I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 16

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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 16
Episode 16
She had been summoned as my Hunter.
Her request to guide me to the Hunting Ground was simply so we could begin hunting.
But no matter how I looked, I couldn’t see any proper equipment.
So I asked.
“I… do have something.”
She did have something, though.
Serin’s uncertain voice wavered as she produced two items.
A bow and gear.
“…This?”
The condition looked dire.
The bowstring seemed ready to snap, and the bow itself looked like it might splinter at any moment.
The dagger had lost all its edge and looked more like a blunt instrument than a blade.
The five wooden arrows she carried had lost all their fletching—they were nothing but crude wooden shafts.
If I had to rate them, they’d be Level 1, F-rank weapons at best.
I wondered if they might be sentimental keepsakes, but her reaction suggested otherwise.
So.
“Wait just a moment. I’ll make you something quickly.”
I decided to craft some basic equipment for her right away.
I would have preferred to make proper gear from monster materials.
Unfortunately, my monster materials had run out.
So I had to make do with materials I’d gathered from the Mine and the forest.
‘The dagger should be straightforward.’
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Craft Evaluation: S ]
[ Standard Dagger obtained. ]
The Standard Dagger was something I crafted often, so I just needed to make it suitable for Level 3.
The challenge was the bow.
The bow limbs could be made of iron or wood—that didn’t matter. The difficult part was making the bowstring.
Still, I had practiced making a variety of items, so I knew what to do.
[ Successfully decomposed small grass. ]
[ Lowest-tier Fiber generated. ]
I decomposed grass I’d collected from the forest into Lowest-tier Fiber.
And from that.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Craft Evaluation: S ]
[ Lowest-tier Bowstring obtained. ]
I made the bowstring.
A bowstring twisted from lowest-tier fiber.
Its performance would be somewhat limited, but it was the only bowstring I could make right now.
Once the bowstring was done, the rest was simple.
I crafted the bow limbs from timber I’d felled in the forest, then attached the bowstring.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Craft Evaluation: S ]
[ Standard Bow obtained. ]
I managed to create a bow in moments.
And I made plenty of arrows to go with it.
Normally, arrows need feathers attached to the shaft for fletching.
Since I had no feathers available, I used leaves instead for the fletching.
These were rushed creations, but since they were meant for my first Attendant, I focused carefully on each one, and they all earned S-rank evaluations.
“Use these for now. I’ll make you something better later.”
“…Thank you, Master. They are excellent weapons.”
Serin seemed pleased with them.
Her expression showed a hint of surprise.
I considered making her armor as well.
“That won’t be necessary. For now, I’m only planning a brief reconnaissance. Weapons will suffice.”
She declined first.
So we headed straight for the Hunting Ground.
Though before that.
“Wait a moment.”
“……?”
I dressed in armor first.
Just to be safe.
Only after donning the Iron Armor, Iron Helmet, Iron Shoes, and Iron Gauntlets—fully armored and reassured—did I speak.
“Let’s go.”
I entered the Hunting Ground.
Sure enough, the moment I stepped inside.
“Shriek!”
“Howl!”
Goblins and Kobolds, and the like.
Aggressive-type monsters began attacking me.
For a moment, I instinctively started to back away.
“Master.”
Serin.
Her solid form blocked my path.
Then.
“I’ll handle this.”
With a reassuring tone.
She drew her bowstring.
I’d pulled a bowstring myself once after crafting a bow, and even light as it appeared, it required considerable force—but
she nocked an arrow on that same string and drew it with such effortless ease.
The moment her slender fingers released the bowstring.
“Whistle—”
Thunk!
The arrow pierced straight through the Goblin’s brow.
Before I could even react, another arrow was already nocked on her string.
Thunk!
This time, the arrow passed over the fallen Goblin and drove through the brow of a Kobold rushing forward.
In that manner.
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
The aggressive-type monsters charging toward us fell rapidly.
Extraordinary rate of fire.
But that wasn’t all.
When she pulled the bowstring a touch harder and released, the arrow whistled through the air, piercing one monster clean through and impaling another beyond it.
After clearing the monsters that way.
“I’ll need to conserve the arrows, it seems.”
She murmured quietly.
Well.
I’d made arrows for her generously enough, but it still only amounted to a few dozen at best.
In contrast, the number of monsters in the Hunting Ground was practically endless.
The monsters I’d cleared with the Volcanic Revolver were only those near the entrance, after all.
So she drew a dagger instead.
Dash!
She charged straight at the monsters rushing toward us.
I’d assumed that Hunters, being fundamentally a ranged class, shouldn’t really be doing this—
Slash!
“Wow…….”
Her martial prowess was overwhelming.
Despite being the same Level as me.
She moved through the monsters at incredible speed, precisely striking only their vital points.
The dagger I’d crafted was formidable in its power, yes, but striking only the weak points meant no monster could withstand her.
I suspected this must be her ability—Weak Point Detection.
