“In the morning, I just do soup rice. At lunch, spicy soup rice. At dinner, extra-large soup rice to end the day.”

“With just a single 10,000-won bill, you can eat hot and hearty—what an astonishing, incredible food this is. I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to soup rice.”

Takashi had become a massive soup rice fanatic.

I’m glad you look happy....

Something felt weird, but Takashi genuinely looked happy.

If I make a manual with him and distribute it to the blacksmiths who immigrated here, that alone can satisfy them.

And since he lives nearby, he really might become my teacher... and I could even get Ares information.

But it was hard to suggest it first.

But then...

“Wow, look at this kid—young as a leaf and just sitting there resting.”

Hyunsoo froze.

“How slow are your hands, seriously—good grief! And how sloppy is your Korean, too...!”

Calling Takashi “a young kid”?

Hyunsoo went speechless as he looked at Lady Kim Chunoak—who was the owner of the 28th-Generation Premium Soup Rice shop, turning 105 this year, yet still spry as ever.

Maybe this was only natural.

How well could a man in his seventies possibly work in a restaurant?

From Lady Kim’s perspective, her grandson had brought him in to try him out, but it was a complete no.

“I should cut him loose.”

“...”

Cold sweat ran down Takashi’s forehead.

He’d sworn to walk the single road of soup rice for the rest of his life...?

Lady Kim’s eyes suddenly went wide.

“Huh?”

A mysterious young man sitting across from Takashi!

Because of that young man, the restaurant began to bustle.

“Right? It’s him! It’s really Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo!”

“Woooow....”

“Damn...!”

The 28th-Generation Premium Soup Rice shop had top-tier flavor, but no marketing—and it was tucked away in a remote place, so it had been on the verge of going under.

“Kid, come here often from now on! I’ll give you tons of freebies!”

That was when Takashi found the one and only way he could survive in this shop.

He grabbed Hyunsoo’s hand.

“I felt it from the start. When you said you wanted to become a blacksmith like me in Japan—I knew that when you grew up, you’d become an incredible Master Blacksmith.”

“...Just a while ago, you told me to make a sashimi knife, and then you yelled at me asking why I was making a sword, and you called me a useless freeloader. You even said you’d never seen a rice-eating parasite as huge as me.”

“...”

“...”

“I knew you’d do well. And why are your hands so soft? So smooth~ So pretty~”

Hyunsoo’s hands were packed with calluses—pure manly hands.

TRICKLE—!

Takashi poured him water.

A desperate struggle to achieve his second dream!

That was when Lady Kim called into the kitchen.

“Tanaka, how many days have you worked?”

“Not Tanaka. Takashi. Why?”

“Ah, I’ll total your daily pay real quick and—”

Hyunsoo squeezed Takashi’s hand hard.

“What could I possibly want from you, sir? I just miss you, so I’d love it if you’d come visit our territory now and then, hang out with the blacksmiths, and go, ‘Our Hyunsoo, are you doing well as a blacksmith~’ and give advice, and sometimes scold me too—if you’d do that, I’d be so happy, you know!?”

“HAHAHAHA! You gigantic rice-eating parasite...!”

“Haha! Sir—yeah, I am a rice-eating parasite~!”

Meeting his gaze, Takashi nodded faintly.

Hyunsoo spoke to Lady Kim.

“Grandma, I’m gonna come here a lot!”

“Huh? Really!?”

“Of course. This place’s soup rice is way too good. So please take good care of our grandpa. I’ll come every day!”

Lady Kim, who had been coming over with an envelope of daily pay, hurriedly stuffed it into her clothes and hid it.

“They say even dog shit has a use—HOHOHOHOHO!”

“H-heh... HAHAHAHA...!”

“HAHAHAHA!”

The three of them laughed in their own ways.

It was a happy ending.

*****

After logging into Ares, Hyunsoo sat off to the side of the forge and sank into thought.

Do you truly believe that was real crafting?

