Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 227

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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
Housewarming (3)
What are Seeds of Life?
They are the Saint’s trial and a verification of one’s qualification to possess the strength needed to obtain what the Saint left behind.
If one fails to gather a certain amount of Seeds of Life within the designated period, Atlas Territory cannot become a territory of growth.
In other words, Atlas Territory would remain a ruined territory forever, stripped of its qualifications.
However, Hyeon-su compensated for the disadvantage of possessing only a minimal number of guild members and territory residents by hunting Bone Dragons and drawing the Saint’s Sword, thereby meeting the required threshold.
Now what mattered was how many of the dormant beings within Atlas he could awaken.
‘How many to awaken—this means how many Seeds of Life I can gather within the given time.’
According to Karn, the number of dormant beings that would awaken varied depending on how many Seeds of Life one obtained during this period.
The more territory residents who awakened, the better.
‘They will cultivate this place anew alongside me, and at times they will become my forces, and at times they will become merchants.’
That was why Hyeon-su and all those who had migrated here became obsessed with obtaining Seeds of Life.
However, the results of the first day were dismal.
Merely 121 seeds.
Even that was only possible because Bella consistently hunted in D-Zone with the forces she had brought under her command.
Hyeon-su came to realize how difficult gathering Seeds of Life truly was and recognized his own shortcomings.
Moreover.
‘I won’t be able to awaken many territory residents.’
Even Karn said he didn’t know how many territory residents had lived in this place.
Based on the standards of a major territory, there would typically be over 30,000 residents and over 3,000 military forces.
This was what constituted an average major territory.
However, Hyeon-su was gradually lowering his expectations due to the slower-than-anticipated rate of obtaining Seeds of Life.
‘Fortunately, 4,000 Blacksmiths have arrived.’
The problem was that those 4,000 Blacksmiths would only fulfill construction and crafting needs.
Thus, unlike the first day, he had anticipated obtaining approximately 300 to perhaps 400 seeds today.
Moreover, since it was a territory Quest, everyone was obtaining seeds, and as Lord, Hyeon-su could hear the notifications.
The problem was that notifications arrived so frequently—once every few minutes—that he had turned off the territory notifications.
However, he could still hear the hourly announcement.
Hyeon-su was taken aback by the number that appeared before his eyes.
‘What is this?’
[You have obtained 2,754 seeds in a single day.]
[This is a remarkable Achievement.]
[Atlas Territory once reigned as the most superior major territory through various means.]
[Among them, the greatest power was wielded by the Saint who led them.]
[You draw near to one of the powers the Saint possessed.]
[This is a power that, while leading countless territory residents and military forces, demonstrates the Lord’s strength and dignity.]
[Or it is a power that, as the Lord of a single territory, can diminish even the enemy’s imposing presence.]
[As the count increases, this power exhibits absurd effects, and you will obtain it each time you satisfy the Lord’s charisma, leadership ability, command strength, and similar qualities.]
Hyeon-su grasped from the hint what power the Saint had possessed.
‘Stats… yes, that’s it!’
Stats fundamentally consist of the four primary attributes granted to all users, plus additional stats depending on one’s class.
The more stat slots one unlocks, the greater the power they gain. Among such slots, I possessed the Legendary stat of Willpower.
‘Acquiring an additional stat slot alone is an enormous reward.’
Ares’s rewards included a universal stat increase each time.
By unlocking a single slot, each stat would rise by one more increment.
Moreover, character growth possessed definite limits.
Yet transcending those limits came from possessing stats that others did not.
‘And if it were a stat that The Saint once held….’
I swallowed hard.
I hadn’t seen it, but I sensed it nonetheless.
That would surely be a Legendary stat.
Then a question arose within me.
‘Was it thanks to the four thousand Blacksmiths and the four Master Blacksmiths?’
That seemed far too much to account for.
And I wondered if it might be connected to Nel’s tea time.
‘What in the world is happening?’
