Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Wolf's Egg (1)
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Hyun-soo, who had visited the Holy See, was able to meet the Pope, a man named Karsel.
Karsel was incredibly favorable toward Hyun-soo.
“I am thinking of designating this Tiger Blade as a sacred relic of our Ares faith. Thank you. This sword will further elevate our name.”
[The Tiger Blade you crafted has been designated as a sacred relic of the Ares faith.]
[You have gained 100 Fame.]
[You have gained 30 Charisma.]
“Aria said she would pay an additional 30%, but I have a different idea.”
An unexplainable flutter stirred in Hyun-soo's chest.
He was the Pope, after all.
And here Karsel was, trying to make a good impression on him.
“The value of this Tiger Blade is greater and more beautiful than that. Therefore, I have decided to add another 10%, paying you 1.6 million gold.”
It was a staggering amount.
1.6 billion Korean won.
“If I have another request in the future, may I entrust it to you?”
Karsel had heard that Hyun-soo was both an outstanding warrior and a remarkable blacksmith.
He was saying he would entrust any mission to him.
“Of course.”
With that, Hyun-soo immediately left the Holy See and logged out.
Then he requested a currency exchange for the gold.
Wanting to see the money in his bank account with his own eyes, Hyun-soo went to the bank teller to confirm it.
1.6 billion won.
Since his remaining hospital bills were about 700 million won, he would still have nearly 900 million won left after paying them off.
Tears welled up in Hyun-soo's eyes for no particular reason.
The hospital bills had once been overwhelming, amounting to several billion won.
He had thought his life was effectively over, but now, a new life had begun for Hyun-soo.
Recalling the words of an elder, he renewed his vow to be happy and left the bank.
He went straight to the hospital and paid all the medical bills.
He still had to think about what to do with the remaining money.
And now, Hyun-soo had a bit of breathing room.
What would he do with this free time?
Hyun-soo was able to decide quickly.
'Recreate the Coat of Disaster.'
The psychokinetic power derived from the Disaster's Command imbued in the coat seemed quite exceptional.
To Hyun-soo, the Coat of Disaster also seemed to have many powers that he didn't necessarily need.
'Modifying an artifact to suit me is also a form of my own growth.'
After all, Hyun-soo was still only in the 220s.
And as Hyun-soo had grown, the levels of other players had also risen exponentially.
To close that gap, exceptional artifacts were a direct measure of Hyun-soo's power.
[Connecting to Ares.]
***
“It's all right, Bella.”
Having had all her ailments driven away by Saintess Aria's prayers, Bella lay in her sickbed, confessing her disloyal heart to Barad.
But Barad simply nodded magnanimously, as if it were a relief.
Bella cautiously asked what she was curious about.
“Why did you let the assassin, Brok, live?”
He was a man who had tried to assassinate the king. Bella could not understand why such a person was allowed to leave alive.
“I am growing old, and that child is maturing.”
Such sad words.
But what was this?
Barad seemed to be filled with excitement.
“Fifteen years have passed in a cold war with the Praham Kingdom.”
The Praham Kingdom was twice the size of the Goyad Kingdom.
“We've been fighting a silent war for that long.”
The only thing we haven't done is lead our armies to invade each other.
It wouldn't be strange if a war broke out at any moment.
“So I've been thinking. Hyun-soo must continue to grow and gain more recognition from the people, and even the nobles.”
Bella agreed.
He was still just a Baronet, a rank equivalent to a knight.
“He'll have to accomplish countless things to finally reach this position. Until he gets here, I hope for his growth, an end to this tedious war, and for him to gain so much more.”
For a moment, Bella didn't understand his words.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Do you know how I felt when I first learned of Blacksmith Hyeon?”
Bella soon marveled at Barad's foresight.
At the time, Barad's feelings seemed to be this:
'Blacksmith Hyeon. I want to meet him so badly it's driving me mad.'
That was the emotion Barad had felt then, and it would surely be the same emotion the king of the Praham Kingdom would feel.
At that moment.
Brok, who had lost an arm, struggled back alive.
He had been treated by the priests of Goyad, so aside from his missing arm, he was fine.
The king of the Praham Kingdom listened to his report.
He was Changcheon, one of the continent's ten legends, and he was an old man.
Ben, listening to the report from his throne, was surprised.
“Your humble servant may have failed the assassination, but I kept my ears open and heard all their stories.”
Ben felt an indescribable emotion.
It was about Blacksmith Hyeon.
A curiosity about him.
And it made him stroke his own worn-out spear.
He too was feeling the very same emotion that Barad had felt.
But Ben shook his head.
“You didn't just hear it. Barad let you hear it.”
He let Brok live and sent him back with that story.
Ben understood his intention perfectly.
'Don't you want a magnificent spear as well? But what to do? The creator of that spear is a noble of our kingdom.'
Barad was a sly old fox.
He was extending a hand for peace while trying to seize the initiative himself.
Another puzzling thing was this.
'Why would he reveal such a precious talent…?'
Ben's eyes widened.
'Is he that confident?'
Barad had also made this choice for him.
He already had him by his side, but he wanted him to go further, to accumulate more wealth and fame.
It was like this.
'My friend, isn't he amazing? You'd better watch him closely from now on.'
It was a display of power, confident that he wouldn't lose Hyeon.
And he was halfway successful.
Because Ben felt an unbearable greed.
However, he had no intention of ceding the initiative.
'I admit, I too would like an exceptional spear.'
But Ben was an even craftier character than Barad.
“This will be interesting, Blacksmith Hyeon. If I ask him to craft a spear that cannot be made, I can humiliate both Barad and this blacksmith named Hyeon.”
