Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 148

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Blacksmith’s Game
The Pinnacle Weapon (2)
Nel watched the spot where Hyeon-su had departed, her heart stirring with fresh emotion.
‘Coming to Hyeon’s Forge was the best decision I’ve made in my entire life.’
It was because of the conversation she’d had with Hyeon-su before he left.
‘This time, I’ll go as Blacksmith Hyeon.’
‘Will that be alright?’
‘Yes, I’ve decided it’s better to reveal my identity when I meet them.’
The Hyeon-su she’d first met was somewhat inexperienced, and Nel had compensated for many of his shortcomings.
But Hyeon-su saw things Nel couldn’t.
‘When I first met Risel, I realized that meeting while hiding my identity wasn’t a good thing. Perhaps we need to button things up correctly from the start with them.’
The first button.
Nel understood the meaning behind those words.
‘What will happen when those three cursed ones come to Gwangmyeong?’
Nel’s thoughts diverged from everyone else’s.
The public debated those three, saying that skill and the game were ultimately different things.
They also said they had terribly bad luck.
But their luck was bad—their skill was real.
Nel was certain of one thing.
‘Once they reach the high-ranker level, the high-rankers won’t even be able to touch their bones.’
The higher the level, the harder it becomes for Users to grow stronger.
Because of this, small differences yield tremendous power.
That’s why, once they reach that level, they’ll stand where others cannot climb.
The problem was this.
‘There must be a reason they haven’t joined a guild….’
Perhaps that was merely our wishful thinking.
*
*
*
Hye-ji was startled.
“…You’re saying you’ll participate in the Labyrinth instead of crafting the Artifacts?”
“Yes, with less than a week remaining, crafting Artifacts for three people isn’t an easy task. Besides, I’m quite strong myself.”
Quite strong?
She didn’t know what standard that “quite strong” referred to.
But this thought crossed her mind.
‘Just how strong is the Blacksmith?’
Furthermore.
Ares was a game with properly balanced mechanics.
The fact was that if you excelled terribly in one area, you had to abandon the other.
Yes, a small seed of doubt began to sprout.
The three of them called a strategic timeout.
“What about the other candidates?”
“…There’s no one worth recruiting. I think we underestimated this. Being at the center of criticism must be distasteful for the Strong Ones.”
Another thought emerged.
“Blacksmith Hyeon, who had been hiding himself all this time—wouldn’t he have stepped forward confidently if he had something? We have five attempts left, so let’s test it with just one.”
That argument also made sense.
“Right, just once. Let’s try it together just this one time.”
The conversation ended shortly after.
They showed him videos of the Ferocious Labyrinth they had conquered so far.
“The Ferocious Labyrinth is a bit unusual. Unlike typical time attacks that always start under the same conditions, it manifests in three different forms. Form 1 is the easiest, Form 2 is the hardest, and Form 3 is the second most difficult.”
Hyeon-su carefully reviewed it with the three of them to synchronize their movements.
After three hours had passed.
“Let’s go in now.”
[You have entered the Ferocious Labyrinth.]
[4 attempts remaining.]
The four of them finally entered the Ferocious Labyrinth.
“Once we pass through here, it begins. Stay alert.”
The moment they entered, the three of them grimaced.
“Of all things…!”
Hyeon-su needed to acclimate to this dungeon.
But out of the three patterns, the second—the most difficult one—had started.
The second pattern encounters difficulties from the very beginning.
The moment they enter, a semi-boss-level monster, Minotaur, slams the ground and unleashes an earthquake.
Moooarrgh!
Height: 5 meters.
[Minotaur Lv.331]
The colossal Minotaur wielding a massive axe slammed the ground.
Boom!
The earth cracked and split, sending out a shockwave.
That shockwave stuns the Users for approximately 2 seconds.
This is absolutely unavoidable.
Because even jumping into mid-air, the shockwave reaches up to 6 meters high.
Despite its name as a labyrinth, the ceiling height is 10 meters.
However, that ceiling height cannot be breached unless with a fairly powerful mage’s flight spell….
“Hyeon-su, first just calm down…!”
Hye-ji cried out urgently, then wore a bewildered expression.
“…What?”
Wolf Leap
Whoosh!