Skills. Emergency Crafting.

It was undeniably a skill that had saved Hyunsoo from countless dangers.

But the words of Takashi—a Master Blacksmith with fifty years of experience—hit home.

What is your strength?

Not relying on skills.

All at once, the “legendary-grade” things created through Emergency Crafting flashed past his mind.

Sain Sword (Sain Sword).

Turtle Ship.

Tyrfing.

Twin Dragon Sword (Twin Dragon Sword).

The input time for Emergency Crafting was absurdly short—only about five to seven seconds.

I’ve already strayed from the very reason I don’t pursue mechanical blacksmithing.

He thought of a machine that forges mechanically as an example.

A mechanical forging machine strikes—clang, clang, clang—at fixed intervals.

But a hand-forging blacksmith can use the most appropriate force, correctly, at the right moment.

And thinking back now, there was something even more ridiculous.

I forged the Turtle Ship with Emergency Crafting....

It was insane.

Yeah—what you truly need to make a Turtle Ship is dozens of people, time, and effort.

And you could have invested labor to fill in what was lacking.

“Thinking about it like this... it really was just a skill.”

It wasn’t some combining robot—crafting something like a Turtle Ship in five to seven seconds.

Here, Hyunsoo formed one certainty.

“Something made with Emergency Crafting, and something handcrafted with care after designing even the method—what would be superior?”

Even an idiot would know.

The handcrafted one could only be superior.

Because it’s convenient.

Because it’s an emergency.

Because it uses only a tiny amount of materials.

For the sake of convenience, Hyunsoo had been forgetting the essence a blacksmith was supposed to have.

Maybe I’ve been throwing away the chance to become even better this whole time.

[Would you like to delete God’s Emergency Crafting?]

Hyunsoo felt it.

God’s Emergency Crafting only brought joy in the moment—

and in the long run, it did nothing but gnaw away at him.

“Yes.”

[You have deleted God’s Emergency Crafting.]

Of course, it was true that it felt regrettable.

But by deleting Emergency Crafting, Hyunsoo felt like he’d gained a lot.

“Because now, I’ll strike even one more time, and I’ll work even a little harder.”

He had no choice.

Now, there was no “ten-second crafting” for him.

Only a path where he had to invest long, careful effort—every time.

Then—

[Hidden Piece. Completed: One who possesses the spirit of a true blacksmith.]

[You abandoned convenience and chose a difficult path, yet you had no doubt that this was the path that would allow you to advance yourself further.]

[You prove that you are a blacksmith with the spirit to craft the most perfect armaments of all.]

[The God of Blacksmiths praises you, who has realized the essence.]

[A new skill of the hidden God of Blacksmiths is unlocked.]

[You have obtained God’s Crafting Method.]

[Job Quest: Temple Construction is generated.]

Hyunsoo was happy.

By throwing one away, I gained a new one.

What mattered was whether this new one was better than the old Emergency Crafting.

(God’s Crafting Method)

Active Skill

Grade: God

Level: 1

Effect:

·Using God’s pencil and paper, you can inscribe blueprints and detailed contents for crafting.

·If it is original, the probability of crafting a higher-grade armament will increase.

·The Crafting Method guides you on how to obtain what is needed for the method.

·Compared to ordinary crafting, if you craft based on a directly drawn Crafting Method, the probability of producing a superior armament increases dramatically.

·The grade of the artifact produced through the Crafting Method can vary infinitely depending on the skill of the blacksmith who drew the method.

·Artifacts crafted based on the Crafting Method have effects 10–50% superior to ordinary crafted artifacts.

·Current available uses of Crafting Method: 4/4

·Auto-generated once per year.

“Ghk...!”

A sound of shock escaped him.

Better than Emergency Crafting?

Depends on how you look at it.

For Hyunsoo—who had just vowed he would never “slap things together” again—it was perfect.

There’s even a detection function built into the skill?

