Chapter 612: Supreme (3)

[He is a blacksmithing talent who appears perhaps once in a hundred years across the entire continent.]

[Because he is affected by the title Blacksmith with Mythic Inspiration, he has a high chance of growing into a blacksmith of a higher grade than before.]

Ding!

[An unparalleled talent has met the right king, dramatically expanding his room for growth.]

[In the future, he may even lead the blacksmiths in your stead!]

The notifications surged in after Hyunsoo parted ways with Jace.

Like Michael Jordan, the legend of basketball, or Tyson, the legend of boxing.

Sometimes, an era produced geniuses whose talent would remain unforgettable for a very long time.

Astonishingly, Jace—the boy Hyunsoo had once lent money to without setting a repayment date—had been born with that kind of talent.

As Hyunsoo reflected on why Hyuksoo had once extended such a favor to him, and why he himself had done the same for Jace, he came to a realization.

Promising seedlings really are different.

The moment Hyunsoo had seen Jace as a boy, he had felt there was something special about him. He had wanted the boy to live without falling into despair.

And that story had carried on and on.

It led to the creation of the Mythic armor, For Our King!

A broad smile spread across Hyunsoo’s lips before gradually fading.

Is that really something to be happy about?

The thought that Jace might someday lead the blacksmiths filled him with anticipation, but it also brought a single unease.

What if he becomes a threat to me?

Jace’s potential for growth had changed.

And because of whom?

Entirely because of Hyunsoo.

Jace had already possessed an extraordinary talent for blacksmithing, and he had also absorbed the knowledge of manual blacksmithing.

Moreover, time flowed differently for users and NPCs.

In just four years, when Hyunsoo turned twenty-five, Jace would be in his mid-thirties.

His talent would be in full bloom, at its ripest, and he would lead the blacksmiths in Takashi’s place.

The prospect of someone like that growing beyond him was frightening.

Especially because Hyunsoo could inspect Jace’s title, Blacksmith with Mythic Inspiration.

(Blacksmith with Mythic Inspiration.)

Unique Title.

Grade: S

Special Abilities:

·You can envision the inspiration needed to create a Myth. When you create a Crafting Method based on that inspiration, the chance of crafting a Mythic-grade item increases by 1,000%.

·Can only be used three times.

·Uses Remaining: 3/3

He had likely obtained the title after coming up with the inspiration for For Our King! and succeeding in having it crafted as a Myth.

It was one of the greatest titles a blacksmith could possess—one that even Hyunsoo had never acquired.

And because it was a Unique Title, Hyunsoo could not help thinking that perhaps it had been a title he might have obtained someday.

That was how much the arrival of another outstanding blacksmith made Hyunsoo tense, rather than allowing him to simply smile.

Then—

He let out a quiet snort.

I’m worrying over nothing.

If Jace catches up to me, I just need to work harder, improve more, and become better too.

Hyunsoo had obtained Supreme, a new foundation for growth.

No matter the field, he could learn better than anyone else, as though he possessed innate talent for it. Rather than fear Jace, he would continue to grow.

Still, resolving himself to do so did not make it easy.

Can I keep from being overtaken by a genius who appears only once in a hundred years?

The question lingered in his mind.

Forcing the thought aside, Hyunsoo checked Jace’s status window.

(Jace.)

Grade: Legendary.

Type: Vassal

Level: 223

Attack Power: 502

Defense: 432

Special Abilities:

·Passive Skill: Talent of the Century.

·Passive Skill: Blacksmith Who Eyes Transcendence.

·Passive Skill: Only for the King.

·Active Skill: Seeking to Surpass a God.

·Active Skill: Perfect Blacksmith.

Potential: 137

Current EXP: 19%

Description: A blacksmith who originally had the potential to grow to Legendary. However, he met a good king and helped create a Myth. In the future, he may become a Transcendent blacksmith.

Why was that?

Normally, Hyunsoo only skimmed the compressed summary in a vassal’s Description section.

But today, he clicked it and read through every detail.

