Genius Blacksmith's Game

While talking with the Korean Special User Management Team, Kimura finally understood what they meant by “the new rookie.”

He’s going to tame it? With a level gap that huge? That’s impossible.

The Korean branch had mentioned something called A Lord’s Grace, but even that activating should have been impossible.

Kimura sneered at them.

“Bakayaro.”

Of course, the triple reward you could obtain by killing a being like Cerberus was absurdly valuable.

But that result was still far better than letting someone who bore Great Archdemon Gremory’s token take Cerberus under his command.

Japan Special User Management Team.

Kimura had thought the Korean branch was nothing more than a pack of incompetent fools worrying over nothing.

Then he froze.

The Grasslands of Peace?

Hyunsoo warped there and released Cerberus.

Telling it to live in free repose, in a place where no restraints or shackles bound it.

What an idiot...? He feels sorry for an AI?

Kimura had already thought Hyunsoo was far stupider than rumor claimed, but what happened next nearly made him stop breathing.

“Hiiiiiik!”

Kimura was a new employee.

Cerberus’s next action was completely beyond anything he could have predicted.

[Someone has entered Great Archdemon Gremory’s Treasure Vault.]

He hurriedly called out to Haruto, the leader of the Japan branch.

“Why didn’t you report it?”

“S-sumimasen!”

Kimura snapped to attention and bowed over and over.

Then he explained everything from start to finish.

“The fact that you assumed the Korean side had nothing to worry about because of the quest Repose means you completely ignored Ares’s freedom.”

“Up until now, all you’ve ever monitored are things that follow Ares’s predetermined framework. But it seems you didn’t realize this: I am the one who allowed you to monitor only the things that move according to that framework. That is why the Special User Management Team is necessary. And this, too, is something caused by freedom.”

“Freedom?”

“That’s right. The reward for Great Archdemon Gremory’s Treasure Vault was not set anywhere. Cerberus simply knew where it was. In other words, that reward was created by the user.”

“...!”

A reward created by the user.

That phrase drove new understanding into Kimura.

And it made him curious.

“Did User Hyunsoo intend this?”

“I think half yes, half no.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

“Most users would choose as you did and kill Cerberus for the triple reward. But User Hyunsoo has a much deeper understanding of rewards. He probably thought he might gain something from this, but he would never have known it would be Gremory’s Treasure Vault. And the reason I think the other half was unintentional is...”

Click.

Haruto replayed the footage of User Hyunsoo.

As Hyunsoo turned his back on Cerberus and walked away, a gentle smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

In that smile, Kimura saw two things.

The first was the ordinary pity most people possessed.

The second was the kind of mercy only one of the absolute could possess.

Because he was strong, he could afford mercy. Because he stood so high, he could wish for Cerberus’s perfect repose rather than coveting that species for himself.

“It was a choice only User Hyunsoo could have made. Just as you thought it would go one way, there is no one else who could throw away the reward from Repose and give Cerberus a new life instead.”

In other words—

“...So it’s a reward User Hyunsoo was worthy of.”

Kimura was impressed, but he still found himself wondering whether that really was the better reward.

“In the end, Cerberus still has to live inside the Grasslands of Peace. And the Korean branch’s idea about a new rookie makes no sense, because Cerberus’s level is far too high. It’s so high that designating Cerberus as a pet is impossible from the start.”

It was only natural that a level 1 user could not control a level 300 monster.

“Probably.”

Team Lead Haruto agreed with that point as well.

Right then—

[A hidden Hidden Piece is activated.]

“...?”

“...?”

Kimura and Haruto both looked stunned.

The notice that appeared for the Special User Management Team—“a hidden Hidden Piece”—was unusual.

Normally, the alert would only say, “A Hidden Piece is activated,” not “a hidden Hidden Piece.”

“What does that alert mean, Kimura?”

Kimura felt his vision go dark.

Because he was beginning to understand just how foolish it had been to ignore the warning from the Korean Special User Management Team.

