Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 202

—————
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 (6)
Before the Continental War began, Nel came to find Hyeon-su as he attempted to craft an offensive Twin Dragon Sword.
“The Poison King Liu is someone who can summon Hydra, a legendary monster with tremendous power—a Named Monster of immense strength.”
At that time, Hyeon’s Forge couldn’t produce a significant impact even if they participated in the Continental War.
Thus, Nel, the brains of Hyeon’s Forge, had grasped all the distinctive characteristics of the prominent Chinese Users.
“Whether Liu will summon Hydra remains uncertain.”
Though it was called the Continental War, it was the Poison King Liu’s trump card, and if he judged they could win easily, he wouldn’t use it.
The Continental War was broadcast worldwide, and the highest-ranked Users typically concealed their true power.
At that moment, Hyeon-su grew serious.
“If Hydra spews poison toward the Korean Users….”
The aftermath would be unimaginable. Yet Nel offered a bitter smile.
“Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be an adequate countermeasure against Hydra.”
Then a single extraordinary power that I had never unleashed before flashed through my mind.
It was the power of Absolute Dominion, which dwelled within the Necklace of Calamity.
(Absolute Dominion)
Grade: Legendary
Level: 1
Penalty: None
Mana Required: 2,500
Effect:
·You can instantly brainwash and subjugate monsters.
·Subjugated monsters have their minds dominated by you and act according to your will.
·Even if a monster is 200 levels higher than you, mental domination is possible for a few seconds.
·If the monster is weaker than you, domination lasts approximately 3 minutes; if it possesses similar strength, domination lasts 1 minute.
·A skill incantation exists.
·Something special may occur.
Absolute Dominion was a skill I had never once used.
Moreover, since this Necklace of Calamity belonged to the jewelry crafting field, entirely separate from blacksmithing, I couldn’t modify it either.
‘There are definite drawbacks.’
The domination duration was far too short, and in contrast, the mana requirement reached 2,500.
A mana requirement of 2,500 was enormous.
Controlling a single monster at a similar level to mine would result in losses outweighing gains.
“What if you used this power?”
Nel, having received the Skill Information, marveled at it.
“In one sense, it’s excellent, but in another, it seems insufficient to call it Legendary. However, it does seem like it could definitely be a variable. But I’ve never seen you use it before?”
Hyeon-su offered a bitter smile.
First, I had never felt the necessity to use it until now.
The second reason was this.
“The incantation is just too embarrassing to say.”
Some skills require an incantation to be activated.
“What’s an incantation?”
Nel, who heard this, smiled wryly.
“In a way, it might seem awkward and cringey, but if used appropriately for the situation, it could be quite impressive, don’t you think? The Hyeon-su I know is a User who does that remarkably well.”
If an incantation is used appropriately for the situation, it would be impressive—this was something Hyeon-su had agreed with at the time.
*
*
*
The legendary monster Hydra appeared on screens watched by viewers across the globe.
The viewers doubted their own eyes.
The very fact that a single User had summoned Hydra, a legendary monster and offspring of the divine beast Hydra, was astounding.
Moreover, such a high-level monster like Hydra was rarely seen even in videos.
Kiiiieeeeek-!
Kihiiiiik-!
Kyaaaaaaaak-!
The majesty of Hydra, standing seven meters tall with nine serpent heads, captivated the viewers’ eyes.
Some viewers had already noticed that this scene would surely be included in the Continental War highlights.
Moreover, a considerable number of viewers were watching simply for entertainment rather than to support either side.
They anticipated that Hyeon-su would suffer miserably before Hydra’s overwhelming display of power.
[Hydra’s Wrath]
[Before the legendary monster, the enemy loses momentum and freezes.]
[Stunned for 2 seconds, poison surges through the entire body, and blood flows from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.]
There was a truth they did not know.
The broadcast showed Hyeon-su’s expression—initially startled by Hydra’s appearance, then breaking into a faint smile.
