Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 209

—————
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 (13)
Korea Hotel.
Before 2 o’clock, Ayaka stepped out of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicle.
It was a corporate car from Pureum Corporation.
Though she held only a team leader position, the title of Global Promotion Team Leader was affixed to her name.
She possessed the authority equivalent to a vice branch director of any ordinary branch.
Ayaka gazed at Korea Hotel while waiting for Hyeon.
It was the most beautiful and expensive hotel in Korea.
Suddenly, a post from a community she had seen while riding in the car came to mind.
-Our first legend is so frugal!
-Why? Where did you see Hyeon?
Hey, I was waiting for the bus in front of the bus stop…
-He’s like a moral textbook….
-Hyeon… was a pedestrian…?
-Walking and walking….
-I earn 300 million a month and drive a car, I reflect on myself.
-So humble, our Hyeon^^
Now, no matter what he does, Hyeon is beloved by the Korean people. That’s not the important part.
‘Propriety befitting one’s station matters too.’
She wore a bitter smile.
Then.
Vroom—
Suddenly, the hotel staff bustled about frantically.
‘What’s this?’
A citizen trying to enter the hotel spoke.
“Insane… is that a Rolls-Royce Black Pearl Edition vehicle…? There are only 30 in the world!”
“I’m actually seeing that car in person?”
Ayaka also appreciated fine automobiles. The black-bodied Rolls-Royce was pulling into the hotel with striking elegance.
‘Has the chairman arrived?’
What startled Ayaka was that it had stopped right behind their vehicle.
‘Why here of all places?’
No matter how elevated her position, she was merely a team leader.
As she instinctively shrank back, a hotel attendant opened the door.
A remarkably young and dapper man emerged from within.
A woman presumed to be his secretary stepped out beside him.
Ayaka could not immediately discern who he was.
‘Was there such a young magnate in Korea?’
Then a citizen’s voice shattered her thoughts.
“Master Craftsman Hyeon…!”
“…?”
She was taken aback.
“T-Team Lead…?”
“Right now, this is….”
Her team members were clearly flustered as well.
Just moments ago, they had been psyching themselves up, thinking, ‘Let’s show the power of elite corporate warriors, let’s go!’
Soon Hyeon approached.
“Team Lead Ayaka?”
Though momentarily caught off guard, Ayaka smiled faintly.
In contract negotiations, Ayaka had a method she frequently employed to disarm her counterparts.
It was to speak Japanese rather than Korean.
An unfamiliar language would unsettle them and allow her to seize the advantage from the start.
Soon Ayaka began speaking in Japanese.
“How surprising. The First Legend is far more impressive than I had imagined.”
Ayaka, with a smile in her eyes, anticipated a flustered expression from Hyeon.
But he turned to the side without any change in expression.
The woman beside him spoke.
“I’m Manager Kim Hye-in. It’s an honor to meet the renowned Team Lead Ayaka.”
Ayaka was startled.
Her Japanese was fluent enough that one could believe she was a native speaker.
Moreover.
“But I heard that Team Lead Ayaka speaks Korean exceptionally well. Is that not the case?”
Ayaka knew little about Hye-in.
She had returned to Korea just days ago and had been in the United States until recently.
Ayaka spoke urgently in Korean.
“That’s right. I do speak Korean fairly well. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Team Lead Ayaka.”
They entered the hotel.
Ayaka’s lips felt parched.
‘What is this?’
The Global Promotion Team consisted of people from various nations since they handled worldwide affairs.
America, Russia, Italy, Japan, France, and so on.
What was remarkable was that this woman, Kim Hye-in, was identifying which country each person was from and conversing with them in their native language.
‘She speaks five languages…?’
No, since it hadn’t been confirmed, it could be even more.
They all entered the hotel Conference Room together.
‘Now the real game begins.’
She needed to begin negotiations regarding the contract fee.
Before that, Ayaka recalled one thing that could give them the upper hand.
“I heard you brought footage of the mad movie. Is that correct?”
Mad movie.
