Genius Blacksmith's Game

[The demon Grout has died and will return to Full Bloom.]

[You may summon the demon Grout again once he has recovered.]

That makes one.

Grout had died only once.

Hyunsoo understood Arte’s anger better than anyone.

Grout was the man who had locked Arte in a cage for amusement and watched him.

It was possible Arte would not be able to accept that such a being now served Hyunsoo.

That was also why Hyunsoo had delayed summoning Grout.

So Hyunsoo remembered how, when he had first brought this up to Arte, Arte’s eyes had gone red and he had breathed hard through his anger.

Hyunsoo had told Arte this.

Do whatever you want until your anger is gone.

Strictly speaking, Arte was difficult to call Hyunsoo’s vassal.

He was closer to a friend.

And if.

If even after being told that, Arte still refused to accept Grout, Hyunsoo had intended to give up on Grout Summon and never summon him again.

Arte, who had been huffing with anger, soon calmed down and said,

Then let him help with class observation.

After hearing the explanation, Hyunsoo smiled.

He thought Arte might be able to resolve his anger in his own way.

But.

Will something that small really be enough?

Hyunsoo looked at Grout, who had returned to Full Bloom, and felt worried.

Then.

[The Academy children understand and grasp the structure of demons.]

[The children’s level of knowledge rises higher.]

Hyunsoo looked surprised at the notification that rang out.

Huh? They only did it once?

Soon Arte came out of the Academy.

Because Hyunsoo had been waiting outside in a restless state, he was able to check Arte’s reaction right away.

“......A demon’s structure is special, and the way it handles demonic energy also seems unusual. There is so much for the children to learn. Anatomy is a core subject that lets them understand the human body and, later, know where to attack once they grow. It became a far higher form of study for me as well as the children.”

Arte.

More than anything else, he was genuinely pleased that it had served as study for the children.

Arte continued speaking.

“For the remaining ninety-nine times, I intend to make use of Grout in various ways. He is an extremely powerful demon by nature, so he will help with the children’s training. He will also let them understand where to cut and where to attack for vital points. And when Grout manifests demonic energy......”

Hyunsoo looked at Arte as he explained in an excited voice.

Arte had once been a sage.

He had been a legendary being, no less, and a person who possessed more outstanding knowledge than anyone else.

And in Arte’s voice, there was only the desire for the children’s growth.

Was it because he had forgiven Grout?

No.

Even after one hundred times passed, he would not forgive him.

Rather than that, teaching the children something new had taken root inside Arte, allowing him to accept Grout.

“Later, when these children grow up, they will also learn how to resist demons and demonkind......”

Hyunsoo simply watched Arte chatter excitedly.

The nation of Hyun.

Because of an excellent principal named Arte, he was certain it would produce countless talents.

And as he listened to Arte, Hyunsoo remembered that Full Bloom was an ego sword.

In most ego swords, the being inside and the owner could converse with each other.

Until now, Hyunsoo had not spoken with Grout.

Because he had turned that function off.

When he switched it from off to on, Grout’s voice came through.

—You’re telling me to do this ninety-nine more times!?

He heard Grout’s voice, excited from playing(?) with the children.

At that voice, Hyunsoo spoke in a low, sincere tone.

I will give you my first order.

—.......

It was an order he gave while looking at Arte and the children.

Protect Arte and the children at all costs.

The answer came a moment later.

—I obey your command.

Grout needed Hyunsoo, and Hyunsoo needed someone who could protect them.

It was a relationship born of necessity, but now, in the nation of Hyun’s Academy, the strongest sword named Grout would stand firmly in support of them.

*****

Pshhhhh—

A hum slipped from Hyunsoo as he ended his connection.

He was pleased because everything was proceeding smoothly.

“So today’s lunch is delivery.”

He opened a delivery app and ordered food.

He lay down on the sofa, enjoying a rare rest, then checked the date.

Today was the first team event, right?

The World Championship was still under way, and today was the day of Dungeon Breakthrough, a team event.

Hyunsoo had delegated many things to Hyein, the coach, before leaving.

Someone might look at him and say, “Is that really right for a captain?”

Should he not be at the World Championship all day?

But when one dug into the reality of it, that was not the case.

The World Championship was a feast for high-rankers.

The strongest rankers from each country competed against one another.

What would happen if such people only stayed inside the stadium?

They fall behind in the rankings.

The competition for ranker positions was fiercer than most people thought.

Fierce enough that failing to hunt for only a few days could push them down the rankings.

So most users who were not participating returned to their daily lives and hunted.

Hyunsoo was simply one of them.

No, Hyunsoo had it even worse.

Because he was the king of a nation.

On top of that, Hyunsoo had not volunteered to become captain.

The Korean government had requested it, and Hyunsoo had accepted after careful consideration.

Hyunsoo had no particular reason that required him to lead the Republic of Korea to victory at all costs.

The reason he had done his best in the earlier matches was simply because he had been certain of something.

That I might obtain a reward I can craft into something for Old Man Ben.

Because the person who performed best in this World Championship could obtain a special mineral.

That was right.

Hyunsoo had participated for himself, not for his country.

And one of the reasons he was struggling so fiercely to grow right now was this.

Valhalla.

In order to face him in battle.

Thinking that, Hyunsoo recalled what Hyein had said.

Even if we can’t win a medal, won’t we at least produce a respectable score?

It was about Team Korea.

Unfortunately, in this team event, not a single member of the nation of Hyun was present.

Dungeon Breakthrough was literally a “raid.”

Victory or defeat was decided by which country cleared the dungeon fastest.

Among the people of the nation of Hyun, there was no one particularly specialized in Dungeon Breakthrough.

