For Hyunsoo, who had entered the Snowfield Blessing Grounds, a notification like this also rang out.

[To go to the Sage’s Tower, you must hunt all monsters in the Snowfield Blessing Grounds.]

The location of the Sage’s Tower changes once every two weeks.

As a result, the trials Hyunsoo has to pass through while climbing the mountain also inevitably change, and time is consumed for that.

But Doon completely spared him that effort.

‘All the monsters around me were absurdly higher level than me.’

At minimum, monsters in the level 330 range.

When hunting monsters higher level than themselves, users gain more experience.

On top of that, once you reach level 300, the total amount of experience required for leveling up increases exponentially.

At that time, this 3x experience gain was like a treasure granted by the heavens.

Also, the monsters Hyunsoo hunted before coming to the Blessing Grounds gave, on average, about this much experience.

[You gained 8,862 experience.]

But now, per monster, something in the 24,000 range was being applied.

[3x experience and 3x drop rate are applied.]

[Because the amount of experience obtained is large, experience from monsters is consolidated.]

[You gained 1,310,010 experience.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

[Because the amount of gold obtained is large, gold from monsters is consolidated.]

[You gained 331,689 gold.]

And on top of that, the mobs’ junk drops.

Those junk drops, too, were tripled—coming in all at once from around sixty monsters.

[You have obtained Yeti Claws.]

[You have obtained Snow Mountain Wolf Fangs.]

[You have obtained a Snowfield Orc Token......]

Even the value of the junk drops alone was excellent.

Just in gold, about 3.4 million won, and the junk drops alone seemed like they would have value of about 5 million won.

Of course, Hyunsoo was waiting for something else.

If an NPC or a user is judged to be a villain, you could obtain experience and gold.

In other words, their Chaos value is what makes them give up even money and experience.

And the higher that Chaos is, the more experience and gold they drop.

This can differ by as little as 20% to as much as several times.

[You executed Won.]

[Their Chaos value is the worst.]

[You executed Bon.]

[Their Chaos value is the worst.]

[You gained 293,013 experience.]

[You gained 467,310 gold.]

[You executed Burns......]

[You leveled up.]

[You leveled up.]

Hyunsoo managed to gain 5 levels.

It was truly a ridiculous amount of experience in the level 300 range.

In addition, a total of 1.4 million gold dropped from them alone, and the dead ones all dropped the equipment they had been wearing.

[You have obtained a Black Dagger.]

[You have obtained an Assassin’s Face.]

[You have obtained a Red Knights’ Longsword.]

‘Epic, epic, unique, epic.......’

They were all filled with things like that.

[HP is below 3%.]

[You are afflicted with the status ailment Severe Injury.]

[It is not easy to move your body.]

Kneeling, Doon knew about what his comrades had dropped.

‘We only lost the most important things.......’

From as little as 20 million won to as expensive as 100 million won.

You could practically say they played the game to obtain those.

Among them, as the leader and the highest level, Doon’s artifacts were the best.

What Doon feared more was this.

If you opened the Friends window, you could check the levels of those registered as friends.

The levels of his comrades shown in the Friends window had dropped by at least 12, and at most 18, from just before.

In fact, a drop of more than 10 levels is something you can hardly ever find.

No, it is practically impossible.

The reason this happened was in the number of people they killed.

Because of the number of users they killed for no reason, their Chaos value was far too high.

Ares, at times, is fair.

If you took immorally, you also get taken from immorally.

“P-Please, please just spare me once!”

Doon begged sincerely.

“If I die, I drop 20 levels. Don’t you know how hard it is to raise 20 levels from my level.......”

He looked like he wanted to grab even Hyunsoo’s pant leg.

“If I drop my items here too......”

“Isn’t that too selfish?”

Hyunsoo said expressionlessly.

