Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 15

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

 

The Genius Blacksmith’s Game

 

 

 

 

Auction (2)

 

 

 

Hyeon-su slowly opened his eyes and was shocked to see the hologram floating before him.

 

[Current bid: 1,008 gold.]

[Final bidding in 10 seconds.]

[10, 9, 8…]

 

“1,000 gold?”

1,000 gold was a fortune worth no less than 1 million won.

“Wow, incredible…!”

Was the value that artifacts held in Ares much greater than he had thought?

 

[Hyeon’s First Sword has been sold to Golden Shield Blam for 1,008 gold.]

[The buyer is leaving a blind review.]

 

‘A review?’

Hyeon-su looked puzzled as he checked the review.

 

[Hello. This is Blam from the Golden Shield Guild. It’s an honor to purchase the first artifact created by the blacksmith named ‘Hyeon.’]

 

‘Why are they praising me so much?’

 

[I pushed myself a bit to make this purchase. However, I bought it considering the fact that it has no usage restrictions and that it marks the beginning of the blacksmith Hyeon’s first branding.]

[I hope we can continue to have good dealings in the future. Also, if you’d like to sign an exclusive contract, please contact our Golden Shield Guild anytime.]

 

“Ah…”

Hyeon-su could understand why the price had exceeded his expectations.

‘Golden Shield Guild…’

Hyeon-su had heard of the Golden Shield Guild too.

A fairly well-known blacksmith guild in our country.

Then Hyeon-su clicked on ‘Golden Shield’ that appeared on one side of the auction board and entered that board.

“Wow, 780,000 subscribers…?”

There were as many as 780,000 people who had set notifications for when items were posted by the guild called Golden Shield.

“How many did mine increase by?”

He knew that level 100 blacksmiths averaged less than 10 subscribers.

Naturally, most blacksmiths used the auction board.

There were statistics showing that over 500,000 users in our country were blacksmiths.

Since all of them used the board, subscribers only increased for those who weren’t famous.

 

[Hyeon’s Forge subscribers: 211.]

 

“…?”

Hyeon-su tilted his head.

He had heard that increasing auction board subscribers was more hellish than leveling up.

And when he entered his yard, Hyeon’s Forge, the message box was blinking.

When he clicked the message box, several messages were waiting.

 

[Hello. This is Revil from the Blue Hammer Guild. The reason I’m sending this message is to discuss a contract with ‘Hyeon’s Forge’…]

[Greetings! This is Master Tae-hoon from Tae-hoon Guild. Our Tae-hoon Guild is…]

[Hello?]

[Red Anvil Forge is sending a message…]

 

About five messages were recruitment offers or contract proposals.

“…”

Hyeon-su stood there for a moment, feeling moved.

At Father’s blacksmith shop, those interested in weapons were extremely rare.

It was especially bad in our country where weapon ownership was prohibited.

But here, everyone wanted to have them.

Instead of complaining to the district office saying ‘Please get rid of that damn blacksmith shop!’, they recognized the value.

“1 million won…”

This was precious money earned from his first artifact sale.

Hyeon-su smiled slightly and closed the auction board.

‘Not yet.’

Hyeon-su realized that receiving so many messages meant his value was higher than expected.

There was no need to rush.

And Hyeon-su was confident that the future would be even more valuable than now.

Before he knew it, Hyeon-su had arrived in front of the Lord’s Castle.

“Who are you?”

One of the two guards with crossed spears asked.

“I’ve come with a recommendation letter regarding the restoration of the Lord’s bow.”

The guard looked over the recommendation letter and nodded.

“There are two Outsiders looking for the Lord today. Follow me.”

Hyeon-su looked puzzled.

‘Two people?’

That meant another user besides himself was already meeting with the Lord.

Hyeon-su followed the guard.

 

 

 

“Really, is there truly no way to restore this inside here?”

The face of Lord Vance of Bardin Territory, sitting in his chair, contorted with frustration.

It was because of the Outsider Bell who had visited the Lord’s Castle.

Bell appeared to be a skilled blacksmith at first glance.

“As you know, this place is called the Beginner Zone. Skilled blacksmiths from outside cannot enter here. Even if they occasionally do, most of them wouldn’t have been able to restore it.”

At Bell’s explanation, Vance had to nod.

“That’s certainly true.”

Quite many Outsiders had visited Lord Vance so far.

However, none of them could clearly restore it.

The first reason.

Entry to the Beginner Zone itself wasn’t free to begin with.

Though some existed occasionally, even those were mostly just level 50 blacksmiths.

In the first place, blacksmiths’ restoration skills can only be learned at level 80 or above.

It was when Bell was about to add another word to Bans, who wore a sighing expression.

“Another Outsider has come to visit.”

“Another Outsider?”

“Yes, he brought a recommendation letter from an instructor named Relson.”

Lord Bans felt urgent.

Father’s relic that was completely burned when the Lord’s Castle caught fire!

If it could be restored, he was willing to do anything.

In fact, since he was a lord, he wasn’t someone who would meet just anyone.

This was especially true for Outsiders.

Outsiders were full of greedy people. Also, whenever he went out to the village, he would hear things like this.

‘Lord, just 100 gold for me!’

‘Lord, let’s be friends~!’

‘Hey, he’s just an NPC anyway, why bother?’

‘Who knows? He might give a hidden quest. He’s a lord after all.’

‘Oh? My looooord!’

They weren’t exactly people who made him feel good.

Although Bans usually didn’t trust and disliked Outsiders, he was currently in a state of mind where he’d grasp at straws.

And soon, seeing the Outsider who entered, Bans’ face crumpled.

Soon the guard spoke to that Outsider.

“Show proper manners and sit down.”

