Genius Blacksmith's Game

Antro of the Parkro Kingdom had lived a smooth life.

He had been born the first prince, had no siblings competing for the throne, and had become king with absurd ease.

And because the Parkro Kingdom was an utterly ordinary place, as king, he had only ever tried not to become a thorn in the side of other kingdoms.

So war had never once broken out.

Not until Tyrant Jebar and those sons of bitches attacked while claiming they were “just passing through”!

Then hurry up and pass through... please.

After becoming king, that was the only thing he could do.

Valon and the roughly eight thousand leading undead under his command were strong.

And under the dark magic unleashed by those Necromancers, the soldiers and knights could barely keep their wits about them.

But in the end, those things were still enemies a single kingdom like Antro’s could somehow endure.

The drakes, each as large as half a building, were different.

TAAANG—!

A soldier thrust with his spear, then froze in confusion.

He had expected the sound of striking monster hide, but what he heard was the sound of it bouncing off.

[The tyrant’s blessing dwells within it.]

Even the knights were no different.

The drakes’ hide was, after all, said to be an inferior version of dragon hide, but it was still tough and hard.

It took a hundred soldiers to equal one knight.

And all that one knight could do was leave behind a small wound at best.

So they brought out the kingdom’s treasures.

The Antro Kingdom did not possess one especially powerful individual, but it did possess thirteen who were middlingly strong.

They were Antro’s pride.

Raised as elites in his kingdom, they defended each territory.

Just as it took a hundred soldiers to match one knight,

it took the strength of five thousand soldiers to match each one of them.

Only after they appeared were they finally able to tear through a drake’s flesh.

“For King Antro!!!”

“Long live His Majesty the King!”

“...May Your Majesty live long!”

Six of them fell like stars,

and the remaining seven retreated.

And what followed after that—

“Only three drakes have been killed.”

“......”

Antro felt empty.

His once-ordinary country was collapsing as if comfort itself had been forbidden to it.

Then a man appeared, smoking tobacco.

Antro looked at him with the eyes of someone who had already given up on life.

“Awaken.”

Not until that man named Kabel awakened the legendary combination method of the God of Death

did Antro stir.

And Kabel said,

“...Using one enemy against another. My close friend taught me that.”

Then the 140,000 resurrected undead pushed back the enemy with sheer weight of numbers.

Mindless, they had only their teeth and claws as weapons.

They overwhelmed the Necromancers with numbers, biting, tearing, grabbing, and pulling from every direction.

And the sight of them clinging to the drakes’ bodies

looked like swarms of ants swarming over a single piece of honeyed food.

But Antro saw that they could not leave even scratches on the drakes.

Then—

What is that man doing right now?

The one who had raised an army of 140,000 undead by himself.

Soon, someone who had come running said,

“He is Hell King Asura Kabel.”

And now Antro saw what he was doing.

As Kabel ran across the battlefield—

“Khahahahaha! So that was it? I think I understand now why Tyrant Jebar coveted you. The God of Death. I’ve heard of him too. Just how did you find the combination items he left behind? You really are incredi—!”

“Blink.”

“???”

SHHHHUK—!

He one-shot Valon, the undisputed commander here.

However—

[Jebar’s Resurrection]

[The target designated by Jebar revives every 2 hours.]

Valon came back.

As he faded away, Valon laughed.

“You mustn’t forget that, one way or another, I am under Tyrant Jebar’s protection.”

As he watched the madly laughing Valon, Kabel’s eyes gleamed.

“...Then do you get a forced logout penalty every time I kill you?”

A coiled snake pattern was drawn over Valon’s scattering body.

[The snake tattoo is engraved.]

[The engraved target’s location is revealed to the caster.]

[The target is a being far above you.]

[It cannot be erased.]

“...!?”

Only then did Valon realize it.

Kabel was tilting his head, opening and folding a few fingers on one hand.

Then, at last, one finger stayed raised.

“This is all I can manage.”

