[The system reacts.]

[An astonishing achievement.]

It was the notification I heard the moment I put the two Babylons into the furnace.

‘Even you think so, right? Me too.’

The reason this notification came through was because I was in the middle of the “The Sword God, and the Blacksmith God” quest.

As I’d mentioned, that quest has no failure penalty.

That was why, even though the quest had been issued, I’d judged it to be in the realm of the impossible.

But now, that had changed.

‘If a good Babylon gets made in a situation I judged impossible... what reward do I get?’

A ??? reward.

For now, Hyunsoo had taken one step closer to that ??? reward.

And now, he intended to show it.

Babylon that wasn’t a pretty piece of trash—

but Babylon that drew out the power of Transcendence itself.

Before long, Bahala reconnected.

“Your balance is enough.”

He spoke with a worried look.

“Is it okay if you work without resting?”

It wasn’t, If you don’t rest, won’t you be unable to make a better artifact? He was genuinely worried about Hyunsoo.

“No problem. I’m used to high-intensity work like this. And it’s pretty urgent, isn’t it?”

Hyunsoo gave a bitter smile.

“It’s written all over your face, ‘I don’t have much time left.’ How could I not notice?”

Bahala couldn’t help but snort.

“It’ll take about four or five days. Go somewhere.”

“No. I’ll stay around here.”

“It’ll be boring. You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Bahala leaned his back against one side of the forge.

He felt like he was different from usual.

Just now, he’d looked at Hyunsoo and snorted.

‘...Have I ever laughed while talking to a user?’

No.

If he thought about why, it was because whenever he encountered any user, he always received the same kind of look.

‘How are you so strong? By any chance, is your character name...?’

‘Are you the one? World Rank #1 Bahala! Wooooow...’

‘Bahala. It wasn’t easy to find you.’

‘I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Let’s fight once.’

That was what it meant to stand at the highest place.

There was a wall between them and Bahala.

But talking with Hyunsoo, he realized it.

‘There’s no wall.’

No admiring gaze sent his way, no words or behavior trying to look good in front of him.

No expression of smoothing one’s clothes and waiting for scraps.

An equal relationship.

That was what he felt, tearing down the wall.

And beyond that—

WHOOOOSH—!

In front of the furnace that burst with even greater flames.

Bahala, advancing down the path of World Rank #1 with genius game sense, was witnessing it.

The skill of a genius blacksmith, a skill that twisted his genius game sense out of shape.

“I’m going to delete unnecessary things, maximize Extinguish Evil, and raise the damage increase against evil. And to prepare for worst-case scenarios, there should be skills that can deal with other kinds of evil too. In exchange, I’m going to craft it with reduced stat increase and reduced Sword Mastery increase.”

There was no hesitation in his voice, no hesitation in his movements.

He didn’t waver for even a moment, didn’t stop to think for even a moment.

That was an essential, powerful force born from his experience.

“And with the newly acquired 100g of divine ore, I’ll dramatically raise durability so it won’t break.”

That was right.

If Bahala subdued many things with game sense—

Hyunsoo was ruling this entire forge.

Time passed.

Bahala was captivated to the point he couldn’t even feel the time flowing.

He carved every single motion, every single hammer strike into his eyes and refused to forget it.

‘This is a master craftsman.’

Respect, awe, envy, longing, inferiority.

Emotions he’d never once held in his life writhed inside him.

Envy at the thought of how someone could rule a forge like that.

Inferiority toward someone who had what he didn’t.

Respect, watching someone who focused—who even seemed to enjoy it.

Awe toward someone who stood so high, as long as it was inside a forge.

THUD—!

For the first time in four years, Bahala felt upheaval.

That upheaval in his chest slowly changed.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

He didn’t rest.

Even while hearing the dawn rooster, he kept the furnace burning.

In the cold air of dawn, and in the daytime heat when the inside grew scorching.

Even at night, when everyone clocked out and the world grew bright with lamps.

In that repeated process, he was truly doing his best.

‘Is it for me?’

