Genius Blacksmith's Game

[You have hunted the Incarnation of the Queen of Fire.]

[Class Quest: Conquer Salamander’s Dungeon complete.]

[You obtain the Fire-Dragon Armor Set.]

As he exited the dungeon, Bark had finally obtained the armament he’d wanted.

The set, all Epic artifacts, consisted of armor, helmet, and gauntlets, and granted a set effect.

‘Thanks to the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» set effect, I’ll be able to wield power on par with a Unique artifact.’

But Bark knew this too. Even after clearing this Class Quest, he still wouldn’t be able to take the number-one tanker ranking.

‘Tanker Rank 1, Valon, has an Epic class and is about 30 levels higher than me.’

For Bark, who had a normal class, that was far too high a wall.

Just then, as he waited to be warped out with the collapsing dungeon behind him, Bark’s expression turned puzzled.

‘What? Why am I not being logged out?’

A chill suddenly slid down his back. The Incarnation of the Queen of Fire had warned him.

If he refused to speak the blacksmith’s name, she might come after him.

‘Don’t tell me...’

Had she trapped him in here?

Just then, an unexpected notification rang out.

DING!

[Hidden Piece. Hidden Qualification Test complete.]

“...?”

Bark made a puzzled face. A qualification test?

Notifications flashed in quick succession.

[Even when you were in danger, you did not reveal your comrade’s name.]

[A tanker is a class that must possess the mental fortitude to protect not only themselves but also their allies.]

[You are more than worthy as an excellent tanker.]

[Congratulations.]

[Hidden Class. You may change class to Growing One.]

[Growing One is an Epic class.]

[The more allies you protect and the more you devote yourself to them as you stack achievements, the higher you rise.]

Bark was in awe. Salamander’s Dungeon and the Incarnation of the Queen of Fire had been tied to the tanker’s Class Quest from the start.

The Incarnation of the Queen of Fire hadn’t asked out of greed for the artifact.

For some reason, she had wanted to know the name of the one precious to Bark.

[Epic class. You have changed class to Growing One.]

[Growing One can even reach for Legendary.]

[All stats are being redistributed, and 200 bonus points are being evenly applied.]

[Your skills are changing and will gain greater power than before.]

[Growing One is a special class that protects those dear to you.]

[You have not yet joined a guild.]

[Guild membership is recommended.]

“Ha... hahahahaha!”

Bark couldn’t help laughing. Legendary class. A class superior to any other job type.

Of course, he had no way of knowing if it would take two years or three to change to a Legendary class.

But the appeal of a job that kept growing was too great.

[You are leaving Salamander’s Dungeon.]

Warped out in an instant, Bark emerged from the dungeon, his heart pounding.

There was somewhere he absolutely had to go.

[Bark: Hyun, where are you? There’s something I absolutely have to tell you.]

Bark waited for a reply.

****

Nell was a businesswoman.

Her primary goal was to make Hyun the most famous blacksmith in the country.

She was analytical, and her judgment was colder and clearer than anyone’s.

After they decided to form a guild, she had said this:

‘We’ll start out as a small, elite group.’

Most guilds set requirements for joining.

The reason they did that was to ensure that guild members could mingle freely within the guild.

If the level gap was too big, the average guild members didn’t fit together.

It also made it harder for the guild to get closer to its goals.

Meeting Hyun to talk about guild-related matters, Nell gave a wry smile.

“He might change.”

Hyun had told her about crafting an artifact for Bark. And this was what Nell was most worried about.

“He’s a businessman.”

Of course, Nell didn’t know him personally. But she’d seen many businesspeople in her life.

Hyun surpassed even the level of a goose that laid golden eggs.

His value was beyond imagination.

“He might come to you and tell you to form a guild with him as guild master. That would be the move with the greatest profit from a business standpoint.”

Nell was merely judging one businessman from a business perspective.

More than Hyun’s relationship with this Bark person, she wanted to steer Hyun down the right path.

Of course, her words might be overstepping.

But what she meant was that if he wanted to become the best, he needed to be cold-blooded as well.

“To me, he’s not that kind of person.”

Hyun smiled with absolute conviction.

Nell nodded slightly.

“Whether you accept him as a guild member or not, your opinion matters, Hyun. But it’s also important whether he’s someone our guild needs.”

That was a clear fact.

No matter how much she searched for information on this Bark, nothing came up.

In Ares, 99% of players were ordinary users, and 1% were special.

Neither Nell nor Hyun knew what kind of user Bark was at this point.

Of course, the odds were high that he fell into the 99% ordinary.

‘But if he turned out to be in the bottom 20% of those ordinary users?’

Nell gave a bitter smile. But she decided not to say any more.

Hyun was smart. But for all that, he was still very young.

He didn’t understand yet how terrifying businesspeople could be.

If Bark ever demanded the guild master position, Nell would personally step in to stop him.

And as for his joining the guild at all, she’d follow Hyun’s wishes.

‘I don’t like businesspeople.’

Nell let out a sigh.

She herself ran a business, and yet she didn’t like businesspeople.

Even so, their conversation wasn’t bad.

