Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 163

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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 (4)
A slash imbued with anguish.
Watching him, Artea’s pain transmits to me.
Graut had imprisoned and tormented her entire life simply because this human possessed knowledge far superior to his own.
Now, the power dwelling in my Sword carries Artea’s sorrow.
Compared to psychological agony, mere physical pain is insignificant.
Yet with this power, I deliver unimaginable suffering upon Graut.
A specter walks. Bearing Artea’s lament.
Screeeech—!
[You dealt 16,933 damage.]
[7x pain multiplier applied.]
“Gah, gaaaaahhh!!!”
Graut’s eyes rolled back as his arm was severed.
From that single cut, pain beyond all comprehension flooded through him.
The power of the anguish-imbued slash proved far more devastating than anticipated.
I considered whether Graut’s abnormal reflexes might allow him to counterattack against the specter’s movement.
But such overwhelming agony—exactly as the anguish-imbued slash’s description promised—shattered his reason and paralyzed every sense and rational thought.
And he must suffer far more still.
The subtlety of Swordsmanship.
Ordinarily, the specter’s movement is a continuous assault incapable of triggering Critical Hits.
The restriction limits it to five or more strikes per activation.
But the Passive Skill—the subtlety of Swordsmanship—embedded in Zenjon’s Blade allows Critical Hits to occur, and the anguish-imbued slash effect applies to each.
Each strike carries 180% additional damage.
And it triggers.
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 21,067 damage.]
Third strike.
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 22,413 damage.]
Graut’s total HP exceeds any enemy I’ve ever encountered.
Even after taking a direct hit from the world’s most powerful strike, half his HP remained.
Fourth strike.
Fifth strike.
Sixth strike.
Seventh strike.
Eighth strike.
Screeeech
Craaaack
Splurt
Boom.
[You dealt 15,313 damage.]
[You dealt 14,130 damage.]
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 13,612 damage.]
Eleven strikes.
[Graut’s HP has fallen below 20%.]
Even with his absurd HP and defense that defied common sense, it didn’t matter.
This Ghost Step, unlike usual, activates for three full seconds.
Fourteen strikes.
Fifteen strikes.
Sixteen strikes.
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 16,313 damage.]
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
Graut convulsed in agony, his eyes rolling back, foam frothing at the corners of his mouth.
But this was merely a hundredth, a ten-thousandth of the suffering Artea had endured.
Nineteen strikes.
Twenty strikes.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
A demon who toyed with humans for amusement. A noble of the demonic race, known as the most superior among all species.
Unimaginable words burst from the mouth of Graut, the Blood Demon.
“P-please… stooooop!”
This was the power born from the loss of reason.
But Hyeon-su did not stop.
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three strikes.
Artea’s fury, felt so vividly, plunged me into an extreme state of focus.
Twenty-four, twenty-five, and twenty-six, twenty-seven strikes.
I watched him writhe in desperation.
Killing him would grant me rewards that would make me stronger still.
Moreover, I had no doubt it would serve as a measure to clear the Cage Quest.
Twenty-eight strikes.
Twenty-nine strikes.
Whoosh—
At last, I pushed off the empty air as if treading solid ground, driving my Sword through his chest with all the force of my hind legs.
Splurt—
[Critical Hit triggered.]
[You dealt 17,301 damage.]
As Graut, the Blood Demon, scattered into nothingness, he was finally freed from his agony.
The demon Graut gazed upon Hyeon-su.
“…How arrogant, celebrating over merely destroying a fragment.”
Graut, his eyes sending chills down my spine, spoke.
“Can Artea truly escape from this place? Hmm? From the Beres Mountain Range?”
Hyeon-su drew his Sword without hesitation.
I heard Graut’s voice scattering completely.
“…You’ve forced me to take risks.”
[Graut will return to his original form.]
Hyeon-su’s eyes wavered.
He hadn’t known whether Graut would return to his true body.
