Rune gazed at the auction item before him with a trembling expression.
[Starting bid: 500 gold.]
The starting price of the auction was five times higher than the first sword. The new item up for bid was a bow.
(Hyun’s Second Bow)
Grade: Rare
Durability: 2,400/2,400
Attack Power: 94
Level Restriction: 0-60
Special Abilities:
· Increase Agility by 7.
· Increase Accuracy by 13%.
· Passive Skill: Powerful Shot.
· Passive Skill: Piercing Arrow.
Description: A bow made only with materials from the Beginner Zone, unlikely to be crafted again.
As Rune looked at Hyun’s Second Bow, his heart pounded.
‘What is this? How was it made…?’ He couldn’t understand.
Just then, Vice Guild Master Kay rushed over to him.
“Guild Master, did you see it?”
Rune nodded.
“It’s insane. Truly a crazy artifact!”
Rune couldn’t deny his words. Soon, Kay spoke excitedly.
“It was also made in the Beginner Zone. Can you believe a bow crafted there has an attack power of 94?”
Bows generally have a lower base attack power than swords, since a bow’s attack is the sum of the bow and the arrow’s power. Naturally, as the level restriction of an item increases, higher-level players can wear it, boosting its attack power.
“And it has not one, but two special skills. Both are pretty decent.”
Rune and Kay had no choice but to highly rate this bow.
“How did they make an artifact for level 0-60 in the Beginner Zone…?”
The first sword was also made in the Beginner Zone, where users are level 1 and use unrestricted materials, so it made sense for there to be no level restriction. But how could something for level 0-60 come from there? Additionally, the owner of the Hyun’s Forge was still assumed to be level 1.
“Take a look at this.”
Kay displayed a hologram.
“This is a bow made by Black when he was level 10. It also has a level 0-60 restriction.”
Black was currently the top-ranked blacksmith in South Korea.
(Orc Tusk Bow)
Grade: Rare.
Durability: 1,100/1,100
Attack Power: 76
Level Restriction: 0-60
Special Abilities:
· Increase Agility by 2.
· Increase Critical Hit Damage Chance by 13%.
· Passive Skill: Quick Reload.
· Active Skill: Long-Range Shot.
Description: A bow made from orc tusks. Well-crafted and suitable for general use.
The difference between the two was clear. The bow sold by the Hyun’s Forge was overwhelmingly superior.
Both had the same level restriction and were of the same rare grade.
Kay looked incredulous.
“Guild Master…”
“Yeah, it’s that thing.”
The same grade, the same rarity, but a stark difference in quality. Only one thing came to their minds.
“Class advantage.”
“Skill advantage.”
They spoke simultaneously.
“It’s confirmed, isn’t it? The owner of the Hyun’s Forge is a legendary class.”
Rune’s heart raced.
The reason for their conclusion: Blacksmith skills can have effects like these.
· Increase all effects by 9% when crafting Rare artifacts.
· Increase all effects by 11% when crafting Epic artifacts.
But comparing the Orc Tusk Bow and the Hyun’s Second Bow, there’s almost a 20% performance difference. Honestly, the Hyun’s Second Bow, while not quite there, could pass for an Epic-grade item.
“Without being a legendary class, you can’t create such a disparity with the same grade artifacts.”
While thinking this, Rune suddenly remembered Smith, the world’s top-ranked blacksmith.
Smith, his real name and the person Rune admired. Smith was known to have contributed significantly to the crafting part of the Ares game. Moreover, Smith had said:
‘-You can make a high-grade artifact using your class, skills, level, and titles, even if it’s crudely made. We have the system’s help. But there’s a better way to create superior artifacts.’
At that time, Rune focused on wanting to be like Smith.
‘-Not crudely made, but intricate and perfect. If you add the effects of class, skills, level, and titles to that, it would be an artifact like no other.’
It was something Rune could hardly dream of doing.
Of course, he could also craft sophisticated and detailed artifacts influenced by his level and skills. But he knew Smith meant something different.
To truly understand the essence of weapons and armor. Not through the system, but on your own.
‘Impossible.’
Smith was a real-life blacksmith, which made it possible, but for 99.9% of existing blacksmiths, it was an impossible feat. That’s why Rune never even speculated it.
‘It’s absurd to think it’s all about skill.’
While he was pondering this…
[Current bid: 970 gold.]
[Current bid: 990 gold.]
“Guild Master, the bid keeps rising. What should we do?”
“Follow it, these guys have caught the scent.”
There weren’t just one or two blacksmith guilds in South Korea. Like him, those waiting for the Hyun’s Forge to prove its worth were now trying to bid.
For the same reason he had.
“To connect in some way.”
“We can’t miss the second legendary class blacksmith after Smith. Put in an exclusive offer right away. No, wait.”
Kay saw Rune, unusually excited, unable to hide his excitement.
“What to do?” Rune muttered, then said, “I’ll make the offer myself, and don’t bid an absurd amount. The other guilds will stop if it gets too high anyway.”
Rune watched the continuously rising subscriber count with a bitter smile.
“They too wouldn’t want it to become an issue.”
Rune immediately clicked on the icon shaped like a message to write a note to send to the Hyun’s Forge.
“We must bring them over at all costs.”
It was the first time Rune had ever wanted someone this badly.
[Hello, this is Rune, the Master of the Golden Hammer Guild.]
He began composing his proposal.
***
Hyun-soo stretched out thoroughly.
“Ugh!”
He had been staying in the Lord’s castle forge in the game for over 50 days. After posting the Hyun’s Second Bow on the auction board yesterday, he had logged out immediately. He also had a good night’s sleep for the first time in a while.