Hyeon-su had vanished from sight.
At the same time, the Minotaur soared into the air.
“…?”
They couldn’t comprehend the bizarre spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
Hyeon-su’s left hand had hurled the Minotaur high into the sky.
A guttural bellow echoed.
Hyeon-su’s sword moved.
The three observers gasped in unison.
‘The Minotaur is renowned for its high defense….’
A sickening screech tore through the air.
[6 consecutive hits applied.]
His blade became engulfed in radiant light.
Lacerations bloomed across the Minotaur’s body.
A wet, tearing sound.
A dull thud.
Successive impacts echoed in rapid succession!
‘Th-the damage…?’
The Minotaur’s HP plummeted below 61%.
What were they witnessing?
Blood fountained from the Minotaur’s wounds.
An even more miraculous spectacle unfolded before them.
“Ghost Step.”
Hyeon-su’s footfalls vanished without sound.
Left.
A sharp impact.
Above.
A violent crash.
Below.
A piercing strike.
A heavy blow.
Successive thunderous strikes.
A dull impact.
A final explosive slash!
After creating precisely nine afterimages.
He brought his sword down upon the Minotaur suspended in mid-air.
A deafening crash resounded.
The Minotaur, driven into the ground, crumbled to ash and dust.
The time it took to Hunt it down.
[5 seconds have elapsed since entry.]
Immediately after.
“H-hiccup!”
Tae-hoon let out a hiccup.
Hye-ji spoke without thinking.
“Th-thank you so much!!!”
*
*
*
Hyeon-su’s stats were sixty levels higher than others at the same rank.
Combined with Baekya, a Sword closest to legendary grade, and the Passive Skill of six consecutive damage hits.
The synergy with the legendary-grade skill Ghost Step was extraordinary.
As Hyeon-su landed, he checked on the party’s safety by looking at them.
One of them hiccupped, and Hye-ji suddenly thanked him.
“???”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to do that.”
Through this, Hyeon-su realized he had earned their trust.
“Let’s move quickly.”
Hyeon-su had his own reasons for needing to get Our Country into the top five.
They moved swiftly.
Hyeon-su observed them carefully.
‘Incredible….’
Considering the Artifacts they wore and their level range, they demonstrated unbelievable power.
‘These people, ordinary class users?’
Though called the Cursed Trio, they continued landing Critical Hits.
And at the boss monster hunting point.
“Sword’s Cry.”
Kiiiiiiing—
The boss monster of the Ferocious Labyrinth was a basilisk that reached level 350.
With the boss’s appearance, Hyeon-su applied a stun with Sword’s Cry.
‘Unbelievable….’
‘Just having one more skilled person makes things this much easier.’
‘And the damage output defies all logic…!’
The three hunted the basilisk faster than usual.
Soon they awaited the notification.
Their previous rank was fifteenth with a record of 25 minutes 58 seconds.
[Ranking updated.]
[9th place Korea 19 minutes 59 seconds.]
In an instant, they skipped six ranks.
“Wooooow!”
“We did it!”
They rejoiced at finally succeeding in narrowing the ranking gap.
Remaining attempts: 4.
If their initial performance was this impressive, they were confident they could narrow the rankings even further.
And they continued to implement new strategies and plans as they progressed.
Seventh attempt.
[8th Place Korea 18 minutes 31 seconds.]
Eighth attempt.
[6th Place Korea 17 minutes 19 seconds.]
They now believed they might escape becoming targets of criticism.
And with tomorrow in mind, Hyeon-su logged out and fell into sleep.
*
*
*
While Hyeon-su slept.
Nel felt the world had become quite noisy.
‘This time attack hadn’t been receiving much attention in our country until now….’
As the rankings suddenly rose, it began to attract notice.
And that produced a remarkable effect.
The time attack participant list could be described anonymously.
[Han-ul, Hye-ji, Tae-hoon, Hyeon’s Forge.]
This phrase “Hyeon’s Forge” at the end was setting the world ablaze, and speculative articles were being published.
[Hyeon’s Forge. Presumed to have crafted Artifacts for Han-ul, Hye-ji, and Tae-hoon.]
[A masterwork creator, Hyeon. Giving wings to three Olympic gold medalists.]