Hyeon-su had been able to kill Graut only because he was a fragment.
Though I pretended to be calm, I couldn’t even imagine it.
The power of Graut in his complete form.
But there was something fortunate.
I could grow one step stronger right here in this place.
[You have defeated a fragment of the Blood Demon Graut.]
Ding!
[Linked Quest: Fragment of the Blood Demon Graut Completed]
[Experience and Artifact Drop Rate X2 Applied.]
[You acquire 1,260,041 Experience.]
Hyeon-su was astonished. For the first time, my experience gain exceeded one million.
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up…]
Seven levels gained at once.
In the 300-level bracket where required experience for leveling is brutal, this exceeded all reason.
Moreover.
[You acquire 223,031 Gold.]
The amount of Gold obtained was equally tremendous.
The only disappointment was that no items dropped, likely because it was merely a fragment.
But with this, Hyeon-su had reached level 320.
Stronger than before by another tier.
[You acquire 25% Story Rate.]
[Story Rate reflects various factors.]
Various factors reflected.
Hyeon-su didn’t know, but the level difference between him and Graut.
Clear time and many other elements were woven in.
[You have completed this with a remarkable achievement.]
[You acquire 7% Story Rate.]
And where this Story Rate would lead remained unknowable.
Then.
[You have vanquished a fragment of Graut, Blood Demon.]
[An accomplishment so extraordinary it defies reason.]
‘Again…?’
With a sickening spray, blood erupted from the scattering remnants of Graut’s fragment.
The torrent of blood surged toward Artea, hurling him violently beyond the Sage’s Tower.
“Cough!?”
Even in his final moments of dissolution, he tormented Artea.
[Another story begins.]
The first time I heard it, I was startled. The second time, bewildered. The third time, it left me flustered.
Ding!
[Linked Quest: The Approaching Horde]
Grade: SS
Restriction: Those progressing through a new story
Reward: Story Progress ???
Penalty on Failure: Artea’s Death
Description: Due to Graut’s curse, Artea will be attacked by every monster in the Beres Mountain Range if he leaves the Sage’s Tower. Furthermore, Graut’s sphere of influence is restricted. Once Artea escapes the Beres Mountain Range, Graut can no longer interfere with him. Ensure Artea’s safe escape.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
A tremendous tremor echoed across the land.
From below, from above. Monsters were converging from every corner of the Beres Mountain Range.
[The Beres Mountain Range is home to a total of 8,643 monsters.]
And the Beres Mountain Range is renowned on the Domestic Server as a high-level Hunting Ground.
The average monster level ranges from 330 to 350.
Among the eight thousand-plus monsters, one hundred were boss-class creatures.
Hyeon-su gazed upon the countless masses of monsters.
His body trembled for a moment.
But he quickly steadied himself.
He slowly took in the entirety of the Beres Mountain Range.
And through deliberation, he found the only path forward.
‘There is no other way.’
He moved toward Artea.
*
*
*
Meanwhile.
“It has risen to Grade 4.”
Another story had emerged, and with it, the difficulty had escalated further.
Lee Se-jin, the representative at the Special User Management Team, touched his chin thoughtfully.
The grades for new stories ranged up to Grade 7.
Grade 4 among them represented an extraordinarily formidable difficulty.
The quest to eliminate a fragment of Graut had been rated Grade 5 just moments ago.
Even that Grade 5 quest might have been impossible without Artea’s intervention.
Lee Se-jin pondered the situation.
Thousands of monsters surging forward against a single Blacksmith.
No solution came to mind based on conventional wisdom.
“What’s your plan, Manager Kim?”
“…I have no idea.”
The answer would be the same from anyone.
But one thing was certain.
The reward for the newly emerged sudden quest displayed a story rate of ???.
“If we clear that, how much will be credited?”
It varied by circumstance and depended on what the system recognized.
What was certain was that at minimum, 20% would be guaranteed.
The Special User Management Team members focused intently on their monitors.
