Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 308

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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
The Final Masterpiece (3)
Takashi is a blacksmith from Sakai City in Japan.
Moreover, Sakai sashimi knives have gained worldwide renown in Sakai City.
‘Among the dreams of chefs around the world is owning a Sakai sashimi knife. It’s undoubtedly the blade that represents modern Japan.’
Yet Hyeon-su’s expression darkened.
‘There’s no way I could craft a Sakai sashimi knife… much less to a standard that would satisfy Takashi.’
Then Takashi spoke.
“I’ll teach you the crafting method.”
Hyeon-su’s heart raced.
Receiving new instruction.
‘Takashi was a Master Craftsman superior to both me and my father.’
He was one who had inherited fifty years of tradition and techniques passed down through twenty-six generations.
Hyeon-su slowly nodded his head.
Now came the moment to discuss what mattered most.
At this moment, Takashi felt the deepest humiliation of his life.
He had already donated all his current assets to society.
Moreover, Master Craftsman Hyeon-su’s market value now exceeded Takashi’s during his prime, thanks to Ares’s influence.
‘Here I am, seventy years old, reduced to begging from this young man….’
Then, as Takashi’s lips trembled, Hyeon-su spoke.
“The commission fee is 100 yen.”
“…?”
Hyeon-su rose to his feet.
“I’d like to begin the crafting today.”
In truth, Takashi had been viewing the world through tinted lenses.
He believed that blacksmiths shouldn’t exist in this world anymore.
After what happened then, he had developed a negative perspective.
And he thought Hyeon-su was someone who exploited that sentiment thoroughly for commercial gain.
Yet as he rose, his white teeth showed in a smile.
Takashi understood that smile was meant to conceal his own humiliation.
“It’s an honor to share in the Master Craftsman’s final masterpiece.”
And he came to know that these were his true feelings.
The two men entered the Blacksmith Shop together.
Takashi already knew that Hyeon-su now crafted with his left hand, not his right.
“I’ll fill in the gaps of your inadequate left hand with my own. Ha, isn’t that amusing?”
Yes, it was amusing.
Both Master Craftsmen each had one hand that was impaired.
Yet speaking thus, they felt it.
What would be created when the incomplete hands of two men came together would be anything but ordinary.
Rummmmmble—
The Furnace ignites, and the Crafting continues for an extended period.
He establishes the fundamentals first.
“You fool, do you not understand that something becomes brittle if it is merely hard?”
“Japanese Blades do not shatter because soft iron is mixed into the center.”
“For now, in this moment alone, abandon the Sword Crafting methods you knew and accept this instead.”
Throughout the prolonged Crafting, Hyeon-su found himself astonished.
‘The joy of learning and mastering something new….’
It was a sensation he had not felt in a long time.
Moreover, there was so much to gain from his teachings.
“You fabricated so many counterfeits in that game called Ares, yet your skill amounts to only this?”
“….”
He also realized that Takashi was the only Blacksmith capable of reproaching him.
“What exactly do you mean by counterfeits?”
In truth, the reason Hyeon-su had set the price at 100 yen.
While it stemmed partly from his noble intentions, there was another reason as well.
He hoped that through receiving such teachings, he could uncover the truth behind the ‘something is wrong’ that he had been sensing recently.
The opportunity to receive instruction from Takashi held a value exceeding tens of billions of won for Hyeon-su.
“Heh heh, you wish to know? Then why not craft a Blade that will satisfy me.”
“Yes!”
“Tsk, losing focus? When the mind scatters, one cannot strike the exact center!”
“I shall certainly satisfy you, Master!”
“Again.”
“Again.”
“Again!”
“Again!”
At last, a portion of the instruction concluded.
In truth, Takashi was astonished.
‘…He was not merely flashy—he was quite an excellent Blacksmith.’
For a moment, Takashi’s eyes gazing upon Hyeon-su grew sorrowful.
‘Come to think of it, had Aoi not died, he would have been around the same age….’
