Genius Blacksmith's Game

CEO Lee Sejin of Pureum.

What kind of person was he?

He was the person Time had selected as the one who had amassed the greatest wealth in the world, and the one who had become humanity’s greatest scientist by creating the first virtual reality game, Ares.

And the virtual reality game Ares that he had created—

had achieved a 97.3% market share across all games.

That Lee Sejin was trying to become like family with the employees of Pureum.

So he said,

“Today, I would like to dine with my employees, who are like family.”

Sejin admired himself.

I, the owner of a company, eating together with them in the company cafeteria? What could be more like family than that?

He did not know.

That a single word from him would throw the whole company into chaos!

Mrs. Kim from the cafeteria rang the bell.

“Emergency, emergencyyyy~!!!! We have to clean!”

The cafeteria staff moved busily, and an emergency order went out to every department.

“The CEO is dining with us!”

“......!”

“Everyone fix your appearance, and don’t even cough. Cigarettes? You think you’re going to sit with the CEO while smelling like smoke? No smoking before the meal!”

It caused the kind of upheaval you would expect if a division commander—no, the president—were coming for a visit.

That was right. There was no such thing as a company that was really like family in this world!

Not knowing that, Sejin, who was visiting the cafeteria for the first time, marveled.

The cafeteria shone brilliantly.

The employees were sitting in rigid formation.

Even the menu looked absolutely delicious!

He sat across from his closest acquaintance, Team Lead Kim of the Special User Management Team.

Team Lead Kim was the only person who could openly mouth off to CEO Lee Sejin.

“How is it? Doesn’t everyone look delighted by this act of mine for the sake of my company, which is like family?”

The employees, hearing him, were flustered.

Sob...... CEO, please at least let us eat in peace.

We spent two whole hours cleaning.

Please save us.......

Team Lead Kim...... if it’s you, I believe you can save us.

But Team Lead Kim popped a mini pork cutlet into his mouth, then stuck out a thumbs-up in admiration.

“This is magnificent. They’re all so moved they’re speechless!”

They’re speechless because they’re terrified!!

That was right. Team Lead Kim was, along with Lee Sejin, a person completely lacking in awareness!

Why? Because he was the only person who was not uncomfortable around Lee Sejin!

Sejin smiled in satisfaction.

“Good.”

Sejin liked being with the people whose jobs he had created.

Though he was nearing his fifties, he was still unmarried.

In the end, he was a lonely bachelor.

One of these people would, thanks to him, have a child and raise that child well.

Another would, thanks to him, support their parents and give them spending money.

The lives of these people that he alone had made possible felt like a miracle to him.

At that exact moment, the savior of the employees appeared. It was Story Team Lead Lee.

“CEO, User Hyunsoo is approaching the greatest Hidden Piece in the field of crafting.”

Sejin rose from his seat.

Then he slowly swept his gaze over the employees and smiled meaningfully.

“I am deeply pleased that all of you welcome me so warmly. Dining in the cafeteria is not bad. No, it is excellent.”

The employees felt a sense of dread.

No, please, CEO.

You’re not going to start eating in the cafeteria every day, are you?

Anything but that......!

At that, Sejin revealed the real reason he had come to the cafeteria.

“This year as well, our Pureum was selected as the No. 1 finest company in the world, and our sales rose 70% from the previous year. Therefore, I have made one decision for the sake of our company, which is like family.”

Every employee focused on his words.

“Repaying one’s family is done with money. A 100% performance bonus will be paid to all employees.”

A, a 100% performance bonus!?

It wasn’t lifetime cafeteria access!?

Every employee was moved.

Because this was the company of their dreams.

A family-like company that paid in money!

“Please enjoy your meal.”

That was how it was.

Sejin lacked awareness, but he was a true CEO who genuinely practiced what it meant to treat people like “family.”

It was a moment that moved all the employees.

*****

Sejin, having entered the CEO’s office, was astonished.

There were more than tens of thousands of Hidden Pieces in Ares.

However, even among those tens of thousands, the “rank” and “reward” naturally differed.

And that, of course, also varied according to how a user discovered that hidden thing and how difficult the process had been.

And the Hidden Piece User Hyunsoo was approaching was the greatest Hidden Piece for users in the field of crafting.

“Is it the Indomitable Blacksmith Hidden Piece?”

