Chapter 694

After Paro apologized.

Paro and all the other smiths returned to their respective places.

Watching the smiths leave, Su-ho said,

"It's still nice to see that they're all genuinely serious about this work."

"Thank you for saying so."

"I'm only saying what I felt. By the way, what should I do now? I've released all the seals on the legacies you gave me, but the descriptions say that acknowledgment is still required."

"Then you simply need to receive that acknowledgment."

"Aren't you the one who gives it to me, Elder?"

"No."

"What?"

"Follow me."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City clasped his hands behind his back and began walking ahead.

What?

Wasn't he supposed to receive acknowledgment from the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City?

Swallowing his question, Su-ho followed him for the time being.

After following him for quite a while, they arrived at a small temple.

'A temple?'

Why was there a temple here?

The moment they passed through the entrance of the ordinary-looking little temple.

BZZZT-

For an instant, Su-ho's vision rippled as though waves had passed through it, and the flow of the air changed.

At the same time, what appeared before his eyes was a stone statue of a man resembling an Asura, standing firmly all alone.

The statue looked to be about two meters tall.

It stood with a fearsome expression, its arms crossed while holding a sword in one hand and a hammer in the other.

Standing before it, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City said,

"Allow me to introduce him. This is Man Geum-jang, the First Lord who founded Ten Thousand Gold City."

Surprisingly, the statue depicted the First Lord.

But something felt strange.

Was a stone statue or monument normally introduced like that?

If it were merely a statue, one would say it was a statue of someone. But the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City had introduced it as though the statue itself truly were Man Geum-jang.

At that moment, Su-ho's eyes widened.

"Elder. I may be reading too much into this, but could it be......."

"That's right. What you're thinking is correct. That isn't merely some stone statue. It truly is Man Geum-jang."

"......!"

Su-ho's eyes widened even further.

He had wondered if that might be the case, but it really was true.

But how?

What had happened?

Reading Su-ho's expression, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City continued.

"It's not a particularly unusual story. Rather, in this age, it would probably count as a fairly common, ordinary, and tragic one."

This age.

At those words, Su-ho understood immediately.

"Was Man Geum-jang also a Player?"

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City nodded.

"He was the first and greatest Player of our world. At the same time, Man Geum-jang was someone who reached the highest position a Player can attain."

"By the highest position, do you mean a Constellation?"

"That's right."

"Then he must have challenged the indie game as well."

"All three times. And even the final bet."

Su-ho tilted his head.

"Then why did he end up like this? Even if someone uses up all four opportunities, the System doesn't turn them into something like this."

At that, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City smiled bitterly.

Then he slowly continued.

"Do you love the world you live in?"

"Yes. I do."

"Enough to throw away your life for it?"

"Yes. Isn't that why I'm working this hard right now?"

"Man Geum-jang was the same. As the first Constellation of the Smith Realm, the world we live in, he fought harder than anyone to liberate the Smith Realm. But he lost every opportunity he had. Even so, Man Geum-jang did not give up. He searched for some way, any way, to liberate this world, and eventually he found one."

"What do you mean......?"

"He created another opportunity by sacrificing himself. He realized that although there are four chances for independence in total, those chances are not granted to the world itself. They are granted individually to each Constellation."

"......Ah!"

Only then did Su-ho understand the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's explanation.

Simply put, by dying and sacrificing himself, Man Geum-jang had vacated the position of the Smith Realm's Constellation so that a new Constellation could be born and receive another four opportunities.

"And the new Constellation who inherited that position was me. I am the Second Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City, and the younger brother of Man Geum-jang, the First Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City. My name is Cheon Geum-jang."

"......!"

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City calmly revealed his secret.

He had actually been the First Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's biological younger brother.

It was something Su-ho had never imagined.

And yet the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City told the deeply sad and heavy story in a remarkably plain and composed manner.

"I was a Player as well. I fought alongside my brother, always following him, doing everything I could for the liberation of this world. But there was only one position for the Guardian Deity and only one position for the Constellation."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's expression began to darken.

"Never once in my life did I covet some lofty title. But when I learned that there was only one seat for the Guardian Deity and Constellation, I despaired. Because I knew how lonely the person who inherited that position would have to fight. I hated the thought of it. Because no matter what anyone said, that position could only go to my brother, the greatest Player in our world."

