“1,000,000 Gold. That’s the amount our royal house assessed.”The price for Hyun’s Sixth Custom Craft Sword: 1,000,000 Gold.Hyunsoo’s heart pounded when he heard it.He’d been thinking he’d be fine even with just 500,000 Gold.‘At 1,000,000 Gold, that’s ₩1,000,000,000…!’Roughly two weeks in game time. In about 4–5 days in reality, Hyunsoo had earned an astronomical sum.“Deliver this.”Barad wrote the amount on a parchment in the form of a check and handed it to an attendant.[You obtain 1,017,600 Gold.]Hyunsoo couldn’t help but marvel. Seeing him awash in emotion, Barad gave a small laugh.“I told the chancellor to add 30% on top.”“Thank you, Your Majesty.”Hyunsoo realized that his single death had brought forth value exceeding ₩300,000,000.And astonishingly, the repayment did not end there.Barad stepped down the stairs, looking at Hyunsoo.“I think I shall try to live with all my strength as you said, so that when I meet my son in the heavens, I won’t be ashamed.”Before he knew it, Barad stood before Hyunsoo.“You, too—I hope you’ll keep living that way. As you wished, live strongly to wake your father.”Barad was envious of Hyunsoo. Envious that he held a hope that perhaps, someday, he might awaken him.And at the same time, he cheered him on.He wished that Hyunsoo would, without fail, save his father.That’s why he said it.“Would you come find me from time to time?”With each passing season, Barad felt he would grow curious.About his news, his story.“Stop by and tell me what’s happened, what kinds of people you’ve met—just once in a while, speak without pretense.”Of course, he would also invite him to stay.“Will you?”To that, Hyunsoo smiled.“Yes. And on the day I come, I’d like for Your Majesty to tell me the stories of how you’ve lived, too.”A smile gathered at the corner of Barad’s lips. Just moments ago, he had been thinking of bestowing another reward upon Hyunsoo.It was a blessing.A special power high-ranked NPCs could grant to Outsiders.In Hyunsoo’s case, he had received the Hero’s Blessing from Subjugation Captain Hans.And blessings differed depending on the stature of the giver.Barad had intended to grant a fairly fine blessing—“Blessing of the Sword.”But through their conversation, that thought changed.‘Beings who share each other’s stories without pretense.’Barad knew what such beings were called.He had always called him this:Blacksmith Hyun.Now, it was different.“I shall do just that, Hyunsoo.”Hyunsoo looked into those deep eyes.With that one change in form of address, he felt the relationship between them had shifted greatly.At the same time, Barad extended his hand, and Hyunsoo took it.“I would like to call you my close friend.”[The Blessing of a Close Friend descends upon you.][You gain All Stats +8.][Your Sword Attack Power +15%, Sword Cutting Power +10%, and Sword Penetration +10% increase.]Hearing the notifications, Hyunsoo couldn’t help but marvel.‘All Stats +8…?’On top of that, the other sword-related effects had risen absurdly.‘I really did get a lot stronger through this crafting.’When he created the Legendary-grade sword, Hyunsoo had been able to raise All Stats +6, Dexterity +100, and Renown +300.Over the crafting period, he had achieved the feat of raising a total of 16 All Stats.But Barad’s rewards did not end there.“I called you friend, but I cannot come running at your call in an armful, nor am I thinking to give you everything you want.”Yet Hyunsoo felt no disappointment at those words.By “friends,” what he meant was that they would speak without pretense.That was what Hyunsoo liked; he wasn’t expecting anything else.But that wasn’t it.“So I shall do just one thing.”It wasn’t that he wanted to give nothing; Barad spoke in order to give the most precious thing.“I will pass down my swordsmanship to you.”DING![Skill Quest: Sword King’s Swordsmanship]Grade: SRestriction: One who received Barad’s offer.Reward: Sword King’s Swordsmanship.Failure Penalty: Affinity with Barad decreases.Description: Sword King Barad. Train to learn his swordsmanship. Acquire the skill upon achieving 70% or higher training progress.