Genius Blacksmith's Game

Having finished Hyun’s Seventh Sword, Hyun loitered near the mine.

Banya, who had been carrying water, approached.

“...I heard. My father gave you an absurd task.”

Banya sighed.

“The mine is so dangerous he won’t let anyone in unless they’re very skilled. Please understand.”

“I understand. Should I go in this way?”

“You’re going to try after all? The time is...”

Worried, Banya swallowed his words. A calculator spun in his head.

‘Average time to mine one ore: three hours.’

Hyun had only two days left.

That’s how ore is. It’s encased in rock so hard that extracting it isn’t easy.

Then the sword at Hyun’s hip transformed into a pickaxe.

[Damascus Pickaxe]

[The item’s information changes.]

[You can convert it back into a sword at any time as needed.]

Amazingly, the Damascus Longsword had two item panes, and converting let him view the other.

(Damascus Pickaxe)

Grade: Unique

Durability: 12,000/12,000

Attack: 64

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

Special:

· Mining Power +230%.

· Critical activation chance +40%.

Description: A Damascus pickaxe made solely for mining.

Excellent. It had both the functions of a sword and the functions of a pickaxe.

“That looks like a good pickaxe, Hyun. But, in my opinion, you should just head ba—”

Hyun brought the pickaxe down on the rock.

SSSSSK—

‘Not TANG but SSSSSK?’

When a pick hits rock, it should go tang. But the pick slid smoothly into the stone.

SSSSSK—

SSSSSSK—

SSSSSSK—

Hyun mined one in just thirty minutes.

[You obtain Iron Ore.]

A common Iron Ore goes for 5 Gold each.

[2× effect is active.]

[You obtain additional Iron Ore.]

‘Oh?’

At present, the Mine of Frost entry bonus was applying 2× EXP and drop rates.

In other words, in thirty minutes he got two—ten thousand won in value!

‘Pretty nice.’

Hyun didn’t stop and kept mining.

[You obtain Dexterity +1.]

[Dexterity +1...]

[You obtain Cold-Iron.]

‘Kr...’

Common Cold-Iron. Hyun had used it before.

Common Cold-Iron is a Rare-grade ore that trades for about 60 Gold—sixty thousand won.

Hyun didn’t stop and mined all night.

When the time arranged with Lex arrived, he had obtained as many as ninety-one ores.

Eighty of them were Iron Ore, and eleven were Cold-Iron.

In three days, he pocketed a hefty 1.06 million won.

He went outside and dumped the ore before Lex.

A startled Lex asked Hyun—

If he was a legendary miner. Hyun, who took great pride in his profession, answered:

“I’m a blacksmith.”

[Affinity with Lex increases.]

Lex looked at the pickaxe slung over Hyun’s shoulder.

“I see. As a blacksmith, you found your own way to do the miner’s work.”

Lex gave a wry smile.

“I apologize for looking down on you. My view was too narrow.”

Then the other miners came to Hyun.

“Truly amazing! You were a fine miner!”

“Did you do it with that pickaxe? You’re an excellent miner and an excellent blacksmith.”

Hyun heard the sound of his affinity with them rising without end.

[A story will soon begin.]

‘That again?’

He’d have to proceed to know what it meant.

He’d heard # Nоvеlight # similar sounds during the Orc Warriors and the Cassel territory war.

That is, there existed a story that continued in sequence. But as the first entrant, Hyun didn’t yet know what it was.

“A new recruit mined this much—my stomach’s burning; I won’t be sleeping tonight.”

“You too? Me as well! I feel like I need to sharpen my skills as a miner.”

“Captain Lex, please allow night work today!”

Looking at the miners’ boiling eagerness, Lex smiled thinly.

“As you wish.”

It was good that the miners’ zeal was aflame.

[You completed the Linked Quest: Mine 40 Ores in a Week with an astonishing achievement.]

“I promised you Ten-Year Cold-Iron, but you’ve produced a result absurdly beyond belief. This is my Hundred-Year Cold-Iron.”

[You obtain Hundred-Year Cold-Iron.]

