The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Artmu's blacksmith shop.

The place was very different from the typical image of a blacksmith shop that comes to mind.

"It's filled with machines."

Rather than a medieval space, it resembled a state-of-the-art laboratory.

The interior of the pristine white blacksmith shop was filled with intricate machinery at a glance.

Behind that, there were rows of giant test tubes.

"But what's inside those test tubes... are they brains?"

The test tubes were filled with a white liquid.

Inside them, there were dozens, hundreds of objects that resembled brains, slightly smaller than human ones, floating.

And the machine in front of the test tubes was automatically moving and creating metal masses.

"That metal... it looks similar to the equipment materials of the Artmu Corps."

While Sung JiHan was silently observing that sight.

[%... Ah, can you hear me through the translation?]

"Huh."

[Good. The translation sync is working. Come this way.]

As Artmu's voice was heard.

Kururur...

A white light flickered from a corner of the blacksmith shop, revealing a hidden space.

Sung JiHan entered there.

"Welcome. Comrade of Space 4."

The bald dwarf waved his hand as he saw Sung JiHan.

He looked similar to a dwarf in appearance, but his body was different from what Sung JiHan had seen when Artmu summoned the corps.

His right leg and right arm were abnormally large.

While his left leg and left arm were similar in size to a dwarf, the mechanical equipment was adjusting their size to match the right side.

His legs were so long that he was taller than Sung JiHan.

But his head and torso were similar in size to the dwarves, making him a completely unbalanced dwarf.

"Are you Artmu?"

"That's right."

He nodded and looked at his arms and legs.

"How do my arms and legs look?"

"They don't seem to match your torso."

"Modifying the torso costs too much. I'll do it later."

"Hmm... Is that the result of the race improvement you mentioned last time?"

Sung JiHan looked at Artmu's appearance and recalled what he had said before.

- Ah, right. Did you stay on the BattleNet to improve your race like me? Then, as a senior, I can give you advice. What options to buy, the optimal route for the lowest rank.

Artmu showed familiarity to Sung JiHan, who was from a small race.

So, was that what he meant by race improvement?

When Sung JiHan silently looked at his enlarged arms and legs, Artmu nodded and exerted strength on his right arm.

Then, muscles bulged out and his right arm swelled up.

Zhiik.

Even the clothes he was wearing tore apart, and he burst into laughter.

"Yeah, look at this! Even if I just put strength into my fist, the clothes don't tear like this. The arm of a white ogre. It's properly transplanted!"

"But why didn't you do the left side?"

"Because it's too expensive. It's cheap to transplant it to just me, but this will be applied to the entire dwarf race."

"Hmm... Was that possible on the BattleNet?"

"Your race is still a recruit, so the options haven't opened yet. They'll be available soon. Then, won't everyone be amazed?"

Sung JiHan tilted his head.

Even in my past life, I've experienced Battle.net for a long time, but I've never heard of such an option.

"There was no demotion ticket?"

Sung JiHan remembered Artmu's story and opened his inventory.

"Is this what you wanted?"

Hellfire Castle's rock.

The item he took out of the inventory was the size of a fist and was not much different from a regular rock.

The only difference was the color.

The Hellfire Castle's rock, with its surface shining in a dark color, didn't seem to have any special features other than its color.

Except for one.

"Oh, oh... That's right. Yes! Hellfire Castle's rock. You brought it with you!"

Artmu was greatly excited when he saw the Hellfire Castle's rock.

"I can operate the blacksmith's shop again! Quickly, give it to me!"

"I'm on a post-payment basis."

"No, you... You're saying that I can't run the blacksmith's shop unless I receive the rock? Don't say that and give it to me quickly."

"You could take it and run away."

"...Run away? Is that the correct translation?"

"Yes."

Artmu's face twisted at that.

"No, what is this? The best blacksmith in the universe, me, Artmu, being subjected to such humiliation...!"

