Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 159

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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 One Who Flies Above the One Who Runs (6)
[Your HP has dropped below 30%.]
[Your HP has dropped below 29%.]
The relentless snow had already piled up to Hyeon-su’s waist.
The swirling flakes consumed his entire field of vision.
He gazed down at his own hands.
[You have contracted frostbite.]
[Your hands are difficult to move and ache as if they might shatter.]
“Haah.”
White breath poured from Hyeon-su’s lips. At intervals, a warm sensation emanated from the Snow King’s Ring on his finger.
[Temperature Regulation]
[A soothing warmth envelops your body.]
[Ice resistance increased by 60%.]
(Snow King’s Ring)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 5,000/5,000
Defense: 68
Requirement: Level 310 or higher
Special Abilities:
·Health increased by 4%.
·Ice attribute attack power increased by 43%.
·Ice attribute resistance increased by 50%.
·Passive Skill Survival.
·Active Skill Temperature Regulation.
·Active Skill Snow Sprint.
Description: A ring dropped by the Snow King that achieves peak efficiency on snowy mountains.
Temperature Regulation.
This Active Skill can be activated once every ten minutes and normalizes all body temperature for one minute.
But it was not a cure-all.
[Your HP has dropped below 5%.]
[You have contracted the abnormal status Fear.]
[You have contracted the abnormal status Unconsciousness.]
Relentless notifications tormented Hyeon-su.
As if about to lose consciousness at any moment, Hyeon-su collapsed onto the snowy ground.
His mind grew hazy as sleep beckoned.
Then he remembered.
If he failed to meet Sage Artega this time, he would never meet him again.
That meant he could not obtain what the God of Blacksmith Asca had left behind.
Hyeon-su needed it.
A way to grow stronger and a path forward.
Hyeon-su’s eyes snapped open.
[Extreme mental fortitude is unleashed.]
[You acquire Will 1.]
[Survival activates.]
[HP recovers by 10% and all status ailments are purged.]
The Survival effect embedded in the Abominable Snow King’s ring activates based on the wearer’s mental fortitude.
Hyeon-su pressed forward.
I faced moments where I nearly lost consciousness multiple times.
[Extreme mental fortitude is unleashed.]
[Survival activates.]
A gust of wind hurls me into a tree.
Crash—!
“Ugh….”
Yet Hyeon-su rose again and continued walking.
At last, I reached the Sage’s Tower.
Creeeeak—
Upon entering, Hyeon-su encountered unexpected figures.
[Absolute Shield Peya Lv.475]
[Grand Mage Luon Lv.481]
[Sword King Barad Lv.478]
[Spear Heaven Ven Lv.488]
[Sage Artega Lv.472]
Levels that defied common sense.
Among them, Hyeon-su brushed the snow from his clothes and thought.
‘I will not shrink back.’
Once, I did.
Every day with hunched shoulders, I despaired and grieved as my life spiraled ever deeper into hopelessness.
But not anymore.
I have overcome that blizzard myself and arrived here.
I am not inferior to them.
“Master Craftsman Hyeon. I greet you, Sage Artega.”
[Rewards are maximized.]
Hyeon-su’s heart raced.
A reward for having carved through that impossible path.
I wondered what that reward would be.
Then I felt a heavy silence settle over the hall.
Ven and Barad quietly took in their friend Hyeon-su with their eyes.
They too were greatly astonished.
When the blizzard—the first in a hundred years—suddenly began, they had thought their friend might not be able to reach this place.
But it was not so.
‘When did he grow this much?’
‘Is this really the Hyeon I knew?’
Barad and Ven felt an inexplicable flutter in their chests as they watched him.
The ones most shocked were Ruwon and Peya.
‘Right now, he’s little more than a walking corpse….’
Yet his eyes still gleamed with vitality.
‘It would be amusing to witness him become a legend.’
‘One with such indomitable spirit would be worthy of becoming a legend.’
They spoke with newfound anticipation.
“We shall take our leave now.”
“Until we meet again.”
Ruwon and Peya dissolved into light and vanished.
And the one most captivated by this spectacle was Artea.
As the master of Sage’s Tower, Artea had certainly sensed his approach.
‘But he was a dying candle.’
In the fierce wind, perpetually teetering on the brink of extinction.
I had thought he would perish before reaching this place.
Yet he persevered.
And he arrived here.
And behold!
His unshakeable, steadfast form remained unbroken….
Thump—
“…?”
Hyeon-su suddenly collapsed.
“He does this often.”
“Our boy’s always been a bit frail.”
What was more absurd was the composed reaction of Barad and Ven.
“???”
Their casual exchange astonished Artea even further.
“Of course, being frailer than the two of us is only natural.”
“Do you know? He arrived here through sheer unbreakable willpower.”
Artea was genuinely impressed.
Soon after, Barad and Ven lifted him and departed.
Moments later, Artea also set off somewhere.
*
*
*
Where Artea’s steps had led him.
There stood a statue of God of Blacksmith Asca.
The statue of a handsome man with white hair tied back held a Hammer in one hand and a Sword in the other.
It symbolized martial prowess and the craft of Blacksmithing.
Artea recalled his conversation with the God of Blacksmith Asca.
‘When my successor arrives, simply bring him before this statue, and then he shall obtain what I have left behind.’
The God of Blacksmith Asca that Artea knew was the most rigorous of beings.
No—he was one who had to be rigorous.
‘Even toward his own successors.’
And the God of Blacksmith Asca was always prepared to cast out his heirs.
‘For strength rightfully belongs to those who possess it.’
And the words the God of Blacksmith Asca had spoken.