Guiding him to materials needed to craft the method—ridiculous.

And if I base it on the method, the chance of producing superior armaments skyrockets, and even if I make the same grade, it can be up to 50% better!?

If that 50% applied when crafting a legendary artifact, then in practice it could produce power at the very bottom tier of Transcendent grade.

But does that mean the legendary-grade itself becomes something “less valuable” than Transcendent grade?

Absolutely not!

Because in most cases, the level restrictions on Transcendent-grade artifacts would make them impossible for even current rankers to equip!

Hyunsoo decided to use it immediately.

[God’s pencil and paper are generated.]

He debated what crafting method to write out in detail.

What he needed right now could be called a “comparison chart.”

He needed a clear confirmation of how much difference there could be between something he Emergency Crafted—

and an armament he crafted with care, after designing the method in detail.

Hyunsoo began drawing his Crafting Method.

He drew it solidly from the fundamentals, writing down exactly how he would craft it.

Sain Sword.

It has to be made in a Tiger Year and Tiger Month for the tiger’s aura to become sufficient.

As he meticulously drew and wrote the Crafting Method, he thought.

Twelve constellations.

Their symbolism.

But the world had changed, and he felt there was a need now to show the meaning of this Sain Sword more directly.

So for the pattern, instead of twelve constellations, he decided to engrave a single brave tiger.

And like that, Hyunsoo kept completing a Crafting Method for the Sain Sword—properly blending the past and the present.

It looked easy, like he was just slapping it together—

but it wasn’t.

For over four hours, he kept revising and refining it, repeating the work and pushing himself.

And as he repeated those revisions and refinements, it made him realize something on his own.

Like a sculpture that becomes more beautiful as it’s carved more precisely.

Like a flawless work of art that allows not a speck of dust.

Just pouring effort into the Crafting Method itself made him feel it—made him remember what he’d forgotten.

And he realized he had been making “fakes,” and he could feel that he was enjoying this process itself.

At last, Hyunsoo set down his pencil.

DING!

[The Crafting Method for the Sain Sword is completed.]

When Hyunsoo saw the completed Crafting Method for the Sain Sword, his legs went weak.

THUD—!

“...What is this?”

In truth, Hyunsoo had believed it would be hard for him to grow any further—and that had been arrogance.

He was still lacking.

And there had been Master Blacksmith Takashi to fill him in.

And there were still other real-world artisans who remained unknown.

(Sain Sword Crafting Method)

Grade: Legendary~Transcendent

Attack Power: 578~766

Crafting Restriction: Artisan-grade of level 500 or higher.

Crafting Materials: mineral imbued with holy power, White Tiger’s Tears.

Substitute Materials: will be guided upon discovery of hints.

Special Abilities:

·Holy power increases by up to 64%.

·Attack power against evil or undead increases by up to 300%.

·Defense power against evil or undead increases by up ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to 300%.

·Just holding it increases attack and defense against evil by up to 80%.

·When attacking evil or undead, ignores up to 70% defense.

·Active Skill White Tiger Aura.

·Active Skill King’s Song.

·Passive Skill Those Who Do Not Retreat.

·All stats increase by up to 8%.

Description: A Crafting Method for the Sain Sword created by preserving the strengths of the old and compensating for the weaknesses with new knowledge.

God’s Crafting Method.

This skill’s effect didn’t influence the “grade” of the artifact to be created.

Meaning—this would be a result that depended on Hyunsoo’s skill.

At minimum, a legendary-grade Sain Sword... all the way up to Transcendent grade....

In other words, if Hyunsoo immersed himself, made the method, and crafted it, it started at legendary.

And every stat and ability of the Sain Sword produced by this method showed values that far surpassed the previous “fake” Sain Sword.

The next Sain Sword would be born real.

Hyunsoo, who had been slumped on the ground with his legs gone weak, shouted in triumph.

“AAAAAH...!”

A blacksmith who had been stagnant—

was stepping onto a new road.