I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 125

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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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Episode 125
Episode 125
The Blood Lion entered the Steel Guild.
This event was enough to shock every Awakener.
“Kang Hyuk joining a guild?”
Their interest was only natural.
The Blood Lion, Kang Hyuk.
He was the only Ranker who hunted Gates alone as an Awakener.
No matter how strong an Awakener was, hunting a Gate solo meant lowering the Gate’s difficulty.
There were rare occasions when he’d join other guilds or hunting parties as a mercenary to tackle higher-level Gates.
But for the most part, Kang Hyuk had always cleared Gates alone.
Yet he still held the fifth position overall.
But then.
For such a man to join a guild.
Still, people thought that joining the Steel Guild—not a massive guild, and one without high-level Awakeners to match Kang Hyuk—wouldn’t create any dramatic change.
[ 4th Place: Kang Hyuk ]
They were wrong.
Kang Hyuk’s rank, as displayed by the system, had climbed one tier.
It was undoubtedly shocking news.
Even though he’d joined the guild, Kang Hyuk was still clearing Gates alone.
Yet somehow he’d risen to fourth place.
Just how exceptional was his skill?
Recently, he’d spent a fortune purchasing a Kang Cheol-mangchi Cloak tailored precisely to his specifications.
And now he was freely restocking potions through the Steel Guild.
For his rank to climb this way.
It was no ordinary matter.
[ Kang Hyuk 4th place ㄷㄷ ]
He didn’t switch to party hunting, he’s still solo—how did his rank go up?
– It’s because of the Kang Cheol-mangchi Cloak lol
– Also because he joined the Steel Guild and can use potions freely
– A potion warrior? lololol
– I heard the Steel Guild made a Custom Potion just for Kang Hyuk
– Seriously?
– yeah
– Wow custom gear and now custom potions lol
While all Awakeners, including Rankers, kept their eyes fixed on Kang Hyuk’s movements.
[ The Blood Lion, Kang Hyuk / Red Moon Gate ]
A new video of Kang Hyuk was uploaded to the Steel Guild’s channel.
– Red Moon Gate?
– The name alone sounds vicious
– What is that?
– Wow that’s where Werewolves appear
– Not ordinary Werewolves. They’re Red Moon Werewolves, a higher species
– ㅎㄷㄷ
The Red Moon Gate.
A Gate that was difficult to clear unless you were a Ranker.
In fact, even Rankers found it challenging.
It was a Gate that could only be cleared by forming a party around Ranker-level Awakeners.
– Even Kang Hyuk would struggle to clear this alone
The problem was that the Gate’s difficulty exceeded even Kang Hyuk’s level.
No matter how powerful Kang Hyuk was, clearing such a Gate alone would be impossible.
But then.
As the video began.
Kang Hyuk strode confidently into the Gate.
Gulp, gulp.
He downed an entire potion in one shot.
“Roaaaaaagh!”
The Werewolves, stained crimson in the scarlet light of the Red Moon.
Rrrip—!
He began tearing through them with savage ferocity.
Slash, slash, slash again.
Each time, the Werewolves fall brutally, their blood spraying across the gate floor.
Of course, Kang Hyuk’s body accumulated wounds both large and small in the process.
Whoosh.
They heal.
Blood flowing from the Werewolves’ bodies seeps into Kang Hyuk’s flesh, the wounds closing over.
An infinite engine, truly.
Recovery through blood, moving endlessly forward.
The combat was fierce, fitting for a high-tier Gate.
But Kang Hyuk, against all odds—
Boom!
—No way.
—He actually cleared it?
—Soloed the Red Moon Gate?
He felled the boss monster.
He cleared the Red Moon Gate entirely on his own.
Unbelievable.
How could anyone raise their combat power this far in such a short span?
Some of the bewildered viewers managed to piece together the reason.
—His Accessories changed, didn’t they?
Accessories.
Hidden somewhat by Kang Hyuk’s gear, they hadn’t been clearly visible.
But they’d definitely changed.
Accessories crafted not from stone or wood, but from some strange material.
From those small Accessories bloomed what looked like tiny coral crystals, emanating a peculiar aesthetic sense.
The moment someone recognized them,
the viewers understood immediately.
—That’s Kang Cheol-mangchi’s work.
—Lol no joke.
—If something like this suddenly happens, of course it’s Kang Cheol-mangchi lmao.
—King Steel Hammer.
—Kang Cheol-mangchi made new Accessories for him?
—But seriously, just because he made Accessories, his power jumped that much? And he’s a Ranker, not some nobody.
Kang Cheol-mangchi had crafted Accessories tailored to Kang Hyuk.
Accessories of remarkable caliber, at that.
There was no other way to account for the combat just witnessed.
Once they grasped this,
—What if Kang Cheol-mangchi actually makes him proper weapons and armor too? How much stronger would he get?
—Right now he can’t because of level limits;
—But if he equips Ranker-tier gear later, it’d genuinely be transcendent.
—That’s when the landscape of the Awakening world would shift.
—Fact: Kang Cheol-mangchi is already shifting the Awakening world’s landscape.
—For real, from equipment to potions—it’s already a whole new era lol.
—Fact: All of it.
The Awakeners began to buzz with fervor.
And when Kang Hyuk proved it by soloing several more high-tier Gates afterward,
establishing that clearing the Red Moon Gate was skill, not luck,
[ Rank 3: Kang Hyuk ]
the system elevated his ranking.
Third place.
To climb to third by soloing Gates entirely on his own—
it beggared belief.
So naturally,
[ The title “King Maker” didn’t come out of nowhere lol ]
He joined the Steel Guild?