His gaze turned toward Man Geum-jang.

"He suffered greatly. With each round of the indie game, the pressure he could never speak of weighed on him more and more. Then, on the day even his final betting opportunity ended in failure, my brother drank for days. He was devastated by the fact that he would never again be able to liberate the Smith Realm."

Su-ho's expression darkened as well.

He had never once seen Man Geum-jang's face or exchanged a single word with him, but he couldn't even begin to imagine how the man must have felt on the day he lost every last opportunity.

"He lived like a walking corpse. Of course, no one in the Smith Realm except me knows any of this. That's simply the kind of position a Guardian Deity is."

Su-ho could understand.

He too had passed through the Guardian Deity stage and was currently undertaking the advancement quest to become a Constellation, but no one on Earth knew about any of these circumstances.

'Even if you want to tell people, it isn't something you can reveal carelessly.'

Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss.

No, when it came to most sorrow and misfortune, it was often better not to know.

People said sorrow became lighter when shared, but Su-ho knew there were some kinds of sorrow that couldn't be lightened no matter how much they were shared.

That was why Umbra had willingly lived while wearing the mask of the Demon King.

Being misunderstood as a villain and pointed at was better than making everyone else suffer as well.

"And so a great deal of time passed. My brother had to fulfill his duty like a slave, exactly as his contract with the System required. Can you imagine it? Having to accept that you must work for the being you hate most, with no hope left whatsoever?"

"It sounds horrifying."

"It was. And yet my brother lived that way. Like a walking corpse. Like a prisoner of the enemy. Then one day, life suddenly began returning to his face. I thought it was strange. Why had my brother suddenly changed? But no matter how much I asked, he never told me what had brought that vitality back. Instead, he kept preparing something on his own. Can you guess what it was?"

"The Blacksmith Style."

"That's right. The Blacksmith Style. On the day he completed it, my brother quietly called me over. He passed down everything about the Blacksmith Style he had created, then, with the most apologetic expression I'd ever seen, asked me to become a Constellation after him. Of course, I couldn't understand it at the time. How could I, when my brother was still there? I only learned the secret on the day he ended up like that."

Their gazes turned toward Man Geum-jang once again.

"At some point, my brother had realized it. If the Constellation changed, this world would receive another opportunity. So he thoroughly analyzed how we might possibly win and liberate this world. And what came from that was the Blacksmith Style you learned."

"Then did you challenge the indie game as well, Elder?"

At those words, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City shook his head.

"I did not. My brother left me a final request."

"His final request?"

"Never challenge the indie game yourself. It is a battle that even I failed after gathering every bit of strength the Smith Realm possessed. It isn't that I don't believe in your potential. We were bound to lose simply because the technological power our Smith Realm possesses is insufficient."

His gaze deepened.

"That is why I leave the Blacksmith Style to you. A Blacksmith Style that can somehow find an answer even when facing a new enemy. But do not be the first to challenge the indie game with the Blacksmith Style. Teach it to someone stronger, and look for possibility within their battles. That will be the first step."

That was the entirety of his final request.

Su-ho nodded.

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City said,

"Depending on how you hear this, you may find it unpleasant. It could sound as though we're trying to test a power we haven't yet used in the indie game through another Player. I have no excuse for that part. But I think my brother had no other choice. He likely didn't want his younger brother, who had shared everything with him, to become blinded by revenge and waste his opportunities for nothing."

"No. I understand completely. Other people's lives matter too, but family is still the most important. I would have left the same final request."

"Thank you for saying that. But there is one thing I can say with certainty. Because of my brother's final request...... no, I won't make excuses. Though I was too much of a coward to challenge the indie game myself, I can still proudly say that the Blacksmith Style is the finest support discipline there is. Because I learned it myself and know its power, and although the environments were nothing compared to the indie game, I've already confirmed its true worth through countless experiments."

"I've never doubted the Blacksmith Style even once. Even before mastering its ultimate level, it helped me tremendously several times. So I'll prove it in your place. Carrying on both your brother's will and yours, I will use the Blacksmith Style to win the indie game without fail."

"You......."

Su-ho's unwavering gaze.

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City was deeply moved by his answer.

"Thank you. For saying that."

And then.

[ The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City fully acknowledges you. ]

At last, Su-ho was able to fit the final piece of the puzzle into place.