The Genius Blacksmith's Game
Land of Iron
The users of the Country of Hyun stirred at the appearance of a user.
"Isn't it the Suppression Emperor Kenya?"
The world's greatest extermination commander!
It was precisely because of the appearance of a woman.
Wearing worn-out leather armor, a bone helmet on her head, and a rapier at her waist, she was bound to attract everyone's attention.
This is because, although not flashy, the artifacts she wore were the finest spoils she had obtained from countless subjugations.
Just as users dreamed of striking it rich through raids, they also knew which artifacts were the best among those that dropped.
And the artifacts worn by Kenya were exactly those kinds of things.
King Barung's leather armor, said to have been hidden in King Barung's tomb.
Big-headed ogre's bone helmet.
Rapier imbued with the breath of a wind fairy, etc.
Kenya itself had a very outstanding appearance.
Long, flowing straight hair and a height of 162cm. Flawless skin and large eyes.
She was the kind of woman many people talk about as the "first love" type.
However, the people of Hyun's country actually had little interest in her appearance.
It was because Nell, the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Hyeon, was so pretty. And that wasn't all. Olympic gold medalist Hyeji was also a stunning beauty.
Therefore, the users of the country of Hyun were focusing on the fact that she was a subjugation master, rather than her appearance.
At the very least, she is a figure who has risen to the top in her field.
Even though it has become common for people to reach legendary status, there are still fewer than 50 users who have achieved it.
Kenya was one of them, Hyunsu was the first, Kabel was the second, and she was the ninth.
Kenya has been touring the country of the prefectures.
"What a magnificent nation, Hyun's country…"
It was a week after the country of the prefecture and Kenya had returned from the Valley of Iron.
At that time, Kenya safely returned his soldiers to Hyun's country, just as Hyun-su had requested.
At that time, the soldiers and knights who kept asking about Hyunsu's safety even while facing life-or-death danger themselves came as a fresh shock to Kenya.
Kenya, true to his class as a subjugation master, has also dealt with countless soldiers and knights.
Was there even a single person among them who would lay down their life for me?
There wasn't.
She does not lead the punitive force, but recruits and operates it.
Operate punitive expeditions as needed and reap the benefits.
If there was someone falling behind, how did they act?
I leave it behind.
The injured were not needed.
I boldly abandoned it even though I knew monsters were chasing me from behind.
Then, the abandoned one gets eaten by the monsters, buying a brief moment and allowing the extermination party time to escape.
But Hyun-su was different.
Foolishly, I took care of all of them.
Is that why?
Kenya, who was walking along the road, stopped and looked around the country of the prefecture once again.
Is this really a user-created country?
The sound of forging rings out like a song from thousands of blacksmiths, and children play in peace.
also.
Lord Akao, are you doing well?
“Shut up. Before I kill you.”
“……Haha, I'm telling you, you're a real tsundere.”
“……?”
There was also a legend about the people greeting Akao, the notorious pirate king, and Akao accepting their greetings in a tsundere-like manner.
No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like a tsundere…
Anyway, the country of Hyun is truly an amazing place. It gives Emperor Kenya a great deal of enlightenment.
It also makes you marvel.
"I can't believe you're hunting that success. Are you a monster…?"
Kenya knows how powerful a success story is because he saw it firsthand.
Some say it is nothing more than an exaggerated story created by Hyun-soo and Hyun's country, but the Kenya I saw right before my eyes was ready to grab anyone who said such a thing by the collar.
The purpose of Kenya's county visit was to keep a promise.
At the time of the appearance of the successful work, Kenya was also feeling the threat of a forced logout, and Hyun-soo requested the return of the extermination squad on the condition that he stop the successful work.
And Kenya said something else.
It meant that he would show me the way to the Land of Iron.
I think you have high expectations, Hyun-soo, too.
The Land of Iron must be a place that makes blacksmiths' hearts race just at the mention of it.
The country founded by the dwarves is the Land of Iron, and there may have been an abundance of new things that could be obtained as a blacksmith.
Hyun-soo must be waiting for me.
So Kenya asked for Hyunsu's location.
“Where is Hyun-su?”
It is a blacksmith's shop.
Guided by the blacksmiths, Kenya was able to meet Hyunsu, who was just lighting the furnace.
“Oh, Lord Kenya! Thank you for last time. Thanks to you, our soldiers and knights were able to arrive safely in the kingdom.”
“Ah… yes…!”
Kenya was flustered.
This is because Hyunsu hurriedly came out of the blacksmith shop and bowed.
Considering Hyun-soo's current position, one might think he is being arrogant, wouldn't they?
“Thanks to you, Hyunsu, I was able to return safely, and because of that, I was able to avoid the artifact drop as well.”
That’s a relief.
The reason I visited today is to guide you on the way to the Land of Iron.
Hyun-su was visibly delighted at the mention of the Land of Iron.
Excitement was palpable, as if he were ready to leap into the land of iron at any moment.
but…….
I'll do some production first.
Were they in the middle of an important production?
May I ask what kind of artifacts you create?
"The other day, when I returned after defeating the Successful Creation, a user said something like this in front of Duke Pralo: 'Our Prince Hyunsu is the hero of Parion, isn't he?'"
“……Ah, I remember.”
Kenya was also there at the time.
I understand that the user originally raided in the Valley of Iron, but was captivated by Hyunsu and applied to move here.
That user's words turned Hyunsu into a hero of the Parion Empire.
It was the user's quick thinking.
I promised to make an artifact for that user.
