Genius Blacksmith's Game

The moment Hyunsoo took hold of Unparalleled, a notification rang out.

[You are the owner of Unparalleled.]

[If held by someone other than its owner, its weight increases by 100 times.]

[To its owner, it feels like a 500-gram hammer.]

From the very start, it was extraordinary.

Unparalleled’s total weight was 1.5 kilograms.

A hundredfold increase made that 150 kilograms.

And yet to Hyunsoo, it felt like nothing more than a 500-gram hammer.

In truth, the Unparalleled in his hand was light and beautiful, and despite having used only 1.5 kilograms of Adamantium, it looked vastly larger than that.

That was one of Unparalleled’s artifact effects.

Damn, just looking at it and it’s already packed with effects like these?

This was only the tip of the iceberg.

There was no way Unparalleled had failed to inherit the perfect crafting Hyunsoo had repeated dozens upon dozens of times.

That was the advantage of Adamantium.

Adamantium could imbue desired effects at up to 180%.

With a thrilled heart, he checked Unparalleled’s information.

(Unparalleled)

Grade: Mythic

Durability: Infinite

Attack Power: 1,815

Restriction: King of the nation of Hyun

Special Abilities:

· Strength x2

· Weighs 500 grams to its owner; applies 100x weight to anyone else

· Artifact crafting speed is shortened by 20%

· You may freely handle minerals imbued with multiple attributes

· Probability of creating a Rare artifact increases by 500%

· Probability of creating an Epic artifact increases by 400%

· Probability of creating a Unique artifact increases by 300%

· Probability of creating a Legendary artifact increases by 200%

· Probability of creating a Mythic artifact increases by 100%

· Passive Skill. Headcracker

· Passive Skill. Owner of Unparalleled

· Active Skill. Gigantification

· Active Skill. Unparalleled Sovereign

· Active Skill. At Will

Description: Crafted from the god-metal Adamantium by a blacksmith who leads an era, and worthy of representing the nation of Hyun as the symbol of a nation of blacksmiths.

(Headcracker)

Passive Skill

Grade: Mythic

Effect:

· If you successfully strike the enemy’s head, Unparalleled’s normal strike damage doubles.

· Thunder erupts, leaving the enemy unable to regain their senses.

(Owner of Unparalleled)

Passive Skill

Grade: Mythic

Effect:

· Activates with a 10% chance when crafting an artifact, and creates synergy with the title Rampage. The probability increase applied by Rampage for creating a better artifact is doubled.

(Unparalleled Sovereign)

Active Skill

Grade: Mythic

Mana Cost: 20,000

Effect:

· You may alter its size and manifest an enormous Unparalleled vast enough to cover the world. It becomes large enough to swallow everything within a 60-meter radius, and upon activation strikes with 4 times its normal strike damage.

(Command of Unparalleled)

Active Skill

Grade: Mythic

· Nullifies all effects imbued in every target within range of your voice for 1 minute, and even suppresses the use of potions and scrolls.

· An incantation exists.

· Example: I strip all things away.

(At Will)

Active Skill

Grade: Mythic

· No matter where it is, Unparalleled is yours.

· It returns to you.

· Under your command, Unparalleled behaves as though it possesses a will of its own and, for 30 seconds, strikes the heads of all beings at the speed of light with the passive skill Headcracker applied.

“...?”

Artifacts were divided into tiers even within the same grade.

Even Legendary had lower, middle, upper, and peak tiers.

At times, a peak-tier Legendary could rival a low-tier Transcendent.

The Unparalleled Hyunsoo had just checked—

was peak-tier Mythic.

Among the White Tiger Sword,

the Most Beautiful Sword in the World,

and the Great Bow of Demon-Slaying,

its effects were the greatest of them all.

Attack Power 1,800?

Of course, cutting and blunt-force striking were two entirely different matters.

Blades were overwhelmingly more efficient, which was why people fought with swords instead of hammers.

But the attack power born from the god-metal Adamantium was absurd.

And on top of that—

[Strength x2 is applied.]

[You produce 4,612 Strength.]

Hyunsoo’s Strength stat doubled.

He had reached the point where, if he arm-wrestled an ordinary ogre, he could probably beat it with a single finger.

