Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 168

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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 (3)
Spear Heaven and Sword King were more than capable of reducing Graut to a mere damage meter.
Yet despite this, they could feel it.
‘This is quite painful.’
Ben, having faced a worthy opponent for the first time in ages, had sustained remarkably deep wounds.
Of course, the Named NPCs with superhuman strength possessed natural regeneration at an incomprehensibly high level.
Even so, they remained merely human bodies.
‘Hmm….’
Barad was no different. He felt the discomfort in his left wrist.
They understood the current situation better than anyone else.
Certainly, they had overwhelmed Graut in the first exchange.
In the second exchange as well, they would exert tremendous power and press forward.
However, that second exchange would be weaker than the first.
The problem reveals itself here.
Then what of the third exchange? The fourth?
And “Friend, Help Me” was fundamentally a skill with a limited summoning duration.
‘We grow increasingly exhausted, while the enemy only grows more resilient.’
Sword King, Spear Heaven, and Guild Gwangmyeong locked eyes.
In this moment, they understood.
‘We must kill him without time to recover.’
‘We go simultaneously.’
Coordinated attacks held many advantages. They could overwhelm an enemy in a single breath.
But there was a clear drawback as well. Everyone would be exposed to the wide-area attack together.
The current situation was extreme enough to warrant accepting that risk.
[Barad’s HP remaining: 70%.]
[Spear Heaven’s HP remaining: 63%.]
This served as proof.
Graut did not miss them as they moved in unison.
The advantage of possessing infinite vitality was this:
The absence of fear and terror in the face of death.
Graut knew the method to rapidly deplete the enemy’s full strength.
Their simultaneous attacks began.
Boom-crack-!
Crash-screech
Thud
Scrape-scrape-scrape-!
Graut, absorbing the relentless impacts across his entire body, was certainly sustaining continuous damage.
Yet the calculating Graut, watching his own blood surge forth, let out a sinister laugh.
“Are you done already?”
“…!?”
Indeed, Graut’s HP had plummeted from 75% to 32% under the concentrated barrage of attacks just moments ago.
But then.
[HP recovers by 15%.]
[HP recovers by 13%.]
[HP recovers by 16%.]
[Graut’s HP recovers to 64%.]
Graut had recovered once more. His Regeneration was absurdly grotesque.
The blood he shed coalesced around him.
Hundreds of those tiny bead-like formations scattered outward in just 0.2 seconds.
Pap-pap-pap-pap-pap-pap-pap!
The HP of those struck through their bodies plummeted sharply.
This was the problem.
[You fall into a stun for 4 seconds.]
Graut moved according to his plan.
They needed to deal damage that outpaced Graut’s recovery rate.
Assuming that total damage amounted to 100, there was an easy way for Graut to whittle them down.
It was simply to reduce their numbers one by one.
If that happened, the total of 100 would decrease to 90, 80, 70.
Bark, caught in the stun, could see the demon Graut closing in at terrifying speed.
Graut’s Sword pierced through Bark.
Shluck!
[HP drops below 93%.]
“…!?”
He was, in name, the tank who dominated Our Country.
Yet Graut’s attack power itself defied all logic.
A casual thrust of his Sword dealt a staggering 7% loss.
Moreover.
Shluck, shluck-shluck, shluck-shluck-shluck-shluck!
“Kuhahahaha!”
Graut laughed.
Four seconds of stun time.
In this window, by his calculation, he could kill two of the Outsiders.
Their total damage of 100 would be reduced to 80.
If that happened, they would only fall further from killing him.
[HP drops below 43%.]
[HP drops below 34%…]
At that moment.
A brilliant flash!
[Growing Tank]
[You have encountered an opponent far stronger than yourself.]
[Your defense momentarily rises in proportion to the opponent’s strength.]
[For 2 seconds, your defense becomes infinite.]
Bark seized his sword with both hands. A growing warrior and a growing tank.
Graut did not know it, but Bark’s advantage lay in producing higher defense the stronger the enemy he faced.
“Hmm?”
Graut was somewhat impressed. The momentum of the Outsider, who had been nothing but a small fry, had changed.
What was he relying on? Temporary infinite defense?
Such a thing was meaningless.
Then.
“You failed to notice the shadow standing behind me.”
A shadow. In the Goyad Kingdom, there was a woman called the King’s Shadow.
The name had been given because she constantly guarded the King’s side.
That was Bella.
Swoosh—
Bella appeared in an instant and slashed past Graut.
[You have taken 21,301 damage.]
Though it was only 60 to 70 percent of Barad’s damage.
Without stepping forward again, Bella as a shadow continued to observe.
To protect the King in case of emergency.
Therefore, she had also evaded Graut’s stun technique.
Moreover, the genius Bella possessed an advantage that even Barad did not have.
