The outstanding peaks of the entire world.

And even the unofficial rankers who kept their power hidden.

After the server merge, countless people crossed into the Asgan Continent to meet Hyunsoo.

There were many reasons.

Influencers and JoyTubers wanted to meet a master craftsman and boost their visibility.

Others had performed more than anyone else in the Continental War, and wanted to cross blades with Hyun—who’d been unrivaled—and raise their own name value.

But they couldn’t forget the biggest reason, the real core.

Why they wanted to meet Hyun.

—I’m going to get the artifact Hyun made.

The essence didn’t change.

Right now, there was one truth the whole world knew.

Hyun is the only one of his kind. There is no substitute anywhere.

And it was widely believed that a master craftsman’s artifacts carried functions that fit their owner like a tailored suit.

A crafting commission?

Hyun no longer needed to take them through Hyun’s Forge to get them.

The whole world was already desperate to place orders.

The problem was how they would go about satisfying that core desire—getting him to craft artifacts.

They understood it.

User Kang Hyunsoo held the title of count and was the guild master of Hyun’s Forge.

He wasn’t allied with any guild, and he didn’t belong under anyone.

In other words, the master craftsman was trying to build independent, overwhelming strength.

So they couldn’t tell him to join them.

They couldn’t demand he craft for them—or their guild.

Those who sought Hyun were forced into choices.

At first, they would propose.

And the ones who didn’t know how to bend would start a fight the moment they arrived at Atlas, trying to force him into submission.

Even those who proposed would, if it failed, eventually turn to violence.

But even they would know.

Is this really okay?

If we force him to craft like this, will we get something good?

Yes—because what they wanted, at the core, was a good artifact.

That was why Hyunsoo’s claim could hold.

The first event hosted by a user.

The Great Atlas War could be established.

And a notice went up on Hyun’s Forge.

*****

Kali, the peak of America.

They emerged from a dungeon.

After receiving the same information as Musashi from Luxo, the number-two information broker replacing Kabel, they’d unintentionally ended up close to Atlas.

When there was barely a kilometer left between them and Bahala, one of their guild members made a huge fuss—enough that Kali frowned in confusion.

[Corp: Guild Master, Hyun left a notice on Hyun’s Forge. I think you need to check it.]

Why are they making such a fuss?

Kali checked the screenshot.

[Hello. This is Hyun’s Forge.]

Kali read it with an emotionless face.

[I’m posting this notice because I know there are many people struggling on the Asgan Continent to find me and my territory.]

Kali cleared their throat.

Because they were one of them.

[I believe what you want is artifact crafting for yourselves.]

A nod.

That was correct.

The reason anyone wanted to meet Hyun was to commission artifacts.

Even Kali had a quest they wanted to clear.

If they cleared it, they could at least start chasing the back of the strongest—the one they pursued: Bahala.

[Of course, there are also many who feel competitiveness and want to fight me.]

That was also true.

In the Continental War—America versus Russia—Kali had been MVP.

But the brightest MVP had been Hyunsoo.

[Therefore, Hyun’s Forge proposes an event: a great territory war.]

Kali felt a fresh shock.

“A user is hosting an event?”

It wasn’t that nobody had ever thought of it.

But ninety-nine percent of attempts collapsed without ever being realized.

The first reason: they couldn’t draw attention. Even if a mere user set rewards, it wasn’t satisfying enough to make people join.

The second reason: they called it an “event,” but it often wasn’t really an event at all.

But Hyun was saying—

[For this event, which everyone seeking me—not just on the Asgan Continent, but across the world—will participate in, I will be the defending side, and you will be the attacking side.]

Kali still watched without expectation.

They believed it would fail for the same two reasons.

Then Kali’s eyes widened.

[If you lose, I will select 20 participants and craft artifacts for them.]

“...!?”

This case was different.

The reward was satisfying.

And the core reason Kali wanted to meet Hyun was commissioning artifacts.

Submission?

