Hyun-soo was walking to check on the Bell of Ramas as soon as he got up.
“Excuse me!”
Startled by the sudden voice of a woman, Hyun-soo turned his head with a puzzled expression.
‘A user…?’
The woman who called Hyun-soo was a female player, and she was stunningly beautiful.
She appeared to be about 166cm tall, with long hair and deep brown eyes that were striking.
Additionally, her pure white skin radiated innocence.
‘What’s going on?’
Hyun-soo tilted his head when he noticed the woman who had spoken to him looking dazed.
Soon, Nel shook her head.
‘Get a grip, he’s probably a scammer.’
Of course, jumping to conclusions was risky.
But according to Nel’s common sense, there was no record of a level 40 player repairing an irreparable artifact.
‘If that were possible…’
In Ares, there indeed existed many artifacts deemed irreparable.
For instance, the legendary archer Kaya’s bow, found by tomb raiders, was one of those artifacts.
Many had tried to repair that bow, but all failed.
‘The system doesn’t help.’
If repaired, the legendary artifact bow would be astronomically valuable.
But the label ‘irreparable’ just indicated the existence of such artifacts.
‘If repairable, wouldn’t everyone rush to fix them?’
Nel crossed her arms.
“If you’re thinking of profiting from the failing Cassel territory, it’s best to stop, because I won’t let that happen.”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing this, Hyun-soo tilted his head, realizing who she was.
“I heard about you from Karl. You’re from the Golden Shield Guild.”
“Yes, you got it. I’m a senior blacksmith. I know very well that the Bell of Ramsa can’t be repaired.”
She crossed her arms and even placed a hand on her hip.
Hyun-soo looked at the Bell of Ramas with a wry smile.
(The Bell of Ramas)
Grade: Epic
Durability: Irreparable
Special Abilities:
· Weakens undead within a 5km radius of the territory by 20%.
· Increases the attack and defense of those fighting the undead by 6%.
· Increases the vitality of the territory’s residents by 5%.
· Reduces the likelihood of drought in the territory by 10%.
· Increases the probability of crops growing well by 20%.
Description: The Bell of Ramas, which protects the Cassel territory, is completely destroyed and irreparable.
The Bell of Ramas had lost its form.
Originally white, it was now completely shattered, with only its fragments remaining.
Hyun-soo swept his hand over it.
[The Bell of Ramas is an irreparable artifact.]
Hyun-soo examined the Bell of Ramas closely, studying its composition and construction.
‘I had hoped it would be easy to repair.’
He had hoped for a simple repair, like when he had obtained the emergency crafting of a divine weapon. The divine effect of blacksmithing could unlock skills related to blacksmithing tasks.
Touching it, he wondered if a divine skill would unlock.
‘Don’t think useless thoughts.’
Hyun-soo shook his head. Dependence on the system was not good.
He picked up a broken fragment and examined it more carefully.
The material was surprisingly ordinary.
But there was one difference.
‘Is this infused with divine power?’
Behind the cold touch typical of metal, he felt an unknown warmth.
On closer inspection, a faint light emitted from it.
At that moment, Nel realized this man was not heeding her warning.
“Please, I wish you would stop whatever you’re trying to do.”
Then,
Hyun-soo dropped the fragment he was holding onto the ground.
And then,
Crunch-
He stepped on it.
Nel was shocked.
Soon, Hyun-soo tilted his head and took out a hammer from his pocket, hammering the fragment forcefully.
Clang-!
The fragment shattered into dozens of pieces. Nel could only blink in disbelief at the absurd scene unfolding before her eyes.
“Wait, stop for a moment.”
Finally, Nel grabbed his arm. Nel, a high-level 290 player, was significantly stronger.
But soon, Nel felt puzzled.
‘What…? Why is a level 40 so strong…?’
He seemed almost level 100.
Still, for Nel, that was average.
But still, Hyun-soo kept breaking it.
“Stop it, even if it’s an irreparable artifact, you can’t just smash it to pieces.”
She wasn’t usually this type of person, but physical confrontation seemed inevitable.
Then,
“It looks like it might be repairable.”
“…What? What do you mean?”
Hyun-soo looked at the completely shattered pieces with a bitter smile.
Completely shattered fragments.
Clearly crushed and further broken, like tiny glass shards, but Hyun-soo was looking closely.
‘No matter how much it’s broken, the divine power in the material doesn’t disappear.’
Hyun-soo had told Karl he couldn’t guarantee anything because he had learned this while making a divine weapon.
Even Hyun-soo had his limits on what he could and couldn’t do.
The reason he could infuse divine power into the weapon during emergency crafting was that the weapon was intended for such use.
If it wasn’t for creating such items, Hyun-soo couldn’t infuse divine power into artifacts.
Furthermore, a centurion named Render had said…
Artifacts imbued with divine power can only be repaired by the church’s blacksmiths or with materials from the church.
The reason only church materials work is because they contain divine power.
“These shattered materials still hold divine power. No matter the physical impact or alteration,”
The divine power remains unchanged.
