The Genius Blacksmith's Game
Baekhaesinsu
[Sudden Quest: A Test of Strength with An-o.]
Grade: A
Restriction: Those who answered the phone's call.
Reward: Strength stat increased by 6.
Penalty for failure: Cannot proceed with Talassian's story.
Description: Prince Fon and his bodyguard, An-o, expected dozens of applicants to arrive, but you are the only one who has come. Distrusting you, An-o, who is of giant origin, intends to test your grip strength.
This is the notification that came as soon as I shook hands with An-o.
The moment we clasped hands, I could feel An-o's tremendous strength.
If it were an ordinary user, their hand would have shattered.
Giants have physical abilities several times superior to humans.
“……A race said to be ten times stronger than humans!”
It meant that Force's words were by no means an exaggeration.
In fact, the moment Hyunsu held An-o's hand, he was a little flustered.
Is the HP gauge running out?
It was a minuscule amount, but the fact that HP dropped from just a handshake was nothing short of shocking.
However, Hyunsu could actually endure it.
And isn't the quest already activated?
"Wow… My Strength stat went up by 6 just from clearing a single quest like this?"
Considering that high-rankers go through a month-long quest to get 6 strength stats, this is a truly tremendous reward.
Of course, the quest rewards vary depending on the difficulty.
Quest determines that an ordinary human cannot win a power struggle against An-o.
In fact, Prince Von was also watching with his arms crossed, as if it were a common occurrence.
Hyunsu felt indignant about this situation.
"Since I started first, I can break it, right?"
At those words, Prince Von's eyebrows twitched.
“They say humans are arrogant, and it seems to be true. As you have heard, Lord An-o is a giant. His parents, who survived the war with the gods, arrived here and bestowed the blessing of him upon us Talassians. Lord An-o is exceptionally strong compared to other giants. Yet to think he would break it…”
Phone, who had let out a hollow laugh, soon widened his eyes.
Is that cold sweat?
An-o is bald. Sweat was trickling down the back of his head.
'Why won't my hand bend…?'
An-o was actually flustered.
I applied force at first, but I controlled the force.
It is because I have no intention of crushing the hand of an applicant who has come here in name only.
However, Hyunsu in front was holding on without moving a muscle.
With the question, "Isn't it okay to even break it?", I was applying force little by little.
Yes, it was little by little.
'Hrrr…!'
An-o could not bear to act disgracefully in front of the prince, so he put all his strength into it.
but…….
It's not moving?
An-o could not hide his bewilderment.
Hyunsu has been receiving all stat rewards whenever he creates a high-grade artifact.
Of course, not all stat-boosting rewards are attractive to everyone.
It is a reward that can only be obtained by creating many excellent artifacts.
And the fact that it happens to fall into Hyun-su's hands creates tremendous synergy.
also.
What? When did the gauntlet turn into a thimble?
Force noticed the change belatedly.
Instead of the fancy gauntlet that Hyunsu was wearing, a thimble was being worn.
[Legendary Grade. Aotiji's Thimble.]
[Strength up 24%.]
Hyunsu liked to form a trinity with the baby arrow, the bow, and the gauntlet of power.
This is because it can possess damage and penetration power that cannot be dealt otherwise.
In the past, he was of legendary grade. He also produced a stronger Trinity by wearing Aotage's Thimble.
Hyunsu's strength stat is several times higher than that of regular users.
At this time, a 24% increase in strength further increases his strength.
Squeeze!
Hyunsu started to exert force.
An-o was flustered.
A sudden monstrous power was felt through An-o's hand.
My hand stings.
It was a feeling for the first time for An-o, a giant who had always only ever hurt the hands of others.
Moreover.
As Hyun-su applied force, An-o's wrist slowly began to bend.
“……!”
The reason Hyun-su can unleash such monstrous strength is not solely due to his stats.
[The title Giant Slayer shines.]
The Giant Slayer title increases damage against giants by 10%.
This power was ultimately included within it as well.
Crunch, crunch-
An-o felt a shiver run down his spine. Tremendous pain followed in his hand.
As a giant, it was a disgrace to be defeated by a human in strength.
An-o eventually infused the One-Arm Concentration Power, a power that concentrates the strength of a giant into a single hand.
One-stop concentration.
Using this power, An-o has even shattered rock walls reaching tens of meters in height.
Concentrating all that strength into a single arm was a remarkable feat.
[The power of the giant An'o increases significantly.]
[Giant An'o's power increases by a total of 320%!]
One of An-o's hands turned red.
“An-o-gyeong!!”
The startled phone ended up shouting.
If he exerted all his might, not only would the man's hand shatter, but he might also suffer a blow from which he could never recover.
“Your Highness… you must stop this. This has gone too far!”
Prince Von also agreed with him, but it did not reach An-o's ears.
I felt nothing but the thought that I had to defeat this man.
at that time.
Hyunsu's HP dropped rapidly.
But soon, a grin spread across his lips.
[Sudden Quest: The rewards for the Power Struggle with An-o will be increased.]
Hyun-su waited for An-o to give his all.
It was because I was confident.
He displayed the power of a baron he had acquired in the giant's lair in the past.
The power of the giant.
[The power of Viscount Andar dwells in your body.]
[For a brief moment, your body transcends its limits and gains the power of a giant said to overwhelm even the gods.]
[Strength increases by 1,300%.]
Hyunsu's arms turn purple.
The veins in my arm bulged, and I felt a power that made me feel like I could do anything.
"I told you I'd break it, right?"
