Genius Blacksmith's Game

[Kingdom Quest: Succession to the Throne]

Grade: SSS

Restriction: One designated by Barad as his successor

Reward: Territory based on contribution

Penalty for failure: Disqualification from kingship

Description: War has broken out between the Parion Empire and the Kingdom of Goyad. The one designated as Barad’s successor is special. If you build up high contribution, you will be rewarded with part of Goyad’s territory in a way that distinguishes you from other users.

It was the quest that had broken out together with the notice that the succession to the throne was beginning, after Hyunsoo received the secret letter from Barad.

At the time, Hyunsoo had felt a small doubt.

He had left Goyad of his own accord, so how could he receive Goyad’s territory?

In response to that, Nell had also explained the other meaning behind Barad’s words, The people remember you.

“Though we have clearly been separated, if Lord Hyunsoo absorbs any territory, they will accept it. Lord Hyunsoo is already firmly recognized by Goyad’s people as the ‘successor.’”

The problem when a person from somewhere else took over a territory was that the residents of that territory migrated away.

Because they had a fixed idea engraved into them that they had to serve only their own king.

But Hyunsoo could ignore that, and Nell said:

“The merit you establish in this war will become the beginning of Hyun’s nation.”

Hyunsoo too had felt an immense sense of responsibility at the time.

Now.

“That is how heroes are born.”

Hearing those words, Hyunsoo realized that the Battle of the Goyad Strait had ended in perfect victory.

And he was seized by endless awe.

...My hero is acknowledging me?

Hyunsoo looked back on the kind of person he was.

At the beginning, he had nothing in his hands.

And he had been a man filled with reckless bravado toward the world and a heart laced with bitterness.

That was only natural.

His father had become a vegetable, and he himself was a loser who could not even do blacksmithing, the one thing he had been best at.

But now it was different.

A hero from history, and in Ares perhaps no more than an artificial intelligence, yet one of the five kings who led the age, the Story King, was acknowledging him.

And then he came to learn something even more astonishing.

To begin with, the Story King had not called him a hero simply because of what he had accomplished.

“There was something I felt while we were fighting. The Twin Dragon Sword was causing a resonance.”

“...A resonance?”

Hyunsoo was puzzled.

The Twin Dragon Sword was causing a resonance?

The moment he had gripped the sword, the modifier Hero had awakened.

Hyunsoo had thought that resonance had been brought forth by Yi Sun-sin.

He was half right and half wrong.

It was true that the modifier Hero had awakened through Yi Sun-sin.

But—

“That resonance was reacting to you.”

“...?”

Hyunsoo thought of the modifier Hero.

Hero.

It existed in every age.

And every age had its own hero, and when one age passed, another hero was bound to be born.

“The real hero was you.”

“...!”

That was how it truly was.

From beginning to end, the one who had created this entire situation was Hyunsoo.

The sword he had respectfully offered—

the hero of the past handed it down to the hero of the present age.

“Take the sword.”

And just as Hyunsoo had once done, he pressed it into his hand.

The moment Hyunsoo squeezed out the last of his strength and gripped the sword, the reward was born.

[The Hero modifier finds its true owner.]

[The hidden modifier Hero reveals itself!]

RIIIING—

(Hero)

Passive Skill

Effect:

·Activates in any impossible situation, or at the moment of facing death.

·The moment it activates, you may become invincible for 4 seconds, all stats increase by 10%, and all skills increase by 1 level.

·A new heroic tale begins, and it is recorded in history and made known.

·A modifier that only the one and only hero of the current age may possess.

The Hero modifier was conditionally activated.

It activated in any impossible situation, or when facing death.

The system would recognize that, and once activated, the effect was incredible.

Four seconds of invincibility...? That’s insanely broken.

The very fact of becoming invincible for four seconds made no sense.

To begin with, if you were invincible for four seconds, there were countless things you could do.

For example, take someone with martial power similar to Hyunsoo’s.

If he were locked in a dead-even struggle with someone of similar martial power, and then this Hero skill activated?

I win no matter what.

Under the same conditions, possessing Hero alone would act as tremendous power.

On top of that, the extra ten percent to all stats and plus one level to all skills would save him from many dangers.

What was puzzling, however, was that a new heroic tale would begin.

What is that?

He had no way of knowing exactly how a new heroic tale would begin.

And Hyunsoo knew that there was still more for him to receive.

When he had entered the naval battle using the Turtle Ship, including the previously confirmed Kingdom Quest: Succession to the Throne, a number of notices had appeared.

[Contribution cannot be measured.]

[Experience gain cannot be measured.]

[Everything will be calculated comprehensively after all battles are over.]

And Hyunsoo knew it.

The amount of experience gained from ship-versus-ship combat was not as high as one might think.

It was only about ten percent of normal experience.

Moreover, with the sinking of the ships, the soldiers and knights had in fact drowned.

Because of that, he had regretted not being able to take in all of that experience, but—

[An astonishing achievement.]

[Experience gain is doubled.]

[The title One Who Grows shines.]

[Permanent 18% increase to experience gain is applied.]

[You gain 73,314,013 experience.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

Ghk...!

It was the first time Hyunsoo had ever seen a number like seventy million experience.

That was right. No matter how much reduced experience Hyunsoo was taking in, the number of soldiers and knights he had killed had simply been enormous.

Because of that, Hyunsoo’s level had shot up all at once to 494.

What Hyunsoo was curious about next was the spoils.

They’re too important...

The Turtle Ship was about half destroyed.

And Hyunsoo needed money, and on top of that, the number of ships he had personally destroyed was around three hundred.

Of course, most of it had been flooded, but still.

There were other things he was curious about too.

