Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 151

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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 (5)
[You have changed the damage display function from off to on.]
Divine Custom Crafting.
A special power that allows crafting for only one person.
For the first time, that person was Hyeon-su.
‘Though it’s the highest-grade Orichalcon I obtained today.’
Hyeon-su had been contemplating this for a long time.
When I create a Sword just for myself, what kind of Sword would be most efficient for who I am now?
A power capable of wide-area attacks with 600% additional damage?
Or a power that unleashes a Powerful Shot against a single target?
‘Both are wrong.’
This is the correct answer derived from the genius blacksmith’s long deliberation.
A Blade enhanced by 401%.
The basic attack power of this Sword exceeds 600, and the average Sword attack power of Users in the 300-level range is in the 300s.
Added to this is the prime of the most powerful old master on the continent.
He smiles with confidence, gazing at the King of the Labyrinth.
“Ghost Step.”
At last, Hyeon-su, wielding the 401% enhanced Sword, walks while folding space.
He struck the one in front of him with all his might.
Crash—!
“Krraaaaaagh!”
[You dealt 17,933 damage.]
Hyeon-su had also watched many videos of high-ranking Users from Ares.
Their single Basic Attack power, with damage display enabled, was only around 10,000.
Hyeon-su’s damage now far surpassed that.
Soon he attacked from exactly two locations in succession.
Boom—!
[You dealt 16,356 damage.]
[You dealt 17,316 damage.]
The King of the Labyrinth.
He had never felt such intense pain in his life, his eyes nearly rolling back.
His HP dropped below 80%.
And another skill added to Hyeon-su’s calculation.
[Swordsmanship Mastery]
[Ignores the restriction that Critical Hits cannot occur when using wide-area attack skills or consecutive attacks.]
Ghost Step is a skill that attacks enemies an extraordinary number of times in an instant.
In exchange, Critical Damage did not trigger during that time.
But that small skill embedded in the Blade breaks that rule.
[A Critical Hit triggers.]
[Dealt 23,413 damage.]
An 8% drop in the creature’s HP in a single strike.
Considering that a boss monster’s total HP is several times higher than that of a regular monster of the same level, this was extraordinary.
Once more.
[Critical Hit lands.]
[Dealt 24,546 damage.]
And again.
[Critical Hit lands.]
[Dealt 24,313 damage.]
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
The King of the Ferocious Labyrinth’s face pales. Its earlier dismissal of these creatures as mere nuisances crumbles away.
With each successive blow, a mounting dread surfaces.
Terror.
Yet within that terror.
Attacks rain down from all directions.
Seventh, eighth strike.
[Critical Hit lands.]
[Dealt 25,413 damage.]
[Dealt 17,313 damage.]
Ninth, tenth strike.
Crack—
Ugh—!
[Critical Hit lands.]
[Dealt 23,413 damage…]
Eleventh, twelfth strike.
[Dealt 17,413 damage…]
[Critical Hit…]
[Dealt 22,031 damage.]
Kwaaaang—
Phantom Step activates for 1.4 seconds.
The King of the Ferocious Labyrinth’s body trembles violently, still caught in the 3-second stun from the pull skill.
Its HP has plummeted to below 32% from this single skill activation.
Yet the terrified King of the Ferocious Labyrinth realizes it has endured, and joy floods through it.
Now it could tear this creature to shreds.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
[King’s Roar]
[HP recovers by 20%.]
[For 1 minute, all speeds of the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth increase by 1.5x.]
Moving like a flash of light, the creature closes the distance to Hyeon-su in an instant.
[Wolf’s Claw]
He brought both fists down mercilessly upon Hyeon-su’s chest.
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash—!
Hyeon-su’s armor shattered, and blood erupted from the wound.
The King of the Ferocious Labyrinth wanted to return the pain it had just suffered.
Yes, just as it had moments ago, the man’s HP plummeted at a terrifying rate.
“Ugh!”
A brilliant light coalesced above the figure as it stumbled backward.
[You have obtained Orichalcon.]
The King of the Ferocious Labyrinth’s eyes gleamed as it charged toward the man, now utterly tattered and worn.
It struck his chest once more with all its might.
“…Cough!”
As the man retreated, it placed both arms across his shoulders, controlling his movements.
Screeeech—!