It was a compilation of magnificent and grand scenes.
This was content that Ayaka had suggested bringing.
Because no matter how much I searched, there was no video that Hyeon had uploaded directly.
‘Did he make it in a day? Or did he create it beforehand and keep it?’
He didn’t know.
He simply intended to set the contract fee based on what he saw.
Hyeon-su removed the USB, and Ayaka spoke.
“Rankers and stars are different, have you heard of that?”
“Yes, I have heard of it.”
“In reality, even if rankings are high, people are divided into those who became stars and those who didn’t—because those who became stars are an extreme minority. Was the editing done by quite a skilled person?”
Ho-beom flashed through Hyeon-su’s mind.
This was a mad movie edited by Ho-beom.
I knew that Ho-beom had once worked under the name Jin, a famous editor.
Hyeon-su had asked after receiving the video yesterday evening.
‘Ho-beom, are you confident?’
Ho-beom had sent this message via text.
[A masterpiece of mad movies will be written.]
He had applied it from when he created Jumong’s Horn Bow.
Moreover, since Hyeon-su had actually seen it, he was brimming with confidence.
“I believe the contract fee will be different before and after the team leader sees this video.”
The contract fee Ayaka was thinking of was one billion won.
Hyeon-su spoke.
“Since this is a video we have no intention of releasing yet, please remove everyone. From now on, we two will handle the negotiations.”
Ayaka thought it had actually worked out well. Now she could send Hye-in out.
And she wore an expression of not expecting much.
‘Do you know? That my job is watching mad movies and replaying videos hundreds of times a day.’
It was the same with ranker videos.
Ayaka put on her earphones.
And she focused solely on the laptop.
‘The beginning will be the same, it will start with grand music playing.’
Click—
The video began.
A black screen appeared.
Contrary to Ayaka’s expectations, there was no grand music.
In silent stillness, Hyeon sat elegantly dressed in a chair within Ares.
Below that, white subtitles appeared as the sound of keyboard tapping was heard.
-Please tell us about what prompted you to start Ares.
Hyeon in the video lowers his head.
His stiffened body relaxes as he contemplates what to say.
As he slowly raises his head, he speaks his first words.
I wanted to live.
The silence lifts.
Grand music begins to play at a rapid tempo.
The demon Graut appears, with Hyeon collapsed before him.
The demon Graut posed a question.
Is this truly the path you have walked? How did you persevere without breaking?
The screen transitions rapidly.
Between the fast-paced music, a sound cuts through.
That sound—the unmistakable ring of Hammering—echoes through all.
Clang—
It appears on screen.
[The first legend is written.]
Around Hyeon, who holds a single Sword, turbulent waves of ice surge outward.
The first Sword, forged for Barad.
A mysterious woman’s voice spreads across the world.
What Sword in all existence could ever compare to this one!
From that moment, the screens begin to transition rapidly.
Clang!
[The second legend is written.]
The Dragon Light Sword, forged in a world without dragons.
Clang!
[The third legend is written.]
The Royal Sword, for the people and the nation.
Clang—
[The fourth legend is written.]
A trident revealed before the burning World Tree.
[The fifth legend is written.]
Jumong’s Horn Bow, the very legend of Korea itself.
Clang—
[The sixth legend is written.]
Jisungdo, the mightiest longsword in all the world.
Clang—!
[The seventh legend is written.]
The Turtle Ship, twelve vessels that saved the nation.
[The eighth legend is written.]
Tyrving, the demonic Sword of Yi I.
[The ninth legend is written.]
Twin Dragon Swords of Legendary Grade, assault-type.
The final one.
[The tenth legend is written.]
A Lord’s Coat.
The screen transitions.
—Huff, huff.
Hyeon-su appears on screen, collapsing from exhaustion after prolonged Blacksmithing.
His eyes, drenched in sweat, brimmed with fatigue.
Yet the moment he hoists the Hammer, his gaze transforms entirely.
Clang—!
The instant the blow lands, the notification that everyone across the globe has yearned to witness materializes.