‘My statue shall bear witness to the path he has walked thus far. And according to what it proves, the reward shall differ. Should he excel in the work of Blacksmithing and bring it honor, the Hammer shall be granted; should he prove his martial prowess, the Sword shall be bestowed.’
If the Hammer were granted, Hyeon would obtain the strength necessary as a Blacksmith.
If the Sword were granted, a reward allowing him to display exceptional martial skill would descend.
But whichever of the two was granted, this too held great importance.
‘A rusted Hammer, or a golden one?’
A rusted Hammer or rusted Sword could be received as a reward from the God of Blacksmith Asca, but it would mean failure in proving oneself.
And obtaining a golden Hammer or Sword meant one had demonstrated proof worthy of considerable recognition.
“He is every bit as exacting as I am.”
Yet Artea understood him.
One who walks the path of divinity cannot be ordinary.
Moreover, this god’s degree of recognition ultimately exerts the greatest influence on ascending this mountain.
As Artea waited with such thoughts, half a day had passed when he sensed that the man had awakened.
Soon a single dove flew toward him.
*
*
*
Upon waking, Hyeon-su wore an expression of resignation.
‘Again I’ve passed out, again I’ve passed out…’
It was shorthand for “I’ve fainted again.”
Then he checked his current Recognition Degree from the god.
‘I never knew such a thing existed.’
From the moment I began climbing the tower, this Recognition Degree had begun to rise.
‘In a way, meeting Dun and his group became an opportunity for me.’
Dun was the person who understood the Beres Mountain Range best.
Because of him, I had climbed in half a day what should have taken two days.
‘Truly, an astounding Recognition Degree.’
I smiled faintly as I gazed upon the figure I had achieved.
At that moment, the dove that had flown over made a gesture urging me to follow.
‘Am I finally obtaining it?’
I realized that following this dove would allow me to obtain what the God of Blacksmith Asca had left behind.
And for the first time, I could see what the God of Blacksmith Asca looked like.
He possessed the appearance of a nobleman rather than a blacksmith.
The sight of him holding a white hammer and white sword felt truly magnificent.
And Artea spoke.
“Either a hammer or a sword will appear, and if it’s a hammer, you’ll gain power as a blacksmith, and if it’s a sword, you’ll gain power related to martial prowess.”
As Hyeon-su, I was pleased with both options.
“How do I receive it?”
“Simply place your hand on the statue.”
Hyeon-su placed his palm on the statue’s chest and stepped back.
Soon, a faint light rippled from the statue.
“The degree of recognition you’ve received while climbing the mountain, along with the recognition earned from the path you’ve walked, will also manifest.”
And I heard a notification.
[You acquire additional divine recognition based on the path you have walked.]
[You acquire 65% divine recognition.]
Artea asked.
“I’m curious—what degree of divine recognition have you achieved?”
‘If that’s the case, I must have accumulated around 80% recognition? Truly an extraordinary individual, to achieve such a degree of divine recognition….’
Then, Hyeon-su spoke.
“Total recognition is 227%.”
“…What?”
He looked at the blacksmith named Hyeon standing before the statue with trembling eyes.
Only after hearing the exact degree of recognition did Artea understand.
‘It is far too insufficient.’
Merely one hammer and one sword to receive.
And Artea soon discovered something strange.
Suddenly, the hammer and sword that the statue of the God of Blacksmith Asca had been holding turned to ash and scattered away.
And from the statue that had been holding those two items, a sound emerged.
Crack, crackle—
‘Could it be…!?’
Artea could not conceal his astonishment.
[God of Blacksmith Asca descends.]
Artea’s eyes trembled violently.
Gods do not easily appear in the world.
Because that was truly the case, the reward was instead bestowed by the statue.
Artea’s throat moved.
Gulp—
He could understand the reason the god had descended.
‘Because he approved so deeply, because his successor pleased him so much…!’
The god, overjoyed, came rushing in a single stride.
And soon Artea could see.
An entirely new reward was descending upon him.
Artea sensed it instinctively.
‘It is incomparably greater than mere hammers and swords.’
*
*
*
[God of Blacksmith Asca descends.]
Hyeon-su was astonished. Even while playing the game as a successor, he had believed it would take an eternity to meet Asca.
Gods are great and noble.
Such was the setting of Ares.
He had never encountered a User who had actually faced a god.
The statue’s eyelids flutter open.
And God Asca descended, consumed with curiosity about his successor who had achieved such remarkable recognition.
It was merely a temporary manifestation.
Asca’s gaze sweeps across him.
‘Excellent bone structure, calloused hands gripping the hammer firmly, unwavering eyes. Yet this alone cannot achieve such recognition.’
Asca pondered deeply.
What had made him this way?
Exceptional skill?
That too was true.
But soon Asca perceived the truly vital thing.
‘An unbreakable resolve.’
Asca gazed in pure admiration.
Asca, observing his successor with his own eyes, spoke no words.
He simply knew.
That one who had accomplished such deeds deserved a reward befitting their merit.
‘Yes, I shall grant that. A reward far greater than the combined worth of hammer and sword.’
And Hyeon-su could see him smiling with an inexplicable expression.
God Asca’s flickering eyelids stilled.
[God Asca’s soul vanishes.]
Where he had stood, something else remained.
[The god cherishes you.]
It was as though he whispered this to me alone.
And descending from the heavens came something of unknown nature.
[You obtain the Crown Forged by God.]
It was a crown wrought of platinum. As I grasped it, my heart trembled with exhilaration.
I was certain of it.
This was the supreme reward bestowed by the god.
I examined the crown carefully.

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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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