Genius Blacksmith's Game

A little while ago.

[Hidden Quest: Gremory’s Revival]

Grade: SSS

Restriction: Gremory’s Proxy

Reward: Position of 1st Legion Commander

Penalty on failure: Proxy qualification revoked

Description: The great archdemon Gremory’s will to awaken is strong. Offer the blood of 5,000 Ares Church believers and bring the great archdemon Gremory down upon this world.

Vera had received a new quest.

Originally, the plan had been to resurrect Gremory by driving the Dagger of the Evil God into Pope Karsel’s heart.

But the Ares Church was not a church that a single player and a few legion commanders could do anything to.

Pope Karsel in particular was a being with power rivaling at least that of a legend, and Saintess Aria’s enormous buffs endlessly made the holy knights stronger and stripped them of fear.

Fortunately, the blood Gremory wanted was not the blood of holy knights or priests.

It was the blood of ordinary Ares Church believers.

They were innocent.

And guiltless too.

No matter where you went, civilians were not touched in war.

But Vera was a woman with no brakes.

She was cunning.

All across Ares, just like churches, there were small shrines devoted to the Ares Church.

At those small shrines, Ares Church believers gathered in groups ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred, praying for this war to end in peace.

Vera raided them.

They killed without sparing innocent children, the elderly, or women.

That woman named Vera was truly a terrifying existence.

When the number passed three thousand—

[A new story begins.]

Vera was overwhelmed with emotion.

“You are, to a fair degree, impressive.”

Gremory’s voice began to come through the Dagger of the Evil God.

What she said shocked Vera.

“Where is Blacksmith Hyun?”

“......!?”

Blacksmith Hyun?

Vera understood that meant Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo.

The world still did not know exactly who had sealed Gremory.

“Why... are you looking for him?”

No—perhaps the reason Gremory was seeking him was for some kind of request.

“I made him a promise.”

Though she could not see her, it felt as though she could see her elegant, seductive, and vicious expression all the same.

And then Vera soon learned the truth.

Gremory spoke of Asura and the master blacksmith.

She also spoke of a swordsman who had displayed the power of an undefeated knight.

Unfortunately, Vera knew nothing about the undefeated knight or that swordsman.

But she did realize that Asura was Kabel, and that the master blacksmith had sealed Gremory together with them.

‘H-how......?’

Vera found Hyun’s power astounding.

Babylon.

The sword that could destroy all evil.

Hyun, who had crafted that sword.

Even if he had now solidified into an enemy, it was more than enough to deserve acknowledgment.

And she came to understand why the new story had begun.

“A part of my power has returned. You may hand that dagger to Fuoruo, the 2nd Legion Commander.”

Vera was flustered.

Entrust such an important task to Fuoruo instead of her?

Did that mean a player could never become the 1st Legion Commander after all?

No, it had been her misunderstanding.

“You have a more important task. From this moment onward, you are the 1st Legion Commander.”

A World Message rang out.

It was the announcement that a new legend had been born on this land.

At that moment, all the media and the whole world began talking about Vera.

It was true that with the beginning of the second Ares, the value of the title legend had declined.

Even now, on a single continent it was hard to find even ten legends, but worldwide that number had reached around fifty.

But in the case of players, it was different.

After the start of the second Ares, Kabel had been engraved as the second legend, and more and more people had begun approaching legend one by one.

Even so, she too had been fast.

Because she was the fifth legend to appear in the world.

[You have become Gremory’s 1st Legion Commander.]

[You seize command authority over the 22 legion commanders.]

[You gain power that cannot be compared to ordinary demon worshippers.]

[You obtain 500 demonic power.]

[You obtain 500 Fame.]

[A total of 200 stat points are distributed evenly.]

[Active Skill. One Who Commands is created.]

[You obtain the Transcendence-grade Gremory’s Earring.]

One Who Commands was the power to issue absolute orders to the legion commanders, and at the same time, the power to gather those who ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ had taken root everywhere under the name of “dungeons,” lying low and holding their breath.

And what was Gremory’s Earring?

‘The legion commanders can’t act on the surface.’

Just as Baal’s Original Sin had been necessary for Fuoruo and several other legion commanders.

The moment they stepped onto the surface, they were weakened by 50%.

That meant that legion commanders whose power reached the level of legends became weak enough to be easy prey even for mere high rankers.

But the power of this Gremory’s Earring was extraordinary. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

(Gremory’s Earring)

Bound Artifact

Grade: Transcendence

Durability: 20,000/20,000

Restriction: 1st Legion Commander

Special Abilities:

·Active Skill Cerberus

·Passive Skill Gremory’s Mercy

Description: An earring that the great archdemon Gremory had the Great Archdemon of Crafting create on commission.

(Gremory’s Mercy)

Passive Skill

Penalty: Level drops by 10

Effect:

·Minimizes the damage suffered by the 22 legion commanders and demonkin who descend onto the surface.

·Reduces the penalty, originally around 50%, to under 10%.

·Can be activated only on legion commanders.

·Can be applied to only five legion commanders.

Gremory’s Mercy.

This was Gremory’s pure power.

But if she exercised this power, she herself would be weakened for a long time.

So she had commissioned the Great Archdemon of Crafting and produced an artifact that was an inferior version of it.

The number it could affect was limited to only five legion commanders.

And it still came with a 10% reduction.

But the legion commanders hovered between level 490 and over 500.

Even after the reduction, they would still be in the level 450 range.

And the weakening of their power was meaningless.

The reason legion commanders were special lay in the traits they possessed.

But—

‘It drops your level by 10?’

For a high ranker, even dropping by a single level meant being pushed down the rankings.

And raising ten levels took at least several months.

