Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 171

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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 (6)
Artea, who had been dying, was brought back to life by Belia.
‘How could a mere blacksmith….’
Cause Sword King and Spear Heaven to descend despite the penalty?
Moreover, the guild members under the blacksmith’s command possessed boundless potential.
What surprised him most was the resourcefulness displayed at the end.
He fought the enemy with remarkable martial prowess, yet in the final moment, he took on the form of a Master Craftsman and vanquished the demon Graut.
“….”
Artea gazed at Hyeon-su’s back for a long time.
From those broad, powerful shoulders, he sensed an inexplicable force.
‘The makings of a sage king….’
Artea thought to himself.
A single grand name that countless kings throughout history had pursued.
Sword King, Spear Heaven, guild members.
Who else but Hyeon-su could unite them all through the singular path he had walked?
And Artea did not know.
Just as Artea had once witnessed it, the Holy Maiden Aria had also seen that Hyeon-su possessed the makings of a sage king.
And because of this, something special was accumulating within Hyeon-su.
In any case, observing this sight, Artea approached him.
He thought Hyeon-su was composing himself after achieving such tremendous feats.
“You….”
Artea reached to place a hand on his shoulder.
Before he could.
He collapsed with a thud.
He had lost consciousness rapidly.
“???”
Artea recalled the composed words Ben and Barad had spoken not long ago at Sage’s Tower.
‘He does this often.’
‘Our boy’s always been a bit frail.’
Now Artea understood why they had reacted that way.
‘Pushed to the absolute limit, again and again….’
He had fought without falling, without retreating.
And now, Hyeon-su’s collapse stirred something far greater than mere surprise.
When someone fights for you, or for something connected to you, accomplishes everything and then collapses from exhaustion, it awakens gratitude and countless other emotions.
Artea gazed at the unconscious Hyeon-su for a long time.
A certain reward came to mind.
Yet doubt crept in—whether realizing it would be right as a sage.
He set that thought aside and draped Hyeon-su’s arm across his shoulders, supporting him.
And so Artea descended the remaining distance with Hyeon-su.
Artea’s chest swelled with emotion.
The Beres Mountain Range, where I had been trapped for three hundred years.
[You have successfully escaped the Beres Mountain Range.]
[You have succeeded in opening the door to a cage that had long been sealed shut, setting the bird free to soar.]
The notification reached the unconscious Hyeon-su.
Finally able to see a new world, Artea gazed at the sky and broke into a radiant smile.
And waiting at the base of the mountain were the members of Guild Gwangmyeong.
“Did he pass out again?”
“At this rate, shouldn’t we give him an award for being the best at fainting?”
Artea, equally exhausted to the point of collapse, soon fell unconscious as well.
Hyeon-su and Artea were transported together to Balas Territory.
*
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*
Before losing consciousness, Hyeon-su struggled to maintain awareness.
The cage Quest I had received from Artea was not yet completely finished.
But contrary to my will, the system judged that my body had reached its limit and forced me into unconsciousness.
When Hyeon-su awoke, I could see Nel sitting nearby.
“You’re awake?”
“What about Artea?”
“Artea is sleeping in the next room. Why don’t you Logout and get some more rest?”
“I should, but before that, there’s something I’d like you to find for me.”
“Something you’d like me to find?”
Nel’s expression grew puzzled.
The reason she had suggested Logout was because she wanted to show him the situation outside.
What kind of ripples were occurring in Reality.
But soon after learning what he was asking her to find, Nel smiled knowingly.
‘That’s so like Hyeon-su.’
I thought to myself.
Hyeon-su was someone who could be emotional at times, yet more calculating than anyone else at others.
‘It’s because Hyeon-su is that way that we were able to come together.’
I liked that about him.
“I’ll find it as quickly as possible.”
Shortly after, Nel returned with the information swiftly.
Hyeon-su moved immediately.
The place I arrived at.
It was none other than the small village where Arté’s Mother had lived three hundred years ago.
The decisive reason Artea wanted to descend from the mountain was to visit her mother’s grave.
‘Will I be able to find it?’
Hyeon-su worried.
A person who lived as far back as three hundred years ago.
I doubted I would find information about her easily in this place.
Yet something unexpected unfolded.
“Arté’s Mother, you say? Of course I know of her—a tragedy passed down through our village for generations.”
Hyeon-su found himself at a loss for words upon hearing this account.
“After Sage Artega, who was said to know all the world’s information, suddenly vanished, his mother learned he was in the Sage’s Tower in the Beres Mountain Range. Every day at the same hour, she would go to the entrance of the Beres Mountain Range. She could never climb it, though—demonic power prevented her ascent.”
The villager who shared this tale wore a bitter smile.
“Until the day she died, Arté’s Mother went to the entrance of the Beres Mountain Range every single day, longing to see her son. Then one day, she simply disappeared from the village. She met her end somewhere near the Beres Mountain Range. A corpse? A grave? How could such things possibly exist?”
“….”
Just as Sage Artega had yearned for his mother, so too had she yearned for him.
Hyeon-su realized that Artega would surely come to this place.
“I have a request.”
He withdrew a gold coin and spoke to the villager.
He traveled throughout the village, offering gold coins to those who knew the story.
After sharing everything he had learned, Hyeon-su rolled up his sleeves.
Having crafted something at last, Hyeon-su returned to Balas Territory.
*
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The moment Artega awoke, he asked about Hyeon-su.
“His Majesty? He’s sleeping in the next room.”
And immediately, he set out toward the village where he once lived to meet his mother.
‘I know it well….’
A gravestone from three hundred years ago could not possibly exist.
Moreover, there was no one to have created a grave for her.
