Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Territory Development (2)
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After leaving the lord's audience chamber, Hyun-soo took stock of what he had gained in the Balas territory.
‘200,000 gold, my vassal Pere, and Baekya.’
A hefty sum, equivalent to about 200 million won.
But Hyun-soo was still thirsty for more.
‘Just rebuilding the smithy will cost 400 million.’
He was only halfway there. To earn the rest, he needed to raise the territory’s development level.
[Current Development Level: 53%]
Of course, even this was quite an impressive level. But Hyun-soo himself felt it was insufficient.
To raise it, he planned to teach the blacksmiths for two weeks before leaving.
There were two key objectives.
‘To significantly improve their skills, and to bring back the blacksmiths who left.’
Hyun-soo had already asked Pere to gather the blacksmiths.
He headed to where they were assembled.
***
The blacksmith Gere was a master-class blacksmith.
Although he had lost to the inspector Buks, he was undeniably the one who had overseen all the blacksmiths here.
About thirty blacksmiths were gathered in the territory’s small square.
Once numbering nearly a hundred, they were all that remained after the others had died or left.
They hadn't heard the full details about the one who had saved the territory.
And as they looked at the man who appeared, the blacksmiths frowned.
‘He’s just a kid, isn't he?’
‘That guy is going to teach us?’
Sure, they had heard he was very skilled. But if that skill was some mysterious power, how could they possibly learn it?
“I will be teaching you for two weeks. I look forward to working with you.”
The blacksmiths’ reactions were lukewarm, and Gere was no exception.
But Pere had come to them personally and said:
‘It's an order from the lord. Trust his words and focus on honing your skills for two weeks.’
It was absurd. What made him even angrier was hearing that Pere was going to follow this man.
‘What kind of trickery did he use?’
But there was no choice.
Half-heartedly, the blacksmiths began to follow his lead.
Then he said something they couldn't understand.
“I hope you can all keep up without collapsing for the next two weeks.”
What did he mean?
“First, let’s try making a sword. Everyone, pick up your hammers and get to your anvils.”
And so it began.
He started to forge a sword.
The blacksmiths listened with perfunctory nods.
As he listened, Gere’s expression turned puzzled.
‘Huh? This part is something I couldn't figure out…?’
But now, it was solved.
He explained as he hammered. There was something strange about listening to him.
‘Huh? So that’s how you do it?’
‘Wow, so this is how it’s done!’
‘What is this?’
More than half a day passed.
Rustle—
One of the blacksmiths took out writing tools to take notes.
At first, the other blacksmiths shot him looks that said, ‘Hmph, what a pathetic fool.’
But as time went on, they began to take out their own writing tools, one by one.
Two days, three days passed.
Basic theories on major weapons, basic theories on major armors.
After demonstrating them through practical application, he spoke.
“Now, everyone will begin crafting. I truly hope you can all keep up.”
There it was again.
At first, Gere didn't understand what he meant by "keep up," but then he realized.
‘Why isn't he sleeping?’
The blacksmiths were baffled. Those who had been dozing off snapped awake.
Claaaaang—
The sound of forging still filled the central smithy.
Gere and the other blacksmiths stared blankly at the sight.
‘He looks… happy.’
‘What? How can he look so happy when he hasn't even slept?’
‘Is that man insane about blacksmithing?’
Watching him, their own desire and competitive spirit began to boil.
‘I won’t lose when it comes to effort!’
‘I will definitely forge a sword that surpasses Lord Pere's!’
A week passed.
The man continued his grueling pace.
At some point, the blacksmiths realized why he possessed such skill.
Within a week, every blacksmith was hanging on his every word.
They became as polite as possible when he spoke.
They wrote down every word he said, not wanting to miss a single one.
And every single word he uttered resonated perfectly with them.
Cock-a-doodle-doo—!
As the rooster crowed to announce another morning, the man, who should have been exhausted, came into their smithies to advise them.
“The key to a composite bow is the heating process. It needs to be exposed to the fire more thoroughly.”
“I know you’re tired, but hang in there a little longer. I’m not sleeping either, am I?”
He was shrewd and smart.
If the teacher wasn't sleeping, could the students possibly sleep?
That was out of the question.
In fact, it motivated the blacksmiths even more.
They couldn't help but follow his example, so different from the arrogant and lazy masters they had known.
He said,
“The Goyad Kingdom is a nation of swords.”
Their kingdom was a very small nation, and the only reason it survived was thanks to one man, Sword King Barad.
Because of him, there were many knights and skilled swordsmen.
“They need your weapons.”
Yes, the way for a nation of swords to become even greater.
The method was incredibly simple.
“The soldiers and knights have hit their limits.”
The human body has a limit to its growth.
But there was a way to make them grow stronger and, in turn, strengthen the nation.
“But your weapons can make them stronger. If you make good swords, the blacksmiths who left will also return.”
We remember.
Our colleagues who fled as if escaping.
‘This territory is done for!’
‘We have to get out of here!’
‘This place is ruined!’
They left, claiming the territory was ruined. Of course, it was because of Buks.
But they must have known it too.
Though it was called the territory of blacksmiths, this place had long been stagnant.
We were like a factory.
Every day, we churned out equipment with bored expressions.
But the man before them was different.
He was enjoying it, he was happy.
“You are the ones who will bring them back.”
At last, their hands began to craft. The man remained by their side the entire time.
Until the crafting was finished.
***
[The blacksmiths of the Balas territory have awakened a new spirit.]
[Having received your teachings, they are reborn as more exceptional blacksmiths.]
