Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 162

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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
Artea’s Wish (3)
Kim Tae-seok, the team leader, visited Lee Se-jin’s office.
“What? Another story has triggered?”
Se-jin was taken aback.
The virtual reality game Ares possessed a ‘New Story’ system.
This new story was the exclusive domain of users who cleared stages better than others.
It also occasionally became a reward triggered by high clearance rates.
And these new stories were divided into ranks.
Rank 7 was the standard new story.
Rank 6 was the story made for you, and another story.
This another story typically triggered linked quests, but it carried even more special significance.
“So the rank can continue to rise.”
Another story could have its rank elevated further.
A rank 6 story could ascend in stages to rank 5, 4, and 3.
“A quest connected to the demon Graut…”
Because it involved the demon Graut, Se-jin couldn’t determine how far it could ultimately climb.
“If another story triggers and rises one rank, the story rate will begin to apply.”
“That’s correct.”
The story rate would be earned each time the rank rose and each time another story began.
And like stages, it increased each time one cleared through them.
Moreover, through remarkable achievements and extraordinary feats, it would skyrocket, and upon reaching the end when all was completed, it would be consolidated and bestow rewards.
“If another story triggers again, would it be possible to clear it?”
Se-jin posed the question to himself.
By his own standards, it was difficult to judge. After all, it was a quest connected to the demon Graut.
“I don’t know either.”
Tae-seok was in the same position.
Then Se-jin wore an intriguing smile.
“If he clears it, what will he obtain?”
What reward would ultimately be bestowed when the story reached its conclusion?
It all depended on what the user Hyeon-su would accomplish.
*
*
*
Graut laughed.
A mere human blacksmith’s arrow.
To Graut, who toyed with humans like insects, it was a laughable matter.
A demon.
Among the demon race, known as the combat race, they were the highest echelon—the nobility who ruled over demonkind.
Graut belonged to the lowest ranks among such demons.
Yet even so, it was formidable.
Graut’s true form, wielding its complete power, possessed strength equivalent to level 700—a tier that had never once appeared in Ares.
Of course, the Ares game maintained rigorous balance.
A level 700 Graut could not descend arbitrarily.
To do so would invite catastrophic peril upon itself.
Thus, Graut had manifested by borrowing the power of a fragment.
In its fragmented state, Graut could not even muster half its usual strength.
Yet it still commanded power exceeding level 400.
Because of this, a single arrow loosed by a mere insect seemed laughable to Graut.
Then.
Graut’s senses detected an immense force.
“…?”
Whiiiiiing—!
The movement was unnaturally swift.
Graut instinctively formed a pentagonal shield.
In that instant.
An arrow hurtling at light speed collided with the shield.
Crrrunch—!
Most shields derive their durability from the user’s total defense stat.
The demon Graut’s defense lay in a realm humans could scarcely fathom.
Even weakened beyond fifty percent as it was.
Yet.
Kwaaaaack—
The arrow pierced through the shield and embedded itself in Graut’s chest.
[You have taken 61,313 damage.]
Graut’s body hurtled backward.
“Krraaagh!”
As Graut flew some fifteen meters, bewilderment seized it.
‘This… what is this…?’
Soon, Graut understood.
The arrow’s force had been sufficient to pierce through it entirely.
Yet it remained lodged in its chest.
As Graut gazed down at the arrow with an ominous expression, it began to glow red-hot.
The genius Blacksmith had prepared a contingency.
While crafting a single arrow, I had judged that it might not be enough to destroy even a fragment.
So I had woven in one additional power.
That probabilistic force now revealed itself like my will made manifest.
[Four Arrows.]
The damage already dealt would be inflicted four additional times in succession.
Pushes in the damage taken four times consecutively.
Once.
“Krraaaaaahhh!”
[You have taken 53,313 damage.]
Twice.
“Kugh!”
[You have taken 54,075 damage.]
Thrice.