Some no-name Awakener jumps straight into “Rookie Top 10”, and a Ranker at position 5 climbs to position 3 lmao.
—I want to join too :'(
—But seriously why did the Steel Guild’s entry requirements jump so high all of a sudden lol.
—You gotta be at Kang Hyuk’s level or have his talent?
—Lol that’s brutal.
– But it’s seriously the King Maker thing, haha
– I mean, other Awakeners are one thing, but how does he boost a Ranker up two whole ranks?
– And that’s not even counting weapons and armor, lol
– I wonder what would happen if Kang Cheol-mangchi actually made weapons and armor for someone
– Hail the divine Kang Cheol-mangchi!!
– Praise be!!!!
The crowd’s enthusiasm was inevitable.
But.
The fact that Kang Hyuk had climbed to third place
meant that whoever had held third was now pushed down to fourth.
“The Steel Guild, huh…….”
The Ranker who’d been bumped down to fourth was none other than
the one who wielded arrows forged by Kang Cheol-mangchi himself.
The finest archer in all of Korea.
The Divine Archer, Gung Si-hyun.
Though Gung Si-hyun had been pushed to fourth by Kang Hyuk’s dramatic rise, he found himself unconcerned with his immediate rank.
Rather, his curiosity turned toward the place that had elevated Kang Hyuk to third.
The Steel Guild.
Or more precisely, its master—Kang Cheol-mangchi.
And for good reason.
[ Death Sentence ]
[ Gale Wind Arrow ]
…….
Every arrow he wielded,
all of them were crafted by Kang Cheol-mangchi.
Though arrows, being consumable, suffered from poor durability and were difficult to reuse,
their performance was exceptional, and commissions from Kang Cheol-mangchi were extraordinarily rare.
So he salvaged spent arrows to reuse them, carefully rationing his supply.
Even so, his combat strength had risen dramatically.
But.
What if he joined the Steel Guild himself?
‘The benefits of the Steel Guild.’
Just as with Kang Hyuk, Kang Cheol-mangchi would surely craft him Custom Potions tailored to his needs.
Weapons and armor might be off the table.
But Custom Accessories,
and above all, as many arrows as he could possibly want—wouldn’t they be his for the taking?
With that, he could reclaim his lost third place.
And if fortune smiled upon him…….
‘First place.’
Not merely holding third,
but reaching first—that supposedly insurmountable summit—wouldn’t it become possible?
With that thought in mind,
‘Kang Cheol-mangchi…… not a bad choice.’
The Divine Archer, Gung Si-hyun,
began to make his way toward the Steel Guild.
* * *
After receiving the Accessory Set from me,
Kang Hyuk immediately set out to raid a Gate.
And then,
“It’s incredible! This equipment fits me so perfectly I can honestly call it gear made just for me!”
he came to me bursting with praise.
After that,
Kang Hyuk began to gradually increase the difficulty of the Gates he cleared.
With his newly acquired Cloak and Accessory Set, along with the Potion,
bolstered by this increase in strength,
[ Blood Lion, Kang Hyuk / Red Moon Gate ]
“Whoa…….”
Kang Hyuk successfully cleared a Gate one tier higher than what he’d been tackling before—
the Red Moon Gate.
In celebration, he even recorded a video.
Even posting videos on NewTube.
What’s more, the system itself seemed to acknowledge it.
[ 3rd Rank: Kang Hyuk ]
Kang Hyuk’s ranking had climbed.
Before, he’d been a Ranker solidly in the top five—exactly fifth rank.
Now he’d broken into the top three.
All of it had happened after joining the Steel Guild.
As the guild master, I couldn’t help but feel proud.
Kang Hyuk felt it too.
“It’s all thanks to you, Kang Cheol-mangchi! Thank you so much!”
“It’s because you’ve been working so hard, Kang Hyuk. Let’s continue to do our best together.”
“Of course!!”
He expressed his deep gratitude.
As Kang Hyuk grew stronger, I continued to assign him Gates suited to his level.
Of course, there was one condition: the Gates assigned to him had to spawn monsters that possessed blood.
In truth, this condition wasn’t particularly demanding.
“I’ll do my best to match the requirements!”
The Awakener Association also cooperated willingly.
There were already many high-level Gates that were difficult to conquer.
With Kang Hyuk volunteering to clear them swiftly, the Awakener Association had every reason to be pleased.
“Good, good.”
The more Kang Hyuk worked, the more the Steel Guild’s prestige seemed to grow.
As guild master, my mood was excellent.
Riding this momentum.
“Should I recruit a fourth Guild Member?”
I was thinking of recruiting another member.
Of course, being recruited after Kang Hyuk would burden the new recruit with high expectations.
But I couldn’t keep the guild at just three members forever.
“Let me see…….”
I reviewed the list of applicants Lee Seo-yun had given me.
A list composed of exactly the conditions I was looking for.
I needed to find the right person among them.
Or so I was thinking.
“Kang Cheol-mangchi.”
“Yes?”
“An applicant has come to see you.”
“An applicant? But I haven’t even announced the recruitment yet.”
An applicant had shown up without warning.
Hearing that news.
“……Don’t tell me.”
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Not long ago.
It was exactly the same situation as when Kang Hyuk had come to find me.
Sure enough.
“Yes, he’s a Ranker.”
Lee Seo-yun nodded.
“Ranking fourth—or rather, third rank overall. Korea’s greatest archer among Awakeners. The Divine Archer, Gung Si-hyun has come to see you.”
She told me of Gung Si-hyun’s arrival.

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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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