[The First Transcendence is inscribed.]
Ayaka’s heart begins racing wildly as she watches.
Her hands grow damp with perspiration, matching the crescendo of the tempo.
And finally, the Continental War.
Ore surges skyward above Hyeon-su’s head as he walks toward the Castle.
The moment that Ore is completely shaped and grasped in his hand, Ayaka nearly lets out a cheer without thinking.
[True Transcendence is inscribed.]
At last, the music’s tempo slows and the sound begins to fade.
Through that diminishing sound, the opening scene appears once more.
The first frame.
The demon Graut’s question.
Hyeon-su, sitting drenched in blood, speaks with an unwavering expression.
—This is the path I have walked.
Finally, the screen darkens once again.
Within the darkness.
[Master Craftsman Hyeon.]
Text materializes as the paths he has walked appear against the black background.
They all originate from his fingertips.
Ten Legendary Swords and two Twin Dragon Swords stand in a circle and at right angles, displaying their magnificence.
With that, the video concludes.
The moment the video ends, Ayaka finds herself momentarily speechless.
Her previously bored expression has transformed.
‘Why is this… so entertaining?’
Whoever edited this possesses exceptional skill.
And the Artifacts that Hyeon created supported it perfectly.
Moreover, Ayaka loves a good story.
Rather than opening with grand music, it began with Hyeon’s narrative.
Ayaka’s lips grow parched.
A thought crosses her mind.
‘If I find this entertaining, how much will viewers enjoy it when this is released?’
Yet she considers something else.
She watched this to negotiate the contract fee. Even if she’s been captivated, she must point out any flaws.
“I wanted to live. It’s a line that strikes at the heart, but if I included it merely for the sake of looking cool, it would backfire.”
Ayaka knew this better than anyone.
The world despised manufactured sentiment that didn’t exist.
But Hyeon spoke up.
“What if they resonated with it? People love stories, don’t they?”
“They do love stories. But a contrived one that doesn’t exist….”
“It’s not contrived.”
Hyeon-su unfastened the buttons of his suit jacket and stepped forward.
“People love stories of those who rose from nothing, just as they prefer the success of the poor over the success of the privileged.”
And he rolled up his sleeves.
“Moreover, the power I possess is something people love more than I expected. They believe I reached this position because I obtained a Legendary Grade profession.”
Ayaka tilted her head.
Soon, faint burn scars became visible on his rolled-up sleeves.
Ayaka’s eyes wavered.
Just as he said.
People loved stories.
Especially those that began in despair and soared upward.
And Hyeon-su spoke.
“My manager told me they’d set the contract fee low.”
The contract fee Ayaka had in mind was one billion won.
And Hyeon-su knew his own worth better than anyone.
The power he possessed would never rust.
Therefore, as time passed, this server integration teaser would shine ever brighter and grow more valuable.
And I recalled what Kim Hye-in had told me.
‘You decide that contract fee, Hyeon-su.’
The value of appearing in the server integration teaser that Hye-in had orchestrated.
“Three billion. Nothing less.”
Ayaka was taken aback.
But soon, as I mulled over what Hyeon-su had said, I noticed a particularly prominent scar on his right hand.
She gasped.
“Could it be that you’re Master Craftsman Hyeon….”
If my suspicion was correct, this would be worth more than any story I had ever witnessed.
“Were you really Master Craftsman Hyeon…?”
Suddenly, Ayaka remembered.
What he had just said.
‘I believe the contract fee before and after the team leader sees this video will be different.’
Now Ayaka understood that remark.
Hyeon would become not just a ranker, but a global star.
Upon realizing that “I wanted to live” was the truth, she drew forth a dramatic resonance.
Before discussing the contract fee, Ayaka had something she desperately wanted to say.
A one-minute compressed video. She was a businesswoman herself, but she knew when to give credit where it was due.
“This isn’t a video.”
Hyeon-su’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment.
“It’s art.”
Yes, the path Hyeon had walked over the course of a year was nothing short of art.

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