Strike 66

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Lee Min-gyu, the head of the Story Team, was enjoying a rare tea time with Director Lee Hae-seok.

Suddenly, Min-gyu thought about a recent event.

Director Hae-seok had argued that Hyun-soo, a user, should have his divine custom crafting skill nerfed after he unlocked it.

However, after seeing the half-finished Crescent Moon sword that Hyun-soo created with emergency crafting, Hae-seok stopped mentioning any need to regulate Hyun-soo.

“Director, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Why haven’t you been talking about balance issues since Hyun-soo crafted the Crescent Moon sword?”

“It’s about talent. Where in the world would a badly balanced game concern itself with talent?”

“I see. Lately, it seems you have high expectations for Hyun-soo.”

Min-gyu could see Hae-seok’s growing interest in Hyun-soo whenever they met with the Special User Management Team.

“What’s Hyun-soo up to these days?”

“What has he crafted this time?”

“What? He made a legendary-grade sword? Impressive.”

Hae-seok’s expression was like a child hearing a delightful story.

Hae-seok chuckled and sipped his tea.

“I am indeed very excited. You know why, right? How a nonexistent Crescent Moon sword in the game Ares actually appeared and its effects were just like a real Crescent Moon sword.”

Min-gyu, the head of the Story Team, smiled slightly.

“Even though it doesn’t exist in the game, the supercomputer Ares applied the effects of the Crescent Moon sword as it deemed most fitting based on its information.”

“Indeed, it’s amazing. Most of Ares’ artifacts have predefined shapes, effects, and abilities.”

Being the Story Team, they knew this best.

“But Hyun-soo is different. He’s the only user capable of creating unique artifacts with his own effects.”

Hae-seok was thrilled by the existence of such a user.

“Team Leader Lee, you’ve heard countless tales since childhood, right? About legendary weapons and armor.”

“Of course.”

Many people have heard of them.

Excalibur, Mjolnir, Gram, and more.

There are also several in Korea.

One of them is the Cresent Moon sword, and others like Haemosu’s Dragon Light Sword or Admiral Yi Sun-shin’s Twin Dragon Sword.

Hae-seok, excited just thinking about it, finally explained why.

“I’m dying of curiosity.”

The reason for his high expectations for Hyun-soo.

“Can he actually craft any of those legendary items?”

That was the question.

***

As Hyun-soo started crafting in the forge, he thought about a shield he had designed.

The shield resembled one from mythology.

While it wasn’t an exact replica, its effects were similar.

‘The shield turns enemies to stone in an instant.’

It was known to be used by Athena, the goddess of war, or even Zeus, the supreme god, featuring a woman’s head.

However, blending his unique knowledge into the design, he made it more original.

‘Uncle Hyuk-su needs other effects, too.’

Suddenly, Hyun-soo remembered his childhood.

Numerous mythical and legendary armaments.

Some existed, others didn’t.

-Dad, I want to make that!

Though it seemed absurd, his father helped him make them.

‘Of course, they weren’t the actual items.’

Because they were mostly nonexistent.

‘Maybe if they really existed, they would have been made like this.’

His father hammered out armaments just as he had imagined.

And young Hyun-soo kept crafting them as he grew, driven by fun and the excitement of how well he could replicate them.

He must have made dozens over the years.

Now, on the third day of crafting, he was nearing completion.

After the final polishing, he engraved the character ‘Hyun’ (現) on the shield, completing it.

[A divine custom-crafted artifact is completed.]

[The experience and knowledge of a blacksmith beyond a master greatly increases the effectiveness.]

[Effectiveness is 98%.]

[It’s of unique grade.]

[You have crafted an artifact closest to legendary.]

[Name the shield.]

[The title ‘God Blacksmith’ shines.]

[All stat increases due to once-a-week artifact crafting are applied.]

[Gain 50 dexterity.]

[Gain 100 fame.]

[Shield Mastery Lv.1 proficiency increases by 19%.]

As Hyun-soo examined the completed shield, he felt a twinge of regret.

“Ah, what a pity…!”

The notification clearly stated that he had crafted an artifact closest to legendary.

‘I really wanted to gift Uncle Hyuk-su a legendary artifact…’

Even so, wouldn’t Hyuk-su appreciate this artifact as well?

Hyun-soo tore the parchment to use the gifting feature.

‘I included instructions, so it shouldn’t be hard to use, right?’

Rustle-

Hyun-soo watched a hawk take off with the parchment in its talons.

***

[A gift from Hyun-soo has arrived.]

Standing at the entrance of the Salamander dungeon, Bark saw a hawk flying towards him.

Extending his arm, the hawk landed gracefully on it.

[Hyun-soo: Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as high-grade as I wanted, but I hope you find it useful.]

Feeling down, Bark couldn’t help but smile.

Somehow, communicating with the guy always lifted his spirits.

‘Sure, what could a level 59 blacksmith really make?’

Bark, a high-ranking player, saw Ares as a diversion in his dull life.

He had met countless blacksmiths, even the country’s top ones.

Yet, this gift from Hyun-soo felt more valuable than anything they offered.

‘Heh, he must have sweated over making this for me. Let’s see.’

Bark grinned and checked the item’s details.

