[A once-in-a-lifetime masterwork that can never again be born in the Beginner Zone has been born.][Measuring grade.][Epic grade.][Please name the sword.][You receive the First Epic Artifact Craft reward.][You gain All Stats +2.][You gain Dexterity +30.][You gain Fame +40.]Hyunsoo wrapped his hand around the finished sword’s grip.When he raised it upright, the blade shimmered faintly in silver.Its edge was keener than any sword he had seen, and the character carved into the center—Radiance (光名)—left a deep impression.Light…He had grasped one of mithril’s traits.Mithril blends well with ordinary minerals.And it is light.So light that it felt only about seventy percent of a normal sword’s weight.Gazing at the sword—Radiance—Hyunsoo recalled the alerts.I like it here…More precisely, he liked this game.The works he and his father had poured day and night into ultimately ended up displayed in a corner of the forge.Perhaps those had never received a full reward.But this game called Ares was different.At the end of long effort, the system itself could reward you.Now it was time to check this sword. ****Special User Management Team.Kim Taeseok was tense.They had watched countless geniuses begin the game.Hyeji, the nation’s greatest archer and a gold medalist.And Hanul, the kendo gold medalist.Or the country’s magnates.Yet the feeling they could not get from any of them, they felt from the user named Hyunsoo.“Still only the Beginner Zone…”Yes, where Hyunsoo stood was nothing more than the Beginner Zone.A place where Level 1 users were still learning the tutorial.“What on earth are you pulling off in a place like that?”An Epic artifact?Statistics said the first level at which an average user ever held an Epic artifact was somewhere in the 160s.And even then, they hadn’t obtained it.They had bought it, scraping together money up to Level 160.But a Level 1?Kim Taeseok rubbed his face.“I’ll verify it…”Lee Jihee was just as tense.She popped open the window for the sword called “Radiance.”(Radiance)Grade: EpicDurability: 3,000/3,000Attack: 143Restriction: none for maker; Level 40+Specials:· Strength +6, Agility +7.· Attack Power vs Undead +8%.· Attack Speed +15%.· Critical Hit chance +25%.· Passive Skill: Swift Blade.· Active Skill: Stalwart Sword.Description: A masterwork born from the fingertips of an artisan—never to appear again in the Beginner Zone.(Swift Blade)Passive Skill.Mana Cost: none.Description: Activates at a 2% chance; for 1 second, Attack Speed surges to 1.7×.(Stalwart Sword)Active Skill.Mana Cost: 20.Description: Power to wield a stalwart sword suffuses your body, increasing Physical Attack Power by 12% and Physical Defense by 8%.“Ghk…”“Wow…”Cries of shock and admiration burst out.“A—Attack 143?”The average Attack of the wooden swords gripped by Level 1 beginners was 7.Even the ebony wooden sword Hyunsoo had acquired had reached only 11.But that wasn’t the only surprise.“Team Lead, it’s incredible…”With the reverence of someone beholding a mystery, Lee Jihee breathed out.“It’s exceeded the maximums of the Beginner Zone’s Mithril Ore and the Iron-Sand Ingot…”When you first acquire an ore and check its details, you can see what effects might be obtained.For the Beginner Zone’s Mithril, the note read:Attack Power vs Undead up to +7%.Attack Speed up to +11%.In other words, that’s the level of effect that can be imbued in an artifact when it’s crafted as well as possible.On average, you get about half those numbers.In the worst case, you don’t even net a third.Of course, the blacksmith’s ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) skill, level, and skills determine it.“That’s how incredible this user Hyunsoo’s skill is… You could call it a blacksmith’s Critical Hit.”Critical Hit.Hyeji, the archery gold medalist, triggered Critical Hits nearly eighty percent of the time whenever she loosed an arrow.Because her skill was astonishing.But with the blacksmith Hyunsoo, that Critical Hit might be appearing in the finished work itself.Even so, the two of them already acknowledged him.“He’s a user who’s gone mad…”“Right…”From entering that forge, to smelting mithril, to forging the sword—how long he took.Twenty days. ****[Jihoon: Y—you really pulled an Epic?][Hyunsoo: yep,][Jihoon: You maniac… you’ve been playing like you were possessed for days.][Hyunsoo: it was rough, whew~][Jihoon: Headed to try again now?][Hyunsoo: gotta. this time I’m doing it.][Jihoon: I’ll be waiting.][Hyunsoo: yeah, wait up…][You have been blocked by Jihoon.]“…?”Hyunsoo could only admire Jihoon’s class in saying he’d wait and then blocking him.Because he’d crafted an Epic at Level 1?But Hyunsoo gave a faint laugh.He knew the guy was messing around.Ren seemed to have gone to see an instructor named Hans the moment he stepped out of the forge.Hyunsoo turned his steps straight toward the Wooden Dummy striking grounds.So it took twenty days, huh.For Hyunsoo, it was a familiar pattern.When he set his mind to crafting something, he would lose himself, as if possessed.When he reached the Wooden Dummy training yard, it was dawn, so there weren’t many users or instructors around.“Hello.”“Oh, Hyunsoo, it’s been a while!”Instructor Jack greeted him warmly.“What brings you here at this hour?”“I’m going to attempt Break the Wooden Dummy.”“…Is that so.”Jack gave a wry smile.Jack was an NPC whose Affinity with Hyunsoo had grown very high.And he had watched at least several million users attempt Break the Wooden Dummy.Frankly, Jack knew.No matter who came, breaking the Wooden Dummy with exactly ten strikes was impossible.Of course, it was possible for the instructors, but on this small patch called the Beginner Zone, he was certain it was absolutely impossible.