Hyun marveled. When he had received it from Barad, it hadn’t felt like truly his, so it hadn’t struck deep.

But now, a thrill coursed through him.

“It is a secret of the kingdom.”

He got to the point.

“Within this mine, there exists Cold-Iron that has endured a thousand years. It surely lies in the depths, and its chill is so strong you can truly feel it—it must be extraordinary.”

“Can it be mined?”

“We nearly mined it—but it was dangerous, and I failed.”

Lex gave a wry smile.

“Can you tell me where?”

“I can. I say I failed, but you never know with you. Go to the end of Mine No. 7.”

Hyun immediately entered Mine No. 7. And when he reached the place Lex described, the chill made his skin crawl.

‘It’s here.’

He gauged the distance. He would have to mine in about 40 meters.

Hyun brought the pickaxe down.

SSSSSK—

Repeating it many times, Hyun moved inward.

[You exceeded the time limit.]

[The wall regenerates.]

Hyun was dumbfounded. He withdrew before the regenerating wall swallowed him.

Rrrrrrrrrk—

Staring at the completely re-covered wall, Hyun let out a hollow laugh.

‘So that’s why they can’t mine it?’

But Hyun liked a challenge. Without backing down, he swung the pickaxe.

He kept swinging, then stroked his chin as he watched the wall regenerate again.

‘Even so, I should try for a few days.’

Hyun walked to take a break. He had nearly reached the exit when—

Rrrrrrrrrrr—

The mine suddenly began to shake greatly.

“What is that?”

[A story begins.]

At last, the identity of that mysterious story was about to be revealed.

[One hundred years ago, Mage Valun, when miners could not enter the Mine of Frost formed as a dungeon, established a barrier.]

Hyun recalled his conversation with Banya.

Entrance No. 11.

There, monsters were massed.

[All monsters gathered there, and unable to cross between sectors due to the barrier, miners could enter.]

[Now, one hundred years later. Valun’s barrier has weakened.]

[The monsters that have been trapped for a hundred years rampage.]

“...!?”

THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD—!

Hyun heard the booming from outside.

The sound of the monsters within the mine rampaging.

And then—

CR-CR-CR-CR-CRACK—

He heard the barrier shattering, even here.

[The barrier breaks in 2 minutes.]

DING!

[Quest generated: Evacuate with the miners to a safe place.]

‘Ah...’

Hyun quickly checked it. Monsters would burst out; he was to lead miners, who knew nothing of combat, to evacuate.

Then Hyun’s face hardened.

‘Wait...’

A sense of dread rose.

‘They can’t evacuate.’

The story was probably set to occur late at night.

“The miners are currently inside the mines...?”

Even running as fast as they could from inside to out would take five minutes.

[The barrier breaks in 1 minute 30 seconds.]

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD—!

And the whole mine shook.

Rrrrrrrrr—

Under the shock, the mine shafts began to collapse.

KUUUUUUNG—

PWAAAAAA—!

Having fled outside, Hyun watched the mine belch dust.

All but four mines had collapsed.

“The m-miners are buried...!”

“Let’s go in and save them!”

“Everyone, take up your pickaxes!”

Hyun shouted urgently.

“You must evacuate! Quickly! Soon the monsters will...!”

“You, get out! If your comrades who shared your hardships were buried in there, could you leave them?”

“Nearly fifty are buried in there. They’re not dead yet. The royal magi set a spell for cave-ins.”

“We must go in and bring them out within an hour!”

Hyun furrowed his brow. Madness burned in the miners’ eyes. He could not stop them.

Then what could he do?

The mines had collapsed, the miners would not evacuate, and over fifty miners lay buried.

The core of this story was to evacuate miners. He was supposed to lead them out safely.

In the process, he would have clashed with a few monsters.

But the situation had changed. They had to approach, not flee.

Hyun began walking toward Entrance No. 11. There, the barrier stood.

DING!

[A new story begins.]

[Emergency Quest generated: Save the Miners.]

[Emergency Quest: Save the Miners]

Grade: A

Restriction: One who triggered the new episode

Reward: ???

Failure Penalty: Death of the miners.