Yet for me, it didn’t matter.
Simply.
“Munch munch~?”
I sat quietly, sucking on honey!
And I returned my focus to my work.
As time passed, my expression grew puzzled.
[You acquire numerous Seeds of Life in a short span of time.]
[A new story in Atlas Territory begins.]
*
*
*
Saint Aria had discerned the identities of the old man and the sturdily-built man.
She resonated with what the two were discussing.
The man with the massive, robust frame asked.
“A housewarming?”
The old man chuckled in response, as if in agreement.
“A new residence?”
And the territory resident standing beside them merely nodded, their face drained of all color.
“….”
Aria tilted her head at this bizarre combination.
‘Two kings rumored to be at odds have grown so close to one another.’
Aria gazed toward where Hyeon-su might be.
‘Walking a path superior to The Saint….’
The Saint had exchanged knowledge with the Ares Church, but could not do so with other nations.
Thus, he came to dominate all the Continents and walked the path of a sage-king.
Yet Hyeon-su’s path appeared far more righteous and steadfast than that.
‘He walks the legend of a sage-king in his own way.’
That was to walk the righteous path and place talented individuals around him.
Aria also agreed with their words.
“I had no idea such a culture existed. I shall join you as well.”
With two people already preparing housewarming gifts, Aria could not possibly arrive empty-handed.
Moreover, Aria herself felt a competitive spirit stirring.
Before she was a Saint, she was another legend in her own right.
Though she did not attend gatherings where the 10 Legends assembled.
This would be the first time she compared her power with other legends.
Ben and Barad had similarly persuaded her with the same reasoning.
“Go forth, all of you, and continue onward.”
[Saint’s Blessing]
[All stats increase by 19%.]
[All attack power increases by 18%, all defense increases by 22%.]
[All skill levels increase by 1.]
[Natural healing speed triples.]
The two kings marveled.
Buffs did not affect all beings equally.
Ironically, the last time the two kings had received a buff was twenty years ago.
The reason lay in their extraordinarily high levels.
When one’s level was so elevated, becoming stronger through buffs was not a simple matter.
Yet Aria’s buff ignored level entirely, making both of them over twenty percent stronger in this moment.
And Kabel, whose face had gone pale, could only gasp in shock.
‘What in the world is this combination…?’
Two kings and a Saint buffing them both.
The kings, already monsters, had become even more monstrous.
Kabel had merely sought to help Hyeon-su obtain more Seeds of Life and raise his own stats.
Yet he could not hide his astonishment at the situation he himself had created.
And so the three legends began to enter the Dungeons together.
Kabel could not believe it.
‘The time was cut in half?’
The debuffs Aria inflicted upon the Dungeon’s monsters!
Combined with her buffing abilities!
What was even more remarkable was that gathering the housewarming gifts for Hyeon-su seemed as effortless as shopping at a grand marketplace.
In a single instant, three Dungeons collapsed.
[Seeds of Life obtained in excessive quantities.]
[Seeds of Life obtained in excessive quantities.]
[Seeds of Life…]
As Kabel heard the notification, astonishment, admiration, and awe flooded through him, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.
When yet another Dungeon collapsed, there was a man watching Kabel.
His name was Pao.
Pao, known among the Holy Knights as closest to legend, was a powerhouse exceeding level 400.
He found it pitiful that an ordinary territory resident had turned deathly pale and seemed so fragile(?).
‘Well, for ordinary people, such overwhelming force is unbearable.’
However, Pao was no ordinary person.
That’s why he felt sympathy for the territory resident named Raon.
‘But why does he look so thoughtful? It shouldn’t be that bad.’
Pondering such questions.
When the fifth Dungeon collapsed, Ben, Barad, and Aria emerged to rest.
“The Saint’s healing doesn’t seem as impressive as I thought.”
“She’s just a healer, that’s all.”
“…A healer? Watch your words, spear user. Without my healing, you’d have broken a finger. And thanks to me, we’re progressing this quickly….”
