Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 215

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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
Atlas Territory (5)
The Ares Church Papal Palace.
The 11th Pope Carcel wields power far more formidable than most kings.
One of the reasons the 11th Pope Carcel is exceptional is that he transcends server limitations.
This meant he was not bound by continental borders.
The Ares Church spanned across all continents, connected through temples scattered throughout, where only the sanctioned few could meet Carcel at the Papal Palace.
Such a man as Carcel marveled at the tale he had heard.
“So it’s true—he has indeed ascended to become one of the 10 Legends.”
His admiration stemmed from a mere youth who had visited this place only half a year prior.
Soon, in the garden where Saint Aria waited, she met with Pope Carcel.
“I did not understand why you bestowed the Saint’s Blessing upon him, but now I comprehend.”
The Saint’s Blessing could only be granted to a single Outsider.
Of course, that alone was not what made it special.
Aria smiled softly.
“When he saved me, I saw him overlapping with that legendary figure from the tales.”
That legendary figure from the tales.
Carcel knew of him as well.
The only one who could ever commune with the Ares Church.
“According to legend, the Saint saved the Ares Church when it faced peril.”
Aria smiled faintly.
Carcel’s expression grew intrigued.
“Then is he creating a new legend?”
Aria shook her head.
“Saving me was not the same as saving the Ares Church. Rather, he is merely a token of our friendship that he received, and he is making the Saint’s Blessing—the distant power of that figure from ages past—shine all the brighter.”
“Shine all the brighter?”
“Through calamities, and through the demon Graut.”
Carcel could only agree.
He was gradually weaving a tale much like one of the greatest legends of old.
“Perhaps when true crisis befalls us one day, that story from that time might be realized once more.”
Carcel nodded slowly.
“If that were to happen….”
“Yes, precisely.”
Both exchanged a look of mutual understanding.
“He, merely a noble of a single nation, could then bear us upon his shoulders.”
*
*
*
The Saint’s Blessing had thus far yielded many beneficial results for Hyeon-su.
Ordinarily, save for classes like Priest or Holy Knight, obtaining divine power from Ares was nearly impossible.
Holy power is a sacred and magnificent force of that magnitude.
Yet through the Saint’s blessing, I obtained 250 Holy Power.
This allowed me to craft Artifacts imbued with Holy Power despite not being a Church Blacksmith.
Furthermore.
‘It was the power that saved me when I was about to be consumed by evil.’
By collecting Calamity Artifacts, I had become capable of creating calamities.
But the Calamity’s power, rivaling legends, stemmed from pure evil.
As the condition for wielding this power, my disposition nearly became tainted by evil.
Yet the Saint’s aura flowing through my body at that time protected me.
And today, I discovered one shocking truth.
This Saint’s blessing was not merely a one-time power.
‘It was a blessing that carried a narrative.’
That was being proven before my eyes.
[The Saint’s aura flows through you.]
[Hidden Piece. One Who Walks the Saint’s Path – Completed.]
I could understand it.
Those blessed by the Saint—if they uncover the story of the Saint, it returns as a reward.
Yet this reward was not given unconditionally.
[You may receive a reward.]
[However, it must have been closely related to the Saint’s Path.]
[By collecting four Artifacts tainted with evil, you walked the path of worsening calamities.]
[By vanquishing calamities that worship evil, you walked the path of eradicating evil.]
Ding!
[The Saint’s blessing shines most brilliantly.]
I knew why the Saint’s blessing was radiant.
[By vanquishing Graut, Blood Demon—pure evil incarnate—you illuminated the world with light.]
[Demon Graut was a being that would have threatened humanity someday.]
[The Saint’s Path was great and wondrous.]
[You acquire 350 Holy Power.]
[You acquire 200 Charisma.]
Thus I discovered one fact.
[As the Hidden Piece opens, additional rewards are acquired when proving the Saint’s Path.]
The Saint’s blessing would grant me tremendous power in the long term.