“The swordsmanship you receive will differ depending on how far you pursue the training progress. Even at 70%, it will be quite excellent.”It was the Sword King’s swordsmanship. ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ The swordsmanship of the greatest NPC in existence.“We’ll begin two days from now.”Hyunsoo immediately left the Audience Hall and logged out.[You have logged out.]Logged out, Hyunsoo at once exchanged the money he had earned.Adding the ₩1,017,000,000 earned this time and the money from the Kingdom of Goyard’s Super Rookie Tournament, the total came to ₩1.03 billion.First, Hyunsoo went to the bank, set his account usage limits to the maximum, then stopped by a department store.After buying this and that at the department store, Hyunsoo went straight to the Administration Office to move his father’s room to a VVIP room.A short while later, he met Ho Seok and deposited ₩1,000,000,000 into the hospital account.Checking the transaction details, Ho Seok wore a bewildered expression.At that moment, Hyunsoo held out one of the shopping bags he’d bought at the department store.“I actually knew, Team Lead Ho Seok—that you kept blocking them from kicking me out.”Ho Seok had come ready to tell Hyunsoo not to posture just because he’d made some money.Inside the shopping bag Hyunsoo offered was a shirt.Seeing the shirt, Ho Seok fell speechless for a moment.‘How did he earn it?’Thinking that, he gave a wry smile. He was certain Hyunsoo hadn’t made it by doing anything bad.“I know hospitals aren’t supposed to accept things like this, but please take it.”And in that moment, Ho Seok felt deeply ashamed of himself.Ho Seok moved Hyunsoo’s father, Kang Hyuntae, to a VVIP room.Hyunsoo also gave a small gift to each of the nurses and presented a small potted plant to attending physician Jinseop’s office.And just as he was about to pass through the automatic doors, Ho Seok came running and said,“Hyunsoo, I’m really proud of you. Truly.”That was Ho Seok’s sincere feeling. Hyunsoo bowed to him and soon left the hospital.Leaving the hospital, Hyunsoo immediately called Jihoon out.“Why’d you call me?”“To buy you a meal.”“Meal? What are you buying me? Rice-Roll Hell?”Ten minutes later.SIZZLE-SIZZLE—“Man, Kang Hyunsoo’s actually buying me Korean beef. Live long enough and you see everything. Munch, munch.”Watching Jihoon scarf down the beef, Hyunsoo felt like he was repaying what he’d received all this time.For the friend who said he’d soon be going to an interview, he held out a pair of shoes.“Th-they’re Bermez shoes?”Jihoon was aghast. Bermez—the luxury brand only the rich buy!“Sir, I will serve you for the rest of my life.”“Good. Do well.”After meeting Jihoon, Hyunsoo withdrew cash.There was one last person he absolutely had to repay. Hyunsoo turned his steps toward his own place. ****In their small two-story house, landlady Kim Hyesuk was packing up side dishes in armfuls.“Hey, why are you packing so many side dishes? Who are you giving them to?”“Who else? The bachelor Hyunsoo on the second floor.”Hyesuk’s husband chimed in to help.“Pack that soy-braised beef nice and plenty, and the scallion pickles, too.”As she packed the side dishes, Hyesuk sighed.“Ahh, I feel so sorry to Hyunsoo. What am I going to do.”Having watched over Hyunsoo for a long time, Hyesuk had ended up in a situation where she had to sell the house.“If only I hadn’t hurt my back.”Her husband patted his back. In truth, Hyesuk’s household was in a tough spot, too.How bad must it be to sell the two-story house they’d held onto for so long?“He’s such a sweet kid, like a son. I wonder if he has somewhere to go.”Just then—DING-DONG—The doorbell rang.“Who could that be at this hour?”With a puzzled look, Hyesuk stepped outside and found Hyunsoo standing there.Hyunsoo was dressed rather neatly.“I was just packing side dishes for you, Hyunsoo. What brings you here?”Then Hyunsoo cautiously held out an envelope.Checking the envelope, Hyesuk was startled. There was a great deal of money inside.