Genius Blacksmith's Game

Every New Year’s Eve, we hear the bell at the turn of the year.

For the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony, the Bosingak Bell is used.

That Bosingak Bell is designated as Treasure No. 2 of our country.

And the blueprint Hyunsoo drew combined the silhouette of that Bosingak Bell with the Bell of Lamas.

Up to now, the Bosingak Bell had been damaged by two fires, and from then on Hyunsoo’s father took charge of maintaining it.

The Bosingak Bell bears the form of an early-Joseon bell.

There were quite a few who commissioned bells made in that style, and Hyunsoo and his father would make them for many temples and for the national bell-festival circuit.

Rrrrrrumble—

At some point the furnace was lit.

I have to re-melt something that was already complete.

By melting this down, Hyunsoo would obtain the base material with which the Bell of Lamas had been made.

More precisely, I’m getting the holy power.

And he would combine that holy-power-bearing material with materials of his own judgment to create a new bell.

Hyunsoo triggered Custom Crafting.

[Starting God’s Custom Crafting.]

[You can perform a Custom Crafting for someone, or a Custom Crafting for yourself.]

[Through Custom Crafting, you can embed desired effects, and depending on probability, the desired effects can manifest up to 100%.]

Hyunsoo recalled the Bell of Lamas’s special abilities.

Residents’ Vitality +5%, chance of drought in the territory −10%, chance of crop success +20%.

The moment he saw the Bell of Lamas, Hyunsoo thought there were many effects the Cassel Territory didn’t need at all.

Yes—the holy power was a blessing strong enough to make crops grow well, give residents vitality, and ward off drought.

But then he set up a hypothesis.

What if that power were focused on repelling the undead?

What if those powers could be crafted into a skill that defeats the undead?

I can do it.

Start with a hypothesis and make it real.

That was exactly what the God’s Custom Crafting skill was—set the desired effect.

“Maximize the power to repel undead or evil, and also add a skill that can inflict catastrophic damage.”

[Searching regarding power that repels undead or evil.]

[Searching regarding a skill that can inflict catastrophic damage on undead or evil.]

[You can embed desired effects.]

[To elevate the desired effects, there are various factors such as your skill, insight, and luck.]

[By various factors, the effects can be applied up to 100%.]

It was completely different from when he made the Sword-That-Cuts-Swords.

Back when he embedded that skill, he dumped everything into that single skill to make it possible at all.

Because of that, everything else became far less impressive.

But this time, he truly maintained an appropriate balance and designed it to focus on holy power.

[Materials required to craft the artifact are being listed. Iron, mithril, orichalcum......]

[To craft this artifact, you must be a blacksmith of the Church or use materials imbued with holy power.]

Having finished his settings, Hyunsoo looked at the molten metal beginning to flow from the furnace.

His new bell’s creation had begun.

****

I was wrong......

Nell let out a hollow laugh.

Two days had passed since the update notice.

In that time, Nell did everything she could. She was a blacksmith who had reached what one could call an advanced tier—high level in her own right.

She made or repaired siege engines capable of killing undead. Or she manufactured fairly excellent arrows and distributed them to the soldiers.

It wasn’t just Nell.

Players who had even a small memory left in the Cassel Territory crossed over.

Among them were some fairly high-level users, some beginners, and some who merely wanted to reap rewards in a territory that might soon fall.

“Damn... the undead are stupid strong.”

“I don’t think we can hold this.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible if a ranker guild shows up?”

“......Why would they bother to save Cassel Territory?”

In that way, even the remaining users departed.

The undead kept pressing in ever stronger, and at some point Nell realized it.

We can’t hold......

Feeling her own helplessness, she laughed at herself.

What could a single player possibly do?

With a vacant look she gazed out over the territory from atop the wall.

That shop—my first shop I ever went to. And that’s where I did my first blacksmith quest.

She wore a small smile. Soon, that territory would be swept away by the undead.

She knew.

Better than anyone, Nell knew.

That she was getting too immersed in a mere game right now.

But there were many like her.

Because this VR game, Ares, felt so much like reality.

Shuffling, drained, she moved her feet.

She had to give up. As she walked on like that, she heard a faint sound.

Taa... taaang... taaaang...

As a blacksmith-class user, she knew that sound well.

She headed toward its source.

TAAAANG—

TAAAAANG—!

TAAAAAANG—!

And upon reaching the source, Nell saw the man standing in the forge.

That scammer from the other day?

It was that man.

What is he making?

Standing there, Nell watched the man’s back.

As she watched, Nell felt that something was off.

What is... this?

It was strange.

His level was definitely 40.

Thanks to the “Seer” title’s effect, she had seen that—an undeniable fact.

And yet...

Why... is it different?

Because she belonged to a blacksmith guild, Nell knew the process by which users made artifacts.

She herself pressed the Auto-Crafting button, so she knew their movements well.

Usually, the moment Auto-Crafting begins, blacksmiths turn into robots.

With stiff motions, with uniform force and uniform speed, with an unchanging posture, they hammer over and over.

Smelting and refining are the same.

If you go to a blacksmith guild, you can’t help but think something like this:

Blacksmith robots.

But what was with this person?

His hammer-strikes were a little different.

TAAAAANG—!

Not every strike was uniform.

Sometimes he struck harder, sometimes more softly.

Then she looked at a mysterious blueprint hanging to one side.

That is...?

The Bell of Lamas? No—similar, but not the same.

Much larger and more grand.

Frowning, Nell glanced toward where the Bell of Lamas had been.

