When four days had passed since Hyun began crafting the first sword, he completed the first one.[Effect 71%.][Grade: Epic.][You gain All Stats +2.][You gain Dexterity +30.][You gain Renown +40.][Beginner Sword Mastery Lv.2 proficiency increases by 34%.][Beginner Sword Mastery Lv.2 ascends to Beginner Sword Mastery Lv.3.]‘Oh, Beginner Mastery leveled up.’Hyun smiled faintly. Each time Beginner Sword Mastery rises by 1 level, Sword Attack Power +3% and Cutting Power +3%.And upon reaching Lv.9, it transitions to Intermediate Sword Mastery.The first sword Hyun completed was, literally, a sword concentrated to the utmost on Fire-attribute Resistance.And he immediately moved into crafting the second sword.For the second, he intended to draw out the maximum possible power of ice-attribute skills.Just then, the deputy commander named Bella asked:“If you make a hundred swords, how many of them come out Rare?”Hyun, who was just about to begin the second sword, wore a puzzled look.He had never thought about such a thing.Strictly speaking, it was not something Hyun needed to think about.“I have never once crafted an artifact of ordinary grade.”“What do you mean?”Bella was taken aback. That meant that of all artifacts he had ever made, not even once had one come out ordinary grade.“……Is that really true?”“You’ll know when you see it, won’t you?”Hyun’s reply was offhand. Then he hurried to drop the subject and immersed himself again in forging.And when Bella checked the sword Hyun made, she stared at him with a look of shock.‘What on earth is this man?’Bella mounted at once and vanished.Hyun, crafting the second sword, pondered deeply.‘If a higher-grade sword comes out, His Majesty will be all the more satisfied.’In any case, all three swords to be crafted would be used by Sword King Barad.Before long Bella returned, and Hyun was still in the midst of the work.“Shouldn’t you rest a little?”“I’m fine. And since His Majesty is at the Fire-Dragon’s Nest, there’s no time to rest.”Time kept passing, and Bella closed her eyes and listened to the rhythm of his work.KWA-A-A-AANG—KWA-A-A-AANG—KWA-A-A-AANG—And yet another sword was completed.“……Another Epic, unfortunately.”“……?”Unfortunately?Was it worse than before?Bella checked the second custom craft sword.And her eyelids quivered.‘Two in a row like this…….’Indeed, it was Epic grade. But even though it was Epic, one effect defied common sense.‘Inflicts damage equal to 146% of ice-attribute attack power to enemies within a 20 m radius?’She couldn’t quite grasp it.Ordinary blacksmiths had managed around 65% of ice-attribute attack power, hadn’t they?Of course, only this effect had been maximized.It was a strange and astonishing power.And Bella set out again to have audience with the King.Hyun then devoted himself to crafting the final sword.‘Epic isn’t enough.’Hyun needed it.Not merely a sword that would satisfy Barad, but one so joyous that he would leap like a madman.But it was not easy.Of course, even with these two, the reward would be far from small.But to repay what others had done for him, it was not enough.To craft for Barad was an opportunity unlikely to come twice in a lifetime.In the third attempt, an inexplicable impatience crept in.Before long, Bella returned.“His Majesty has begun to move deeper in.”Bella did not tell him why Barad had gone to the Fire-Dragon’s Nest.And Hyun knew well that it would not be easy for him to dare ask the King’s reasons.Then, as another day was passing—“This is bad!”“Move quickly!”“Summon the knights!”Bella sensed the sudden commotion and wore a perplexed expression.A knight burst into the forge in a rush.Bella’s eyes shook. From their eyes she felt unease.“D-Deputy Commander…… H-His Majesty…….”“……Speak!”“He is trapped in the Fire-Dragon’s Nest.”“What……?”Another appeared.He was the Kingdom of Goyard’s most capable dungeon explorer.A man with a peculiar power, he had been standing by outside the Fire-Dragon’s Nest to prepare for the worst.He had the power to peer into a dungeon even when its gates were closed.Unfolding a map, he hurried his report.“This is where His Majesty is—where Ifrit is. The moment His Majesty entered, every entrance and exit sealed.”Bella first listened to him with composure.“And at the moment the door to Ifrit opened, we were able to confirm its trait.”The dungeon explorer could also grasp the power of the monsters within.Soon he said:“Ifrit’s power melts any armament, without exception. Even if it is Unique.”“……Are you saying His Majesty has lost all arms?”“We cannot know if he has lost them yet. But he will lose them.”“…….”Bella fell into panic.He is the Sword King, not the Fist King.If His Majesty were to lose even his sword and armor, he would not be able to kill the Ifrit he has so long yearned to slay.In the worst case, he would meet his end.“Send the knights…… dispatch all forces.”Even as she gave that order, Bella knew.Ifrit’s Tomb of the Fire-Dragon’s Nest is a mystic land into which only three may enter.Of course, this is for users’ party hunting, and NPCs do not know the exact reason.Bella closed her eyes and sank into thought.