Genius Blacksmith's Game

“No...”

Hyeji had fallen into despair.

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE—!

The shattered Turtle Ships and the debris raining down.

The civilians terrified by the death rushing toward them.

And on top of that, even her own bowstring had snapped.

TWIIIIIING—

[The bowstring breaks.]

[You cannot use a bow.]

Hyeji could see no chance of victory in this battle.

[Wyvern Lv.445]

[Wyvern King Lv.513]

More than a hundred wyverns filled the sky, while 82,000 defeated troops struggled to force their way into the castle.

“Huff, huff.”

Hyeji’s breathing grew ragged. All she could do was swing her bow stave at the wyverns diving from the sky and drive them back.

And Bellin made up her mind.

“Sir Hyeji.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“...I’ll go out and surrender. If I surrender, the territory residents will live.”

“You can’t. Duke Lukael isn’t the kind of man you think he is.”

Hyeji knew what kind of man Duke Lukael was.

And she did not want to see the head of a woman who thought only of her territory residents hanging from a wall.

[Hyeji: Aren’t the additional Turtle Ships here yet?]

[Nell: It’s difficult. Tamer Relly has taken control of the sky, so every Turtle Ship that tries to enter is being destroyed.]

Hyeji’s face twisted in misery.

They had already used up everything, including their potions.

And then an unknown self-loathing swallowed her whole.

Idiot. Moron...

She could do nothing.

And more wyverns had descended, each carrying dozens of soldiers on their backs as they headed for the castle rooftop.

At the sight of that, Hyeji went numb.

Right then—

[A world message rings out.]

A bitter smile crossed her face.

It has nothing to do with me anyway.

But the words that followed jolted her.

[He has forged, for the first time among all users, the strangest and most terrifying bow in the world.]

A bow.

The very kind of weapon she had wanted so desperately.

[The third Myth is written.]

And the instant she heard that grade, her chest filled with emotions she could not name.

Jealousy, and a crippling inferiority toward whoever would wield that bow.

“Ha...”

That notification made her let go of everything.

And then—

“...?”

Hyeji heard a notification she didn’t understand.

[The strangest bow is seeking its owner.]

Its owner?

She couldn’t understand it.

Why was she suddenly hearing something like this?

FWOOOOOOSH—

Then Hyunsoo appeared, bathed in sunlight.

Watching him step forth wreathed in flame, Hyeji could see something wrapped in cloth.

SKIHIHIHI...

That bow, spilling its bizarre laughter, was reacting to her.

[The strangest bow finds you.]

Only then did Hyeji understand what was happening.

She collapsed to the ground.

The truth was, at Hyun’s Forge, Hyeji had always believed Hyunsoo thought of her as an afterthought.

She had thought she was unlucky, always one step too late, that something like this could never happen to her.

And yet—

“I thought about it. If there were only one person in Ares worthy of wielding a Mythic bow, wouldn’t it be you?”

Tears streamed endlessly from Hyeji’s eyes.

“When I was young, I watched you at the Olympics too. I watched you hit the ten-ring and stand there beneath everyone’s spotlight.”

And then Hyunsoo laid bare his true feelings.

“...When I watched you, I used to think this: why did I become a mere blacksmith? I wished I could be the one standing in a spotlight that brilliant. But now I understand.”

Hyunsoo smiled with absolute confidence.

“I guess it was all for this day.”

Hyunsoo gently comforted Hyeji as she wept and crumpled before him.

And then he did something that should not have been possible in this age.

A blacksmith who had spent his whole life crafting only by hand, who now bore the expectations of an entire nation—

At the age of just seventeen, he held out a weapon to the one who, at that same age, had fired a single arrow and become the hero of an entire country.

“Take this bow.”

WHOOOOOOOSH—!

[The Great Bow of Demon-Slaying is a Mythic bow.]

[Not just anyone may wield it.]

Now fully revealed, the greatbow was breathtaking.

The black greatbow was as large as Hyeji herself, and its bowstring looked like something no ordinary person could ever draw.

