Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Blacksmith’s Game

 

 

 

 

Still Want to Create (2)

 

 

 

Chirp chirp-

The chirping of birds tickled Hyeon-su’s ears.

Hyeon-su, who had been closing his eyes against the glare, slowly opened them.

Then a world completely different from the one he knew unfolded before his eyes.

NPCs wearing medieval-style armor walked around everywhere on the streets.

He also noticed other users wearing shabby clothes who seemed to have just started the game.

Hyeon-su looked down at his own hands.

Just like in the character creation window, his hands didn’t shake at all.

Creak-

He clenched and unclenched his fist several times.

Hyeon-su had always unconsciously become cautious whenever he used his right hand.

Worried it might get hurt more, might get worse.

But here, no matter how much force he applied, the strength went in properly.

Hyeon-su smiled slightly and soon spotted the Wooden Dummy Training Ground in the distance.

‘That’s the place that gives you a 50 million won capsule if you succeed, right?’

Hyeon-su didn’t have money to buy a capsule.

Therefore, to make money with this game, he absolutely had to succeed at breaking that wooden dummy.

“Hey, look. This big brother is going to get that capsule.”

“Oh, is that the cursed wooden dummy hitting place where 1.2 billion people failed?”

Those who started the game for the first time like Hyeon-su also showed interest in the wooden dummy.

‘Pureum Corporation’s marketing is really good…’

Hyeon-su was impressed.

In a way, they made users interested as soon as they started the game, which was truly an amazing idea.

Hyeon-su also followed them and walked over.

‘First, I should check what the wooden dummy is like before crafting weapons.’

Hyeon-su spotted the instructors standing in front.

The instructors watched users hitting the wooden dummy with indifferent expressions.

One instructor saw Hyeon-su and approached him.

“Choose any wooden sword from these and strike the wooden dummy 50 times.”

 

Ding!

 

[Quest: Strike Wooden Dummy 50 Times]

Grade: Tutorial

Restriction: Game beginners

Reward: 10 Silver

Penalty for failure: Cannot proceed to the next step.

Description: Let’s learn the basics.

 

“Can I choose just any one?”

The instructor only nodded.

Hyeon-su looked at the wooden swords laid out in a long line.

The number of those wooden swords seemed to be about 500.

It showed just how many users came and went each day.

Hyeon-su was about to grab any wooden sword but hesitated.

‘Hmm…?’

Hyeon-su made a puzzled expression.

The texture and feeling transmitted as soon as he picked up the wooden sword.

In the past, Hyeon-su had made thousands of wooden swords with his father to earn even pocket money.

Making a living hadn’t been easy.

Because of that, he also knew well the materials used for wooden swords.

‘Wait a minute…’

Hyeon-su made a puzzled expression.

Why did they bother to lay out wooden swords? he thought.

And 500 of them at that.

In games, there’s no need for such cumbersome actions.

Also, the reason he had such thoughts was in the texture of the wooden swords.

His eyes swept over the wooden swords.

They were all definitely the same color. If there was any difference, it was in appearance.

Some looked glossy while others looked rough with bark sticking out from being swung around a lot by others.

After touching one wooden sword, Hyeon-su also touched another wooden sword next to it.

‘They’re different…’

Though they looked the same on the outside, many wooden swords in this place were all made from different materials.

About 90% were made from birch wood.

The rest used jujube wood, oak, zelkova, etc.

Swords made from birch wood are hard.

The others aren’t too bad either.

However, if there was a best choice available, wouldn’t it be right to choose that?

‘Normally you could distinguish by color…’

It seemed like they deliberately hid all the colors.

Hyeon-su’s hand repeatedly picked up and put down wooden swords one by one.

“Hey, just grab any one and strike it.”

“It’s better to choose a better one, isn’t it?”

The instructor made a blunt expression but soon approached another user.

Hyeon-su continued to sweep through the wooden swords with his hands.

Then finally.

‘This is it…!’

Hyeon-su smiled slightly.