“...Don’t tell me you intend to kill me ten more times?”

At that moment, Valon understood.

“A hundred.”

“......”

just who he had provoked.

*****

—Valon was not simply taken down by Blink. More than ten undead were guarding the area around him, undead that had once exerted power on the level of Sword Dukes. Kabel broke through them in an instant, blinked in, and killed Valon.

Viewers all over the world were watching Kabel.

And they too had experienced firsthand just how strong Jebar’s creations were.

The sight of Kabel running across the battlefield was being broadcast worldwide.

Eight drakes acting under Jebar’s orders charged at him at once.

In response, Kabel planted his foot into the ground and put power into it.

KABOOOOOM—!

He vanished before their eyes.

—His forte lies in piercing the enemy’s vital points with high damage output and killing them in just a few moves.

—He’ll probably stab the lead drake in the neck first.

Their prediction missed.

[Arachne’s Rope]

Some invisible line appeared in his hand.

And like a shadow, he repeatedly appeared and disappeared around them.

THWOONG—!

At times, he appeared like a log.

TAAAT—

At times, he appeared together with darkness.

PWAAAAASH—!

At times, over a dozen Asura Kabels appeared, moving while holding only that unseen thing in their hands.

And this—

[Arachne’s Rope is a conditional consumable.]

[The more powerful beings you capture, and the more of them you capture, the higher your damage and Strength stat rise.]

[Its duration becomes longer.]

Before anyone knew it, Kabel was standing behind twenty-two drakes, with around twenty-two spider-thread-like strands slung over his shoulders.

[The most optimal condition is fulfilled!]

It was something only Kabel could do.

With twenty-two spider threads draped over his shoulders, he twisted his body.

[Strength stat increases by 534% for 10 seconds.]

And he walked forward with all his strength.

At that moment—

KABOOOOOM—!

The drakes caught by Arachne’s Rope all lost their balance and smashed into the ground, and then light flared across their bodies as enormous ropes wrapped around them and fixed them to the earth.

In that state—

[Dagger damage increases by 315%.]

[Under the optimal condition, the enemies are bound for 20 seconds.]

Pop—

[You have consumed Mandrake Potion.]

[This potion stacks.]

[Dagger damage increases by 270%.]

Pop—

[You have consumed Demon’s Breath.]

[While the dragon exhales, movement speed and attack speed increase by 250%.]

FSSSSSSSSS—

Hot dragon breath poured from Kabel’s mouth as steam.

And then—

BOOOOM—!

He vanished, reaching a realm literally invisible even to the commentators’ eyes.

All that could be seen was blood spraying up from the drakes and the sound of flesh being torn.

And then—

SHAAAAAA—

[You have hunted a drake!]

They began to scatter apart.

By the time the full twenty seconds had passed, fifteen of the bound drakes had crumbled and scattered into handfuls of ash.

The whole world was horrified.

—You have to remember that even the Sword Duke-class fighters of Parkro only managed to kill three.

—...I had been mistaken. Bahala is one who walks the path of the Sword God. When it comes to classes, Legend and God are worlds apart. But among Legends, Kabel was the strongest of them all.

At that moment, commentators worldwide rated Kabel’s martial might above even Bahala’s.

The number one trending search term on the world portals became:

Asura.

And some viewers misunderstood.

—What even is Hyunsoo, keeping Kabel as both friend and subordinate...?

—God Hyunsoo... damn.

—At this rate, isn’t Kabel just going to solo everything and go on a rampage...?

—Totally possible.

But there was something they did not know.

Even the Bahala they had just seen would have had to step aside before what Kabel had used.

...I’ve used it all.

That was all it was.

He had simply used up everything he had gathered until now.

Kabel had merely charged alone into enemy territory like a soldier armed from head to toe.

On his back, he had been carrying a machine gun that fired dozens of rounds per second.

In his hands, he had held more than five grenades.

And in front, he had only been holding two guns with immense destructive force.

But now—

all those guns had been spent, and all that remained was a pistol and a few dozen rounds.