“Huh…? You’re saying you’re postponing your trip to the Land of Iron for a while because of that…?”
Kenya was surprised.
The user was just quick-witted. And to think that such a trivial thing is more important than going to the Valley of Iron?
"Because a promise is a promise."
"ah……."
Please wait a few days.
Kenya watched Hyunsu for a few days.
After placing minerals into the furnace and proceeding with the forging, Hyun-su would immediately discard any that he was not satisfied with.
At times, they wrestled with blueprints, and at other times, they sweated profusely while repeatedly forging and quenching.
That's cool… …
Kenya was captivated by a king named Hyunsu.
Is it because he is a man?
no.
It is in the way he devotes his effort and passion to his work, and as a king, he could have dumped the work on others, but he does not.
Kenya came to realize why the country of the prefecture was overflowing with great talents.
A few days later.
[This is a Unique grade.]
“Your Highness. Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought you were just saying it as an empty promise!”
A user named Arco, who received the artifact, cried his eyes out.
Arco was a fairly high-level user, but he was a user who had never once gotten a rare item.
But the artifact that Hyun-soo made.
Furthermore, custom-made artifacts are limited to Arco and exert the power of unique-grade or higher artifacts.
Arco had become nearly 40% stronger than before, and was now stronger than users of the same level.
It was a good idea to come to Hyun's country, wasn't it?
"yes!"
Even after giving Arco such a wonderful gift, Hyunsu did not show any arrogance.
Hyunsu, having finished the production, approached Kenya.
I’ve told Nell about it, so I think we can leave now.
But then, Kenya suddenly said to Hyunsu.
May I call you Your Highness from now on?
“Suddenly…?”
“Yes, because you have become my Highness starting today.”
[The Extermination Emperor Kenya has applied to join the guild.]
[Accepting your guild membership.]
“……???”
Hyunsu suddenly welcomed Kenya as a guild member.
Only Hyun-su did not know why, and thus the subjugation emperor Kenya came to join Hyun's country.
***
Valley of Iron
The Valley of Iron, from which all the successes and failures had been swept away, became the same as before.
With only monsters like armored hyenas respawning, virtually all threats to users have been eliminated.
Two users appeared there.
One person was Hyunsu and the other was Kenya.
“The reason I first came here was to get a hint on how to get to the Land of Iron. I received information that a place called the Land of Iron existed, and I learned that this Iron Valley was the gateway to it. I also knew that if I cleared a certain level, I would discover the path to the Land of Iron, but I failed.”
“Why did you fail? No, since you are the King now, may I speak more freely?”
"yes."
“Why did it fail?”
Because Hyun-soo killed them all.
Hyun-su let out a hollow laugh.
It was actually Kenya who obtained the quest to receive hints.
However, since Hyun-soo actually killed everyone and achieved a phenomenal result, Kenya missed the way to obtain that hint.
“To be honest, I only suspected the existence of an iron nation; I wasn't certain. I thought it didn't make sense that such a country hadn't surfaced yet if it did. However, the appearance of weaponry confirmed that it was true.”
“……But you said you’d guide me to the Land of Iron?”
Yes, that is correct.
"how?"
“I have definitely lost the hint for entering the main gate of the Land of Iron. However, I knew there was a difficult trial even before I obtained the hint. That trial must be the Successful Creation. At this time, without the Successful Creation or the weapons, I believe I can find it sufficiently if I utilize the power of the Extermination Emperor—the ability to locate dungeons, fields, and paths within the extermination site.”
Does that mean you have the power to find all the hidden dungeons here?
"you're right."
“Wow, the subjugation festival is really amazing, isn't it?”
That is certainly the case.
Regular users have to painstakingly find those hidden items one by one in the raid area.
But to think they stand out through skills?
It is a truly amazing power.
Excited Hyunsu asked.
“Then, how many places like that are there in this Iron Valley?”
There are 32.
“…….”
Hyunsu kept looking at Kenya with a puzzled expression, and Kenya just kept smiling brightly.
'If I PK a guild member who just joined, will I get a bad reputation…?'
In other words, it means you have to personally visit 32 dungeons, fields, paths, etc.
Hyun-su began to move, following Kenya along the path to the Land of Iron.
The gateway to the land of iron.
A dwarf had been guarding the entrance to that path for a long time.
It's a dwarf penny.
What does Dwarf Penny do?
It was to pretend to guide those who had arrived right here to the Land of Iron, only to lure them into a massive trap set by the dwarves.
Even just about 100 years ago, a truly large number of people tried to pass through this passageway.
However, most of those attempting to reach the Land of Iron met their deaths at the hands of Penny.
However, Penny's notoriety did not grow.
why?
It is because they are all already dead.
Is it true that the success was destroyed?
Penny was surprised.
This was because rumors were circulating among the lands of iron that someone had killed a success.
Based on that speculation, I thought that the one who killed the success story might be the Sword God.
Just then, Penny could see a man and a woman walking toward her.
The man was dazed.
“Wow… Is it for real that I went through 31 out of 32 and arrived at the last, 32nd one…?”
Th-thank you for your hard work.
He looked like a beggar. The man wearing the robe had a shabby face.
However, as soon as the man saw Penny, his face lit up.
“Is this the right path to the Land of Iron?”
Who are you?
“I am Penny the Dwarf. I am the guide who leads you to the Land of Iron.”
“Oh, oh, finally…….”
Here, please come. I will guide you.
Penny guided the two people.
Hehe, welcome to hell.
However, Penny didn't know.
The fact that he is going to hell.