Before this mighty, oppressive Hydra, he showed no intimidation whatsoever.
Though Hydra towered far above him, forcing him to look up, Hyeon-su swung his arm down.
[The First Legend title shines brilliantly.]
[One legend cannot suppress another legend.]
The viewers were shocked. The element that entertained them was the reversal.
A massive poison breath erupted from the mouths of Hydra’s nine heads.
Just as that poison breath was about to be unleashed, Hyeon-su soared into the air.
Viewers across the world were captivated.
One reason their immersion deepened was that Master Craftsman Hyeon embodied the epithet “First Legend” perfectly.
Standing at 184 centimeters tall, wearing a brown coat drenched in blood.
In his right hand, a magnificent Twin Dragon Sword hung elegantly, paired with a black armor and boots—calamity artifacts.
Combined with his sharp nose bridge, soft jawline, and subtly double eyelids.
In other words, his appearance—one that many would admire—was captivating people worldwide.
Hydra dared to unleash the breath from within its maw against him, who had withstood their power.
Then.
Kuuuuuung-
An overwhelming pressure froze Hydra’s body.
Before the eyes of the entire world, Hyeon-su, gripping the Necklace of Calamity in his left hand, gazed upon Hydra’s nine heads and spoke.
“Bow before me.”
An awkward command, yet it was reality.
But words transform with the flow of circumstance.
Hydra’s heads, oppressed by the overwhelming pressure radiating from Hyeon-su as he uttered those words.
Their yellowed, narrow pupils darkened to black.
As if bowing before him, the creature’s body twisted sharply, unleashing its breath toward the Chinese Users.
Fuuuuuuuuck—!
The venom spewed simultaneously from nine heads rose in smoke as if sulfuric acid had been sprayed.
And Hyeon-su issued his final command.
Once more, Hydra’s heads turned toward Hyeon-su.
All nine heads, as if in apology, drove themselves into the ground.
Crash!
Crash, crash, crash—!!
The legendary monster Hydra, its heads buried in the earth, convulsed intermittently.
And Hyeon-su recalled what Nel had said before.
Words wielded appropriately to the situation resonate far more powerfully.
Moreover, Absolute Dominion certainly possessed Legendary Grade power, yet it could only command Hydra for a mere five seconds.
Perhaps it was the worst of powers.
Bearing the name of legend, yet capable of controlling an enemy for only five seconds?
But in the moment of activation, he had twisted it to use it most efficiently.
Thus he spoke.
“Artifacts are not used—they are wielded.”
Because it came from the Master Craftsman, it resonated all the more with the viewers.
Many of the viewers, completely captivated, had become fans of Hyeon.
And there was another force that captivated the viewers toward him.
-Who exactly is Hyeon!
-Insane. He uses the enemy’s own power to capture them!
-What we must remember is that Hyeon alone is protecting Korea right now.
-Overcoming crisis after crisis, he continues forward in his own way.
-Even now, facing multiple close-range combatants, crises with Assassin Users, and the legendary monster Hydra, he finds new answers in his own way, reducing their numbers.
-Control? Well, he’s a Blacksmith, so it’s natural his sword skills lag behind the rankers. But setting aside control, his very ability to read situations and respond—that’s top-tier among the rankers, or even beyond!
Thus he continued to overcome crises and transform them into new opportunities.
One viewer watching this said:
-It was Korea defending and China attacking from the start, but if Hyeon actually wins here, what happens…?
Other viewers responded thus:
-You don’t know that?
Like his question, the viewers already knew how the entire world would react to him.
“Ugh, uuuaaaaahhh!”
“Grrrraaaaaahhhhh!”
“Why—why is Hydra suddenly attacking us?!”
The melee Users who had been pressing Hyeon just moments before.
[You have been hit by Hydra’s Breath.]
[You are taking 23,312 damage per second.]
[You have been afflicted with Hydra’s Virulent Poison.]
[Your attack speed and movement speed are reduced by 30%.]