A fight?

Kali had already wondered whether that approach would only put them on Hyun’s bad side—and lead to poor results.

There was another reason, too.

I’m spending too much time just trying to meet Hyun.

A server merge introduced new content.

And yet they were throwing away massive time just chasing Hyun.

And with “an event” as a contact point, they wouldn’t need to clash with user Kang Hyunsoo at all.

If we win and place commissions, we might even build a relationship instead.

But then another thought surfaced.

Hyunsoo would need close to a year to craft twenty artifacts.

There’s nothing left in it for him. Is he doing this to protect his territory—

Kali continued reading, and ended up admiring it.

[Let me explain the rules.]

[1. An entry fee of 1,000 gold is required.]

[2. Requesters must bring their own materials.]

[3. The defender must protect their territory, and the attackers must conquer it.]

[4. The event will proceed with a limit on numbers.]

[5. After the event ends, participants will not trespass into Hyun’s Forge for indiscriminate looting.]

Kali couldn’t help admiring it.

“1,000 gold?”

In Korean currency terms, that was one million won.

Of course, to the peak-level people targeting Hyun, it was pocket change.

But even if it was pocket change for them, it wasn’t for Hyunsoo.

If a thousand people joined, that was a billion won.

The more participants there were, the more money Hyunsoo gained.

“Clever. But Rule 5 is wrong.”

Rule 5.

Participants won’t trespass into Hyun’s Forge after the event for indiscriminate looting.

That was a matter of conscience.

Kali thought plenty of people would break it—until they saw Rule 6 and felt genuine admiration.

[6. If someone violates the rules and trespasses, Hyun’s Forge will officially stop accepting crafting commissions from all users, and will also halt artifact sales.]

“...This cute little bastard.”

In other words, anyone who broke it became the public enemy of everyone who wanted Hyun.

The moment they violated it, they’d be attacked by everyone—not Hyun.

[7. Detailed contents will be conducted through discussion after selecting a representative for the attacking side and a representative for the defending side.]

[8. This event will be held in two months.]

Kali read the last point carefully.

Two months.

It was obvious Hyun’s Forge was trying to buy time. Kali could only laugh it off.

What are you going to do with just two months?

Hyun didn’t know something.

This condition applied to them—but it also applied to user Kang Hyunsoo.

Meaning once he posted it, master craftsman Hyun had to hold the event no matter what.

And Kali’s choice—

“You succeeded in sending me back.”

Kali, who’d been close to Atlas, turned around without hesitation.

And not only Kali.

All across the Asgan Continent—

“Sounds fun. But how long can Hyun’s Forge possibly endure our attack?”

Mio of Vietnam returned to their own continent.

Kassandra of Russia—

“If I can be one of those twenty, it’s not bad.”

And elsewhere, too.

On the screen displayed by the supercomputer Ares—the red dots.

About eighty percent of those red dots withdrew from the Asgan Continent.

Promising themselves two months later.

*****

“We’ll put in a rule that, in case of emergencies, outside NPCs cannot participate.”

It was Nell—Kim Hyein—speaking, sitting with Hyunsoo in a café.

They were shaping the outline of the Great Atlas War.

Hyunsoo had written in the notice that the two sides’ representatives would negotiate.

Without that clause, the users wouldn’t have returned to their continents.

Hyunsoo said,

“We bought two months.”

Hyein acknowledged it.

Two months.

Short if it was short—long if it was long.

“Outside NPCs can’t participate, but the Atlas talents we awaken during that period, and the NPCs who newly swear loyalty to me, will be allowed.”

That was the core.

And Hyunsoo was also watching the reactions.

They were the worst possible.

—Hyun is hilarious, seriously.

—For real. Classic Korean. “Too annoying, so all of you just jump me at once!”

—This makes no sense: every heavy hitter in the world is gonna show up. Hyun can be a master craftsman all he wants, but his territory’s gonna be trash. What the hell is he thinking?