After the surrounding monsters thinned out in an instant.
She paused, then drew her bow again with a far more serious expression.
And there in the distance.
She aimed toward the far end of the Hunting Ground—the opposite side from the entrance, beyond the reach of sight.
Twang!
She released the bowstring.
Though it was a bow I’d made, the arrow flew so far I questioned whether the bow’s range could truly extend that distance.
Thud!
Beyond the limits of sight.
From far away came that unsettling sound of something piercing muscle.
And in that same instant.
“Grrrrr…….”
A wolf emerged from the shadows.
But it was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary wolf.
“A Dual-headed Wolf?”
A wolf with two heads.
Its size was also far larger than a common wolf.
I never imagined such a creature would exist in my Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
Honestly, even the Volcanic Revolver seemed unlikely to work against a monster like this.
If I had encountered such a creature, I would have turned and fled without hesitation.
But toward such an opponent.
She lunged forward.
She hurled herself at it.
Firing arrows even as she moved.
Thwip!
“Shrieeeek!”
She struck true through one of the Dual-headed Wolf’s eyes.
As the creature screamed and thrashed in agony, she rushed in close, moving with lethal grace.
Slash!
She drew her dagger across its throat.
What followed was…… honestly, a one-sided slaughter.
The Dual-headed Wolf thrashed and struggled, trying desperately to fight back, but Serin evaded every attack with ease.
Arrows found their mark in every vulnerable spot, and her blade raked across them methodically.
And not long after.
Thump.
The Dual-headed Wolf collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from its wounds.
A truly one-sided battle.
Serin’s combat strength far exceeded anything I could have imagined.
Honestly, it seemed almost unreal.
As I stood there in wonder.
[ Your Level has increased. ]
[ Serin’s Level has increased. ]
Suddenly, level-up messages flooded my vision.
It made sense that Serin’s level rose, but why did mine increase?
Since entering the Hunting Ground, all I’d done was stand quietly in the background and watch over her.
The answer came from Ember.
– Serin is your Attendant.
– Therefore, all Experience Points that Serin gains are shared with you.
Unbelievable.
I could level up without hunting myself.
But that wasn’t all.
She efficiently butchered the fallen Dual-headed Wolf with her dagger, and was bringing back far more loot than I’d ever obtained from defeating monsters myself.
– Serin is a Hunter.
– Through Butchering, she can obtain significantly more Loot.
This too was the system’s blessing.
In other words.
I could now stay seated in my room and do nothing, yet still gain levels and collect monster materials.
This was true passive gaming.
The moment Auto Hunting truly began.
* * *
Serin’s Auto Hunting.
Thinking of it.
“Heheheh.”
“……Are you all right, sir?”
“All right? More than all right!”
Laughter spilled out unbidden.
Now I could gain levels without hunting anymore.
All I needed was to craft items from monster materials.
Serin’s existence was nothing short of the greatest gift to me.
Given the circumstances, I’d considered selling the Volcanic Revolver I’d made.
‘For now, I’ll keep it.’
After all, shouldn’t I have some means of self-defense?
The Volcanic Revolver was compact enough to carry easily, too.
So I decided to hold on to it, just in case.
Well, that aside.
That’s not what matters right now.
“Could you take that out for me?”
The loot from the Hunting Ground.
I’d brought back spoils from the other monsters packed in my bag, but there was one piece of loot that stood apart in importance.
This.
“Here it is.”
This right here.
The fangs and sinews of the Dual-headed Wolf, and its hide.
Materials obtained from the Dual-headed Wolf, presumed to be the boss-tier monster of my Hunting Ground.
As such, even at a glance, the materials radiated a power that was worlds apart from any other monster’s loot.
“That’s magnificent.”
It’s the finest material I’ve seen since becoming an Awakened One.
With materials like these, whatever item I craft is bound to become something top-tier.
And I’d already decided what to make with them.
“Serin, could you tell me what your bow and dagger looked like originally? And your armor too?”
I would craft them as equipment for Serin.
“What? No, I’m fine with what I have.”
Serin shook her head as she said this.
“No. This is something I want to do for myself too. If you hunt well, my Level will rise faster and I’ll gain more loot, won’t I?”
My resolve was firm.
I absolutely had to craft this as equipment for her.
Perhaps she sensed my unwavering determination.
“……Thank you, Master.”
“Just tell me the shape first. It’d be better if it’s similar to what you used before, right?”
She relented and described the form and characteristics of the equipment she’d used.
Fortunately, it wasn’t much different from what I knew.
The Final Gate had quite a few items of similar design.
Still, to be safe, I sketched out the dimensions and handles and even drew up a blueprint, designing the optimal form that would suit her.
It was the first time since I’d crafted the Volcanic Revolver that I—
“Special Crafting!”
[ You activate the Special Crafting skill. ]
[ Please provide a blueprint for the Special Crafting item. ]
I began the special crafting for Serin.

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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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