[He recognizes that he was able to grow this much because of the king he serves, Hyunsoo.]

[Passive Skill: Only for the King.]

[When crafting for his king with a devoted heart, there is an 80% chance that a superior artifact will be created, and he will not grow tired.]

[Active Skill: Seeking to Surpass a God.]

[When he judges that his king or nation is in crisis, he will strive even to surpass a god, burning every ounce of his strength as he fights to create a Myth. At that time, all of his blacksmithing skills increase by +4 levels.]

[Active Skill: Perfect Blacksmith.]

[He seeks perfection for his king. That perfection may sometimes exceed even the king he serves, Hyunsoo. While Perfect Blacksmith is active, all effects of artifacts he crafts are 15% stronger, and they may occasionally undergo grade evolution.]

[Passive Skill: Blacksmith Who Eyes Transcendence.]

[He never forgets that the foundation allowing him to grow even to Transcendence was laid by the king of his country. In gratitude, he hammers like mad and improves like mad, gaining growth speed 80% faster than ordinary blacksmiths.]

[Passive Skill: Talent of the Century.]

[A talent found once in a hundred years is special. In every field of blacksmithing—smelting, refining, forging, finishing, and all others—the Mastery he can attain is overwhelmingly high. And for his king, Hyunsoo, he will produce several more talents found once in a hundred years.]

Hyunsoo found himself speechless.

It all has to do with me?

That was the truth.

Every notification he received was connected to Hyunsoo.

[At the moment blacksmith Jace swore loyalty to you, the words “king and nation” were added to the descriptions of all Jace’s skills.]

[At the moment blacksmith Jace swore loyalty to you, he gained a further 30% increase to his growth rate, driven by a single-minded desire to make you even greater.]

Ding!

[He will willingly use all three charges of the title Blacksmith with Mythic Inspiration solely to craft artifacts for you!]

The worry that Jace might one day catch up to him vanished like snow beneath the sun.

As every description showed, Jace was a blacksmith who would devote everything to Hyunsoo from the beginning.

And—

[He will strive to make you shine as brightly as possible. Even when he could shine brighter himself, he will make certain that you shine brighter!]

[Jace’s Happiness has increased dramatically.]

[He has found a clear purpose in life!]

The dramatic increase in Jace’s Happiness made Hyunsoo smile.

If I hadn’t heard these notifications...

He would have told Jace not to live that way.

But was there anything better than finding something that made him happy?

Hyunsoo shook his head.

No. That isn’t right, Jace.

Jace seemed to be suppressing his own brilliance only because he feared Hyunsoo might not shine.

But Hyunsoo would make sure Jace could shine brilliantly as well.

How?

If you look after me, I’ll give you rewards worthy of it—twice as much, three times as much.

And Jace’s belief that Hyunsoo might fail to shine was mistaken.

Hyunsoo would work harder and grow even more because of Jace.

That was right.

Today, too, the nation of Hyun was moving toward the best possible future—one where the king and his people grew together.

******

Strike while the iron was hot.

Hyunsoo had no intention of wasting even a moment when he had an opportunity to improve his stagnant blacksmithing abilities.

The nation of Hyun had an enormous variety of production-class quests.

Most of those quests involved making something together, creating opportunities to learn new things.

Yet most users ignored them, even when they could gain so much from them.

Why?

“I’m already short on time trying to level up and finish class quests. Do I really need to bother with something useless like that?”

“Exactly. There’s no need. And what would we even do after learning all that?”

They were half right and half wrong.

If something seemingly trivial could help the field of blacksmithing even a little, then doing it was the right choice.

And with the title Supreme, Hyunsoo began every new field with innate talent. The chances of him being exceptional were high.

So the first place Hyunsoo visited was—

[Quest: Make Charcoal with Kadem.]

Grade: C

Restriction: None.

Reward: 50 Silver.

Penalty upon Failure: None.

Description: Kadem, a charcoal master, is looking for someone to make charcoal with him. Go find him.

It was where Kadem, a master charcoal maker, worked.

