Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Legendary Class Proposal (1)
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In the waiting room for the press conference.
Hearing that the ecosystem disruptor was headed to the hunting training ground, the head of the development team asked.
“What should we do? He’s a very unconventional user.”
CEO Lee Se-jin understood the question better than anyone.
“What do you mean, ‘what should we do?’ Leave him be. It’s his own skill.”
Lee Se-jin of Purum Inc. was a man of firm conviction.
In the waiting room, he had heard about the recent events from Kim Tae-suk, the head of the Special User Management Team.
Compensation for an unprecedented event.
The first creation of a Rare artifact.
The creation of a new mineral.
And finally, the creation of an Epic artifact.
Followed by smashing the wooden dummy that 2.5 billion people had failed to break.
But that user had accomplished it all.
There was just one concern.
“...Wasn't one of the conditions for achieving the legendary Blacksmith class to reject an Epic-grade or higher class offer once?”
A legendary class. The exclusive domain of chosen users.
User classes existed in the order of Normal, Hidden, Epic, and Legendary.
Among the 2.5 billion players, not many had obtained such a class, and all who did became famous rankers.
To obtain this legendary class, several conditions had to be met.
In the case of a blacksmith, it was rejecting an ‘Epic class offer.’
Purum Inc. wanted to confirm.
How dedicated he was to being a blacksmith.
Whether he could remain unshaken by temptation.
They wanted to see if he was worthy of becoming a legend.
“An Epic class offer...”
Kim Tae-suk of the Special User Management Team gave a bitter smile.
“Ah, now that you mention it, there is something in the hunting training ground that could trigger such an offer for Hyun-soo. Seeing his current status window and weapon, it might just be possible.”
“You mean the Epic class, Mad Knight?”
“That's right.”
Mad Knight. It was an excellent Epic class, but it couldn't compare to a legendary one.
“Obtaining the Mad Knight class also requires an absurd achievement...”
That was the nature of the conditions for obtaining Hidden, Epic, and Legendary classes.
But Lee Se-jin didn't look particularly concerned.
In fact, from his perspective, he wouldn't be surprised if Hyun-soo achieved a legendary class.
The user was more than qualified.
There was just one concern he hadn't voiced to Team Leader Kim Tae-suk or the development team.
‘He won't ascend to a God Class, will he...?’
A realm no one had yet reached.
A God Class.
But Lee Se-jin quickly shook his head.
‘The conditions for achieving a God Class are too difficult and complex.’
Lee Se-jin decided it wasn't time to worry about that just yet.
***
After leaving the Wooden Dummy Training Ground, Hyun-soo logged out immediately.
Ji-hoon, who was waiting in front of the capsule, looked at Hyun-soo with eyes full of envy.
“You'll be playing from home in a VVIP capsule soon, huh? You'll let me try it, right?”
“Depends on your behavior.”
“Sure, I'm so grateful I could cry.”
Ji-hoon spoke as they walked.
“By the way, you said you started in the Bardin Territory beginner zone, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Tsk, tsk, you poor soul. Do you even know what kind of place the Bardin beginner zone is?”
“?”
Hyun-soo looked puzzled. He hadn't researched the hunting grounds yet.
Breaking the wooden dummy had been his top priority.
Ji-hoon, who had just spoken, suddenly stiffened.
‘Or maybe not...? Is it a piece of cake for him now?’
He suddenly remembered the guy's Epic sword and stats.
“What kind of place is it?”
Just as he was about to answer, they reached a fork in the road.
“Go home and look it up yourself. See you later.”
After parting with Ji-hoon, Hyun-soo soon went inside his house.
Back home, Hyun-soo logged into the Ares community forums.
And he searched for information about the Bardin beginner zone.
[Guys, I started in the Bardin beginner zone. Am I screwed?]
[Yeah, you're totally screwed lol.]
[FR, good luck to anyone starting in Bardin lol.]
[You started in Bardin, you say? Close your eyes. What do you see?]
