Genius Blacksmith's Game

Grout, the Blood Demon.

Born between a Great Archdemon and a vampire, he had been called a mongrel.

But no one could look down on Grout.

Because Grout, called the Demon of Knowledge, possessed a power that surpassed even the Great Archdemons.

Regeneration.

The beings of the Demon Realm had grown sick of the demon Grout, who regenerated endlessly, and no one touched him.

“My regeneration surpasses even a Great Archdemon’s.”

That was what Grout believed, and no one disagreed.

Then one day.

A human appeared and stuffed him inside a sword.

Trapped within it, Grout was able to check the power the sword possessed.

(Demon’s Prison.)

Passive Skill

Effect:

· Helps the sword grow by using demonic power as its source.

· Controls the demon so it cannot escape at will, and endlessly absorbs the demon’s power.

· Weakens the demon by absorbing its power.

· The demon’s strength is determined by Full Bloom’s grade.

· Can put the demon to sleep.

You bastard!

Grout was enraged.

The source of his power lay in endless regeneration.

Yet this artifact used that very demonic power as its source and grew without end.

In other words, his power was being exploited.

The sword also possessed the power to regenerate its wielder.

To be honest, Grout despised the bastard.

But he was also shocked.

Because the idea of creating a sword by using a demon was remarkable.

Still, Grout waited only for a certain day.

Because that sword also possessed this skill.

(Grout Summon.)

Active Skill

MP Cost: 50 per second.

· Awakens the demon Grout sleeping within Full Bloom.

· Because he is imprisoned in Demon’s Prison, he is in a weakened state.

· He is not an easy demon to control.

It was the power to summon him.

Grout desperately wanted the bastard to summon him as soon as possible, and at last, that day arrived.

“Summon.”

Grout recalled the difference in level between himself and that human back then.

He had only lost because he had let his guard down. He was certain he could kill the man far too easily.

“Grout.”

So the moment he appeared, he was ready to tear the bastard to death.

FWAAAAASH—!

Demonic energy burst out of the sword and churned like it was running wild.

From within it appeared a handsome man.

Grout’s eyes, far too beautiful to belong to a demon, shone with intelligence.

“Haaaah......”

He stretched elegantly, as if he had just escaped from somewhere stifling, and wore a refreshed expression.

But only for a moment.

He immediately reached out, intending to snap the neck of the bastard he had not seen in so long with absurd ease.

The difference in strength between them was enormous.

And yet......

......What is this?

Twitch, twitch—

Something strange happened.

Grout’s body refused to move as he faced the man he had met again after so long.

Why can’t I move......?

He merely rolled his eyes and looked at the bastard.

His appearance had not changed much from back then.

There was not a single new wrinkle on him, which told Grout that not much time had passed.

But some things had changed.

A set of full plate armor made of black light.

In addition, the hammer hanging at his waist and the Twin Dragon Sword strapped to his back shone more brightly than they had in the past.

And also—

[Overwhelm.]

[You have been afflicted with the status ailment Overwhelm.]

[You have been afflicted with the status ailment Fear.]

[You have been afflicted with the status ailment Terror.]

The enormous aura exuding from him alone made Grout’s breath catch in his throat.

Grout did not know this, but Overwhelm revealed greater power the higher one’s Charisma stat became.

In other words, compared to when Hyunsoo had first encountered Grout, Hyunsoo’s Charisma stat had exploded to more than five times what it had been.

Has so much time passed that I did not even notice it? Did this bastard drink from a fountain of eternal life!?

As Grout twitched, he realized something.

The reason the bastard had not aged had to be because he had drunk something like a fountain of eternal life, a water that prevented aging.

More than a hundred years must have passed.

Otherwise, there was no way a human, the weakest and most insignificant of all races, could have grown this much.

But then—

“Has it been a year?”

Those words struck Grout with shock.

One year?

Only one year had passed for him.

What in the world has he gone through for a human to grow like this!?

His shock lasted only a moment.

Grout resisted that enormous aura.

During their first encounter, he had been overwhelmed by Hyunsoo’s power because he had been flustered, but now that he had regained his senses, things were different.

He remembered that he had waited for this moment and tried to grab the bastard by the neck.

But before he could, Hyunsoo seized his wrist first.

Grab—

A gauntlet......?

Grout belatedly realized there was one more thing that had changed about him.

