Genius Blacksmith's Game

He who would wear the crown must endure its weight.

It was a line from one of Shakespeare’s works.

And like that, Hyunsoo could feel that immense weight.

That weight was the great enemies surrounding him.

Enemies he still did not know.

And enemies whose very names, even the ones he already knew, were enough to make his breath catch.

The heaviest of them was the great king, Bolond.

On the Asgan Continent, there existed the Ten Great Legends, and several seats still stood vacant.

According to what Nell had told him, the subordinates Bolond had not yet brought forth because the time had not come might even rival those legends.

It had been Hyunsoo who killed Fenrir, the hound Bolond had raised.

And so, day by day, Hyunsoo had felt more suffocated.

Because he did not know when that weight would finally crush him.......

(Sealed Spellbook)

Grade: legendary

Restriction: sorcerer level 500 or above, or Wisdom 7,000 or above

Special Abilities:

· Vampire Baron is sealed inside.

· One imprisoned in the Sealed Spellbook can revive after death.

· However, upon reviving after death, their power is greatly weakened.

· The sealed target is currently in a greatly weakened state after dying from a certain power.

· It currently takes 30 days for the sealed target, having died from a certain power, to awaken.

· The sealed target, having died from a certain power, becomes far younger than its original form.

· Because a powerful being is sealed inside the spellbook, no one else can be sealed any longer.

Description: A spellbook created by Abeo, capable of sealing even beings that have reached legend.

(Abeo’s Spellbook Manufacturing Manual)

Grade: Unique

Restriction: sorcerer level 500 or above, or Wisdom 10,000 or above

Special Abilities:

· The crafting methods for every spellbook Abeo made are written here.

· They are not easy to understand, so just anyone cannot manufacture them.

· You may truly be able to create a wide variety of spellbooks.

Description: Abeo. The reason he was able to lead Shadow in the West King’s land was because he was an exceptional sorcerer.

Though he did not reach legend, his spellbook manufacturing manual stood just on the verge of surpassing legend.

Hyunsoo knew what he needed most.

Personal strength?

That was true too.

Someone with overwhelming martial power.

Because it would let him dominate, just as when he had cut down the Blood Demon Corps in the Battle of Goyard, whom no one else could easily cut down.

But what mattered more was what was around him.

Atlas as it was now.

Luxiu, Bella, the members of Hyun’s Forge guild.

And many other powerful figures besides.

Without them, none of this would have been possible.

Weight?

Far from enduring it, Hyunsoo would already have been crushed to death under the weight of the crown.

All the more so because of the subordinates hidden behind Sword Emperor Bolond’s veil.

It was now the time when he needed even more powerful figures who could fight those people, people who might appear together with an update.

At that moment—

This is insane.......

The Sealed Spellbook served to support the weight of the crown.

This vampire called Baron.

His final words.

Judging from everything Hyunsoo had experienced so far, they clearly held meaning.

From Baron’s eyes, Hyunsoo had felt this.

Rather than principle, I’d rather be with you.

From the start, Baron was a being who had been trapped in a spellbook against his will.

And the reason he had been in that cave.

Judging from Hyunsoo’s experience—

it signals the beginning of some story.

He was no longer as naive as he had been in the past.

From Abeo, who had babbled excitedly out of inferiority, he had gathered all kinds of information.

That Baron had been a titled figure who ruled a territory in the vampire kingdom.

That vampires, who had appeared for the first time, were mongrels of the demon realm, and a species above humans.

And there’s also the possibility that when those stories are fulfilled, I might truly gain him.

Vampire Baron, honestly speaking, had been someone he could defeat this easily only because he had Babylon.

When he fought with the combination of the Overlord set and the Twin Dragon Sword,

to be honest, Hyunsoo had not been certain of victory.

All the more because Baron had looked like someone who could even be compared to Luxiu.

And the greatest realization he had gained from the fact that Baron had once led a territory—

it was one of the thoughts Lee Sejin had once had.

“My people didn’t actually have to be human......!”

It was a tremendous step forward.

Why?

