Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 166

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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
Friend, Help Me (1)
Graut watched Hyeon-su.
Hyeon-su’s condition was dire.
Severe status abnormalities made it difficult for him to even maintain his balance, and his face was smeared with blood.
Yet his eyes remained unflinching, his fighting spirit unbroken….
Graut wondered if some hidden trump card was being activated.
And so he spoke.
“You’re the one who lost.”
Like his most devastating strike from before.
Hyeon-su cried out.
“Friend, help me!”
“…?”
Could this human have suffered a head injury?
What bewildered Graut most was this.
Chirp chirp—
Nothing happened.
[Summon failed.]
Graut let out a scoff.
“What is that ridiculous name? Are you mocking me right now?”
What made it even more laughable for Graut was that the summon had ultimately failed.
Yet Hyeon-su gazed at Graut with unwavering eyes.
[Temporary Skill Creation is complete.]
[You have acquired the Active Skill Friend, Help Me (3).]
(Friend, Help Me)
Active Skill
Grade: Unique
Level: None
·You may request aid from those with whom you share a deep bond.
·Upon approval, they will be summoned.
·If the approver is a User, they receive a –1 level penalty.
·If the approver is an NPC, they will suffer profound emotional exhaustion for one day, potentially losing consciousness from overwhelming helplessness.
·Maximum of 10 people possible.
·Summoned friends may remain for 5 minutes.
·Depending on the severity of the crisis, they may receive a dramatic notification. Please be cautious(?).
Hyeon-su had drawn inspiration through the Skill of Karma that was being created.
Yet there was a reason Hyeon-su remained unflinching.
‘Because I believe in the path I have walked.’
But just as Graut had mocked him, the same notification reached Hyeon-su once more.
[Summon failed.]
A flicker of doubt blooms within me—had the path I walked truly been worthy?
But Hyeon-su quickly dispels that uncertainty.
I take pride in having walked a righteous and unwavering path above all others.
‘But what in the world is that?’
Hyeon-su, lacking any sense for naming, merely decided what customized skill to craft and entrusted the skill creation to the system.
Yet within the skill’s description, there was this:
‘Depending on the severity of the crisis, a dramatic notification can reach them. Please be cautious(?).’
What does this even mean?
Hyeon-su couldn’t comprehend it.
Then. A notification reached Hyeon-su.
[…Error.]
Seeing that notification, Hyeon-su’s chest burned hot.
Proof of the path he had walked lay right before his eyes.
*
*
*
A few minutes earlier.
A beautiful woman with silver-short hair stands upon the platform of the Soldier Training Ground.
Watching the tens of thousands of soldiers training, she had recently ascended to the position of commander in the Goyad Kingdom.
The second Sword King candidate.
The Goyad Kingdom’s finest talent.
The knight beloved by the King.
The titles attached to her were far too numerous.
After the previous First Knight Order commander Benson was appointed Supreme Commander of the Goyad Kingdom, Bella’s growth as commander had been dazzling.
NPCs grow steadily alongside Users.
This was partly due to the high degree of freedom, and partly to prevent the gap between Users and them from narrowing.
[Knight Commander Bella Lv.401]
A strength that far transcended ordinary NPCs.
After receiving a new life from one person, she had strived harder than anyone else.
The reason was to protect that person even better.
She gazed at her own arms and smiled faintly.
Her once-gaunt body now bore appropriate muscle again, and her eyes were clear.
That was when it happened.
Bella suddenly saw a portal materialize before her.
“What is this…?”
She was bewildered.
And a notification that she, as an NPC, should not have heard reached her.
[This is the worst crisis situation.]
[Friend, help me!]
[A dramatic notification reaches them.]
Bella approached the portal and her eyes widened in an instant.
[Your friend Hyeon-su faces mortal danger.]
[Your friend Hyeon-su is suffering.]
[Your friend Hyeon-su’s breath is fading.]
[Your friend needs your help.]
Bella’s eyes grew wide.
Of course, the content of the notification above was true.
Hyeon-su was currently grievously wounded and suffering, and his breath was indeed fading.
But this had been exaggerated by a skill.
Witnessing the extent of that exaggeration, Bella clenched her teeth fiercely.
