Genius Blacksmith's Game

Mage Jane.

Lancer Bangbae.

Territory King Glass.

All three were unofficial rankers, and they had one thing in common.

Back in Atlas’s earliest days,

they had happened to visit this place by chance, and one being had made them stay.

The fact that three unofficial rankers—three people who displayed outstanding power in their respective fields—had remained in what had once been a tiny Atlas was shocking in itself.

And the thing they had in common was Lucky Lump.

They had stayed here for a while because of a quest Lucky Lump had given them.

And because they were unofficial rankers, they had neither the desire to serve anyone nor the slightest interest in doing so.

And now—

[Jane: I think it’s time for us to leave.]

[Bangbae: I agree. It’s time to move our base.]

They intended to leave Atlas for good.

[Glass: I can’t say I’m particularly sad about it. I hadn’t visited for about two months anyway.]

[Bangbae: Same here.]

[Jane: Me too^^;;]

They were busy.

They also had to keep leveling up.

And what they meant by moving was this:

they would never be able to come back to Atlas again.

[Jane: It’s still a little sad.]

[Bangbae: Same here......]

[Glass: Soon enough, this Atlas will vanish into a handful of ash.]

The reason they were leaving was the territory war that was coming soon.

They had no idea what kind of people would come, or at what scale.

They also had no idea what kind of interference the NPCs might make.

In a situation like that, there was no reason for three unofficial rankers to remain here.

The only thing that was disappointing was that they had to leave this place where they had lived, even if only briefly.

[Glass: I just hope Lucky Lump...... doesn’t die. No. Kabel is protecting it, so Lucky Lump should be fine.]

They knew Kabel too.

But Kabel had never told them to stay here.

Probably because they were leading their own people, just as Kabel was, so Kabel knew better than anyone how lacking Hyun was.

[Jane: I guess this group chat will end today too. I’ll head out first.]

Just then—

[Kabel: ......Wait.]

[Jane: ......?]

Kabel, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

Kabel had grown far stronger than when they had first met.

Now, they were Asura.

So that one word—wait—was enough to hold the three of them there for a moment.

[Kabel: I’d appreciate it if each of you stopped by Atlas once before you go.]

The three rankers understood what that meant.

Does Kabel want us not to leave......?

But Kabel, you know too. There’s no reason for us to stay in some tiny territory like this.

Are they asking us to participate in the territory war? Ridiculous. This place is about to collapse.

None of the three could say those words out loud carelessly.

Because there was history between them.

And because Asura Kabel had power.

It was good to stay on friendly terms with an Asura who possessed limitless information.

[Kabel: When was the last time each of you visited?]

[Jane: For me, two months ago.]

[Bangbae: Three months ago.]

[Glass: A month and a half ago. I don’t understand why you’re asking us to visit. Atlas is isolated right now, isn’t it?]

[Kabel: ......It is.]

Unlike Jane and Bangbae, Glass had the sort of personality that stated opinions clearly.

But even Glass nodded in the end.

[Glass: Understood. I’ll stop by. It’ll be my last visit before I leave, after all.]

[Jane: Same here. I hope I get to see Lucky Lump before I go.]

[Bangbae: ^^ I just hope I at least get a whiff of Lucky Lump’s warm little scent.]

That was it.

As expected, Kabel gave no more replies and no more answers.

And so the three of them each arrived at Atlas from different directions.

Glass.

The Territory King, who had somehow already reached Level 481, recalled the Atlas of a few months ago.

How long can it hold?

When a territory war broke out, the biggest problem was that Atlas had no idea what kind of places it would be facing.

What was needed for that?

Fortifications, including all kinds of siege supplies, and walls.

Because they held the Territory King class, they knew that better than anyone.

The durability of the walls will tell me how long they can hold out.

Thinking that, Glass arrived at Atlas—

and froze.

“......What is this?”

Glass couldn’t understand it.

Because of the sheer size of the enormous walls soaring upward with no regard for the sky.

How is this possible?

Even more shocking was the fact that the scale of those walls rivaled the capital of a decent-sized kingdom.

Even now, they were being layered thicker and stronger.

“How did this happen?”

Glass asked a soldier.

“......Didn’t you know our lord ordered twenty million gold to be spent on war preparations?”

“......!!?!?”

Glass stared in shock.

Twenty million? Or was it two hundred million?