—What do you think? He’s saying he’ll craft for twenty people.

—Voluntary donation meta.

Behind the mockery, someone nailed it precisely.

—No one doesn’t know outsiders have been flooding the Asgan Continent. This was Hyun’s best play. He bought two months, and in those two months he has to rebuild, get stronger, and then fight the world’s strongest. Honestly, just buying two months is «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» already lucky for Hyun.

—How is that lucky? That just means he gets jumped in two months.

—It is lucky. If it wasn’t two months, the territory would’ve been found and looted in one or two weeks.

—Ah... yeah, true.

—But Hyun knows too. This is just a time-buying move.

—A poll went up on the world voting site: “Hyun VS the world.” Vote.

—What is this? Hyun’s winrate is 0.1% and the world is 99.9%.

—It already passed 100k voters.

Nell, reading alongside him, said,

“I also see a winrate under 1%.”

Hyunsoo felt like he’d been hit with a brutal fact.

Going to all-out war with them after only two months was insane.

“Twenty artifacts....”

Nell thought the immediate fire had been put out, but they might be walking straight into a larger blaze in two months.

If they lost, Hyunsoo would have to focus almost entirely on crafting artifacts for them for about one to two years.

That would mean neglecting territory management—and Hyunsoo would fall behind.

Then Hyunsoo said,

“As the defenders, we’ll assemble the best guardians who can fight at Atlas.”

“...Guardians?”

Guardians.

Nell heard the word and couldn’t see what meaning it could have.

Because those guardians would be limited to users—or beings inside Atlas.

Then Hyunsoo said something shocking.

“I’m estimating our current winrate at around 15%.”

“Fifteen percent...?”

Nell panicked.

Because it wasn’t 15%—right now, you couldn’t even bet on 1%.

What shocked her more was that Hyunsoo truly seemed confident they would win.

“First, I’m leaving to hunt the lesser demon Luxiu. So we can get as strong and as prepared as possible over these two months. And—right. The guardians I picked will each hold a gate.”

Hyunsoo’s eyes shone.

“Someone will guard the east gate, someone the south, and someone else will hold the west and north.”

“It sounds like you already decided who to place?”

“Not everyone. But the east and the west are decided. They’re...”

When Nell heard who they were, her eyes wavered.

It really was 15%. No—it might be higher.

She hadn’t realized it only because she’d been thinking in terms of the current Atlas alone.

The guardians Hyunsoo had in mind.

Hyunsoo sent a whisper to one of them.

*****

A guardian who could hold the east.

[Hyunsoo: You said you’d grant three requests, right? I’m assuming you’ve already seen the notice.]

A man preparing to depart for the lesser demon Luxiu hunt—now that all enemies had withdrawn—let out a bitter smile.

[Hyunsoo: Become the guardian who holds the east.]

The guardian who would hold the east was the world’s number-one: Bahala.

And elsewhere—

Hell Path, the hunting ground rumored to be the most horrifying place in Ares.

Someone carving through hell-beasts like a madman.

[You are nearing Asura.]

Two months... I’ll have to return in a hurry.

There was Asura Kabel—the future guardian of the west.

And inside Atlas—

A beautiful knight training soldiers.

Her name was Bella.

Atlas is in danger. I need to find a way for myself to become a legend, too.

Bella, a candidate for Sword God—she was the guardian of the south.

And the guardians Hyunsoo had in mind only covered the east, west, and south.

There was another existence Hyunsoo didn’t know about.

A snot-nosed puppy roaming Atlas with their little sibling KyooKyoo on their back.

“Woof, woof-woof!”

KyooKyoo could feel it.

“Kyoo...?”

A gentle but warm power was radiating from Lucky Lump’s body.

KyooKyoo was young—but they could tell.

Their older sibling, the divine beast Lucky Lump.

[Evolution will begin soon.]

Lucky Lump was about to be reborn as something else.

Lucky Lump would become the guardian of the north.