“This crazy bastard...!”

Seated in his chair, Ben watched the look in Frak’s eyes as Frak bowed to him.

“Thank you for everything, Your Majesty.”

From that greeting, Ben realized what Frak was about to do.

Spear Overcome.

A spear secret art only someone chosen by Ben could use.

It drew up all power explosively, and at the end, it could pack that power into the spear-tip and detonate it.

The problem was that Frak, as he was now, was lacking—so forcing it would mean death.

“No. Why would you do something that stupid...”

Ben’s eyes shook.

Watching Frak bow and turn away, Ben remembered the words he himself had said.

“You have to win. Fight like you’re ready to throw your life away!”

He’d drilled it into him.

That they couldn’t lose this small war.

That dozens of blacksmiths had suffered just for him, that Ben had been waiting for this day.

CRUNCH—

Gripping the chair, Ben realized this was something he had caused.

BOOM, BOOM-BOOM-BOOM, CRACK-CRACK-CRACK, THUNK-THUNK—!

The continuing sounds of destruction. Yeah—Frak would win.

Even if it took dying, he would win and bring that glory to Ben.

Ben couldn’t stop him.

His only disciple—determined to show he could win even in death.

And as king, Frak was trying to keep the words Ben had spoken.

Yet even while he tried to look calm, his whole body trembled in spurts.

“Sometimes he was arrogant, sometimes he was cocky, and sometimes he did something stupid and I wanted to smack him.”

But where else would you find a loyal subject like that—willing to throw his life away to offer you victory?

That beloved disciple... only now, when he was about to lose him, did Ben understand.

I cherished that brat.

And he realized something else.

“The only one who can save him... is that man called Hyun.”

Ben knew.

Gauging strength was absurdly easy for him.

One glance was enough.

Hyun would lose, and he couldn’t stop that berserk fool.

“Break, you damned blacksmith bastard!”

Ben didn’t take his eyes off him for even a second, to hold his disciple’s final moments in his gaze.

A truly cruel victory.

A victory earned by losing Prahum Kingdom’s most precious talent.

Yeah—Ben gave up.

But one person didn’t.

RRRRK—

“H-how can something like that be possible?”

“N-no way...”

From Prahum’s camp. From Goyard’s camp.

Gasps of shock burst out from both sides.

Without realizing it, Ben rose to his feet.

“H-how...?”

That telekinesis was nothing special—just ordinary force.

In a split second, the man had pulled the seam material from the center joint of the plate armor.

And finally—

KREEEEE—!

A massive dragon erupted from his sword and smashed into Frak.

Frak’s body twisted grotesquely as he took a colossal shock.

And the words that fell from Hyun’s mouth as he dropped with him—

“Even if it breaks.”

Even if the sword in his hand broke while fighting.

A mindset that would win no matter what.

Ben gave up, but he hadn’t—not even at the last moment.

Hyun fell.

Ben, standing now, captured his face in his gaze.

And behind that man named Hyunsoo, something loomed—so enormous even Ben couldn’t easily measure it.

Thud—

When Hyun slammed into the ground, Ben admitted it.

“...Yeah.”

Only now did he understand why Barad had put him forward.

Not that Ben understood everything about him.

But Ben did understand what he needed to do now.

Shoving his chair back, the king of a nation took a step forward.

*****

BOOOOM—!

A groan leaked from Hyunsoo’s mouth as he crashed into the earth.

“Ghk!”

THUD—

Then Frak—turned into a wreck—was driven into the ground.

THUD—

In that moment—

“W-WAAAAAA!”

Thunderous cheers exploded from Goyard’s camp, and on Prahum Kingdom’s side, one tactless man said:

“This is insane. Goyard Kingdom had a knight like that?”

“A knight? Isn’t he a blacksmith? He dismantled armor.”

“Isn’t he both?”

Amid that chatter, the notification Hyunsoo had been waiting for slammed into him.

[Sudden Quest: Ben’s Disciple completed]

[Completed with a miraculous result.]