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
The moment Hyun-su exerted force, An-o felt pain beyond imagination.
“K-Kuaaaak!”
Crackle, crackle-
I grabbed my right wrist with my left hand and tried to pull, but my hand wouldn't come free.
Hyunsu's grip strength, which had increased by 1,300%, eventually forced An-o to his knees.
“Ugh…”
An-o's hand, which was struggling and even drooling, was completely shattered.
“I, I was wrong……!”
Hyunsu finally let go of his hand.
[Sudden Quest: Power Struggle with An-o Completed.]
[The giant An-O was defeated despite using the giant's power.]
[An-o of the giant race feels helpless in the face of a massive power he has never experienced in his life.]
[It is an astonishingly wondrous thing for humans to overpower giants with force.]
[Gain 1.2% Strength.]
The sight of An-o kneeling and clutching his broken hand was nothing short of a shock to both Fon and Force.
This is because Hyunsu is not even half the size of An-o.
Pong-
Hyun-su opened a potion and handed it to An-o.
“I didn’t completely shatter it.”
On behalf of An-o, Force took the potion and hurriedly poured it into his hand.
“That power just now was…… the power of a giant…….”
An-o clearly felt the giant's power. After all, only a giant could exert such monstrous strength in an instant.
“You saw it correctly. It is the power of the Giant Viscount Andar.”
“You said Andar……!?”
Do you know him?
“Of course I know. How could I not know Viscount Andar, being a fellow giant? He is one of the children of the giants and a giant who symbolizes ‘strength’!”
An-o lived listening to the words of Viscount Andar from his parents.
He is a hero who led the giants and stood at the forefront of the war of the gods.
"……okay?"
“How do you have that power?”
I killed him.
"yes……?"
An-o was in shock.
Viscount Andar is a man of power comparable to that of a god.
In fact, Hyunsu defeated him, but it was only possible because he received help from the gods.
Even Prince Phone was surprised.
This is because he had also heard about the self-made Andar a few times.
You mean the one who defeated such a Baron Andar?
That it is not a lie was proven through An-o.
“I am Hyun-su, the king of the land of Hyun, a nation of humans. That’s enough of the games. There’s no way we have time for that.”
“You’re the King of Humans…?”
Phone's eyes wavered.
[Intimacy with the phone decreases.]
[Pawn feels great wariness toward the King of Humans.]
You mean it actually backfires?
I never imagined that something like this would happen after I revealed that I was the king.
Come to think of it…
Upon careful consideration, the fact that a human king has entered Talassian, which has been hidden until now, is sufficient to appear as an intention to conquer Talassian.
Hyunsu was difficult to view as just an individual.
In fact, Phone was looking at Hyunsu with a somewhat fearful expression.
Did I… … bring the human king into Talassian… …?
A massive sense of guilt enveloped him.
“The applicant must be friendly with various races. That is something I heard from the Force. I will show you proof of that. Oh, and the Force went through quite a bit of trouble to bring me here, so I’d like to be properly rewarded for it.”
"ah……."
It was only then that Phone recalled the conditions he had set.
Hyunsu… …?
And Force was grateful to Hyunsu for taking care of him, even though they had only met briefly.
However, Phone's fear was much greater than expected.
A human king cannot be a good image to other races in that way.
What Phon wanted was to obtain a seal from another race.
In fact, Hyunsu had come to the entrance of the abyss after traveling to various places using the flower bird.
Hyunsu held out the one with the seals stamped on it.
“I have the power to verify if these seals are genuine. If they are false, leave this place.”
"……okay."
Prince Phone touched the bundle of parchment containing the seals that Hyunsu had stamped.
At that moment, the seals rose up as light.
Based on Phone's 'Eye of Truth,' the seals soon began to reveal those who had taken him.
“……?”
A remarkably beautiful person was standing there. Standing with a bow strapped to his back, his blonde hair was striking.
[King Gordon of the Elves.]
'A king… a king?'
The fact that you received a seal means there is an actual friendship.
To think you have a friendship with that noble race?
The next thing to come to mind was none other than the dwarves.
[Dwarf King Baragon.]
“……!?”
Dwarf.
Isn't that a race I heard disappeared a long time ago?
You're close with the tribe kings?
Hyunsu said.
"Oh, right… I took them in just in case they counted as a species, you know?"
Other seals came to mind.
One was a huge white tiger with Bengal stripes.
Next to it stood the divine beast Phoenix, spreading its wings and scattering massive flames.
They were clearly a different species from humans.
Fon nearly fainted. To think that Zara, who killed the Giant Viscount Andar and is friends with such people?
“…Welcome.”
Phone, who had been treating me disrespectfully, hurriedly changed his words.
It feels like I have gained an army of thousands.
And Hyunsu heard the notification.
[Intimacy with the phone increases.]
Another notification.
[Intimacy with An-o increases.]
Hyunsu smiled with satisfaction.
I actually think it's a relief.
I was worried they might hold a grudge for killing Andar…
'huh?'
Hyun-su wore a puzzled expression.
For some reason, the increase in intimacy is much higher than expected?
In all his life, An-o had never seen anyone overwhelm him with such force.
"… … That's amazing."
It was the first time I had seen someone subdue me by force.
An-o's face turns red, and he feels an inexplicable pounding sensation.
“Why, why is he acting like that?”
“……I heard from An-o that giants usually feel sexually attracted to those who are overwhelmingly stronger than themselves.”
“……What does that have to do with me?”
No. It's a female.
“???”
Hyunsu is the most surprised he has been all year.
