Genius Blacksmith's Game

40 billion won.

It was enough money for a family to live rich for generations off the interest alone.

And in Ares, the value of 40 billion won in real money was vastly greater.

Normally, when the value of in-game currency was converted into real-world money, its value dropped sharply.

A sum that could buy a building in Gangnam in reality could buy the capital of a kingdom in Ares.

Even if it were the capital of a poor country, it would still be several times larger than Atlas and have a much greater population.

And that kind of massive fortune—

enough to buy a capital city—

had fallen into the hands of Atlas, a place far smaller than any capital.

The things that could now be done because of that were truly enormous.

Atlas Military Training Grounds.

The bodies of Atlas’s soldiers were remarkable.

They maintained body fat percentages around six to eight percent, to the point that the grain of their muscles was visible, making them look beautiful and impressive.

They resembled a lesser version of the army from the movie 400, the kind of men who would shout, This is Sparta.

The reason they were called a lesser version was because, generally speaking, their muscles were too lean.

Of course, it was true that they looked good.

In fact, photos of Atlas soldiers running shirtless were often uploaded to the Ares communities and became a hot topic.

But there was one sad truth behind that that people did not know.

Because Atlas had no money, the only meat the soldiers were fed was chicken breast.

Chicken breast was very cheap and good for building a body.

However, in the world of Ares, nobles described chicken breast as “a dry cut fit only for livestock.”

People with money ate only the tender, flavorful cuts. Chicken breast was treated as something close to discarded food.

Which was why chicken breast was treated even worse here than it was in reality, and was cheaper than a single potato.

Atlas had no finances, so this was how they managed to provide protein at all.

The problem was that chicken breast tasted too awful, and since proper carbohydrate intake was not happening either, the soldiers ended up with bodies that were “good-looking and nothing more.”

Of course, there were advantages too.

A lean, hardened body made for faster swordsmanship and more seasoned movement.

But the disadvantages were greater.

Because of the sharp reduction in body fat, immunity dropped, and more soldiers started getting sick frequently.

And because their stamina and strength declined, their growth hit a plateau.

The most fatal disadvantage of all was—

It feels like I’m eating an eraser...

How does Commander Luxiu eat food like this...?

It was simply too disgusting to eat.

And the soldiers harbored resentment toward Commander Luxiu, their “cheapest and best protein supplier.”

But if they had not even eaten chicken breast, the soldiers probably would have become even thinner.

And among them, the soldier Anode heard a rumor.

“They say there’s an endless procession of carriages loaded with 10 million gold.”

“This territory isn’t poor anymore!”

The soldiers were overjoyed.

Especially the soldier Anode.

Like Pans, he too was one of those who had written in the Tell the Lord! suggestion box, asking if they could please have meat at least once a week.

And Anode had been born into a poor cook’s family.

Because of that, his small dream in life had been to eat as much meat as he wanted at least once.

However—

“...Since this is the blacksmith’s territory, he’ll probably replace all the weapons and armor first.”

“Strengthening the army comes first, after all.”

In truth, Anode thought so too, yet still spoke in a hopeful voice.

“Do you think maybe our lord might come see us too?”

The other soldiers’ reactions were cold.

“He’ll go to the blacksmiths first.”

“They’re the treasures of this land.”

“We’ll probably come later.”

Another soldier had heard about the child who had been given the prenatal name White Tiger, and the story had spread like wildfire among the soldiers, but—

“A lord sometimes needs that sort of display for appearances.”

Nobles liked doing things like that, shaking hands with soldiers.

But the moment they turned around, they would wipe their °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° hands with a handkerchief and mutter, Ugh... filthy.

Anode flared up.

“Our lord is not that kind of person!”

That he would do such a thing as some performance?

Anode believed that, at the very least, it had been sincere.

Even so, none of the soldiers truly expected anything.

And then—

their lord appeared with Commander Luxiu.

“You must be busy, and yet you came here first?”

“Because this is the place where the soldiers who fight for our territory are.”

Hearing the exchange between the two, Soldier Anode was filled with admiration, and the other soldiers started to change their minds.

And Anode hoped—

that their lord might grant them the blessing of eating meat once a week.

But then—

“Three meat side dishes a day.”

“???” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“Buffet service twice a month.”

“???”

“Gift sets of beef on the holidays.”

“???”

What was a buffet?

To them, mere commoners, the word buffet was unfamiliar. So Hyunsoo explained it carefully.

It meant laying out a spread full of delicacies from land and sea, then eating until your stomach was about to burst.

In other words, it meant nobles’ banquet food laid out in full, so they could eat whatever they wanted!

And on top of that—

“Family members allowed.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

The core reason soldiers fought willing to lay down their lives was for their families.

It was to feed their families well!

And now, taking even that into consideration, their lord was giving them and their families the chance to enjoy the same kind of feast nobles did. It was so moving they could hardly bear it.

One knight asked in a worried tone,

“A-Are you truly sure this is all right?”

To that, Hyunsoo said,

“Didn’t you see the procession of carriages earlier? You people are the precious ones who protect our territory. I earned money, and if I’m going to spend it, then making sure you receive treatment worthy of that comes first.”

“......”

“......”

Soldiers were cannon fodder on the battlefield.

That was how nobles treated them.

But this young lord did not.

And then—

“...My lord, would it be possible for us to have hobbies on the weekends?”

Anode.

A man whose lifelong dream of eating meat three times a day had already come true, and yet who dared to push one step further.

“...My father was a poor cook, and I too have great interest in cooking. Because of that, I want to do culinary research. It may be something small, but I want to help develop specialty products for the territory through that research.”