It was a gauntlet where black and violet subtly harmonized.

It was made entirely of metal and looked sturdy overall, yet its faint glow made it appear beautiful.

And the gauntlet, engraved on one side with the Hyun insignia, was so impressive that even Grout, a demon, felt the desire to possess it.

As that greedy thought crossed his mind—

“Miiine~❤”

The blacksmith said something bizarre.

*****

......Is he lonely?

That was the first thought Grout had when he heard the word “Mine.”

It was possible because Grout was more beautiful and elegant than most women.

What peculiar tastes he has.

He thought the man looked perfectly normal, only to have strange tastes.

Because “Mine” sounded entirely like he was saying, “You’re miiine~”

But then something strange happened.

What is this power?

An unknown power stirred from the place where Hyunsoo was gripping his wrist.

That power was sucking away his own.

[30% of the Blood Demon’s cooldown is stolen.]

[30% status ailment resistance is stolen.]

[30% MP is stolen.]

Grout was horrified.

What the hell is this!?

He had not unleashed any power yet.

And the Blood Demon was Grout’s source.

Grout, who attacked with blood, used the Blood Demon to manipulate the blood around him or his own blood to heal himself or attack enemies.

But now the Blood Demon had been controlled, leaving him unable to use any power at all.

And also—

My demonic energy vanished?

A demon’s MP was demonic energy.

As he was panicking over the demonic energy that had disappeared wholesale, Hyunsoo spoke.

“Ha...... I knew it. The stronger the race, the higher their MP and status ailment resistance, so the amount converted into Mine is way bigger too!?”

What......?

Only then did Grout understand the meaning of Mine.

Its meaning was this:

Everything you possess is mine.

*****

NPCs did hear notifications.

However, they were not as specific as the ones users heard.

The reason Hyunsoo had chosen the demon Grout was because he was a powerful being, and therefore should possess a great amount of MP and extremely high status ailment resistance.

He had also thought that this would let him steal a large amount.

His prediction was correct.

[Artifact skill. Mine has been selected.]

[You steal 15 minutes of Grout’s cooldown.]

[You steal 11,613 MP.]

[You steal 140% status ailment resistance.]

Hyunsoo could not help being shocked.

To begin with, the MP and status ailment resistance of super-named NPCs were at a fraudulent level.

Stealing 30% of that and acquiring it for himself produced an enormous result.

Furthermore, the skill Mine consumed 4,000 MP.

An MP cost of 4,000 was tremendous.

If high-ranker users fired off two skills worth 4,000 MP each, their MP would hit bottom.

But what about Grout?

He’s actually giving me nearly three times that?

After Hyunsoo spent 4,000 MP, it filled him with another 7,000.

Since this was an experiment, he had activated it immediately, but what if Hyunsoo’s MP had been depleted in the middle of combat?

It would fill his MP to the brim at once.

This is insane......

There was something even more fraudulent.

Status ailment resistance of 120%?

That was only possible because Grout was a super-named NPC.

But even so, if his status ailment resistance rose this sharply—

Especially if it synergized with the title Master Blacksmith’s Pride, he might even resist the status ailments of Great Archdemons.

No.

I can resist Baal’s too.

It was that absurd.

And one more shocking fact.

“You bastard, what in the world is that gauntlet!?”

Stealing skill cooldown.

In particular, stealing the cooldown of his main skill, Blood Demon, meant—

[Cooldown is applied to Blood Demon.]

[Grout cannot use skills for a short time.]

It meant he could not use skills for a set period of time.

The demon Grout.

He was called the Blood Demon, and that name was also the name of his skill.

The skill’s contents were:

“Freely manipulates all blood to protect himself or attack enemies.”

Then what happened when that was controlled?

Simple.

TAAAT—!

An enraged Grout kicked off the ground and thrust his sword out to attack Hyunsoo.

But before that lightning-fast thrust could reach him, Hyunsoo was one step faster and smashed him with the Twin Dragon Sword.

CLAAAAANG—!

Grout, struck directly by the great blade, was sent flying.

“Kraaaagh!”

As Hyunsoo watched Grout fly, even he could hardly believe it.

It’s this strong?

Grout was now a summoned creature.

He did not listen, but that was how he was classified.

And Grout’s level reached the 550 range.

But with all of his skill usage controlled, Grout was nothing more than an excellent swordsman.

[You dealt 75,984 damage.]