But did that mean the artifact’s crafting ability had fallen short of what Hyunsoo wanted?

Not even close.

From Rare onward, the grade-proc rates for every artifact he could create had risen to an insane degree.

And beyond that—

since the original name of Unparalleled had once been Headcracker, the skill Headcracker remained as part of it.

If I land a hit on the head, it deals guaranteed double damage?

Guaranteed double damage—because it was Mythic, someone might think, Well, of course it can do that much.

But there was something they needed to think through carefully.

Unparalleled has over 1,800 Attack Power. And with my Strength doubled, that damage gets doubled again?

Hyunsoo suddenly felt dizzy.

It was enough to make him wonder whether, if someone with stats comparable to his own smashed him over the head with this thing, even he would survive.

And then there was the name Unparalleled Sovereign.

It sounded ridiculously grandiose.

But the power it carried was so immense that he could not even question whether the name was too much.

After all, it could wipe enemies out with a gigantic Unparalleled that swallowed a 60-meter radius.

And as for Command of Unparalleled, while it required an incantation, its effect was to strip away everything on the enemy side except their raw selves.

“Kyaah...”

A thrill ran endlessly through Hyunsoo.

When skill forged Myth, the synergy between skill and material went far beyond common sense.

I want to test it right now.

But if he asked someone, “Would you mind if I cracked you over the head once?” there would definitely be rumors exploding everywhere about Hyunsoo’s personality.

Then—

[Absolute Senses]

[During battle, there is a 7% chance to activate. It lasts 3 to 7 seconds and maximizes touch, sight, smell, hearing, and reflexes.]

Every hair on Hyunsoo’s body stood on end.

The scent of blood he could not identify surged into his nose, and his hearing, which had been closed off, flung itself wide to a spread of noise.

Hundreds of covert presences were approaching.

Absolute Senses.

One of the effects of the Overlord’s Armor Set.

And he did not forget that it only activated during battle.

Which means...

Hyunsoo’s eyes narrowed.

Something unknown was approaching him.

And yet the corner of his mouth twisted upward instead.

A perfect chance to try out Unparalleled.

Pretending not to notice, he waited for the hidden intruders to draw near.

*****

Examiner Purung.

Though he held the office of examiner, he had harbored the impure desire to serve a king.

And because he had, by his own will, gifted the Sword of Judgment to a king—

“Execution.”

All the power that had dwelled in Purung slowly scattered away.

When Examiner Purung collapsed unconscious, Examiner Ren hoisted him up and decreed that Purung would be executed in three days.

“We must recover the Sword of Judgment.”

The Sword of Judgment was the property of Father Ares.

A mere king was not allowed to possess it.

If they directly struck at a king themselves, their own examiner positions would be endangered.

But for situations like this, examiners could move the outsiders known as Judges.

Judges.

They were not holy knights or priests serving the god Ares.

They willingly chose to become Judges, and there was a reason for that.

Those who carried out work connected to Ares as Judges received excellent rewards.

Those who seized upon that secret became Judges.

Fwoooosh—!

Before stepping through the portal with the other examiners, Examiner Ren scanned the list of Judges.

Outsiders are not allowed to recklessly plunder the possessions of fellow outsiders.

That was the restriction Father had imposed.

But that did not make it entirely impossible.

A name written on the roster of Judges.

[Grand Thief. Raon.]

I’ll designate that one as chief Judge and summon him in.

“You all go ahead first.”

The other examiners passed through the portal, and Ren invoked his examiner authority.

[Summons.]

More than fifty clusters of light appeared before Ren.

Not just anyone could become a Judge.

They had to be at least level 450, and most were high-level users.

The one standing at the very front—

Legendary thief Raon.

An Indian user, an unofficial ranker.

Unlike ordinary users, he could steal from other users, and his class lineage was assassin-type.

His level was 499.

Unlike Hyun, Valhalla, or Kabel, he was one of the hidden powerhouses who had never revealed himself.

The summoned Raon trembled with excitement.

It was rare for so many people to be summoned at once, and he instinctively knew that an enormous reward was about to be offered.

“Recover the Sword of Judgment from Master Blacksmith Hyun.”

Ding!

