Genius Blacksmith's Game

Bark counts waiting without selling the forge as one of the best decisions of his life.

When Hyun brought the money to buy the forge back, he was overjoyed.

What to call it—his true feeling of seeing his own son?

He simply wanted the kid to live well.

The fact that Hyun had whispered to him was proof he’d been doing well lately.

[Bark: I’m doing well. The weather’s getting hot, so be careful of the heat.]

Bark looked around and gave a wry smile.

‘It’s definitely hot...’

Here, it was hot enough to melt everything.

[Hyun: Do you remember the promise from before? That I would craft you an artifact.]

“Mm?”

Of course Bark remembered. He’d been tackling the Salamander Dungeon then, so he’d done his best to write it up.

[Hyun: Has anything changed in the artifact spec? I’m going to craft it soon and send it to you.]

[Bark: I’m fine wi—]

Bark stopped mid-whisper and shook his head.

He had given to Hyun, and if Hyun couldn’t repay it, it would become a lifelong regret for him.

‘Maybe...?’

Without realizing it, a sliver of hope rose, and he asked:

[Bark: No changes to the spec. Hyun, you said you’re a blacksmith class, right? What level are you?]

[Hyun: Still low, 59^^;;]

Bark wasn’t greatly disappointed. It had been only the smallest expectation.

‘I should enshrine it properly in my inventory.’

A Level 59 blacksmith—he could roughly guess what kind of artifact would be sent.

At that stage, he’d usually be a beginner blacksmith.

But Bark would cherish it. He found Hyun’s heart—doing whatever he could to repay—endearing.

[Hyun: I’ll send it as soon as I can!]

[Bark: Good, I’ll look forward to it.]

Ending the whisper, Bark stood up with a small smile.

‘How many chances are left now?’

His class quest: clearing the Salamander Dungeon.

There weren’t many attempts left; if he failed, the class quest would be deleted forever.

It would erase his chance to become the unofficial Rank 1 tank.

“Should I put in a commission to the maker of the Sword King’s sword too?”

Then he shook his head.

‘Other rankers keep submitting commissions and he isn’t accepting.’

There was no way he’d accept a commission from Bark, whose name was still unknown.

Bark spent the day combing the auction for a good shield.

****

After finishing the whisper with Bark, Hyun found himself standing before the portal that led into the Mine of Frost.

[You have entered the Mine of Frost.]

[You are the first entrant.]

[For 1 week, EXP and drop rates increase 2×.]

[You obtain 30 Renown.]

[A story will begin within a few days.]

“Kr...!”

A thrill ran through him. Double EXP and drops for a week.

‘Well, of course they wouldn’t just let users into the Mine of Frost.’

The Mine of Frost could be called the pride of the Kingdom of Goyard.

At the same time, he was puzzled.

‘A story will begin within a few days? Does the story trigger the moment a user enters?’

Of course, that was something Hyun would only learn by experiencing it.

Just then, a passing miner boy looked puzzled.

“You look like an Outsider. How did you get in here?”

He looked about nineteen.

“I received an entrance ticket from the royal house.”

“I see. I’m Miner Banya.”

“I’m Hyun. I’m a blacksmith.”

“A blacksmith? It’s unexpected for a blacksmith to come to a mine.”

Banya’s eyes showed interest, and Hyun asked what he wanted to know.

“Is there a miner named Lex here?”

“He’s my father. Why are you looking for him?”

“I have something to ask.”

The boy named Banya was kind to Hyun.

“I’ll take you to my father. If you’re curious about anything, ask.”

Hyun walked with Banya.

He kept looking over the mine as they went. And he spotted something odd.

‘Hm...?’

The mine had many entrances one could go into. About eleven.

Around one of those entrances, monsters swarmed—monsters whose bodies were entirely made of stone.

And the monsters couldn’t come out beyond a certain range, blocked by a blue barrier.

“Neat, right? That’s a kind of dungeon. Monsters appear all over the mine. Originally, they should be showing up everywhere. But a mage who came here a hundred years ago cast magic over it.”

It was an interesting tale. And as Hyun looked at the mine, he realized one fact.

“Don’t tell me what’s stuck to those monsters is Cold-Iron?”

Indeed, each of the stone-bodied monsters had a piece of Cold-Iron attached to it.

“That’s right, it’s Cold-Iron. But if you get greedy, you’ll get hurt.”

“...Why?”

“You Outsiders call it, uh, that...”

“Level? I’m 59.”

“The ones over there are all around what you’d call Level 110. And since their bodies are stone, killing them is hard.”

Clicking his tongue, Banya looked regretful, and Hyun’s eyes glinted.

“Tsk, that dungeon probably has the most ore left, but for us miners it’s frustrating.”

Mines, as time passes, can only yield less. Ore wasn’t something you could obtain infinitely.

Hyun walked on with Banya.

“Also, not just anyone can enter this mine. Mines are dangerous. That’s my father.”

Before he knew it, Banya stopped. He pointed. There stood a man who commanded the miners.

[Miner-Captain Lex Lv.231]

“I’ll be off.”

“Thanks for the help.”

Hyun thought him truly a kind boy. Then he went to Lex.

Lex wore a hard hat and looked like the middle-aged man in charge here.

“A blacksmith?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Why have you come here?”

“I want to know if there is an ore here superior to Hundred-Year Cold-Iron.”

