I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 122
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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 122
Chapter 122
Potions.
Commonly consumed to recover Health or Mana.
Or else used as consumable items to temporarily draw out one’s strength.
Convenient and efficient as they are.
“Wow, why are Health Potions so expensive?”
“Of course they are. Potions only drop at a low rate when you defeat certain monsters. They’re so rare that people call them a second life, you know.”
“Even so, isn’t this a bit much……?”
The drawback was clear.
They were far too scarce.
And scarce as they were, the price reflected it.
Which made sense, really.
Potions couldn’t be mass-produced so easily.
They could only be obtained at an extremely low rate when defeating specific monsters.
This made the existence of potions feel tremendously precious.
Even Awakeners, for most minor injuries, would simply apply basic medicinal herbs and bind the wound with bandages.
And for those with frequent injuries and limited funds, they barely wrapped them with whatever was at hand.
So naturally.
“Tanks, could you block the front a bit better, please?”
“Damn it, you think that’s easy? Do you know how much a single potion costs when you get hurt?!”
“W-well, that’s true, but still. You need to hold the front line properly…….”
“And of all things, it’s a cutting-type monster! Ugh!”
Awakeners’ combat effectiveness had inevitably suffered.
The wealthy large Guilds would supply potions to their Members.
But for ordinary Awakeners, the moment they took a wound fighting monsters, they either spent money on potions or visited an Awakener hospital for treatment — either way, their funds drained away.
And then.
“Huh?”
Something unexpected happened.
The Marketplace, which people checked routinely as a habit.
On that very Marketplace.
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
Health Potions had been posted.
The problem was the name of the seller who’d posted the potions.
“Kang Cheol-mangchi?”
That’s right.
Health Potions had been posted under the name Kang Cheol-mangchi.
And what’s more.
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
…….
A staggering quantity.
It felt much like when Kang Cheol-mangchi had first started posting Standard-type items.
The moment people recalled this.
“Standard-type potions?!”
People wondered.
Could this truly be the beginning of ‘Standard-type Potions’?
And.
As if to prove it.
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
…….
Lowest-Grade Health Potions, of course.
[ Low-Grade Health Potion ]
[ Low-Grade Health Potion ]
…….
The tier right above.
Low-Grade Health Potions had been posted in succession.
The prices were quite steep, but compared to the potions originally listed on the Marketplace, they were far cheaper.
Awakeners knew all too well that these potions deserved to be called a second life.
“These will sell out in seconds! We have to buy now!”
“Mine! That one’s mine!”
They rushed to purchase the potions.
But the potions appearing on the exchange weren’t limited to those.
[ Lowest-Grade Mana Potion ]
[ Low-Grade Mana Potion ]
[ Lowest-Grade Vitality Potion ]
[ Low-Grade Vitality Potion ]
Mana Potions that restored mana.
Vitality Potions that restored vitality.
All three types of potions that Awakeners needed were appearing on the exchange.
And at prices cheaper than the monster-drop potions sold in shops.
It was absurd.
“In the heavens.”
“What on earth is happening?”
“Wasn’t Kang Cheol-mangchi a blacksmith? He can make potions too?”
People gasped in astonishment, yet
“Don’t waste time talking—just buy!”
they scrambled to purchase the potions listed on the exchange.
But the surprises didn’t end there.
A few Awakeners who spotted the potions on the exchange wondered if they should check Kang Cheol-mangchi’s auction house homepage.
Kang Cheol-mangchi’s items had previously been traded entirely on the exchange.
But now, higher-tier items were being sold directly through this homepage.
So they wondered—might the same be true this time?
And indeed it was.
“They’re here!”
Potions were listed on the auction house homepage as well.
Befitting an auction house, they weren’t sold at fixed prices but through simple auctions.
And as such, the potency of these items was on an entirely different level from those on the exchange.
Starting with the more standard offerings:
[ Mid-Grade Health Potion ]
[ Mid-Grade Mana Potion ]
[ Mid-Grade Vitality Potion ]
These three.
Mid-Grade potions, not Lowest or Low-Grade.
Being mid-tier, their performance was on an entirely different tier from the lowest or low-grade varieties.
For low-level Awakeners, they held little value.
But for high-level Awakeners, they were invaluable.
Since high-level Awakeners had proportionally higher maximum health and mana, drinking a lowest-grade potion in an emergency would barely make a dent.
A mid-grade potion was what was needed to properly restore health or mana and allow them to return to combat immediately.
They were, in the truest sense, a ‘second life’.
Potions of this caliber appeared rarely even on the exchange.
So many Awakeners were placing bids on the auction house.
Of course, the auction house wasn’t listing only recovery potions.
[ Troll Regeneration Elixir ]
Rather than simply restoring health, it continuously regenerated health over a set duration.
[ Windgrass Speed Potion ]
[ Hardened Mushroom Defense Potion ]
[ Thornflower Critical Potion ]
……
Potions that boosted various stats—speed, defense, critical strike rate, and more.
In other words, Buff Potions with buff effects were also appearing.
These Buff Potions too were extraordinarily rare on the exchange.
And for good reason.
Drinking these alone could dramatically spike combat power, if only for a moment.
Any Awakener with money and skill would covet them without hesitation.
And then there was this.
[ Bloodtoxin Herb Virulent Poison ]
[ Illusory Sleep Potion ]
[ Pain Exacerbation Agent ]
Debuffs that poisoned enemies, induced status ailments, or exacerbated pain.
The inventory of such potions was equally impressive.
These too had limitless applications.
An archer could coat their arrows with it.
An assassin could smear it on their daggers.
Even a swordsman—neither archer nor assassin—could simply apply it to their blade and achieve remarkable effects.
