Every New Year, we can hear the sound of the New Year’s bell.
The Bosingak Bell was used for the New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony.
This Bosingak Bell was designated as National Treasure No. 2 in Korea.
The blueprint drawn by Hyun-soo was a design that mixed the Bosingak Bell with the bell of Ramas.
The Bosingak Bell has been damaged twice by fire, and since then, Hyun-soo’s father has been in charge of its management.
The Bosingak Bell represents the style of bells from the early Joseon Dynasty.
Many people requested bells made in this style, and Hyun-soo and his father often created them for various temples and the National Bell Sound Festival.
Suddenly, the furnace was lit.
“I have to melt what’s already been completed.”
By melting this, Hyun-soo needed to obtain the basic materials to make the bell of Ramas.
“More precisely, I need to acquire divine power.”
He planned to create a new bell by combining the material with divine power and his personal judgment.
Hyun-soo activated his custom creation skill.
[Starting Divine Customization.]
[You can custom create for someone or for yourself.]
[Through custom creation, you can add desired effects, with a chance of achieving up to 100% of the desired effect.]
Hyun-soo recalled the special abilities of the bell of Ramas.
‘Increases vitality of the territorial residents by 5%, reduces the probability of drought by 10%, increases the chance of crops growing well by 20%.’
Hyun-soo thought many of the bell of Ramas’ effects were unnecessary for the Cassel territory.
Yes, these divine powers could enhance crop growth, give vitality to the residents, and prevent droughts.
But what if he focused these powers on defeating the undead?
What if he created skills to defeat the undead with these powers?
“It’s possible.”
He turns theory into reality.
That’s the essence of the Divine Customization skill. He sets the desired effects.
“Maximize the power to defeat undead or evil, and add a skill that can inflict fatal damage.”
[Searching for power to defeat undead or evil.]
[Searching for a skill to inflict fatal damage on undead or evil.]
[You can insert the desired effect.]
[Your skill, insight, and luck are among the various factors that can enhance the effect up to 100%.]
This was completely different from when he made the sword-cutting skill.
When inserting the sword-cutting skill, he poured everything into that one skill, making other aspects insignificant.
But this time, he designed it while maintaining a proper balance and focusing on divine power.
[Materials for creating the artifact are guided. Iron, Mithril, Orichalcum…]
[To create the artifact, you need to be a master blacksmith or have materials imbued with divine power.]
Having set everything, Hyun-soo watched the molten metal flow from the furnace.
His new bell creation had begun.
***
“I was wrong…”
Nel laughed despairingly.
Two days had passed since the update notification.
During this time, Nel, a high-level master blacksmith, did everything she could.
She made or repaired siege weapons to kill the undead and manufactured excellent arrows for the soldiers.
But she wasn’t alone.
Players with even small memories of the Cassel territory came.
Among them were high-level players, beginners, and those seeking rewards in a territory that might soon fall.
“Crazy… the undead are too strong.”
“It seems we can’t stop this.”
“Wouldn’t it be possible if a top guild comes?”
“Why would they bother to save Cassel territory?”
As such, the remaining players also left.
The undead kept pushing in more fiercely, and at some point, Nel realized.
“I can’t stop them…”
She smiled self-mockingly, feeling her powerlessness.
What could one player do?
She looked around the territory from the walls with a hollow expression.
“That store, where I first went. That’s where I first did the blacksmith quest.”
She smiled faintly. Soon, the territory would be swept away by the undead.
She knew.
Nel knew better than anyone.
She was too immersed in this game, Ares, which felt too real.
Weary, she walked, resigning herself.
But then, she heard a faint sound.
Ding… Ding-dong… Ding-dong-dong…
Being a blacksmith player, she recognized this sound.
She walked towards its source.
Ding-dong-dong!
Ding-dong-dong-dong!
Ding-dong-dong-dong-dong!
Arriving at the source, Nel saw a man standing in the forge.
“The swindler from the other day?”
It was that man.
“What is he making?”
Nel stood there, watching his back.
She felt something strange.
“What’s this…?”
His level was definitely 40.
She knew this for sure as she saw it through the effect of the title ‘Insightful’.
But…
“Why, is it different…?”
Being part of the blacksmith guild, Nel knew the artifact creation process of players.
She knew their movements well, as she often pressed the automatic creation button herself.
When blacksmiths start automatic creation, they turn robotic.
With stiff movements, uniform force and speed, they repeatedly forge without changing size.
Smelting and refining are the same.
Visiting the blacksmith guild, one might think:
“Blacksmith robots.”
But what about this man?
His hammering was different.
Ding-dong-dong!
Each strike was not uniform.
Sometimes strong, other times softer.
Then she noticed an unidentified blueprint hanging on one side.
“That’s…?”
The bell of Ramas? No, similar but different.
Much larger and more majestic.
Nel frowned, suddenly noticing the absence of the bell of Ramas.
“Where did it go…?”
The original place of the bell of Ramas was empty.
Her mouth opened in surprise.
But what was even more amusing was that inside the forge of the man in front, there were no remnants of the shattered bell of Ramas.