Kadem supplied charcoal to the nation of Hyun’s restaurant district and many other places.

His charcoal was high quality, and it gave meat a delicious flavor, so many people sought him out.

“You want to make charcoal with me?”

“Yeah.”

Kadem was bewildered by the thought of their king—a blacksmith—wanting to make charcoal.

He also could not understand why Hyunsoo would challenge himself in a completely new field.

Still, he could hardly tell him not to.

“Charcoal is as sensitive as a child. Only when you watch over it for a long time and put in steady effort can you produce good charcoal.”

After explaining every step, Kadem demonstrated the process and completed a batch.

“Do you see? Even with common materials, you can make charcoal this good.”

Kadem smiled with satisfaction.

Then Hyunsoo began following each step.

That was when—

Huh? Why is he so good?

Kadem could immediately tell that Hyunsoo was extremely skilled.

How is this possible?

He wondered whether it was truly Hyunsoo’s first time.

Hyunsoo was as proficient as someone who had done it dozens of times.

And the truth was—

[Dexterity exerts immense power in crafting and production fields.]

[The chance of producing higher-quality charcoal has increased dramatically.]

[The title Supreme takes effect.]

[You display an innate talent for making charcoal.]

[You skillfully replicate the method for making good charcoal.]

“...”

Hyunsoo realized just how foolish he had been.

His Dexterity was high.

Higher than any other user’s.

And that Dexterity exerted enormous power in the fields of production and crafting.

The result of his innate talent astonished him.

The processes and know-how Kadem had shown him—

I haven’t forgotten any of it?

Making charcoal even resembled a blacksmith’s smelting and refining processes.

And when it was complete—

“HUH?!”

Kadem nearly stopped breathing.

The charcoal itself made it clear that it was no ordinary charcoal.

[It is Rare grade.]

[You have received a reward for being the first to make Rare-grade charcoal.]

[You have gained All Stats +1.]

[You have gained Dexterity +10.]

[You have gained Fame +30.]

[Making charcoal is similar to tending the fires of a blacksmith.]

[The fires you tend become more exceptional.]

[You understand and calibrate temperature, time, and more with greater precision.]

[The chance of the artifacts you create being higher quality has increased by 3%.]

[Quest: Make Charcoal with Kadem complete.]

[A wondrous achievement.]

[The 50 Silver reward has been upgraded to 1 Gold.]

“HUH?!”

Following Kadem, Hyunsoo also let out a strangled gasp.

There was something he had forgotten.

The rewards for creating something special for the first time.

Doing a variety of different things meant that he could earn rewards like All Stats again and again.

And the fact that he had produced Rare-grade charcoal on his very first attempt—

Even more amazing, in only a single day, the chance of his artifacts being better had risen by 3%.

“HUH?!”

Hyunsoo gasped again.

Beside him, Kadem rubbed his eyes and inspected Hyunsoo’s charcoal once more.

He was born with talent for charcoal. His Majesty is the god of charcoal!

Kadem had come to a realization, while Hyunsoo was thrilled to learn a way to surpass his limits.

The two of them gasped together.

“HUH!”

“GAH!”

At that moment, Hyunsoo swore that he would learn all kinds of things.

Meanwhile—

“They say His Majesty has been walking around making strange sounds.”

Nell remained completely calm upon hearing the report.

They had become used to Hyunsoo.

And Nell felt that the time had finally arrived.

The World Championship is over, and there are no urgent affairs in the kingdom for the time being.

Furthermore, the condition for the effect of Supreme—allowing His Majesty Hyunsoo to receive the goodwill of all beings across the continent—had been fulfilled.

Nell sent Hyunsoo a whisper.

[Nell: Hyunsoo.]

[Hyunsoo: HUH?!]

[Nell: ?????]

After Nell flooded the chat with question marks, Hyunsoo seemed to come to his senses.

[Hyunsoo: What is it?]

Once Hyunsoo had composed himself, Nell guided him to a new destination.

[Nell: It is time for you to go to Elvenheim.]

The meeting between the new race and the blacksmith was just around the corner.