“How exactly do you plan to repair this?”
However, Hyun-soo understood her.
He also realized that she was a good person.
‘She really cares about the Cassel territory.’
Karl had also looked apologetic when he spoke of her.
He is, after all, the commander of the knights.
Why? Because she was doing her best, and there was nothing she couldn’t do.
“We need to repair it.”
“But how can you repair something labeled irreparable? It’s an irreparable artifact. We can’t get system help, and there’s no automatic repair button.”
“You don’t always need those things to make repairs.”
“What?”
Nel’s pupils wavered. There was sincerity in the man’s expression.
‘What does he mean…? You don’t always need those things for repairs…?’
How is he going to repair it then…?
Nel’s mind was in turmoil.
Looking at his face, he was sincere, but according to her understanding, it was impossible.
Her thoughts were a constant clash, and she was speechless, staring at him.
Boom, boom, boom-!
Then, her complex thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of drums.
“The undead are gathering!”
“They’re pushing in!”
And on the walls, Commander Karl shouted.
“I declare a state of emergency for the territory. All territory residents, excluding women, children, and the elderly, gather with anything that can be used as a weapon!”
“Yes!”
“Also, those who cannot fight should start evacuating immediately!”
Nel’s face hardened.
The conversation she just had with the man was instantly forgotten.
She ran towards the walls.
And she saw a tremendous number of undead beginning to gather.
The undead lands nearby.
They had finally decided to claim this place as their new territory.
Immediately, an alert rang out.
[The Cassel territory update will start soon.]
[The Cassel territory update is scheduled to last one week.]
[After the Cassel territory update, the territory of the undead will be established.]
Updates in Ares happen in various ways.
And the most common is story format updates.
Additionally, CEO Lee Se-jin said,
“An unwanted update? Even such updates can be changed by the combined efforts of the players in Ares. Ares strives for high freedom.”
The players were delighted. An update, in essence, meant that Blue Co. was offering a new story.
In such updates, players could freely participate.
But Nel knew the reality.
“The chance of an update being canceled is less than 10%…”
She ran towards Commander Karl.
“Commander…!”
“Still haven’t left? Hurry and evacuate.”
Commander Karl looked at Nel with a bitter expression.
“I will help too.”
“Thank you. You will be well rewarded for this.”
Commander Karl’s eyes were sad.
His eyes seemed to say,
‘Survive, and we’ll talk.’
***
After finishing talking with Nel, Commander Karl urgently entered the lord’s castle.
Rushing and kneeling before the lord, Karl reported to Lord Kern.
“The battle will start soon. You need to evacuate. And there’s still hope. A blacksmith named Hyun-soo…”
Regrettably, Lord Kern was sitting and drinking.
Listening to the report with a somber expression, he shook his head.
“I will not flee.”
Lord Kern laughed sarcastically as he drank.
“How can I, who built this territory, abandon my soldiers and run away!”
Karl had a bitter expression.
A good man.
He shouts, overwhelmed by fear, and drinks. He was someone who normally wouldn’t even touch alcohol.
And Lord Kern, fueled by the alcohol, would remain here.
Furthermore, if the soldiers are annihilated, he would die with them. And Lord Kern became more candid under the influence of alcohol.
“Commander Karl.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“…Let go of such vain hopes. It’s impossible. The blacksmith named Hyun-soo you mentioned. Do you think it’s possible?”
Karl couldn’t respond. He had a sliver of hope.
But Lord Kern’s words shook him.
“You must have seen it, the Bell of Ramas is not just cracked or broken. It’s shattered, broken into dozens of pieces. To repair that? Even if it wasn’t labeled as irreparable, it’s a challenging item to fix.”
It was true.
It was not something that could be considered repairable. Saying this, Lord Kern took another swig of his drink and laughed sorrowfully.
“But if it could be done…”
He, too, being human, held onto a sliver of hope.
“What have I got to lose? He saved my territory and my soldiers!”
“…You’re right,”
Commander Karl nodded.
Soon, Kern gestured for him to leave. Karl stepped out, and Kern shook his head again.
“It’s impossible, an impossible task… It can never be repaired…”
He drank again, his face filled with sorrow.
***
“It can’t be repaired.”
Hyun-soo concluded as he entered the blacksmith shop and swept the remains of the Bell of Ramas onto the floor.
However, Hyun-soo had told Nel that it could be done.
Boom-boom-boom-
Hyun-soo smiled slightly as he heard the drum sounds outside.
He swiftly sketched something on parchment with a pencil.
“There’s no system help, but physical impact has been made.”
When it was trampled and hammered, the bell certainly sustained impact.
The fact that it took impact means that while ‘automatic repair’ is systemically limited, manual repair could be possible.
Moreover, the materials didn’t lose their divine power, no matter the impact.
Soon, Hyun-soo, having drawn the design of the bell, stuck it on one side of the wall.
Yes, the Bell of Ramas can’t be repaired.
“Then, I just need to melt these materials and remake it.”
That was Hyun-soo’s conclusion.
Cliche Novel 