Chapter 84
Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Smelting Sword (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Risel left after placing his commission. He said he was short on time and hoped for a quick production.
‘I’ll give you whatever you write…’
Hyun-soo gazed at the paper resting in his palm.
His heart pounded. Risel had indeed revealed himself to be the youngest son of the Hansung Group.
In other words, his promise to give him anything he wrote down was not a lie.
‘What should I write?’
Money? A building? A car?
He could write down anything he wanted.
But Hyun-soo carefully tucked it into his pocket.
There was no need to write anything down before the item was complete.
‘So I was right.’
Hyun-soo let out a small smile. He had felt two things while listening to Risel’s story.
One was that his mystique had ultimately prevented Risel from trusting him.
This was, in truth, entirely Hyun-soo's fault.
Even though Risel had come to meet him with genuine faith, Hyun-soo had been unable to reveal anything.
The second was that if he approached them with sincerity, they would try to repay him in kind for what they had received.
Hyun-soo had felt this second point after revealing his identity to Risel.
He had also become certain that Risel would not speak of him to others.
Hyun-soo recalled the attempt.
‘It was less than perfect.’
Effect application rate: 53%.
Hyun-soo had created the Smelting Sword using Emergency Production.
The Smelting Sword.
The legendary blade wielded by Haemosu, the founder of Bukbuyeo. Interpretations of the Smelting Sword varied widely.
But Hyun-soo’s interpretation was that of a sword inhabited by a dragon, and he had personally restored this very sword in reality.
At the time, the National Museum had sent a commission to his father.
After receiving the restoration request, his father had attempted it but failed.
The reason was that his father's condition had deteriorated to the point where he couldn't use his hands.
Years of blacksmithing had ruined his father's arms.
Instead, Hyun-soo had perfectly restored the Smelting Sword while listening to his father's advice.
But he had let his father take the credit.
He had wanted to protect his father's sole title of Master Craftsman.
‘I need a perfect Smelting Sword.’
The Tiger Blade and the Smelting Sword were slightly different cases.
Hyun-soo had already crafted the Tiger Blade several times.
But Haemosu’s Smelting Sword was something he had created by restoring an existing frame.
Even if time was short, Hyun-soo wanted perfection.
‘That dragon is a false one.’
How could one call that loach-like thing a dragon?
‘I need to see the real Smelting Sword again.’
[You have logged out.]
***
The National Museum.
Lee Tae-sung, the chairman of Hansung Group, had come here, unable to calm his troubled heart.
He had been told his father had passed a critical stage.
But that crisis would soon return.
Lee Tae-sung left his secretary and bodyguards outside and walked in alone.
Inside was that sword.
Back when his father was young and he was just a child.
Back when the Hansung Group was nothing more than a small corner store.
His father had liked dragons—or rather, because he himself had liked dragons, his father had pretended to like them too and brought him here.
‘This is the Smelting Sword. There are many stories, but this is the only sword that holds a dragon.’
The sword had been rusted through and looked as if it could break at any moment.
Yet it was so beautiful that his younger self had stared at it, mesmerized.
But now, Lee Tae-sung was at a loss for words.
‘How…’
The sword that had been rusted and on the verge of breaking, battered by the ravages of time, now boasted a beautiful form with an elegant curve.
A beautiful blade, similar to a Hwandudaedo, but with a single, wave-like curve.
“Ha, haha…”
Lee Tae-sung couldn’t believe it.
Just then, a female employee approached and spoke.
“A few years ago, the world's last remaining Master Craftsman restored it with his excellent skill.”
“…Incredible. Was such a thing even possible? Truly a remarkable man.”
“Yes, but unfortunately, not long after that, he fell into a vegetative state due to a fire.”
“I see.”
The employee soon departed.
Lee Tae-sung stared blankly for a long time.
Just then.
A young man came to stand beside him.
He was very tall and looked sturdy.
Wearing a mask and a cap pulled down low, he stood beside him for about twenty minutes.
Neither of them paid any mind to the other.
Then.
“Hyun-soo? It is you, isn't it?”
“Yes. Have you been well?”
“I heard what happened…”
A sorrowful voice trailed off. The young man gave a bitter smile.
“So, you came to see the sword your father restored?”
“…Yes.”
The National Museum employee embraced him, exchanged a few words, and then left.
Tae-sung turned his head without realizing it.
‘So this boy… was the Master Craftsman's son.’
And once again, they stood in silence, gazing at the sword displayed behind the glass wall.
***
Having returned from the National Museum, the image was vivid in Hyun-soo's mind.
Its form.
Its beauty.
Its mystique.
The sharply honed blade and the single, gentle, wave-like curve.
A sword that followed a form similar to a Hwandudaedo but applied new techniques.
He began the crafting process.
Ares, the supercomputer, seemed to mock the sword created through Emergency Production.
It wasn't enough.
But now, it would be perfect.
The moment he had faced that sword, the advice his father had given him and the sensations from when he restored it all came rushing back.
One day passed, then two.
[You are demonstrating a method of crafting the Smelting Sword that defies common sense.]
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting Sword.]
Of course, he was using God's Custom Production.
But Custom Production was not omnipotent; it ultimately had to be based on the user's knowledge and skill.
The notification continued.
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting Sword.]
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting Sword.]
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting…]
Hyun-soo smiled.
