Hyun-soo looked ahead, contemplating the task of breaking wooden dolls 10 times.
He was willing to stay in the beginner’s zone for at least a month.
Staying for a month to get a VVIP capsule worth 50 million won would be a huge harvest.
Therefore, he thought long and hard.
‘The things that can be obtained in the beginner’s zone are limited.’
Even if they could be obtained, they would be labeled as ‘beginner’s zone’ items.
Such items, only having a third of the effect compared to those outside the beginner’s zone, could eventually hit a limit.
So, he thought about it.
A way to break the ‘beginner’s zone’ limit while also increasing his Dexterity stat.
And a method to transform Blacksmith Len into a more exceptional blacksmith.
Three birds with one stone.
That was to obtain magnetite.
‘The probability that minerals I create won’t have the ‘beginner’s zone’ tag is high.’
If that happens, the Iron Ingot(철강괴) will contain its full power.
If he uses this mineral to create artifacts, better ones will likely emerge.
“Are you saying we collect this iron powder at the beach to make minerals?” Len asked with a puzzled look.
As a blacksmith, he had another question.
“Is there an advantage?”
If they had to go through such trouble, there needed to be a significant benefit.
Hyun-soo nodded.
“Magnetite has a much higher titanium content than regular iron ingots. Moreover, it’s less prone to corrosion. So, we can obtain iron that’s much stronger than normal.”
“……!?” Len’s eyes widened.
The iron powder from this beach contains a large amount of titanium?
[Len has gained new blacksmithing knowledge from your teaching.]
[You have gained 2 Dexterity.]
“What should I do?” Len asked, now eager.
“It’s simple.”
Hyun-soo literally squatted down and scraped up magnetite-like iron powder with a huge magnet.
“Just collect magnetite like I am.”
Soon, Len also squatted down with a large magnet.
Len was a big man, almost 1.90 meters tall, with a shaved head that gave him a fierce look.
Hyun-soo was also quite tall, around 1.84 meters.
The sight of two such large men squatting and collecting magnetite was quite amusing.
‘Collecting magnetite takes a considerable amount of time.’
Most of the work in a blacksmith’s forge was extremely laborious.
We buy machine-made knives for a few tens of thousands of won, considering them cheap.
But making a knife by hand can take more than a day.
Hyun-soo continued to scrape up magnetite with the magnet.
[You have gained 1 Dexterity.]
‘Oh……?’
Hyun-soo felt the speed of acquiring Dexterity points increase due to the title ‘Your Exclusive Dexterity’.
He also anticipated gaining a tremendous amount of Dexterity by combining the time spent collecting magnetite and turning it into a mineral.
But, the surprising notifications didn’t end there.
[You have undertaken a new challenge that no one else has attempted.]
[You have gained 30 Dexterity points.]
[If you produce a result from a challenge that no one else has tried, you will receive additional rewards.]
[The rewards from the new challenge will accumulate.]
[If you fail to produce a result, the accumulated rewards will be deleted.]
“Hmm……?”
No one has tried it.
Hyun-soo thought hard about this Ares.
The game was controlled by the supercomputer Ares.
Moreover, the supercomputer contained all the information in the world.
Iron ingots existed a long time ago.
But no one in modern times had made Iron ingots.
Naturally, no one in Ares would have tried to make them.
Hyun-soo continued to scrape up magnetite.
[Rewards are accumulating.]
[Rewards are accumulating.]
[Accumulating・・・・⋯⋯]
[Accumulating・・・・・・]
[You have gained 1 Dexterity point.]
Hyun-soo was curious about these rewards.
The Dexterity points were probably from repetitive actions.
Having gained Dexterity points with the notification of an unconventional act, it was likely they were related.
And after about five days of collecting magnetite, Hyun-soo and Len left the beach.
***
After collecting enough magnetite, Len and Hyun-soo returned to the forge.
Len looked at Hyun-soo in surprise.
“Shouldn’t you rest a bit?”
“……Where does a blacksmith have time to rest?”
Len was puzzled.
Hyun-soo looked no older than his early 20s.
But the spirit of a blacksmith that he showed seemed almost unattainable to Len.
‘How can such a young person…’
To Len, it might seem impressive, but for Hyun-soo, it was once part of his daily life.
Everything was done by hand in his father’s forge.
Blacksmiths need temperatures over 1,500 degrees to melt minerals.
As a result, they would stand in front of the furnace for days on end, periodically increasing the fire’s temperature every hour.
Before starting to smelt the magnetite, Hyun-soo began the task of raising the temperature of the forge’s furnace.
“Since you’re still learning, Len, you can rest a bit.”
“Oh, no, I shouldn’t…”
But as time slowly passed,
1 hour, 5 hours, 10 hours…
Len, to escape the heat of the forge even for a moment, placed a chair outside and sat down.
It was his turn to add charcoal.
But the cool breeze of the summer night was pleasant.
Unknowingly, Len fell asleep.
Chirp, chirp –
And when he woke up, he was startled.
“I need to add the charcoal!”
To raise the temperature, charcoal had to be continuously added.
Len hurriedly ran back, but then stopped in his tracks.
“Crazy…”
Hyun-soo was standing there, arms crossed.
He looked tired too.
But he appeared calm.
As if it was natural for a blacksmith.
He had stayed awake in front of the fire while Len slept.
It was an indescribable feeling.
Len simply wanted to become a better blacksmith.
He wanted to make a higher-level sword and impress Instructor Hans.
