Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 237

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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
What Goes Around Comes Around (4)
Hyeon-su had come to understand something through playing Ares.
‘Those called high-rankers, the Strong Ones, value their pride and honor more than money. And they look toward the future rather than succumbing to momentary greed.’
In Korea, high-rankers earned revenues exceeding tens of billions of won annually.
High-rankers within the top 100 of the global rankings earned hundreds of billions or more.
‘I’m not sure where he falls among them.’
Through him, Hyeon-su was beginning to perceive something.
That he would be the same as himself.
Hyeon-su could have pretended not to know and never repaid Kabel’s kindness.
But he possessed the strength to repay that debt, and moreover, his relationship with Kabel felt more important than money or his own desires.
That was why he had thought this way.
‘Even if I refused, I had a feeling you would do it anyway.’
[A gift has arrived.]
[You have received 2,000,000 Gold anonymously.]
“Phew, stubborn as a mule. Phew!”
Hyeon-su’s prediction had proven exactly right.
“I told him to send just one billion, but he went ahead and sent two billion?”
A smile bloomed at the corners of Hyeon-su’s mouth.
‘If I refine the Villain’s Dagger to transcendence, it’ll easily exceed 2.5 billion.’
Hyeon-su knew this fact as well, and he held the conviction that he would repay it through a different method.
‘I wonder what’s written on it?’
He pulled out a note—one of the ways he repaid debts.
In truth, Hyeon-su only knew that he was one of the strongest assassins, not that he was the world’s greatest information broker.
So he unfolded the note without great expectations.
[Grant me your blessing. And to Bok-deung-i.]
“…?”
Hyeon-su’s expression turned puzzled.
The content written on the note, ‘Grant me your blessing,’ was a sort of Quest.
Hyeon-su’s mind began to trace back to when he had awakened the Seed of Life in Atlas.
*
*
*
After awakening so much of Atlas.
By walking the path of a sage-king, Hyeon-su encountered a notification.
[You already possess two of the three most powerful forces a Saint must possess.]
[You can unlock the final one through a Quest.]
By walking the path of a sage-king, Hyeon-su gained the qualification to obtain the three most powerful forces that a Saint should possess.
And he had been waiting for the Quest that would unlock that final one.
It was triggered for Hyeon-su as he entered Alhyeon Hall, exhausted.
Ding!
[‘Hidden Quest: Grant Me Your Blessing’ has been created.]
Hyeon-su, seated in the Alhyeon Hall chair, immediately reviewed it.
[Hidden Quest: Grant Me Your Blessing]
Grade: S
Requirement: Potential of a Sage King
Reward: One Who Carries Legend
Penalty on Failure: Cannot become a Sage King
Description: The Sage King was a special ruler who led the Continent and boasted deep connections with many exceptional and powerful individuals.
You, who possess the potential of a Sage King, must prove that you will walk this path through meetings with such exceptional people.
When you meet them, place your hand upon their body, and say ‘Grant Me Your Blessing,’ you will receive their blessing and can raise various things such as stats or skill proficiency.
Furthermore, the stats and skill proficiency that increase will vary depending on how much power these individuals possess. You can do this four times, and you must fill the blessing gauge to 100% or more across all four attempts to succeed in the Quest.
However, this cannot be applied to those who have already granted you their blessing even once.
[Power flows through you to receive the blessing of four individuals you will meet.]
To define this Quest in one word: it’s an incredibly sweet quest.
I could choose my desired targets.
Of course, it would require the other party’s approval.
In any case, even if they have no praise or blessing to bestow, this still applies.
The most important thing is this.
‘If applied to an exceptional person, I gain proportionally greater things beyond stats.’
‘If applied to an unremarkable person, I gain proportionally unremarkable things.’
Another variable is the blessing gauge.
If I fail to satisfy the blessing gauge, I cannot obtain ‘One Who Carries Legend,’ the final and greatest power that the Saint class possessed.
‘I still don’t know exactly what the power of One Who Carries Legend is.’
But there was something I hoped for.
