Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Second Guild Member (2)
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Lee Min-gyu, head of the story team, was enjoying a rare tea time with department head Lee Hae-seok.
Suddenly, Lee Min-gyu recalled a recent event.
Department Head Lee Hae-seok had insisted that the player Hyun-soo's God's Custom Production skill should be nerfed after he unlocked it.
But after seeing the half-finished Tiger Blade that Hyun-soo created with God's Emergency Production, he had stopped talking about sanctioning the player altogether.
“Sir, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Back then, after Hyun-soo crafted the Tiger Blade, why did you stop bringing up game balance?”
“It was skill. What kind of trash game complains about balance when it's a matter of pure skill?”
“I see. To be honest, you seem to have very high expectations for Hyun-soo lately.”
Lee Min-gyu had seen Lee Hae-seok make a comment every time he met with the special player management team.
‘What's player Hyun-soo up to these days?’
‘What did he craft this time?’
‘What? He made a legendary-grade sword? Incredible.’
At those times, Lee Hae-seok's expression was like that of a child hearing an exciting story.
Lee Hae-seok chuckled and tilted his teacup.
“It's true, I'm very excited. You know, don't you? How the Tiger Blade, a sword that doesn't even exist in the game Ares, could actually appear and have its effects applied as if it were the real thing.”
Lee Min-gyu, the story team head, smiled faintly.
“It's because the supercomputer, Ares, determined that although it didn't exist in the game, it was the most suitable match for the information available on the Tiger Blade, so it applied the effects accordingly.”
“Exactly. It's astonishing. Most of the artifacts in Ares already have their templates, effects, and abilities predetermined.”
As members of the story team, they knew this better than anyone.
“But player Hyun-soo is different. He's the only player capable of crafting original artifacts with his own unique effects.”
The existence of such a player made Lee Hae-seok's heart race.
“Team Leader Lee, you've heard countless stories since you were a child, right? About legendary weapons and armor.”
“Of course.”
Many people would have heard of them.
Excalibur, Balmung, Gram, Mjolnir, Gan Jiang, Mo Ye, or Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
Of course, Korea has a few of its own.
One of them was the Tiger Blade, and there were also Haemosu's Smelting Sword and Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Twin Dragon Swords.
Lee Hae-seok's face lit up with excitement just thinking about it as he finally revealed the reason.
“I'm dying of curiosity.”
The reason his expectations for player Hyun-soo were so high.
“Just how many of them will he be able to create?”
That was it.
***
As he placed the ore into the furnace and began crafting, Hyun-soo had a thought.
‘The shield in the blueprint I drew.’
The shield resembled a certain shield from mythology.
Of course, he wasn't crafting an exact replica, but its effect seemed quite similar.
‘That shield turns enemies to stone in an instant.’
It was known to have been used by Athena, the goddess of war in Greco-Roman mythology, or even the supreme god Zeus, and had the head of a woman embedded in it.
However, by using that framework and mixing in his own unique knowledge, Hyun-soo also made it more original.
‘Mr. Hyuk-soo needs other effects, too.’
Suddenly, Hyun-soo recalled himself as a child.
The countless armaments from myths and legends.
Some of them were real, while others were not.
‘Dad, I want to make that!’
It was a preposterous request, but his father had made it with him.
‘Of course, they weren't the real things.’
They were all things that didn't actually exist.
‘If something like that did exist, it probably would have been made this way.’
Pounding the hammer, his father had created the armaments exactly as he had imagined them.
And as young Hyun-soo grew older, year by year, he continued to try making them.
Half of it was just for fun, and the other half was out of anticipation to see how well he could reproduce them.
He must have made dozens of them that way.
Before he knew it, three days had passed since he started crafting, and he was nearing the end.
After the final polishing process, he completed it by inscribing 'Hyeon' (現) on one side of the shield.
[An artifact imbued with God's Custom Production is complete.]
