Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 197

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Genius Blacksmith’s Game
Reunion (1)
Continental War is a place where exceptional Users from two nations compete.
And Pureum Corporation had established the setting that China’s Leag Continent was invading the Asgan Continent.
The Continental War took place on a small island not far from the Asgan Continent.
This island was a real, existing place, and only fortresses and bridges were created by the event.
And Users could come to where the Continental War was held if they wished.
But no one came.
Were the administrators idiots?
The reason the Continental War took place on a real island was to provide realism.
The setting was that this island would become a strategic chokepoint of the Asgan Continent, and the Leag Continent had to invade and pass through it to enter other continents.
Moreover, an extremely powerful barrier was formed, and the interior itself was invisible.
And to prepare for any Users who might come, Pureum Corporation nailed it down with an announcement.
[The location where the Continental War is held has a powerful barrier that even the highest-ranked rankers cannot break. Furthermore, the location of this island will be opened after the Continental War ends.]
The island existed in reality, but no one knew its location, and even if they arrived, they could not break the barrier.
There were two people here who knew of it.
Namely, the two absolute rulers of the Asgan Continent: Ben and Barad.
If one knew the way, they could reach the island in an instant by small boat.
It was similar to Jeju Island in Korea.
Ben, Barad, and Kang Hyeon-tae arrived there.
“…I have no time.”
The barrier blocked the view entirely; the interior was completely invisible.
And Kang Hyeon-tae knew himself better than anyone.
There was something his attending physician Jin-seop had muttered when he visited before.
‘I hope a miracle of one day happens to patient Kang Hyeon-tae.’
That miracle that awakens him briefly.
Short spans last six hours, long ones about two days.
Since it was real-world time, it was relatively longer in the game.
And Ben and Barad saw that Hyeon-tae, who usually maintained composure, was growing impatient.
It was only natural.
No one could help it.
“Sword, can you break it?”
Barad gazed at the barrier for a moment.
It was far too solid and firm. Even he alone could not break it.
Moreover, the power of Regeneration was imbued within it, so even if broken, it would close again.
Barad, shaking his head, laughed.
“Well, if we combine forces with that unremarkable spear wielder, it might just work.”
Yes, if the two of them worked together, they might be able to do it.
“Let’s do it simultaneously.”
Hyeon-tae knew that the two were kings. As Hyeon-tae looked at them in surprise, Ben laughed.
“I have a close friend who has a father—someone I’ve heard about so many times my ears grew weary. He would tell those stories with tears streaming down his face, laughing as he spoke.”
“I’m in the same boat. I have a close friend who won’t stop pestering me with those same stories.”
Anyone would be the same.
The close friend’s father, who had been in a vegetative state, had awakened.
What would happen if he then called his friends wanting to see his son?
Anyone would rush to help.
It was simply that these two were a bit more exceptional than most.
“We need to slip through the opening we’ve created quickly.”
The colossal force concentrated by the two of them began to strike the Barrier, and a tremendous tremor reverberated throughout the Arena.
Meanwhile.
Lee Se-jin, the representative of Pureum Corporation, was already watching, and so were all the branch directors of the world.
John, the United States branch director, was beside himself with fury.
-Representative Lee Se-jin, outsiders have infiltrated the Arena? How will you take responsibility for this? Will you say this is something Users created and that we cannot be involved?
This was a variable no one had anticipated.
Yet Lee Se-jin remained resolute.
“Yes.”
-What…!
John, the United States branch director, furrowed his brow.
But Lee Se-jin was thinking something else entirely.
“Besides User Hyeon-su, does anyone know of another User who can receive the aid of two Legends?”
-….
-….
-….
The branch directors fell silent. Two?
There wasn’t even a single User who could receive the aid of one Legend, let alone two.
“Ares pursues high degrees of freedom. Furthermore, it was Branch Director John who first proposed using an actual location from Ares as the space for the Continental War, and then conducting Quests there after the war ended.”
It was an undeniable fact.
Lee Se-jin was someone who prepared for contingencies.
Of course, I hadn’t anticipated this, but I had proposed using a completely virtual space instead.
However, Branch Director John’s proposal had received considerable support.
Even though Lee Se-jin was the representative, it was John who had put forth the proposal first, and it had received many votes.
The most crucial fact was that China and Korea were the participating nations.
Tao, the China branch director who had been listening quietly, spoke.
-I don’t even think of this as a variable in the Continental War. What could a Level 1 User possibly do by infiltrating the Continental War?
Beyond the screen, his barely suppressed smirk was visible.
Lee Se-jin saw through that shallow scheme.
‘After winning the Continental War, they’re planning to create a narrative: there was this incident, yet we China still emerged victorious.’
China was already certain of victory.
The other branch directors spoke up.
-Since the China branch director is fine with it, there doesn’t seem to be anything more to discuss.
-That’s correct. Isn’t he a Level 1 User?
-The power within the Arena will expel him again in a few minutes.
Lee Se-jin was a meticulous man.
“We plan to post an official apology, and from now on, redirect all cameras that were focused on User Hyeon-su toward the Chinese Users.”
At that, Tao, the director of the Chinese branch, spoke.
-I’m not sure that’s necessary, since the cameras will naturally shift to the Chinese Users breaking through the Barrier anyway.
It was a statement that assured victory.
After the video call ended, Lee Se-jin issued rapid instructions through his Mobile Phone.
The screen where he had conducted the video call returned to broadcasting the Continental War.
-Pureum Corporation has just posted an official apology regarding what happened.
-Since this was the first Continental War, it seems there were some minor shortcomings in how the Continental War was organized.
-According to the announcement from Pureum Corporation, the User who entered inside was a Level 1 User with power that had absolutely nothing to do with the competition….
