I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 109

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 109
Chapter 109
A New Bow
Both Toran and Grom had been delighted when I offered to craft them new weapons, so I’d expected the same from Serin.
“A weapon……? Well……”
Her reaction was anything but enthusiastic.
The bow I had made for her.
She clutched the Pursuer of Snow, Ikaya to her chest like a treasure, lost in thought.
“It’s fine if you’d rather not.”
I wondered if the bow had simply grown so comfortable in her hands that she had no desire to replace it.
“……No, that’s not it. The bow you made for me is incredibly precious, but I can’t allow myself to stagnate like this, can I?”
I didn’t need to persuade her further.
She nodded to herself, conviction settling into her expression.
“However, would it be alright if I continued to keep this bow……?”
As she spoke, she drew the Pursuer of Snow, Ikaya even closer to her heart.
“Of course. I’m planning to craft you something entirely new anyway, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Master!”
I had never intended to touch that bow in the first place.
Of course, I could recover some materials by disassembling it.
But the yield would be minimal—nothing particularly valuable.
With that settled, I finished tidying up and returned directly to the Blacksmith Shop.
Then.
[ Using Special Crafting Skill. ]
[ Please prepare a blueprint for the special craft item. ]
I activated Special Crafting.
I had already decided on the design.
One of the items from the Final Gate.
I based my blueprint on the form of a Named bow crafted from deer antlers—what they called the “Ancestor’s Antler Bow” in that place.
The nature was somewhat different, but what I had obtained was antler material as well.
Once I finished the blueprint.
[ Bone Antler Deer’s Bone Horn ]
[ Bone Antler Deer’s Sinew ]
……
Using all the assorted materials that came from the antler, including the horn itself.
[ Beginning crafting. ]
Clang!
I began swinging the Hammer.
‘This point is quite unusual.’
The types of points vary widely.
Usually the material’s attribute reacts intensely at each point.
When striking a fire-attribute material’s point, flames erupt.
When striking a lightning-attribute material’s point, sparks scatter.
That sort of thing.
But this white point that appeared this time……
Clang!
Sharp bone spines shot upward with each strike.
Strike even slightly off, and those spines would jut toward me as though to pierce through—
Clang!
But by swinging carefully, I could shatter every spine that threatened to fly at me with the Hammer.
Any stray spines were caught by my Hwahwan Cloth.
So it was merely novel.
Not genuinely dangerous to me.
So.
Clang!
I began shaping the antler in earnest, swinging the Hammer.
Since the antler itself was made of bone and would lack flexibility, I worried it might be inconvenient for crafting a bow limb.
‘This works fine.’
Despite its bone-like appearance, an antler is still an antler.
It possessed considerable elasticity.
As I swung the Hammer, I enhanced that elasticity further, then joined the two antlers to form the shape of a bow limb.
Trimming away the unnecessary branches as he worked.
Next came the sinew.
[ Bone Antler Deer’s Sinew ]
He used the sinew.
Though the material was scarce, there was enough to fashion a bowstring.
Rather than use it immediately, he shaped the sinew carefully with the hammer, conditioning it to suit the bowstring before binding it in place.
After that, through steady, methodical hammering, he finished the entire bow.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Assessment: SS ]
[ You have obtained the White Bone Antler Bow. ]
[ A Masterpiece has been born. ]
[ A masterwork worthy of bearing your name to the world has been completed, granting you inspiration and raising your stats. ]
[ Dexterity increases by 3. ]
He had completed Serin’s bow.
It was a shame that it didn’t reach SSS-Grade, but SSS-Grade seemed to require truly exceptional circumstances.
This was perfectly adequate.
What mattered most was whether it had gained a special ability.
More precisely—what special ability had it gained.
Eager to learn, he checked the item information.
[ White Bone Antler Bow ]
Type: Bow
Grade: SS
Restriction: Level 39 or higher
Description: A bow of death, infused with the potent essence of the White Bone Attribute. Crafted by joining the horns of the Bone Antler Deer, whose passage once stained the grasslands with death.
Attack Power: 236
Abilities:
White Bone Erosion
, Lethal Lv 4, First Strike Lv 2, Penetration Lv 2, Curse Lv 1
First, he was pleased with the other abilities.
Lethal, First Strike, Penetration.
All three suited an archer perfectly, and especially someone like her who primarily targeted vital points.
Curse Lv 1 was somewhat ambiguous.
It likely came from the distinctive nature of the Bone Antler Deer.
Ambiguous though it was, an ability that stacked debuffs with each strike against an enemy would prove useful in prolonged combat.
But what truly mattered was the special ability itself.
[ Special Ability: White Bone Erosion ]
The White Bone essence possessed by the Bone Antler Deer permeates the arrows.
Arrows are imbued with the Bone Attribute, increasing their attack power, and triggering additional effects and bonus damage upon impact.
“Bone Attribute?”
A Bone Attribute, no less.
He’d never heard of such a thing before.
Increased attack power and additional effects and damage on impact—that much was certainly desirable.
But he couldn’t grasp exactly how the White Bone essence would be applied.
Curious as he was, since he was giving the bow to Serin anyway, he decided to wait and watch her test it.
“Serin, it’s finished.”
“Is this the bow?”
“Yes. I tried to craft it to suit you as best I could, but there are limits to what I can do.”
“No matter. As long as it’s strong. And… this exceeds my expectations considerably.”
He handed the bow to Serin.
Fortunately, she seemed quite pleased with it.
Well, even he had to admit the design was sound.
Though it looked somewhat menacing, he had refined it with meticulous care to suit her perfectly.
“Since I haven’t seen the effects yet either, would you mind if I observed alongside you?”
“Of course.”