Where did it go...?

Nothing remained at the spot where the Bell of Lamas had originally stood.

Her mouth fell open.

Even funnier, the broken remnants of the Bell of Lamas weren’t anywhere inside this man’s forge either.

What on earth...

Her head spun.

The Bell of Lamas had vanished, and the man looked like he was making a strange bell.

Soon, the man swept something back into the furnace.

“......?”

Nell recognized what he had put in.

The Bell of Lamas...? Wait, how is he repairing... no, how is he smelting and refining that? What is he doing right now?

The man had already produced a portion of the bell.

Unrepairable means you can’t make something else out of it either—surely the repair or craft buttons wouldn’t even appear...?

In that moment, her conversation with him flashed through Nell’s mind.

So, how exactly do you repair something that’s Unrepairable? It’s an Unrepairable artifact. You can’t get system assistance, and the Auto-Repair button doesn’t pop up.

......You don’t necessarily need those things to repair it.

She chewed over those words.

Those things.

“Auto-Repair, system assistance......”

Having found the meaning, Nell took a step back.

No way......

It couldn’t be.

It’s the year 2040......

Back in the 2020s, there were said to be quite a lot of blacksmiths.

But the world mechanized rapidly, and such blacksmiths lost their place.

“You’re saying you’re making that by hand......?”

She rubbed her face, unable to believe it.

Just then, the man spoke.

“How long are you going to stand there?”

“What...?”

Nell wore a puzzled expression.

****

For two days, without a wink of sleep, Hyunsoo had thrown himself into making the new bell.

This isn’t easy......

Time was desperately short. At this pace, it would be tight to finish before the update—before the fall of the territory.

I need someone to help.

At the very least, he needed someone to do the grunt work, or a hand-crafting blacksmith who would listen to him and execute.

Someone completely ignorant of blacksmithing would be a hassle.

Even if they’ve relied on system assistance, they’ve learned.

By watching Auto-Crafting, they at least understand the rough process.

At that moment—

Rustle—

Hyunsoo heard footsteps.

“You’re making that by hand......?”

Soon after, he heard that voice as well.

A glint crossed Hyunsoo’s face.

“How long are you going to stand there?”

“What...?”

“Help me, would you? You care about this territory.”

Nell stepped into the forge. The moment she did, she swept her gaze over the partially made bell Hyunsoo had produced.

[The Bell of Lamas is an Unrepairable artifact.]

Her suspicion became reality.

This was the Bell of Lamas. No—the thing that had been a bell.

So it was real skill......?

How was such a thing possible?

But she soon calmed herself.

“......You’re making it by hand, right?”

Hyunsoo only nodded.

“But if you’re doing it by hand... isn’t it even harder to expect much......?”

Every field has a summit.

Just because you study doesn’t make you extraordinary.

Just as not everyone who studies from childhood to twenty gets into a top university.

So what if he crafts by hand? If he makes it by hand, he could still be at a beginner blacksmith’s level.

In that case, what would change?

“It might be better to take the system’s help.”

Yes, the system was clear and certain.

By level, it allowed you to do work appropriate to that tier of forge.

And Nell had once seen the hammer-work of a top-tier blacksmith NPC, one tier above her.

It defied common sense.

And Nell possessed a special title, “The One Who Learns.”

Thanks to that, merely by watching blacksmithing at a realm higher than her own, all her blacksmith skill proficiencies rose.

Learning doesn’t make you the same. What matters is the skill.

“You’re saying—even with the same materials, the results all differ?”

But Hyunsoo gave a small smile.

Seeing that chic smile, Nell looked puzzled.

Hyunsoo set his hammer down for a moment.

“So, are we going to just sit on our hands for the next five days?”

The knife slid between her ribs.

Nell bit her lip.

“Tell me what to do—anything. I’ll give it my best.”

Nell yielded without fuss.

“Let’s at least exchange names. I’m Hyunsoo.”

“I’m Nell.”

And the two began production. To be precise, Nell ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) assisted while Hyunsoo issued instructions.

“Grip it tighter.”

TAAAAANG—!

“That’s not how you do this. You have to hammer longer, and a lot more.”

“I said put that away!”

“Haah, forget it. I’ll handle this part alone for now. Just catch the molten metal.”

“Y-yes...”

Though Nell was an advanced blacksmith, she followed his words. Then she watched him work the craft.

What is this...?

Nell was clearly feeling it was impossible.

Even if you can do blacksmithing, the result varies with skill.

Then why...?

This is strange.

Why does he seem better than the top-tier blacksmith I saw before?

She blinked.

Something was off.

No—was she seeing it wrong?

One hour, two hours, four hours.

It was while she was watching his blacksmithing.

[The title The One Who Learns shines.]

[You have witnessed the production process of a top-tier blacksmith.]

It was the same alert she’d heard back when she met a top-tier blacksmith—only this time, it came from watching a player.

After that alert, came another: her proficiencies had risen.

This is nonsense. This can’t happen. It’s a bug—yeah, this is......

Then—

Ding!

[Correction.]

[The system is measuring an error.]

[Correction complete.]

Nell, as expected, thought:

Of course!

How could it make sense that a player displayed top-tier blacksmith skill?

Top-tier blacksmiths—players and NPCs alike—are all Level 300 or higher.

In other words, the tower masters of the Blacksmith’s Towers are about that level.

For a Level-40 player to work by hand and still produce top-tier skill—there’s just no way...

[You have witnessed the production process of a master blacksmith.]

...A m-master!?

Her eyes trembled.