[Hidden Quest: Recovery]

Grade: SS 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Restriction: Judge

Reward: +2 to all stats

Penalty for Failure: Decreased Affinity with Examiner Ren

Description: The Sword of Judgment, which should belong to Ares alone, has fallen into the hands of the king of the nation of Hyun. Plunder it and return it to Ren.

“...!”

“...!”

Raon could hardly believe it.

+2 to all stats!

Given that high-level users possessed an average of nine different stat categories, this alone was close to twenty points in value.

It surpassed the worth of an elixir by an absurd margin.

Of course, that did not automatically answer the question of whether it was worth crossing swords with Hyunsoo.

But Examiner Ren knew how to use people.

Narrowing his eyes, he said,

“It just so happens that one examiner seat is about to open up.”

He said it while sweeping his gaze over them.

[You learn about the Examiner class.]

[The Examiner class is a Legendary class.]

Of course, some of those summoned were already Legendary classes.

Even so, Examiner was far too tempting.

Then one sharp-witted user asked a question.

“I’m worried about whether we can enter the nation of Hyun covertly.”

He said it because he knew examiners could place buffs on Judges.

Ren turned away and flicked a hand toward them.

Fwoooooosh—

[God’s Concealment]

[You enter a hidden state that will not break until the mission is complete.]

All fifty-odd users vanished into concealment.

“After the recovery, come find me.”

With that, Ren disappeared together with the portal, and the role of chief fell to Legendary thief Raon.

Raon led them as they entered the nation of Hyun and accelerated forward.

Shashashashashashak—

“Everyone heard the world message, right? The Sword of Judgment has obviously changed into another form. But the fact that it remains the Sword of Judgment does not change. We recover it without clashing with Hyun, then return.”

“Without clashing?”

“Is that possible?”

The users looked deeply uneasy about colliding with Hyun.

Raon smiled brightly.

“Do you not see my great class? I am Grand Thief. A Legendary class that steals anything. I have the power called Legendary Plunder. I’ll take it with that, then return immediately. Since all of you will solve this easily thanks to me, I’d appreciate your help later when I need it.”

The users nodded.

So in other words, he’s a world-class bastard of a thief.

Still, thanks to him, this just got easy.

Grins spread across the users’ faces.

They could steal the item without clashing with Hyun and return at once!

In their concealed state, they rushed past Atlas’s capital and arrived at the forge where Hyun stood.

Soon, they saw him.

Grand Thief Raon beamed.

The hammer in Hyun’s hand. That had to be the Sword of Judgment.

And once Legendary Plunder succeeded, Master Blacksmith Hyun would only realize what had been taken a full minute later.

That was the power of the skill.

So Raon approached Hyun from behind and activated the Legendary thief skill, Legendary Plunder.

[Legendary Plunder]

[You may plunder one artifact currently held by the enemy.]

[The target’s status ailment resistance is too high.]

[You cannot seize it.]

Raon panicked.

He was someone who could plunder even the possessions of most Legendary NPCs.

Just how high is his status ailment resistance!?

He had never imagined Hyunsoo’s status ailment resistance would be this high.

Then, while he was still reeling, a strange notification rang out.

[Plunder is permitted.]

“...What?”

Was this idiot actually serious?

Raon assumed Hyun had, in his confusion, fumbled and granted permission.

A terrible choice made in a moment of panic.

The hammer he had successfully plundered floated before Raon’s eyes.

It was magnificent enough to send him into ecstasy. A hammer so dazzling it made his chest tremble.

Raon stretched out his right hand and grabbed the hammer suspended in midair.

That very instant—

[100x weight is applied.]

Fwoooosh—!

His center of gravity yanked violently to one side, and a tremendous shock tore through him like his shoulder had been ripped out.

“Kugh!?”

BOOOOM-!

The hammer crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, and Raon, who had just grabbed a 150-kilogram hammer in a defenseless state, was thrown into confusion.

[Your right shoulder has dislocated.]

[You cannot use your right arm for 5 minutes.]

[Your combat power is reduced by 30%.]

“...!?!?”

Raon, still concealed, stood there in panic.

Then Hyunsoo looked around at him and the other Judges—though they were all invisible under concealment—and grinned.

“Everybody line up your heads.”