And the moment she reached for it, Hyunsoo’s eyes turned cold.

His gaze fell on his people, who had suffered in terror before death.

“Rip them all apart.”

Hyeji took hold of the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying.

[The Great Bow of Demon-Slaying acknowledges you.]

At that moment—

-SKIHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE—!!

The cry of a demon swallowed the entire battlefield.

People around the world could not hide their shock as they heard that horrifying laughter.

And up in the sky, Relly, the world’s number-one-ranked Tamer—

She frowned at the grotesque sound.

Of course, she had heard the world messages too.

A Mythic bow? So what.

There was a clear reason for that.

During the Gremory raid, the entire world had been awed by the appearance of the White Tiger Sword.

Because against evil, it exerted absolute power.

But experts all over the world had already dissected the truth of the White Tiger Sword, and now the commentators were explaining it.

-The White Tiger Sword undeniably displayed absurd power during the Gremory raid. But afterward, experts and rankers across the world reached one conclusion: does the White Tiger Sword really display that same level of power against those who are not evil?

-In fact, against ordinary opponents, the White Tiger Sword exerts only one-quarter the power it shows against evil. The truth is that against non-evil enemies, it performs worse than a Legendary sword.

-Mythic things are, by definition, beyond the reach of ordinary humans. But we must not forget that balance imposes penalties to control power on that level.

Standing atop the Wyvern King, Relly sneered.

Hyeji, holding the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying, was drawing the bowstring at the edge of the castle wall.

“And what can you possibly change on your own with some item carried garbage you got without even earning it!?”

Relly was different.

After losing the Great Atlas War, she had worked harder than anyone.

Half a year.

That was how long it had taken her to tame the Wyvern King, a Legendary monster.

Half a year for the sake of taming a single monster.

And the power of that Wyvern King was immense.

It stood near the very peak of all flying monsters, and its defense was five times that of an ordinary wyvern, making it impossible to pierce.

On top of that, its flight ability transcended common sense, making it nearly impossible to hit in the first place.

CRRRK—

As Hyeji drew the string, she answered.

“You think I got this without effort?”

“...?”

The reason Relly had been looking down on Hyeji all this time—

[Hyeji Lv.441]

Was because of her level. That was all it was.

Relly was in the 490s, while Hyeji had long since fallen out of even Korea’s rankings.

And yet—

TWANG—!

Watching that long bowstring being drawn back to an utterly absurd degree, one thing came to mind.

Hyeji had first taken up a bow at twelve, and by seventeen she had reached the top of the world.

“Have you ever drawn a bowstring until your fingers split open? Have you ever woken up at four in the morning every single day? Have you ever entered the athletes’ village at fourteen and lived there? Have you ever watched your parents pour their entire savings into you, then stayed late at night practicing alone?”

“...”

Relly’s lips shut tight.

Because she realized that compared to the effort Hyeji had put in, her own was no more than a speck of dust.

And besides—

Just as the White Tiger Sword had its penalty, the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying had one as well.

As she drew the bowstring, Hyeji spoke for the whole world to hear.

“I just confirmed this bow’s penalty.”

Relly and viewers across the world looked puzzled.

As expected.

Just like the White Tiger Sword, this bow too had a penalty.

The experts who had gone on and on about the White Tiger Sword’s penalty brightened immediately, already imagining some overwhelming side effect and letting go of their hopes for this new Myth.

Relly was the same. Perched atop the Wyvern King, she clutched her stomach and laughed.

“What, is this a confession!? Are you begging to be spared because of that penalty? Fine, then what is it!?”

Hyeji smiled.

“No accuracy.”

“...”

A chill prickled down Relly’s spine.

What? No accuracy correction? Wait... could that even count as a penalty for the world’s number-one-ranked archer?

Only then did she look properly at Hyeji’s bowstring.

There’s no arrow nocked?

And then she heard it.

[History begins to be recorded.]

Hyeji’s chest heated like a wildfire.

She drew the already taut bowstring even tighter. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

She too had heard of history being recorded.

