Genius Blacksmith’s Game

Hyunsoo, would you believe it if I told you there’s a blade that cuts stone?
His father asked him that when Hyunsoo turned fifteen.
Naturally, Hyunsoo said how could such a blade exist in this world.
Amazingly, it did exist—a sword said to cleave a rock without its edge being damaged, even to split a bullet. The Damascus blade.
The Damascus method vanished completely in the distant past—the 15th century. Even medieval kings tried to unravel how to make it and failed; in the 20th century, many master smiths tried and failed as well.
His father smiled a little sheepishly.
This father has a dream. To realize this Damascus blade more perfectly than any blacksmith in this world.
Hyunsoo liked a father like that.
Even past fifty, he had a dream he meant to achieve.
Let’s begin.
A blade that can split stone. He would try to craft a Damascus blade.
The hammer of Deng, the Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower, would surely help Hyunsoo greatly.
Looking around the forge, Hyunsoo was impressed.
The Beginner Zone and the Magic Forge were utterly different.
During the horn bow restoration, he hadn’t needed to use the equipment inside the forge.
The last time he’d used a proper forge was Ren’s forge in the Beginner Zone.
It was harsh.
To be frank, Ren’s forge in the Beginner Zone was so harsh you could tell why it was called the Beginner Zone.
The hammer was so old it was completely rusted, and the anvil was cracked, about to shatter at any moment.
But everything inside the Magic Forge was good.
No rust, no cracks in the anvil.
And recalling what Han had said, there were no restrictions inside.
Soon Hyunsoo swept through dozens of materials that appeared as a hologram before his eyes.
Materials for crafting a dagger.
Each time Hyunsoo selected one, it materialized and was set before him.
Then an alert sounded.
[You may select the dagger you wish to craft.]
[We recommend crafting the most basic dagger.]
According to Han, inside you could craft with mystic power—that is, with system assistance.
Well, otherwise, how would outsiders who knew nothing craft a dagger?
Just in case, Hyunsoo spoke.
“Damascus dagger.”
[A Damascus dagger can be crafted only by a master-level blacksmith or higher.]
[We recommend crafting the most basic dagger.]
Hyunsoo gave a wry smile.
Even in this game Ares, Damascus daggers existed.
But would those Damascus daggers have been made with a perfect method?
With the 15th-century method? No—that itself is impossible.
The Damascus method had long since vanished.
The Damascus blades in Ares were not the real thing.
His father had searched a long time for a way to make the Damascus blade.
And at last he found an answer.
Hyunsoo, the Damascus method has completely disappeared from this world.
Damascus would have been made like this and that.
Guesses raged in all directions.
Even his father had not found the method perfectly.
If it doesn’t exist, why not make it myself?
The reason people chased the Damascus blade:
Drop a handkerchief on the edge and it cuts.
Strike a stone and the edge does not dull.
It endures any impact.
And at last, his father completed it—his own Damascus blade.
I’ll pass this Damascus method on to you.
It begins.
“Disable all alerts.”
He needed no help from the system.
This was the sole Damascus method his father had left him.
The furnace roared hot.
After a set time, red molten metal flowed.
Hyunsoo began the work exactly as laid down in his father’s method.
Taaaang—
Taaaaaang—!
Taaaaaang—
As time passed and he began forging, alerts sounded.
[You are demonstrating a Damascus method that defies common sense.]
[It differs from the established Damascus method, yet it is excellent.]
Of course.
His father was the one who had made what could be called the finest Damascus blade in the world.
Taaaaaang—!
Hyunsoo kept striking without rest.
 

****
[With a method beyond common sense, a blade is being crafted.]
[Though it differs from the Damascus method established in Ares, it is excellent.]
“…!”
Special User Management Team.
Kim Taeseok and Lee Jihee looked shocked.
It differed from the established Damascus method, yet it was excellent.
Lee Jihee entered information about Damascus into the supercomputer Ares.
[No complete method exists; only various hypotheses and conjectures.]
[In modern times, they often make a “Damascus blade” by their own methods.]
Seeing the supercomputer’s explanation, Lee Jihee caught on.
From the start, in modern times this Damascus blade had become something close to fiction.
It cannot be made by the complete methods of the past.
In other words, in modernity, it can be defined this way:
The one who most excellently makes their own Damascus blade is as good ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) as making the true Damascus blade.
And suddenly, something occurred to Lee Jihee.
“Team Leader, if this is the case…”
Meeting her gaze, Kim Taeseok nodded.
Ares users receive help from the system.
And as they receive that help, users grow as well.
No matter how much help they receive, they still learn, study, and accumulate knowledge through it.
As a result, among master-level blacksmiths and above, quite a few had come to craft their own original artifacts.
Most of those people received rewards.
But Hyunsoo was a bit different.
Right now, at Level 1, he had reached that level, and among such blacksmiths, he was approaching the most outstanding and original Damascus craft.
Ares had prepared rewards for users who made their own original creations.
And here was something interesting.
“If user Hyunsoo crafts that Damascus blade excellently, will he receive the very best of those rewards?”
Watching Hyunsoo on the monitor, Kim Taeseok spoke.
“That’s right. He’ll gain the finest reward—Soul of the Blacksmith.”
“Wow…”
Lee Jihee let out an exclamation.
Soul of the Blacksmith.
A skill that would grant a blacksmith their greatest power.
Perhaps Hyunsoo would obtain it.
 