Perhaps the notion of visiting his mother’s gravestone was merely a thread of hope that Artega clung to.
And yet….
“Of course it exists.”
Artega’s expression shifted to one of astonishment.
He walked, guided by the villagers.
It was an impossible thing.
Something that should not be.
Though it appeared to be mimicking age, it was something that could never be concealed.
[Here rests Arté’s Mother.]
“….”
The gravestone existed.
Artega had actually witnessed it before, in the Beres Mountain Range.
His mother, waiting desperately at the mountain’s base, weeping.
And in the end, his mother’s form as she froze to death while waiting.
The curse of the demon Graut had been truly terrible.
“A person’s words are light, and if they speak of good things, they become even lighter still.”
A villager appeared.
He spoke of the one who had given him a gold coin.
He asked that no one speak of how Arté’s Mother had frozen to death waiting, and that they say the tombstone had always been there.
Arté understood why he had done such a thing.
Hyeon-su had spoken of it.
His father was near, yet they could not converse.
It stemmed from the empathy between the two of them.
“It had been three hundred years.”
Arté corrected himself as he spoke before his mother’s tombstone.
“No, it was even before I was trapped on the mountain.”
Arté was the most arrogant being in the world.
Knowing all the information in existence was more than enough to make him so.
And so, for exactly three hundred seventy-six years, he had never made a single friend—something everyone else possessed.
“…But now I have one. A very good friend indeed.”
He spent the day before the grave.
“I have decided on a gift to give my friend.”
Arté moved forward.
*
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*
Meanwhile.
Sniff, sniff.
Tae-seok offered a bitter smile as he watched Lee Ji-hee’s eyes redden with tears.
The rewards for the miraculous story rate had already been determined.
The notification proved it to him.
[Sage Artega will remain in User Hyeon-su’s territory.]
However, even a miraculous story rate could not predict additional rewards.
And a miraculous story rate also becomes a kind of permission.
That permission lies in the supercomputer Ares not interfering even if it wishes to grant rewards.
Tae-seok was curious about what Arté had said before the grave.
“He decided on a gift to give. What could it be?”
Sage Artega must have deliberated carefully.
Whether to give something or not.
In truth, Sage Artega merely remaining in User Hyeon-su’s territory was already an absurd reward.
And he had already handed over the legendary-grade skill Creation to Hyeon-su.
He need not have given anything at all.
Ji-hee, who had let out a small laugh at the question, spoke.
“…Since it’s Sage Artega, wouldn’t he give User Hyeon-su exactly what he needs most?”
Tae-seok’s mind raced swiftly.
‘What does the User Hyeon-su need most right now?’
It was only then that Tae-seok realized the answer, and he was astounded.
*
*
*
Grand Mage Luon and Absolute Shield Peya.
Sage Artega had sought out these two members of the 10 Legends.
The two of them had received countless favors from Artega throughout the years.
“…So that’s why you’ve been staying in the Sage’s Tower all this time.”
The two, having heard the entire story, nodded in agreement.
“The knowledge I have given you both until now—repay that debt to me this one time.”
“…For Sage Artega to speak so earnestly, we understand.”
“We shall fight for you this once.”
With two legends in tow, Artega set out to find it.
It was something that even Hyeon-su himself did not know the location of, and even if he did, it would not be easy to obtain.
Yet with two legends at his side, it was not a difficult task.
The Abyss Tomb—known as the most treacherous hunting ground in Ares.
Within it, Artega obtained what he sought.
And then he parted ways with the two legends.
With it in hand, Artega made his way to the Balas Territory to meet Hyeon-su.
*
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*
‘Why hasn’t he come yet?’
Hyeon-su was consumed by countless worries.
It had been days since Artega went to his mother’s village and failed to return.
There were two reasons why Hyeon-su had taken such action.
The first was his desire to complete the Quest entrusted to him perfectly.
The second was because of the power of resonance he felt from Artega.
‘Is my connection with Artega ending like this? Does Artega intend to wander the world now?’
It was entirely possible.
Having been confined for three hundred years, Artega would naturally wish to see the world.
Then.
“My Lord, the Sage has arrived.”
Hyeon-su’s face brightened.
Shortly after, Artega entered.
Upon entering, he spoke.
“Thanks to you, I was able to pay my respects at my mother’s grave.”
Hyeon-su realized that his actions had been discovered.
Artega had struggled for a long moment with those awkward, uncomfortable words before finally speaking.
“I wish to remain in this place.”
“…!”
For Hyeon-su, this was extraordinary news.
Sage Artega would dwell here.
It was wonderful indeed.
But there was a problem.
‘What becomes of my relationship with Artega?’
Artega spoke.
“Precisely 376 years. I have reflected upon the life I have lived, and in all that time, there was not a single one.”
Hyeon-su’s expression grew puzzled.
“A friend, you see.”
At first, Artega had not understood Ben and Barad.
Now he understood them better than anyone.
It was Barad who first wished to become Hyeon-su’s friend.
Second was Hyeon-su, who wished to become Ben’s friend.
And now, it was Sage Artega who wished to become Hyeon-su’s friend.
“Will you be my friend?”
Hyeon-su broke into a smile, his white teeth gleaming.
“Of course.”
[Sage Artega will remain in Balas Territory.]
[Artega will provide countless benefits to the territory’s development.]
“This is my gift to a friend.”
Hyeon-su could only stare at Artega with astonished eyes as he received it.
‘This is….’
During his two opportunities to ask questions of Artega, Hyeon-su had inquired about one thing.
He asked which ore would be most suited to him.
He had asked because it was something he desperately needed to become a legend.
[You have obtained the Legendary Ore: Narrative Stone.]
Now, he had acquired it.

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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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