In 2040, when paper newspapers had disappeared,
Hyunsoo took over the portal rankings of the entire world.
It was because he was a handcraft blacksmith, one who had stubbornly continued to work by hand even now.
The old videos Hyun had uploaded in the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ past—
his highlight videos, the documentary about his father recreating the Furnace Sword, the recreation of Baekje’s Seven-Branched Sword, and more—
all saw their views explode several times over.
Among the users who played the game, some naturally took interest in famous figures, while others did not.
In the past, Taker, the world-famous player from the game Rule who had once led the entire world, had been a global celebrity, yet there were still many who had never watched his game broadcasts.
This time, however, it was different.
Even the late-rising posts about him were being thrust into the spotlight.
And when Hyun became king—when he became the Hyun King—
[The first king will be special.]
[Users residing in the nation of Hyun receive benefits.]
[Users who have resided there for at least 1 year receive double EXP and artifact drop rates for 1 month.]
[Users who have resided there for less than 1 year receive double EXP and artifact drop rates for 2 weeks.]
Those who had chosen the nation of Hyun and stood with it received rewards worthy of that choice.
But they could not migrate.
[The nation of Hyun rejects migrants.]
Because the nation of Hyun had judged that it could no longer handle any more migrants and shut the door completely.
Portal search sites all over the world began changing again.
And on top of that, something even more shocking happened.
The auction house.
Ares’s unique marketplace, where blacksmiths named their personal auction houses and sold their goods to users through the auction system.
Like video platforms, it had subscribers, and the rankings changed according to subscriber count.
And a change took place there, at Hyun’s Forge.
[The name of Hyun’s Forge will be changed.]
That name, unchanged for years, shifted at last, and together with the birth of the nation of Hyun, a new name was carved in its place.
[Brand Hyun.]
Even the global branding industry took notice.
Countless people in Ares had tried to build brands.
Real-world brands had also tried to sink roots into the second world called Ares.
But every single one of them had failed.
Only one place had succeeded.
Hyun’s Forge.
And the whole world realized that Brand Hyun was about to explode.
The stream of breaking news erupting everywhere proved it.
And the auction house was the only channel through which they could purchase artifacts from Hyun.
The Ares employee in charge of the auction-house system stared in disbelief.
“The subscribers... what is this...?”
As a fellow Korean, the employee could say it with certainty.
Brand Hyun—
“...It made it. No, is ‘made it’ even enough? At this point it’s a complete explosion...”
The plan Hyunsoo had set in motion to create synergy was bearing perfect fruit.
It had risen to a place of absolute supremacy, one that the forge run by the second-ranked blacksmith Smith could never hope to catch.
Then a notice went up from Brand Hyun.
Of course, many of them had empty bank accounts and could not buy what they wanted even if they wanted it badly.
But at a moment when the entire world was focused on the small country called Korea, the deeply nationalistic Koreans surged forward.
To them, the founding of the nation of Hyun hit with almost the same force as winning the World Cup.
“Woooooooah!”
“Long live the nation of Hyun!”
“Long live it! Long live it!”
Ares changes the world.
It was a famous line from one of the top five businessmen in the corporate rankings.
Ares was now another world to the people of Earth, and the power of the first Korean king born there hit even harder precisely because Korea was a small country.
An enormous crowd gathered at the real forge where Hyun lived.
“Woooooooah!”
The number reached into the tens of thousands, and the area was jammed with people who had come to see the first king.
Looking at that scene, Hyein spoke.
“Reporters from all over the world are here in the small city of Gyeongju, and all of you are here with them right now. You don’t want articles going out to the world about disorderly Koreans, do you? Please keep order, and make sure to take your trash back with you. Since you’re already here, I hope you enjoy all the food and attractions Gyeongju has to offer.”
The people of Gyeongju could feel the disturbance that might have erupted from the swelling crowds settling down.
And thanks to Hyein’s words, shops all over Gyeongju saw sales surge by several hundred percent.
Among those merchants were some who, in the past, had bought kitchen knives and other things from the forge.
“Hyunsoo wants all of us to prosper together.”
A city that had been dying came back to life economically because of a man named Hyunsoo.
And the Koreans gathered there—
“Let’s toss him!”
“Woooooooah!”
“???”
They were even doing celebratory tosses with an imaginary Hyunsoo, throwing someone who wasn’t even there up into the air.
Some of the local merchants even went so far as to suggest putting up a statue of Hyunsoo.
“...That’s embarrassing...”
“......”
But when Hyunsoo trembled red-faced at the thought, that plan fell apart at once.
In any case, change was not limited to that alone.
Kim Jinseop, the attending physician at the hospital where Hyunsoo’s father was staying,
stood looking at the wreaths surrounding the entire hospital.
They were wreaths people had sent from all over the country.
A few years ago,
Hyunsoo had wandered from construction site to construction site, his whole body covered in burn scars.
His shoulders had sagged every day, and he had become so severely avoidant that he would look away whenever his eyes met Jinseop’s.
And Jinseop knew that none of it had been Hyunsoo’s fault—that it had all come from the fire.
Now, Hyunsoo had overcome all of it and gone beyond becoming a global star.
He was exerting something even greater than that.
After returning to his office and changing into his gown, the first place Jinseop headed was the room where Hyunsoo’s father, Hyuntae, was staying.
Jinseop sat down in front of Hyuntae, looked at him in silence for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“...You have a son you can be proud of beyond words.”
Why was it?
Today of all days, Hyuntae’s expression seemed even more peaceful than usual.
The television was full of news.
an anchor was talking with Hwan, Korea’s top-ranked player.
Jinseop let out a dry laugh as Hwan boasted on television about his closeness to Hyun.
That’s true enough...
Hyunsoo definitely had never appeared in an ad before.
Which was why Jinseop found himself curious.
If Hyunsoo does appear in an advertisement, where will it be?
The thought of seeing Hyunsoo on TV made him strangely excited.
*****
A black limited-edition BenzX sedan ran down the road.
The person riding in the back seat was Lee Taesung, chairman of Hansung Group.
He focused on the radio broadcast playing through the car.
“...Something I’d wished for a long time has finally come true.”
Taesung smiled faintly.
That day at the forge in Gyeongju.
You keep moving forward. I’ll protect the last master blacksmith.
It had never become known to the world, and he had no intention of ever letting it become known.
He had not the slightest desire to profit from what had happened that day.
...Thank you, boy.
He was simply proud that Hyunsoo had grown so well.
“Did you hear? Brand Hyun has apparently surpassed 150 million subscribers. That means 150 million people around the world are subscribed to him.”
“...I see.”
Taesung simply basked in the sunlight pouring in through the window.
Before long, the car stopped in front of headquarters, and when the area grew noisy, Taesung frowned in confusion.
“...?”
A young man was standing there.
He was no longer the figure who had once worn shabby heavy clothes even in midsummer to hide his burn scars.
Instead, he was a tall, handsome young man in a neat suit, awkwardly touching his tie.
“It’s Hyun.”
“The first king, Hyun!”
“What is Master Blacksmith Hyun doing here!?”
That young man merely scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, but he looked far more impressive now than he had that day. Standing there under the name of the first king, he spoke.
“...I wanted to come see you properly, sir.”
“Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha!”
Today, for the first time in his life, Taesung understood that saying—
that someone could laugh simply because they were too proud and too happy.
“Well done. You’ve done very well!”
He patted Hyunsoo on the back, letting out the sincerity he had kept hidden.
The one he had protected
had now become a king.
