Strike 172

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Many of the artifacts Hyun-soo has crafted are tied to stories.

The Smelting Sword of Haemosu.

The Recurve Bow of Jumong.

The Ring-Pommel Sword of Yi Sun-sin.

Poseidon’s Trident, and so on.

‘If the system creates something most suitable and perfect for a story, it gives power accordingly.’

What is Seolhwa Stone (Snowfire Stone)?

‘A mineral that, when imbued with a story, amplifies its power.’

It’s clearly the most suitable mineral for Hyun-soo.

“Check it out.”

The Seolhwa Stone had a mystical appearance, white in color.

(Seolhwa Stone)

Grade: Legendary

Restriction: Level 400+ Blacksmith

Difficulty: Top Tier

Special Abilities:

· The effectiveness of an artifact increases from a minimum of 50% to a maximum of 350%, depending on how perfectly the story is recreated.

· When crafting a sword, if there is no story, it merely has 50% cutting power; with a decent story, it has 50-100% cutting power; with a unique, unparalleled story, it may have 100-250% cutting power.

Description: A special mineral capable of holding a story.

‘Normal minerals list percentages for attack power, cutting power, penetration power, etc., when crafted.’

But the Seolhwa Stone didn’t list such things.

“With that, you could probably make two artifacts.”

“Thank you, Master Arte.”

Hyun-soo needed to think carefully about what to craft.

Arte also had something he wanted to confirm.

“Can you see the legendary power created through me?”

“Of course.”

Arte soon checked the power of the bond that had settled in Hyun-soo.

“This bond will give you greater strength in the future. Can you see ‘Special events may occur’?”

“Yes, I can see it.”

Hyun-soo was familiar with this explanation.

“When these special events occur, they will grant you new power fitting the name of the bond.”

This was joyous news for Hyun-soo.

The skill “Power of Bonds” was excellent even in its current state.

Though the activation rate was ridiculously low.

The name itself, “Bond,” hinted at immense potential.

‘Perhaps…’

Hyun-soo was hopeful.

He might unlock the power to gain new talents.

Arte, looking at Hyun-soo, spoke with a bitter expression.

“I care for you. But understand that I cannot tell you everything about the world.”

Arte was like Barad and Ben.

He knew that simply giving everything wasn’t always beneficial.

Power should belong to those who possess it, and information should go to those who deserve it.

There were also some system constraints.

Crucially, Arte stayed not as a retainer but as a friend to help Hyun-soo.

“If you have questions, I’ll tell you what I can, but depending on the nature of the information, I might not be able to share it or might require something in return.”

“I also don’t wish to easily obtain the knowledge you have, Master Arte.”

Hyun-soo’s words made Arte smile.

Most people would say, ‘I want to know all the information.’

But Hyun-soo knew such relationships don’t last long.

And Arte didn’t only have unpleasant things to say.

“I plan to establish an academy in this Ballas territory.”

“…An academy?”

Hyun-soo was amazed.

One of the most significant contributions to territorial development is an academy.

It instills knowledge in the young.

The problem is that establishing and running an academy, and finding good teachers, is like pulling stars from the sky.

But if it’s Sage Arte?

[If Sage Arte establishes an academy, the probability of discovering exceptional talents in the territory increases by more than 60%.]

“At first, it will be a small academy, but it may grow over time.”

A great academy naturally attracts people.

Currently, the Ballas territory needed development, and the most crucial for that were settlers.

‘An academy could even attract the children of nobles, ensuring significant tax revenue.’

This excited Hyun-soo the most.

By the time Hyun-soo became a king, the academy run by Sage Arte would have grown immensely, providing great strength to his kingdom.

Afterward, Sage Arte went to the residence prepared for him.

Hyun-soo, now alone, still had something to check.

The increase in subscribers due to the world message.

Hyun-soo had deliberately avoided checking until things calmed down.

Staring at the computer screen constantly would only tire him out.

And Hyun-soo never forgot his promise with Rowen, the master of the first-ranked blacksmith, Black Anvil.

[Mr. Hyun, please come to where I am. I am waiting. And if the day comes when the first rank changes, would you make me an offer?]

[Are you interested in taking the position of vice-guild master?]

This meant that Hyun’s forge could potentially absorb Black Anvil.

‘I might only end up getting Black Anvil’s empty shell.’

Of course, the second-ranked blacksmith, Rowen, had immense power.

But just because he joined Hyun’s forge didn’t mean Black Anvil’s guild members would follow.

The easiest way to convince them was through subscriber numbers.

Hyun-soo was in a situation where he was hiding his strength and excellence as a blacksmith.

Even so, there was a reason why he had caused the world message about hunting the demon.

And he was confident that this reason would lead to a significant increase in subscribers.

The problem was the impact.

‘How much has it increased? 200,000? 300,000?’

The total number of subscribers follows a law of diminishing returns.

This is similar to the experience points needed for leveling up.

The more subscribers you gain, the slower the growth in subscriber numbers.

‘It’s still difficult to be number one, right?’

The last time he checked, he had around 2.3 million subscribers and was in second place.

