Arte's Aspiration (12)
Arte, who had been on the brink of death, was brought back to life by Bellia.
How could a single blacksmith...?
Make the Sword King and Heavenly Spear descend at the cost of penalties?
And for a blacksmith, his guild members possessed far too much boundless potential.
What shocked him most was the ingenuity Hyun-soo had shown at the very end.
He had fought the enemy with astonishing martial prowess, only to ultimately slay the demon Grout in the form of a Master Craftsman.
"......"
Arte stared at Hyun-soo's back for a long while.
He sensed an inexplicable power from those broad, sturdy shoulders.
He has the makings of a sage king...
So Arte thought.
A grand name that countless kings throughout history had chased after.
Sword King, Heavenly Spear, guild members.
Who else but Hyun-soo could unite them all through the singular path he had walked?
And Arte did not know.
That the saintess Aria had once seen the same potential in Hyun-soo, just as he had.
And that something special was thereby accumulating for Hyun-soo.
In any case, watching that sight, Arte approached him.
He assumed Hyun-soo was steadying his chest after achieving such an immense feat.
"You..."
Arte reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.
But before he could.
Thud.
He collapsed in a faint.
"???"
Arte suddenly recalled Ben and Barad's nonchalant words from earlier at the Sage's Tower.
'He does that a lot.'
'Our boy's always been a bit frail like that.'
Now Arte understood why they had reacted that way.
To the extreme... over and over... without end...
He had fought on without collapsing or retreating a single step.
And yet another fainting spell. Hyun-soo harbored greater strength than one might think.
When someone charges in for your sake—or for something connected to you—accomplishes everything, and then collapses from exhaustion, it stirs a flood of emotions, starting with gratitude.
Arte gazed at the fainted Hyun-soo for a long while.
A single reward surfaced in his mind.
But doubt flickered: was it fitting for him, as a sage, to make it reality?
He set the thought aside for the moment, slung Hyun-soo's arm over his shoulder, and supported him.
Then Arte descended the remaining distance with Hyun-soo.
His chest swelled with emotion.
The Beres Mountains, where he had been imprisoned for 300 years.
Arte has successfully escaped the Beres Mountains.
You have successfully opened the door of a long-sealed cage, allowing the bird to soar freely.
These notifications rang out to the fainted Hyun-soo.
Having finally beheld a new world, Arte looked to the sky and smiled broadly.
And at the foot of the mountain, the members of Gwangmyeong Guild awaited.
"Fainted again?"
"At this rate, shouldn't we give him an award for most faints?"
Arte, utterly exhausted himself, soon collapsed as well.
Hyun-soo and Arte were transported side by side to Ballus Territory.
***
Before fainting, Hyun-soo had desperately clung to consciousness.
The Cage quest from Arte that he had undertaken was not yet fully complete.
But against his will, the system deemed his body had reached its limit and forced him into unconsciousness.
When he awoke, he saw Nel sitting there.
"You're awake?"
"What about Arte?"
"Lord Arte is sleeping in the next room. Lord Hyun-soo, why not log out and get some more rest?"
"I suppose I should. But first, there's something I'd like you to find for me."
"Something to find?"
Nel tilted her head in puzzlement.
The reason she had suggested logging out was to show him the situation outside.
What ripples were stirring in the real world.
But upon soon learning what he wanted found, Nel smiled faintly.
So like Lord Hyun-soo.
She thought to herself.
Sometimes emotional, sometimes more calculating than anyone— that was Hyun-soo.
And that's precisely why he could gather us all.
That was the Hyun-soo she liked.
"I'll find it as quickly as possible."
Soon after, Nel returned with the information.
Hyun-soo moved at once.
The place he arrived at.
It was none other than the small village where Arte's mother had lived 300 years ago.
The decisive reason Arte had wanted to descend the mountain was to visit his mother's grave.
Will I be able to find it?
Hyun-soo worried.
It concerned someone who had lived 300 years ago, after all.
He figured it wouldn't be easy to find information about her here.
But something unexpected happened.
"The sage's mother? Of course I know. It's the tragedy handed down through generations in our village."
Hyun-soo was left speechless upon hearing the tale.
"After the sage Arte, who knew all the world's knowledge, suddenly vanished, his mother learned he was in the Sage's Tower in the Beres Mountains. Every day at the same time, she went to the entrance of the Beres Mountains. She couldn't climb up, of course. The demon's power blocked her."
The villager who shared the story gave a wry smile.
"The sage's mother went to the Beres Mountains entrance every single day until her death, longing to meet her son Arte. Then one day, she was no longer seen in the village. She met her end near the Beres Mountains. A body? A grave? No such thing exists."
"......"
Just as the sage Arte had longed for his mother, she too had longed for him.
Hyun-soo knew then that Arte would come here soon.
"I have a request."
He pulled out a gold coin and spoke to the villager.
He went around the village, handing gold coins to all who knew the story.
And after relaying all their words, Hyun-soo rolled up his sleeves.
Having finally crafted something, he returned to Ballus Territory.
***
Upon waking, the first thing Arte asked about was Hyun-soo.
"The lord? He's sleeping in the next room."
He then headed straight to the village where he had lived, to meet his mother.
You know it's impossible...