Because other lords won’t know that. And even if they do, they won’t accept it.

In reality, humans were the greatest species.

There would be many who refused to accept that in the game, that was not the case.

At the moment he acknowledged him, Hyunsoo gained infinite possibility.

Then......

......What? Wisdom over 7,000? And the manufacturing manual needs over 10,000?

Hyunsoo was flustered.

Is there even a single user who raised Wisdom to 7,000?

Of course, if someone dumped everything into it, maybe it was possible.

But by the natural order of the game Ares, such total dumping was impossible in itself.

Wisdom might be 10,000, but all the other stats were 5.

That was no different from a walking paper fish.

A single tap and it would die.

This is impossible to use in the first place.......

Then Hyunsoo thought of someone like that.

“......Sage Arte!”

The person currently serving as the headmaster of the academy.

The one called Sage, the pinnacle of all wisdom.

Lately they had grown old and coughed often.

Perhaps they were similar to the paper fish Hyunsoo had imagined, but they were still a legend.

What if I had them learn the spellbooks and make all kinds of spellbooks? And what if I awakened Vampire Baron and progressed his story......?

Atlas would grow once again.

Having finished that train of thought, Hyunsoo smiled in satisfaction.

Then he checked whether the princess in his arms was hurt anywhere and felt relieved.

Right at that moment—

“......You.”

He sensed someone’s presence.

*****

The princess had disappeared.

It was more than enough to make the North King, who had been trying to sleep, bolt awake.

It did not take long to learn who had done it.

“Shadow, you say......?”

He knew who they were.

The subordinates of the West King, with whom they were at war.

They were people too fast on their feet to be chased down.

It was a moment when the North King’s chest seemed to tear apart.

KRAK—!

Peace?

There was no such thing.

The kidnapped princess was probably already dead. But because he was a king, he tried to remain calm.

Only because he intended to launch a full assault against those who had done this.

“......The blacksmith is fighting while holding the princess!”

“......!?”

The North King was astonished.

First, because the princess was still here.

Next, because a mere blacksmith was fighting them.

But since it was only something he had heard, he thought the man might already be dead.

And yet, when he arrived with his retainers, he saw it.

The surroundings of the forge, drenched in blood.

“Kahaha!”

The princess laughing and reaching out toward the blacksmith.

And the blacksmith, wrapping the princess in cloth and holding her in his arms, looking down at her with a faint smile.

Usually, Legendary Mouth. A man who was good at acting.

Was this one of Hyunsoo’s artificial performances, the sort with which he maximized rewards through falsehood?

No.

It was simply the natural look of an adult holding a laughing infant with a pure smile.

Within that naturalness—

“......You.”

[Sudden Quest: Vampire Baron completed]

[You can receive a reward from the North King.]

[You are recorded as a hero of the North King’s land.]

New rewards were beginning to pour down.

What kind of existence was Hyunsoo in the North King’s land right now?

To say it exactly, he had been nothing at all.

The North King had believed him to be a powerful figure and summoned him to end the war, but he had been nothing more than a blacksmith.

And since he had not actually accomplished anything yet, the North King had truly only been the requester, and Hyunsoo no more than the one who had received that request.

But many people had seen the sight of that blacksmith who had killed Shadow, held the princess, and smiled.

And the princess was a treasure-like existence even to the ignorant common people.

[The North King’s people hear your tale of heroism.]

[The image of you smiling while holding the princess spreads throughout the land.]

[Affinity with the people rises greatly.]

[If they sell something to their benefactor, they will charge only the original price.]

[You obtain 1,000 Fame.]

In cases like this, usually one only received a discount.

But to charge only the original price was truly astonishing.

By nature, all things included labor costs and distribution costs.

But if those vanished, then anything Hyunsoo bought here would become profitable.

Of course, it would not be possible to enjoy that privilege infinitely.

Even so, through this Hyunsoo learned one thing.

[Affinity with the North King rises greatly.]

The first was that he had bestowed a certain favor upon the North King.

And the second was—

The weight of the crown is beginning to be supported......!

