A Monster Who Levels Up

Chapter 39

And now… the only thing left to do after all the weapons’ introductions and the subsequent critiquing were over with, was the announcement of the final result.

Kim Tae-Sahn was carrying a somewhat bitter smile, framed by a facial expression of a man who had already accepted his fate.

He had put in a lot of effort to win. Some people might think less of him, but he also had played up for the cameras as well. He wanted to make sure of his chances with the audience members, in the case where the quality of his output would be only slightly worse than that of the Orc’s.

He even used his father’s name to enter. That’s how much he wanted to win. As a son of Kim Tae-Baek, a defeat didn’t suit Kim Tae-Sahn at all.

However, he was up against a weapon that could freaking grow. A notion he’d never even heard of in his entire life, a concept so utterly revolutionary. Considering that, it’d be weird if he had won this tournament instead. If he had won, then all the goodwill he built with the public would all be blown away in a blink.

So, all he could do now was to just open-heartedly accept his defeat.

The Orc Blacksmith was at least twice more talented than he was.

Kim Tae-Sahn’s pride wouldn’t allow for anything higher than a ‘twice’ but still, he nodded his head and accepted his defeat today.

"And now…. The winner is!"

The emcee pointed towards the giant screen standing erect in the middle of the stage with a loud voice.

The moment the Orc Blacksmith told the story of his sword, there was no tension left in the finals. Well, the result was inevitable, after all.

That’s why, when the winner was declared, everyone present here could quietly accept it.

"The winner is, the Orc Blacksmith’s ‘Growing Broadsword’!!"

Confetti exploded and from the floor, flames rose up. The fireworks on the stage went off loudly, but seeing that the winner wasn’t up on the said stage ready to receive the trophy, it was rather… an odd thing to witness.

"….Well then. Now… yes. And now, we will hear the thoughts of the winner, the Orc Blacksmith. Can you… please give us a call?"

Although it was cumbersome, the producers couldn’t do anything about it since the Orc had requested for this type of arrangement beforehand.

Fortunately, the Blacksmith was quick to make his call.

"Sir, congratulations on your win!"

"Haha… Thank you. I am really grateful."

His voice sounded calm, but the happiness hidden beneath still managed to leak out a little.

"You could call this result an overwhelming victory, so how do you feel?"

"Mm… I wouldn’t call it overwhelming. The other weapons competing against mine, you could easily spy their creators’ dedication and hard work in them. The winner had to be chosen, but the value of their hard work is all equally high in my mind."

It was a simple and humble reply. The emcee was about to end it on that feel-good note, when Yu Jo-Hyung suddenly raised his hand.

"Ah, a member of the judging panel wishes to ask you a question. Will that be fine with you?"

"Yes, it’s fine."

Receiving the go-ahead, Yu Jo-Hyung did one of his fake coughs first.

"By any chance, the attribute you spoke of - the growth of the weapon - when that attribute is proven to be nothing more than a falsehood…. what will you do? You have stayed anonymous all this time and it

217;s hard to place our trust in you. Isn’t it possible that, in order to win the prize money, you are lying right now?"