In appearance, it was a wooden sword that looked like the wood had split here and there with hand stains on it.

‘No wonder people don’t grab this one.’

But the reality was different.

‘This is made from ebony.’

Ebony.

Among various woods, ebony is the hardest and has the best efficiency for making wooden swords.

In other words, among these wooden swords, ebony was the best.

“I’ll go with this one.”

He selected the wooden sword.

Then.

Ding!

 

[Hidden Piece. An expert who can appraise the real thing.]

[You acquire 3 Dexterity.]

 

‘Hm?’

Hyeon-su tilted his head. Hidden Piece.

A secret hidden in the game and the reward obtained by solving it.

It’s a special reward triggered by extremely low probability or a user’s special actions.

Hyeon-su couldn’t understand for a moment why this was a Hidden Piece.

‘Surely someone could choose it by luck?’

Then Hyeon-su realized.

‘I directly touched and appraised dozens of wooden swords.’

The notification clearly said ‘appraisal.’

In other words, the condition was likely not just selecting, but directly touching and examining multiple wooden swords before choosing.

Moreover, appraising them based solely on the feel of wooden swords was nearly impossible for ordinary people.

And another amazing thing happened.

Whoooosh-

 

[The Ebony Wooden Sword begins to glow.]

 

The wooden sword that had ordinary wood coloring now displayed the original black color of ebony.

“Hey, look at that user’s wooden sword.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a Hidden Piece! That ebony Hidden Piece known in the community. But even knowing about it, people can’t do it?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Even if you know about it, ordinary people can’t appraise it.”

“Wow… what amazing talent…”

People showed brief interest in Hyeon-su.

However, when the Instructor approached, the users who were about to gather scattered like they were fleeing.

“Congratulations. You’ve obtained a good wooden sword. Before you start striking the Wooden Dummy, let me explain stats.”

There are five basic stats.

Strength, Stamina, Agility, Intelligence, Wisdom.

“You’ll learn about special stats gradually. Also, for the status window or Quest window…”

He said you just need to mutter about them.

“Status window.”

 

(Hyeon-su)

Level: 1

Class: Unemployed

Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Stamina: 5 Wisdom: 5 Intelligence: 5 Dexterity: 3

 

“What is the Dexterity stat used for?”

“The Dexterity stat helps non-combat classes perform crafting, production, cooking, etc. more easily and excellently. It also has a very slight effect on attack power…”

“Oh…”

It was exactly the stat Hyeon-su needed.

Hyeon-su then checked the Ebony Wooden Sword as well.

 

(Ebony Wooden Sword)

Grade: Normal

Durability: 500/500

Attack Power: 11

Special Ability:

·Strength +1

Description: An ebony wooden sword with 4 higher attack power than ordinary wooden swords and grants Strength +1.

 

‘Amazing…’

Hyeon-su was impressed.

It had 4 higher attack power than ordinary wooden swords and increased strength.

It meant a better start from the very beginning.

And finally, Hyeon-su stood before the Wooden Dummy.

‘If I break it in 10 strikes, that’s 50 million won…!’

He immediately began striking with all his might.

Thwack

Thud

Thunk thunk thunk-

However, after striking a total of ten times, Hyeon-su’s expression twisted.

‘How am I supposed to break this…?’

 

[Wooden Dummy durability 811/1,000]

[You have failed to break the Wooden Dummy.]

[You can retry in 30 minutes.]

 

Hyeon-su was shocked. He had struck ten times but couldn’t even reduce half its durability.

Even though he had struck it with the Ebony Wooden Sword.

‘This is why 1.2 billion people failed…’

However, it was worth attempting for Hyeon-su.

For now, he completed the remaining 40 strikes.

 

[Quest: Strike Wooden Dummy 50 times completed.]

[You acquire 10 silver.]

 

Hyeon-su left that place.

After Ji-hoon left yesterday, Hyeon-su had researched the Ares Beginner Zone.

First, there were things needed to craft swords.

‘Materials and a Blacksmith Shop.’

