I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 103

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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 103
Chapter 103
Honestly, it doesn’t make sense.
The building right next to the Awakener Association.
Since it’s arguably the safest location in Korea, it’s not the sort of place you can buy with fifty billion won alone.
Yet Lee Seo-yun managed to purchase the building all the same, and the reason was, naturally enough—
“The Association President helped us considerably.”
“The Association President?”
“Yes. Your standing has risen dramatically of late, hasn’t it? Apparently he used that as leverage, telling his superiors this was the greatest opportunity to keep you in Korea, and convinced them to approve it.”
It was thanks to the Association President.
He’s a man with outstanding patriotic spirit.
Precisely because of that, he’d prepared a safe residence for me from the start without asking anything in return, and
now he was using his influence with his superiors to support the Steel Guild I’d founded.
“Of course, it’s not free. You do have to pay the proper price, but even so, you only need to pay the market rate. The funds you’ve prepared should be more than sufficient.”
Originally it wasn’t a private property but a national facility?
Apparently it was a place where the state had attempted to conduct research related to Awakeners, but the project had failed.
They didn’t give up, and tried to proceed with the next phase of research, but
the timing worked out perfectly, and I was able to purchase the building.
I seized the opportunity and bought the property outright, and
the moment the interior design was finished, I headed to my building.
Naturally enough.
“……You really didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“No, we absolutely had to do this much.”
Moving to the building.
Rather, in the middle of relocating.
We traveled under the Association’s protection.
With the Association President himself included, no less.
Thanks to that, I reached the building’s entrance without suffering a single attack, and
“Wow…….”
I couldn’t help but marvel at the Steel Guild building.
I’d heard reports and seen photographs, but this was my first time seeing it in person.
The height was so great it was difficult to count how many stories it had.
Since it had originally served as a research facility, it was an elegant, clean structure, but the interior design had been expertly redone to suit a guild building.
And more than that.
“It’s right next door.”
“If anything comes up, I can even dash over myself.”
“……Come on, what are the odds something like that would happen?”
The Awakener Association building is visible right beside it.
Of course, the Awakener Association’s building was larger and occupied more space, but
the proximity to the Association felt remarkably reassuring.
Once I stepped inside, I found even more to marvel at.
The clean interior facilities were truly fitting for a major guild’s building.
No, if anything, they looked even better than that.
To be honest, my guild’s members amount to just the clerical staff including Lee Seo-yun and Kim Tae-san, and
I wondered if even this small group should be using a building of this scale.
“The Association sees great potential in you. The Steel Guild is no different. You’ll undoubtedly grow to rival the major guilds of today—perhaps even surpass them.”
Yet the people around me didn’t find any of this strange at all.
It was more the feeling that of course you’d grow eventually, so why not prepare lavishly in advance?
“The first floor is the lobby. It’s a space anyone can visit, regardless of whether they’re a guild member.”
The building’s layout had been perfectly configured as well.
The first floor served as both the building’s entrance and the reception area for people who came with business at the Steel Guild.
From the second floor onward, everything was for the guild members.
There were dormitories, training facilities, recreation areas.
Beyond that, there were various other facilities, and
what caught my eye most of all was, naturally,
“The Guild Master’s office.”
The Guild Master of the Steel Guild.
In other words, a room prepared for me.
It was a spacious area, and the interior design had been tastefully done to suit me as a blacksmith.
I suppose the idea was for me to interact with the guild members here.
And one more thing.
“This is where you’ll be staying, Kang Cheol-mangchi.”
My own quarters had been prepared as well.
They’d even dedicated an entire second floor for my use.
Lee Seo-yun knew about the existence of my assistants, and she understood that their numbers might grow in the future.
So she’d made sure there were plenty of rooms and ample space.
Even if there wasn’t a park like at my previous place.
“Wow…….”
The view opened up wide through the expansive glass windows.
With a vista like this, who needed a park anyway? The space itself felt liberating.
There was even a helicopter landing pad on the roof.
It felt like the kind of place that might well be my final home—perfect in every way.