It was the ability to transform ordinary ore into legend stone, something I had discussed with Karn before.
‘I cannot receive this blessing from Barad, Ben, or Saint Aria.’
According to the description, I cannot receive it from anyone who has already granted their blessing even once.
‘I’m curious. If I apply this to exceptional individuals, how much will actually increase?’
In any case, I could only choose four people.
I needed to be careful with my selection.
The fortunate thing was that this notification also appeared.
[You will be able to give an example with one target, limited to one attempt.]
[However, if you receive ‘Grant Me Your Blessing’ through the example target, your actual stats will not increase.]
In the current Atlas Territory, I could only think of one person worth using as an example.
Knock, knock.
“Lord, may I come in?”
‘Bella comes whenever I call, as expected!’
I approached Bella, who had entered to make her report.
“Bella, there’s something I need to verify. Can you help me?”
“Of course.”
“Then hold my hand for a moment.”
“Your hand? Why are you suddenly asking me to hold your hand?”
Bella’s expression was bewildered.
“There’s something I need to verify.”
“Ah… yes.”
Bella gently grasped Hyeon-su’s hand.
“I will apply your blessing to me as a demonstration.”
[You apply the blessing as a demonstration.]
[What you gain—stats, skill proficiency, and more—varies depending on how much power the one bestowing the blessing possesses.]
[Bella’s blessing descends upon you.]
[The blessing is applied at 18%.]
[You acquire Sword Mastery 1.]
[Sword attack power and cutting force increase by 12%, Critical Hit chance increases by 15%.]
[Strength and Stamina each increase by 1%.]
[Since this is a demonstration, it is not actually applied.]
“…!?”
Hyeon-su was astounded. The effects granted far exceeded his expectations.
The magnitude was nearly comparable to the blessing of friendship that Barad had bestowed directly.
The blessing of friendship that Hyeon-su remembered was: all stats +8, Sword attack power +15%, Sword cutting force +10%, Penetration +10%.
‘Even when applied to Bella, it rivals the blessing of friendship…?’
Then he realized one crucial fact.
‘The blessing only increased by 18%?’
In other words, if I meet four people like Bella and apply the “Grant Me Your Blessing” Quest, I won’t obtain what the Saint left behind.
Through this, Hyeon-su understood one thing.
‘I must receive it from at least Legendary Grade individuals.’
*Gulp*
If Bella is at this level, I’m curious what kind of blessing a Legendary Grade would grant.
“My lord, your hand…”
“Ah, sorry.”
Hyeon-su realized he’d been gripping unconsciously and released her hand.
In any case, as Hyeon-su watched Bella leave after her report, he pondered.
“This is going to be harder than I thought…”
I need to meet no fewer than four Legendary Grade individuals and hold their hands or have some form of physical contact with them.
Moreover, the other party must be favorably disposed toward me and approve of it.
If I just walked up to some random Legendary Grade and said, “Would you hold my hand?” I’d be forcibly logged out on the spot.
In other words, while this is an amazing quest, its realization is far from simple.
And there was something else Hyeon-su was curious about.
‘Does this include potential as well?’
Potential refers to beings who possess the possibility of future growth.
In reality, there were many who hadn’t yet ascended to Legendary Grade in Ares, but possessed the potential to do so.
“Of course, with mere potential, I’d likely ascend less than with actual Legendary Grade blessings.”
That’s why Hyeon-su felt regretful.
“Ugh! Pureum Corporation! Ugh! Pureum Corporation!”
He had come to understand just how cunning and calculating Pureum Corporation was.
‘If I could only receive blessings multiple times from those I’d already received from, I could have gotten them from four people!’
Had that been the case, I would be far stronger than I am now.
Of course, it was already a known fact, but realizing the true magnitude of this blessing’s power made my chest ache.
‘Right now, the only person available is Sage Artega, and since Artega hasn’t come from Balas Territory yet, I’ll need to meet him soon.’
In other words, to completely break through this limitation, I would need to build connections with three more Legendary Grade individuals.
‘Only then can I unlock The Saint’s final power.’