Even after saying it, Anode thought perhaps he had reached too far.

But Hyunsoo looked around at the soldiers and said,

“If there’s something you want to do, something you want to try, something you want to enjoy, then do it all. You should do it. I’ll handle whatever comes after. That is our Atlas.”

“...!”

“...!”

At those words, the soldiers and knights standing there were deeply shaken.

He cared for them this much—to the point that they felt laying down their lives for him would not be a waste.

Their loyalty rose.

And as Hyunsoo turned and walked away at the end, cold sweat was running down his back.

What the hell is this...?

After giving the unborn child its prenatal name, he had received even deeper, more shocking notifications.

Because of that, Hyunsoo had needed to conduct a certain experiment, though in truth it was less an experiment and more the continuation of something he had already intended to do.

And Nell, who had been searching for him, came running as well.

Her expression too was full of shock.

“...So in the end, you proved that people matter more than material wealth.”

The clear reason why.

Hyunsoo checked the notifications that had sounded for him with a stunned expression.

The first was this:

[You are carrying out a special act that no lord has ever done before.]

[This is the first time a user has given a prenatal name to a child of one of their people who has not yet been born.]

That White Tiger would be born as an unshakable child had already been proven by the previous notification.

However—

[White Tiger will be as great and steadfast as the name suggests.]

[White Tiger’s talent has not yet been fixed, but it will be legendary.]

[White Tiger will grow up hearing stories of the lord who gave him his name.]

[White Tiger will grow up to protect you with his life.]

That was what had left Hyunsoo in complete shock.

That child, White Tiger—

once born and grown, would become a legend.

When he heard that notification, Hyunsoo had thought this:

What would ordinary people do when they gained money?

First, they would divide it among the guild members, then use only the bare minimum for territory funds.

But Hyunsoo, Nell, and the executives of Hyun’s Forge were completely different.

They understood the countless advantages Hyunsoo had gained through his close relationships with NPCs like Barad and Ben of Azure Heaven, and through the many bonds he had formed.

And because of that, there had been unanimous agreement that the money gained this time should be used to strengthen Atlas and reward those who had suffered for it.

They were walking a path completely different from every other territory.

And one of the special things that had just happened as a result of that, after meeting the soldiers, was this:

[By eating quality meat three times a day, their Attack Power, Stamina, and Defense increase greatly.]

[However, Agility may decrease.]

[Atlas’s military power increases by 5%.]

Apparently, soldiers consuming meat exerted greater effects than expected.

And the fact that they had come to feel they would gladly lay down their lives likely played a part in that as well.

In addition, there was another special reason why both Hyunsoo and Nell had been shocked.

“What happened?”

“A soldier named Anode said he wanted to have a hobby, so I told him that if he wanted to, he should do it.”

“......”

To be honest, if she had been standing beside him, Nell would have tried to stop him.

That was the innocent sort of idea only Hyunsoo could come up with.

If it had been the lord of another territory?

They might have cut off the man’s head on the spot.

But the result was a work of art.

[Lord Hyunsoo promises to support all hobby activities.]

[During the period in which hobbies receive full support, the soldiers’ potential increases by 85%.]

[This is a higher potential value than that of any other territory.]

Ding!

[The trait Best Recipe Developer is unlocked for the soldier Anode.]

[Congratulations.]

[You have discovered a hidden treasure within Atlas.]

[You have succeeded in uncovering talent.]

[In the future, Anode will make the greatest contribution to the territory’s specialty products by developing revolutionary recipes.]

[Because of Anode, Atlas’s finances may grow abundant.]

At the time, no one knew it, but this was the birth of the man who would later develop Zero-Calorie Chicken and captivate nobles across the entire continent.

And astonishingly, Best Recipe Developer was a Legendary-grade trait.

Though the soldier Anode himself was not a legend, the fact that a single one of his abilities would go on to exert tremendous influence across the whole continent was an incredible thing.

“Every person has at least one talent of their own, but because everyone walks the same road, most people live their entire lives never knowing what theirs is.”

What would have happened if a world-class soccer player had never started soccer?

Or if a world-class actor had never learned how to act?

“Potential is something you can only discover by actually doing the thing. But people never awaken to it because they all have to work, because they all have to study. Yet you are the one who awakened that, Hyunsoo. From now on, Atlas will have at least several times more talented people than any other territory.”

The Hyun’s Nation that those talented people would build in the future was impossible to imagine.

And in addition—

[Because of hobbies and various financial investments, 7.51 million gold will be spent each year.]

The financial cost was by no means small.

But it felt as though the number of talented people Atlas would eventually possess—something no other territory could boast—would repay that several dozen times over.

And then—

“So people matter more than material wealth after all. I’ve finally figured out how to catch up to that shameless Amazon bastard.”

Hyunsoo immediately warped to the Papal Palace.

[You have entered the Papal Palace.]

Because of his high contribution to the Ares Church, he had become one of the very few users allowed to enter the Papal Palace.

Having returned after a single day, Hyunsoo was able to meet Pope Karsel and Aria again.

And now he was thinking of a material way to catch Bahala, who was probably already soaring ahead on Ares’s Mercy.

No matter how much I wracked my brain, I couldn’t think of a way. Bahala’s raiding ability is overwhelmingly above mine to begin with, and now he has even taken the greatest potion of the Ares Church, Ares’s Mercy.

If anything, it meant the level gap between Bahala and Hyunsoo would only widen further, not narrow.

That was to say, there was no way to close it—

so long as he was thinking only in terms of material things.

After being granted an audience with the two of them, Hyunsoo stated what he wanted.

“Power-level me.”