“Master, this place is…….”
“Your new residence. We’ve moved around so much, haven’t we? But I think we’ll be here for a while. As long as the Guild doesn’t suddenly disband or the building doesn’t explode, anyway.”
“It’s a magnificent place.”
“Why’s it so high up here? A dwarf like me’s going to be terrified living in a place like this! Bwahahaha!”
“Noum isn’t a dwarf! Well… I suppose it is a bit scary……”
“Screech!”
“Doesn’t matter…… just need somewhere to sleep……”
I summoned my assistants right then and there to begin the move.
They all seemed generally pleased with the place.
And when I activated the Forge of Time afterward, it created a smithy that was even roomier and more pleasant than before.
Thanks to bringing in things like the bed I’d used before, the move was finished in no time.
Just as I was marveling at the new place,
“Kang Cheol-mangchi, would you come downstairs for a moment?”
At Lee Seo-yun’s call, I headed down.
Down to the Guild Master’s office.
“Hmm.”
Someone was already waiting in the Guild Master’s office.
That build.
I’d never actually seen him in person before, but I remembered him from the body analysis I’d done when crafting his custom gear.
He was—
“Kim Tae-san?”
The Steel Guild’s first member.
It was definitely Kim Tae-san.
At my call,
“G-Guild Master! At your service! It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Kim Tae-san!”
Kim Tae-san answered in a booming voice.
Even giving me a sharp salute as he spoke.
“No need to be so formal. It’s good to meet you. I’m Jang Gang-cheol—or rather, Kang Cheol-mangchi.”
“I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Guild Master!”
Now that was starting to feel like actually being a Guild Master.
And with the Guild building finally in place, I felt an ambition kindling.
An eagerness to grow the Steel Guild quickly.
In that spirit,
“Guild Master Kang Cheol-mangchi, we have an applicant waiting. Shall I send them in?”
“Yes, let’s see them right away.”
I had the second candidate for Steel Guild membership brought in.
“Ah, hello!”
The applicant who entered had skin so pale and delicate that it was hard to imagine her as a combat-class Awakener.
More than anything, there was a case of some kind slung across her shoulder.
A violin case, to be precise.
Which meant—
The true identity of the Steel Guild’s second member was—
“I’m Han Hyun-ah! Nice to work with you!!”
An Awakener who wielded instruments—a musician.
A Bard.
* * *
A Bard.
This type of Awakener was never common.
The problem is the weapons they use.
As Bards, they wield instruments as weapons.
The thing is, instrument-type weapons are so rare that I’ve barely spotted any even after combing through the Exchange.
And there’s another complication.
“It’s my violin!”
There isn’t just one type of instrument.
Even if someone transitions to Bard, there are limits to which instruments they can use.
Among already-rare instrument items, they have to find one that suits them specifically.
So acquiring a weapon becomes nearly impossible.
Which is why.
“That’s just a regular violin, isn’t it?”
“Yes…….”
The Steel Guild’s second member.
Han Hyun-ah was using an ordinary violin she’d played before.
No violin-type instrument items had been listed on the Exchange.
“So you basically have no weapon? How did you even level up like this?”
“Most of my skills are Buff-type, so I managed somehow. But I couldn’t push any further…….”
Because of this, even though Han Hyun-ah had Awakened early, she’d only just barely crossed level 10.
She’d tried everything after that.
But with a regular violin instead of an actual item, she couldn’t pull her weight anymore.
And then.
“You really will craft an instrument for me?”
That’s when I reached out to her.
As the Steel Guild’s second member.
“Of course.”
I nodded.
An Awakener unable to display her full strength for lack of a proper weapon.
Exactly the talent I’d been looking for.
Besides.
“I watched your video—your playing was incredible.”
“I-it’s embarrassing, but I’m confident in my violin technique!”
The performance video attached to her application.
It gave me certainty.
That if I crafted a proper instrument for her, she would definitely be able to wield tremendous power.
I don’t know all the details, but apparently she’d even placed in some competition before her Awakening.