Takashi, swallowing his sorrow, and Hyeon-su proceeded to the main Crafting.
Takashi observes the molten metal flowing down.
And during the forging work, he assists with Tongs in a supporting role.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang-!
The forging and Quenching near completion.
As it neared its finished form, Takashi’s heart grew increasingly uneasy.
Yet simultaneously, he felt a different kind of exhilaration.
It was the emotion he had felt when he originally engaged in Crafting.
But he shook it off and completed the quenching.
Sizzzzle—
Then he proceeded with polishing and engraved patterns into the blade.
A blade of mesmerizing beauty had taken shape, and I fashioned the handle from wood.
Watching the nearly completed sword, Takashi spoke.
“I want to engrave my name on the blade.”
“….”
Famous Japanese blacksmiths had long engraved their names on the parts hidden when the handle was attached to the blade.
And now, centuries later, the sword’s value varied depending on how renowned the blacksmith had been.
But Takashi was famous for being someone who had never engraved his name even once.
“I never thought I’d do something so embarrassing.”
“….”
I projected sadness onto my expression.
It was like watching an old man visiting a photography studio to have his portrait taken.
The old man’s breathing grew labored as he engraved each character, one by one.
‘It was because of me….’
Takashi still heard the screams of the dead whenever he tried to fall asleep, as if they came from the Japanese swords he had crafted.
The weapons I made killed people.
Finally, he engraved the last character of his own name.
And then, the final task.
In the work of combining the handle with the blade, Takashi could not move for a long time as he held it.
Of course, this was not something he had crafted.
Yet it lingered like a trauma, tormenting him.
“Ugh….”
Even when he tried to apply force, it would not work, and trembling spread throughout his entire body.
Then, two large hands wrapped around Takashi’s hands and slowly applied force to complete the combination.
Crrrunch—
“Will you say the same thing as everyone else?”
Takashi laughed sadly.
You are not at fault.
I have heard such words a hundred times, a thousand times, and more.
Clang—
Finally, when his final work, his masterpiece, his grandson’s dream, and the reciprocal gift for the Seven-Branched Sword was completed.
“You were my dream.”
He looked into my eyes.
I came to understand why he felt he had met me before.
Approximately eleven years ago.
When Aoi was still alive.
A Korean boy who had visited holding the hand of a blacksmith in his mid-forties came to mind.
The boy had asked a question while looking at the displayed Japanese sword.
‘Grandfather! Will I be able to craft such a magnificent Sword later on!?’
I stroked the boy’s head with a hearty laugh.
‘Of course, hehe.’
Tears began streaming down the Old Man’s eyes.
“Ha, haha, hahahaha!”
That was it.
I had been someone’s dream, and together with him, I gave birth to a masterpiece.
*
*
*
The completed Sakai City Sword was beautiful.
Beginning from the blade’s tip and descending slowly, it gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight’s reflection alone.
Click—
I placed it in a box embroidered with a dragon, locked it, and handed it to Takashi.
“This is something you must do, sir.”
“….”
Takashi told Hyeon-su to deliver it to the National Museum, but he refused.
“What gets displayed at the National Museum isn’t something that happens just because we want it to. But if Japan’s greatest Master Craftsman delivers it as a gesture of gratitude in response to the Chiljido, the media will move.”
“….”
Takashi’s eyes were filled with fear.
Hyeon-su understood what that was.
‘He’s afraid of being criticized because of the incident from ten years ago.’
But Hyeon-su could envision the events about to unfold.
“…Let me try.”
Takashi nodded his head.
His expression seemed quite relieved.
“What will you do now?”
Takashi laughed softly.
“…I’ve found something I want to do.”
“Something you want to do?”
It was joyful news.
An Old Man who had been losing his will to live had found something he wanted to do.
I didn’t press him further about it.
“Emergency Crafting.”
“…Pardon?”
At the sudden words that followed, Hyeon-su wore a puzzled expression.
Why mention a skill name out of nowhere?