[You have gained 1 Charisma.]
Hyun-soo continuously gained Charisma stats as he taught them.
Charisma was a stat that commander-class users could obtain.
And Hyun-soo enjoyed teaching the blacksmiths.
‘…Was there not a single one?’
Not a single person had come to his father’s smithy asking to be taught. In the modern era, a manual blacksmith was a profession that was looked down upon.
But these people were different.
The power of words was incredible, and his grand speeches ignited their motivation.
Furthermore, Hyun-soo had intentionally not slept.
‘What student would dare to sleep openly when their professor is giving it his all to teach them?’
Especially when their grades were soaring.
And as Hyun-soo watched them complete their work one by one, he was satisfied.
[The skills of the Balas territory's blacksmiths have greatly improved.]
[16 intermediate blacksmiths have become advanced blacksmiths.]
[1 advanced blacksmith has become a master-class blacksmith.]
An unexpected notification also appeared.
[The teachings of a Master Craftsman are special.]
[Artifacts produced in the Balas territory will be, on average, 7% superior.]
[They will pass on your teachings to other blacksmiths.]
[Development Level has increased by 13%.]
Hyun-soo looked puzzled for a moment before understanding.
‘Is it because of the details?’
Ares was, after all, a game.
Although the NPC blacksmiths talked about skill, they ultimately received help from the system.
But how detailed was this system?
Equipment required more detail than one might think.
A good sword had to be handled with more care and more detail to become a fine weapon.
Hyun-soo could see the blacksmiths gathering around Gere.
“At first, I doubted you, Hyun-soo. I wondered what we could possibly learn from you. But over these two weeks, I have learned so much.”
Gere bowed his head respectfully. The other blacksmiths behind him did the same.
[The 32 blacksmiths of the Balas territory will not forget you.]
Hyun-soo smiled with satisfaction.
“Now is the time to bring back the blacksmiths who left. Sell your new weapons, take on crafting requests, and show them the change.”
Rumors breed more rumors, and that is how a territory develops.
The blacksmiths began to sell their wares.
‘Once they start selling, the development level will keep rising.’
Hyun-soo was curious too. He wondered just how high it would go.
But right now, Hyun-soo hadn't slept for nearly four days in the real world.
He logged out to get some sleep.
***
While Hyun-soo was asleep.
A young male user arrived in the Balas territory.
‘I heard the Edroll Merchant Guild that controlled the Balas territory has left, right?’
The user's name was Heln.
Although his level was only in the 200s, he was a popular Jeultuber with 1.1 million subscribers.
Heln was also known as the 'Territory Correspondent'.
His content involved introducing territories that users might like or reporting on territories that had undergone changes.
Territories were very important to users.
They served as their home base, and sometimes they would stay in a territory to hunt monsters.
Furthermore, different territories offered different quests, various specialties, and unique features.
‘Sigh, this bottom-of-the-barrel blacksmithing territory. Tsk.’
He had already visited the Balas territory about three months ago.
Nearly 70% of the smithies had been empty, and for a place called the territory of blacksmiths, it was far too shabby.
Moreover, the items they were selling were pathetic.
‘Users would flock here if they just sold decent artifacts.’
Heln had done a lot of research on this blacksmithing territory, Balas.
‘It’s so bad that nobles are even talking about getting rid of it.’
In reality, the Balas territory seemed unnecessary.
When looking at the goods sold in the blacksmithing territories or blacksmith towers of every kingdom and empire, most were superior to what was found here.
Still, Heln had no choice but to visit this place. It was his job.
But for some reason, the users in the Balas territory were in an uproar.
“This is insane…”
“This is a common-grade item? And it’s cheap, too?”
“……?”
Watching the clamoring users, Heln wore a puzzled expression.
What was going on?
He entered a smithy.
The blacksmith had only a single sword on display. Heln examined it.
‘Huh?’
He felt that something was strange.
‘What is this?’
To ordinary users, an artifact's grade wasn't that important.
They were happy and thrilled just to have a rare-grade item.
That's why they were delighted even if a common-grade artifact was just a tiny bit better than average.
Even if it was just 1% better.
‘Why is this so good?’
The sword's grade was clearly common.
And as a Territory Correspondent, Heln’s knowledge of Ares was far superior to that of an average user.
‘This is almost 5% better than a standard common sword, isn't it?’
A 5% difference was huge.
Especially if it was the same price.
And naturally, people would buy the better item.
‘Ah, so they're only selling this one because it's special?’
No wonder they were only selling one. Tsk, tsk.
Heln then entered another smithy. But that one was also selling only a single artifact.
He checked it.
‘This one is 7% better than average?’
He looked bewildered.
He asked the owner.
“Why are you only selling one?”
“It's because I realized how insignificant my creations were before I learned from him.”
“Who is he?”
“I cannot say until he gives me permission.”
“……?”
What was this? This seemingly profound respect for ‘him’?
Heln quickly checked the other smithies.
‘What, all of them…?’
The performance of the artifacts was 4% to 8% better than the average.
‘This is a jackpot!?’
Heln couldn't contain his excitement.
There were even some places occasionally selling rare or epic items.
“In a common smithy?”
Of course, those were their masterpieces.
But Heln smelled an opportunity.
It was the scent of a territory on the verge of becoming crowded.
Heln hurriedly began a live broadcast.
At that moment.
Countless notifications were ringing on Hyun-soo's phone as he slept.
[Outsiders are flocking to the Balas territory.]
[The blacksmiths who left have heard the rumors and are returning to the Balas territory.]