That was feet faster than Barad’s and a lighter body.
A Swordsmanship genius.
The Swordsmanship she had created herself manifested.
Swordsmanship that maximized her own advantages.
[Like the Wind]
[Temporarily displays 3 times movement speed and attack speed.]
Swoosh—!
Graut could not respond. She was attacking swiftly from all directions.
When he tried to defend, her unpredictable blade endlessly cut him down.
And Graut did not realize it.
How many seconds had passed.
There was no time to count with her attacks so fast.
Moreover, Sword King Barad was a passive holder that reduced the application time of status abnormalities by 40 percent.
Swoosh—
Bella, who had struck him upward into mid-air, followed after him.
Graut’s back turned cold.
“Splendid, Bella. You grow stronger every single day.”
A King protected by his shadow.
Barad, who had overcome his abnormal status faster than the others, was waiting for Graut.
‘This is dangerous….’
The king and his retainer exchanged hundreds of blows, dancing across the line between life and death.
With just a glance, they understood what the other intended, what the other needed.
Graut desperately absorbed the blood droplets.
In that gap, it manifested.
“The Sword King’s Swordsmanship.”
The power that strengthened Hyeon-su, the Sword’s Song.
However, the Sword’s Song was not suited for a single target.
Hyeon-su’s Sword’s Song lay in indiscriminately slashing and wielding exactly 48 blades within a radius of 20 to 35 meters.
Sword King Barad’s was no different.
The difference was that it extended up to 60 meters in radius, slashing with 102 blades.
The problem was that it extended 60 meters forward and fell into the category of wide-area attacks.
However, Barad had compensated for this.
[Sword’s Roar]
He had recreated it anew.
Kiiiiiing—
“Kuh, kuaaaaagh!?”
Graut suddenly screamed.
The Sword’s Roar, a superior upgrade to the Sword’s Song.
This power, which temporarily paralyzed the enemy’s reason, had been transformed to feel like the sound of metal scraping.
Moreover, this scraping sensation was applied at more than five times its intensity, shaking the mind.
In that state, it poured down.
[Blades are indiscriminately wielded within a radius of 3 meters.]
Exactly 102 blades.
Those blades swirled within the narrow 3-meter space.
“Die.”
An immense pressure swept through, applied directly to Graut as he absorbed the blood-red spheres.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwak—!
[Graut’s HP recovers to 66%.]
[Graut’s HP falls below 53%.]
[Graut’s HP recovers to 62%.]
[Graut’s HP falls below 48%.]
[Graut’s…]
Graut was consumed by fear. Despite achieving transcendent recovery, his HP plummeted endlessly.
[Graut’s HP falls below 11%.]
[Graut’s HP recovers to 19%.]
Kuwakwakwakwakwak—!
“Kuhaaaaagh!”
Graut was experiencing the greatest fear he had ever felt in his entire existence emanating from him.
At that moment, Graut’s eyes seemed to roll back into his head.
He snapped them open wide.
[Dramatic Recovery]
[Recovers 30% HP instantly.]
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
Another hidden card that no one knew Graut possessed.
Thousands of blood droplets hung suspended in mid-air around Graut, whose entire body was battered and torn.
Splooooosh—
They erupted like a rampage, piercing through everything around them like claymores.
“Gahhh!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Kugh!”
The HP of Guild Gwangmyeong’s members plummeted below 30% in an instant.
The HP of the two legends also dropped below 45%.
“You wench…!”
While they reeled from the damage, Graut locked his target on Bella.
He wanted to deliver despair to Barad.
And this was his method of despair.
Killing the one he cherished most.
Bella, too, was dazed from the damage and unable to regain her senses.
Thrust, thrust, thrust—, shriek!
Graut ravaged her with feral fury.
Yet Bella’s eyes remained unwavering.
Perfect chivalry.
Bleeding, crumbling, in agony—she did not falter.
Graut laughed maniacally at the sight of her.
“Khahahaha!”
Because she was dying.
[Bella’s HP drops below 20%.]
She appeared unshaken, but terror consumed her from within.
‘I don’t want to die.’
This new life she had been given.
She wanted to see him become king. Then Graut released her in mid-air.
[Bella’s HP drops below 10%.]
A blood-forged blade from Graut descends upon the falling Bella.
Shrieeeek—!
Bella understood. This single attack would be her end.
“Bellaaaaaaa!”
Barad reached out desperately, his voice urgent.
Bella closed her eyes.
‘I’m going to die.’
Then.
[Pull]
Her body was rapidly sucked away to somewhere else.
“…Are you alright?”
When I opened my eyes, the second king I held was standing there.
“Go get healed.”
As a knight, Bella should have spoken.
I will still fight.
However, seeing that expression, I changed my mind.