At those words, Lex furrowed his brow.

‘An ore superior to Hundred-Year Cold-Iron, eh. Such a thing does exist.’

But Lex felt no reason to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° tell him.

Lex believed this fact must not be revealed.

If rumors spread that such a thing truly existed in the Mine of Frost, greedy Outsiders might come flocking.

Of course, the man before him had received an entrance ticket from the royal house.

If that ticket had gone to one who lived in Ares, so be it.

‘Not to an Outsider.’

So Lex needed a way to send him off with good words.

“Have you learned the miner’s craft?”

“No.”

“Ordinary miners mine three ores a day on average—90% common iron ore and the rest Cold-Iron. If you bring me forty in a week, I will tell you whether an ore better than Hundred-Year Cold-Iron truly exists.”

At some point, other miners had gathered around.

“Did you hear that? He’s got to bring forty ores. Forty in a week! I can only mine twenty in a week myself.”

“Blacksmith, just go back. Mines are dangerous.”

From the start, Lex had given Hyun a task he could not possibly do.

Lex said,

“Do you understand? The mine is far more dangerous than you think. Go back.”

“Hahahahaha, go to your forge and make artifacts!”

Hyun fully understood their concern.

He had heard countless times from his father how dangerous mines were. In the past, miners had staked their lives to dig ore.

‘So they won’t hand over ore information easily?’

And though the miners looked like they were playing the bad guys, they didn’t seem like bad people.

It felt like they were deliberately trying to send him back. Then Hyun thought of something amusing.

‘I know stone better than anyone, and if I make it for real, it might be possible.’

So he asked:

“If I bring more than forty, will you apologize for laughing at me?”

Whatever their intention, Hyun was offended. A pack of miners had swarmed over and laughed at him.

Lex was certain.

‘Impossible.’

Even he barely managed over thirty in a week.

“If you succeed, I’ll give you the Ten-Year Cold-Iron I have.”

“What if I bring back far more than that?”

Buoyed by confidence he couldn’t quite explain, Lex laughed.

“Then I’ll give you something better, won’t I?”

DING!

[Linked Quest: Mine 40 Ores in a Week]

Grade: A

Restriction: One who received Lex’s proposal

Reward: Varies by quantity.

Failure Penalty: You cannot hear information on ores that surpass Hundred-Year Cold-Iron.

Description: Prove your qualification as a miner by mining 40 or more ores.

“I’ll see you in a week.”

Lex gave a wry smile. He had proposed the impossible, hoping Hyun would go home, yet the man brimmed with inexplicable confidence.

And Hyun headed somewhere other than the mine proper.

Walking with Banya, he had discovered a very old forge.

Entering it, Hyun smiled.

“You’ve given me a problem that’s far too easy.”

Hyun decided to quickly make one artifact: a Damascus Longsword.

‘I’ve made it before, so it’ll be easy.’

Once at the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Sword. Once while hunting Stone Golems.

Regrettably, though he’d made two, he was making it for the first time to use permanently.

And he felt sure this work wouldn’t be that hard.

Hyun began crafting.

‘I already have two successful products.’

And Hyun had one more thing he was confident in.

There was one difference between now and when he’d made the Damascus Dagger at the Blacksmith’s Tower of the Sword.

‘Back then, I didn’t have God’s Custom Crafting. Now I do.’

The power to delete unnecessary effects and maximize desired ones.

He added this idea as well.

‘Add a power that temporarily transforms the longsword into a pickaxe. Then I can use both a longsword and a Damascus pickaxe.’

And after four days, he finished it.

(Hyun’s Seventh Custom Craft Sword.)

Grade: Unique

Durability: 12,000/12,000

Attack: 332

Restriction: No restriction for the creator, Level 50–200.

Special:

· Cutting Power vs stone +170%.

· Durability damage vs stone −70%.

· Active Skill: Damascus Pickaxe.

Description: Hyun’s seventh custom craft sword made solely to cut stone, and at times it can transform into a pickaxe.

With a satisfied look, he stepped out of the forge.

****

“Boss, that blacksmith’s in the side mine, they say.”

Miner-Captain Lex, who had been working the vein, halted.

“I thought he’d gone back.”

He hadn’t seen him for days, so he’d assumed he’d left.

“No, after you told him to bring forty, on day four or five he went into the mine.”

Lex gave a wry smile.

“So he mined for three days?”

“Yes.”

“No need even to look.”

Finishing the day’s work, Lex stepped outside. Soon he spotted the man called Hyun coming out from within.

‘Outsiders have it easy.’

They used that thing called an inventory.

‘Or did he fail to mine even one?’

That could be. The unskilled sometimes couldn’t mine any ore at all.

So confident earlier, Lex clicked his tongue and asked,

“How is it, did you mine a lot?”

“Yes.”

“...Really?”

At that, Lex looked puzzled. After two or three days, how many could he have mined?

If it was a lot, maybe seven.

“Take them out.”

The man reached his hand into the air. Ore began to drop out of it.

Thud, thud-thud-thud, thud—

Soon, ore poured down.

Rrrrrrrrrrrr—

Lex counted by eye.

‘Ten... twenty... th-thirty? Forty... n-ninety!?’

Staring at the pile of ore that formed a small hill, Lex asked,

“Y-you. Were you hiding your identity? Are you a legendary miner!?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Hyun smiled.

“I’m a blacksmith.”