“Kyahhhh!”
[You have taken 44,317 damage.]
Four times.
“Kreuugh!”
[You have taken 57,976 damage.]
[Graut’s HP has dropped below 40%.]
[Sudden massive damage received in a single strike.]
[The status abnormality Unconsciousness is triggered.]
[You are stunned for 2 seconds.]
Graut’s current HP was less than half of what it normally was.
That amount, less than half, filled the HP bar at 100%, and this single arrow had carved away roughly 60% of it.
Graut had not felt such pain in centuries.
The agony was so intense that he even lost consciousness for a moment mid-air.
As his noble features regained awareness, they twisted in rage.
“I will kill you ahhhhhhh!”
A mere insect.
Graut was determined to repay the humiliation inflicted by such a wretched creature.
Then.
Whoosh—
As Graut prepared to fly toward Sage’s Tower, he felt a chilling presence at his back.
Turning his head, Graut was shocked. Hyeon-su stood there as if the sky itself were his ground.
*
*
*
(The One Who Crafted the Most Powerful Single Strike)
Unique Title
Grade: A
Special Ability:
·When you create an attack that surpasses your previous strongest attack, that new attack deals 2x damage.
The arrow Hyeon-su had just fired was among the most devastating single strikes in Ares.
The top-tier high rankers’ levels ranged between 360 and 370.
Even the world’s number one ranker was known to be in the 400s.
Hyeon-su was confident.
Had this arrow struck a high-ranker of level 360–370, it would have forced a logout or dealt over 90% of their HP in damage, depending on their class.
“…that should be sufficient.”
The moment he released the arrow, Hyeon-su spoke with Artea.
After finishing their conversation, Hyeon-su stepped onto the window frame.
Then.
[You have dealt massive damage to Graut, Blood Demon.]
Hyeon-su was startled. It made no sense.
‘I’ve already accepted a Quest, so why…?’
[Another story is beginning.]
“…!?”
It was a notification he’d heard before accepting the linked Quest: Birdcage from Artea.
Typically, notifications for new stories came with increased difficulty and maximized rewards.
‘Could I really hear such a notification twice in a row…?’
In the first place, another story was content he’d never encountered before, and there could be hidden systems he didn’t know about.
Ding!
[Linked Quest: Fragment of Graut, Blood Demon]
Rank: S
Restriction: Only for those who triggered the new episode
Reward: Obtain 25% story completion, experience and drop rate X2
Penalty on failure: Artea’s death.
Description: The single arrow you fired has provoked Graut, Blood Demon. Eliminate the fragment of Graut, Blood Demon.
The Quest contained something called story completion rate.
And I could see the advantages of this another story.
‘Double experience gain and drop rate…?’
Even as a fragment, it was boss-class. Moreover, it possessed an enormous level of 400.
The doubled experience application rate from such a named boss-class monster was unimaginable.
‘I’ve defeated many named monsters so far.’
But this fragment had a far higher level than those, meaning it would grant proportionally more experience.
I couldn’t even imagine how much my experience gain would increase with the doubled reward.
“I’ll go.”
Calamity’s Leap.
In a single bound, Hyeon-su repositioned himself behind the creature.
Graut, upon discovering him, was taken aback.
‘This one is a Blacksmith?’
The Blacksmiths that Graut knew were mere insects who crafted Artifacts inside Blacksmith Shops.
Beings who lived at the bottom of the hierarchy, beneath soldiers and knights.
Graut found it strange.
Centuries ago, he had once fought a certain legend.
From this man, he sensed the aura of that legend for a moment.
‘But….’
Graut’s gaze turned glacial. That single remarkable arrow had blinded him to the truth.
The body he perceived was far beneath the legend surrounding it.
Among all the humans he had ever encountered, this one was the most insignificant and contemptible.
Graut laughed.
“How arrogant, acting triumphant over a single desperate strike.”
Graut and Hyeon-su moved simultaneously.