“It is, CEO.”

“......So there is a chance the Indomitable Blacksmith may be forged through User Hyunsoo.......”

He stroked his chin as he thought.

Were there three conditions?

The first condition.

Be a blacksmith of level 450 or above.

The second condition. Mass-produce the same artifact so many times that it could not be counted.

The last. It had to keep coming out as Normal grade.

“Will he really go that far?”

“I don’t know.”

The conditions above were by no means easy.

What kind of idiot blacksmith above level 450 would keep repeatedly mass-producing the same kind of artifact, one that did not even make money, over and over and over again?

“Does User Hyunsoo seem to have noticed the hint?”

“It does not seem that way.”

Sejin, watching Hyunsoo on the monitor, could not understand it.

Because before anyone realized it, the 24th repeated crafting attempt was underway.

“If he didn’t notice the hint, why is he going that far? A normal person would have quit long ago.”

“That’s because.......”

The Story Team Lead said with a bitter expression,

“that must be the method that will let him create the most perfect Heavenslaying Bow.”

That single sentence made Sejin marvel, and before long they had reached the 27th one.

Then—

[Hidden Piece: Indomitable Blacksmith has begun.]

The greatest Hidden Piece in the field of crafting was applied to the 27th crafted item.

*****

There were many special classes in Ares.

And User Pan possessed one of them, and was even a high-ranker.

Legendary Agitator.

Just from hearing the name, it sounded like nothing more than a useless class, but that was not the reality.

If the Legendary Agitator succeeded in stirring people up, Pan leveled up, all stats rose, and in special cases they could even obtain a noble title.

That Agitator, Pan, happened to be staying in the Parkro Kingdom, and an unexpected opportunity came.

[Kingdom Quest: A Divide Is Created Between the Citizens and the King.]

The details were simple.

At present, the Parkro Kingdom was in utter turmoil.

And in that moment, it was said that King Antro had commissioned Master Blacksmith Hyun to create the “Heavenslaying Bow.”

Looking at it only up to that point, there was no problem at all.

But the real feelings of the citizens seemed different.

Everywhere, there were citizens crying out for their child, their wife, or someone else to be brought back to life.

Those citizens were precisely the kind who would be toyed with by “agitation.”

If they get played by agitation and I finish this cleanly, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) I gain five levels? And if I get involved in dragging down the throne, I gain a title?

Pan liked the Agitator class.

Because it was a class that grew stronger simply by coaxing people well and stirring them up!

And there was also a special skill.

Agitator’s Voice.

It had the power to make them feel it was truly “real,” and thus to be agitated.

So Pan said to the grieving citizens,

“The king has gone mad!”

“Instead of soothing the grief of the bereaved, he believes the Heavenslaying Bow will save the nation. How can it make sense for a mere bow to save a country!?”

“But our nation was a nation of bows. Maybe the Heavenslaying Bow really can save the nation.”

“It is impossible! How could a single bow save a country!”

“......N-now that I hear it, that does sound true.”

To begin with, the citizens of the Parkro Kingdom were already drowning in grief and anger.

[Agitator’s Voice is applied easily.]

And the Agitator could also briefly check the current situation.

That was a great help to Pan.

[Master Blacksmith Hyun has failed his 26th attempt and is trying the 27th attempt.]

“This is how absurd it is—this fellow called Master Blacksmith Hyun has already failed 26 times!”

“What’s more, the king has commanded that anyone who wishes may follow Hyun! In a situation like this, he says follow Hyun—do you think that makes sense!?”

“He has abandoned you!”

“......Abandoned us!”

“A worthless man who failed 26 times!”

Accordingly, countless people rushed toward the place where that blacksmith was.

And mixed in among that crowd, Pan was seeing Master Blacksmith Hyun in person for the first time and was looking forward to it.

He failed 26 times? Isn’t he a complete moron?

He expected Hyunsoo to be wearing a miserable expression!

But that was not the case.

“......?”

Hyunsoo was now smiling, consumed by immense delight.

Pan, who had intended to stir them up, was flustered, and the citizens were no different.

[The citizens are beginning to waver.]

In truth, Hyunsoo was enjoying himself.

[Your understanding of bows rises sharply.]

[In making bows, you move 45% faster.]

Because every time the deliberately repeated work progressed, his movements were changing.

