I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 100
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 100
Chapter 100
A weapon for the first guild member.
Only one material had been used to forge it.
The Thousand-Jin Stone alone.
But this Thousand-Jin Stone proved far more difficult to work with than anticipated.
Clang!
First and foremost, it was hard.
After all, heaviness simply meant the ore’s density was that much greater, didn’t it?
Just as tungsten in the real world was renowned for being both heavy and extraordinarily hard because of its density.
This stone was equally formidable in its hardness relative to its weight.
The Thousand-Jin Stone was no exception.
Clang!
Breathtakingly hard.
Though it bore no fire attribute, it was so ferociously rigid that sparks would shower down fiercely each time I struck a weak point with the hammer.
It wasn’t simply a matter of needing more force to shape something hard.
Clang!
The harder it was, the more difficult it became to work.
Even when I swung the hammer with all my strength, the Thousand-Jin Stone resting on the anvil would only deform slightly.
So I braced myself for a long campaign.
Clang!
I swung the hammer steadily, blow after blow.
And there was another complication.
As I continued to swing, I realized something.
Since this was stone rather than metal, the shaping process was remarkably difficult.
Strike the hammer wrong, and instead of smelting, the material would crack and shatter completely.
The work was anything but straightforward.
But above all else, the most pressing issue was.
Clang!
The scale.
This was a far larger item than anything I had crafted before.
And the quantity of Thousand-Jin Stone required was staggering.
The crafting difficulty and time investment could only grow.
The one saving grace was that the item’s basic form was straightforward.
As my concentration deepened,
[ The time-dilation effect of the Time Smithy strengthens. ]
My unique ability.
The power of the Time Smithy grew stronger, and time itself slowed around me.
I swung the hammer without hesitation.
How much time had passed?
Forgetting everything around me, I had forged a massive staff—
No, a pillar would be the more fitting description for this weapon I had created.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: SS-Grade ]
[ You have obtained the Thousand-Jin Pillar. ]
[ A Masterpiece has been born. ]
[ A masterwork worthy of bearing your name to the world has been completed, and through it you gain inspiration, raising your stats. ]
[ Strength increased by 3. ]
The Thousand-Jin Pillar—a masterpiece—had come into being.
I checked its information immediately.
[ Thousand-Jin Pillar ]
Form: Staff
Grade: SS
Restrictions: Level 30 or higher, Strength 300 or higher
Description: A towering pillar-shaped weapon forged from the legendary Thousand-Jin Stone, known for bearing the weight of a thousand jin even in a compact form.
Attack Power: 195
Abilities:
Thousand-Jin Pillar
, Weight Enhancement Lv 4, Heavy Strike Lv 2, Crush Lv 2
The item information before me was extraordinary.
The first thing that stands out is the equip restriction, naturally.
Never mind the level requirement—but Strength of 300 or more?
You gain three points per level, and base stats at level one are ten.
Even if I pour all my points into Strength up to level thirty, that’s only ninety-seven.
Not even a hundred.
Drink an elixir, and at best I might scrape over a hundred—that’s the ceiling.
Yet the equip restriction demands 300 Strength or higher?
It’s simply impossible.
This item wasn’t made to be equipped in the first place.
But.
‘Weight Negation would make it possible.’
My first guild member.
With his unique ability, Weight Negation, he should be able to equip it.
From what I’ve heard, that ability does more than ignore weight—it can bypass the Strength restrictions on items like this.
The next thing that catches my eye is, of course.
[ Special Ability: Thousand-Jin Pillar ]
A colossal pillar forged from Thousand-Jin Stone, weighing a thousand jin.
This pillar, as if supporting the heavens themselves, grows heavier the more it is swung.
A special ability.
Growing heavier with each swing.
For most Awakeners, the added weight would make it harder to use.
But for my first guild member, it would be no different from growing stronger with every strike.
Still.
“It’s almost too good.”
Which is exactly why I worried.
What if my first guild member simply took my item and vanished?
So I.
[ I use the Modification skill. ]
Through Modification, I added one more restriction to the conditions.
[ Thousand-Jin Pillar ]
Form: Staff
Grade: SS
Restriction: Level 30 or higher, Strength 300 or higher, membership in Steel Guild
Yes.
With that, I won’t have to worry about the item being spirited away.
Going forward, every item I make for guild members will have this same restriction attached, I decided.
“So. The recruit’s username was Kim Tae-san, right?”
Steel Guild’s first guild member.
I sent the weapon I’d crafted to Kim Tae-san.
* * *
While Kang Cheol-mangchi was making the item.
– Really? I… I was selected?!
“Yes. I’ll send you the location. Can you come there?”
Lee Seo-yun was the Awakener chosen as Steel Guild’s first guild member.
She had summoned Kim Tae-san.
He came rushing as if he’d been waiting all along.
He glanced around, then.
“I didn’t expect Kang Cheol-mangchi to be a woman….”
“I’m here as Kang Cheol-mangchi’s representative.”
“Oh! My apologies!”
He’d let his tongue slip.
Likely the nervousness of becoming Steel Guild’s first member had gotten to him.
“Kang Cheol-mangchi is currently exposed to threats of attack, so he couldn’t come in person. And it wouldn’t be wise to invite a stranger into his home without caution.”
“Of course. I understand!”
“Once the guild hall is built soon, you’ll be able to meet Kang Cheol-mangchi in person.”
“Yes!”
“Here—would you mind reading over the contract?”
After a brief exchange.
Lee Seo-yun produced the contract.
A contract drawn up in consultation with Kang Cheol-mangchi.
The terms were.
“Is this… really true? The contract terms rival those of the major guilds……”
“That’s not all. As you likely know, Kang Cheol-mangchi will personally craft items for the Steel Guild members.”