[Wolf’s Maw]
[Tears apart all limbs in a single bite.]
That dripping maw attempted to bite through and swallow Hyeon-su’s head.
“…Kekekekeke!”
The King of the Labyrinth laughed.
It knew that humans’ Mystical Power had a time limit, and the man could no longer use that power from moments before.
After mocking him thoroughly, it would place his head in its mouth and chew him to pieces.
It would inflict even greater suffering upon his companions.
And in this desperate situation…
[…It can be used.]
Another power that Hyeon-su had woven into the Supreme Blade stirred to life.
*
*
*
The executive office.
Lee Se-jin, the representative, sat before his monitor watching the Ferocious Labyrinth with the Hidden Piece activated.
For three years, Korean Users had consistently remained outside the top ten.
Of course, one shouldn’t harbor bias, but Lee Se-jin was ultimately a person from Our Country.
Thus the result piqued his curiosity, and there was another reason as well.
“…In the end, the United States Users couldn’t break through the ten-minute barrier.”
And this was a wall no one had surpassed in three years.
As Lee Se-jin designed and created the game Ares, he had pondered this.
‘Balance is paramount.’
Yet for that 0.1%.
For those who created it, sometimes that balance should not be applied.
This was why the Supreme Blade ultimately ignored that constraint.
Of course, it was a decision made under the judgment of the supercomputer Ares.
But even if it had been Lee Se-jin, the decision would have been the same.
Those who accomplished such extraordinary feats deserved rewards befitting their achievements.
‘The publicly known first-place reward for the Ferocious Labyrinth is 400 million won.’
But there existed a true reward that no one knew about.
It was the Labyrinth’s blessing.
A blessing was a special power that could be bestowed by Named NPCs, commanders, lords, or kings—countless exceptional beings possessed this ability.
Hyeon-su had received it several times before.
But the Labyrinth’s blessing was in a different league entirely.
‘Far superior, far more magnificent.’
And as I monitored the situation, I genuinely marveled.
“Users Han-ul, Tae-hoon, and Hye-ji are diamonds.”
Even if hidden within hard stone, their true value had not diminished.
The mere fact that Hyeon-su had equipped them with quite exceptional Artifacts meant they had already transcended common sense.
Furthermore.
[Users Han-ul, Hye-ji, and Tae-hoon are exceeding the limits of their current level.]
[27% remains until the target threshold.]
The reason for my genuine admiration.
‘Finally, the diamond is emerging from the stone.’
I knew this moment would eventually arrive.
No matter how many times users mocked them as the cursed trio.
“They must have known it themselves.”
That eventually they would display tremendous power.
And because they were now demonstrating absurd strength against monsters by surpassing that threshold, the system had applied it.
Moreover, since the three always stayed together, teamwork synergy had occurred and was simultaneously applied to all three.
Of course, it was Hyeon-su who opened that door.
But if they failed to exceed that threshold, it would reset to zero and they would have to pursue it again later.
And soon I leaped from my seat.
“Every skill has a reason?”
Watching the Rampaging Sword skill, I thought it was a limitation caused by ‘Emergency Crafting.’
Because crafting in such a short timeframe had failed to create a more brilliant and proper skill.
But soon I was astonished watching Hyeon-su move with ghostly steps wielding a sword with 401% damage.
But that was the end of it.
‘What’s needed to break through the ten-minute wall….’
It was determined by hunting the Ferocious Labyrinth’s king as quickly as possible.
The United States users had also lost the most time to the Ferocious Labyrinth’s king.
Yet the Ferocious Labyrinth’s king’s HP had recovered back to 50%.
“Even if I unleash the Sword’s Song, it won’t matter.”
Even unleashing the Sword’s Song couldn’t produce the radical power like ghostly steps.
And soon, watching the Labyrinth’s king bare its teeth to bite Hyeon-su, I felt regret.
‘In the end, everything returns to zero….’
Currently, their clearing speed overwhelmingly surpassed that of the United States Users.
However, the moment User Hyeon-su died, everything would crumble, reducing all progress back to zero.
Lee Se-jin’s expression grew regretful.
Yet something peculiar occurred.
The eyes of User Hyeon-su on the monitor remained resolute, gleaming with sharp intensity.
It was then that Lee Se-jin heard an unbelievable notification.