The Outsider was wearing armor that had rusted beyond repair.

“Right, you’ve also come for restoration. What is your name?”

“It’s Hyeon-su.”

“Hyeon-su, what level have you reached?”

“Are you referring to Mystical Power?”

Bans slowly nodded his head.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t learned Mystical Power yet.”

“…”

Lord Bans’ face crumpled miserably.

Mystical Power was what NPCs called the Outsiders’ skills.

But he hadn’t learned such power.

Soon Bans, recalling the name Relson, asked.

“Did you come directly from the Hunting Training Ground?”

“That’s correct.”

Lord Bans no longer felt it was worth talking.

He let out a small sigh. He turned his head away from him without mercy.

‘Once this conversation ends, I’ll have to kick him out.’

Right, this Hyeon-su fellow was what Outsiders would call a level 1.

He was just one of the many greedy people he had seen in the village so far.

He didn’t know how he got the recommendation letter.

But he had absolutely no intention of entrusting the restoration request to someone so insignificant and worthless.

So he looked back at the blacksmith named Bell and gestured with his chin.

Bell, who had been quietly waiting, made eye contact with Bans and glanced at the user named Hyeon-su.

‘What kind of trash came here?’

He was one thing, but what about that guy?

What was a level 1 trusting in to come here saying he’d restore the Lord’s bow?

If he was going to come, he should have done something about that rusty armor first.

But it wasn’t his concern.

‘I just need to do my job well. Hehe.’

Actually, Bell wasn’t a blacksmith.

He looked like a blacksmith, but in reality he was a ‘Wandering Thief’, one of the thief classes.

Wandering Thief was a hidden class and could learn quite special skills.

First, he could change his appearance.

This applied to artifacts as well.

Second, he wouldn’t be restricted even if he broke bets or promises made with someone.

Third, he could wander through any Beginner Zone with restrictions.

The reason Bell, who had reached level 70, came to this place was to exploit Lord Bans’ desperation.

‘Even if it’s all burned up, it would sell for some money, or I could commission another blacksmith to restore it and resell it after restoration.’

And information gathering was essential even for a thief. He continued the story he had been telling earlier.

“As I said again, it absolutely cannot be restored inside here. You’ll have to take it outside and commission a skilled blacksmith.”

“Hmm… As you know, I cannot leave this land as I receive the will of the great god Ares.”

NPCs who cannot move from their fixed positions. They are called Guardian NPCs.

Bans belonged to such Guardian NPCs.

‘This is a quest that no one can clear anyway, hehe~’

Bell was excited.

Didn’t Bans just say with his own mouth that he couldn’t leave?

That meant he was dying to restore it but had no way.

Then?

“If it’s not rude, I’d like to take it myself and have a blacksmith I know restore it.”

“You would do it yourself?”

“Yes, since it absolutely cannot be done here, it would be right to take it outside.”

“Hmm, even so, it’s Father’s precious relic…”

Bans fell deeper into thought.

Even from his perspective, restoration seemed difficult.

Then Bans suddenly became curious about one thing.

“Do you know what type of bow it is and what materials it’s made of?”

The bow that had turned completely black was at a level where it was hard to even tell what type of bow it was.

To Bans’ sharp question, Bell said.

“Yes, this bow is a Western-style bow commonly used in my world. It’s called a Recurve Bow. It can definitely be restored. So please let me take it outside to restore it. If you find it completely untrustworthy, couldn’t you make an oath of Ares.”

Bell boldly proposed.

He intended to break that promise using the effect of one of his skills, ‘False Promise’.

Moreover, the promise of Ares works quite importantly within this game.

If you don’t fulfill it, you receive penalties.

Using that as an excuse, Bell was giving trust.

When Bell mentioned the promise of Ares with his own mouth, Bans’ heart wavered.

That was certainly true.

This territory ruled by Lord Bans was a territory in the Beginner Zone, and no matter how outstanding anyone here was, they couldn’t possibly restore this precious relic.

“…Is that the only way.”

Lord Bans eventually took the bait.

He wanted to restore it somehow.

But the person in front said.

That it absolutely cannot be restored here.

Eventually Bans had to agree.

“How much is needed for restoration?”

“300 gold should be enough.”

Bans, who had closed his eyes and been lost in thought for a moment, was about to slowly nod his head.

Then.

“…I can restore it.”

A voice was heard.

Bans slowly opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward where that voice had come from.

That voice belonged to an outsider named Hyeon-su, who was merely level 1.

Bans wore a puzzled expression. Bell did the same.

Why was he suddenly spouting nonsense when everything was nearly settled?

He could restore it in this place?

According to Bell’s investigation, that bow absolutely could not be restored within here.

No, it wasn’t even a Quest designed to be completed in the first place.

Lord Bans hardened his expression and rose from his chair.

“I was speaking with a blacksmith of higher caliber than you, yet you dare interrupt our conversation with such ridiculous nonsense?”

However, the outsider named Hyeon-su maintained an unwavering expression.

Soon Lord Vance drew his sword.

Shing—

“Can you stake your life on it?”

At that question, the outsider named Hyeon-su briefly closed his mouth.

 

 

 

Hyeon-su had been quietly listening to the conversation.

Since someone else had received the Quest first, it was proper for that person to speak and proceed first.

But the situation had taken a strange turn. He felt something was off especially whenever he heard what the user named Bell was saying.

Bell had said.

That bow was a type of western-style bow.

Bullshit.

That bow was something Hyeon-su had made hundreds, even thousands of times in the blacksmith shop.

“Can you stake your life on it?”

At Bans’ question, Hyeon-su nodded his head.

“Yes.”

That bow’s type was a horn bow.

It was a traditional bow from our country.

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