Alrod, known as the Star of Knowledge.
After confirming his true identity, Kimura murmured,
“The only person in Ares who can create blessings......”
Even after saying it himself, Kimura found the fact astonishing.
“He creates blessings?”
Ares had all kinds of “manufacturing fields.”
They existed under production classes, but were divided into detailed categories within them.
There were manufacturing fields such as alchemists, compounders, potion makers, and so on.
However, there was only one Blessing Maker.
Only Alrod.
Memories about Alrod began resurfacing in Kimura’s mind.
“He can’t make them infinitely.”
At most, it was one or two a year.
But even that was astonishing.
A blessing was the greatest praise a human could give another human.
Pureum had created “blessings” as rewards users could receive when they made NPCs feel that they had accomplished something unbelievably moving and incredible.
Or when they were recognized.
Also, the NPCs who could give them were somewhat special people.
Just as the first person to give Hyunsoo a blessing had been the subjugation captain.
And usually, a blessing was something one might or might not be able to grant once in a lifetime.
He creates something like that?
It was absurd.
He was also curious about how Korea’s Zero-grade user had come here, and soon he learned the reason.
[Hidden Quest: Trial of the Star of Knowledge.]
It was a message sent by the Korean branch.
[A rumor circulated among a very small number of Korean users that there was a quest through which one could receive a blessing, and one user succeeded in finding that quest.]
[That user shared it with the Zero-grade user.]
“......Insane.”
Quest information could also be chased down.
There were many ways to do it.
“Ah, that? If it’s that, then......”
“Have you perhaps heard that story?”
Like that.
One could obtain it from things NPCs chattered to users about, from certain documents,
or even through someone’s guidance. The methods were extremely varied.
“He shared a quest like this?”
Of course, the only reward written there was Wisdom +3.
[The Zero-grade user also appears to know that he may be able to obtain a blessing.]
It seemed the original triggerer of this quest had deduced the result through those hints.
However.
It was assessed that he only knew half of it.
Because he wouldn’t know Alrod’s true identity.
Kimura thought it over.
Even so, is it enough to send a warning message?
After thinking deeply, Kimura suddenly realized something and sent a message to the Korean branch.
[Are you concerned that Alrod, as a Blessing Maker, has “custom blessings”?]
[Yes.]
It was a short, heavy answer, but it contained many meanings.
What was a custom blessing?
It was an absurdly overpowered ability that allowed him to create and grant a blessing perfectly necessary for the current target.
Right. As if he’s choosing and packing exactly what he wants.
Within the possible range, the user would become even more exceptional.
In the first place.
Not even artifacts or skills were ever “perfectly tailored” to a user.
But the fact that this blessing could be tailored 100% perfectly for its target was enormous.
And also—
[You must also be cautious of the blessing Alrod can grant only once in his life.]
The Korean Special User Management Team’s tone changed.
Once Kimura understood the warning, they became polite.
“A blessing he can grant only once in his life? Then it would be far more outstanding. And from a Blessing Maker, no less.”
It was impossible to guess how much power it might produce.
“Thank you.”
Kimura smiled at the unseen person beyond the message.
However, in Kimura’s opinion, this whole process—
had not yet happened.
And Alrod, known as the Star of Knowledge.
Until now, countless people had approached him without knowing the truth that “a blessing could be received,” hoping that at least a few crumbs might fall their way.
However, they had all failed.
In other words, it was still only a concern.
Still, just in case......
Kimura began watching the monitor closely.
Meanwhile.
Lee Jihui was feeling another kind of unease.
She had not told Kimura every suspicious point.
It may just be my own anxiety.
What she was worried about was this.
Surely he won’t end up like Cerberus, right?
Thinking it was paranoia, she focused on her work again.
*****
The capital of the Kingdom of Ruad.
A man was sitting in an old, shabby chair.
It was Alrod, the Star of Knowledge.
As he sat in the chair watching the people passing by, the past flashed through his mind.
“You dare, as a priest, to create power that should be granted by a god!?”
“You are a disgrace to the Ares Church!”
“This is treason, Alrod. To think you would dare create divine power!”
Alrod had once been a priest.
And not just any priest, but a fairly high-ranking one who had been mentioned as a candidate for elder.
However, he had been driven out of the Ares Church.
All because a mere human created power a god could grant......
Alrod had been amazed when he saw blessings.
The greatest blessing one could bestow upon someone.
So he had found thousands upon thousands of documents and records related to them.
And his dream had been to discover how to make blessings, then grant them to people who were like “benefactors” of the Ares Church.
He had believed everyone would be pleased and tell him he had done something incredible.
That had been a mistake.
He had been accused and pointed at, told that a priest of God possessing such power was an insult to God.
In the end, unable to endure those accusing fingers, he had left the Ares Church where he had spent his entire life.
CHIRP, CHIRP—
Alrod looked up at the sky and gave a bitter smile.
It was a power meant for you. Couldn’t you have at least said one word, that it was all right?
Gods were cruel like that.
Then again.
There is no way God would permit a special power made by humans.
Because they were noble.
No such god °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° existed in this world.
And so Alrod now stood in a position of hating gods.
I’m bored.
After briefly sinking into lingering sentiment, Alrod grew bored.
In the process of creating the method to make blessings, he had learned a great deal of information about the world.
Because of that, his recent pleasure was giving people trials.
However, the difficulty of those trials was high.
Of the people who came to him, 99.9% were outsiders.
Truly, all kinds of classes came to him and took his trials.
Mages.
“Explain the three formulas of magic.”
“Pardon? But I’m a user.”
“......Even if you are an outsider, you are a mage. Yet you do not know the most fundamental three formulas of magic? You are completely soaked in the power of mystery.”
Chefs.