[The experience and knowledge of a blacksmith with skills exceeding that of a master have been infused, drastically increasing the effect application rate.]
[Effect Application Rate: 98%.]
[Grade: Unique.]
[You have crafted an artifact closest to Legendary.]
[Please name the shield.]
[The 'God of Blacksmiths' title shines.]
[You have applied the all-stat increase from crafting an artifact, which can only be activated once a week.]
[You have acquired 50 Dexterity.]
[You have acquired 100 Fame.]
[Shield Mastery Lv. 1 proficiency has increased by 19%.]
Hyun-soo checked the finished shield, feeling a sense of disappointment.
“Agh, so close...!”
The notification clearly stated that he had crafted an artifact closest to Legendary.
‘I really wanted to gift Mr. Hyuk-soo a legendary artifact...’
Of course, Mr. Hyuk-soo would probably like even an artifact like this, right?
Hyun-soo tore the corresponding parchment to use the gifting function.
“I included the instruction manual, so he should be able to use it without much trouble, right?”
*Flutter-*
Hyun-soo watched the hawk fly away with the parchment tied to its leg.
***
[A gift from Hyun-soo has arrived.]
Bakeu, who was about to turn away from the entrance of the Salamander's Dungeon, saw a hawk flying toward him.
He extended his arm, and the hawk landed naturally upon it.
[Hyun-soo: Unfortunately, it didn't come out at the grade I was hoping for, but I hope you'll still put it to good use.]
Bakeu, who had been in a bad mood, broke into a smile.
For some reason, just hearing from the kid always seemed to lift his spirits.
“Of course. What kind of amazing item can a level 59 blacksmith possibly make?”
Bakeu was a high-ranker, and Ares was a diversion from his tedious life.
Because of this, he had met countless blacksmiths, including the best in the country.
But to Bakeu, this felt more valuable than anything they had given him.
“Heh heh, still, he must have worked up a sweat making this for me. Let's take a look.”
Bakeu smiled as he opened the item information.
(Hyeon's Eighth Custom-Made Shield)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 12,000/12,000
Attack Power: 251
Thorns Attack Power: 111
Defense Power: 401
Restriction: Tanker Class, Level 150 or higher
Special Abilities:
·Fire Attribute Resistance +201%
·Defense Power +247% against Fire Attribute monsters.
·Attack Power +222% against Fire Attribute monsters.
·Passive Skill: Freezing Gaze.
·Active Skill: Frost Thorns.
·Active Skill: Frost Wave.
Description: Hyeon's eighth custom-made shield, close to legendary, crafted with a certain shield as its motif. If the materials had been more similar, a perfect shield might have been born.
Bakeu looked puzzled for a moment.
‘What is this? A bug?’
He closed and reopened the artifact's information window.
But the information remained unchanged.
‘Unique...?’
Currently, unique artifacts crafted by players in the game Ares are rare.
There are fewer than 50 high-level unique items in the entire country.
If any exist, they were most likely dropped by mobs or crafted by NPCs.
‘H-How could a level 59?’
Then, Bakeu checked the time.
[1 hour, 37 minutes, 32 seconds remaining to complete the class quest.]
There was no time. The estimated clear time with the shield Bakeu had wanted was about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
He entered without any more time to think.
[You have entered the Salamander's Dungeon.]
[This is the final attempt for the class quest.]
‘Salamanders swarm you as soon as you enter. I need to deal with them first.’
A salamander is a giant, flaming lizard of level 260.
Bakeu planned to attack them the moment he entered.
‘Estimated time: 10 minutes.’
The moment he stepped inside, a salamander near the entrance leaped at him.
He instinctively raised his shield.
But then, he heard a strange sound.
*Crack-crack-crack-*
[Freezing Gaze.]
[Freezes a Fire Attribute monster that is more than 60 levels higher than you.]
It was the sound of something freezing over. *Kwoooong-*
And then the sound of it hitting the ground.
Bakeu lowered the shield with a puzzled expression.