No—he was enjoying touching a new mineral.

It was obsession and greed to make something better.

It was because he believed he would go further through this.

But the end of that process was, in the end...

‘Something for me exists.’

Yeah. In the end, that black sword was a sword for him.

He was pouring that kind of passion into a sword for someone.

Before he knew it, Hyunsoo’s absorbed work was entering its final stretch.

The character “Extinguish Evil” carved into the black blade was striking.

When it was finally completed—

Hyunsoo stared down at the finished Babylon. His expression was incredibly complicated.

In an empty voice, he said, 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“...I’m sorry, Bahala.”

Bahala recognized that the crafting of what he wanted had failed.

And as someone walking the Sword God’s Path, he could feel a sword’s aura.

That sword was a pretty decent sword, but it was nothing more than a so-so sword.

Even so, Bahala saw sincerity in him. He had done his best. And his skill had been incredible.

‘It’s not because he lacks skill. Today, he was just unlucky.’

In the end, more than half of artifact crafting relies on luck.

And it had been impossible from the start.

Just opening that possibility by replication was enough that standing ovations still wouldn’t be enough.

Bahala wasn’t the type to give a standing ovation.

Instead, he thought about what kind of comfort he should offer a sincere master craftsman.

Because he wasn’t used to offering comfort to anyone.

But then that thought flipped over in an instant.

Hyunsoo met Bahala’s eyes and said,

“Forty billion won’t cut it. Sixty billion.”

“???”

Bahala couldn’t understand what he’d just heard.

*****

A single Babylon decides a lot.

‘The ??? reward from the quest “The Sword God, and the Blacksmith God,” which I said was impossible.’

‘What you can obtain when you successfully make something with a myth-grade mineral.’

‘The possibility that my stagnant skill might be able to advance.’

‘A massive sum of forty billion.’

And the most important thing besides all that.

A connection with the Sword God.

All those complicated, varied things were tangled around just one sword.

That was why.

While crafting Babylon, Hyunsoo threw himself into it like he’d gone mad.

And he enjoyed it.

‘So this is what divine ore is like.’

‘This is insane—this is thrilling! Just 200g of ore can put out power like this?’

‘It might be possible. Making one perfect sword with truly complete divine ore.’

At the end of it, immersed, he even felt greed.

That greed began with the person called Bahala.

That was competitiveness.

The strongest, who hadn’t given up the #1 spot for three years.

Just from the aura and level he gave off, Hyunsoo could tell.

Right now, he couldn’t beat him.

But he wanted to show what his strength was. It was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time.

And as he forged the sword, the notifications came.

[The aura of Extinguish Evil grows larger by the moment.]

[In the uncontrollable aura, someone may target the owner.]

Babylon was said to be a sword demons threw into hellfire.

Even with only 40% Extinguish Evil, it would’ve been dangerous.

But Babylon now was different.

[The aura of Extinguish Evil grows larger by the moment.]

[The aura of Extinguish Evil boils up as if it’s going berserk.]

[Extinguish Evil will endure even hellfire.]

[They may be able to sense Babylon’s power.]

However, Hyunsoo’s Divine Custom Repair put in the effects he wanted.

He suppressed that aura boiling up from the sword like it had gone mad—in his own way.

And the moment he completed it, drawing the pattern—

Hyunsoo was left speechless.

[It is defined as the greatest restoration.]

It surpassed every restoration Hyunsoo had done up to now.

[It overwhelmingly surpasses the original creator.]

[It is a restoration that even a god would admire.]

[You acquire the title Restorer Admired by God.]

[The second Transcendence is written.]

When he checked the sword, his mind became a mess.

‘This is Twin Dragon Sword-class...’

No—at least when it came to evil, the Twin Dragon Sword couldn’t compare.

He wondered if he should really hand this back. But he corrected himself immediately.

‘I can’t break a promise like this.’

A commission was a promise, and a promise had to be kept.

And Hyunsoo knew it. Bahala needed it more than he did—and if he handed it over, what came back would be more valuable than simply “selling” the sword.