That face held confidence and unwavering resolve.
‘When did you change like this…?’
Hyeon-su, who had set her down, walked forward.
Watching his retreating figure, Bella marveled.
A tremendous power emanated from him.
[Karma activates.]
*
*
*
[HP drops below 30%.]
[You have contracted a severe status abnormality.]
[Your body cannot maintain balance.]
[Movement is difficult.]
The members of Guild Gwangmyeong received nearly identical notifications.
“Ugh…!”
“Kgh….”
“Ow ow ow….”
They could not rise even as they tried.
Nel’s face turned pale watching this sight.
‘This can’t be….’
[Barad’s HP remains at 34%.]
[Spear Heaven’s HP remains at 41%.]
Even Spear Heaven and Barad could not move.
On the other hand.
[Graut’s HP remains at 44%.]
Graut had already recovered through dramatic regeneration.
‘If Graut charges at everyone now….’
Total annihilation is inevitable.
In fact, Graut had intended to kill Bella first before moving on to the others.
Then.
Hyeon-su activated Pull, rescuing Bella.
‘Hyeon-su…?’
Nel’s expression turned puzzled.
Right now, I need a way to shave down that 44% HP.
Without that method, engaging Graut now would be meaningless.
Hyeon-su activated a skill as he walked forward.
His momentum shifted entirely.
[Rampaging Blade]
[Due to a 20% probability, Sword basic attack power increases by 341%.]
Then, gradually increasing his running speed, Hyeon-su shouted.
“Belia!”
[Hour of Judgment]
[Attack power against evil increases by 132%.]
Holy light gathered at the blade of Hyeon-su’s sword.
He knew it too.
Even this was absurdly insufficient.
[This is a critical moment.]
[If you cannot stop Graut now, total annihilation may occur.]
Hyeon-su pushed off the ground and launched himself upward.
And he faced Graut in the sky.
“…You’ve lost your mind, brat.”
Graut sneered at Hyeon-su, who soared into the air with his coat fluttering.
It was only natural.
He had grasped what Hyeon-su was attempting.
In the previous encounter, that attack was attempted twelve times and blocked ten times.
It was the same now.
And Graut’s current HP remained at 44%.
Hyeon-su was merely buying time.
Yet Hyeon-su’s lips twisted into a smile.
“You will die by my hand.”
He possessed a newly acquired power.
(Fate)
Active Skill
Grade: Legendary
Level: None
Mana Cost: 2,500
Penalty: None
Effect:
·Your level is still low, so the success rate drops exponentially.
·You have a 5% chance of activating it successfully.
·You borrow the power of those you’ve met or brushed past, those among them with whom you’ve formed deep bonds of connection.
·You can unleash the power they possess as if you truly became them, but only once.
·Something extraordinary may occur.
A Custom Crafting skill made solely for Hyeon-su.
It resembled Friend, Help Me in nature.
You can borrow the abilities of those with sufficient intimacy, but only once.
[Your first use is guaranteed to succeed at 100%.]
[You have selected Ben’s Ghost Step.]
That was the crux of it.
[You will walk like the real Ben, if only for a moment.]
[Like a ghost.]
Graut’s eyes widened in shock.
In an instant, Ben’s afterimage materialized behind Hyeon-su.
It was a power so vast that even Hyeon-su could scarcely fathom it.
Moreover, Hyeon-su’s Ghost Step had been level 1.
[Ben’s Ghost Step level is applied to you.]
[You can now use Ghost Step +7 levels.]
The afterimage is drawn into Hyeon-su’s back.
Yet Graut laughed.
“Kahahaha! How amusing, how delightful! You still think you can win!”
[Graut’s HP is at 61%.]
He had recovered further by then. Hyeon-su knew this too.
No matter how briefly I became like Ben, I could not reduce Graut’s 61% HP.
But what if there were two ghosts?
“You’ve gained great power, Hyeon-su.”
A chill ran through the air.
Graut turned to look behind him.
Spear Heaven Ben stood behind, and Hyeon-su stood before him.
Moreover, my sword now carried the essence of the rampaging blade and Belia’s buffs.
In this moment alone, I had become equal to the true Spear Heaven.
The world around Graut seemed to fall silent.
Even Hyeon-su did not know how many steps per second he could take.
But one thing was certain.
I could reduce Graut’s 61% HP.
Both mouths opened simultaneously.
“Ghost Step.”
“Ghost Step.”
Two ghosts walk.
Moreover, Hyeon-su had already confirmed the reward alongside the final story notification.
[Upon slaying the demon Graut, you will obtain the Ring of the Blood Demon.]
That reward was, remarkably, a Legendary-grade Artifact.
Furthermore, it was an absurdly overpowered item that restored HP just like Graut did.

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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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