A gravestone from 300 years ago could not exist.
Nor had anyone made a grave for her.
Perhaps visiting his mother's gravestone had merely been the thread of hope Arte clung to.
But...
"Of course it's here."
Arte's face filled with shock.
He followed the villagers' guidance.
It was strange.
Something that shouldn't exist.
It looked imitated to appear ancient, yet it couldn't hide its true nature.
[The Sage's Mother Lies Here in Rest.]
"......"
That gravestone was there.
In truth, Arte had seen it in the Beres Mountains.
His mother, waiting desperately for him at the mountain's base, weeping.
And in the end, freezing to death while waiting like that.
Grout the demon's curse had been horrific.
"People's mouths are light, and even lighter when it's a good story."
One villager appeared.
He spoke of the one who had given him a gold coin, asking not to mention that the sage's mother had frozen to death while waiting, but to say the gravestone had always been there.
Arte knew why he had done this.
Hyun-soo had said it.
That his own father was near, yet they could not converse.
It stemmed from a shared empathy between the two.
"It has been 300 years."
Arte spoke to his mother's gravestone, then corrected himself.
"No, even before I was imprisoned in the mountain."
Arte had been the world's most arrogant man.
Knowing all the world's knowledge was more than enough to make him so.
Thus, precisely 376 years. He had never made even a single friend.
"......But now, I have one. A very good friend."
He spent the day before the grave.
"I've decided on a gift for my dear friend."
Arte turned and walked away.
***
Meanwhile.
Sniff, sniff.
Tae-seok gave a wry smile as he watched Lee Ji-hee, the team member, with reddened eyes.
The rewards for the legendary story rate were already set.
The notifications proved it.
Sage Arte will remain in user Hyun-soo's territory.
However, even a legendary story rate couldn't predict additional rewards.
And a legendary story rate also granted one permission.
That permission being: even if the supercomputer Ares wanted to withhold rewards, it could not.
Tae-seok was curious about what Arte had said before the grave.
"'I've decided on a gift for him.' What could that be?"
Sage Arte must have pondered it deeply.
Whether to give something or not.
In truth, just having Sage Arte remain in Hyun-soo user's territory was an absurd reward.
And he had already given Hyun-soo the legendary-grade skill Creation as a reward.
Practically, he didn't need to give anything else.
To that question, Ji-hee, blowing her nose with a ppang, replied.
"......Because he's Sage Arte, won't he give Hyun-soo user exactly what he needs most?"
Tae-seok's mind raced.
What does Hyun-soo user need most right now?
Upon realizing it soon after, Tae-seok was stunned.
***
Grand Mage Ruwon and Absolute Shield Peya.
Sage Arte had come to these two of the Continent's 10 Legends.
They had received countless aids from Arte in the past.
"......So that's why you stayed in the Sage's Tower all this time."
Having heard the full story, the two nodded deeply.
"The knowledge I've given you until now. Repay it this once."
"......If Sage Arte says so much, then we understand."
"Just this once, we'll fight for you."
Leading two legends with him, Arte set out to find it.
It was something he didn't even know where the current Hyun-soo was, and even if he did, it wouldn't be easy to obtain.
But with two legends, it wasn't so difficult.
The Tomb of the Deep Sea, known as Ares's most hellish hunting ground.
There, Arte obtained it.
And he parted ways with the two legends.
Clutching it, Arte headed to Ballus Territory to meet Hyun-soo.
***
Why hasn't he come?
Hyun-soo was swept up in various stray thoughts.
Because Arte, who had gone to his mother's village, hadn't returned for days.
There were two reasons Hyun-soo had acted that way.
First, to perfectly complete the quest he had taken on.
Second, because of the empathy he felt from Arte.
Is our bond with Arte ending like this? Will he now wander the world?
It was entirely possible.
Having been trapped for 300 years, Arte would surely want to see the world.
At that moment.
"My lord, the sage has arrived."
Hyun-soo's face lit up.
Soon after, Arte entered.
He spoke upon entering.
"Thanks to you, I could pay my respects at my mother's gravestone."
Hyun-soo realized his actions had been found out.
After swallowing the prickly, embarrassing words for a long while, Arte said,
"I wish to remain here."
"......!"
It was tremendously shocking news to Hyun-soo.
The legendary Arte would stay here.
It was wonderful.
The problem was this.
What becomes of my relationship with Arte?
Arte said,
"Precisely 376 years. Looking back on my life, there was not a single one."
Hyun-soo looked puzzled.
"Not a single dear friend."
At first, Arte hadn't understood Ben and Barad.
Now, he understood them more than anyone.
The first to want to become dear friends with him had been Barad.
The second, wanting friendship with Ben, had been Hyun-soo.
And now, the one wanting to become dear friends with Hyun-soo was Sage Arte.
"Will you be my dear friend?"
Hyun-soo flashed his white teeth in a grin.
"Of course."
Sage Arte will remain in Ballus Territory.
Arte will provide immense aid to the territory's development.
"This is my gift to my dear friend."
Receiving it, Hyun-soo could only look at Arte in astonishment.
This is...
Hyun-soo had asked Arte twice with his question opportunities.
To tell him the ore most suited to himself.
He had asked because it was essential for becoming a legend.
Now, he had obtained it.