“Good heavens…!”
The signing bonus disbursed immediately, plus monthly salary and incentive percentages going forward.
None of it fell short compared to the major guilds.
Truthfully, he’d come mainly for the promise of custom-made equipment and hadn’t expected much in the way of a signing bonus.
Kim Tae-san couldn’t help but be startled by such generous treatment.
“If there’s anything about the contract terms that troubles you, please tell me right now.”
“No, no! Troubles? Not at all! It’s an honor! I’ll sign immediately!”
He grabbed the pen with the urgency of someone afraid it might be snatched away.
But then.
‘Still…’
The moment after he’d signed,
a wave of doubt washed over him.
He’d joined the Steel Guild, yet he hadn’t actually seen Kang Cheol-mangchi.
Could this be a con?
Had he signed his name to a scam?
Such were his worries, until—
“The signing bonus has been transferred to your account.”
“Oh…!”
Once he confirmed the payment, all such doubts evaporated.
A scammer might demand money, but he’d never send over a sum this large without hesitation.
After completing the contract,
Kim Tae-san asked cautiously.
“But… when will you make the custom equipment…?”
The contract terms were generous, certainly.
But that wasn’t why he’d joined the Steel Guild in the first place.
Custom equipment made by Kang Cheol-mangchi.
That was the reason.
At his hesitant question,
“I heard he’s making it right now. It should arrive soon.”
came the reply.
Lee Seo-yun then assigned him a Gate to clear, partly to assess his abilities.
Permission was granted for recording combat footage for analysis purposes.
He was assigned a relatively low-tier Gate that he could tackle alone.
As he was preparing to enter the Gate,
“It’s here…!”
Finally, it arrived.
A message from Kang Cheol-mangchi.
[ This is Kang Cheol-mangchi. ]
I should introduce myself in person, but circumstances being what they are, I apologize for using a message instead.
First, thank you for choosing us, and welcome to the Steel Guild.
As a gesture of welcome, I’ve crafted custom equipment for you.
It’s open to modification, so if there’s anything you’d like adjusted, please reach out anytime.
This was definitely Kang Cheol-mangchi.
Whatever else might be in doubt, that nickname couldn’t be mimicked by any other Awakener.
Then, along with the message,
Whoosh—
the weapon Kang Cheol-mangchi had crafted arrived.
But.
“… A pillar?”
The weapon’s shape was strange.
He’d naturally assumed it would be some massive greatsword.
It was not.
A massive pillar.
Well, checking it over, it wasn’t quite a pillar—it was more a staff or rod,
though it was far too thick to properly call a staff.
He wondered if this could really be a weapon, but.
“An SS-Grade weapon!”
The system never lies.
The item information classifies it as a weapon, so there’s no doubt about it.
Kim Tae-san, lifting the weapon, couldn’t help but be startled.
“It’s heavy.”
With the Weight Negation effect, he barely feels the burden of his equipment.
But this was different.
The original weight was so immense that even with his ability, he could feel its considerable heft.
Still, it wasn’t so heavy he couldn’t wield it.
If anything, it felt just right.
“Should I give it a try?”
He’d been assigned a Gate, after all.
He stepped confidently into the Gate’s interior.
It wasn’t long after.
“Chitchitchitchitchit—.”
A massive centipede emerged.
A truly enormous one.
Bug-type monsters like this were notoriously difficult to fight because of their naturally hardened carapaces.
But Kim Tae-san trusted the weapon that Kang Cheol-mangchi had created for him.
“Hah!”
He swung with all his might.
The moment the Thousand-Jin Pillar, brought down vertically, struck the centipede’s head.
Boom—!!!
An enormous crash exploded outward.
The hard carapace on the centipede’s head—its most durable part—crumbled like tofu.
Body fluid sprayed in all directions.
But that wasn’t all.
Even after pulverizing one centipede, so much force remained that a massive crater carved itself into the floor.
“My goodness…….”
Tremendous power.
Until now, he’d been deliberately choosing the heaviest items he could find to use.
This was the first time he’d ever unleashed such devastating force.
While he marveled at this.
“Tststststsut—!”
More centipedes swarmed around him.
But Kim Tae-san had already grasped the power of the Thousand-Jin Pillar.
And so, toward the centipedes crawling toward him.
Whoosh!
He swung the Thousand-Jin Pillar horizontally.
In that instant.
Crunch-crash—!!!
The several centipedes crawling toward him couldn’t withstand that overwhelming weight and began bursting apart.
* * *
The Thousand-Jin Pillar.
A Level 30 item with an absurd requirement of 300+ Strength—essentially impossible to equip.
I’d worried whether even with Weight Negation, it could be handled at all.
But watching the Gate-clearing footage Lee Seo-yun sent me of Kim Tae-san.
“Looks like there’s no problem.”
Kim Tae-san was wielding the Thousand-Jin Pillar without issue.
Yet.
Boom—!!!
“Wow…….”
Its destructive power exceeds even what I’d imagined.
When he swings it downward, a gigantic crater forms and reshapes the Gate’s terrain.
When he swings it sideways, several monsters burst apart in succession.
He doesn’t even use any special skills.
Just pure, overwhelming mass.
With that alone, Kim Tae-san was clearing the Gate with an absurd level of raw power.
Satisfied watching this, I thought.
“Well then, should I craft some armor and accessories for him too?”
He set about crafting the next piece of equipment for Kim Tae-san without delay.
Watching Kim Tae-san reach the end of the Gate and crush the boss monster beneath his strength,
he found himself convinced that accepting Kim Tae-san as his first guild member had been the right choice.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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