Take, for instance, a troublesome boss monster that regenerated endlessly; using the Bloodtoxin Herb Virulent Poison could make defeating it absurdly simple.
Which meant—
“This is insane!”
“We have to buy this! No question!”
“You know that boss monster we caught? During the fight, it kept devouring its own minions. If we use the Sleep Potion on those, we could control it, right?”
“That’d be huge!”
“Stop talking and start bidding!”
The debuff potions drew bids rapidly.
Their prices climbed steeply.
And so a new wave swept through the Awakener world.
* * *
El’s Potion Crafting.
Even I found it remarkable.
Had she made potions one by one, we’d never have met the Awakeners’ demand.
Bubble-bubble—
El’s potion crafting operated on a different scale entirely.
She wasn’t making potions individually.
She calculated the perfect proportions using available ingredients, then produced enormous quantities in a single batch.
Like a witch stirring something in a massive cauldron.
Using so many materials all at once.
“There! All finished!”
She completed staggering amounts in one go.
Then it was simply a matter of distributing them into appropriate containers.
This way, she mass-produced the most standard Health, Mana, and Vitality Potions.
Using materials from zones one through four, she could mass-produce Lowest-Grade and Low-Grade Potions easily enough.
“M-Mid-Grade and above require more care, so mass production might be difficult!”
“It’s fine. Do what feels right for you. What we have now is already plenty.”
Mid-Grade Potions were another matter.
Not just Mid-Grade—rare materials and finicky ones that she’d never handled before.
Those couldn’t be mass-produced; they required focused individual attention.
So—
“Here’s what I’m thinking.”
Lowest and Low-Grade Potions go on the exchange. Anything above that, we list on the auction site.
“Sounds good.”
And if we produce any exceptionally fine potions, we could even put them in the offline auction house.
“I’ll reach out if we get anything like that.”
I mentioned this to Seo-yun and sent her all the finished potions.
From now on, she’d be selling not just my equipment but these potions as well.
That alone had massively increased my fixed income.
My unique ability still needed about 260 billion won to enhance.
At this pace, it shouldn’t take too long to accumulate.
“Thank you. More than that—the popularity is ridiculous. I expected it, but I didn’t realize there was as much demand for potions as there is for equipment.”
“Right?”
The potions El made.
Their popularity exceeded my expectations.
Just looking at the Awakener Community alone—
[ Praise Kang Cheol-mangchi! Praise Kang Cheol-mangchi! Praise Kang Cheol-mangchi! ]
Now you’re making potions too!
We worship you!!
[ Kang Cheol-mangchi brand potions? I can’t pass this up! ]
The quality’s already guaranteed just by the Kang Cheol-mangchi name! All you have to do is buy!
[ These really hit different ]
Potions made available to the masses?
Just this alone would dramatically raise Awakeners’ survival rates.
And it’d make Awakeners far more motivated to face monsters.
It’s literally the catalyst that’s reshaping the Awakener landscape.
– Same.
– Long live the god Kang Cheol-mangchi!!
– The equipment alone was already reshaping the Awakener world, but the potions have completely turned everything upside down lol
– Korea’s becoming a world leader in Awakener advancement thanks to Kang Cheol-mangchi lol
– Korea’s jewel
– Kang Cheol-mangchi should be designated a national treasure!!
– More like a living national cultural asset lol
– Doesn’t matter, make him a national treasure!!!!
The response had been that overwhelming.
And I wasn’t using the potions Serin made merely for sales.
“Everyone gather around.”
“Yes, Master.”
“What’s this about, kid?”
“Chirp chirp, Grom’s here!”
“Noum too!”
“Yawn…….”
My assistants as well.
“Take these.”
“Hm? What are these?”
“Potions. I put mostly Vitality Potions in those for Toran and Grom. Drink them whenever you’re tired.”
“Ooh!”
“Chirp chirp!”
“I included Recovery Potions for Serin and Drake. If you get wounded or anything, don’t hesitate to use them.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Thanks…….”
I distributed the potions.
Just as I swung my hammer without rest.
My assistants were steadily working in their respective roles during that entire time.
Not just my assistants—I’d set aside a few of Serin’s potions for myself too.
Drinking a Vitality Potion whenever I got tired would make the work go far more smoothly.
And even with the potions, there was no way around the mental fatigue that accumulated.
“K-Kang Cheol, would you perhaps try this?”
“What is it?”
“I, I made it from Clear-Mind Seaweed. It keeps your head sharp!”
“Oh!”
Serin had solved even that problem.
She’d created a potion that restored mental clarity.
Of course, even after drinking it, mental fatigue wouldn’t be infinitely recovered and maintained.
But this alone let me boost my work efficiency considerably.
And finally.
“Kim Tae-san, Han Hyun-ah.”
“Yes!”
“These are Guild supply potions. There’s no limit—take as many as you need and use them.”
“N-no limit?”
“For Gate raids, you can use as much as you want without any problem.”
“Wow!”
I distributed these to the Guild Members as well.
I’d heard even the major Guilds had daily limits or quantity restrictions.
I didn’t need any of that.
Unlike other Guilds that had to purchase potions, I could simply distribute what Serin made.
And so potions spread their influence in all directions.
Just as I was preparing to recruit the third Guild Member.
“Kang Cheol-mangchi, there’s someone you should probably meet.”
“Yes? Why?”
“There’s, there’s an applicant who wants to join the Guild…….”
“But I haven’t even chosen the third member yet?”
“You’re not on the support list. That’s because… you’re a Ranker.”
“……A Ranker?”
An entirely unexpected person had come seeking entry into the Steel Guild.
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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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