“Hehe, that’s not it, healer. It’s all thanks to my magnificent spear….”
“This is why spear users and healers don’t work. Swords account for over 40% of the entire continent’s weapon distribution, and the reason is….”
Wait, what kind of conversation is this?
Pao couldn’t understand.
What he understood even less was how Saint Aria was being drawn into it.
‘Ah, Lady Aria?’
Aria, offended by the word “healer,” was now engaged in a heated argument, her competitive spirit ablaze.
Then.
All three suddenly turned to look at Pao.
“Hehe, Director Pao, I’m the best, aren’t I?”
“Hehe, you use a spear, and I, called Spear Heaven, am the greatest, yes? Yes, you’d agree.”
“It’s the sword, right? Actually, why did you choose a spear in the first place? I really can’t understand you. From now on, why don’t you switch to a sword….”
In that moment, Pao panicked.
The murderous intent and fierce expressions emanating from them.
[Saint’s Dominance]
[Spear Heaven’s Momentum]
[Sword King’s Killing Intent]
Even a single aura was unbearable.
But when three auras erupted simultaneously, Pao’s mind grew hazy.
To be precise, he thought it would be better to lose consciousness than to endure it.
And eventually.
Thump—
“He’s weak too.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be the Ares Church’s greatest Holy Knight?”
“He is rather weak. Anyway….”
Beyond my fading consciousness.
I locked eyes with Raon, a territorial resident of this land, who gazed down at me with a look of regret.
“….”
“….”
One of them was the greatest assassin in existence, and the other was the Ares Church’s foremost Holy Knight.
*
*
*
Chinese Special User Management Team.
Team Lead Wang Wok, Director Tao, and other Special User Management Team staff who hadn’t been home for over a week stared at their monitors with bloodshot eyes.
The reason was that with Saint Aria’s participation, the speed of acquiring seeds had accelerated more than twofold.
From the start, they had never anticipated this level of pace.
‘No.’
Two Kings obtaining seeds together was nonsensical from the beginning.
Then came the inevitable notification.
[User Hyeon-su acquires numerous Seeds of Life in a short period.]
[A new story begins in Atlas Territory.]
The notification flashed red as it appeared!
A new story forged by three Legends.
They watched it tensely, but upon reading the details, they fell into despair.
“It, it connects like this?”
“Good heavens….”
“It chains together like this!?”
A new story unfolds unpredictably based on the actions of someone far too exceptional.
Moreover, the difficulty had increased significantly, so the rewards were equally outstanding.
Director Tao, having grasped what would transpire, spoke to Team Lead Wang.
“Team Lead Wang, bring the Story Team’s team lead here.”
Team Lead Wang hurried off and dragged Lee Hui, the Story Team’s team lead who was eating in the cafeteria, back with him.
The moment Story Team Lead Lee Hui entered the Special User Management Team, his eyes twitched.
‘What, what is this…?’
All the staff inside, even Director Tao, stared at him with vacant expressions.
And though it was probably his imagination, he caught a glimpse of expressions that seemed to say ‘hehehehe….’
It felt as though they were thinking: I can’t be the only one suffering through this.
“Team Lead Lee.”
“…Yes.”
Team Lead Lee looked toward Director Tao.
Tao gestured with his chin toward the monitor.
Team Lead Lee, upon seeing it, gulped and swallowed hard.
‘What in the world….’
The story was simply too shocking.
“Welcome aboard.”
Team Lead Lee Hui understood what those words meant. The Story Team was pulling an all-nighter too.
He glanced around the room.
The expressions of the Chinese Special User Management Team told the story.
‘Welcome to the hell that is overtime. Your first time, isn’t it?’
‘Hehehehe.’
‘We haven’t been home in a week.’
“….”
Team Lead Lee Hui, on the verge of tears, checked the monitor once more.
The screen displayed something he had never anticipated—something the Story Team had never planned for.
[The Saint awakens.]

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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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