I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 14

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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 14
Episode 14
“I’m certain! Absolutely certain it’s the Blacksmith!”
“Not just in Korea — globally, there’s never been an Awakener who awakened as a Blacksmith. It makes more sense to think they’re monopolizing a Gate that produces Basic-grade Weapons and armor rather than claiming an Awakener became a Blacksmith.”
“But such a Gate has never been discovered either!”
“And yet……”
The Seohae Guild’s vice-guildmaster was convinced.
The Basic-grade series that had recently been posted to the Trading Post and become a hot topic.
He was certain it was created by an Awakener who had awakened as a Blacksmith.
The problem was that the guildmaster had remained skeptical until now, so he’d only managed to get approval to send a single message.
Then, shortly after.
“Look at this!”
“The Quick Rabbit Spear?”
“A spear made from the horns of horned rabbits! Can you still doubt this is proof? Think about it — how many horned rabbits have Awakeners defeated so far? There’s no way a weapon like this could be appearing for the first time now!”
The vice-guildmaster thrust the decisive evidence at the guildmaster.
A horned rabbit spear — a weapon never discovered before.
This was the proof they needed.
If Awakeners had defeated so many horned rabbits over time, an item like this would have been known about long ago.
Moreover, even just reading the item description made it clear this was something someone had crafted.
The guildmaster acknowledged this and nodded.
“I’ll post a recruitment notice on the community right away!”
“On the community? Not through a message?”
“He hasn’t even read the messages I’ve sent him, let alone replied. We need to post on the community to show our scouting intentions immediately!”
“No. If we do that, it’ll look like we’re desperate, won’t it? The contract terms will only get higher. More than anything, what will it look like for our Seohae Guild?”
“This isn’t the time to worry about such things! If this Gang Cheol-mangchi has truly awakened as a Blacksmith, we should bring him in even if it costs us tens of billions!”
“Hmm……”
The vice-guildmaster proposed a new approach.
Posting a recruitment notice on the Awakener community.
The guildmaster wasn’t fond of the idea, but the vice-guildmaster’s conviction was too strong, so he reluctantly nodded his assent.
Perhaps thanks to that effort.
That evening.
“He replied!”
A response came from the message they’d sent to Gang Cheol-mangchi.
The reply wasn’t very long.
It was just a brief message saying he wanted to confirm the scouting conditions.
But that alone was enough to startle the vice-guildmaster, who rushed away urgently.
“Guildmaster!”
“What’s this about at this hour? Has an emergency Gate summons been issued?”
“Gang Cheol-mangchi has contacted us!”
“Gang Cheol-mangchi? ……You mean that Awakener suspected of being a Blacksmith?”
“Yes, sir!”
“You came to find me at this hour just for that?”
“Just for that? Sir, this is——”
He reported to the guildmaster.
But the guildmaster’s reaction was lukewarm at best.
“Just send him a reply then. Why come all the way to bother me?”
“Surely we need to adjust the scouting terms!”
“Adjust what? If he’s truly a Blacksmith…… offer him an A-grade contract.”
“A-grade? But if this person is possibly the world’s first Blacksmith, just——”
An A-grade contract.
When an S-grade contract wouldn’t even be enough.
When you’d need several times that amount in contract money and it still wouldn’t suffice — and yet the guildmaster was offering an A-grade contract.
The vice-guildmaster objected vehemently.
“Vice-guildmaster.”
“……Yes, sir.”
“Remember that we are the Seohae Guild, one of Korea’s great powers.”
The guildmaster’s conviction was unshakeable.
“We never bow our heads to anyone. Others beg to join the Seohae Guild — we do not beg them to join us. That’s simply not how things are.”
“But……”
“I’ll allow you to go as far as an S-grade contract.”
“……I understand.”
After hearing those words and stepping back.
The vice-guild master pondered.
Perhaps the Seohae Guild had just kicked away a Once-in-a-Thousand-Years Opportunity with its own feet.
* * *
“What materials should I try next~”
Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
Whether out of consideration for me or not, only the weakest monsters among them gathered here.
Even so, the variety of monster types was quite considerable.
Earth toads, giant earthworms, small stones, and so on.
Because of that, the types of materials obtained from them were equally diverse.
“This time, I’ll try this one.”
As I pondered pleasantly among the options.
[ Using Crafting Skill. ]
I analyzed the power of the materials.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
[ Obtained ‘Small Stone Helmet’. ]
I had created an item fitting to that assessment.
Just doing this was endlessly entertaining.
As I was making items that way, mealtime arrived.
“Braised chicken today!”
As had become my habit recently.
I ordered delivery again today.
Braised chicken.
It seemed like in the old days it used to be a menu you could enjoy generously at a reasonable price.
I don’t understand why braised chicken has become so expensive these days.
Even choosing large portions of meat and adding just a bit of topping would break past fifty thousand won.
If I were the old me, I wouldn’t just struggle with braised chicken—even whole roasted chicken used to be beyond my budget.
Ding-dong.
“Coming~”
But I am not who I was before.
The items I’ve been making from monster materials are selling at tremendous prices.
My account had accumulated tens of millions of won.
And even at this very moment, as items were selling, hundreds of thousands of won were flowing in.
“Heh, this looks delicious.”
I’d ordered food properly.
Soy braised chicken, gochujang braised chicken, cheese braised chicken, and aged kimchi braised chicken.
I’d ordered all of them in large portions.
“Ember, have a bite.”
– Thank you.
As I set out portions of each variety for Ember, the food quickly vanished along with the embers.
I too swung my hammer and rapidly pushed braised chicken into my hungry belly.
Ever since I awakened and began my hammer work, my appetite had grown insatiable.