“About ninety percent of all Hidden Pieces are set by the developers. But around ten percent are Hidden Pieces set by the supercomputer Ares, or Hidden Pieces that Ares grants as rewards depending on the circumstances. Among those, the extremely rare Hidden Pieces are ones even the staff know nothing about until they activate. And the ones bearing that word ‘hidden’ are exactly those Hidden Pieces that Ares either concealed or created.”

That was what this meant.

A hidden Hidden Piece, hidden by the supercomputer Ares and tied to Cerberus, had just activated for Hyunsoo.

*****

What Hyunsoo had shown was mercy.

Toward a powerful yet pitiable species that had wished for its own death, as described in the quest Repose.

It was the ease of the absolute.

The level gap is too high to command Cerberus.

Even while hoping for a new rookie, he had already let go of most of that expectation.

Then an unexpected notification rang out.

[Hidden Piece: Cause and Bond complete.]

[You glimpse Cerberus in a panorama of life.]

What?

The life Cerberus had lived flashed rapidly before Hyunsoo’s eyes like a series of moving images.

The first thing it saw after being born was Gremory.

Looks like a useful mutt.

At those indifferent words, the three heads of the young Cerberus simply panted and grinned.

Great Archdemon Gremory experimented on it.

You are sturdy, tenacious, and difficult to kill. I wonder how much you can endure.

She had always used Cerberus as a test subject.

To Gremory, a demon of the legions, Cerberus was a perfect specimen on which to test the legion commanders.

Oh? You can endure even this?

How unusual. And you can even use the Eternal Flame. Remarkable.

Cerberus was, in the end, the hound that guarded hell.

Obedient. Submissive.

It endured the brutal attacks of the legion commanders, and at times the lashings of Gremory herself.

Even when it yelped, even when blood streamed from its heads, it still lolled out its tongue and grinned.

After that, time passed.

And one day, word spread through the Demon Realm.

Gremory has been annihilated.

Even so, Cerberus roamed all across the Demon Realm, searching for the one who bore the token.

But nowhere could it find Gremory.

Nowhere could it find the legion commanders anymore either.

Then one day—

Found you.

People of the Heavenly Realm bound the wandering Cerberus in iron bars and dragged it to the gate of the Heavenly Realm.

From now on, you are the Heavenly Realm’s dog.

The examiners tortured and abused it in even more horrifying ways.

Let’s see how many days it can last if we starve it.

Cerberus endured for exactly one hundred and thirty-one days before growing gaunt and panting weakly.

I wonder how many days it can last without sleep.

Cerberus endured for exactly sixty-one days and nearly died.

A wretched life.

Guard this gate. Prove to those who come here that the Heavenly Realm is superior to the Demon Realm. Then die like that.

The Transcendent species Cerberus was strong.

But those entering the Heavenly Realm would continue fighting it without end.

And as it fought, Cerberus would be less and less able to recover from its wounds, which would keep accumulating until it finally died.

Then—

the panorama shifted in an instant.

Behind the iron gate, Cerberus crouched low, whining, its body covered everywhere in wounds and scars.

The gate opened before it.

Just as the examiners had ordered, Cerberus rose and began gathering Breath.

Then someone appeared in its field of view.

“Get a grip, will you?”

Black full plate armor.

A massive hammer hanging at the waist.

A ring on one hand, carrying a scent it recognized.

It was Hyunsoo.

Drawn as if spellbound, Cerberus wished for one thing.

Hyunsoo saw the me reflected in their line of sight, and Cerberus lowered its body and prayed for repose.

But then—

amid the burning flames, it saw a smiling me and Cerberus together in its own vision.

On a green, beautiful hill, I turned away.

The pain gone thanks to the potion, Cerberus stared blankly at that departing figure.

And then—

it ended with it running powerfully after that back—

“Whiiine...”

“Whine!”

“Grrr!”

And Hyunsoo returned to the present.

[You have seen Cerberus’s life.]

[After long suffering, a single spring day comes to Cerberus.]

