Genius Blacksmith's Game

[Party B shall pay Party A 40,000,000,000 won upon execution of this contract.]

[If, while Party A is under contract as an advertising model for Party B, Party B determines that operating profit has increased by 50% or more year-over-year due to Party A, Party B shall pay Party A a 0.5% royalty on the relevant product as an incentive.]

“...I’ve never seen a contract like this before.”

That was Nell’s assessment after sitting across from Hyunsoo and reviewing it with him.

Hyunsoo’s shoulders straightened.

“Ahem. The signing fee alone is more than two and a half times higher than what the world-famous apple giant Aiple offered.”

Forty billion won.

That was the guaranteed amount for the two years he would be active as an advertising model.

And like most such deals, it was not an exclusive contract, so he could still sign with other companies.

But that was not what had impressed Nell.

“They’re even giving you royalties. Cases like this are rarer than you’d think.”

“...Is a 0.5% royalty really that big a deal?”

Because the signing fee itself was already absurdly huge, Hyunsoo had been strangely numb to the royalty clause.

“The world-famous basketball star Michael Jordan is said to be worth over 5 trillion won right now.”

It was a sum so large it almost made it hard to breathe.

“And less than 1% of that fortune came from salary.”

“...What?”

At the height of his career, Michael Jordan had earned annual salaries in the tens of billions of won.

Adjusted to the present, it would be hundreds of billions.

“In other words, almost all the rest came from royalties tied to advertising. And that exact kind of condition is now in your contract, Lord Hyunsoo.”

“...Wow.”

Nell spoke meaningfully.

“Depending on how things go, this could make the 40 billion won look trivial. That is, if it succeeds. Chairman Lee Taesung has offered you terms where both you and his company can win. And considering how high the signing fee already is, the fact that royalties are included at all means he’s taking especially good care of you.”

Once again, Hyunsoo felt the chairman’s sincerity.

I’ll work hard on the product placement...

Of course, that was partly for the chairman’s sake—and partly because Hyunsoo wanted to profit from those royalties too.

In any case, once he finished speaking with Nell, Hyunsoo immediately met Director Lee Seokjin again and signed the contract.

A few days later.

The enormous sum was deposited, and after taxes and everything else, plus the money the people of the nation of Hyun had gathered for him, roughly 30 billion won ended up in his hands.

When Hyunsoo logged into Ares, he swaggered around like a newly rich man.

The first place he went was to the blacksmiths who had been waiting for payment for the Unique artifacts he had bought from them.

“I’ve got money now~”

[You have repaid 12,013,013 gold.]

He paid every last amount he owed, then declared with all the splendid charisma of a king,

“I even added interest~”

The blacksmiths were full of expectation, and when they carried the money pouches home and checked them, each one found exactly 1 extra gold inside.

“???”

In any case, looking over the kingdom that still resembled an overcrowded marketplace, Hyunsoo flexed once more.

[You have purchased Adren Tract.]

[You have hired 100 capable merchants.]

[Construction of new shops begins.]

[Construction of new restaurants begins.]

[Construction of new inns begins.]

A place near the capital, Atlas.

He had bought a stretch of land known as Adren Tract, only about ten minutes away once you left Atlas.

“All right, move in!”

“Let’s goooo!”

The thirty capable user merchants Hyunsoo had hired, along with seventy NPC merchants, began doing business out on the wide-open plain called Adren Tract.

“Khh, finally!”

“We can actually buy potions now!?”

The users could not hide their delight.

Watching them with satisfaction from atop the wall, Hyunsoo...

[Balance: 2 gold, 36 silver.]

“...It was there, and now it’s gone?”

Like the way an office worker’s bank account seems to magically turn into an empty shell, his purse had been thoroughly wiped out, and tears welled in his eyes.

But then—

“Ten potions, please!”

“Innkeeper, bring me one nice hot bowl of soup and rice!”

“You idiot, you’ve watched too many historical dramas. This is a medieval setting—why would there be soup and ri—”

At that moment, Takashi suddenly appeared, threw open a stall, and started doing business.