“What in the world…”
It’s confusing.
The bell of Ramas had disappeared, and the man seemed to be making a strange bell.
Soon, the man swept something back into the furnace.
“…?”
Nel recognized what was swept in.
“The bell of Ramas…? Wait, how is he repairing… no, how is he smelting and refining that? What is that now?”
The man had already made part of the bell.
‘Impossible to repair means you can’t even make anything else with it, right? Normally, the repair or creation button wouldn’t even appear…’
Then, Nel’s thoughts flashed back to her conversation with him.
‘-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.’
She mulled over those words.
Such things.
“Auto-repair, system assistance…”
Realizing the meaning, Nel stepped back.
“It doesn’t make sense…”
It’s impossible.
“It’s the year 2040 now…”
They say there were quite a few blacksmiths in the 2020s.
But the world quickly became mechanized, and those blacksmiths lost their place.
“He’s making it manually…?”
She washed her face in disbelief.
Then the man spoke.
“How long are you going to stand there?”
“What…?”
Nel looked puzzled.
***
For two days, Hyun-soo hadn’t slept a wink and had started working on making a new bell.
“It’s not easy…”
Time was extremely tight. At this rate, it will be a tight squeeze to make it before the update, the fall of the territory.
“I need someone to help.”
At the very least, he needed a manual blacksmith to help with menial tasks or listen to his instructions.
Someone completely ignorant of blacksmithing is inconvenient.
“Even if they’ve been relying on system help, they’ve learned.”
They roughly understand the process by watching the automatic creation.
Then.
Rustle-
Hyun-soo heard footsteps.
“He’s making it manually…?”
Soon after, he heard her voice.
Hyun-soo’s face lit up.
“How long are you going to stand there?”
“What…?”
“Help me. You care about this territory.”
Nel entered the forge. As soon as she entered, she immediately swept up the part of the bell that Hyun-soo had partially made.
[The bell of Ramas is an unrepairable artifact.]
Her prediction became reality.
This is the bell of Ramas. Or rather, what used to be the bell.
“Was it real skill…?”
How is this possible?
But soon, she calmed down.
“…You’re making it manually, right?”
Hyun-soo just nodded.
“But if you do it manually, isn’t it harder to expect more…?”
There’s a peak in every field.
Not everyone who studies becomes extraordinary.
Just like not everyone who studies from childhood to twenty goes to a good university.
So what if he makes it manually? What if his manual work is just at a beginner blacksmith level?
What difference would it make?
“Maybe it’s better to receive the system’s help.”
Yes, the system is clear and certain.
It allows you to do blacksmithing work at the level of your skill.
And Nel had seen the blacksmithing of an NPC, a top-class blacksmith who was a grade higher than herself.
It was beyond common sense.
And Nel had a special title, ‘The Learner’.
As a result, just by watching the work of blacksmiths at a higher level than herself, all of her blacksmith skills improved in proficiency.
But learning doesn’t mean achieving the same. What’s important is the skill itself.
“So, you’re saying that even with the same materials, the end product can be different?”
But Hyun-soo just smiled slightly.
Nel looked puzzled at his sly smile.
Hyun-soo put down his hammer for a moment.
“So, are you just going to sit around for the remaining 5 days?”
It was a sharp comment.
Nel bit her lip.
“I’ll do whatever you ask, I’ll give it my best.”
Nel agreed readily.
“Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Hyun-soo.”
“I’m Nel.”
And so, their creation began. To be precise, Nel assisted while Hyun-soo gave instructions.
“Hold it tighter.”
Ding-dong-dong!
“That’s not how you do it. You need to hammer it longer and more.”
“Clean that up, will you!”
“Okay, fine. I’ll do this part myself. Just catch the molten metal.”
“Yes, yes…”
Nel, an advanced blacksmith, followed his instructions. Then she watched him work as a blacksmith.
“What’s this…?”
Nel definitely felt it was impossible.
Blacksmithing skills vary according to one’s ability.
But why…?
“This is strange.”
Why does it seem like he’s doing better than the top-class blacksmith she saw last time?
She blinked her eyes.
Something was off.
Or was she seeing things wrong?
1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours.
She had been observing his blacksmithing work.
[The ‘Learner’ title shines.]
[You have observed the production process of a top-class blacksmith.]
The notification she had heard when she met the top-class blacksmith before, now came from a user.
After this notification, another one indicating an increase in proficiency was heard.
“This doesn’t make sense, it’s impossible. It’s a bug, yes, this is…”
Then.
Ding!
[Correction in progress.]
[The system is measuring the error.]
[Correction completed.]
Nel thought to herself, as expected.
Of course!
Does it make sense that a user can exhibit the skills of a top-class blacksmith?
Top-class blacksmiths, both users and NPCs, are all above level 300.
In other words, the top blacksmiths are at that level.
The idea that a level 40 user doing manual work could produce top-class quality is…
[You have observed the production process of a Master Blacksmith (名匠).]
“…Master, as in Master Blacksmith!?”
Her eyes wavered in disbelief.
Cliche Novel 
😂 The reactions are amusing. Thanks for the chapter!!
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