-You can think of it as one of the very minor bugs that occurred in the Continental War….
People forgot about him in an instant. The end of the war was approaching.
-Lee Hwan and the surviving Users engaged in one final fierce clash….
-The power of the legendary Artifacts worn by the Chinese Users is formidable!
-Unable to create an upset, they’re being forced to log out at a rapid pace.
-The Barrier’s durability is dropping sharply….
Lee Se-jin could only watch as the Barrier crumbled.
*
*
*
Kang Hyeon-tae had listened to Hyeon-su’s stories for four years.
Listen, I must listen.
With the conviction that I must hear the stories of my son, left alone in this world.
Of course, those stories were only a tiny fraction of what Hyeon-su had actually shared with me.
That voice came through only faintly, and only occasionally.
One year, two years, three years.
Hyeon-su’s voice tinged with despair.
I think I’ll have to sell the Blacksmith Shop. Working is difficult because of the burns.
I miss you so much.
Listening to those words while lying helpless, I lived in a hell of my own.
But then Hyeon-su began to change.
‘I started a game called Ares.’
Laughter began to emerge in his voice.
‘These Blacksmithing Techniques you taught me are incredible.’
‘Today I crafted my first legendary Artifact.’
‘Dad! Listen, I finally reclaimed the Blacksmith Shop!’
‘…Dad, I’ve found a new goal.’
Listening to those stories, Hyeon-tae felt joy.
The day I awoke to the sound of the Continental War playing on television, I could think of nothing else.
‘I miss my son.’
I rushed to him. But as I came, fear suddenly gripped me.
What could I possibly say to him, after leaving him alone for four years?
Was I not utterly shameless?
Yet there was something I had to do.
I knew my son better than anyone.
I also knew where my son wished to reach.
And so I spoke.
“Hyeon-su, wake up.”
As if my fears were unfounded, Hyeon-su threw himself into my arms despite all I had failed to give him.
Thud—
As Hyeon-su embraced me, his mind began to return fully to the present.
In this moment I had yearned for across the years, I held him with all my strength.
“Sob, sob, Dad…”
The words caught in Hyeon-su’s throat.
Words about how much I suffered. But he did not speak them.
Kang Hyeon-tae cradled Hyeon-su’s weeping cheeks.
And I grasped his scarred hands.
The small hands from before had grown far larger than my own.
A few burning words passed between us.
[Forced Logout in 20 seconds.]
Kang Hyeon-tae spoke.
“I will sleep again, but do not worry. I am certain that I will awaken.”
Hyeon-su’s expression was clouded with confusion as Kang Hyeon-tae handed him what he had drawn.
“It is the blueprint for the Twin Dragon Sword.”
Yet those words did not reach Hyeon-su now.
Right now, nothing mattered but the father standing before him.
[Forced Logout in 5 seconds.]
[Forced Logout in 4 seconds.]
Kang Hyeon-tae spoke urgently.
“I believe there is no one in this world who could craft it merely by seeing the blueprint. But among those I know, there is exactly one person.”
Kang Hyeon-tae smiled faintly.
“Only you could do it.”
Waaah—
Once more, Hyeon-su threw himself into Kang Hyeon-tae’s embrace.
I held my father as he dissolved into light and scattered away.
As I felt him dispersing in my arms.
Kang Hyeon-tae knew Hyeon-su better than anyone.
And so he spoke his final words.
Those final words jolted Hyeon-su back to consciousness.
Hyeon-tae, smiling brightly, completely dissolved within his embrace.
The duration of the abnormal confusion status had ended.
Hyeon-su began walking toward the Castle, one step at a time.
-The Barrier is expected to shatter in 2 minutes.
-The Korean Users fought remarkably well!
-It appears the MVP will likely be claimed by Pond, a Chinese User….
My father, whom I met for the first time in four years, was as he had always been.
His final words before vanishing firmly set my heart in place.
Somehow, I had already committed the Crafting method he gave me to memory.
Just once—a single glance—was more than enough.
I was certain of it.
‘I am the last Master Craftsman of this world.’
Now I wished to become a king.
Soapstone surged upward into the sky.
Hundreds of cameras were operating throughout the Continental War.
Those cameras began tracking my movements.
-What is that Ore?
-It’s Crazy Rookie. Many experts suspect he’s a Weapon Master, and it seems he’s about to summon another Weapon.
-At this point, no matter what Weapon he summons, it doesn’t seem like it will change anything.
-I’d like to give Crazy Rookie a round of applause as well.
But what they understood was different from reality.
Shhhhiiiing-
The Sword Blade of the great Blade, finally revealed after Smelting and Refining in the heavens.
A scarlet-hued Blade heated to crimson.
It might appear similar to the buff-type Twin Dragon Sword, yet its surface was harder, sharper, and far more extraordinary.
[Soapstone responds to the most perfect Crafting method.]
[After several Crafting attempts, it transcends its own limits by far.]
Below it, a black grip three times longer than an ordinary longsword began to take shape.
Finally, in the sky, the Blade and mere grip began to combine into the most powerful, most perfect Sword.
Clang-
The patterns engraved upon the blade cooled from scarlet to the brightest steel color, gleaming darkly.
Rumble rumble rumble-
As the earth convulsed, the screens of the viewers trembled.
After a brief moment of joy and sorrow from our reunion, before he vanished, my father had etched these words deeply into my heart.
“Hyeon-su, become a king.”
I understood better than anyone that this meant to never crumble, but to move forward as always.
I proved it.
[True transcendence is inscribed.]
A new history was carved into the game Ares, and like my father’s words, I became a king.
[Congratulations.]
[You have become the first in the world to ascend to legend.]
That king’s name was Master Craftsman Hyeon.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————