I was worried about how I would have managed the food costs if I hadn’t earned so much money.
As I ate the braised chicken that way.
‘I wonder if they’ve replied?’
I opened my message box.
An enormous volume of messages had arrived since yesterday.
Reading through all of them was impossible.
So I used the search function to check only the replies to the messages I’d sent.
And fortunately, all three places I’d contacted had sent replies.
First, let me read the Seohae Guild’s response.
[ Gang Cheol-mangchi, hello? I am Kim Jun-yeong, vice-guild master of the Seohae Guild. ]
First, I would very much like to express my gratitude for your prompt response.
The Seohae Guild wishes to present contract terms to Gang Cheol-mangchi that meet S-grade standards.
The signing bonus is two billion won, and the monthly stipend is two hundred million won.
Since this is originally a contract based on combat duties, the guild would recover a portion of the byproducts from defeated monsters.
However, since Gang Cheol-mangchi is a blacksmith, we will specially lower that ratio…….
In particular, the Seohae Guild promises to prioritize support for Gang Cheol-mangchi’s growth…….
That was the gist of it.
“A signing bonus of two billion won?”
I couldn’t help but be stunned.
Two billion won just for joining the guild through a contract.
And that was on top of a monthly salary of two hundred million.
Money that an ordinary person would struggle to accumulate even after ten years of work.
Contract terms that rivaled those of any major corporation.
What’s more, befitting an S-grade Contract, I was entitled to receive every benefit available from the Seohae Guild.
I nearly found myself tempted despite myself.
“……It feels off, though.”
Now that I thought about it, something didn’t sit right.
The contract terms were certainly impressive.
But couldn’t I already earn over ten million won a day right now, as I am?
If I kept this up every day, I could make at least three hundred million won a month, couldn’t I?
So I’d be giving all that up to earn two hundred million?
And I’m still in the midst of growth.
I have no idea how much more money I’ll earn in the future, so there’s no reason to put a leash around my neck with those terms.
With that, I set aside the Seohae Guild’s contract and checked the note from the Hangang Guild.
[ This is Seo Hye-won from the Hangang Guild. ]
We at the Hangang Guild wish to offer you unprecedented, the finest treatment.
1. Signing bonus – three billion won
2. Monthly salary – four hundred million won
3. Crafting revenue share – 50% of sale price
…….
Beyond that, we will assemble a dedicated party for you to assist with your level-up.
Not only that, but the guild will do its utmost to procure any materials you require.
…….
I was left speechless.
The Seohae Guild’s terms alone were eye-popping.
“Three billion won?”
A signing bonus of three billion and a monthly salary of four hundred million.
If the Seohae Guild felt like they’d simply handed me their standard S-grade Contract as-is,
the Hangang Guild felt like they’d drawn up an entirely new contract just for me.
This was actually worth considering.
I could earn money, and the guild would procure materials for me.
I could source materials from the Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground or the mines, but there were materials I couldn’t obtain there—like when I made the Volcanic Revolver.
I could request rare materials from the guild, they’d bring me equipment containing those materials, and I’d disassemble it to use as components.
That way, my skill would develop rapidly.
There was just one thing that gave me pause.
– In exchange, we ask that you prioritize the creation of items for the Hangang Guild.
This sentence.
It could be interpreted multiple ways.
On the surface, it seemed they were asking me to craft equipment for guild members.
But they might also be requesting I produce items for the guild’s profit and prestige—not just its members.
If that happened, I’d lose my goal of creating signature items after the Volcanic Revolver and instead spend my time churning out mass-produced gear until I was sick of it.
Finally.
[ This is Director Kim Do-yoon of the Awakener Association. ]
Thank you for your response, Gang Cheol-mangchi.
First, allow me to congratulate you on awakening as the world’s first Blacksmith.
As such, the Awakener Association wishes to…….
The Awakener Association’s proposal.
However, the terms the Association offered fell far short of those from either Seohae or Hangang.
Well, even though it’s called the Awakener Association, it’s ultimately just one government agency.
It would be difficult for them to offer large sums.
Given the terms, they couldn’t compete with the two guilds, so I was about to discard it when—
– Even if you have no intention of signing an exclusive contract with our Association, we earnestly request that you visit us to complete Awakener registration for your own safety.
The last line caught my eye.
Awakener registration.
It wasn’t as though I’d be using Gates, and I wasn’t a combat specialist, so I questioned whether it was truly necessary.
‘Now that I think about it, what about my taxes?’
Being an Awakener doesn’t exempt you from taxes.
Even Awakeners must remit earnings to the Awakener Association—whether in cash or Mana Stones—depending on their income.
There’s no way the state wouldn’t notice money flowing into my account from the Trading Post.
The thought left me uneasy.
I felt like I’d suddenly become a tax evader.
And thinking ahead, I’d be earning even larger sums soon—it didn’t seem right to keep hiding my identity indefinitely.
I should register with the Awakener Association before too long.
Though that wasn’t urgent, so I’d handle it later at my own pace.
As for the crucial matter of choosing a guild……
“Let me hold off for now.”
I decided to shelve the decision.
Honestly, the Hangang Guild’s terms were tempting, but no matter how I looked at it, joining a guild felt like putting on a collar.
Right now, I was having far too much fun with my crafting.
Once I joined a guild, that joy would vanish, and my hobby would curdle into mere work.
The moment I returned to my smithy,
I realized something.
“……Ah, I’ve run out.”
All the monster materials I’d stockpiled were gone.
So I set about crafting fresh ammunition and made ready to head out to the hunting grounds.
Using the Volcanic Revolver I’d made myself was fine, but the sigh that escaped told me hunting really wasn’t my calling.

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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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