‘It can even melt armaments of Unique grade…….’The excellent swords, the splendid Fire-attribute Resistances—none of it had mattered from the start.Is Ifrit stronger than His Majesty?Not necessarily. But with that trait, it is a Fire-attribute possessor that defies common sense.“Fortunately, there is a space here. It seems His Majesty sensed the anomaly and took shelter. He should be able to hold out for the next few days.”They needed to find a way.But no thought would come to Bella’s mind.‘Impossible.’As things stood, saving His Majesty was impossible……“……There is still one sword left.”At that, Bella turned her face toward the voice.There stood Hyun in plain clothes, holding a hammer.Bella slowly walked up to him.“……I will try to imbue it with an effect so it doesn’t melt.”As a retainer, it was only natural she did not wish the King to die.Bella slowly bowed her head.“……Please save His Majesty.”DING!A new quest rose before Hyun.[Emergency Quest: A Sword That Can Save the King]Grade: SRestriction: One who has received Bella’s proposal.Reward: ???Failure Penalty: Barad’s death.Description: Sword King Barad is isolated in Ifrit’s Tomb. Craft a sword capable of saving him.“I will now accelerate the work. Everyone but Deputy Commander Bella, please leave.”Hyun felt the need to focus.Everyone in the forge went out.And Hyun set to work swiftly.As time went on, Bella’s face grew paler.To her, Hyun asked while forging:“May I hear why His Majesty went to the Fire-Dragon’s Nest?”If it were the usual Bella, she would not have spoken of the King’s private matters.She began to speak.“His Majesty had…….”Listening to her story, Hyun immersed himself in the work.He had a beloved prince, and the queen died giving birth to him.The King cherished the prince more than anyone else in the world.In the year he turned twenty, the son who had pestered Barad that he wanted to see the Fire-Dragon’s Nest—That son was killed by an Ifrit that appeared on the outermost fringe of the Fire-Dragon’s Nest, unlike usual.Hyun sank into the tale.‘A story like mine…….’KRRRUNCH—Strength welled in the hand that gripped the hammer.Hyun immersed himself in the story.That immersion, in turn, plunged him into a state of no-self.As he forged, he began to hear nothing.Though a state of emergency had been declared and the nation was noisy still, only this weapon filled his sight.All noise was shut out; he became perfectly one with the work.He could not even feel how much time had passed.And his senses told him:A good sword would come.He finished the polishing and engraved the patterns on the blade.Only after carving every pattern did the senses that had been closed finally open again.And a notification came.Hearing it, Hyun knew by intuition.‘It’s a good sword. But……’It was a sword insufficient to save the King. This sword too would melt in the scorching heat.Just then—[The Soul of the Blacksmith is activated.][While crafting this sword, you immersed yourself more than anyone.][Your passion and persistence, and your empathy, plunged you into a state of no-self.]Empathy.What did he empathize with?He empathized with Barad’s story. Because it resembled his own.Thus Hyun immersed himself and did his utmost.And the effect of this Soul of the Blacksmith:[The grade of Hyun’s Sixth Custom Craft Sword rises by one tier.]It evolved the already crafted sword’s grade by one step.The moment the elated Hyun gripped that sword, something astonishing unfolded. ****Bella gathered her own weapon.Only three can enter the Fire-Dragon’s Nest. She had realized it.‘Saving His Majesty with a single weapon makes no sense.’Realizing her folly, she resolved:‘Then I will go alone if I must.’The commander would not go. Not because he did not cherish His Majesty.But because when a kingdom is without its king, who knows how it will change; he would protect it in his own way.And Bella’s choice was, rather, to die trying to save the King.Bella had grown up under a drunken blacksmith, and it was His Majesty Barad who saved such a one as her.He was a taciturn and cold man, but to her he was the one who changed her life.Of course she was afraid. So afraid her knees trembled.But she had to go.And before she went, thinking it might help, she decided to take the sword.Thus she walked to the forge and was about to throw open the door when—“……?”Bella wore a puzzled look.The forge door of iron was frozen.It was the moment she opened the door fully.A tremendous chill billowed out.Bella stepped inside and her eyes flew wide.Hyun had come out in front of the forge, holding a sword of unknown nature. Each time he exhaled, a pure-white breath gusted forth.Shapes around Hyun were freezing over.Those shapes were like raging waves turned to ice.And Bella recalled a conversation with Barad.‘I have only seen them a few times, but those sorts of swords—I could tell at a glance.’Hyun held the sword out to Bella.And the King’s voice, seared in her mind, rang out once more.‘This sword is a Legendary-grade sword.’Clutching the sword, Bella could understand Barad’s words.She too felt it the moment she saw it.After checking the blade, she looked at Hyun with awe and [N O V E L I G H T] said:“What sword in the world could compare to this one!”

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