****
Before he knew it, Hyunsoo’s Damascus blade was nearing completion.
Hyunsoo’s father had taken his Damascus blade to appraisers around the world.
They all said the same thing:
Your Damascus blade is the real thing.
Even the Damascus made in the 15th century may not have been to this degree.
His father’s Damascus blade was recognized to that extent.
But his father’s Damascus blade burned with the forge.
Before he knew it, Hyunsoo was preparing the final step for the Damascus blade—polishing.
A Damascus blade reveals its true face during finishing.
When he quenched for polishing, a wave pattern formed on the blade by itself.
A pattern not made artificially but born of the crafting process.
Hyunsoo slowly lifted the dagger.
A collaboration.
You could call this a collaboration between father and son.
An edge that looked as solid as a military knife.
He tapped it with his index finger, and a deep toooong rang out.
At last, a completion alert sounded.
[With a method distinct from that established in Ares, you have crafted it more excellently.]
[Measuring grade.]
[Grade: Epic.]
[Please name the blade.]
[It will disappear a set time after striking the Stone of Talent.]
“Damascus Dagger.”
Hyunsoo felt a twinge of regret.
Because this dagger had been made in the Magic Forge, it would soon disappear.
And, although it was made exceedingly well, he regretted not pushing it beyond the limits of Epic grade.
Just then—
[It is judged that the artifact made by a new method surpasses the existing method.]
[Hidden Piece: One Who Walks the Path of the Creative Blacksmith.]
[You acquire the skill Soul of the Blacksmith.]
Soul of the Blacksmith?
Hyunsoo wore a puzzled expression.
[As an acquisition reward for Soul of the Blacksmith, it will activate immediately once, and only once.]
[The grade of Damascus Dagger rises by one tier.]
[Damascus Dagger is elevated from Epic to Unique.]
[You receive the reward for the first-ever crafting of a Unique-grade artifact.]
[You gain All Stats +3.]
[You gain Dexterity +50.]
[You gain Fame +100.]
“…!?”
Hyunsoo’s eyes widened.
A skill that raises an artifact’s grade by one tier?
He checked immediately.
(Soul of the Blacksmith)
Active Skill
Grade: Legendary
Level: None
· Activates when you create an original work, or when you craft differently from the established method yet achieve excellence.
· Activates when it is judged that dozens of facets—mindset, effort, passion, obsession, and more—contain your “soul.”
Legendary grade?
Hyunsoo was awestruck.
This skill called Soul of the Blacksmith was, literally, a broken—overpowered—skill.
If this applies to a Unique-grade piece… what happens?
In that case, a Legendary artifact might be born.
As far as Hyunsoo knew, fewer than a hundred Legendary artifacts had been released.
So their value ranged, at minimum, into hundreds of millions of won.
Even if I didn’t get the artifact, I got a busted skill—be satisfied.
When Hyunsoo left the Magic Forge holding the finished dagger, Han greeted him.
“Now strike the Stone of Talent.”
Nodding, Hyunsoo stood before the Stone of Talent.
And he gripped the dagger tightly.
A dagger he could craft because his father had passed on the method.
With that dagger, he swung with all his might at the Stone of Talent.
Skaaaaaak—!
Hyunsoo felt it clearly.
That sound and that feel.
It was definitely the sound of the Stone of Talent splitting.
Soon—
Jjjjeoooooook—
The stone split to both sides.
With a satisfied look, Hyunsoo lowered his gaze to the Damascus Dagger in his hand.
And when he turned his head, the class-change NPC Han wore an expression of shock.
Just then—
Bang—
The door suddenly flew open and a man stepped in.
The man who entered looked to be around fifty, with a solid build.
The peculiar thing was that he was barefoot, and he was panting as if he’d sprinted here.
[Blade Blacksmith’s Tower Master Deng Lv.375]
That’s Deng?
Soon, that man named Deng asked,
“May I examine that dagger?”
 
****
Deng, who had rushed in forgetting to put on his shoes, was honestly stunned.
Because the unknown blacksmith he saw the instant he opened the door looked so young.
Breathing hard, Deng asked the man if he could inspect the dagger.
The man casually handed Deng the dagger.
Deng steadied the breath rising to his chin with a deep inhale, accepted the blade, and checked its information.
(Damascus Dagger)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 8,000/8,000
Attack: 284
Restriction: None for maker, Level 1–140.
Specials:
· Strength +2%, Agility +1%.
· Cutting Power +54%.
· 30% chance to trigger Critical Hit damage.
· Passive Skill: Stone-Cleaving Dagger.
· Active Skill: Blink.
Description: A dagger that surpasses the dagger crafted by Deng, Tower Master of the Blacksmith’s Tower, and the finest dagger ever recorded.
“…”
Deng’s whole body trembled. An indescribable thrill wrapped him.
Thirty years ago, he had crafted a dagger of Epic grade and was recorded as a legend, and that had brought him to this seat.
Back then, that dagger’s Attack was 198.
But this dagger’s sword Attack was a full hundred higher than what he had made.
No, it’s more than that—every part of it utterly transcends what I made!
Cold sweat ran down his back, and a thought flashed through Deng’s mind.
The tower masters of the Blacksmith’s Tower had waited a long time.
For one to inherit the place of the former God of Blacksmiths and at last walk the path of the new heir to the God of Blacksmiths!
Perhaps…
The man before him might be material for the God of Blacksmiths.