Hyeon-su’s sigh deepened.
“Siiiiigh….”
Nothing in this world comes easy.
That’s what I thought back then.
*
*
*
Present day.
I read the contents of the note again.
[Grant me your blessing. To Bok-deung-i.]
‘Who on earth were you?’
Hyeon-su posed a question to his mysterious friend.
It meant that he had known about this Quest I’d obtained.
“Do you have some kind of clairvoyance ability?”
This would have been a sensitive topic if Kabel had known about it.
“What exactly is Bok-deung-i?”
The fact that the mysterious friend knew about him in the first place meant he possessed information capabilities that far exceeded my expectations.
‘Since the mysterious friend understands this Quest, he must be suggesting I use it on Bok-deung-i.’
In fact, I could only apply this four times.
Moreover, since I had to fill the blessing to 100% within those four uses, I needed to be cautious.
But Hyeon-su trusted him—the man who sent 2 billion when asked for 1 billion.
‘Let’s try it.’
Hyeon-su moved to find Bok-deung-i.
*
*
*
Puppies sleep a lot.
In fact, Bok-deung-i was often found sleeping in various places throughout the Territory.
In the fruit merchant’s arms.
Beside the guard Paron.
Sometimes he could be found at the soldiers’ training grounds or even in the stables.
Today, for some reason, he was sleeping on the puppy cushion I had laid out for him.
“Bok-deung-i~”
I was bewildered as I called out to Bok-deung-i.
Just moments ago, he had been crying because of my departed friend.
The creature, who had been sleeping deeply, lifted his head with a soft rustle at my call.
His fur was slightly matted, and he looked at me with sleepy eyes.
“Maaahh….”
He yawned repeatedly, not quite regaining consciousness, yet his tail spun like a helicopter—quite adorable.
Then he padded over softly, and I scooped him into my arms.
“There, there, my boy, there, there.”
The distinctive puppy scent tickled my nose.
“Maang….”
As I held him tightly, I gazed at the creature whose black nose was running slightly.
And the notification I had heard when he first awakened from the wolf’s egg flickered through my mind.
[He will be the most special existence.]
Yet contrary to my expectations, Bok-deung-i appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary(?) Sigorjab breed.
‘Gluttonous, adorable, and bounding toward me whenever he sees my plump rear.’
Just a common country puppy.
‘What power could he possibly possess?’
Of course, I still didn’t know about the many things Bok-deung-i had accomplished.
I held onto just one hope.
‘I’ve watched the interviews too.’
My name was rising among the rumors surrounding the top-tier rankers.
Now that the servers had merged, they might be searching for my Atlas Territory.
I needed to become stronger.
‘Beyond what they could ever anticipate….’
Outstanding analysts and high-rankers from around the world were analyzing everything about me.
My damage output, defense, possessed skills and artifact abilities—even countermeasures against them.
I needed to possess a strength they hadn’t anticipated.
“Bok-deung-i, give me your strength!”
The moment I applied your blessing to myself, light rippled from Bok-deung-i.
“Maaaaaang…!”
Bok-deung-i’s eyes widened as if he felt the light too.
[Bok-deung-i’s blessing descends upon you.]
Yet when no notification sounded, I panicked.
‘Could there have been conditions for activation? Was it impossible to apply to such a weak existence…?’
That was possible.
After all, Bok-deung-i’s attack power was only about 3, and his defense was 2.
Soon, a notification rang out.
[Measurement is not straightforward.]
[This entity possesses infinite potential.]
Hyeon-su had formed a hypothesis before.
‘Even if potential is high, does that much power actually apply?’
I had forgotten.
That this fluffy, adorable Puppy possessed potential that was uniquely infinite in this world—∞.
[Measurement is complete.]
[Bok-deung-i’s blessing descends upon you.]
[You acquire 49% of the blessing.]
Hyeon-su was astounded.
Considering that Bella had only been 18%, this was absurd.
His heart began racing wildly once more.
It was driven by anticipation of just how much stronger Bok-deung-i could make him.
Soon, notifications flooded in.

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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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