"You don't know how the world works."

"Huh, look around the Battle.net community! There are piles of races who want to request and commission me, and yet you come out like this... Do you have no intention of trading with me later?"

"Do you have a community? I don't have anything like that."

"...Ah, right. Your race. You were a newcomer."

Seeing Sung JiHan, who didn't even know about the existence of the Battle.net community, Artmu sighed.

"...Fine, then. I'll write a Battle.net contract. But you'll have to bear the commission fee."

Then a system window appeared in front of Sung JiHan.

[If the player hands over the Hellfire Castle's rock, the player 'Artmu' will enhance the spear 'Bonghwanggi' and the sword 'Eclipse' and provide 3 blacksmith shop vouchers.]

[Would you like to proceed with the trade with the player 'Artmu'?]

[A white player with a 99% trust rating guaranteed by Battle.net.]

He wasn't a scammer.

Sung JiHan pressed 'yes'.

[The commission fee is 5 million GP.]

The Battle.net intermediary fee appeared.

5 million GP.

Compared to the threat of the best blacksmith in the universe making him bear the cost, it was a small amount.

"The commission fee is not much."

"Hehe... When you enter the evolutionary stage of your race, you will regret those words. Every penny will be precious."

"I don't have any plans to evolve. I just want to be liberated from Battle.net as soon as possible."

"Well, even if you're liberated, you'll receive another invitation, won't you?"

"What?"

"Do you not know why races receive invitations from Battle.net?"

"Why do they?"

"Because of you."

What is he talking about again?

Sung JiHan looked at Artmu as if he couldn't understand, and he spread out four fingers.

* * *

"A player who, despite being a newcomer and the lowest-ranking race, has entered Space 4 Area. It's hard to find such a monster case even if you search the entire universe. Especially, when it's the lowest-ranking race."

And with that, Artmu spoke with a voice full of confidence.

"You must have been a monster even before being invited to the BattleNet, surpassing the limits of your race. An individual far beyond the standards of your species. Yes... you could have been comparable to Sung JiHan, the great leader of the Dwarves and the absolute ruler who unified the planet."

Looking at the bald dwarf boasting about himself, Sung JiHan shook his head.

"Really? I was completely ordinary. My physical abilities were just slightly better than average."

"...Is that so? You were ordinary? How can someone like you be in Space 4?"

"Because I always came in first place."

"Ha... always first place? Is that even possible? I can't believe it."

Artmu looked at Sung JiHan with amazement and continued speaking.

"Then among your race, there was no outstanding individual? Someone who overwhelmingly surpassed the limits of their species?"

Sung JiHan immediately thought of Dongbangsak and Longginus.

The two who surpassed the limits of their species and enjoyed eternal life.

Especially Longginus, who even became a Saint and did not possess Vladmir.

"But their positions are that of non-believers. Could those two be the reason for the invitation to BattleNet?"

Rather, it was more likely...

The higher-ups, the wandering gods, seemed more suspicious.

"Could it be the wandering god, Ana?"

"The wandering god? The hunter of the Saints. Of course, I know. The being that rules as the terror of the universe."

"He could be the reason."

"A wandering god from your race? Haha! That's impossible."

Artmu laughed at Sung JiHan's speculation.

"He has existed as a god for thousands of years. If it were to that extent, he wouldn't be treated as a member of your race, but as a member of a divine race. If he were the problem, he would have received an invitation to BattleNet a long time ago."

"Hmm..."

"No matter how you look at it, I think you are the one who called BattleNet. Does it make sense for a rookie to be assigned to Space 4?"

"Because I was nothing special before BattleNet started."

"Hehe. I understand that feeling. When you're among the lowest-ranking species, you want to hide your power to avoid appearing as a foreign presence to them. You want to blend in with them... But do I really need to hide it from myself? Like you, I am also from the Absolute Ones."

Already convinced that Sung JiHan is the cause, Artmu responded without trying to persuade him.