“Until now, you only picked fights with guys you could handle, right. And plenty of people like you, before they died, worried about their experience drop rate and artifact drop rate. They must’ve felt even more miserable and offended. Why? Because they were killed for no ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) reason.”

SHHK-

Hyunsoo ruthlessly cut his neck.

As if even talking more was a pain in the mouth.

[Doon’s Chaos value is the worst.]

[You gained 502,301 experience.]

[You gained 735,203 gold.]

[You have obtained the Snowman King’s Ring.]

[You leveled up.]

With that, Hyunsoo gained a total of 6 levels here, and obtained quite a lot of valuable artifacts.

In particular, the Snowman King’s Ring Hyunsoo saw was a far more incredible ring than expected.

‘Closest to legend, huh.......’

At that moment.

DING!

[You are climbing the Beres Mountain Range faster than anyone.]

“......?”

Hyunsoo made a puzzled expression.

‘Does that mean I’m faster than anyone among the first entrants?’

Thanks to Doon, Hyunsoo had come up to a place where he could see the Sage’s Tower through a shortcut.

‘If I climbed alone, I might not have made it within 3 days.’

To that extent, the Beres Mountain Range was land with extremely harsh paths and monsters swarming everywhere.

And Hyunsoo felt something ominous.

‘If a notification like this came up.......’

Notifications do not appear for no reason.

Soon, Hyunsoo could see it.

RUMMMMMMBLE-

All at once, the blizzard grew violent, and an enormous gale began to whip around.

SHHHHHHHH-

So much snow fell that you couldn’t see ahead.

[A new story begins.]

Hearing that ominous sound, Hyunsoo’s lower and upper teeth tapped against each other.

[A blizzard of the first time in a hundred years rages.]

[The temperature drops sharply.]

[You are afflicted with the status ailment Cold.]

[Your body shrinks, and your hands and feet may become frostbitten in places.]

[All stats decrease by 20%.]

DING!

[Sudden Quest: Through the Blizzard]

Grade: S

Restriction: The one who triggered the new story

Reward: What the more excellent God of Blacksmiths left behind

Penalty upon failure: You can never meet Sage Arte.

Description: You drew closer to the Sage’s Tower faster than anyone, and this is closely connected to what the God of Blacksmiths left behind. By all means, reach the Sage’s Tower.

The one who achieved the new story receives a better reward.

As if so, the reward read: “What the more excellent God of Blacksmiths left behind.”

Hyunsoo realized.

‘Arrive faster, and even within this kind of misfortune.’

That it was a kind of test.

SHHHHHHHH-

“Ghk!”

Hyunsoo was struck by a sudden gale and went WHOOOM flying.

Hyunsoo, buried in a snowdrift that had piled up before he knew it, shuddered at that icy sensation.

Hyunsoo got up.

‘I have to go.’

What the God of Blacksmiths left behind.

He had to obtain them.

As the days went by, Hyun’s Forge would soon be found by many people.

He needed the power to protect himself—and the many people who believed in him and followed him.

Hyunsoo put the Snowman King’s Ring on his finger.

[Vitality fills your body, and your mind becomes calm.]

Within a blizzard where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.

‘I, by all means, will go to the Sage’s Tower.’

A blacksmith who never learned how to lose walks there.

*****

SHHHHHHHH-

RUMMMMMBLE

The Sage’s Tower.

Absolute Shield Peya and Archmage Luwon watched the blizzard pounding on the window.

Suddenly, Luwon asked.

“Peya, could you survive out there for half a day?”

“.......”

Peya said nothing.

No matter how superhuman a body you have, that and this are separate matters.

The fierce blizzard and the snow filling your vision would break your mind, and with fingertips and toes that grew more frozen by the moment, it would be hard even to take a single step.

No matter how strong you are, that is what a natural disaster is.

Luwon wet his throat with warm tea.

“He’s already dead. Without even climbing half of the Beres Mountain Range.”

The two wore expressions like it was rather for the best.

“For a hand-worker to survive in that is an impossible thing.”