Vera wondered why Gremory had given an earring bound only to her.

“On that day, I made a promise. On the day I awaken, I would erase his territory without leaving a trace.”

“......?”

Vera felt like she was suffocating.

Normally, she had never cared about Hyun at all.

But right now, she understood how what Gremory was saying would land on players.

‘......If it were me, I’d have quit the game.’

Hyunsoo was different.

At the recent battle for Atlas—

there, Hyun had declared that he would establish his own nation.

But Vera did not care. If anything, she was grateful.

His territory was vast, and the name of that territory stood above every other player’s, so to Vera it was nothing but precious and glorious.

Vera, now the 1st Legion Commander, handed the Dagger of the Evil God to Fuoruo, the 2nd Legion Commander.

Then, as she departed for Atlas, she whispered to a certain player.

It was a world-famous streamer with the nickname Rollo.

Streamer Rollo.

An influential American streamer who ran anywhere there was a hot topic or major issue involving Ares.

With entertaining banter to match his sharp commentary,

and expertise surpassing that of most professionals, he was a rapidly rising figure.

[Vera: Today, Atlas will fall. To me, the fifth legend, and to the legion commanders.]

Thanks to the World Message that had appeared only recently, Vera, the 1st Legion Commander, had become the biggest issue around.

Especially with the rumors the public had been spreading.

[Rollo: Can you really command the legion commanders?]

[Vera: It’s true. All the legion commanders obey my orders.]

It was the scoop of scoops.

Streamer Rollo knew the power the legion commanders possessed.

Though not on the surface, inside the dungeons where they resided, they could display strength on par with most legends.

‘A new legend, and Atlas collapsing beneath her?’

Viewership was practically guaranteed.

Rollo immediately met up with her at the agreed location.

And just as she had said, she truly was with a considerable number of legion commanders.

The legion commanders had appearances that made them seem like demon lords.

Capable of displaying their own distinct traits, those legion commanders radiated such overwhelming energy that even Rollo could hardly believe it.

‘T-this is them after being nerfed......?’

It was enough to make one keenly realize that players were still infinitely small in front of named NPCs.

Swallowing dryly, Rollo asked in excitement,

“Are you striking Atlas right away?”

Vera had not come leading only the legion commanders.

She had also brought five hundred elite members of the Calamity Church.

Their levels had reached 430, making them comparable to high-ranking holy knights.

“Of course. There’s no benefit in dragging things out for too long.”

“But isn’t this still not enough?”

Rollo said that because the legion commanders he saw were clearly radiating a vicious presence, but they had still been weakened.

But Vera smiled a seductive smile.

“Gremory’s Mercy.”

[Gremory’s Mercy envelops the legion commanders.]

[The penalty on the designated legion commanders is reduced from 50% to 10%.]

[You receive the penalty.]

[Your level drops by 10.]

“This should be enough, right?”

Vera’s forces now—if they fought not a territory but a decent kingdom army, they would not fall behind.

Rollo swallowed hard.

“I’ll film from a distance.”

Rollo had a duty to record as much of it as possible and broadcast it to the entire world.

‘There hasn’t been any real issue lately, and now I get to broadcast a scene this sweet......!’

And on top of that, it was Vera, the hottest name around right now.

At minimum, it looked like hundreds of thousands of viewers would watch.

Before long, they drew close to Atlas.

And just as Rollo was about to start filming the broadcast—

“......?”

A whisper arrived from someone.

*****

Vera was overflowing with confidence.

‘If Atlas falls, I’ll be reborn as a class beyond comparison.’

And she also loved her class, 1st Legion Commander, far too much.

To be able to lead the 21 legion commanders? Wasn’t that incredible?

She was rejoicing as Atlas finally came into view past the rough terrain,

when a dagger flew in from somewhere and struck a Calamity Church believer in the forehead.

THUNK—!

“......?”

Vera knew exactly one person capable of hitting an enemy so cleanly.

“......Asura!”

She looked at the man who appeared like light, severed the necks of three priests with divine movements, and blocked her path.

Vera was flustered for a moment, then laughed.

“Hohohoho, I’m so glad to see you!”

Vera was sincerely delighted.

Because now, through the footage Rollo was filming, she would be able to capture the death of Asura Kabel.

Bahala.

He was not a legend.

True to someone who pursued even higher heights, he stood in a place above that.

Yes, the greatest among legends was Kabel.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you. Look at me. I’m Gremory’s 1st Legion Commander!”

He was an enemy, but Asura was far too magnificent a man.

Vera wanted to show someone like that that the 1st Legion Commander was vastly superior to some king of hell.

She expected Asura’s face to soon be painted with fear.

But as though chewing over something utterly pointless, he simply spat out,

“......I wasn’t interested.”

“......?”

Suddenly, a certain fact flashed through Vera’s mind.

That Gremory had originally intended to entrust the position of 1st Legion Commander to some lofty being.

That thought made Vera’s heart race.

If he denied it, then she would prove the greatness of the 1st Legion Commander herself.

“Sorry, but I’ve already finished preparing for you. The 12th Legion Commander is called the Legion Commander of Shields. With that power applied to me, the moment I die, I gain a resurrection skill that refills my HP to 50%. Your specialty was always instant death from the start. But here, I’ll prove that Asura is inferior to the 1st Legion Comman—”

Asura vanished like light and stabbed through her heart.

“Blink.”

FWWOOOOSH—!

The ambushed Vera relaxed.

At once, the resurrection power of the 12th Legion Commander was taking effect.

Then—

“Crush to Death.”

FWWOOOOOOSH—!

Vera’s vision was going dark. She had met death.

And into her ears, Asura’s voice drove itself like a spike.

“Not every legend is the same.”