Crunch—
My Benefactor.
My second sun.
[Crossing the portal will incur a penalty.]
The warning never reached Bella’s ears.
‘How dare any bastard….’
Goyad Kingdom’s second strongest crossed the portal.
At that moment.
Fraham Kingdom.
One of the most powerful NPCs currently on the Korean server.
One of the 10 Legends and a king of a nation.
Of late, Spear Heaven Ven had been stirring winds of great change.
A king aloof and mighty.
An elderly man with a peculiar temperament who never communed with his subjects.
Yet before this old man stood countless children.
At the “Ask the King” event that Ven himself had hosted, commoners and nobles alike had brought their children.
Ven held a charming young girl in his arms and read her a fairy tale.
‘This… is not so bad….’
The change that took root in Ven came from a single friend.
That friend had told him.
‘Do not make yourself so lonely.’
Who would dare speak such words to Spear Heaven Ven?
It was possible only because he was a cherished friend with whom he could speak without pretense.
Through that friendship, Ven’s life was transforming.
Still a peculiar king, yet gradually drawing closer to his subjects and easing his solitude.
Yes, laughter and the sound of footsteps now filled the castle of Ven, who had once lived like a solitary elderly man.
Then, the child in his arms asked.
“Does Spear Heaven Grandfather have someone you cherish too?”
“…Yes, I do.”
Ven smiled softly.
Though still small and humble, Spear Heaven cherishes him.
Yet Spear Heaven was a man of principle.
He neither aided his growth nor bestowed gifts upon him.
Remarkably, Hyeon-su had said this as well.
‘Giving gifts doesn’t make one a true friend, does it?’
That brat, Ven laughed, offering the child an embarrassed smile.
At that moment, my most precious one.
[Your true friend Hyeon-su faces mortal peril.]
[Your true friend Hyeon-su is suffering.]
Ven heard the message he was sending.
Ven remained composed.
He slowly set down the child cradled in his arms and placed a strawberry in his hand.
After stroking the child’s head, Ven offered a small smile.
Then he took up the spear his true friend had crafted, which stood nearby, and began to move.
[The penalty will…]
That voice never reached his ears.
He had received far more than what he was losing.
‘Just this once, Hyeon-su.’
There was so much he wished to repay him for.
But this single moment would suffice.
The greatest spear master crossed through the portal.
Another place.
The Sword King Family Tomb in the Goyad Kingdom.
There stood a man with a magnificent frame, one revered as a legendary Sword King of ages past.
[My son, Bon, rests here.]
He murmured to himself while gazing upon the tombstone.
“It’s alright. This father is no longer lonely these days.”
His son, lost in the tomb of Ifrit.
A life consumed by despair.
The sorrow and pain swallowed behind the name of king.
When he finally avenged his son’s death, he wished to die, yet the man who survived laughed.
“There is a child who resembles you. Still lacking in many ways, yet growing endlessly. I wish for that child to inherit my place in your stead. Haha, what? You’ve already seen that brat?”
Though speaking to himself, his words carried joy.
He gazed upon the withering chrysanthemum placed beside the tombstone.
It was not something he had brought.
“I’ve made a good friend. He asked where your tomb was. Is this the first time this father has smiled so brightly?”
Barad is a king.
It was difficult to smile warmly to anyone, difficult to bare his heart to anyone.
Yet before his son, he was merely a father.
“…Yes, I’m happy these days.”
He wiped the tombstone.
“Do not worry. Your father is a man of rigid principles. He will not yield, merely standing and waiting. And when that boy reaches this place.”
He hesitated, then spoke those words with a tremor.
“I will give him my position.”
Whoooosh—
The wind swept through the kingdom-emblazoned cloak draped across his shoulders.
Then.
[Your friend Hyeon-su faces mortal peril.]
[Your friend Hyeon-su is suffering.]
The notification reached him as well.
Barad, who had been gazing at the tombstone, turned his body.
“I must go. What, you say it contradicts what I just said?”
Barad let out a hollow laugh.
“Boy, not long ago at the border, Hyeon-su saved me. To rescue his friend, that boy came running in a single stride.”
It was not through physical strength that he had saved me.
“This once. Just this once, I wish to fight for my friend.”