No one raised their voice, and neither tried to force their own opinions.

[Bark: Hyun, where are you? There’s something I absolutely have to tell you.]

Just then, a whisper arrived for Hyun.

Hyun replied to the whisper, then gave a wry smile.

“He says there’s something he absolutely has to tell me.”

“I see.”

Nell knew how 99% of businesspeople would act.

She just hoped Hyun wouldn’t get hurt by this.

He was like a beautiful gemstone. Stunningly brilliant, yet perhaps easily wounded.

‘Something he absolutely has to tell him... When a businessperson finds out about Hyun, what’s the one thing they’d want to say?’

But Hyun simply waited quietly where he was, and Nell said nothing more.

Soon, a commotion rose from one side of the village.

“What’s going on?”

“Probably an unofficial ranker.”

“Look at that armor. That’s insane.”

“Oh, that’s sick.”

Nell’s expression turned puzzled.

‘An unofficial ranker?’

Hidden powerhouses who concealed their identities.

Sometimes they could beat official rankers with ease.

The hallmark of unofficial rankers was that their character names didn’t appear above their heads.

But just from looking at the artifacts he wore, you could roughly guess what kind of power he had.

A man in armor emblazoned with a blazing flame motif pushed through the crowd.

‘...He’s incredible.’

He was clearly one of the truly hidden powerhouses.

Nell, however, turned her interest off. Even if that were true, he had nothing to do with them.

Unless he was connected to—

“Hyun.”

“...?”

Nell froze. The man was smiling as he looked toward Hyun from a distance.

‘That man is Bark...?’

Nell had just been thinking it. That the world had 99% ordinary users and 1% special ones.

And this thought came to her.

Maybe what this Bark person absolutely wanted to tell Hyun was this:

‘I’m founding a guild. Join my guild.’

But instead, he stood before Hyun.

“You said you had something you absolutely wanted to tell me?”

Nell looked at the man. Standing in front of Hyun, he slowly nodded.

“Yeah, there’s something I absolutely needed to say. I got the shield you sent.”

As she listened to that opening line, Nell thought, as expected.

But then— 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

KWA-AAAK—

He wrapped his arms around Hyun and hugged him with all his strength.

“You’re amazing, incredible, fantastic...! That’s right, it was you! You were the one, the blacksmith who set the world on fire! It was you all along! How did I not see it, huh!? You wonderful kid!”

Nell’s carefully constructed assumptions shattered completely.

What he absolutely wanted to say to Hyun—

“Sir, I can’t breathe.”

—was that he was proud of him, that he was incredible, that he was amazing.

They were words given purely for Hyun’s sake.

Letting go of him, the man called Bark spoke.

“Hyun, I know your worth better than anyone. So don’t let yourself be shaken.”

Smiling gently, he continued.

“Don’t give in to the ones who want to use you. Believe in yourself and climb higher, farther. This old man is just here to cheer you on! I’m wishing for you to do even better. Hahahahahaha!”

Bark laughed boisterously.

Hyun smiled brightly, as if to say his expectations had been right.

Then Hyun asked,

“By any chance, are you in a guild?”

“No, I’m not. Honestly, I did think about asking you to run a guild together, but it didn’t feel right.”

Bark smiled.

“I don’t want to use you to gain anything at all.”

And Nell quickly admitted her mistake.

“Hello, I’m Nell, Hyun’s manager.”

She naturally introduced herself as his manager. Then, explaining what she had said to Hyun, she bowed her head.

“I’m sorry. I doubted the relationship between you two.”

Bark didn’t feel offended in the slightest.

“You’ve got a good person with you. Everything she said is right. She’ll help you sift out those types.”

He could tell she said it because she cared about Hyun.

And he could tell she was someone who wanted to protect him.

Hyun looked at Bark.

“But I’d really like you to join our guild, sir.”

“Hm?”

Bark’s expression turned puzzled.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to.

He also thought it would be fun to run a guild together with Hyun.

“I want to help you, and I’d like you to help us too.”

And Bark nodded.

It wasn’t because he had some other agenda. He just had this thought.

‘If I’m there, I’ll be able to protect Hyun.’

Bark had pride in himself.

“Good. Then I’ll protect you. I’m Level 311. My class is Growing One, a tanker—it’s an Epic class, and it can even become a Legendary class.”

“...L-Legendary?”

The most shocked was Nell.

He might be able to become Legendary. Among users, such people were vanishingly rare.

‘Level 311?’

Nell realized their guild was about to recruit an unbelievable talent.

And Bark harbored a hope.

‘If Blacksmith Hyun exists, then is there a Legendary class for him too? That would be amazing.’

Hyun introduced himself.

“I’m Level 80, and my class is God of Blacksmiths.”

Bark was floored. He had never heard of such a class in his life.

After introductions were over, Bark held out his hand first.

“Looking forward to it, Guild Master.”

“I’m looking forward to it too, sir.”

Hyun gripped Bark’s hand tightly.

A guild that didn’t even exist yet.

This was the moment that guild recruited a colossal figure capable of challenging the number-one tanker ranking.