The monsters were already closing in on Artea.
*
*
*
Boom—
The Sage’s Tower.
All the doors of the tower where Artea had lived for 300 years slammed shut on their own.
Forcibly expelled from the tower, Artea looked downward.
Monsters were swarming upward.
The moment I turned to flee upward, monsters were pouring down from above as well.
“….”
Grrrrr!
Krraaaaaah—!
About fifty Snow Mountain Wolves came charging.
[Snow Mountain Wolf Lv.347]
The Snow Mountain Wolves’ advantage lay in their incredible speed.
Those that arrived faster than the other monsters rushed toward Artea.
Then.
Whoosh—
Hyeon-su appeared.
Screeeee
With his coat fluttering, Hyeon-su raised his Sword and struck upward.
Screeeeeee—
The cry of the Sword.
The Sword King’s mastery lacerated every wolf within a radius of over 30 meters.
“Yip, yip yip yip!”
“Screeeech!”
Thud, thud—
Watching the wolves collapse in an instant, Artea grabbed at Hyeon-su’s collar.
“Go now. That’s enough. Leave at once!”
Artea’s voice cracked with desperation.
It had been only a fleeting connection.
Yet I was grateful to Hyeon-su for fighting on my behalf.
This was enough.
Monsters blocked us from every direction.
The Sage.
I, who claimed to know everything in this world, could devise no solution.
And even if the Outsiders’ deaths and resurrections were infinite, the process itself was unbearably agonizing and horrific.
Truth be told, I didn’t understand.
Why did the Sword King and Spear Heaven cherish Hyeon-su so deeply?
Why had the Sword King taught him his Swordsmanship, and Spear Heaven his secret techniques?
“I’m fine. As long as I’ve inflicted suffering on Graut, that’s enough. Now go!!”
I grasped at empty words. The distance to the monsters had already closed further.
From front and back alike, the creatures drew near—more than three thousand visible before my eyes alone.
Then Hyeon-su spoke.
“….”
Hearing those words, I finally understood.
Why the Sword King had cherished him, and why Spear Heaven had become his friend.
Whoosh—
The Thousand-Weight Bow.
Hyeon-su stepped forward, grasping a single bow, and spoke.
“I was never taught to retreat.”
Those words struck the deepest chords of my heart.
I knew it. He would claim the reward forged for me.
But behind that reward stood a Blacksmith who knew no surrender.
Words spoken so I wouldn’t feel shame or regret.
Hyeon-su drew back the Bowstring.
And then I discovered something. At the tip of the Arrow.
It was far too familiar.
When Hyeon-su had fired his most powerful shot at Graut, the two of us had spoken.
‘I should have taken that too.’
‘What is that?’
‘A micro-bomb I crafted. It can easily kill a hundred monsters in a single blast.’
A bomb slightly larger than a finger.
An object born from my genius intellect.
Hyeon-su aimed at the creatures surging from below.
Before I knew it, the distance to them had closed to 30 meters.
25 meters.
20 meters.
Artea cried out instinctively.
“Surely you understand that merely slaying a hundred of them won’t suffice…!”
In that instant, Hyeon-su spun around.
Twang—
The bowstring snapped taut.
I watched as the arrow flew toward the monsters.
But the arrow struck the mountain peak directly.
Boom—
“A miss….”
Artea’s eyes wavered.
“No, it wasn’t a miss.”
Not a miss?
Soon Artea heard an enormous roar.
Rumble—
A blizzard unseen for a century. Because of it, the Beres Mountain Range had accumulated snow several times deeper than usual.
That snow was now cascading down from the impact. An avalanche had been triggered.
It was like a colossal tsunami of snow exceeding eight meters in height.
And a notification reached Hyeon-su.
[A brilliant conception.]
[The system acknowledges you.]
[You acquire 21% Story Rate.]
That was it.
The arrow Hyeon-su fired had not missed.
The colossal tsunami of snow began sweeping the monsters away from above.

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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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