"But why is it a problem for a being to surpass the limits of its species?"

"The BattleNet is a system for removing bugs. It's fine to exceed the limits of a species to some extent, but if a being overwhelmingly surpasses them, it triggers error detection. So, these bugs gather and engage in death matches with each other."

"So, are there such Irregulars among all the species participating in the BattleNet?"

"I don't know that either. There are cases like elves or dragons who voluntarily join. But for species who don't even know English and receive invitations, it's because there are beings like that."

Sung JiHan recalled his previous life at those words.

Among the opposing species in the Space League.

There were players who were overwhelmingly powerful.

Even the Orc who played in the relegation zone had one transcendent player.

"But I still lost to me."

The BattleNet's bug detection system.

Is it finding and testing even relatively weak bugs like that?

While Sung JiHan was reminiscing about the past.

"Has your curiosity been satisfied to some extent, Bug Player?"

"Well, it's still quite puzzling."

"As a senior Bug Player, let me give you another tip. The reason I modify the species is also because of this bug detection."

Tap, tap.

Artmu tapped his mechanical arm with his Ogre arm.

"If our Dwarf species itself is improved, then Artmu's power can also reach the limits of the species. Then we won't attract attention from the BattleNet."

"So, you want to be liberated from the BattleNet at that time?"

"No? Why would we leave when the species has become stronger? We should continue to participate in the BattleNet. It's a world where the strongest are the best, isn't it?"

It seems like Artmu will continue to exist even if the paper is modified.

He wrapped his arms around himself and attracted attention.

"Maybe it's because it's the first time that two small tribes have met in Space 4, but he talked a lot. Well, how about fulfilling the contract now?"

"Sure."

According to the contract, Sung JiHan handed over the rocks from the Hell Maze.

Artmu took it and swallowed the red stone.

And then.

Shoo!

Metal pieces were generated in the air and instantly attached to Artmu.

Clank. Clank...

His body transformed into the form of a combined robot that he had seen before in an instant.

[Rocks from the Hell Maze. The fairy tale begins....]

And the crimson light emitted by the rocks from the Hell Maze also flowed through his metallic body.

Flash. Flash.

As the light sparkled on the body of the combined robot.

A long arm was generated behind him.

[Good... Now I can take on the request. First, take out your spear, will you?]

"Here it is."

[Stick it in the ground.]

Sung JiHan took out the Bonghwanggi and stuck it in the ground, and one of the newly formed arms grabbed it.

And then.

Chiik!

Smoke rose from the spear.

[Done.]

Artmu handed over the spear.

"Is it already over?"

He clenched it in his hand and said it was the end.

Isn't this a scam?

Sung JiHan looked at the Bonghwanggi with suspicious eyes.

[Cloud Phoenix Flag]

- Grade: SSS+

- It is a military flag used by the descendants of the phoenix and the first Khan of the Feng Empire.

- It contains the heat of the phoenix when it soars.

- The power of the Cloud Spear Thunderbolt is perfectly fused, and the power of the brain attribute is also perfectly fused like heat.

- When a flag is planted on the battlefield, it increases all abilities of nearby party members and allies by 35%.

- As an additional effect, if the user is a guild owner or guild master, it increases the overall option level of the guild by +7.

"Oh..."

The Bonghwanggi, whose name has changed and whose options have been enhanced overall.

As soon as Sung JiHan held the spear, he instinctively felt that it was much easier to manifest his lightning through the Bonghwanggi than before.

"You call yourself the best blacksmith in the universe... Turns out it wasn't an empty boast."

"Why are you surprised by something like this? There's something real."

Even with Sung JiHan's praise, Artmu remained calm.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Take out the Shadow Sword and the Queen's Fragment."

Swoosh...

On the 20 arms on his back, he summoned hammers.

"In the face of the futile challenge of the shadow that tries to swallow the sun... Try raising one hand."