There’s something I want you to do.]

He was no different from a devil.

At the time, Rund had wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t.

Because Hyunsoo had said he would pretend the whole big-brother-younger-brother thing had never happened!

And then the appointed day came.

Hyun’s Floor 1 clear video had been revealed to the world!

The impact it caused was enormous.

People had once been obsessed with the Tower of Honor.

But after six months had passed, it had cooled down—and this was more than enough to set it ablaze again.

“Set up a press conference.”

“A lot of reporters will probably come. It’s likely because of what you said six months ago. Are you sure that’s okay?”

At his manager’s words, Rund gave a vague nod and checked the uploaded video.

It already had several million views.

A pet? How did a pet get in there?

Hyunsoo had cleverly edited out Kkoko’s appearance.

In other words, viewers only saw things starting from the moment he began while holding Lucky Lump in his hand.

He definitely used some method, but he only hid that part. This bastard really is...

Then Rund watched what came next and let out a hollow laugh.

The puppy that had made an entire monster legion kneel in the Battle of Great Atlas.

Holding that puppy, Hyunsoo crossed over the worshiping monsters and broke through in an instant.

Watching him break through in only two seconds, Rund understood.

So this is why he needed me.

The people watching the video had already started making noise.

In communities.

Or in the comments under the video.

-That cheap trick is insane...

-But isn’t this way too broken?

-For real... totally balance-breaking lol

-The number-one mage took over two minutes, but this guy clears it in 2 seconds.

-Fuck, I’m telling you, this is because he’s Korean. Pure favoritism for a Korean user.

One particular post got the most likes by far, well over several thousand.

-How does a 2-second clear make any sense? Shouldn’t he get suspended for this?

People were starting to react in disbelief.

But from Rund’s point of view, it looked different.

In truth, he had been hit with all sorts of criticism himself too, people saying things like They just spoon-fed him spellbooks.

So he looked at it from the perspective of an ordinary high ranker.

Not just me. The other high rankers would probably feel the same way.

If someone called it luck, or said it was balance-breaking, then those high rankers would be nothing more than inferiority-ridden fools, just like those anonymous commenters.

So that’s why Hyun laid out that condition for me. This insanely smart bastard... just how many moves ahead did he see?

Rund was impressed by Hyunsoo’s foresight.

At the same time, he also thought this.

Hyun must have it rough too.

Because being at the top meant you were that much easier to tear apart.

Thinking that, Rund entered the press conference hall his manager had arranged.

STEP STEP—

The reporters watching Rund walk up to the platform looked like predators staring at prey.

And yet, they seemed even more intoxicated by a different prey than Rund himself.

Hyun.

That was who it was.

They wanted it.

They wanted the former record-holder to take a jab at the current record-holder, Hyun!

Because then they could criticize Hyun, and if they could criticize Hyun, that meant money for reporters!

Hurry up and say Hyun’s clear was balance-breaking!

Say it should be blocked!

It’s better for us if you tear Hyun down!

Reporters loved tearing people down more than praising anyone for doing something great.

Especially in Rund’s case, since he was the very person who had said it was absolutely impossible.

They were probably hoping he would say, This is balance-breaking, and tear Hyun down for them.

To put it simply, they were the same trash reporters who had taken shots at Rund plenty of times too.

Rund recalled what Hyunsoo had said.

[Hyunsoo: I want you to hold a press conference and evaluate me honestly as a high ranker. No need to exaggerate, and it’s not because I told you to. Just say what you think of me.]

Honestly... If that’s what you want, I’ll do just that.

Rund let out a dry laugh.

He was only keeping his promise, and by doing so, finalizing his agreement with Hyunsoo.

Well, there wasn’t really anything special he needed to say.

“We will now begin the press conference.”

At the host’s words, reporters shot their hands up.

“Yes, please ask your questions.”

“You confidently declared that nobody could break your record, yet Hyun achieved it in just 2.36 seconds. What are your thoughts on that?”

The reporters expected him to call it balance-breaking.

But his response was completely different.

“To be honest, it’s astonishing.”

“...Excuse me?”

“The Tower of Honor does not allow pet entry. Yet I believe Hyunsoo got his pet inside by using a method of his own, and from that alone, I think it’s extremely impressive.”

“...Then do you perhaps consider it balance-breaking that he did it together with Lucky Lump?”

“I don’t think that either. Let me ask everyone here a question. Is there anyone here confident they could get a pet on Lucky Lump’s level?”

“......”

“......”

A lot of the reporters were left speechless, but a few of them weren’t.

“He only got it because he was lucky, didn’t he? Or, as some netizens are claiming, it could have been preferential treatment from Pureum Co., Ltd....”

“Puhaha, unbelievable. Lucky? Preferential treatment?”

Rund wore his usual arrogant smile.

“There is one thing every Ares player knows. A ‘high ranker’ is someone who has reasons for being one. Do you really not know that high rankers sleep less than ordinary users, grind levels harder, and put in more effort? And if they do, isn’t it only natural that they gain more?”

The reporters did not back off.

“It seems User Hyun is monopolizing rewards too severely. Don’t you think high rankers and ordinary users should unite to restrain him? As the number-one mage-ranked user, shouldn’t you be setting an example? If Mr. Rund led a petition, I think you could gather tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of signatures and stop him.”

The reporter had already planned the article if Rund agreed.

Rund joins forces with users, protests Pureum Co., Ltd., and punishes Hyun.

At once, Rund’s eyes sharpened.

That chilling gaze showed exactly why he was a top predator in the game Ares.

The reporters swallowed hard.

Gulp—

In the press conference hall, where everyone was watching, Rund spoke.

“I dislike that bastard Hyunsoo. I was utterly crushed by him in the Battle of Great Atlas. But even if he’s an enemy, what deserves to be acknowledged should be acknowledged.”

“......”

“I have watched several of Hyunsoo’s crafting videos. For the sake of a single creation, he doesn’t sleep, barely eats, and keeps working. Even if I dislike him, I love his story.”

“......”

“He kept holding on and struggling to stay alive in situations where an ordinary person would have lost their mind or given up. And because of that, I found myself wondering—could I really have done what he did?”

“......”

“I, too, worked relentlessly and climbed high. But after watching his highlight reels, I looked back on myself. After hearing his story, these thoughts came to me.”

“......”

I want to live like that too. I want to work that hard too. I want to have talent for effort like he does.

“......”

“And I believe that someone who lives that way should naturally obtain more rewards and advance farther than people like us, who are lazier than him, who work less than him, and who idle around.”

“......”

“At the very least, I think I can say clearly what should be said about Hyun in a place like this. First of all, I am twenty years older than he is.”

“......”

“You, and most people here, and even the keyboard warriors just waggling their fingers right now, are probably older than Hyun. He’s only a twenty-two-year-old young man. So if we’re adults, shouldn’t we begin by saying this rather than denying him?”

“......”

You’ve done well. You’re impressive. You’re admirable. Thank you for not collapsing.

“If we’re adults, then at the very least that is where we should begin. Before criticizing him, we should acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment.”

“......”

“Am I wrong?”

The press conference hall fell silent.

Because there had been nothing wrong in what he said.

The reporters were so ashamed they could not even lift their heads.