Just as Brad had bestowed the Blessing of a True Friend.

Just as the lord of Kassel Territory had called him a benefactor in front of all people.

Hyunsoo did not doubt that it would support that great weight.

The North King, holding the princess in his arms, carefully laid her down on the bed.

He recalled what he had just seen.

It had been an impressive sight.

The blood-soaked blacksmith had smiled while holding the princess, and the innocent princess had beamed brightly after nearly dying.

It was the first time he had ever seen such a beautiful smile on the princess’s face.

“......”

He started walking.

To a place that only the North King could enter.

Entering that secret place, the North King looked at that mineral.

Inside a box lay a mineral that could not even be compared to the Harmonization Stone.

Its name was the North King Stone.

Having made up his mind, he turned and walked.

*****

The Parion Empire, led by Sword Emperor Bolond.

The people of the Parion Empire were searching for a certain existence.

A special being called the Brightest Moon.

It was said that such a lifeform, born on the day of a solar eclipse, possessed power rivaling the legends.

But after the eclipse, the Parion Empire had failed to find it.

Because it was special?

No.

Because they did not know the saying that it is darkest under the lamp.

“Ugly little thing. Get lost already!”

“......”

No one knew.

That the Brightest Moon was a stray cat in the back alleys, born as a black cat.

From the moment of its birth, it had been called ominous.

And so it had lived its life despised and abused by everyone.

Even so, it knew that it was special.

It just did not want to use its power for people who despised it.

Today was no different from any other day.

An alleyway filled with bitter cold.

After scavenging food from the trash cans, it curled up in one corner of the bins and tried to sleep so it could endure the cold.

It resented the fact that only it had been born as such a black cat.

And as it fell asleep in the cold—

“Maaang......!”

What a really pretty cat......!

“Kyuu!”

It’ll be great at running errands!

“Kkoko.”

It’s the new youngest!

“......?”

The Brightest Moon heard strange voices.

When it opened its eyes, there was a puppy with a wet nose and white fur, a being that looked like a baby bird made of nothing but bones,

and a bird burning in flames.

“KYAAAGH!”

A wounded cat, it puffed up all its fur.

And thought they were saying something ridiculous.

That it was pretty?

“KYAAK!”

No way!

But the white puppy shook its head.

“Maaang, wang wang!”

What are you talking about? You’re this pretty. We can prove it. Want to come with us?

“......”

The Brightest Moon looked around.

Come with them?

How could it trust them?

And yet, it felt it.

“......”

The warm energy coming from the puppy in front of it.

Then it looked around once more.

No matter where it went, it had to be better than this place.

And soon, what unfolded—

FWAAAAAAH—!

was itself, tearing across the sky.

From atop Kkoko’s back, the cat enjoyed a beautiful world it had never once seen in all its life.

And then—

“Nyang......!”

“Kyuu!”

When it nearly flew off, sturdy second-born KyooKyoo caught it.

They arrived at the riverside.

“KYAAAK!”

I hate baths!

But they said there was no helping it if it wanted to become pretty.

The sight of the three little beings all working together to wash a single cat by the river

was quite adorable.

Anyway, once the bath was over, the puppy said to the cat,

“Maaang!”

Look!

The cat carefully walked to the river and looked at its reflection, and was shocked.

“......”

A black cat, with one red eye and one yellow eye.

It had never known it was this pretty, this beautiful.

“......Nyang.”

The cat that had been abused and ignored on the streets cried.

“Mang.......”

“Kyuu.”

“Kkoo.......”

The three little beings approached and hugged it tight.

“NYAAANG...... NYAAANG...... NYAAAANG......!”

Feeling someone else’s warmth for the first time in its life, the cat cried sadly.

Later on,

before it met the one who would become its master, it had been afraid.

Afraid that he too might despise it like the people in the streets had.

But the one named Hyunsoo smiled brightly.

“......I’ve never seen such a pretty cat before.”

“......”

“From now on, your name is Pretty.”

The first member of Lucky Lump Assemble, and the Brightest Moon.......

No, this is the story of our Pretty.