“That’s the reason I called you a fake—you’ve forged Korea’s greatest Legendary Swords through this Emergency Crafting, and there are many other things as well.”
At this moment, Hyeon-su began to grasp an enormous realization.
“Do you truly believe that was genuine Crafting?”
What appears simple to others becomes difficult in one’s own mind.
Takashi had pinpointed this with precision.
“What is your greatest strength?”
That was it.
My strength lay in being a Blacksmith who could craft from beginning to end without relying on skills.
Yet at some point, I had abandoned that and grown dependent on the power of Emergency Crafting.
I had hastily forged Tyrfing from mere imagination.
I had hastily crafted the Royal Sword, which should only be made once every twelve years.
And the Twin Dragon Sword, which demanded deeper immersion than anything else, I had shaped through Emergency Crafting.
‘Regression….’
Somewhere along the way, I had become dependent on ‘skills’.
It was an enormous revelation.
“Do not forget how you crafted in reality.”
I had something I wanted to say.
But I could not bring myself to speak it.
The Old Man turned and walked away into the distance.
Days later, I learned of his movements through news and articles.
-Takashi, the legendary Japanese Master Craftsman who had vanished from sight, announces intention to donate Sakai Katana to Korea’s National Museum…
-National Museum officials express bewilderment, calling it an unprecedented case…
-Netizens celebrate, saying it is repayment for Baekje’s Chilji Sword.
-Who is Takashi? A Living National Treasure of Japan who received the title of Master Craftsman from a former Japanese Prime Minister…
-Osaka Japanese Sword Riot incident from 10 years ago revisited…
I frowned upon reading the last article.
Yet the expected response erupted.
-Korean and Japanese netizens leaving messages for Master Craftsman Takashi saying “You’ve worked hard, Takashi”…
-Revealed that a considerable number of Japanese are supporting the Master Craftsman’s final wish…
-Voices of a tiny minority of anti-Korean Japanese completely drowned out…
-Netizens petition, saying one cannot even donate as one wishes…
-Known to have over one million signatures…
-National Museum officials announce they will display Takashi’s Sakai Katana in an exceptional decision…
-After the donation, Takashi’s whereabouts again shrouded in mystery…
In truth, I had wanted to tell Takashi something.
‘Please become my master.’
But I could not say it.
Rather, I knew better than anyone that I should not speak those words.
It was purely my own selfish desire.
‘Yet Master Takashi seemed to have so much I could learn from.’
Perhaps he could have become the foundation for my great growth.
Moreover.
‘Master Takashi is someone who was involved as a Blacksmithing consultant for Ares.’
He might have received considerable assistance from Ares as well.
Moreover, he might have known about the other advisors whose whereabouts remained shrouded in mystery.
However, Hyeon-su decided to be satisfied with having discovered that his weakness lay in emergency crafting.
‘Whatever you do, I hope you live happily.’
Hyeon-su walked forward, genuinely cheering for Takashi.
Meanwhile.
Takashi, having found a new dream to pursue.
He was quite delighted.
‘In a way, isn’t this also a form of crafting? Haha!’
Takashi recalled that old feeling.
When he first became a blacksmith, those people who had genuinely rejoiced and delighted in what he had created for them!
Wasn’t what he was doing now fundamentally no different from that?
And so he was giving his utmost effort to the work now entrusted to him.
The work he was currently doing.
[28th Generation Gukbap Restaurant.]
He was learning the craft at the gukbap restaurant that had delighted his palate most exquisitely throughout his entire life.
Just as a blacksmith brings joy to people through his creations.
Takashi had come to realize that cooking could do the same.
Takashi dreamed of inheriting the secret recipes of this place and opening a second location in Japan.
Then.
Ding—
The door opened and someone entered.
It was Hyeon-su.
Hyeon-su, who had come to the 28th Generation Gukbap Restaurant for a meal, was taken aback.
Takashi was wearing an apron and mixing radish kimchi.
“Master, what are you doing here…?”
Takashi called out confidently.
“Welcome!”

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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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