What shocked Hyunsoo even more was that a single attack had shaved off more than 2% of Grout’s HP.

And though Grout was under the control of Blood Demon—

He could not believe it.

Impossible. He is a brat. No, he was a brat!

Grout, denying reality, charged again and again.

CRAAACK, CRUNCH, CRAAAACK—!

But it was useless.

Compared to one year ago, Hyunsoo’s skill had become far superior.

Most of him is equal to me, or above me?

When they first met, Hyunsoo had been such a weakling that he had fought using “Friend, help me.”

But not anymore.

If only I can use Blood Demon again......!

Grout prayed for his power to return.

Then the insignia on Hyunsoo’s gauntlet changed to gold.

[The mode changes.]

[Cooldown mode.]

And after they exchanged several fierce blows, just as Blood Demon was about to refill—

[Cooldown is plundered.]

[15% is applied.]

“......?”

Once again, Blood Demon became impossible to activate.

What in the world is this!?

But there was no way Hyunsoo would answer Grout’s shock.

And Hyunsoo did not forget that this was an experiment. He remained faithful to it.

He changed modes.

[The mode changes.]

[MP mode.]

Once.

KWAAAAANG—!

“Kraaaagh!?”

[MP is plundered.]

BAAAANG—!

“Kugh!”

[The mode changes.]

[Status ailment resistance mode.]

CLAAAAANG—!

Twice.

After that, Hyunsoo continued stealing Grout’s power in succession.

CRAAACK, CRUNCH, CRACK—!

KWAKWAKWANG—!

What in the world is that gauntlet!?

Grout still could not believe it.

Each time he was struck, rare as the chance was, the things he possessed continued to be stolen.

Furthermore, Hyunsoo had a reason for continuing to steal from him over and over as an experiment.

“This actually works?”

“???”

What was he talking about?

This time, Hyunsoo placed his palm on Grout’s solar plexus and muttered.

“Mine.”

[30% of the Blood Demon’s cooldown is stolen.]

[30% status ailment resistance is stolen.]

[30% MP is stolen.]

Yes.

What Hyunsoo had been aiming for—

Was to steal Grout’s cooldown and fill the cooldown of Mine.

He had also been checking how much the cooldown shortened if he stole, stole again, and kept using it.

The result was satisfying.

Mine’s cooldown was around forty minutes.

But when he stole Grout’s, he could reduce it to about five minutes.

And this could, quite literally, continue infinitely.

By continually stealing the bastard’s cooldown, then activating Mine again around the time it was about to come back, he could keep the cycle going endlessly.

In other words—

If I do this right, I can keep controlling an enemy’s skill usage.

Hyunsoo admired that fraudulent power.

Then a chilling thought crossed his mind.

Wait.

Grout was ultimately a summoned creature.

And if Hyunsoo were on a fierce battlefield—

Or raiding a high-level monster—

And a long battle had exhausted the cooldowns of all his skills and drained his MP?

Or if it’s a high-level boss monster I can’t do anything about......

If there came a time when he needed high status ailment resistance?

What if I summon Grout and fill my cooldowns, MP, and status ailment resistance like this?

Hyunsoo would be able to use various skills several more times.

In particular, this was possible because Grout was high-level and a super-named NPC.

If that really works?

It would be the same as obtaining a walking cooldown potion, MP recovery potion, and status ailment resistance potion.

However, this was a matter he needed to think over carefully.

What happens if Grout doesn’t volunteer to be a sandbag?

Hyunsoo would be placed in the worst possible situation, where he had to face Grout along with the other enemies.

Of course, he could simply cancel Grout’s summon.

In other words—

He needs to cooperate......

Hyunsoo looked at Grout and saw his eyes turning bloodshot, with veins bulging all over his body.

“I will tear you limb from limb and chew you alive, Kraaaaaagh!”

“......?”

Forget cooperation. It would not be surprising if Grout drove his sword straight into Hyunsoo’s neck.

Tch......

Hyunsoo realized it was impossible.

Nothing I can do. I’ll be satisfied with confirming this gauntlet’s effects.

He was thinking that as he struck Grout with all his might while the demon came charging again like a madman.

CLAAAAANG—!

Huh?

PAAAT—!

Demon’s Gauntlet of the Admired One burst with black light.

What is this......?

Then a notification appeared before his eyes.

[Admiration occurs!!]

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