Description: Fifty-eight miners inside the mines and thirty-eight miners outside are in danger. Help the miners so none die.

A hologram appeared at the upper-right of Hyun’s view.

[Miners alive: 96.]

[Rewards vary based on the number of survivors.]

Hyun began to walk quickly. There was only one way to save all the miners who came to mind.

Before he knew it, Hyun stood alone facing Entrance No. 11, and his mind began to race.

CR-CR-CRACK—

[The barrier breaks in 5 seconds.]

Watching the barrier spread like spiderwebs, he thought.

The Damascus Longsword had already shifted back from pickaxe to sword.

‘With this?’

Alone, he could not handle that many.

Use Sword King’s Swordsmanship?

‘I can kill many monsters. But I can’t handle the torrent as they pour out...’

SCREEEEE—

The barrier fully broke apart.

“Kuheeeek!”

“Kyaaaaaak!”

[Mine-Orc Lv.107]

[Mine-Wolf Lv.110]

Hyun’s current level was 59.

‘I must not let a single one get past...’

A gleam rose in Hyun’s eyes.

‘I’ve never once triggered Emergency Crafting using a large amount of ore.’

God’s Emergency Crafting had this clause:

‘If there are no suitable materials, the base materials generated by the skill are applied.’

Base materials are the lowest of the low among Normal, and with such materials the effects are the weakest.

Hyun had used materials recently exactly once.

When Barad had first tried to test him, he had used Cold-Iron.

‘And that time it was only a single Cold-Iron.’

In truth, you cannot forge a sword with just one lump of Cold-Iron.

To make a single sword, you need at least 10 kg of ore.

Even so, he had hesitated to use it. The drawback of Emergency Crafting is that it is a one-off that disappears in one use.

But Hyun believed.

‘Rescuing the miners will be far more valuable to me.’

He ended his thoughts.

‘Pour in all the Cold-Iron and make a sword that unleashes a single overwhelming strike.’

Then—

“You, what are you doing? Evacuate! Get out of here now!”

Lex, having spotted Hyun, ran up in a panic.

His comrades’ lives were precious. But the life of an innocent man was precious, too.

And he realized Hyun’s actions were meant to help them.

Foolish—far too foolish.

A blacksmith is no different from a miner in weakness, is he not?

SHHHHHHHHH—

Hyun pulled eleven pieces of Cold-Iron from the air. The blue-glossed ore orbited in midair—

Smelted, melted—

Refined, with impurities removed—

CHIIIIIIIIIK—

A massive red blade took shape.

‘Th-that’s...?’

The blade alone reached 1.8 m, its breadth as wide as three swords together.

‘It looks solid and strong.’

Just seeing it inspired that thought.

The moment Hyun gripped the massive hilt—so large it needed both hands—

CLACK—

The giant blade seated; a greatsword suffused with a faint blue light completed—

CR-CR-CR-CR-CRACK—

Just holding it, Hyun froze the world around him.

“Graaaaaa!”

They had reached right up to Hyun, filing in from the entrance toward him in a line.

Hyun drew the greatsword back with both hands as far as it would go.

CR-CR-CR-CR-CRACK—

[30-second usage limit is ignored.]

[It will vanish after one swing.]

“Khaaaaaak!”

As a Mine-Wolf leapt for Hyun’s throat, the greatsword he gripped swung—and shattered.

TANGGRAAAANG—!

SWOOOOOOSH—

Lex witnessed a sight he could not understand.

‘Nothing happened?’

What had he just seen? Did he just cut air? Yet Hyun’s greatsword had shattered.

But was there any change?

No—there was indeed change. The wolf that had leapt right up to Hyun plopped to the ground.

The instant it touched down—

KUUUNG

KR-R-R-R-RACK—

Suddenly, it froze solid right there.

Lex recalled water in a cup from his childhood freezing rapidly at low temperature.

When water freezes rapidly at a low temperature, its molecules cannot keep up with the speed.

Thus—even frozen—it remains in a liquid state, which is called supercooled.

Lex’s pupils trembled.

Dozens of stone-bodied monsters.

Every one of those monsters, like supercooled water, froze—and yet did not—stopping in place.