[Nothing...?]
[That's your future. GG.]
[LMAOOOOOOOOOO.]
[Wow, the Bardin hunting ground is hell mode. Out of hundreds of beginner zones, starting there means you have seriously bad luck.]
[Aren't all beginner zones pretty much the same, no matter how hard?]
[Bardin is different... In the Bardin beginner hunting ground, the instructors give you 1-on-1 training...]
[1-on-1?]
[Because the difficulty is insane lol.]
[Why is it so tough?]
[Lore-wise, once you leave Bardin Territory, you start in the Prime Kingdom, which is surrounded by monsters on three sides. So they train you super hard. In other beginner zones, you hunt deer, right?]
[Yeah, deer. They don't even attack, so it's super easy.]
[In Bardin, you start with goblins. Kyahahaha. Ah, but why am I crying? T_T]
[lol that dude must be from Bardin lmao.]
[Dude, tell us more.]
[The goblins are so strong, I died three times before I finally got out. They don't let you leave until you successfully hunt one...]
[lololol.]
[FR, they're raising human weapons. And you're only Lv. 1 lol.]
Hyun-soo nodded. He could see why the Bardin beginner zone was considered so tough.
But for some reason, he felt a little disappointed.
‘Crafting is more fun than hunting... Isn't there anything I can make?’
However, it was a necessary step to leave the beginner zone.
Putting his disappointment aside, Hyun-soo lay down on his bed and went to sleep.
***
The next day.
Hyun-soo logged into Ares.
After walking a bit further, he saw a translucent blue barrier.
He knew that crossing this barrier would start the hunting training ground's tutorial.
He crossed the blue barrier without hesitation.
[You have entered the Hunting Training Ground.]
It was just as the users on the Ares forums had said.
Upon entering the training ground, he saw countless users receiving one-on-one instruction.
Soon, an instructor approached Hyun-soo.
“Hey, rookie. Take this sword.”
The instructor's name was Relson.
Hyun-soo had sharpened the blades of countless instructors.
But he had never seen an instructor named Relson before.
[You have acquired a Rusted Iron Sword.]
Hyun-soo looked at the iron sword, which was rusted in several places.
‘Attack Power: 17...’
His current sword, Gwangmyeong, had an attack power of 143. Hyun-soo put the weapon into his inventory.
“I'll use my own sword.”
“...A blacksmith?”
Instructor Relson said, looking at the sword on Hyun-soo's hip.
When Hyun-soo slowly nodded, Relson let out a scoff.
“To have such a worthless profession... what a pity.”
“...?”
Hyun-soo's face twisted into a grimace.
The personalities of NPCs were truly diverse.
Some were good-natured.
Some were ill-tempered.
And there were those who believed their own profession was superior to all others.
But Hyun-soo had no need to understand them.
When he was young, Hyun-soo was often teased at school because his father was a blacksmith.
‘Can't you ask your dad to make me an item?’
‘Hey, Hyun-soo, can you craft items too?’
Of course, they always got a harsh scolding from him.
People who came to buy things from his father's smithy would sometimes say things like this when he wouldn't give them a discount:
‘Tsk, tsk. No wonder you're still running a smithy in the year 2040.’
His father was an elite.
He had once worked for a major corporation, and his reason for becoming a blacksmith was incredibly cool.
‘I heard that all the blacksmiths in our country had disappeared. I've admired blacksmiths since I was a child, so I quit my job to become the last one.’
We blacksmiths are not people to be looked down upon.
We are people of value.
But there was no way to prove it right then and there.
Here, however, it was different.
He could prove what kind of sword this was.
He could show how much effort we put in.
He could demonstrate our true worth.
“Instructor.”
Hyun-soo's voice grew sharp.
His father had told him.
‘Don't endure it. Why should we have to put up with it?’
We are the only blacksmiths who carry on the spirit of Joseon.
Does this seem trivial to you?
Instructor Relson flinched, startled by the coldness in Hyun-soo's voice and gaze.