[You gain insight into the materials.]

[You will refine the materials better and make them perfectly.]

DING!

[The bow is crafted more meticulously.]

[You understand the method for increasing durability more greatly.]

Hyunsoo was a handcrafting blacksmith in the end.

He had no power that would astonish the world the way Antro imagined.

But a human who worked by hand knew the way to reach a better path.

Human beings—

improve the more they repeat something.

Manual skill—

gets better the more you do it.

And dulled instincts—

only need to be revived.

And so, in the flow of that 26th attempt—

[You will be able to craft a Heavenslaying Bow more perfect than anyone else’s!!]

A certainty began to sprout that he would be able to craft it more perfectly than ever before.

“Hahaha!”

So how could he not be delighted?

Before long, he had reached the end of the long journey.

“This is the last one.”

The meaning of the last one.

It meant the last practice run.

And then Hyunsoo’s hands began to move as if possessed.

SCRAPE, SCRAPE, SCRAPE—

The hand that ground the water buffalo horn was much faster than it had been at the beginning.

TWANG—!

The way he turned tendon into thread and fixed it to the bowstring had become more precise.

SHHHHHHRIP—

And the sight of him lifting the completed bow and aiming it at the sky inspired admiration.

And Hyunsoo felt that this hateful repeated process was finally ending only now.

At that exact moment—

“Huh?”

[Hidden Piece: Indomitable Blacksmith completed.]

Something special happened to the 27th practice Heavenslaying Bow.

*****

The citizens, and Pan as well, could see the bowstring in Hyunsoo’s hand being aimed toward the sky.

At the same time, Pan heard a shocking notification.

[The Legendary bow returns!!!]

And because Pan was a user, they could hear something additional.

[A world message rings out.]

It was yet another Transcendent artifact forged by Master Blacksmith Hyun.

He, who had drawn the bow toward the sky, finally released the string.

RRRRRRRRRUMBLE—!

The arrow of the Heavenslaying Bow shot toward the heavens.

Like the story in the legend, it pierced through the clouds as it flew.

And then—

BOOOOOOOM—

It made them feel as though the sky itself had collapsed.

The agitated citizens standing there, and Pan as well, were horrified.

Don’t tell me he really forged a Transcendent one?

At that, Pan felt a crisis approaching.

“H-how wondrous.......”

“This can’t be.......”

“It’s such a beautiful sight.......”

[The citizens are beginning to waver.]

[They are beginning to realize the agitation is false.]

At that moment, Pan hurriedly activated a skill.

[You hear the story of the agitation.]

The story of the agitation.

That too was a Legendary ability, one that allowed Pan to find content with which to agitate people.

And Pan found it.

“Listen, all of you!”

Pan pointed a finger at Hyunsoo.

At that, Hyunsoo looked at Pan with sharp eyes.

“......I’ve been feeling this for a while now, but what exactly are you?”

But Pan was full of swagger.

“I’ll strip away your mask and the king’s!”

Then Pan shouted.

“Listen well! For generations, the king has gathered the materials to recreate the Heavenslaying Bow—gathered them with your taxes. And behind those 26 failures lies the blood of many of you! And the labor of those who died in this war! And grief! A Transcendent Heavenslaying Bow!? That fellow failed 26 times, and with those 26 attempts he blew through millions upon millions of gold!!!”

“T-that’s true.......”

“Millions...... no, if he spent some unthinkable amount of gold crafting it, what good is that!”

[The citizens are agitated!]

Pan shrugged.

“......You’re going to regret this.”

“Regret it? You’re the one who’ll regret it!”

Pan was intoxicated with pleasure.

Master Blacksmith Hyun. Even the most famous user in the world was, in the end, nothing before a Legendary Agitator—that kind of pleasure!

Pan said with great momentum,

“Then reveal the production cost!”

At that moment, someone else appeared.

“......I will verify what the materials were.”

It was none other than Chancellor Padre of the nation.

Padre checked it and his eyes went wide.

“You forged a Transcendent artifact with a practice bow-making kit? What in the world!!!”

Pan tilted their head.

What’s a practice bow-making kit?

As Pan stood there in confusion, Hyunsoo raised two fingers.

“2 gold.”

2,000 won?

Hyunsoo smirked and said,

“That is the production cost of this bow.”