The dying Arte was able to be saved by Belia.
“How could a mere blacksmith…”
Could it be possible to summon the Sword King and the Spear Heaven even with penalties?
Moreover, his guild members held immense potential beyond what a blacksmith could typically lead.
The most surprising thing was his quick thinking shown at the end.
He fought enemies with remarkable prowess and then, in the end, defeated the demon Grout with the skill of a master craftsman.
“……”
Arte stared at Hyun-soo’s back for a long time.
He felt an unknown strength from his broad, muscular build.
‘A kingly figure…’
Arte thought.
A great name that many kings in history had pursued.
The Sword King, the Spear Heaven, guild members.
Who else could embody all these paths other than Hyun-soo?
And Arte did not know.
Like Arte, the saintess Aria also saw Hyun-soo as a kingly figure once before.
And because of that, something special had been building up within Hyun-soo.
Anyway, Arte, watching him, approached.
He thought Hyun-soo was calming his chest after achieving a great feat.
“You…”
Arte tried to place his hand on Hyun-soo’s shoulder.
But before he could.
Plop.
Hyun-soo collapsed quickly, fainting.
“???”
Arte recalled Ben and Barad’s calm words at the Sage Tower not long ago.
‘He does that often.’
‘Our guy’s a bit frail by nature.’
Arte realized why they reacted that way.
‘Continuously to the extreme, again and again…’
He fought without falling or retreating.
And again, Hyun-soo fainted, holding immense power.
When someone does everything for you or for something related to you and then faints, it evokes feelings of gratitude and other emotions.
Arte stared at the fainted Hyun-soo for a long time.
One reward came to mind.
However, doubts crossed his mind if it was right to realize it as a sage.
Putting it aside for a moment, he supported Hyun-soo by wrapping Hyun-soo’s arm around his shoulder.
And Arte went down the remaining distance with Hyun-soo.
Arte’s heart swelled with emotion.
The Beres Mountain Range, where he had been trapped for 300 years.
[Arte succeeds in escaping the Beres Mountain Range.]
[You have successfully opened the cage’s door, letting the bird fly freely.]
It was a notification for the fainted Hyun-soo.
Seeing a new world at last, Arte looked up at the sky and smiled brightly.
And at the bottom of the mountain, the guild members of Bright Future were waiting.
“Fainted again?”
“At this rate, shouldn’t we give him an award for the best at fainting?”
Exhausted Arte also soon collapsed.
Hyun-soo and Arte were transported side by side to the Ballas Territory.
***
Hyun-soo tried to stay conscious before fainting.
The Arte’s Cage quest he received was not completely finished yet.
But contrary to his will, the system judged his body had reached its limit and made him faint.
When Hyun-soo woke up, he could see Nel sitting there.
“You’re awake?”
“What about Arte?”
“Master Arte is asleep in the next room. How about you log out and rest a bit more too, Hyun-soo?”
“Sure, but there’s something I’d like you to find for me first.”
“Something to find?”
Nel looked puzzled.
She suggested logging out because she wanted to show him the outside situation.
She wanted to show him what kind of impact was happening in reality.
But soon, Nel, realizing what he wanted her to find, smiled softly.
‘That’s so like Hyun-soo.’
She thought to herself.
Hyun-soo was sometimes emotional, yet at other times more calculating than anyone.
‘It’s because of such qualities that Hyun-soo could gather us.’
Nel liked Hyun-soo for that.
“I’ll find it as quickly as possible.”
Shortly after, Nel quickly gathered the information.
Hyun-soo immediately took action.
The place he arrived at was none other than the small village where Arte’s mother had lived 300 years ago.
The decisive reason Arte wanted to descend the mountain was to visit his mother’s grave.
‘Can I find it?’
Hyun-soo was worried.
She was a person who had lived 300 years ago.
He thought it wouldn’t be easy to find information about her here.
But something unexpected happened.
“Are you talking about the sage’s mother? Of course, I know. It’s a tragedy passed down through our village.”
Hyun-soo was left speechless hearing this.
“After the sage Arte, who was said to know all the information in the world, suddenly disappeared, his mother found out that he was in the Sage Tower in the Beres Mountain Range. She went to the entrance of the Beres Mountain Range at the same time every day. She couldn’t go up. The power of the demon prevented her from ascending.”
The villager telling the story gave a bitter smile.
“Every day, until the day she died, the sage’s mother went to the entrance of the Beres Mountain Range hoping to meet her son Arte. And one day, she stopped appearing in the village. She met her end near the Beres Mountain Range. A corpse? A grave? There was no such thing.”
“……”
Just as the sage Arte longed for his mother, she too longed for him.
Hyun-soo knew Arte would come here soon.
“I have a request.”
He said, taking out a gold coin.
He handed the gold coin to those in the village who knew the story as he went around.
And after passing on all the words, Hyun-soo rolled up his sleeves.
Hyun-soo, who had made something at the end, returned to the Ballas Territory.
***
As soon as Arte woke up, he asked about Hyun-soo.
“Lord Hyun-soo? He’s sleeping in the next room.”
And then he headed straight to the village where his mother had lived to meet her.
‘Doesn’t I know…’
A gravestone from 300 years ago couldn’t possibly exist.
Moreover, there was no one to make a grave for her.
Perhaps Arte’s intention to visit his mother’s grave was just a string of hope he held onto.