Of course it was. There were only two people in the world who could craft the Smelting Sword so perfectly: his father, and himself.
Hyun-soo had a premonition.
‘A true Smelting Sword will be born.’
But then…
[Risel: Hyun-soo, I don't think you need to craft it anymore…]
“…?”
Hyun-soo wore a puzzled expression at the sudden whisper.
***
“You should prepare yourselves.”
That was what the family doctor said to the family as they looked at the grandfather lying in bed.
“It's unlikely he'll make it through tomorrow.”
The atmosphere sank into a solemn silence.
Tae-ha sighed.
‘Will I not be able to show him in the end?’
He had wanted to fulfill his grandfather's last wish.
The grandfather lying in bed spoke.
“I want to see a dragon. A dragon! A beautiful dragon ascending high into the sky!”
His grandfather repeated the same words every day.
Hearing them, a thought occurred to Tae-ha.
“…What if we connect Grandfather to Ares with that capsule right now and show him a dragon?”
Yes, Hyun-soo was crafting it, and if the timing was right, it was possible.
Chairman Tae-sung furrowed his brow.
“Are you on about that nonsense again? I've already looked into it.”
Tae-sung had also done his best to find a way to show him a dragon.
Knowing that Tae-ha was searching for a method in Ares, he had consulted with various experts.
They all said it was impossible.
But how…
“No, it might be possible.”
Tae-sung grew frustrated. Though he considered his son a lost cause, he approved of the boy’s efforts for his grandfather.
But he was still spouting this outlandish…
“If it's Hyun-soo…”
Upon hearing the name, Tae-sung's brow furrowed.
“Who?”
“Hyun-soo. He’s the one crafting the dragon to show Grandfather.”
Suddenly, the events at the National Museum from a few days ago flashed through Tae-sung's mind.
‘Hyun-soo? It is you, isn't it?’
Chairman Tae-sung had felt not just admiration but awe upon seeing the Smelting Sword.
‘Another Master Craftsman born from a Master Craftsman…’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Tae-sung began to think it might not be impossible after all.
He spoke to the medical staff, his secretary, and others.
“Check everything—whether he can connect right now, and if he can get to that place.”
A short while later, a phone call came in.
It was from a high-level executive at Pureum Inc.
[I'm sorry, Chairman, but that's impossible within the Ares system. A level 1 elderly person cannot skip the tutorial and reach the Freya territory in a single day.]
“Why not?”
[First of all, a level 1 cannot use warp scrolls. Furthermore, it's difficult for a level 1 to get past the tutorial zone. While not entirely impossible, if a level 1 crosses territories as they please, there's a high chance they will be forcibly logged out. Also, without the use of scrolls, it's impossible for an old man to reach the Freya territory in one day.]
“Then just for my father…”
[I'm sorry, Chairman. You know we cannot break the rules.]
Yes, the rules.
The moment corporations break those rules, everything is bound to collapse.
If systemic privileges were granted to a select few, who would play such a game?
A world where anything is possible as long as you have money and power?
Tae-sung ended the call, dejected, and Tae-ha heard the reason.
As a user himself, Tae-ha understood.
“He’s right… Grandfather can’t get there. And…”
Tae-ha now realized something he had overlooked.
“Even more so for a level 1 grandfather with dementia.”
It was logically impossible.
Lee Tae-sung sank helplessly into a chair.
Finally, Tae-ha bit his lip and sent a whisper to Hyun-soo through his phone, which was linked to Ares.
[Risel: Hyun-soo, I don't think you need to craft it anymore…]
[Hyun-soo: Can you tell me why?]
Risel then explained the situation.
For a long time, no whisper came back from him.
Then.
[Hyun-soo: I think I can bring him over. I…]
Tae-ha’s eyes trembled at those words.
‘What? What is he talking about? Is that even possible?’
[Hyun-soo: I've built things up, you see. So, I think it'll work.]
It was a statement one could never imagine coming from a level 120 blacksmith.
But Risel had faith in Hyun-soo.
He had already proven himself once.
“Let’s get Grandfather ready to connect right now!”
Tae-ha said in a powerful voice.
***
Several hawks in front of Hyun-soo took flight at once, notes tied to their legs.
*Fwip-fwip-fwip-*
Watching them, Hyun-soo gave a bitter smile.
He didn't think, ‘Do I really have to go this far…’
‘This is how far I *must* go.’
He had merely sent a small request with those who rode the wind.
And he also knew.
‘And because they wanted more, what I could write on this paper would become even greater.’
Hyun-soo looked at the blank paper Risel had given him.
Yes, if this succeeded, he would be able to write down much more.
He returned to his work.
Because time was short, he put in his utmost effort.
Come to think of it, this Smelting Sword was the last joint project between him and his father.
Even if his father had only contributed words.
Time flew by quickly.
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting Sword.]
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting the Smelting…]
[This must be the most perfect method for crafting…]
The notifications continued to ring out.
And at a certain point, the notification changed.
[You are approaching a second legend.]
At that moment.
The lord's castle in the beginner's territory.
Lord Banya, who had been listening to reports in the audience chamber with a bored expression, noticed a single hawk fly in through an open window.
He extended his left arm, and the hawk landed softly upon it.
‘Hyun-soo?’
A small smile formed on Banya's face when he checked the sender.
His expression turned serious as he read the note's contents. Then, in a charismatic voice, he commanded his retainers.
“Open all the paths.”