For a moment, they shook their head.

No, twenty million wasn’t two hundred million.

That was twenty billion won in cash.

And in here, that twenty billion was worth more than a hundred billion.

They were burning through twenty billion on a single war?

Glass’s expression changed.

It wasn’t just the walls.

They looked around the territory.

A territory brute-forced with money was lying in wait for prey.

Just then—

[Bangbae: ......What exactly am I looking at right now?]

A message arrived in the chat window from the world’s unofficial Rank #2 lancer,

Bangbae.

*****

In Bangbae’s view, Atlas’s only real advantage was its blacksmiths.

It had to use those blacksmiths in battle.

But Bangbae had judged that Atlas, which suffered from a lack of funds, would have a hard time making dramatic use of them.

And besides—

What you need in large-scale warfare, and what you need when defending territory, is large-scale weaponry.

But Bangbae had judged that Atlas would have a hard time making use of them too.

Because it had no money.

And even then, the blacksmith class itself wasn’t exactly suited to producing siege weapons.

But the sight in front of them now left Bangbae horrified.

More than a thousand blacksmiths were moving around, hauling building materials.

And at the center of them all—

who was standing there?

“Roun?”

There was Roun, once the greatest blacksmith ranker in Korea.

And not only them.

There was CocoCat, and there were world-famous blacksmith rankers from all over.

Even those high-ranker blacksmiths looked visibly flustered, as if they had only recently migrated here themselves.

And Roun shouted,

“Hurry! Finish it as fast as possible!”

“Yes!!!”

Bangbae couldn’t believe it.

Because what was being made right now—

was dozens of ships.

Bangbae understood at once.

They’re preparing to become king!!

It was impossible not to be shocked.

Just then—

[Jane: ......I think all of you need to come where I am. I just saw something unbelievable.]

A message arrived from Crimson Flame Mage Jane.

Bangbae frowned in confusion, and Jane wore the look of someone who had just seen a ghost.

Before long, Territory King Glass arrived as well.

“What did you see that got you like this?”

Jane was a high-ranking mage.

Which meant they possessed invisibility magic, and that was how they had seen Kabel and Hyunsoo.

They had been curious when Hyunsoo said they were going to test their power.

Then came the sound of something being torn apart.

After that, they followed Kabel.

Guess even that didn’t work against Asura?

In truth, they hadn’t really followed Asura.

They had been headed toward Lucky Lump.

And before long, they saw Kabel collapse.

When they explained what they had seen, the other two denied it at once.

“No way.”

“Asura Kabel?”

Then Bangbae got an idea.

“Then they’re still running the experiment, aren’t they?”

“They should be, right?”

“Then I’ll be the test subject.”

The three of them started walking to find Hyun.

*****

Nell had been troubled lately.

Users are leaving.

The users staying here were important.

Because depending on circumstances, they could receive quests, and one of those quests could be something like Protect the Territory.

Also, after the founding of the nation of Hyun, Atlas had gathered quite a lot of users.

[Users staying in Atlas: 188,341.]

But now that number had dropped rapidly.

[Users staying in Atlas: 94,310.]

Nell knew the reason perfectly well.

A territory war would soon break out, and people were certain Atlas would lose.

No matter how much money they spent, and no matter what else they tried, it wasn’t easy to stop users from leaving.

But if those three are here, they’ll more than fill the gap.

Territory King Glass, Crimson Flame Mage Jane, and Lancer Bangbae.

The power of those three unofficial rankers.

Especially because strength was relative, beings at the absolute top like them would more than make up for the empty space left behind by everyone else.

But—

they have no reason to stay.

Nell had already given up on recruiting them.

Just then, a whisper came from Kabel.

Judging by the code, it was a whisper sent from reality.

[Kabel: If they see Hyunsoo’s damage output, they’ll stay here.]

“......What ridiculous nonsense!”

Nell sprang to their feet.

Kabel’s line of thought was understandable enough.

Those three would look at Hyunsoo’s damage output, go, “Whoa, that’s insane,” and ask to be accepted?

There was a very clear reason that would be difficult.

Because they were users, not NPCs.

[Nell: Users aren’t NPCs. They don’t become enchanted by strength and follow another user, because users do not submit to other users!!]

When users saw someone stronger than themselves, what they felt was jealousy.

Much less become captivated by strength.