In other words, all that remained was Asura Kabel’s personal ability.

Fortunately, he was someone better than anyone else at making use of his own ability.

From ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) here on, what he would do was—

Run, and whittle them down one by one.

It would become a long fight.

The army of 140,000 undead was breaking apart like leaves in a storm, but they still endured.

And so for a full day he ran, killed, and cut them down, repeating it until he had killed nine more drakes.

But Kabel’s body grew more exhausted by the moment, visibly slowed, and all of the potions he had possessed were now gone.

And there were still around twenty drakes left in fighting condition.

Then—

[You begin a new story.]

[Sudden Quest: Worship]

[Grade: SSS]

[Restriction: One who refused Tyrant Jebar’s offer]

[Reward: None]

[Failure Penalty: Tyrant Kabel]

[Description: You rejected Tyrant Jebar’s offer and tried to resist submission. And now, he desires your worship.]

“......”

Kabel’s eyes shook as he looked at it.

Now the demand was no longer that he submit,

but that he bow his head to the ground and worship.

And before him, he could see an uncountable mass of creations flying toward him.

Right then—

[Hyunsoo: Arrived.]

An unexpected whisper reached his ear.

*****

The viewers and the commentators were stunned.

A new story had broken out.

And what that story revealed before them was—

—...What is that?

—Is that really the power of an individual?

—...If you look into the stories about the tyrant, they say he went into seclusion after failing to unify the continent. What do you think a being who is both living and dead has been doing while surviving across more than a hundred years? He has been creating creations.

KRAAAAK!

SKREEEEEE!

KOOOOOOH—!

Drakes could not fly.

But the modified drakes, altered by the tyrant and given new wings, were taking to the sky.

[Modified Drake Lv.509]

There were around a hundred of them, with undead riding on their backs.

The undead standing atop the modified drakes leaped down, surrounding a single Kabel, biting at him madly, attacking, and rushing to kill him.

—...A legend is falling.

Kabel.

The man newly engraved into the age as an idol vanished from the camera under the press of undead, until even his face disappeared.

The descending drakes dove toward him like predators spotting prey.

Then—

—Huh...?

—What is that?

—...A robot?

KABOOOOOM—!

Something enormous appeared with a deafening crash.

It stood four meters tall.

—A-a Titan, isn’t it!?

—A Titan?

They hurriedly began explaining what a Titan was.

But soon they were puzzled.

—Wasn’t it said to be six meters tall? But this one is much smaller.

Everyone’s gaze zoomed in on it.

That black thing was different from the Titans they knew.

It was only four meters tall,

and it held a solid black dagger that looked like a military knife.

And over its back, flashing in the reflected light, was a white cape marked with the crossed hammer and anvil that symbolized Hyun’s Forge.

And at the same time—

—K-Kabel isn’t dead yet!!!?

KABOOOOOM—!

Kabel, who had been buried beneath a mountain of undead, shot up into the sky and faced it.

*****

Kabel knew.

...Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it.

The time given had been only two days.

Not enough time even to forge a single sword.

But you did it.

CREEEEAK—

THUD—

On the black Guardian kneeling in the sky,

there was an engraving.

Kabel’s Guardian.

Seeing those words, which stirred something deep inside him, he understood.

[Under Saintess Aria’s full-buff state.]

So you really didn’t care what methods you had to use.

[Please check Kabel’s Guardian’s details.]

Kabel’s eyes shook as he checked it.

Hyunsoo, do you even know what kind of thing you’ve done?

He let out a hollow laugh.

Hyunsoo had said this to him:

It is a mount, and it is not a mount.

Remembering him, Kabel smiled, and an endless thrill swept through him.

And the moment he spoke the power Hyunsoo had placed inside Kabel’s Guardian—

“Oneness of Self and Object.”

[Oneness of Self and Object is activated.]

[It will move exactly like you with 100% synchronization and may use all of your skills exactly as they are.]

He had become the Titan himself.