Without these two things, even the most skilled blacksmith couldn’t craft anything.

Fortunately, while you couldn’t change classes in this Beginner Zone, there was a Blacksmith Shop.

There was also a Quest available at the Blacksmith Shop – collecting 50 Rabbit Hides.

But he knew it was a Quest people rarely took.

The reason was that the compensation from the Blacksmith Shop was too meager.

Of course, it wasn’t for the 50 Rabbit Hide collection Quest.

To use the Blacksmith Shop, you needed permission from the shop owner.

He moved his steps for that purpose.

 

 

 

Clang, clang, claaang-!

Ren, the blacksmith of the Beginner Zone, was striking red-hot iron with all his might.

He stopped hammering and hardened his expression.

“Damn, this is also a failure…”

He had been on bad terms with the Instructors of the Beginner Zone lately.

The instructors of the Beginner Zone frequently visited the blacksmith shop to sharpen their blades and complained about the high prices.

As these complaints repeated, they escalated into arguments.

‘The price for using the blacksmith shop is set based on the blacksmith’s skill, so does it make sense for you, a beginner blacksmith, to charge this much?’

That touched Ren’s pride.

‘I can make pretty good swords too. I’m just in a slump lately!’

‘Does a slump last a lifetime? Well, if you can craft a sword better than the one I have now, I’ll acknowledge you. I’ll even apologize for this conversation.’

‘Apologize? No, if I make that sword, I’ll raise the blade sharpening fee by 30% from now on!’

‘…Do as you wish.’

Ren’s pride had taken a major scratch.

But despite already making dozens of swords, none had surpassed the sword that instructor possessed.

Some came close, but as he said, it was difficult work for a mere ‘beginner blacksmith.’

After continuously hammering, he pushed the heated metal aside and took out another piece of heated iron.

“Why won’t it work?”

The problem was durability. With better durability, swords wouldn’t break easily and he could make high-attack swords that people loved.

But no matter how much he hammered the heated iron, such swords wouldn’t come out.

Clang-!

Clang-!

Clang-!

There was only one blacksmith shop in this place.

Naturally, Ren had dreams too.

To reach a higher level than now and surpass his masterpiece.

No, he didn’t even have a masterpiece to speak of.

He had never made a single rare artifact in his life.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

Clang-!

Cursing his own meager skills, he gritted his teeth.

This Beginner Zone’s only blacksmith shop.

Like all humans, he wanted to show off proudly to the instructors.

“Please, just once…!”

Clang-!

But the result was still mediocre, and he continued hammering.

Finally, when he was clenching his teeth and his arms were about to give out.

“That’s not how you do it…”

An unidentifiable voice was heard.

Turning his head, Ren spotted a man.

Ren was not in a good mood right now.

‘That’s not how you do it?’

He was clearly an Outsider at first glance.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere.”

The Outsider hurriedly bowed politely at a 90-degree angle.

Whether he showed courtesy or not, Ren was dumbfounded.

‘A mere Outsider…?’

Was he giving advice on his blacksmithing right now?

Many Outsiders had passed by the blacksmith shop until now.

But those Outsiders had admired his blacksmithing.

‘Wow, that’s blacksmithing…!’

‘Cool, amazing!’

Why would they say such things?

Because they didn’t know blacksmithing work.

But what was this man in front of him to dare say such things?

Ren walked over with large steps, feeling spiteful.

“Then how do you do it? Try it once.”

With an angry expression, he handed over the hammer he was holding.

 

 

 

Hyeon-su, who had come to the blacksmith shop, felt he had made a mistake as he looked at the hammer Ren was offering.

Should he have spoken after everything was finished…?

But hearing his muttering, he realized the man wanted to create something better.

Why had he given advice? Because it was something he needed to make a better sword.

‘The crafting of this sword was wrong from the start.’

Letting out a small sigh, Hyeon-su took the hammer.

‘If something’s wrong, I should correct it.’

He walked into the blacksmith shop.

The hammer he held for the first time in three years was heating his blood.

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