[A skill activates once more for User Hyeon-su.]
Lee Se-jin gasped in pure admiration.
‘His plan for the Pinnacle Weapon was flawless.’
It was enough to send chills down his spine.
Lee Se-jin clenched his fist and fixed his gaze on the monitor.
*
*
*
Hyeon-su’s Pinnacle Weapon was, as mentioned, a masterpiece meticulously planned over a long time.
[You possess Asthenium.]
[HP has dropped below 10%.]
[HP recovers to 15%.]
Screeeech—!
I turned to look at the Labyrinth King with its maw wide open.
Han-ul, Hye-ji, and Tae-hoon were surrounded by Lycan, dying yet still calling out to me.
“H-Hyeon-su…!”
“Are you alright!?”
“Damn it!”
Everything I had said to them was sincere.
‘I want to show them.’
That I, too, have worked as hard as those beloved by all, and possess skill to match.
And I want to win.
If I kill this beast, Hyeon’s Forge will be proven to the world once more, and I can take another leap forward.
‘Activate… activate…’
At last, my final hidden card emerges.
[Once More]
[Activates with a 40% probability when HP drops below 10%.]
[Resets the cooldown of the most recently used skill.]
[Break if You Must]
[In this moment of absolute crisis, you have found a breakthrough.]
[The attack power of Rampaging Sword increases by an additional 10%.]
I walk forward once more.
A ghostly stride.
“Uooooooo!”
A sharp metallic screech—
I fix my gaze upon the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth, whose eyes widen in shock.
Though I cannot broadcast this moment to the world right now, unlike Hye-ji firing arrows at a perfect ten on a television screen.
Or like Tae-hoon who brought down his opponent with a single devastating kick.
Or like Han-ul who struck his enemy repeatedly with his Sword.
However.
[Recording in progress.]
My story, destined to reach the world someday.
[You dealt 16,356 damage.]
[You dealt 17,316 damage.]
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 23,413 damage.]
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 24,546 damage.]
[Critical Hit…]
[You dealt 24,313 damage.]
[You dealt 16,356 damage…]
[Critical Hit…]
[You dealt 24,313 damage…]
[You dealt 25,518 damage…]
The tale of a Blacksmith who wished to live.
A resounding impact—!
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 25,140 damage.]
Many will bear witness to it.
[You have hunted the King of the Ferocious Labyrinth.]
A story that, though merely a paragraph, will astonish them all.
*
*
*
A five-star hotel suite in Washington, United States.
Will, the most celebrated User from the Black Skull Guild, moistened his throat with whiskey as he spoke.
“Such a thing will never happen, you know that.”
His teammate, who had conquered the dungeon alongside him, agreed.
“Right, it’s impossible for anyone to break our record. And especially not Korea of all places. But you know what, Will?”
“What?”
“If Korea somehow catches up to us, we’ll have given them wings to soar.”
“Puhahahaha.”
Both the one who spoke and Will burst into laughter.
And then his teammate asked.
“Why did you react that way? The higher-ups could take issue with it.”
Will’s lips curled into a sneer.
“It’s simply irritating to have Users from some insignificant little country mentioned in the same breath as me.”
His words dripped with arrogance at its finest.
Moreover, Will harbored white supremacist ideology.
“How dare you even mention Korea.”
Will laughed mockingly as he spoke.
Then.
An anchor’s voice emanated from the television.
[Breaking news. With the Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack rankings newly updated, Korea has claimed first place…]
“…?”
Will’s face, which had been tuned to a gaming broadcast channel as befitted a renowned User, went rigid.
At that moment.
Brrrrring—
Will felt an ominous premonition wash over him.
It was Neville, the Guild Master of the Black Skull Guild.
-Will, see for yourself what you’ve done. You’re permanently expelled from the Black Skull Guild, and you’ll have to answer for the controversy you’ve caused.
-The advertisements you filmed, the contracts, everything. You’ll need to prepare breach-of-contract penalties.
Will’s thoughts came to a complete halt.
After the call ended, Will rushed toward the television in a panic.
‘What, what could the time possibly be…?’
Soon the rankings for this Ferocious Labyrinth Time Attack dungeon appeared on the screen.
“Insane…!”
His face contorted.
The television displayed a record that defied all logic.

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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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