‘What's with this look...?’
It wasn't the look he usually saw from mere outsiders.
Instructor Relson knew the kind of people who had eyes like these.
They were people who had reached the pinnacle of their respective fields.
Was it because they had reached the top that they could have such a gaze?
No. They were the stubborn ones, the tenacious ones who harbored a fierce determination to reach that pinnacle!
“Instructor, you must have seen many geniuses so far.”
“I have. Many have passed through here. There was an outsider named Hanul, I believe.”
“...?”
Coincidentally, it seemed the recent kendo gold medalist, Hanul, had completed his training under this very instructor.
“He was incredible. So strong that blacksmiths like you couldn't even dream of it. You should have picked up a sword like him. You might have become a fine swordsman.”
Hyun-soo was slowly starting to understand the Ares game.
He made a guess.
What would have happened with a user on Hanul's level?
“He must have been impressive when hunting goblins, then?”
“That's right. And that's not all. He also hunted many of the additional monsters I presented to him right on the spot. Did you know? At the same level as you, he almost managed to hunt a level 15 Mad Goblin.”
That morning, before logging in, Hyun-soo had looked up more information about Bardin Village.
He'd read that instructors sometimes offered exceptional users the chance to hunt stronger monsters.
Of course, this was common to all beginner zones.
If you hunted deer exceptionally well in other places, or goblins here.
Watching the instructor excitedly ramble on about Hanul, Hyun-soo grinned.
“Then I'll hunt more monsters here and now than that Hanul did.”
At that, Instructor Relson looked at him as if he were absurd.
***
Instructor Relson wondered if he had misheard.
Hanul? He was going to hunt more monsters than Hanul, the sword genius?
In all his life, Instructor Relson had never seen a genius like that.
He was a man who could kill a goblin in just two hits, when it took normal users five.
And those god-like movements and brilliant swordsmanship?
Furthermore, instructors could offer additional trials to exceptional users.
These additional trials went up to four stages, and killing this weakened goblin was part of the first stage.
Amazingly, Hanul was a user who had almost succeeded at the fourth stage.
Moreover, as an instructor, Relson knew that no one in the entire world had cleared the fourth stage.
So what was this nonsense?
“Are you angry, lad? Hahahaha! But you have to face reality!”
There's a limit to bravado.
“A mere blacksmith claiming he'll hunt more than Hanul? How absurd.”
Relson clutched his stomach.
“Ahaha, my apologies. Calm down now. Well, I'll go ahead and summon one for you.”
*Snap*
Instructor Relson snapped his fingers, and a goblin appeared before them.
[Weakened Goblin Lv. 3]
“All you have to do is attack and kill this thing. Just be warned, it takes normal outsiders five hits to kill it. You should also watch out for its dagger and poison darts.”
The goblin that appeared was small, about 120 cm tall, with green skin.
“Well, don't worry, I'll help you if you're in danger! I mean, have you ever even swung a sword, besides making them?”
Relson was enjoying himself.
Teasing this user was fun.
Besides, Relson was the type to vehemently insist that swords were the best!
“First, let's learn how to pull aggro.”
Hyun-soo drew his sword.
*Shing—*
The sword Gwangmyeong was unsheathed with a clear, ringing sound.
“Alright, give it a light swing.”
Hyun-soo did just that—he swung down on the goblin with a light *thwack*.
*Thwack—*
“Kieeeeek!”
He had only swung lightly, but the goblin's body split in two as green blood gushed out.
The goblin wore a look of confusion, as if it didn't understand what had just happened to it.
Then, cleanly severed, it split apart and disintegrated into gray ash.
[You have hunted the Weakened Goblin.]
“...!?”
Instructor Relson's eyes went wide.
Even Hanul had taken two hits to kill a Weakened Goblin.
Hyun-soo flicked the green blood from his blade with a *swish* and smiled with satisfaction.
Welcome. First time meeting a genius blacksmith?