If anyone, maybe Hyeji?

Hyeji’s event overlapped with another match at the same time.

And Hyunsoo turned on the TV.

Subtitles were flowing across the screen.

—Breaking news. Team Korea places last among 145 countries in the first Dungeon Breakthrough......

—Compared to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} 1st-place USA’s 23 minutes 32 seconds, 145th-place Republic of Korea records 46 minutes 51 seconds.

—Citizens of the Republic of Korea fall into despair.

Hyunsoo’s expression became unreadable as he watched it.

After he stared blankly at the screen for a moment, the doorbell rang.

Ding-dong—!

Hyunsoo snapped out of his thoughts and soon brought in the food.

The food he had received was black-bean noodles and sweet-and-sour pork.

Without even opening the plastic packaging, Hyunsoo focused on the video playing on the screen.

It was broadcasting Team Korea’s members entering the dungeon.

This Dungeon Breakthrough was an event where a team consisted of four people.

And those four formed a fine composition.

A tanker.

A healer.

And two dealers.

One of those dealers was a fairly famous user in Korea.

He was “Hunter Paul.”

Hunter Paul was known as someone whose powers specialized solely in monster hunting, and Hyunsoo knew that those who accompanied him received a buff the moment they entered.

All attack power against normal monsters increases by 13%, skill attack power by 13%, and all defense by 10%.

It was due to the Hunter’s Benevolence.

The moment they entered.

BAAAANG—!

Along with a massive explosion, an enormous status ailment skill wrapped around them.

—The dungeon permits no blessing.

Their blessing was released.

And immediately afterward, hordes of golems began appearing.

The problem was that the golems’ defense was at a level that defied common sense.

Team Korea’s levels were generally on the lower side.

However, the reason they had been able to compensate for that was Hunter’s Benevolence.

When it was released the moment they entered, they could not break through the golem hordes because of the level gap, attack-power gap, and other differences.

After that, crises continued to come.

And then the final boss monster.

Did they succeed in hunting the boss monster?

No.

The match ended by “time over” before they even reached the place where the boss monster was.

After seeing that, Hyunsoo called somewhere, and he did not even realize it.

That the black-bean noodles he had ordered had swollen so badly they were no longer edible.

*****

John, the American branch head.

He could not hide his delight as he visited the small country called Korea.

Was it because Korea had many things to eat and many things to see?

No.

Because I can show them where the true Ares superpower is.

John, the American branch head, had been an executive at America’s top game company before Ares was released.

His company, too, had been preparing to release the virtual reality game Muel.

But Muel had never come out into the world.

Because its degree of completion had been far too low.

However.

Pureum, whose scale was not even one one-hundredth of America’s greatest game company, gave birth to the miracle called Ares.

And Lee Sejin, the representative of that company, had extended his hand to John, who had become unemployed.

That was how John became branch head.

From that day on, John had hoped.

I will make everyone know that the strongest country in this game is our America.

And it had actually happened.

The team event.

There were no less than two gold medals at stake.

And now, there was a reason John was smiling contentedly after visiting Lee Sejin’s office.

At present.

America had won five gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals.

What about Korea?

They had only three gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal.

Moreover, in the first round of Dungeon Breakthrough.

America had set an overwhelming record that no other country could follow.

By contrast, what about Korea?

They had recorded last place among more than 140 countries.

Of course, it had only been the first round.

Dungeon Breakthrough also had a second round.

“This Dungeon Breakthrough was truly entertaining. Haha.”

John, the American branch head, felt as if his dream had come true.

Even if Ares had been born in Korea, it was proud America that was leading it.

Moreover.

If America won Dungeon Breakthrough, it would effectively be the same as confirming America’s overall victory.

At that moment, Lee Sejin, who had been silent for a long while, opened his mouth.

“The second round will certainly be fast.”

The second round of Dungeon Breakthrough was tomorrow.

They would break through the exact same dungeon one more time.

In effect, the real match would happen tomorrow.

However, this was only a device meant to show how amazing rankers were.

Because after the first Dungeon Breakthrough, how much they shortened their time on the second attempt would also function as one of the points of entertainment.

“Are you referring to America? Well, if it’s American users, of course. Since it’s a party that includes the great mages Lund and Kali, and even Valhalla.”

The reason this Dungeon Breakthrough had shocked the world was that America’s strongest were together.

That was how valuable and tremendous the power of two gold medals was.

From what John saw, the current team was the strongest team that could not be formed anywhere except America.

But Lee Sejin tilted his head.

“I wasn’t talking about Team USA.”

“Pardon?”

“I was talking about Team Korea.”

“Team Korea? What do you mean? Their current record is like this.”

“The reason the first round exists is to let them scout in the first round, then improve and complete it in the second. And Team Korea will make that improvement.”

John gave a bitter smile.

“Improvement means filling in what is lacking. I think it’s rather funny to say Team Korea will become faster just because they improve what they lacked in the first round. Korea isn’t the only one improving. Every country will improve and attempt it again.”

Korea was not the only country taking the second round.

Every country would take it.

At that, Sejin said,

“When it comes to that improvement, I think Team Korea will make use of a rule that exists in this team event called Dungeon Breakthrough.”

John reacted to the word rule.

“A rule, you say...... There is indeed a rule in this Dungeon Breakthrough that doesn’t exist in the individual events. But since every country has the same rule, I don’t think that means Korea alone will become faster.”

John sharply countered Sejin’s words.

However, Sejin shook his head.

“No. That rule will certainly feel especially significant to Team Korea.”

John grew frustrated.

“What rule are you talking about?”

Sejin smiled and answered.

“Player substitution.”

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