[The world once again focuses on Blacksmith Hyeon.]
Nel was startled seeing this.
Nel was frantically checking Hyeon’s rapidly climbing subscriber count.
‘Wow, the momentum is insane…!’
People around the world believed the changing time attack dungeon rankings were because of Hyeon-su’s Artifacts.
Through that, they were planting expectations.
And the subscriber count Nel had just confirmed was this:
[Hyeon’s Forge Subscribers: 1,610,013.]
[Currently ranked 7th among Korean Blacksmith Shop subscribers.]
From the previous 1.3 million, an additional 300,000 had been added.
‘If something were to happen now that would stir the world once more….’
Nel thought that perhaps settling within the top 4—a dream she’d long harbored—might become possible.
The gap between outside and inside the top 5 was quite substantial.
And soon, such an event unfolded.
Nel checked the time attack dungeon’s ranking changes.
[Rankings are being updated.]
[1st Place United States 11 minutes 11 seconds.]
The United States had instantly closed a four-minute gap.
It was an event that astonished the world.
Unlike Our Country, where the flames of timed attack dungeons were just beginning to kindle, America was ablaze with fervent competition.
Nel immediately clicked on an interview video that was rapidly spreading across the network.
The interview featured American Users who had participated in the timed attack dungeon.
They were all renowned Users from America and members of the Black Skull Guild, called the world’s greatest.
Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwaak—
Amid the endless flashing of cameras, reporters fired their questions.
“How were you able to reduce the time so dramatically in such a short period?”
It was something the reporters found difficult to comprehend.
How could they possibly shave off four minutes from the record, no matter how you looked at it?
“That’s something Users from other countries will have to discover for themselves.”
America wasn’t offering easy explanations for their breakthrough.
A barrage of other questions followed.
Particularly striking was the confidence radiating from Will during the interview.
“America will absolutely claim first place in this timed attack dungeon, and that will remain true going forward.”
Indeed, it had been that way for three years straight. Then one reporter posed a question.
“Recently, Korean Users have been causing shifts in the rankings. What are your thoughts on this?”
Will responded with a scoff of disbelief.
“China or Japan, perhaps, but Korea?”
That was it.
As if they weren’t even worth mentioning.
And Nel found herself watching Hyeon’s Forge’s subscriber count surge inexplicably because of this.
“This is a dangerous opportunity….”
If Korea took first place, Hyeon’s Forge’s subscribers would skyrocket.
But if they didn’t?
‘Hyeon’s Forge might only be remembered as an exceptional Blacksmith Shop within Korea….’
In other words, it was a double-edged sword of an opportunity.
*
*
*
Lee Se-jin, CEO of Pureum Corporation, was in a video conference with branch directors from various countries.
That’s when John, the American branch director, made a subtle jab.
[Korean Users are truly impressive—jumping from fifteenth place to sixth in no time. But can they really surpass America’s record of eleven minutes… What do you think, CEO Lee Se-jin?]
Lee Se-jin understood the current situation well.
The famous American User who had just provoked them by saying Korea wasn’t even worth their attention.
“We currently estimate that we won’t be able to break through the eleven-minute barrier.”
[Interesting. Is America’s true strength only at that level? Though I suppose the eleven-minute barrier is higher than most realize.]
Soon Lee Se-jin smiled faintly.
“Do you know what the ‘true beginning’ means?”
[The true beginning. It’s a term all nations use in common—it refers to when a User reaches level three hundred.]
“The critical reason is that ordinary Users typically unlock something new in their class or receive Quests with special privileges once they reach level three hundred.”
[What are you trying to say?]
John furrowed his brow.
His expression betrayed confusion about the meaning behind those words.
Lee Se-jin spoke with conviction.
“I’m saying that User Hyeon-su will soon achieve level 300 within the Ferocious Labyrinth. In other words, it’s impossible now, but it may become possible in the future.”
[…!?]
[…!?]
The branch managers’ faces filled with astonishment.
Ignoring their reactions, Lee Se-jin ended the video call.
Lee Se-jin himself was deeply anticipating what would unfold.
‘When User Hyeon-su achieves level 300, what power will he unlock?’
And what kind of upheaval could he bring to the rankings of this time-attack dungeon?
It would all be revealed soon.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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