Peya said with a faint smile.

“When I sought to become a legend, I also climbed this Beres Mountain Range.”

Not only that.

Most who sought to become legends would have climbed this Beres Mountain Range.

To meet Sage Arte, the legend for the longest time, still alive without dying.

“It took me exactly two days. The mountain was so harsh.”

Luwon, too, recalled that day and said.

“It also took me two days. When I tried to fly up using Fly, the gale that blew in slammed me into the ground.”

A long time ago.

Back when they were fledglings just starting to make names for themselves.

Now, they would reach it in one go.

Because they were far stronger than back then.

“To freeze to death in half a day—he’s a bit pitiful.”

Even as he said that, the two were smiling a little.

“Let’s go now. There’s no need to wait any longer. I should say we’re going back.”

The two left the room together.

The Sage’s audience chamber near the entrance.

Sage Arte, Sword King Barad, and Sky King Ben sat with some distance between them.

RUMMMMMMBLE-

A gale strong enough to make the tower vibrate could be heard.

And before leaving, Luwon opened his mouth.

“Arte, the test is over.”

In the atmosphere of silence, no one opened their mouth.

“We agreed to gather again in two days, but it seems there’s no need for that anymore. I have to return with Peya.......”

At that moment.

“......It is not over yet.”

At Arte’s words, the two made puzzled expressions.

Then, Luwon and Peya’s heads snapped around.

‘Something is coming?’

The two’s senses were special.

They could feel that something was coming through the blizzard.

In particular, Luwon was even more so.

His eyes pierced the wall and looked outside.

Snowflakes scattering madly where the sun had set.

A man was walking, parting snowdrifts that reached up to his stomach.

Luwon almost exclaimed in admiration without realizing it.

Then he clamped his mouth shut and held it back.

And soon, Luwon could tell.

The unknown figure that had been moving stopped.

‘He’s dying......?’

Yes, he was clearly dying.

Even now, as if he’d lost consciousness, he couldn’t move.

‘Amazing. But in the end, he’ll die like this.......’

At that moment.

“......!?”

Luwon saw it.

That dying thing began to move again.

One step, two steps, he took a few steps.

The more it went on, the more his vitality was dying out.

And he collapsed once again, but after a little while—

‘What is this.......’

He stood up again.

Like a small flame on a vast snowfield.

Luwon couldn’t believe it.

Before he knew it, the dying being stood before the tower’s door.

Luwon’s pupils trembled.

‘Why, why...... he should have already been dead?’

CREEEAK-

Luwon’s gaze landed where footsteps were heard.

Then one man appeared.

Parched lips, a face drained white. Snow piled all over his body. A body that wouldn’t be strange to die on the spot.

[HP is below 1%.]

And yet, clear eyes that did not lose and shone.

After brushing the snow off his body, he swept back his wet hair.

Slowly taking in the legends with his eyes, he spoke.

“Master Blacksmith Hyun. I greet Sage Arte.”

[You have arrived at the Sage’s Tower.]

[The hidden god’s Recognition is unlocked.]

Facing the legends, Hyunsoo knew.

Development, negotiation, hatching rate, and many other things—he had experienced them.

The higher that % rises, the more what Hyunsoo gains is maximized.

The god’s Recognition, which Hyunsoo did not know.

The unseen tests during the climb.

And what the more excellent God of Blacksmiths left behind, written in the sudden quest.

[You have reached the Sage’s Tower faster than anyone among all legends in history.]

[You gain 44% Recognition.]

[Among all legends in history, your level when you began climbing the mountain is the lowest.]

[You gain 25% Recognition.]

[You arrived after breaking through a blizzard of the first time in a hundred years.]

[Recognition......]

[You displayed a strong mentality that crossed death many times.]

[Recognition......]

Amid endless notifications.

The final notification made Hyunsoo’s chest tremble.

[Rewards are maximized.]