But then he thought,
Maybe the greatness he saw in that man was the result of long, hard effort?
Striking thousands of times.
Staying up thousands of nights.
Fighting against the fierce heat and earning his skill.
Len truly admired him.
‘I too want to forge weapons with that kind of will, with that spirit…’
Sensing someone nearby, Hyun-soo turned his head.
“Did you sleep well?”
[Len harbors respect for your spirit as a blacksmith.]
[Your intimacy with Len has reached MAX.]
Hyun-soo looked puzzled.
He had just acted as usual, but suddenly their intimacy was at MAX.
Soon, Len approached with a determined expression.
“How long will it take to acquire the mineral?”
“Hmm, at least 4 days?”
“Then, I’d like to try making a sword during that time. Can you help me?”
Hyun-soo read Len’s expression.
As mentioned, many aspiring blacksmiths sought out Hyun-soo’s father.
Nine out of ten ran away.
But that remaining one.
That remaining one stayed a few more days and then ran away.
Only about one in a hundred.
In that one, he sensed a similar energy to Len’s.
I want to be like you.
I want to be a true blacksmith.
Even if I don’t make money, even if I’m looked down upon, I want to create my own works with handiwork.
And now, he had that spirit and had just awakened to it.
He could become a capable blacksmith.
Hyun-soo smiled slightly.
“Shall we make it? Your masterpiece.”
It began.
Hyun-soo worked on smelting, and Len on making the sword.
Len was on fire.
He had never been so passionate about learning blacksmithing skills.
“That’s not how you do it. Ease up on the hammer. I’ve told you several times, too much force can backfire.”
He was scolded harshly at times.
Smelting, refining, quenching.
Hammering.
Bellows.
Oil quenching.
He guided him through each step, teaching him harshly. But…
Len was happy.
One day passed.
Two days.
Three days.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Good!”
Following his guidance, Len took another step forward.
Whoosh –
Hyun-soo watched the molten metal flow out of the furnace.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Day by day, Len’s hammering became more skilled.
Hyun-soo worked on removing impurities from the rough, basalt-like magnetite, hammering it repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Len listened to Hyun-soo’s constant advice, his understanding of sword-making improved day by day.
“Is this good enough?”
Hyun-soo tirelessly heated and cooled the rough magnetite, continuously removing more impurities.
And Len started to understand and apply things he hadn’t grasped before in his life.
Finally, Hyun-soo succeeded in completely removing the impurities and produced a real ‘Iron ingot’.
“We’re almost done.”
So much time had passed that it was hard to keep track.
After that arduous process, Hyun-soo was nearing the completion of obtaining the magnetite ingot.
And then, at some point,
Len, whose bellows, oil-quenching, and hammering skills had significantly improved, finished the refining process and engraved a pattern on the sword.
Len, having completed the sword, broke down in tears.
“Khuhuhuhuk!”
“……?”
As Hyun-soo looked puzzled at Len’s sudden weeping,
Ding!
[Hidden Quest: Assist Len’s growth Completed.]
[Rewards can be received from Len.]
[Len has created his life’s masterpiece.]
[Beginner blacksmith Len has grown a step further, surpassing the level of an intermediate blacksmith.]
[Through you, Len has come to understand the true spirit of a real blacksmith.]
[Perhaps he will become an even higher-level blacksmith in the future.]
[You have gained 20 Dexterity points.]
Puzzled, Hyun-soo approached the weeping Len.
“Thank you. Thank you……!”
Hyun-soo had merely taught him,
Just as he had learned from his father,
And acted in the spirit of the blacksmith taught by his father, not realizing it would completely change Len’s thinking.
Len cried, hugging the sword.
“Please see this sword that was made by me!”
Hyun-soo received the sword Len handed him and checked it.
(The Enlightened One’s Faded Sword)
Grade: Rare
Durability: 1,200/1,200
Attack Power: 39
Requirement: Level 1-50
Special Abilities:
· Health 3, Agility 2 increase.
· Active skill: Smash.
Description: A second famous sword of the beginner’s zone, created by beginner blacksmith Len, surpassing his life’s masterpiece.
Hyun-soo confirmed the quality of the sword.
In reality, its quality did not match Hyun-soo’s first sword.
But this is ultimately a game.
Various systems in the game can provide assistance.
Moreover, Len possessed multiple skills and NPCs could benefit from various effects.
These effects resulted in the creation of a rare artifact.
Even though its quality was lower than his own, it was clearly a high-grade sword.
This was the result of Len’s desire to become a better blacksmith.
The sword he made, his achievement.
“Excellent. Len, you are now a blacksmith who can surpass any level.”
Growing a step implies the potential for further growth.
Len, wiping tears in sobs, said,
“Even if you leave, I will remember you forever.”
[Len swears loyalty to you.]
[Even after you leave, Len will continue to talk about you endlessly.]
Hyun-soo just smiled happily.
Suddenly, Len ran off somewhere.
“?”
Hyun-soo thought perhaps the overjoyed Len was rushing to flatten the nose of the instructor named Hans.
But soon, Len returned quickly, holding a box.
He placed the box on the ground and opened it.
Ding!
[Your intimacy with Len is at MAX.]
[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Assisting Len’s growth.]
Inside was a mineral Hyun-soo had never seen in his life.
[The reward becomes even more exceptional.]
[You have obtained a beginner’s zone mithril mineral.]
It was a mineral called ‘mithril’, not the top-grade iron ore of the beginner’s zone.
Cliche Novel 