That was the honor of the strong. Their pride.

So he said it.

“Forty billion won’t cut it. Sixty billion.”

Yeah. This sword was worth sixty billion.

Bahala, snapped out of his mental shutdown, looked at the sword.

Its appearance was even cooler than before, and the blade was sharp.

It was solid, like it could cut through any sword.

But as someone walking the Sword God’s Path, Bahala, as mentioned, could feel a sword’s aura.

‘I can only feel an utterly ordinary aura, so what in the world...’

Still unable to understand, Bahala took the sword.

And at that moment—

[It is a peerless famed sword that even an archdemon would fear.]

His breath nearly stopped.

The kind called “archdemon,” as the notification meant—

couldn’t be compared to lesser demons or ordinary demons.

An archdemon feared it?

Then why hadn’t he felt it?

The question was answered.

[A massive Extinguish Evil flows.]

[It will extinguish any evil.]

[Unknown Transcendent species related to evil pursue the owner of this sword.]

Bahala’s mind went white at the fact that Transcendent species would pursue him.

But—

[The creator suppresses the power so the sword’s aura cannot be found.]

[Only the owner can see that power.]

RUMMMBLE—!

A massive tremor pulsed from the sword.

He was desperate.

He had to confirm Babylon’s sixty-billion value.

(Babylon)

Grade: Transcendent

Durability: infinite

Attack Power: 754

Restriction: Level 450+ swordsman.

Special Abilities:

·Cutting Power +165%.

·Critical Hit Chance +130%.

·Damage against evil +250%.

·Passive Skill Demon Hunting.

·Passive Skill Judge.

·Active Skill Before a Single Sword.

·Active Skill Extinguish Evil.

·The aura of Extinguish Evil does not leak out.

Description: A restorer admired even by a god has newly created Babylon. The one who grips this sword will fear no evil.

Every visible effect had leapt several stages beyond what it used to be.

‘The durability that felt like it’d snap after just a few swings is infinite... the damage against evil went up by about 100%, cutting power skyrocketed, and attack power rose by 100.’

He remembered himself.

The version of him who’d brought a consumable Babylon and said that if a blacksmith is skilled, wouldn’t they raise # Nоvеlight # the grade after restoring it?

Thinking back, it was a truly foolish sight.

‘And he made it real...?’

And the thing he had to focus on most.

Extinguish Evil.

(Extinguish Evil)

Active Skill

Mana Cost: 5,500

Penalty on use: HP and MP 20%

Skill cooldown: once per month.

Effect:

·Deletes the HP amount of all species judged as evil instantly, up to 80%.

·Deals additional damage of 2,300% in a 30m radius to evil around the target directly hit by Extinguish Evil.

‘I told him to make Extinguish Evil that deletes 70% HP, and it deletes 80%...?’

That wasn’t all.

‘It deals absurd damage to every evil around the demon too?’

At 2,300% of Bahala’s base attack power, he could wipe everything out in one sweep.

Bahala defined it as well.

“Will I ever be able to obtain a sword like this again?”

But then Bahala got goosebumps.

“Yes. If you come to me.”

It was because Hyunsoo said it far too casually.

And Bahala—he decided, and moved.

*****

Hyunsoo’s mouth was itching.

He was thinking about how to bring it up.

What he wanted to say was, “Want to shake hands?”

Hyunsoo could feel it.

Bahala.

If he applied Give me your blessing to Bahala, Hyunsoo would receive a huge blessing rate and an enormous blessing application.

Then Bahala strode up first.

He had never done this before.

And he was confident it would never happen again, even in the future.

He offered a handshake.

“I won’t forget the effort you gave.”

Hyunsoo stared at that hand.

The fact that Bahala offered a handshake first—

that was the start of a connection Bahala was offering.

A story of the blacksmith god and the Sword God was being written.

And the moment Hyunsoo gripped Bahala’s hand tight—

[You are one who leads the era.]

[An unprecedented, massive blessing is felt.]

A gigantic power came surging in.