Genius Blacksmith's Game
Chapter 575: Throne Match (6)
Countless people enjoyed predicting the outcome of a match.
However, it was usually difficult to say that such predictions would be evenly split.
Power tended to lean to one side, and the strong did not maintain balance with others. They were simply overwhelmingly strong.
But this time was different.
With the match between Hyunsoo and Lorander approaching, all kinds of opinions were being raised.
“Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo is the king of a nation, and he’s armed with artifacts that transcend any ordinary user. His outstanding artifacts will protect him from Lorander, and his damage output, which exceeds the scope of an ordinary user, will let him defeat Lorander.”
That was the opinion of those who argued that Hyunsoo would win, and those who predicted Lorander’s victory argued back.
“Lorander. His class is designed solely for one-on-one PvP. It’s a class that grows stronger the more he wins in one-on-one matches. On top of that, aside from Valhalla, an enormous number of high-rankers have lost to Lorander. Rumor has it that lately, high-rankers have even been avoiding Lorander.”
The viewers were not the only ones clashing with such evenly matched opinions.
Experts and commentators all over the world also presented their opinions ahead of the match.
Even sites where one side’s win rate usually hovered between 80 and 90 percent showed a tight trend today.
The win rate on “Betting Site,” one of the two great pillars of win-rate prediction sites, was:
[Lorander’s chance of victory: 52%.]
[Hyunsoo’s chance of victory: 48%.]
And the “Prediction” win rate on the other site was:
[Hyunsoo’s chance of victory: 53%.]
[Lorander’s chance of victory: 47%.]
It was that close.
Those who had been asserting their own opinions gradually quieted down.
A five-second countdown had begun on the electronic display.
The only way to know for certain was through the match between the two of them.
[Match start.]
FWEEEEEEET!
The whistle ringing out across the world announced that the result would now be revealed.
The moment the match began,
notifications were ringing for Lorander.
[The title Unyielding Fighting God activates.]
[Physical attack power and magic attack power increase by 15% against the target.]
Fighting God.
An undefeated existence, yet when there was a target who had defeated him, the title Unyielding Fighting God, which activated afterward, was an SS-grade title unique to his class.
And he possessed one more title related to someone who had defeated him.
[The title One Who Allows No Denial activates.]
“Fighting God.”
Even Lorander himself still did not know the full meaning of it.
After his defeat, once he began sharpening the blade of revenge over the following half year,
as he continued onward with the enormous obsession of defeating Hyunsoo, the Fighting God had bestowed a new title upon him.
That title had also reached SS-grade.
[The amount of damage inflicted by the target is unconditionally reduced to 50%!]
The effects of the activated titles were relayed in full to the commentators.
After losing to Hyunsoo, he cleared a quest and obtained an artifact.
It was a dagger called Fighting God’s Obsession.
The battle had begun, but Lorander, still watching Hyunsoo warily, showed him the black dagger with a curved blade tip clenched tightly in his hand.
“After my defeat, I received a quest called ‘Loser.’”
Not long ago, Lorander had already told Hyunsoo how hard he had worked.
“It was a mission the being called the Fighting God gave me. He told me not to be discouraged, and to defeat powerful people above Level 500. And once I defeated more than fifty powerful people above Level 500, I was able to obtain this Fighting God’s Obsession.”
Every class tended to have exclusive class artifacts it could obtain.
Of course, the greater the reward, the more brutal the difficulty was set.
In truth, defeating more than fifty powerful people was no easy task, and this was the fruit borne at the end of it.
“A Transcendent artifact. A weapon specialized solely in hunting enemies. And once I obtained this artifact, a combo quest activated.”
“A combo quest?”
Hyunsoo, too, showed interest in the combo quest that had activated after Lorander obtained the artifact.
“If I win against the target who defeated me, this Fighting God’s Obsession will evolve.”
“...What?”
That was a shocking story even to Hyunsoo.
In other words, it meant this would become one of the Mythic artifacts that had not yet been widely released in Ares.
And as for those Mythic artifacts, aside from the ones Hyunsoo possessed, it was not clearly known who had any.
“I will defeat you and reach godhood.”
It was not arrogance.
What was a Mythic artifact?
It was a treasured item that allowed a person to surpass human limits and partially become a god.
Immediately,
Lorander, certain of victory, sliced thinly from above to below with Fighting God’s Obsession.
At that moment,
[Fighting God’s Obsession exerts its power!]
[It draws the enemy into your arena!]
The ordinary arena underwent a drastic change.
FWAAAAASH!
Hyunsoo was pulled into a burning arena.
FWOOSH!
[Continuous burn damage occurs!]
[Visibility cannot be secured due to acrid smoke!]
[The status ailment Confusion is applied!]
[The status ailment Breathing Difficulty is applied!]
Those were messages ringing for the enemy.
On the other hand,
[In your arena, you will become a god!]
Lorander.
He hid behind the acrid smoke and disappeared from sight.
And Hyunsoo, shrouded in smoke, could not act rashly because he could not see.
Of course,
Lorander had no intention of arrogantly trampling him or letting his guard down in any way.
Also, Lorander had been unable to understand the moment he lost after being struck by Hyunsoo’s counter-instant-death skill.
Why did Hyunsoo have something that he, who was specialized in PvP, did not?
However, that had only been because he had not yet reached it.
A massive force swirled through Fighting God’s Obsession.
RUMBLE!
Adrenaline surged through his body, and for a brief moment, Lorander reached a higher realm.
[You break through your limit.]
[You break through your limit.]
[You break through your limit.]
It was a power accompanied by brutal side effects, but there was a force that could only be awakened by manifesting it.