[Your blood flows backward.]
They could only be bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
Liu, who had been watching from behind, cried out urgently.
“Get out of there, now!!!!”
“…What?”
“…?”
The approximately twenty-eight melee Users, poisoned and thrown into chaos, had forgotten about the variable named Hyeon.
Already, a substantial portion of their HP had been directly struck by Hydra’s poison, dropping below 30%.
Yet merely fifteen seconds ago, they had been completely overwhelming Hyeon through sheer numerical superiority.
The User who had just spoken felt himself become completely immobilized.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down upon them.
Kuhooooooo—!
It emanated from the transcendent Artifact that existed nowhere else in this world and from what the Sword King had imparted.
Though just moments before, when his HP exceeded 50%, he could not have killed them instantly due to their high HP and formidable defense, now things were different.
Hyeon-su, gripping the Twin Dragon Sword in both hands, stretched it out and fixed a piercing gaze upon the twenty-eight Chinese Users.
“No, wait—”
“This can’t be real?!”
Their eyes filled with fear and dread.
As if they had believed themselves to be the kings of a cave, only to encounter a true tiger, terror consumed them.
And Hyeon-su unleashed the Twin Dragon Sword, with an attack power in the 900s, with both hands.
[Sword’s Cry]
More powerful than any Sword’s Cry he had displayed thus far.
Rather, considering that Barad does not possess a Twin Dragon Sword, it seemed to rival the power he was emitting for a brief moment.
“It feels like you could kill all of us in a single strike?!”
Behind the cry of the User with veins bulging in his neck, dozens of Twin Dragon Sword blades swept across the space.
[You have dealt 133,037 damage.]
[You have dealt 137,199 damage.]
The top-tier melee Users possessed considerable ability to dramatically elevate their defense in an instant.
Some by 60%. Some by 100%. And the tanks by as much as 300%.
Yet against this absurd damage output, all twenty-eight Chinese Users scattered.
“….”
“….”
The viewers’ perspective shifted through multiple angles.
Sometimes it revealed the whole scene, and sometimes it showed an individual’s perspective.
The viewpoint the audience saw now was precisely Sword Emperor Pond’s vision.
Through Sword Emperor Pond’s eyes, twenty-eight Users scattered as ash were visible.
And Hyeon-su, dressed in a brown coat, walking through that ash, could be seen approaching.
After passing through the dispersing ash, Hyeon-su finally faced Sword Emperor Pond and Poison King Liu—the two strongest Users in China.
Pat, tap—
With an indifferent expression, he lightly brushed the ash clinging to his shoulder twice with his hand.
The two of them understood.
The reason he performed such a cumbersome gesture.
It was to shatter their confident assertions that he couldn’t reach them, to instill fear, and to cloud their judgment.
With an indifferent expression, he aimed the Twin Dragon Sword at them.
“Now only you two remain.”
He had already reaped sufficient results from that action he’d just performed.
Sword Emperor Pond, ranked fourth in the world, and Poison King Liu, ranked nineteenth in the world.
Both were trembling before a User who didn’t even rank in the world’s top million.
*
*
*
At that moment.
Hannah, Vice Director of World Ares, was looking at Ares’s Top 100 list.
As she gazed at the pyramid-shaped arrangement, her voice trembled.
“It was just approved.”
The person she was speaking with was Lee Se-jin, the representative.
Lee Se-jin sounded slightly surprised but understood.
-It’s certainly warranted.
“Yes, sir.”
She removed the magnetic tile bearing Crazy Rookie’s name from the bottom of the pyramid.
She stepped back and looked at the hundred most influential Users, then gazed at Bahala’s name at the very top.
“If User Hyeon-su defeats Liu and Pond and leads Korea to victory….”
She turned around. The place where she stood was the Conference Room.
The executives of World Ares sat there. This was what they and she had approved.
“Blacksmith Hyeon will become the number one person of this year.”
A position unchanged for three years was beginning to shake.

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