(Hyun’s Eighth Custom-Made Shield)

Grade: Unique

Durability: 12,000/12,000

Attack: 251

Thorns Damage: 111

Defense: 401

Requirement: Level 150+ Tank Class

Special Abilities:

· 201% Resistance to Fire Attributes

· 247% Increased Defense against Fire Monsters

· 222% Increased Attack against Fire Monsters

· Passive Skill: Freezing Gaze

· Active Skill: Frost Thorns

· Active Skill: Wave of Frost

Description: Hyun’s eighth custom-made shield, close to legendary, crafted with a certain shield in mind. If the materials had been more similar, it might have been a complete shield.

Bark looked puzzled for a moment.

‘Is this an error?’

He reopened the artifact’s information.

But the details remained unchanged.

‘Unique…?’

In the game Ares, user-crafted unique artifacts are rare.

Especially high-level uniques, with fewer than 50 in the country.

Most were dropped by mobs or made by NPCs.

‘How could a level 59…?’

Then Bark checked the time.

[1 hour 37 minutes 32 seconds left to complete the job quest.]

He was running out of time. His planned dungeon raid with the anticipated shield was around 1 hour 40 minutes.

Without further thought, he entered the dungeon.

[You have entered the Salamander Dungeon.]

[Last attempt at the job quest.]

‘As soon as I enter, a swarm of salamanders will attack. Got to deal with them first.’

Salamanders are giant, flaming lizards of level 260.

Bark was ready to attack them immediately upon entry.

‘Estimated time: 10 minutes.’

The moment he stepped in, a salamander leaped at him from the entrance.

Instinctively, he raised his shield.

A strange sound followed.

Crack-

[Freezing Gaze.]

[Frosts monsters with fire attributes over 60 levels higher than the user.]

It was the sound of something freezing.

Crash-

And then hitting the ground.

Baffled, Bark lowered his shield.

One of the salamanders had turned into a complete block of ice.

“…?”

Surprised, Bark spotted another salamander.

As he turned the shield towards it.

“Gasp…!”

He slowly moved the shield from left to right, facing the approaching salamanders.

Upon seeing the shield.

Crack-

They all froze.

“This is unbelievable.”

What he anticipated would take 10 minutes, took only 1.

He had heard about the Freezing Gaze skill from the notification, but dismissed it as too unrealistic.

And this shield resembled one from mythology.

“Aegis…?”

The shield called Aegis in Greek mythology, featuring Medusa’s head.

The effects were different, though. The real Aegis turned to stone, this one just froze.

Bark knew he didn’t have time to spare. Speeding through the dungeon would maximize his rewards.

As he ventured deeper, he encountered flaming archers.

There were five of them.

[Flaming Archer Lv.301]

Their arrows were slow but ignited anything they touched.

Then, the instructions appeared.

[Please press the button on the grip with your thumb.]

The manual provided guidance based on the situation.

Bark followed the instructions.

Click

At that moment, eight spikes ejected from the front of the circular shield.

They moved like long serpents, swiftly embedding into the five archers.

Fizz-Fizz-Crackle-

The archers rapidly froze.

‘Incredible…’

But Bark shook his head.

‘Is it a one-time use?’

[Press the button twice to retract.]

Another notification.

Click-Click-

The spikes retracted with a clanking sound, returning to the shield.

Bark reviewed the artifact’s details again, noticing previously unseen information.

Blacksmith Hyun (現).

But he already knew, having seen the engraving on the artifact.

Bark pressed on quickly.

[You’re rapidly progressing through the Salamander Dungeon!]

Memories of his encounters with Hyun-soo flashed through his mind.

Their first meeting.

‘Blacksmiths still exist? Amazing, have you learned blacksmithing too?’

Their second meeting.

‘Can you return the forge?’

Their third meeting.

‘I hoped you would survive.’

As he reminisced, Bark soon faced the boss monster.

[Boss Monster Appears!]

[Avatar of the Fire Queen Lv.319]

‘I’m proud of you, Hyun-soo. So very proud.’

Bark smiled, holding the unbelievable shield, and engaged in battle with the Fire Queen’s avatar.

A boss monster, one of the eight on the continent, her avatars scattered throughout the world, each a being engulfed in flames.

Even her avatars possessed immense power, typical of the Salamander Dungeon’s boss.

Yet, the shield withstood her fiery breath.

The seemingly impossible conquest of the Salamander Dungeon became reality.

The more he understood the shield’s effects and the power of the artifact, the more thrilling it felt.

[You have hunted the Avatar of the Fire Queen.]

The notification appeared as the Fire Queen cooled down.

The boss monster, one of the continent’s eight, now freezing over.

“…Who crafted that shield?”

No answer came, and she furrowed her brows.

“Speak, or you’ll regret it!”

Her main body was dangerous. If she pursued him, he might have to quit the game.

But Bark couldn’t betray Hyun-soo to save himself.

Threatened, Bark smirked.

“Try me.”

“Aren’t you afraid? Why won’t you reveal the blacksmith’s name!”

Why, indeed?

It wasn’t just because Hyun-soo was a blacksmith or because he held great value.

‘He’s my person.’

That was the reason. Now, Hyun-soo was important to Bark.

In the face of threats, Bark silently turned and walked away.

The dungeon crumbled, and the Fire Queen’s avatar completely froze over.

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