[Your possessed titles, the artifact Fighting God’s Obsession, and the skill Fighting God’s Arena form a perfect combination!]
[The activation conditions for Extreme Kill have been met!]
Extreme Kill had brutal activation conditions.
It required the title effects caused by the target who had defeated Lorander, along with drawing that enemy into the arena.
And it could only be activated by borrowing the power of the artifact Fighting God’s Obsession as well.
And the power when it activated was this:
[The target is instantly killed!]
It was a true instant-death skill, incomparable to something like Extreme Essence.
BAAAAAANG!
Lorander rushed toward Hyunsoo, who was floundering in the smoke of the burning arena.
His speed was so fast that the viewers could not follow it, and his destination was none other than Hyunsoo’s heart.
SHWEEEEEEEK!
His Fighting God’s Obsession, thrusting forward at tremendous speed, reached right before Hyunsoo.
Lorander, arriving after piercing through the smoke, expected Hyunsoo’s startled expression.
Because humans were startled when something suddenly appeared before them.
But.
Lorander, having pierced through the smoke, saw Hyunsoo with his sharp eyes gleaming.
With one hand stretched forward, Hyunsoo was looking straight at Lorander.
And amid the blazing flames and smoke, his cloak fluttering, Hyunsoo gripped a “hammer” in his lowered hand and spoke one heavy sentence.
“I shall take everything.”
“...?”
For a moment, Lorander felt as though his whole body twisted at those cringeworthy words.
But their effect defied common sense.
[Peerless Command.]
[All effects are dispelled for 1 minute, and the use of all items, including return scrolls and potions, is restricted.]
[Fighting God’s Arena is neutralized and returns to its original state.]
[The effect of the title Unyielding Fighting God disappears.]
[The effect of the title One Who Allows No Denial disappears.]
What the!??
SHWAAAAAAA!
Barely seven seconds after it had activated, the arena scattered away and returned to the original stadium.
In addition,
[Extreme Kill’s activation is halted.]
The power called Extreme Kill only activated when multiple conditions were fulfilled.
The energy that had covered Lorander’s entire body drained away in an instant.
The stadium had returned.
As Lorander stood there with a bewildered expression, Hyunsoo made a warning bell ring in his mind.
“Lorander.”
“...”
Within that heavy reverberation, Lorander realized something.
Hyunsoo, who had called him “Loidander,” had lied.
He had never forgotten Lorander, and had deliberately pretended not to know him.
It had been to win the psychological battle.
And Lorander, who had tried to show how hard he had worked, learned one more thing.
There was something those who chased a goal misunderstood.
“I’ll work hard to become like you.”
“I’ll make bloody efforts to surpass you.”
They spoke like that, but only belatedly did they see reality.
And that truth was—
“You weren’t the only one who worked hard.”
“...”
They, too, had been standing there after bloody effort, and they were still continuing to work.
One of the results Hyunsoo had obtained at the end of that effort now revealed itself.
“Sword King’s swordsmanship. Chapter Two.”
Seeing Hyunsoo switch to the Twin Dragon Sword, Lorander gained realization and tried to dodge, but he could not.
“Raging Storm.”
It was the manifestation of a power he had never seen before, despite having analyzed Hyunsoo thousands of times.
PUUUUCK!
It accurately pierced one of Lorander’s vital points: the solar plexus.
[Raging Storm.]
[You inflict 500% additional damage!]
[You have taken 443,013 damage!]
“Khaaaaaaaak!!”
Lorander’s eyes rolled back, and he could not hide his admiration and shock at Hyunsoo’s damage output, which overturned common sense.
Even though only 500% additional damage had been applied, he had never felt damage this high before.
It made clear just how superior Hyunsoo’s stats, damage, and everything else were compared to his own.
And that power was not over yet.
[You have succeeded in a vital-point attack.]
[1100% additional damage is triggered!!]
KWARRRRRRRRR!
A massive storm erupted from the pierced spot and tore Lorander apart.
GRRRRRRRRK.
Starting from the armor he wore, a shock that covered his whole body enveloped him.
“Stoooooop!”
Lorander despaired before the enormous force that made the phrase “being torn apart” literal.
[Your HP has reached 0.]
SHWAAAAAAA.
He began scattering away with the storm wind.
Lorander realized that he had been one-shotted again.
“Khuhuhuhuk, khuhuhuhuk!”
Tears poured from Lorander’s eyes.
After the great battle against Atlas,
he had run forward like a madman, and he cried because he realized that he had once again been arrogant. He was saddened by the fact that Hyunsoo had one-shotted him again.
On top of that,
[Combo Quest: Fighting God’s Obsession has failed.]
[The Fighting God is disappointed in you.]
[He will not appear before you.]
[Transcendent artifact. Fighting God’s Obsession cannot evolve!]
He had once again lost one of the goals he had been chasing.
As Lorander sobbed bitterly like that, he realized he was showing an ugly sight.
He’s watching me...
He thought Hyunsoo would be triumphant and mock him.
But Hyunsoo’s expression was not like that, and there was neither mockery nor the thrill of victory on his face.
Only—
“...How many people have enough passion to cry because they wanted to reach something? I envy you, Lorander.”
“...”
He acknowledged Lorander’s passion.
He envied the heart of someone who screamed because he had failed to reach what he pursued.
Hyunsoo judged that Lorander, once an arrogant ranker, had changed, and Lorander felt even a little at ease after being acknowledged.
And while the god called the Fighting God had abandoned Lorander that day, one blacksmith had not.
“I’ll make your Fighting God’s Obsession for you.”
An ill-fated relationship sometimes becomes a bond.
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