Hyunsoo had once said that when the Twin Dragon Sword was involved, he had received a notification saying a tale was beginning.

But this was different.

No tale was announced.

And Hyeji knew exactly what that meant.

A tale was the telling of a small, old story from the past.

By contrast, history being recorded directly meant the history of someone being carved into the present day itself.

That was right.

This was not a tale.

This is a record being written in the age we live in now.

“Kill her.”

At Relly’s cold command, the Wyvern King—well into the 500s, with defense five times greater than an ordinary wyvern—shot forward at an inhuman speed.

And as Hyeji looked at the layered ranks of wyverns gathered to protect it, she remembered herself at seventeen—

A young girl who had stood beneath the spotlight of countless people in the Olympic dome.

She twisted the bowstring.

CRRRK—

At the long-awaited moment she had thirsted for, waited for, and desired more than anything—

She looked at Relly, charging with the wyverns within a thirteen-meter radius.

“Hoo...”

[There is no accuracy.]

She stopped breathing, and when she heard Hyunsoo behind her say, “There are too many wyverns...”

She—

The woman who had always carried slumped shoulders, who had lived as a washed-up relic clinging to past glory—

Smiled brightly and said,

“Watch it for yourself. What you created.”

In this moment, the greatest Divine Archer and the greatest bow achieved Oneness of Self and Object.

At last, the strangest yet most beautiful arrow in the world was released.

KRRRRRRRRRUMBLE—!

As a single arrow tore forward with a deafening roar, blowing apart demonic energy in its wake, the whole world shook its head.

-There’s no way it can hit the target.

Because exactly eighty-six wyverns were protecting the Wyvern King, the intended target.

But then, because of what happened next—

[Status ailment Obedience activates.]

The moment the arrow was fired, something went wrong.

The wyverns’ eyes turned black, and they all shot upward into the sky at the same time.

As if obeying and lifting up that single arrow, the wyverns vanished from its path.

The whole world was thrown into shock by that bizarre phenomenon—a mere bow causing a status ailment like this.

And in that instant, the true target was fully exposed.

The king of the wyverns.

A creature nearly seven meters tall.

A species that dwelled in the distant Wyvern Lands.

A being whose flight speed and foreclaw strength did not fall behind even Fenrir.

Which meant the Wyvern King’s status ailment resistance was of Legendary grade.

And yet—

[Status ailment Rigidity activates.]

“M-move! Move, damn you!!!!”

The effect of that single arrow kept growing larger and larger, scattering demonic energy as it advanced.

Relly panicked at the sight, but the Wyvern King could not move, as if it had encountered an even greater predator than itself.

And just like on the day she had struck the ten-ring—

KRAAAAAASH—!

[Weak-point accuracy exceeds the standard of ordinary users!!]

Striking a weak point with a sword and striking one with an arrow are one hundred percent different things.

A sword is far easier.

And yet her arrow pierced the drake’s forehead with perfect precision.

[Attack Power triples upon a perfect weak-point hit.]

If a human has an arm cut off, they only lose the use of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) one arm.

If a leg is cut off, they only lose the use of one leg.

But the forehead—when something hits that point perfectly and precisely, with Attack Power tripled, it is different.

[You have dealt 3,313,041 damage.]

[This is the highest damage you have ever dealt!!]

“SKREEEEECH!”

The Wyvern King writhed violently, its forehead pierced through.

[The Wyvern King’s HP falls below 63%.]

With a single attack, nearly thirty-five percent had been erased.

Relly and the world alike recoiled in disbelief, knowing just how immense the Wyvern King’s base defense and total HP were.

But there was something even stranger.

CRRK—

“W-what...?”

Hyeji.

Once again, she was drawing the same skill she had just used.

And in that moment, a feeling Relly had never once experienced in her life began to seep into her.

Fear.

Because she had finally realized what it was.

It was not a finishing move.

The true nature of the power Hyeji was unleashing now—

A passive skill...?

It was a chance-based activation skill.