Graut’s blade-sharp arms and Hyeon-su’s Sword collided relentlessly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hyeon-su marveled. Graut’s speed overwhelmingly surpassed his own.
His movements defied conventional logic—transcending what could be called mere skill.
‘He never learned martial arts. He never trained to fight.’
Innate blessing.
They were born with genes blessed from the moment of conception.
Hyeon-su’s face contorted violently as he absorbed the onslaught.
Screech—!
[Your HP has dropped below 90%.]
[Your HP has dropped below 84%.]
[Your HP has dropped below 81%.]
The damage far exceeded anything he had ever suffered from an opponent.
“Do you know something?”
Graut sneered.
“This is not the source of my true power.”
Blood streamed from the countless gashes across Hyeon-su’s body, forming droplets.
The droplets hovering around him transformed into razor-sharp awls.
And then.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt—!
[Your HP has dropped below 75%.]
[Your HP has dropped below 71%.]
[Your HP has dropped below 54%.]
Hyeon-su’s HP plummeted exponentially. Graut, Blood Demon, was literally a demon who wielded blood as his primary weapon.
Combat technique itself was merely supplementary.
Hyeon-su activated desperately—the Sword King’s Mystique, the Raging Blade that dealt additional damage when striking vital points.
In that instant.
Whoosh—!
[Nullified.]
“…!?”
Hyeon-su froze in shock.
A single gesture blocked everything he possessed.
“Blood Burst.”
Boom—!
The blood Hyeon-su shed exploded beneath him, plummeting his HP below 20% in an instant.
“Kugh!”
Graut entertained an amusing thought.
“I shall curse you and drag you to my demonic realm.”
Graut’s eyes gleamed with malice.
“You will spend your entire life crafting masterpieces like the arrows you’ve made—for me and my army.”
NPCs possessed an absurd degree of freedom. Users could not break their chains, nor could Pureum Corporation interfere.
Just as Users could not be touched in their ascendance, they could not be touched in their descent.
“I shall lock you in a cage and watch you.”
[Your HP has dropped below 12%.]
“Is that all you have? Huh? Kahahaha!”
Graut seemed delirious with joy. The acquisition of yet another plaything filled him with exultation.
Then Hyeon-su’s expression transformed.
“Is that truly all?”
Behind him, within the Sage’s Tower, Artea appeared.
Sage Artega.
He was not a strong man.
Yet he possessed the power of temporary skill creation.
Before Hyeon-su rushed toward Graut, he had spoken.
‘Artea, let us return what was inflicted upon you.’
The power Artea had temporarily created.
“Grauuuuuuuut!!!!”
[Blade of Resentment]
[Dwells within a designated man and dramatically raises one of his skills by 3 levels.]
[It is the crystallization of rage and hatred. Pain increases sevenfold, paralyzing the enemy’s reason.]
Graut’s eyes trembled. The man who had been infinitely weak moments before now transformed, spiraling into frenzy.
[Rampaging Blade.]
[The blade’s base attack power increases by 401% with a 10% probability.]
[It persists for 15 seconds.]
It dwells within him.
A collaboration between Sage Artega and Master Craftsman Hyeon.
[Blade of Resentment applies to Ghost Step.]
[Ghost Step’s level increases by 3.]
[Ghost Step’s damage increases by 180% per strike and extends to 3 seconds.]
[Each attack inflicts sevenfold pain.]
Hyeon-su was genuinely enraged.
“Artea must have suffered far more.”
Of course, Artea and Hyeon-su had only a brief, fleeting connection.
Yet that connection possessed the power of empathy.
No one could even fathom the agony of being confined to a small room for three hundred years.
My family, my lover, my home, my world—Artea had screamed endlessly within that void, having lost everything.
“You too shall know suffering.”
Hyeon-su walks the path that Artea had forged.
“Ghost’s stride.”
Now it was Graut’s turn to scream.

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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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