Sudden Quest: Ben’s Disciple was a quest one step above The Last Knight.

So the rewards grew that much larger.

And this reward, especially, stood out.

“Experience gained as if you hunted a monster.”

Hyunsoo hoped.

Frak was a named NPC.

Even if his level was low, he had enormous growth potential.

“If boss-monster-grade experience applies...”

Then— 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

[You gain 290,572 experience.]

Hyunsoo couldn’t help but marvel.

It was an absurd amount of experience.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up...]

In a single burst, he gained 18 levels, reaching 276.

For ordinary users, the higher your level got, the more the required experience rose exponentially.

Gaining more than 15 levels after passing level 250 was truly insane.

[You gain 29% Kingdom Contribution.]

“Twenty-nine percent?”

Even nobles clearing kingdom quests usually gained an average of 8% at a time—at most around 16%.

But 29% showed just how huge Hyunsoo’s contribution to the Kingdom of Goyard had been.

And that contribution was essential for his next rise in rank.

There were other puzzling notifications too.

[The Wolf Egg reacts.]

[You gain 20% Nutrient Ratio.]

[Congratulations. You have surpassed 50% Nutrient Ratio.]

Congratulations.

A meaningful word.

It meant something beneficial had happened to Hyunsoo, but he couldn’t guess what.

[The Wolf Egg is very happy.]

[It says you did a great job.]

[The Wolf Egg says you did a great job, so it wants you to pet it.]

As always, it had no sense.

“Not now... I feel like I’m going to die.”

Hyunsoo didn’t have the strength to so much as wiggle a finger.

[The Wolf Egg becomes sulky.]

Sulky?

Hyunsoo made a dumbfounded face.

Then he heard a notification completely unrelated to quest rewards.

[In a situation where no one could predict victory, you did not give up and overcame it several times in your own way.]

It wasn’t just this one time.

Until now, Hyunsoo had faced countless situations where he “had to lose.”

The Lord of Death of Carsel Territory.

Super Rookie’s Stone Golem.

Calamity Jack and the Giant King.

And today, too.

[What allowed you to overcome him was your unbroken will.]

Hyunsoo’s chest pounded.

The will not to lose.

It felt like the system itself was acknowledging that will.

[A title meant only for you settles upon you.]

“...!”

Hyunsoo’s expression turned shocked.

Titles were split into two kinds.

Multiple Titles.

Titles many users could obtain if they reached the achievement.

Unique Titles.

A title only a single best user could obtain.

What they shared was that the titles already existed in this world—you obtained them when you reached them.

But this one was different.

It was a title created for Hyunsoo alone.

[You obtain the title Even if it breaks.]

The system—

meaning the supercomputer Ares—was always watching every user.

The mindset Hyunsoo had recalled while looking at the Dragonlight Sword manifested as a title.

With his heart trembling, Hyunsoo checked it.

(Even if it breaks)

My own title

Rank: S

Special Abilities:

· In a life-or-death moment, provides guidance to a way to overcome the crisis with a 5% chance.

· In a life-or-death moment, when you show the will not to retreat and it is judged appropriate, all stats temporarily increase by 2–15%, and skill damage temporarily increases by 1–15%.

· In a life-or-death moment, when it is judged that you overcame it with your own pure strength, you gain Legend Stat ???.

· Something special might happen.

It was an S-rank title following Liege’s Grace.

Even among high-rankers, S-rank titles were rare special powers.

“Legend Stat... when it judges I overcame it with my own pure strength...?”

Legend Stat.

It was practically the best stat that existed.

Even Hyunsoo didn’t know much about it, and even now it wouldn’t tell him what it was—it was still displayed as ???.

And what Hyunsoo truly looked forward to was the line:

“Something special might happen.”

Because whenever that phrase existed, it always applied in a way that benefited Hyunsoo.

“Ugh... I’m a wreck, but still—this is good.”

Even though he was slammed into the ground with no strength to move a finger.