‘I’m not a servant of the Church, yet my Holy Power is already 600….’
The Holy Power stat possessed greater strength than expected.
Since I now possessed more Holy Power, the Holy Power-imbued Artifacts I would craft going forward would be superior.
Second, when fighting those recognized as pure evil, the higher my Holy Power stat, the greater additional attack and defense I could exert.
Having gained unexpected benefits, I felt delighted.
And soon, an additional notification that appeared astounded me.
[Dual Class. You learn of the Saint.]
‘Dual Class…?’
I was taken aback.
Dual Class.
In other words, it meant that a single User could possess two classes simultaneously.
I had considerable understanding of Dual Classes.
This understanding was closely connected to the reason people had speculated that I wasn’t Blacksmith Hyeon.
At that time, Crazy Rookie’s level was low.
Yet the fact that this low-level Crazy Rookie could craft high-quality Artifacts and possessed considerable power defied conventional User knowledge.
Thus, some Users had argued that I possessed a Dual Class.
But that theory had been dismissed as well.
‘Because Dual Classes are the exclusive domain of high-level Users.’
Moreover, while it was merely a matter of terminology, those who actually possessed Dual Classes were as rare as finding a needle on the Sandy Beach.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Wait, could it be…?’
Ares had a massive server integration update scheduled in the near future.
Through this major update, what they needed was the power to guide Users who had grown weary of current content.
‘Are they beginning to release significantly more Dual Classes than before?’
Ares had begun releasing update details in minute increments before the official update.
However, most Users found it difficult to access these gradually released update details.
Because they were being released only in tiny fragments.
The proof lay here.
I had discovered that there was a legend of one called the Saint.
Surely his information must have existed somewhere before.
But most Users were unaware of it.
It was impossible for Users to obtain information that Ares had thoroughly controlled and suppressed.
However, through NPCs, Ares was able to release this information.
‘In other words, I have obtained one piece of post-update information before the update has even been implemented.’
There was also the advantage of learning about the Dual Class Saint before anyone else.
‘With this, I have taken one step ahead of others in the second phase of Ares.’
One step ahead.
This alone was extraordinarily significant.
Unfortunately, no additional notification sounded.
‘That makes sense….’
If I had fulfilled the conditions to become a Dual Class, a notification saying ‘You have achieved this’ would have sounded.
The notification I just heard was ‘You have learned of this.’
In other words, the Dual Class Saint exists, but whether I can obtain it depends on what lies ahead.
And through this, I learned one thing.
‘Perhaps this Atlas Territory is not an ordinary place…?’
Regarding additional information, Karn answered that he did not know.
He then led me forward.
“All the previous Lords conducted a certain ritual.”
“…You mean they did it in succession?”
“Ahem, in any case, it exists.”
Karn’s expression was reverent, as though he were speaking of something profoundly sacred.
“You see, a legend exists about this Territory—that the Saint left behind a portion of her power before departing.”
Hyeon-su realized his intuition had been correct, and his heart began to race.
“Once you complete this ritual, I shall tell you more about the Saint. Moreover, you will be able to obtain the sacred relic she left behind.”
A sacred relic.
The symbolic treasure of the Territory.
Typically, Territories governed by Marquises create such objects to represent their domain—items imbued with symbolic significance.
Hyeon-su followed Karn and came to a halt at a particular location.
He had never imagined such a place could exist in this desolate Territory.
Beyond a gate forged from white iron, a Sword embedded in the earth was revealed.
“The Saint’s Sword. Remarkably, this Sword possesses only a single function, yet its consumable nature and the function itself prove the Saint’s greatness.”
“What is that function?”
“Recovery that transcends common sense.”
“Recovery that transcends common sense?”
“Yes, though it contains only that one function, it truly transcends common sense—it continuously restores wounds.”
Merely hearing of it, the Sword seemed to possess immense power.
Yet Hyeon-su’s attention was drawn elsewhere.