[Cerberus desires a spring day that will never end.]

[Cerberus has found its true master.]

[The level gap with Cerberus is too high.]

[Taming Cerberus is impossible.]

Hyunsoo spoke.

“That was mercy.”

As already said, it was the ease of the strong.

Repose, telling it to live on without suffering anymore.

Hyunsoo could sympathize because he understood better than anyone how agonizing a life of pain could be.

He too had lived through scars that would never fade, accusing fingers, and an endless hell, so he knew that this hell would never end either.

And yet—

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

The Cerberus heads, their bellies pressed to the ground, wagged their tails fiercely and nudged Hyunsoo’s hand with their heads, tongues hanging out.

[Cerberus gazes toward spring.]

As Hyunsoo slowly stroked those enormous heads, he finally understood.

“I see. So °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° this is your repose.”

This was their repose.

This was their new life.

Now Cerberus sought a new life.

[Cerberus will live in the Grasslands of Peace.]

That life would be one where Cerberus ran across the fields without a single wound on its body.

However—

as the earlier notification had said, it was impossible for them to remain together as they were.

[This monster’s level gap is too high.]

[You cannot tame it.]

This was different from Lucky Lump bringing Pretty to him.

The level difference here was over a hundred.

But Cerberus’s will was even stronger than that level gap.

“GRRRR!!”

“GRRNG!”

“GHRRAAAH!”

The Cerberus heads roared in front of Hyunsoo.

He could feel the desperate will and power in them to protect him somehow, and the only answer that could allow Cerberus and Hyunsoo to remain together unfolded before him.

It was the only way to overcome the level gap.

[Transcendent grade. Great Archdemon Gremory’s Ring is changed.]

Fwaaaash—

The ring on his finger—the ring that had now become useless—scattered light.

And through the brilliant light of that ring, Hyunsoo understood why the Hidden Piece Cause and Bond had activated.

[Transcendent grade. It changes into Cerberus’s Ring.]

[It cannot become your subordinate, but you may call on it whenever you need it.]

(Cerberus’s Ring)

Grade: Transcendent

Durability: Infinite

Defense: 165

Restriction: One who completed Cause and Bond

Special Abilities:

· Passive Skill: The One Who Protects You

· Active Skill: Summon Cerberus

Description: Great Archdemon Gremory’s Ring has changed into Cerberus’s Ring through the activation of the Hidden Piece Cause and Bond.

(Summon Cerberus)

Active Skill

Mana Cost: 300 per second

Cooldown: 24 hours

Effect:

· You can summon the Transcendent species Cerberus for 1 minute.

· The Transcendent species Cerberus protects only you.

So this is how we can stay together?

At one time, even Great Archdemon Gremory could be summoned.

Only for a short time, but still.

But Great Archdemon Gremory had never been loyal to Hyunsoo, which made that summon dangerous.

Cerberus was nothing like that.

It wanted to submit. It wanted to protect Hyunsoo.

So if he summoned it, even if only for a single minute, it would fight only for him.

And by using Firebird, Hyunsoo would also be able to visit it in the Grasslands of Peace whenever he wished.

In other words—

It’s a workaround, but it really did become my pet.

Great Archdemon Gremory’s Ring, which had become unnecessary, was reborn into a blessing.

[Please give Cerberus a name.]

The three heads looked up at Hyunsoo with expectant expressions.

Hyunsoo understood.

Naming them would be the beginning of loyalty, love, and affection.

And they wanted the spring day that had finally reached them to give them that name.

Hyunsoo reached out, gently stroked the face of the center head, and smiled brightly.

“Hope.”

The three-headed Cerberus looked puzzled by the name.

Their appearance did not suit a name like Hope.

With a soft smile, Hyunsoo said:

“It means that from now on, you won’t suffer anymore, you won’t be oppressed anymore, and you’ll live like someone else’s hope.”

[Hope is delighted.]

[Hope is happy.]

[Hope protects you.]

The spring day that came to Cerberus gave it the name Hope.