“Welcome! Hot, filling soup and rice, right here!”

“Khh!”

“The nation of Hyun even sells soup and rice!”

“I-it actually tastes amazing!?”

In any case, potions were being sold.

Taxes.

Equipment was being sold.

Taxes.

People stayed at inns.

Taxes.

People bought soup and rice.

...That one’s illegal, though?

After user reports came in, guards showed up with a distinctly dangerous air, weapons in hand, and Takashi glared fiercely at them.

The guards did not back down.

They bought soup and rice for themselves.

“???”

“...It’s hot and filling.”

An illegal restaurant, but such a good place to eat that even the guards bought from it.

Also, Hyunsoo possessed a Royal Territory Shop.

The Royal Territory Shop was a place where he could spend accumulated Territory Contribution, and over time Hyunsoo had built up a truly absurd amount of it through his many achievements. Becoming king had added even more on top of that.

[You gain 2,000,000 Territory Contribution.]

So the total Territory Contribution he now possessed—

[Territory Contribution: 4,310,501.]

It was an incredible amount.

Especially considering that ordinary monarchs had likely failed to accumulate even a total of 1 million up to this point.

And among the items available there was this:

[Unlock Atlas Hunting Grounds Lv.1: 1,000,000 Contribution.]

Hyunsoo had known about it for a long time, and he had saved up Territory Contribution for it, but he had never been able to unlock it.

Wouldn’t users love this if I opened it?

That had been a conversation from before the kingdom was founded.

Nell had pointed out the problem immediately.

...If you open a hunting ground and monsters come pouring in, we won’t be able to stop them.

......

Hyunsoo had understood within one second and shelved the idea.

Now, however, things were different.

The nation had been founded.

At this point, monsters from a hunting ground near the capital were something they could more than handle.

[You unlock Atlas Hunting Grounds Lv.1.]

[Giant Centipedes, Lizardmen, Harpies, Giant Ants, and others appear.]

[The unlocking of Atlas Hunting Grounds is special.]

[Compared to monsters of the same level, artifact drop rates and EXP yield are 10–15% higher.]

[The appearance rate of boss monsters is doubled.]

The users rushed to the hunting grounds in delight.

“Wow, the EXP here is great!”

“The item drops are great too!”

The radius of the hunting grounds was larger than expected, and it finally resolved the user overcrowding that had plagued every previous hunting area.

Heh... hehehe!

The users who flooded into the hunting grounds bought potions again, got hungry and bought food, got tired and rented rooms, and just like that, a full chain of tax collection was formed.

And in just two days, everything that had been stuck at the very worst level began to change.

[Residential satisfaction is Medium.]

What had once been at its worst had now, at least, climbed to Medium.

Hyunsoo looked toward the capital, Atlas.

“Hyun really is a god!!”

“Kyaaa!”

“The hunting grounds are insane!”

Judging by their reactions, he had thought satisfaction ought to be at the very highest level—

but he soon realized why it was not.

The only place that had truly been resolved was the capital, Atlas.

And even there, it could not yet be called a complete solution.

A mere 30 billion won...

That was when he realized that even a sum that huge could not exert overwhelming influence across an entire kingdom holding millions of people.

But then—

[The Hyun King’s generosity and virtue satisfy the citizens.]

[The title Hyun King shines.]

[Unlock Percentage increases by 5%.]

The title rang out again.

Hyun King.

The power to unlock traits.

Those notifications made him think of the title Hyun King again.

As a special privilege, I can force it to activate once.

Now that he understood just how much money would be needed, Hyunsoo began to think that perhaps the title Hyun King might be able to solve this problem.

At that moment, the Hyun King skill and the skill he possessed—Harvest—crossed his mind together.

The Harvest skill.

When he encountered certain monsters, it was the power that let Hyunsoo alone obtain “materials” that other users sometimes ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) could not.

Through that, he had acquired countless additional materials up to now, and the money generated through the Legendary skill Harvest alone had to exceed 8 billion won.

And he reflected on himself as well.

I may look like a jack-of-all-trades build, but I’m not really one.