Those three were top rankers.

The odds that they would become wary of Hyunsoo were far higher than the odds they would be captivated by Hyunsoo’s power.

And if you overwhelmed someone by force, then that was supposed to lead to submission.

But no user had a structure that allowed them to submit to another user.

Nell knew why Kabel had made this mistake.

Because they’ve always been the one doing the crushing.

Kabel had always been like that.

That was why they had never understood the heart of the one being crushed.

Nell took off running.

If we crush those three with that power, then we’ll lose them forever!

And the power itself would leave them feeling humiliated.

They had stood where they stood after long years of effort, and that would be denied in an instant.

Nell ran at full speed.

But they were already too late.

In the distance, they could see Hyunsoo drawing back their sword, and Bangbae standing in front of them.

In Nell’s eyes, Kabel and Bangbae were fundamentally different.

Bangbae was a close-range user.

Which meant their total HP and defense were vastly higher than Kabel’s.

Because of that, the situation could become even more awkward.

[Nell: Hyunsoo!!]

Hyunsoo, who had drawn the Sword for the One Who Follows the King back behind them, frowned in confusion.

What’s going on?

Bangbae had approached out of nowhere, and Hyunsoo knew them too.

They had been happy when Bangbae said they would help.

[Nell: Stop!!!]

Too late.

Hyunsoo’s arm was already swinging forward in a wide arc.

And at that moment—

light flashed in Hyunsoo’s eyes.

[The hidden Longing reveals itself!]

[Longing is a power that activates based on probability!]

[When the 10% chance activates, it deals a devastating blow to the enemy with 700% damage!]

[When the 5% chance activates, it deals a devastating blow to the enemy with 1,100% damage!]

[When the 2% chance activates, it deals consecutive devastating blows to the enemy with 1,100% damage!]

Hyunsoo’s eyes gleamed.

[2% activation!]

Kabel and Bangbae were different.

In Kabel’s case, because they were an assassin, the damage output had been hidden.

But with Bangbae, the damage was displayed clearly.

The moment the Sword for the One Who Follows the King struck directly, a massive force swirled through the plate armor Bangbae was wearing.

RUMBLE—!

[The enemy is attacked with 1,100% damage!]

[Critical Hit!!]

[You have dealt 613,161 damage!]

What......?

Hyunsoo froze.

So did Bangbae.

Especially because, in Bangbae’s case, that single permitted hit instantly cut 44% off their HP.

And even harder to believe was the force that followed right after.

[It is applied one more time!]

KRAAAAAASH—!

From the place where the Sword for the One Who Follows the King had cut, another explosive tearing roar burst out.

And the artifact around Bangbae’s chest twisted in a vortex before shattering apart.

[Edrel’s Mithril Armor has suffered severe damage!]

[You will take greater damage!]

[You have dealt 753,161 damage!]

Bangbae was blasted backward from that single attack.

“GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

Nell froze.

Hyunsoo froze too.

Especially Hyunsoo—Bangbae had come here to help, so Hyunsoo had no idea what to do with this situation.

Sure, Hyunsoo now understood that their damage output was absurdly broken.

But this wasn’t it.

No matter how you look at it, this is way over the line......

Bangbae’s HP now—

[Bangbae’s HP falls below 2%.]

They were practically dying.

From a single attack.

Cold sweat streamed down Hyunsoo’s back.

I’m screwed......

Hyunsoo was thinking the exact same thing as Nell.

Users were not beings you crushed by force!

As expected—

Bangbae slowly raised their head.

With a dying expression, grinding their teeth, they said,

“Ugh...... Hyun’s Forge......”

Nell’s heart plummeted at the sight.

You bastard, you piece of trash, I won’t let this go, you’re ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) my enemy forever, I’m joining the territory war—on the other side!

But then Bangbae gave a thumbs-up.

“Application...... accepted!”

[Bangbae has joined Hyun’s Forge.]

“???”

GAK—

Bangbae fainted.

Only then did Nell notice the whisper.

[Kabel: If it were merely ambiguous strength, then yes.]

[Kabel: But users are the same. In the face of overwhelming strength, they do not feel jealousy or anger.]

[Kabel: They feel reverence instead.]

[Kabel: If Hyunsoo becomes the sky today, they will serve.]

That was right.

Today, Hyunsoo would become their sky.