‘If I draw this, I will learn part of the truth about this Territory. What the Saint left behind.’
Perhaps it would breathe new life into Hyeon’s Forge, which seemed so hopeless.
Before drawing the Sword, Hyeon-su decided to examine it first.
‘How much will it restore? Forty percent? Or fifty? What’s the cooldown?’
The way to determine if a recovery Artifact is worthwhile is by the percentage of HP it restores.
It also depends on how long the cooldown is.
An Artifact called Vanheller’s Ring, with a five-minute cooldown, restores approximately twenty percent HP per use.
Because of this, it possesses a value beyond measure in Ares.
Soon after examining it, Hyeon-su lost his words.
‘…What is this?’
Hyeon-su doubted his own eyes.
No, he could only doubt them.
The moment his hand grasped the hilt, a notification sounded, and information about the Saint’s Sword appeared.
[This Sword cannot be drawn.]
Truly, it was a Sword of purely symbolic meaning.
And upon seeing the Sword’s information, he gasped in astonishment.
(Saint’s Sword)
Grade: Legendary
Durability: 910/5,000
Attack Power: 101
Restriction: Lord of Atlas Territory
Special Ability:
·Active Skill Saint’s Blessing
Description: A sacred relic of Atlas Territory designated by the First Lord Saint. It is said that something extraordinary occurs when drawn, but it has been set so that it can never be drawn. However, through this, you will obtain Territory-related Quests.
To be honest, the Saint’s Sword is nearly garbage compared to its Legendary grade rating.
‘Total durability is only 5,000, and the remaining durability is in the 900s. On top of that, the attack power is 101, and aside from the Active Skill Saint’s Blessing, it possesses no other abilities….’
However, the single Active Skill Saint’s Blessing surpassed everything else.
(Saint’s Blessing)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Uses Available: 200/200
Description: Upon activation, fully restores HP to 100%.
This is an absolutely absurd Artifact.
‘Full HP recovery with no cooldown. And it can be used 200 times?’
In other words, if I possessed this Sword, I would become invincible.
“This is genuinely a balance-breaking Artifact, isn’t it…?”
This was an Artifact that should never exist in Ares.
Of course, something existed that proved this.
‘The notification that it can never be drawn….’
In other words, the Saint’s Sword was truly just for display.
But there was one question.
‘Among display-only Artifacts that Users could never possess, there had never been one this absurdly broken.’
And I reached one conclusion.
“This seems like a bug?”
*
*
*
Team Lead Wang, who had been craning his neck forward to observe, was flustered.
-This seems like a bug?
Team Lead Wang agreed.
Soon, he was able to understand why this had happened.
“The person responsible for setting the Saint’s Sword was Team Lead Jin-cho.”
“Jin-cho? Team Lead Jin-cho from the Reward Setting Team who was fired not long ago?”
“Yes, Team Lead Jin-cho was the head of the Reward Setting Team. Originally, Saint’s Blessing was supposed to be usable 50 times. He set it to 200 uses for testing and was supposed to restore it afterward, but he left before he could do that.”
Team Lead Wang’s face contorted, then smoothed out.
“It doesn’t matter anyway since it can’t be drawn.”
Exactly as stated, the Saint’s Sword was merely for display.
It was an Artifact placed with settings that prevented it from being drawn, and if one failed, the setting was to receive a Quest instead.
“Fortunately, the server merge is coming soon anyway, so we can patch it back to normal during the server merge.”
Team Lead Wang let out a sigh of relief.
‘We nearly had a bug that wasn’t supposed to be a bug.’
Ares was known to be a game that boasted perfection.
Then Team Lead Wang was startled by what he heard Hyeon-su say on the monitor.
‘What is he talking about?’
This was logically impossible.
Surely User Hyeon-su would know that this was an Artifact he couldn’t possibly obtain.
Yet Hyeon-su on the monitor said it.
-I think I can actually pull this off.

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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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