Hyunsoo naturally immersed himself in repetitive blacksmith work.

But when it came to uncovering and obtaining materials, he was lacking.

Not that he complained about it, and it was not some strange contradiction.

I’m a blacksmith.

That was Hyunsoo’s true calling, and his greatest power was meant to shine when he forged weapons and equipment.

But what if—

What if there were someone who could bring me the world’s rare materials in my place?

He also wondered whether it would even be possible to assign a trait like that.

Of course, he could just test it.

[Beginning desired trait unlock.]

Hyunsoo voiced the thought that had just crossed his mind.

“I want to unlock a trait that can surpass any other being in the areas of gathering and harvesting.”

Gathering and harvesting covered a wide range of fields.

Harvesting iron ore, gathering monster byproducts, harvesting crops, and so on.

The scope was enormous.

In other words—

Right. A being that excels in every field of harvesting!

But there was one problem.

[However, if there is no one around you suited to the trait you have set, the use count will be consumed and the attempt will fail, so please choose carefully.]

That was it.

Which meant the target had to meet the conditions needed to unlock that power in the first place.

A knight could not just suddenly go ta-da! and gain the trait of a Divine Archer.

It has to be someone who already has qualities that suit it.

The problem was that if, under the terms he set, there was no suitable target, the use would be consumed and disappear.

Of course, he did have the perk of being able to guarantee an immediate activation once.

So I need to keep other factors in mind too.

Even assuming such a person existed—

What if their Potential is only around 50?

Fifty was an ordinary soldier.

What made Named NPCs special was that their Potential exceeded 100, allowing them to grow far beyond an ordinary soldier.

A five-year-old Named NPC would not be able to beat a twenty-two-year-old soldier.

But a Named NPC with that kind of Potential might be able to beat that same soldier once they turned ten.

Just like that—

If someone with low Potential gets chosen in the first place, it’s meaningless!?

Hyunsoo soon looked toward the notification now appearing before him.

[Search Rate: 2%... 6%... 12%...]

For no reason at all, it made him tense.

[Search Rate: 43%...]

Then it came.

[A valid target has been found and is being observed.]

[It is infinitely loved by the earth.]

[It is infinitely loved by iron.]

[It is infinitely loved by nature.]

“...?”

Hyunsoo frowned in puzzlement.

Among the beings with high affinity toward me, there’s someone like that?

It was astonishing.

Loved by earth, iron, and nature?

The Search Rate was still progressing, and more followed.

[It enjoys repetition.]

[It enjoys harvesting.]

[It enjoys gathering.]

And when the Search Rate reached 98%—

[Its affinity with you is more special still.]

[It wants to help you.]

[It blames itself, grieves, and grows depressed over not being able to help you.]

[It wants to protect you.]

“......”

Hyunsoo’s chest tightened.

He still did not know who the target was, but just the thought that there was a being who thought of him like this stirred him deeply.

When the Search Rate reached 100%—

[Target fully identified.]

Seeing the revealed name, Hyunsoo gave a rueful smile.

His lips parted.

“Summon.”

From the being that appeared in light, he felt endless gratitude and love.

And all he could think was—

Just your heart alone is already more than enough to move me. I’m grateful beyond words.

Before he started Ares, he had lived a life in which he had been loved by no one and acknowledged by no one.

Yet this being wanted to help him, grieved and blamed itself for not being able to do so, and wanted to protect him.

And so—

I swear that I, too, will protect you.

With that vow from a king, the being wrapped in light appeared.

“Golemmy?”

At the sound of Hyunsoo calling its name, Golemmy, which had been fidgeting with something, beamed brightly.

[An incantation exists.]

Looking at Golemmy with affectionate eyes, Hyunsoo placed a hand atop its head and let it know that a new life was about to open before it together with a new trait—

for this timid little thing that hated fighting and had always been full of fear.

And for its sake, the king spoke in a dignified, commanding voice.

“You, awaken.”

Those painfully cringeworthy words had barely left his mouth when an intense light wrapped around Golemmy.

[The king’s generosity and virtue will bestow a new life.]

At last, it awakened to a new life.