The issue is.
“Which is why I have something I need Han Hyun-ah’s help with.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. I want to craft an instrument for you, but I don’t know anything about instruments.”
I’ve never crafted an instrument before.
Swords and spears—those I’ve seen plenty of images of in Final Gate and crafted multiple times.
But instruments.
Especially something like a violin—I know nothing about them.
So.
“I’m going to need you to guide me from beside me.”
I need her help.
Fortunately.
“O-of course, I’d be honored!”
She nodded readily.
There’s no reason to refuse when it’s for crafting her own weapon.
Anyway, after we finished our introductions like that.
I entered a waiting room on the same floor that had been prepared for me, rather than my regular room.
Normally I open the Time Smithy from home, but this space was set up in case I ever needed to bring a customer to the smithy.
The moment I stepped inside.
“Time Smithy.”
I’d entered the smithy.
“Wow, w-woooow!”
Han Hyun-ah’s voice rang out from behind me in amazement.
“This is Kang Cheol-mangchi’s smithy! It’s incredible!”
“Haha…….”
The Association President, the first true outsider, reacted with dry indifference.
Han Hyun-ah’s response was entirely different.
Her eyes gleamed as she busied herself observing her surroundings.
Above all else.
“Noum, welcome our guest!”
“Ack!”
“This is my assistant.”
“N-nice to meet you! Or rather, I look forward to working with you!”
“Noum, a welcome gift for you!”
“Thank you, Noum!”
“Hehe, Noum is excited!”
Noum’s existence was bound to be remarkable.
Even in an age when Gates and monsters had appeared, no other race had ever shown itself before.
Noum seemed to take a liking to Han Hyun-ah and offered her a piece of candy in return.
Well, that aside.
“Grom!”
“Chirp!”
“Oh, an orc!”
I called out to Grom right away.
The reason was clear.
“Do you have any materials that would suit making an instrument? If possible, the finest you have.”
“Chirp, an instrument? Are you talking about a war drum!”
“A war drum…? No, it’s not that. It’s something called a violin.”
“Chirp, a violin?”
“Yes, it’s this! A violin!”
“Chirp, is this really an instrument? It seems too small.”
I needed to search for the right materials for a violin.
Since a violin is fundamentally made of wood, I needed the expert knowledge of Grom.
To show Grom what I meant, Han Hyun-ah opened the case she’d been carrying on her back.
And there lay the violin in all its glory.
While not an item, it certainly looked expensive just to look at.
However.
“Chirp, how do you play it? I don’t understand.”
Since Grom didn’t grasp it.
“I’ll play a little for you.”
Han Hyun-ah played it right then and there.
It was only a brief performance to demonstrate what kind of instrument it was.
But hearing it.
‘Just as I thought.’
I could be certain of one thing.
About Han Hyun-ah’s skill.
Right now she couldn’t demonstrate her full potential because she lacked a proper weapon, but once she had a dedicated instrument, she’d surely be able to wield considerable power.
Once the performance ended.
“Chirp, a fine instrument! Not as grand as a war drum, but still!”
Grom seemed to understand what a violin was now.
“So, do you have any materials that might suit it? I’d like to create the finest violin possible for her.”
“Chirp, if that’s what you want, Echo Wood would be ideal! There’s only one in all of Zone 3—it’s an incredibly rare timber!”
“Would that be suitable for a violin?”
“It’s a wood that reacts sensitively to sound! It would work perfectly!”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful!”
So I was able to receive a recommendation for exactly the right material.
And this wasn’t all.
A violin required more than just one material.
“Serin, do you have any materials suitable for the strings?”
“Toran, I’d like to find a mineral that could work for the bridge.”
Once I’d gathered all the optimal materials for making a violin.
“Well then, Hyun-ah. Shall we work on a blueprint together?”
[ I activate the Special Crafting Skill. ]
[ Please prepare a blueprint for the special craft item. ]
“Yes, I’ll do my best!”
Han Hyun-ah and I began drafting the blueprint for the Violin.

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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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