“W-what is this?”“It’s the back rent—the amount you’ve been cutting in half for me.”“What?”Hyesuk forcibly pushed the envelope back into Hyunsoo’s arms.“Oh, forget it. I don’t need anything like this. You just go and live well, Hyunsoo.”To that, Hyunsoo said,“I earned a lot of money this time. And I think I’m going to earn a lot from here on out, too. Enough to pay for my father’s treatment and mine.”At that, Hyesuk was greatly surprised.She didn’t think Hyunsoo was the sort of person to do anything bad.And when Hyunsoo told her what he did, Hyesuk clapped.“Oh my, how splendid. Oh, how marvelous!”With genuine warmth, Hyesuk hugged Hyunsoo and rejoiced with him.“What!? Our Hyunsoo’s become rich!?”“I still have a lot of debt to pay back, but I think it’ll be soon.”“That’s wonderful. I knew you’d do well. Hahahahaha!”Kim Hyesuk sincerely celebrated Hyunsoo’s success. And as always, she packed him side dishes in armfuls.Carrying the side dishes up to his shabby room, Hyunsoo smiled a small smile.‘Now I’m confident.’Confident that he could earn a lot of money.So he could spend at least this much.He decided not to stay in the semi-basement studio, but to stay for a while in a newly built studio loft nearby.Now he had to focus on the next things to do.‘First, I’ll learn the Sword King’s Swordsmanship and also go to the mine where the Hundred-Year Cold-Iron is. After that, I’ll take my first user crafting commission.’The first crafting commission.It would become the inflection point for Hyun’s Forge on the Auction Board.‘The Sword King’s Swordsmanship, huh…’Hyunsoo logged into Ares. ****As soon as his body recovered to a certain degree, Barad said he would participate in the Address Ceremony.The Address Ceremony was a fairly important festival in the Kingdom of Goyard, but Barad normally did not attend.[Why’s Big Bro Barad suddenly joining the Address Ceremony?][What’s “Barad-drip”?][Barad’s swag lol.]The Address Ceremony was also broadcast on internet streaming.What’s more, though he was an NPC, Barad was also the one voted #1 Most Dashing NPC in Ares.People flocked to see him—subjects and users alike—and viewers on the internet broadcast reached 50,000.And Bella could not understand as she looked at His Majesty Barad.‘His body can’t be at ease yet—why is he suddenly saying he’ll join the Address Ceremony?’She had also heard he would pass down the sword to Hyunsoo right after resting two days.Right when countless people were waiting for Barad’s appearance—Wearing silver full plate armor, Barad walked out onto the dais.Barad.The word “close friend” was very unfamiliar to him.But when he was with the boy named Hyunsoo, his heart was at peace.He also cheered for the boy’s future.And the boy, in turn, cheered for him—what else could that be but close friends?Barad was clever, and he knew well what form repayment should take.[Yo, Barad the drip king is here!][He’s seriously cool.][Yo, viewers already at 70,000, wtf.]Barad stepped forward.He set the scabbard he wore with a thunk on the table.So that the character Hyun could be seen clearly.Then he looked around at the subjects.“The address will begin.”Bella could not hide her astonishment.‘No way…?’What is most necessary for a blacksmith?That the maker of excellent arms be widely known.[Hey, Barad’s sword changed, didn’t it?][What is that sword? Is that real frost around the blade?]The broadcasters sensed the situation and began to close-up on the sword.On the close-up scabbard, a single character was laid bare.Hyun.[Hyun? Who is Hyun?][No way—the one who crafted Barad’s sword is Blacksmith Hyun?]In that moment, the subscriber count of Hyun’s Forge began to climb rapidly, and internet articles popped up.[Shock. The maker of Sword King Barad’s sword: Blacksmith Hyun!][Blacksmith Hyun. Who is he?]The portal search site FindNet.For one hour, the name “Blacksmith Hyun” rose to #19 on the real-time search rankings.

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