But then…
“Of course, it exists.”
Arte looked surprised.
He walked, guided by the villagers.
It was strange.
Something that shouldn’t exist.
It looked as if it had been made to appear old, but there was no hiding it.
[Sage’s Mother, Resting Here.]
“……”
The gravestone was there.
Arte had indeed seen it in the Beres Mountain Range.
He saw his mother, desperately waiting for him at the base of the mountain, crying.
And in the end, he saw her frozen to death after waiting for so long.
The curse of the demon Grout had been horrific.
“The words of people are light, and they become even lighter when it’s a good story.”
A villager appeared.
He spoke about the person who had given out gold coins.
He requested that no one mention the sage’s mother froze to death while waiting and to say that the gravestone had always been there.
Arte understood why this had been done.
Hyun-soo had said that although his father was close, they could not speak.
This stemmed from a mutual understanding between the two.
“It has been 300 years.”
Arte corrected himself as he spoke to his mother’s gravestone.
“No, it was even before I was trapped in the mountain.”
Arte had been the most arrogant person in the world.
Knowing all the information in the world was enough to make him so.
For exactly 376 years, he had not made a single friend, something everyone else had.
“…But now I have made one. A very good friend.”
He spent a day in front of the grave.
“I have decided on a gift for my friend.”
Arte then walked away.
***
Meanwhile.
Sniff, sniff.
Tae-seok gave a bitter smile as he watched Lee Ji-hee wipe her tears.
The reward following the remarkable storyline had already been determined.
The notification was proof of that.
[Sage Arte will stay in the territory of user Hyun-soo.]
However, even the remarkable storyline couldn’t predict additional rewards.
A remarkable storyline sometimes grants permission.
This permission means that even if the supercomputer Ares wants to give a reward, it won’t be stopped.
Tae-seok was curious about what Arte had said in front of the grave.
“He said he decided on a gift for him. What could it be?”
Sage Arte must have pondered deeply.
Whether to give something or not.
In fact, just having Sage Arte stay in Hyun-soo’s territory was an incredible reward.
And he had already given Hyun-soo the legendary skill creation as a reward.
There was no need to give anything else.
Ji-hee, blowing her nose loudly, spoke up.
“…Since it’s Sage Arte, wouldn’t he give user Hyun-soo something he needs the most?”
Tae-seok’s mind worked quickly.
‘What does user Hyun-soo need the most right now?’
When he thought of it, Tae-seok was astonished.
***
The great wizard Luwon and the absolute shield Peya.
Sage Arte had come to see these two of the top ten legends.
The two had received countless help from Arte until now.
“…So that’s why you stayed at the Sage Tower all this time.”
After hearing the whole story, the two nodded.
“The knowledge I have given you so far. Repay it this one time.”
“…For Sage Arte to say that, I understand.”
“Just this once, we will fight for you.”
Leading two legends, Arte set out to find what he sought.
Hyun-soo didn’t know where Arte was, and even if he did, obtaining it wouldn’t be easy.
However, with two legends, it wasn’t too difficult.
In the Deep Sea Graveyard, known as the harshest hunting ground in Ares, Arte obtained it.
Then he parted ways with the two legends.
Arte, holding onto it, headed to the Ballas territory to meet Hyun-soo.
***
‘Why isn’t he coming?’
Hyun-soo was consumed by various thoughts.
Arte had gone to his mother’s village and hadn’t returned for several days.
There were two reasons for Hyun-soo’s actions.
The first was his desire to complete the quest he had undertaken perfectly.
The second was the power of empathy he felt from Arte.
‘Is this how my connection with Arte ends? Is he planning to wander the world now?’
It was entirely possible.
Having been trapped for 300 years, Arte would likely want to explore the world.
At that moment.
“My lord, the sage has arrived.”
Hyun-soo’s face lit up.
Shortly after, Arte came in.
As he entered, he spoke.
“Thanks to you, I was able to pay my respects at my mother’s grave.”
Hyun-soo realized that Arte had discovered his actions.
Arte hesitated for a moment, grappling with the awkward and embarrassing words, and then said.
“I wish to stay here.”
“…!”
This was incredibly surprising news to Hyun-soo.
The legendary Arte would stay here.
It was excellent news.
The issue was this.
‘What will become of my relationship with Arte?’
Arte spoke.
“Exactly 376 years. I looked back on my life and found that I didn’t have a single one.”
Hyun-soo looked puzzled.
“A friend, that is.”
Arte initially didn’t understand Ben and Barad.
Now, he understood them better than anyone.
It was Barad who first wanted to become friends with Hyun-soo.
The second was Ben, who wanted to be friends with Hyun-soo.
And now, the one who wanted to be friends with Hyun-soo was Sage Arte.
“Will you be my friend?”
Hyun-soo smiled broadly, revealing his white teeth.
“Of course.”
[Sage Arte will stay in the Ballas territory.]
[Arte will provide countless help in the development of the territory.]
“This is my gift to a friend.”
Receiving it, Hyun-soo couldn’t help but look at Arte with astonishment.
‘This is…’
Hyun-soo had asked Arte in the two question opportunities to tell him the most suitable mineral for him.
The reason he asked was that it was essential for him to become a legend.
[You have obtained the legendary mineral, Seolhwa Stone (Snowfire Stone).]
Now, he had acquired it.
Cliche Novel 