A salamander had been turned into a solid block of ice.
“....?”
A bewildered Bakeu soon spotted another salamander.
The moment he showed the shield to the creature.
“Hah...!”
Seeing the approaching salamanders, he slowly moved the shield from left to right.
The moment they saw the shield.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-*
All of them froze solid.
“Th-This is impossible.”
What he had estimated would take 10 minutes took only one.
Of course, he'd read about the effect of the skill called Freezing Gaze in the notification.
But he had dismissed it as too unrealistic.
And this sight resembled a certain armament from mythology.
“Aegis...?”
The shield called Aegis.
The shield from Greek mythology with Medusa's head embedded in it.
The effect was slightly different. The real Aegis turned things to stone; this one just froze them.
Bakeu knew he didn't have time for this. Clearing the dungeon faster would maximize his rewards.
As he ventured deeper, he discovered the Blazing Archers.
There were five of them.
[Blazing Archer Lv. 301]
Their arrows were slow, but they would set one's entire body on fire upon impact.
Just then.
[Instruction manual opening.]
[Please press the button above the grip once with your thumb.]
The instruction manual provided guidance based on the situation.
Bakeu did as it said.
*Click*
At that moment, the eight thorns embedded in the front of the circular shield shot out.
*Shwiiiiish-*
They moved like long snakes slithering forward.
Soon, the snakes pierced the five archers.
*Thwip-thwip-thwip-*
*Crack-crack-crack-*
The creatures were rapidly frozen.
‘Insane...’
But Bakeu shook his head.
‘Is it a one-time use?’
[Press the button twice to retrieve.]
Another notification appeared.
*Click-click-*
The thorns that had been lodged in the creatures retracted with a clanking sound.
Bakeu checked the artifact's information once more.
He saw information he hadn't noticed before.
Blacksmith Hyeon (現).
But he had already noticed it, as it was engraved on the artifact.
Bakeu moved forward quickly.
[You are clearing the Salamander's Dungeon at an incredibly fast pace!]
Fragments of his memories with him flashed through Bakeu's mind.
Their first meeting.
‘Blacksmiths still exist? Astonishing. Then, have you learned the blacksmithing skill?’
Their second meeting.
‘You want me to sell the smithy back to you...’
Their third meeting.
‘I hoped you would live.’
Remembering him, he soon found himself facing the boss monster.
[Boss monster has appeared!]
[Avatar of the Fire Queen Lv. 319]
‘I'm proud. I'm so proud of you, Hyun-soo.’
Bakeu smiled, looking at the unbelievable shield.
He immediately clashed with the Avatar of the Fire Queen.
Having left her main body behind to scatter several avatars across the world, she was a being wreathed in flames.
The boss of the Salamander's Dungeon, whose avatar alone possessed power that defied common sense.
But the shield did not melt even in her scorching breath.
The seemingly impossible conquest of the Salamander's Dungeon was becoming a reality.
The more he understood the shield's effects and the artifact's power, the more he trembled with excitement.
[You have hunted the Avatar of the Fire Queen.]
A notification appeared. The Fire Queen was freezing over.
Her main body was one of the eight boss monsters of the continent.
As she froze, she spoke.
“...Who is the creator of that shield?”
When there was no answer, her brow twitched.
“Speak! If you do not, I will not let this go!”
The main body was dangerous. If she started hunting him, he might have to quit the game.
But he couldn't sell out Hyun-soo just to save himself.
Amidst her threat, Bakeu let out a smirk.
“Go ahead and try.”
“Are you not afraid? What reason do you have for not telling me the name of a mere blacksmith!”
What reason?
It wasn't because he was Blacksmith Hyeon, nor because he held immense value.
‘He's my person.’
That was the reason. Because he was now someone precious to Bakeu.
Even under her threat, he silently turned and walked away.
Soon, the dungeon collapsed, and the Avatar of the Fire Queen froze completely.