“Explain why one slices by pushing a kitchen knife forward.”
“......To make it taste better?”
“......Half right and half wrong. When you slice by pushing, the freshness of the ingredients improves, and they can be stored longer.”
Archers.
“Tell me exactly how many seconds it takes when you place an arrow on the bowstring of the bow you own and fire.”
“How would I know that?”
Like this, the so-called outsiders did not even know simple things.
They were pathetic people.
Of course, Alrod found that amusing.
After he had lived this way for some time, people began calling him the Star of Knowledge.
Of course, it was nothing more than a teasing nickname.
But recently, the number of visitors had fallen to less than a quarter of what it had been.
Alrod did not know it, but it was because a rumor had spread through the community that he was “a lunatic who tells people to know things they do not need to know.”
But was that really so?
As Alrod said, if one could calculate the time it took to fire an arrow, one could hunt monsters more efficiently.
If one understood how to slice ingredients by pushing a kitchen knife, one could serve people better food as a chef.
And if one could handle magical formulas, then if the power they received through assistance known as “the power of mystery” was ever “restricted,” they would be able to draw formulas themselves and overcome the crisis.
However, foolish users disliked troublesome things simply because this was a game, and drove him into the role of a fool.
But in truth.
“Hahahaha! You are an idiot, a fool, and a moron!”
Alrod’s personality also played a part.
Alrod had grown twisted.
He mocked people when they failed to give answers, and in the end, half the reason people had stopped coming was because of him.
At any rate.
They did say karma returned.
Because of that, Alrod became bored.
How can they not comfortably speak of what they do themselves?
Like the mad priest who had once gone mad over blessings and roamed the whole world.
He wondered if there were no outsiders with that much passion.
Just then.
“Hello.”
A shadow fell over him.
When he lifted his head, there was a sturdily built man.
He was a handsome young man with bold features, wearing clothes ordinary users might wear.
“I heard you give trials, so I came to find you.”
The sight of him bowing his head felt more polite than other outsiders.
Alrod nodded.
“What is your class?”
Judging by his build alone, he looked like a great swordsman who would swing a greatsword.
“I am a blacksmith.”
“Oh?”
That was unexpected.
At the word blacksmith, Alrod closed his eyes for a moment, thought, and then spoke.
“What is copper?”
Copper.
A type of mineral, and one of the basics.
It was a question he had asked hundreds of blacksmiths.
Their answers had never once satisfied Alrod.
In particular, the answers given by the people called Koreans had been a spectacle.
“Guri in Gyeonggi Province?”
They were lunatics.
Just like that, the place was full of people who did not even know the basics of being a blacksmith.
When Alrod gazed steadily at the man as if demanding an answer, the man opened his mouth.
*****
“Copper is a general term for ores containing copper. It is also called copper ore. Copper also has excellent conductivity compared to ordinary minerals, so it is often used to make accessories rather than weapons.”
Hyunsoo, who had come to find Alrod, recited the answer without hesitation.
To be honest, it was an extremely easy question for him.
This is the trial?
However, just as the difference between someone who knew the answer and someone who did not was the difference between heaven and earth—
while it might be easy for him, it was difficult for blacksmiths.
At that moment.
Alrod’s eyes went wide.
“Th-that is correct.”
[Hidden Quest: Trial of the Star of Knowledge completed.]
[You have obtained Wisdom +3.]
Nice......
It was sweet.
Even if Wisdom was not greatly necessary to Hyunsoo.
Since it had the role of slightly increasing his total MP, it was still a good reward.
Moreover, had it not been far too simple?
At that moment.
Alrod said,
“What is a greatsword?”
[Alrod proposes an additional trial.]
[If you complete the additional trial, you will obtain additional stats.]
For Hyunsoo, this was an even better situation.
“A greatsword is generally a sword over 120 centimeters long, and unlike ordinary swords, it is made as a double-edged sword. Its weight is far heavier than that of an ordinary sword, and because of that, it has outstanding destructive power and good cutting power as well. Its weakness is that a greatsword requires that much mastery.”
“......Correct.”
[You have obtained Strength +3.]
Oh?
Hyunsoo could not help but feel delighted.
The stat changed?
This was information he had not had.
Alrod continued asking questions.
“What is the best temperature for a furnace?”
“No such temperature exists. Each ore has a different melting point, or in other words, a different temperature at which it changes into liquid form. Steel is 900 to 1,200 degrees. Copper is 1,000 to 1,100 degrees, and bronze is 900 to 1,000 degrees.”
“......”
Alrod was silent for a long while.
Hyunsoo wondered if he had said something wrong.
However, the reason Alrod was silent—
I didn’t know that either.
Alrod had only known that the appropriate temperature was somewhere between 900 and 1,200 degrees.
This was the first time Alrod had ever obtained new information like this.
[You have enlightened Alrod with new knowledge.]
[This is an astonishing achievement.]
[You have obtained Strength +3.]
[You have obtained HP +3.]
What? This time it gave me three points in two stats?
Hyunsoo marveled at the huge reward.
Unexpected rewards always delighted users.
Let’s not forget why I came here.
However, he did not forget that the reason he had come here was the “blessing.”
How does it lead to a blessing?
Linked quests were like riddles.
Did he need to keep exchanging questions and answers?
After pondering for a long while, Hyunsoo reached a certain thought.
Should I try it that way?
Then he reached into his inventory and took out one arrow.
It was an Aegisal Arrow.
Alrod looked puzzled by the thing he had suddenly taken out.
An arrow?
And Hyunsoo lifted it and asked Alrod,
“What is the method to make this?”
Alrod was flustered.
He’s asking what the crafting method is?
He had never imagined in his entire life that he would be the one taking a trial in reverse.
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