An article had reported that the number one, Black Anvil, had recently surpassed 3 million subscribers two weeks ago.

Hyun-soo logged out.

After taking a deep breath, he was about to check the auction house.

At that moment.

Bzzzzzz-

Hyun-soo noticed his phone vibrating.

He was subscribed to online newspapers through his smartphone.

There was a headline.

[Breaking News: Hyun’s Forge…]

“…What?”

Hyun-soo stood up from his seat.

The content was astonishing.

A few days ago.

The world was turned upside down.

Most of the world’s portal sites featured this news.

[Blacksmith Hyun. Hunts a Demon.]

The breaking news continued endlessly.

The blacksmith Hyun dominated the real-time search rankings of various portal sites.

Korean communities were also buzzing with excitement.

[Praise the God-Hyun!]

[Guys, I just created a fan cafe for Hyun’s forge, please join~]

[Hyun’s forge fan cafe already has 50,000 members… wow.]

Hyun-soo had somewhat anticipated the situation after the world message was announced.

[What hunting? Lol, as if a blacksmith hunted a demon.]

[Is Hyun a jack-of-all-trades, making legendary artifacts and hunting demons? There’s no way such a user exists.]

From the beginning, people didn’t believe Hyun had actually hunted a demon.

Of course, experts always chimed in.

[You may remember the time attack dungeon incident. The Korean representative team, consisting of three geniuses ranked 15th, achieved first place and set an unprecedented record by joining Hyun’s team. The world then concluded that Hyun’s excellent artifacts made it possible. It’s the same this time. Some unknown powerful individuals hunted the demon with artifacts made by Hyun.]

[What a joke lol.]

[Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?]

The expert team, feeling the heat, added more.

[Here’s what we need to focus on. Recently, top-ranked hunters from around the world challenged the demon hunt. They were a group of over ten top-tier high rankers. They were utterly annihilated, showing the demon’s strength. But a few artifacts made by Hyun changed the game. And our expert team is astonished by something else.]

The expert team captured and posted articles from around the world.

[World Rank 9, Grahan. When asked by a reporter if there’s a user he wants to meet, he mentioned blacksmith Hyun.]

[Demon worshiper Rain. Made headlines by stating he wants to commission a cursed sword from Hyun.]

[Various companies worldwide are considering advertising contracts with blacksmith Hyun… nothing confirmed yet.]

There was also an article with the most significant impact.

[Selected by World Ares. Blacksmith Hyun named one of the 100 most influential users of the year.]

[A remarkable achievement by a Korean for the first time.]

[Breaking news just starting to spread in Korea…]

The virtual reality game Ares had changed the world.

World Ares.

It has over a hundred branches worldwide.

World Ares is an independent daily from Ares that is not influenced by global branches.

World Ares’s role is simple.

With 2.5 billion users playing Ares, it delivers unique content about Ares to its readers.

Each year, World Ares selects the 100 most influential users globally.

Being selected as one of the World Ares 100 is a dream for users worldwide.

And today, blacksmith Hyun became the first Korean to make that list.

[How far will Hyun’s forge’s subscriber count go with this impact?]

Community users were checking it themselves.

[People from around the world are flocking!]

[Let’s go to Hyun’s forge!]

[Wow… A Korean user selected by World Ares ㅠ]

Before Hyun-soo checked the subscriber count, the community was already buzzing.

[The subscriber count is insane, lol.]

[If Hyun makes an artifact for me, I’ll do a three-steps-one-bow ritual for 10 kilometers vs. I won’t do it.]

[…The distance I’ve already covered with the three-steps-one-bow ritual is already 100 kilometers, lol.]

[I will, I’ll do it 100 times, totally possible.]

[Subscriber count has gone crazy!]

[Isn’t that a bug? How did it rise that much?]

[Hey, are you ignoring the 100 World Ares members!?]

***

Hyun-soo, who had just stood up, was in awe.

[Breaking news. Hyun’s Blacksmith. Blacksmith Hyun. Selected as one of the 100 people of the year by World Ares, leading to a surge in subscriber count.]

Hyun-soo couldn’t believe it.

‘I’ve been selected by World Ares…?’

Suddenly, he recalled the guild members who always smiled at him.

‘How hard must it have been for them to keep this a secret whenever they saw me.’

His heart started pounding wildly.

The law of total subscriber count.

Based on this, Hyun-soo thought his subscriber count would rise from 200,000 to 300,000.

That thought completely changed.

Previously, Hyun’s Blacksmith had around 2.3 million subscribers.

The top blacksmith, Black Anvil, had 3 million.

Hyun-soo logged into the auction house.

With a trembling heart, he checked the subscriber count.

Click-!

“W-Wowww!”

Hyun-soo shouted involuntarily.

The increase in subscriber count was tremendous.

[Hyun’s Blacksmith subscriber count: 2,796,013.]

[Currently ranked 2nd in South Korean blacksmith subscriber rankings.]

Nearly 500,000 subscribers had been added.

Hyun-soo clenched his fist tightly.

[The subscriber gap with the top-ranked Black Anvil Blacksmith is 213,041.]

The top spot among domestic blacksmiths was within reach.

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