And there was one most important notification still left.

After the cheers of the Kingdom of Goyard died down—

“What happens now?”

“Didn’t we win the duel? He can’t fight anymore, can he?”

The small war was tournament-style.

You didn’t recover and then fight the next match.

Yeah—this was the part Hyunsoo regretted most.

Even if Hyunsoo defeated the Heir of the Sky King, it still meant the Kingdom of Goyard lost.

Then—

From Prahum Kingdom’s camp.

Thousands of soldiers, hundreds of knights, and the kingdom’s greatest nobles opened a path for an old man walking with his hands clasped behind his back.

Those standing close to him couldn’t even breathe.

It showed what his standing was within Prahum Kingdom.

And Ben was someone who could give Hyunsoo infinite possibilities.

The king of a kingdom twice the size of Goyard.

And a land overflowing with rare materials worthy of a nation of blacksmiths.

But his expression wasn’t good.

With a cold face, he looked down at Frak—twitching beside Hyunsoo.

“Pathetic fool.”

But in that brief instant, Hyunsoo felt a love-hate bond in Ben’s voice.

Silence.

When Sky King Ben stepped to the center, both Goyard’s camp and Prahum’s camp fell silent.

Prahum Kingdom expected it.

“We won.”

Yeah. They could say that.

But then Sky King Ben’s gaze fell on Hyunsoo at his side.

Hyunsoo, too, was mangled and unable to move.

Ben stared at him for a long time.

Then he said:

“...We lost.”

[You have won Sky King Ben’s heart.]

That single line, with a bitter smile that came and went.

Hyunsoo’s eyes widened in shock.

“By the formal rules, it’s our victory—but the kingdom’s greatest knight was defeated.”

Half forced.

But also not wrong.

The kingdom’s greatest knight had been defeated.

And it meant Sky King Ben had taken one step back from the initiative of peace—while Barad stepped forward.

Barad was amazed.

“The Sky King isn’t normally like this.”

He was a crotchety old man who would scream their victory no matter what, desperate to rub Goyard’s defeat in their faces.

Barad’s heart pounded.

Hyun collapsed, and Ben looking down at him as he spoke—

anticipation for what might happen between the two of them.

Barad let a small smile spread. With this, the small «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» war would end warmly with a Goyard vi—

“I’m taking this one with me.”

“...?”

And then Sky King Ben hoisted Frak over his right shoulder—

and Hyunsoo over his left.

“We’ll negotiate by letter.”

Then, the instant he kicked off the ground—

BOOOOM—!

He vanished from the spot in a single second.

Barad made a stunned expression.

He had decided to send Hyunsoo to Prahum Kingdom for a while, yes.

But like that...?

“Your Majesty, isn’t this basically kidnapping?”

“...?”

Something was off.

Meanwhile, Hyunsoo—kidnapped for the first time as a user—realized the reason Ben was running like a madman was because of Frak.

The speed was so fast he couldn’t get his bearings.

And Hyunsoo, who already needed mental recovery, briefly passed out.

[You have entered Prahum Kingdom.]

And then—

“Rest.”

Contrary to the words, he was tossed, and the door shut.

CRASH-BANG—!

Hyunsoo’s consciousness went hazy again.

“Did I seriously get kidnapped...?”

The notification said he’d won Ben’s heart, but something felt wrong.

This wasn’t how he’d wanted a “new world,” was it?

But beyond his blurred consciousness, he heard notifications he couldn’t make sense of.

[...You have witnessed.]

[...You have witnessed.]

At regular intervals, the notifications rang, and his confusion grew.

And then—only 30 minutes.

In just those 30 minutes, Hyunsoo snapped his eyes open.

“T-this is...”

He was swept up in blazing ecstasy.

Because where he’d been tossed—

there was something Hyunsoo, a blacksmith, needed the most—something he desperately wanted to have in a wider world.

[You have witnessed a legendary material: Small World Tree.]

It was the finest material for making bows and spears.