“It won’t be easy, but I like your spirit.”Even so, Jack didn’t drone on about absolutes with Hyunsoo.He simply cheered him on.Jack knew that instead of saying it won’t work when someone’s about to attempt something, even a small cheer like this was better.“Thank you. I’ll break it.”Arms folded, Jack fixed his eyes on Hyunsoo as he walked to a Wooden Dummy.Hyunsoo took a deep breath in front of one.₩50,000,000.For someone whose bank balance barely sat in the hundred-thousand-won range, it was a priceless, enormous sum.Jack watched from nearby as Hyunsoo briefly closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.And—Srrrng—At the clear, ringing sound of a blade drawn from its scabbard, Jack’s expression turned puzzled.What sword is that…?It was such a dark night that only a few torches were lit; Jack hadn’t seen it.That the sword at Hyunsoo’s hip had changed.But the razor aura proclaiming that sword was anything but ordinary told the tale, and Hyunsoo murmured,“Stalwart Sword.”[Physical Attack Power +12% and Physical Defense +8% for 40 seconds.]Tiiinnng—In that instant, Instructor Jack heard it.The clear, bell-like tone transmitting through the blade.He stared, spellbound, at Hyunsoo holding a sword that flaunted its sharp aura in the dark.“Will he succeed this time…”With a solemn expression, Hyunsoo delivered his first strike.Thud—!A heavy impact boomed out, and the Wooden Dummy lurched violently.On the second—Thud—!Watching the Dummy thrash like mad again, Hyunsoo tightened both hands even harder.Thud—!Thud—!“W-what is that?”“Gasp!”“…”Jack could see strangers who, like him, had had their eyes stolen away.His mouth went dry.Different…Than any user he had seen.How could it not be?Hyunsoo did not only have the sword Radiance.The process he had undergone to make that one sword.Step by step, like the sword’s own production process, he had climbed, raising countless stats and earning titles.Moreover, his Dexterity had already surpassed 300, and when you pile up enough Dexterity, Physical Attack Power, however slightly, rises.And did you know?For twenty days, Hyunsoo had repeated quenching and hammering without rest.During that period alone, his Strength rose by 10, and his Endurance by 6.Thud—!Yes, this wasn’t simply because the sword was outstanding.The blacksmithing process he had gone through to make this one sword—That process had turned him into the Beginner Zone’s true monster.Thud—!Crack—A dull, spreading sound.The fruit of Hyunsoo’s labor began to sprout.Most people shed the Beginner Zone in an hour.He had lived there for about a month.He was neither extraordinary like others, nor flashy like others, but he had one weapon.Doggedness.Thud—!Krrrk—With the sound spreading, a fissure opened down the center of the Wooden Dummy.THUD—!And on the eighth strike—The result that 2.5 billion users had failed in with that one strike, the thing that had crushed all users with despair—shattered.Rrrrrrrrr—Hyunsoo stood before the Wooden Dummy, now smashed to pieces, breathing hard.Srrrng—Sheathing the sword again, he let out a shout of joy.“I broke it!”Ding![Congratulations.][You are the first user to succeed at Break the Wooden Dummy.][World Message.][Your achievement will be announced to users worldwide.][An anonymous someone has succeeded first at Break the Wooden Dummy.][You gain All Stats +5.][You gain Fame +200.][An Ares VVIP Capsule application has arrived.]Hyunsoo checked the VVIP Capsule application that floated up as a hologram.There were fields for address and name.His hand paused as he filled in the address.Isn’t this going to leak my personal information…?2.5 billion had failed, and he had succeeded.This might make his life extremely tiring.Even so, he wrote it out for now—and before he could press Complete, an alert popped up.[(Pureum Co., Ltd.) makes every effort to protect users’ personal information.][Two members of the VVIP dedicated installation team, who have signed a user information non-disclosure clause, will visit for installation.]“Oh…”Pureum’s handling was thorough.They recognized cases like this on their side and protected the user.No wonder this game has the lowest ratio of customer-service complaints to user count.Humming, Hyunsoo turned away.“When will the capsule arrive?”He did not plan to sell it; he would use it himself.For his situation, it might be too much of a luxury—but from now on, this place would be his second world.Just then, Jack approached.“Congratulations—sincerely, congratulations!”“Thank you, Instructor.”“You’ll be leaving here now, heading for the Hunting Training Yard, won’t you.”That was true.At the Hunting Training Yard, you learn the basics of hunting.There, roe deer generally appear, and very rarely monsters as well.Then, suddenly, Instructor Jack’s expression shifted in surprise at something.“…It’ll be tremendous, at the Hunting Training Yard.”“Sir?”“It’s nothing. Off you go. I’m glad I got to know you.”Hyunsoo set off.He returned to the forge and met Ren, who said Instructor Hans had coughed and fidgeted in embarrassment.From now on, the sharpening fee to instructors would be raised by 30%, he said.They hugged, flushed with excitement, and parted.Hyunsoo headed for the Hunting Zone. ****Lee Sejin, CEO of Pureum Co., Ltd., clicked his tongue as he watched the young man Hyunsoo on his laptop.The press conference waiting room.Every Pureum employee there stared at that user with faces full of fear.Special User Management Team Leader Kim Taeseok spoke.“Sir.”“You’re worried about the same thing I am?”Laughter slipped from CEO Lee Sejin’s lips.“Level 1, with those stats, those titles, and that Epic sword…”Just listing them made Lee’s head throb already.“Imagine what happens when an invasive species hits the Hunting Training Yard.”

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