Shing.
The Sword King drew the blade from his waist and walked toward the portal.
His face was twisted with terrible resolve.
Meanwhile.
“He is certainly in a region beyond whisper range.”
“Something grave must have occurred. What could it be?”
The members of Guild Gwangmyeong, save for Nel, had gathered at Lord’s Castle in Balas Territory.
Since Hyeon-su did not respond to whispers, they sensed that something had happened.
Then.
[Your friend Hyeon-su faces mortal peril.]
[Your friend Hyeon-su is suffering.]
They received the notification.
The first to rise was Bark, the Growing One.
Bark.
One of Ares’ finest tanks.
Also the nation’s greatest real estate magnate.
The next to stand was Risel.
The youngest of a conglomerate family, and ranked 21st domestically while wielding the Dragon Light Sword.
Clang—
Saint Belia was no different.
With solemn expression, she nodded sharply, and Ian gripped the bow slung across his back.
And three others.
Tae-hoon.
Han-ul.
Hye-ji.
The three geniuses stared at the portal.
They had been about to step forward, but now they stopped.
A single person had crossed their minds.
It was Nel.
They had come here during a brief respite.
Moreover, they were doing their utmost for the development of Balas Territory.
Such a massive movement of troops would prove catastrophic for Balas Territory.
Nel was the coldest and most analytical among them.
Furthermore, the death of User Hyeon-su was merely a forced logout in the game.
Thinking calmly, the probability that Nel would permit everyone to move for a single User’s forced logout was low.
She was that strict and shrewd.
Then the door opened, and Nel entered.
“…What are you all doing right now?”
Nel spoke, observing them as they stood.
“Why haven’t you crossed the portal yet? Go save Hyeon-su right now!”
Whoosh—
Nel crossed the portal first.
“…?”
They had forgotten.
That Hyeon-su was also precious to Nel.
Friend, help me.
Beneath that trivial, unremarkable name.
That notification was reaching those he had passed through.
Merely a Unique Skill.
It was true that it was impossible power for capturing a demon.
Moreover, Ares’s balance was thorough.
Those who answered the Friend Summon received penalties. NPCs fell unconscious after returning, and Users experienced level reduction.
Furthermore, summoning an “ordinary friend” was not such tremendous power.
It was simply that the friends he had made were exceptionally special.
*
*
*
[Summon has failed.]
Graut laughed for a long while, hearing that sound still echoing.
An indomitable spirit that would not fall.
Eyes that still burned with fervor.
Pride that would not abandon Artea.
Graut desired to crush him beneath his heel.
“Humans believe themselves to be remarkably special beings, and you are no exception to that delusion.”
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
A sound of disapproval escaped from Graut’s lips.
“This is the path you have walked? How did you persist this far without crumbling?”
He posed the question.
Why had I come this far?
Hyeon-su spat blood from his mouth in response.
His vision was gradually returning.
Before him lay a notification that Graut could not perceive.
[Summoning has failed.]
Hyeon-su laughed.
[An error has occurred.]
The notification transformed and updated.
[Response rate is too high.]
[Time is required until summoning completes.]
[Current progress: 13%… 32%… 58%…]
Fear no longer gripped me.
I knew who would come, and I understood the hearts with which they would arrive.
[Summoning rate: 100%.]
Hyeon-su aimed the Sword of Supremacy at him.
[All are summoned.]
In that instant.
Papapapapapapapat—
The world’s mightiest swordsman, a man of iron resolve, materialized beside me and placed a hand upon my shoulder.
An elder with hands clasped behind his back appeared, his gaze upon Graut murderous.
“Is this you? The one who has done this to my dear friend, Hyeon-su?”
A woman, ordinarily more composed than anyone, spoke with worry etched upon her face.
“We have arrived. Do not fear.”
They stood before me, shielding my front.
They guarded my left flank.
From my right, they leveled their weapons.
Gazing upon them, Hyeon-su smiled. The demon had posed a question to me.
‘This is the path you have walked? How did you persist this far without crumbling?’
This was the answer.
With cold eyes, Hyeon-su regarded the bewildered demon and spoke.
“This is the path I have walked.”
My friends, lend me your strength.
My companions began to overwhelm the demon.

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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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