Hyun-soo, who had a quick breakfast-cum-lunch with just cereal, smiled wryly.
‘It’s a loss if you take out the capsule…’
He had managed to get a VVIP capsule for a month. Plus, he made a profit of one million won by selling Hyun’s first sword, but considering that one month in real time had passed in the game, it could be considered a loss.
‘My money is almost gone.’
He had almost spent the nearly one million won in his bank account.
‘I should exchange some.’
The profit from selling the sword and the upcoming income from selling the bow.
‘Well, this is how you make progress, right?’
Considering he was still only level 1, it wasn’t a bad achievement.
‘But when will I treat these burn scars…?’
He wanted to go out into the world.
Just to walk around like ordinary people.
After a simple meal, Hyun-soo logged back into Ares.
He checked what he had gained yesterday with a contented expression, starting with his swordsmanship skills.
(Prime Swordsmanship)
Active Skill
Grade: Epic
Level: 1 Proficiency: 0%
Swordsmanship Skill.
· Chapter 1: Unyielding.
· Chapter 2: Vital Strike.
· Chapter 3: Frenzy.
(Chapter 1: Unyielding)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Effect:
· Increases physical attack power by 13%, cutting power by 7%, and critical hit damage chance by 20% for 1 minute.
(Chapter 2: Vital Strike)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: 20
Cooldown: 1 minute.
Effect:
· Identifies the enemy’s weak points, dealing 45% additional damage on successful vital strikes.
· 15% chance to deal 60% damage.
(Chapter 3: Frenzy)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Effect:
· Continuously attacks all recognized enemies within a 10m radius for 20 seconds.
· Increases attack speed by 70% and physical attack power by 30% during Frenzy.
The Prime Swordsmanship taught by Baron Vans was excellent.
“The skill proficiency will increase as I level up…”
It was a great swordsmanship skill, sufficient even for level 100. Especially considering that Hyun-soo was a production class, it was a tremendous power.
Next was the buffalo horn bow that Hyun-soo had crafted for his use.
(Buffalo Horn Bow)
Grade: Epic
Durability: 3,000/3,000
Attack Power: 128
Restriction: No restriction for the maker. Level 0-70.
Special Abilities:
· Increases bow accuracy by 60%.
· Active Skill: Armor Breaker.
· Active Skill: Sure Shot.
Description: A great bow born from the hands of a master in the Beginner Zone, never to be replicated.
The buffalo horn bow didn’t increase stats, but the 60% increase in bow accuracy was a significant merit. Hyun-soo was practically clueless in archery, and the increased bow accuracy would assist him. Additionally, he had intentionally made the buffalo horn bow easy to use.
‘Is that why the increased bow accuracy is included?’
Finally.
(Armor of the Light Lord)
Grade: Rare
Durability: 2,000/2,000
Armor: 119
Restriction: None.
Special Abilities:
· Increases Strength by 4, Stamina by 2, Agility by 1.
· Passive Skill: Damage Reflection.
· Passive Skill: Damage Reduction.
Description: Armor once worn by a legendary Light Lord. It had been broken in many places over 300 years but was cleanly repaired by a blacksmith.
The rusted Armor of the Light Lord had now become quite shiny. Furthermore, several special abilities were added when Hyun-soo repaired it, notably the Damage Reflection passive skill. This skill had a 3% chance of reflecting an enemy’s attack.
Before leaving the forge, Hyun-soo checked everything.
‘I said goodbye to the Lord yesterday…’
Now, the only thing to check was the auction house. Since he had logged out last evening and logged in around lunchtime, quite some time had passed.
‘I wonder if it sold for more than last time?’
There was, in fact, something that had concerned him.
At that time, a blacksmith named Blam from the Golden Hammer Guild had proudly announced that he had intentionally paid a high price in a blind purchase review.
Hyun-soo realized why he had said that and spent the money.
‘It really did make a lasting impression.’
Soon, Hyun-soo checked the auction price.
[Starting bid: 500 gold.]
[Current bid: 1,950 gold.]
“…Huh?”
Hyun-soo rubbed his eyes.
But the number in front of him did not change. In fact, it was continuously rising.
[Current bid: 2,000 gold.]
[Current bid: 2,050 gold.]
‘Two million won?’
Amazement naturally escaped his lips.
Paying two million won just for a single artifact?
And then he discovered something even more astonishing.
[Current subscribers: 3,205.]
The number of subscribers had inflated tenfold overnight.
Even his inbox was filled with hundreds of messages. Most of them were about exclusive contracts, like before, and some were from individual users requesting the crafting of specific artifacts. Among them, one message stood out.
[Hello. I am Rune, the Master of the Golden Hammer Guild…]
‘The Master of the Golden Hammer Guild?’
With a puzzled expression, Hyun-soo clicked on the message.
[Hello. This is Rune, the Master of the Golden Hammer Guild. There’s a great expectation placed on the Hyun’s Forge, considering you’re the second legendary class user in Ares.]
“…?”
What is this about?
Hyun-soo couldn’t understand it. After a long time, he opened and then closed his status window.
‘I’m jobless, aren’t I?’
And he continued to read.
[I’ll get straight to the point. I propose to recruit Mr. Hyun of the Hyun’s Forge to the Golden Hammer Guild.]
It was an expected outcome. However, the content written below was quite shocking.
[The contract fee is 200 million won. This is the condition for you to join our guild.]
“…200 million?”
Hyun-soo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Cliche Novel 