What kind of territory and how many residents will His Highness Barad grant me?

Because Kingdom Quest: Succession to the Throne was the key.

As he held those questions, Hyunsoo suddenly felt darkness swallowing him.

It was the sign that his Stamina was dropping to zero and he was about to slip into one of his blackouts again.

No...!

And Hyunsoo wanted to check the rewards, but he knew he could not.

There was also a reason he was so desperate to know before he collapsed.

War had broken out, and although there was still one day left before the Atlas invasion prohibition pact between users expired,

that meant they might invade in a day, and it was only natural that he would be desperate to know about the enormous funds, manpower, and territory he needed in order to become king.

He tried somehow to force strength into the hand gripping the Twin Dragon Sword.

Then—

“Hyun.”

“......”

Hyunsoo felt it.

The way the Story King addressed him had changed.

It was proof that the two of them had grown that much closer, and there was affection in the Story King’s eyes.

With a gentle expression, he said:

“Leave what comes next to us.”

“......”

And Hyunsoo could not understand what he meant by leave it to us.

He only found himself feeling relieved the moment those words ended.

And as Hyunsoo passed out, the notices he had been so curious about were spreading before him.

[The rewards will be comprehensively calculated after you awaken.]

And there was something Hyunsoo did not know.

The Story King, who had been looking down at the collapsed Hyun, rose to his feet.

At that moment, the Story King understood Hyunsoo’s situation better than anyone else.

So the man who had lowered himself to one knee and looked at him stood up and said to those who had now surrendered:

“Load every weapon you threw into the sea onto the Turtle Ship.”

“......”

He began first by gathering even the smallest speck of dust.

But they were not mere specks of dust.

Because the value of the weapons that made up a ship was sometimes greater than the value of one ship itself.

And after shaking them down completely, the Story King said:

“Everything in your pockets too.”

“......”

“......”

The result brought about by him

went beyond common sense.

Because it was enough to fill a Turtle Ship three times larger than a normal one!

[The amount of gold acquired is extremely large.]

[The number of items acquired is extremely large.]

And the us in the Story King’s words, Leave what comes next to us.

[Nell: From this point on, we have to carry on what comes next.]

They began to move.

Alomd Fortress.

“Your Highnesssss!”

It was the fortress that served as the strategic stronghold guarded by Sword King Barad.

Watching Sword Duke Raisen rush inside, Sword King Barad’s heart sank.

The reason was simple: endless tears were flowing from Sword Duke Raisen’s eyes.

As Raisen buried his head in the ground and sobbed, Sword King Barad looked out beyond the carriage window.

Hyunsoo...

Hyunsoo had insisted on going out to sea and fighting with just a single ship.

Barad had tried to stop him again and again, but it had been useless. He must have met a glorious death on the battlefield.

But then—

Sword King Barad soon saw the old warrior, tears streaming down his face, speaking in triumph.

“One Turtle Ship has defeated 678 enemy ships!”

“Master Blacksmith Hyun and Yi Sun-sin have cut down 120,000 enemies!”

“The Parion Empire has declared surrender!”

“The enemy can no longer even dare to covet the sea!”

“...!!”

Sword King Barad’s fist clenched tight.

It was a moment that made him understand why Sword Duke Raisen was shedding such burning tears.

Then a woman came to visit.

“Lord Hyunsoo remembers Your Highness, and he remembers the people as well.”

It was an application of The people remember you.

At those words, Sword King Barad’s heart swelled.

And it was different for Hyunsoo to say it in person and for Nell to say it.

Words spoken by a third party carried greater sincerity.

“He wanted to protect Goyad, and because of that he led a single ship out alone and fought against fear.”

“And though he is no longer a man of Goyad now, ‘the people remember him,’ and it is certain that he has built up ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) achievements in protecting that nation.”

“Your Highness.”

Speaking as a third party, Nell conveyed Hyunsoo’s present situation.

“The foreign visitors from each continent are joining forces and aiming for Atlas. The lord who slew the hound called Fenrir in order to protect Your Highness now stands against Parion as a thorn in their eye.”

“But we are weak. Our population is only two hundred thousand. We possess only two territories, the rural domain of Balas and Atlas, and we lack even the strength to protect ourselves.”

“......”

The story entering through the words of a third party made Barad realize he had been seeing only one side of the matter.

Every time they met, Hyunsoo had only smiled like a foolish friend, so he had never once laid out his hardships.

Barad opened his mouth.

“I know that the achievements Hyun has built are great beyond measure. I grant Aldron Territory, Bolaon Territory, and Graan Territory to Hyun.”

“...!”

Nell was stunned.

Her expectation of one or perhaps two territories was overturned.

And also—

“Long ago, Goyad obtained a mine from the lair of an abandoned dragon. I will grant the legendary mine as well—Dragon’s Mine.”

A legendary mine was being bestowed upon Atlas, which had suffered because it had no true specialty products to speak of.

And Nell, standing in the position of conveying words as a third party, knew that Barad too had been one of the Leave what comes next to us people. Deeply moved, she was about to withdraw, but—

“Sword Duke Raisen.”

“...Yes, Your Highness.”

Barad looked at his old friend.

From the tears Raisen had shed, he already knew.

That a new sun had already taken its place in his heart.

“......”

Sword Duke Raisen knew what Barad was about to say.

But his desire to remain by Barad’s side was even stronger.

Yet Barad, his old friend, formed a faint smile.

“Become one of Hyunsoo’s people, and protect him.”

And the shaken Raisen tried to refuse.

He was about to slam his head to the ground and say that he would not go.

But Barad, for the sake of his wavering friend, drove the wedge in.

“It is a royal command.”