He could picture it clearly.
The man called Blacksmith Hyeon, breaking out in a cold sweat after receiving an impossible spear-crafting request.
He immediately summoned his blacksmiths and commanded them.
“Look into the creation of a spear that is absolutely impossible to make.”
After the blacksmiths had left, Brok asked.
“It's supposed to be an impossible spear, but what if he actually makes it?”
“It won't be easy. The whole point is to propose something that cannot be made.”
Finally, Ben began to walk away.
Then he considered it.
What if he could really craft a spear that others couldn't?
'It's an obvious question.'
If such a spear were created, the one breaking into a cold sweat that day wouldn't be the blacksmith, but himself.
Because he would want that spear so badly.
***
Hyun-soo clearly understood the advantages of being a Descendant of the God of Blacksmiths.
Custom Production.
An artifact's grade is determined not only by its defense or attack power but also by the number and magnitude of its effects.
In other words, a high grade could be achieved simply by having many skills and high stat boosts, regardless of what they were.
Custom Production was different.
'It tailors an item with only what I need and completely eliminates the unnecessary.'
That was why Hyun-soo decided to recreate the Coat of Disaster.
The God's Custom Repair he had previously obtained.
The power to remove the unnecessary and add something new.
It included not just repairs, but also restoration and recreation.
The reason Hyun-soo decided to recreate the Coat of Disaster.
'It has too many skills that are useless to me.'
First off.
The Coat of Disaster had a power called Instant Death.
The passive skill, Instant Death, had this effect:
'Randomly causes instant death to one person who feels fear toward you with a 0.4% probability.'
What kind of bullshit skill was that?
Of course, if Hyun-soo were a true disaster, it would be a necessary skill.
Just by facing a disaster, someone could die, and the fear would reach its peak.
But if Hyun-soo actually did that, he'd probably be banished from the kingdom.
'Though, if you look at it differently, it's actually quite powerful.'
It was absurd, but it was undeniably a strong power.
Wouldn't it be better to upgrade this to a different effect?
The power Hyun-soo wanted to upgrade was Disaster's Command.
The power to stop surrounding objects for six seconds using psychokinesis.
[Commencing God's Custom Repair.]
He would also remove Instant Death and the fear-inducing power called Disaster's Dignity.
Instead, he would change the ability to stop all objects with psychokinesis for six seconds.
In what way?
'So I can wield true psychokinesis freely.'
Merely stopping things and Hyun-soo personally controlling them with psychokinesis were completely different.
After staying up for two whole days, Hyun-soo finally completed it.
[You have recreated the item with skill superior to the original creator.]
[You have changed its name to the Monarch's Coat.]
[The effects of the Monarch's Coat are now 6% more potent, and it boasts a new appearance.]
Hyun-soo was truly impressed.
(Monarch's Coat)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 9,000/9,000
Defense: 431
Requirement: Level 200 or higher
Special Abilities:
·Charisma +30.
·Active Skill: Monarch's Command.
·Passive Skill: Disaster's Command.
·All effects increased by 5% when additional Disaster artifacts are equipped.
Description: An artifact closest to legendary, it once symbolized the fifth disaster, Jack, but has been newly created by the touch of a more skilled blacksmith.
Disaster's Command, which Hyun-soo had sought to maximize.
It now existed as both an active and a passive skill.
And to distinguish between them, the active skill was changed to Monarch's Command.
The passive skill's name remained the same.
And the effects of the two were slightly different.
What Hyun-soo had wanted was the change to the active skill, Monarch's Command.
(Monarch's Command)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: 500
Cooldown: 20 minutes.
Effect:
·You can freely control all objects within a 50m radius with psychokinesis for 12 seconds.
·Ineffective against targets 100 levels or higher than you.
The previous ability, which merely stopped desired objects for six seconds, had been dramatically increased to twelve seconds.
'Should I try it out?'
Hyun-soo activated his newly acquired Monarch's Command.
***
Manager Nel was on her way to the smithy, their base, to meet Hyun-soo.
In truth, she was very worried.
'He might become king one day...?'
Of course, it would be a joyous occasion if Guild Master Hyun-soo really did become king.
But she couldn't help but think it was too soon.
While it wasn't happening right now, she and Hyun-soo had only known each other for a few months.
'The life of a noble isn't easy.'
The first time she saw Hyun-soo, he was certainly impressive, but there was an unknowable darkness about him.
Burdened by hospital bills and many other things, he was full of worries. His shoulders were broad, yet they seemed to slump for some reason.
Of course, she was also going to congratulate him on finally resolving his hospital bill issues.
But a man who had been like that just a few months ago now had to live the life of a noble.
'Doesn't he need a little more time?'
She was genuinely worried for Hyun-soo and for Guild Gwangmyeong. Of course, what was done was done, so all she could do was worry.
Opening the door to the smithy, their base, Nel was left speechless.
'It wasn't too soon...'
Some people are just born with it.
Even if that innate quality is hidden, it never truly disappears.
The sight before Nel was simply awe-inspiring.
Hammers, anvils, nails, screws, and countless materials for crafting artifacts.
All of them were floating gently around Hyun-soo, who was wearing the coat.
The furnace, where hot flames should have been roaring with a *fwoosh*.
It was frozen in place, as if someone had taken a photograph of the fire.
Hyun-soo flicked his finger.
At his gesture, the floating objects around him settled down one by one, neatly organized.
*Fwoooosh—*
The fire in the furnace, which had been as still as a photograph, roared back to life.
As she watched Hyun-soo turn to her with a gentle smile, Nel became certain.
He was born for this position from the very beginning.