They moved to conduct the demonstration.
The Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
While he would have preferred to test it against stronger monsters, it would take too long to venture deeper, so they decided to verify its power in Zone 1 immediately.
The moment Serin nocked an arrow on the bowstring.
He immediately understood what “the White Bone essence permeates the arrows” meant.
‘Literally,’ he thought.
The arrow nocked on the bowstring had turned pure white.
Its surface had taken on a smooth, bone-like sheen.
I’d worried it might feel awkward to use.
“It doesn’t slip at all. It feels right.”
Apparently, it wasn’t going to be a problem.
Then.
Twang!
Serin released the bowstring without hesitation.
Her target was a goblin standing at a comfortable distance.
The arrow flew cleanly through the air.
Thunk!
It pierced straight through the goblin.
It wasn’t so much the Penetration effect as it was that the goblin was simply far too weak compared to her.
The problem was.
“There’s no time to see the extra effects.”
“I apologize.”
“No, don’t. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
The goblin was too weak to demonstrate the special ability’s additional effects.
We pressed deeper into the dungeon.
Zone 2 was familiar enough by now.
Starting from Zone 3, I began seeing quite a few monsters I’d never encountered before.
Still.
“Oh, is that a Crimson Centipede? The one that drops ‘Crimson Fangs’?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Wow, an Orc Warrior. I thought they were huge from looking at those tusks, but the real thing is even bigger.”
I knew what materials all the monsters here dropped.
There was a certain pleasure in identifying each monster by the materials they left behind.
Around Zone 3, there were certainly more dangerous creatures.
Whoosh!
With Serin protecting me, I wasn’t particularly worried.
We continued forward like that.
Finally, Zone 4 appeared before us.
“This is Zone 4?”
“Yes, Master.”
“The atmosphere is pretty unsettling.”
“The monsters here are of such high caliber that a killing intent seems to permeate the entire area.”
A place where a faint red haze seemed to shimmer and ripple.
Even before encountering a single monster, the sense of danger was unmistakable.
Since even Serin didn’t know Zone 4 well yet.
We entered cautiously, alert to everything around us.
And the first monster we encountered was.
“Gaaaaahhhhh.”
“That’s…”
“A Troll.”
“A Troll? The one with that notorious regeneration?”
“Yes. It’s weaker than the Snow Troll I used to face, but it’s definitely a formidable creature.”
It was a Troll.
A Troll, of all things.
Among Awakeners, Trolls had quite a fearsome reputation.
And no wonder—I’d heard their regeneration was so powerful they could recover from almost any ordinary attack.
Against such an opponent.
“Please fall back, Master.”
Serin drew her bowstring taut.
The arrow was coated white by her special ability.
As the Troll noticed us and began charging, she fired.
Whoosh!
“Ah.”
I could feel it from the very first strike.
The arrow had become far more powerful.
Coated in that pale bone-white color, the arrowhead had grown sharper still.
The Penetration skill drove the arrow even deeper.
But it wasn’t enough.
The opponent was a Troll.
This level of attack wouldn’t suffice.
The moment that thought crossed my mind—
Thwack!
“Uuuuaaaahhhhh!”
The Troll’s shriek pierced the air.
I wasn’t sure what was happening at first.
“Spikes?”
The arrow lodged in the creature’s body.
From that arrow, bone spikes were sprouting outward.
Not just one or two.
Dozens of sharp bone spikes bristled from its flesh.
The creature couldn’t pull the arrow free, left only to writhe in agony.
In that interval—
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Serin’s arrows flew without pause.
Every shaft found its mark, sinking into the Troll’s body without a single miss.
And from every arrow, bone spikes erupted forth.
Ordinarily, Trolls fight by regenerating wounds through their rapid Regeneration—their greatest strength.
But Serin’s arrows remained embedded while spikes grew from them.
The matchup was absolutely terrible for the Troll.
As a result—
“Uuuhhhhh…….”
The Troll collapsed into a pincushion, bristling with arrows and the bone spikes sprouting from them.
Its vaunted Regeneration never got a chance to activate.
Watching the Troll fall—
“……I’m impressed. The bow is far superior to what I expected, beyond what I’d imagined.”
“I’m pleased with it too. I didn’t know it would develop this kind of special ability.”
Serin was satisfied, and so was I—deeply so.
And there was one more thing.
[ Troll Hide ]
The material she’d harvested from the Troll delighted me as well.
Troll Hide.
Since Trolls were famous for their powerful Regeneration, their materials carried that same regenerative power.
If used properly, I could craft armor that auto-repaired its own durability.
Or perhaps equipment that enhanced the wearer’s Regeneration.
Actually—
‘What if I made furniture instead?’
If I crafted a bed from this, or a leather sofa—
It would surpass all the regenerative furniture I’d been making and selling until now.
In fact, all the materials from Zone 4 held vastly greater potential than anything I’d worked with before.
Returning to the Blacksmith Shop to process them, I was in the middle of waiting when—
“Chirp-chirp, Master!”
“Don’t tell me another Boss Monster appeared?”
“Chirp-chirp, that’s right!”
A Boss Monster had emerged in the Blacksmith’s Forest.
Fighting the Magma Golem alone had been grueling enough.
But this time would be different, I was sure.
I had no idea what the forest’s Boss Monster was.
Yet with my Volcanic Cannon and Serin now equipped with her bow’s special ability—
We should dispatch it in moments.
So when—
The instant Grom told me about the Boss Monster, my thoughts didn’t turn to strategy or tactics.
What I was actually thinking was—
‘What kind of materials will drop this time?’
What would the Boss Monster yield?
What new equipment could I craft from it?
That was what I truly looked forward to.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————