I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 2

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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 2
Episode 2
“Heh heh heh, a blacksmith!”
I couldn’t be happier.
If I ever awakened, I’d wanted nothing more than to become a blacksmith.
But there’s something else I notice.
The second thing an Awakened One should pay attention to when first awakening—the Status Window.
“Ability!”
This is actually the crucial part.
Even among those with the same Job, an Awakened One’s disposition varies wildly depending on this Ability.
Two warriors might be fundamentally different—one receiving the Brute Strength Ability, wielding greatswords light as chopsticks.
Another gaining Swift Movement, racing across the battlefield like wind itself.
In that sense, my Ability is…
“So, what exactly is this?”
Even reading it, I can’t quite grasp what kind of Ability it is.
Forge of Time.
Could it be one of those subspace Abilities I’d only read about in novels?
Does activating the Ability transport me to a forge within a subspace?
I was spinning through various theories when—
– “Nice to meet you, Jang Gang-chul.”
“Whoa!”
A voice suddenly echoed in my ears.
It was unnaturally smooth, yet utterly devoid of humanity—mechanical, rigid.
Its source was none other than—
– “I am Ember, here to introduce you to your unique Ability, the Forge of Time.”
“Ember?”
So it was part of my Ability.
I don’t know if other Awakened Ones experience this too.
But it seemed as though this system called Ember was introducing my Ability to me, much like receiving a tutorial in a game.
And indeed.
– “First, I shall guide you through how to activate your unique Ability.”
The first stage of the tutorial came from Ember.
– “Will you invoke the Forge of Time?”
Since there wasn’t another option, I decided to follow her instructions.
“Forge of Time?”
The moment I spoke the command.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The floor began to shake.
No—my entire One-room Apartment, small and precious as it was, trembled violently.
Was there an earthquake?
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!
No.
This wasn’t an earthquake.
If only the floor were shaking, I might suspect seismic activity.
But that wasn’t it.
The walls, the ceiling—everything around me, all the structures in every direction were vibrating.
Every surface shook in unison.
And then.
“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!”
The walls and ceiling began to collapse.
My One-room Apartment, assembled from every last coin I’d scraped together on a jeonse lease.
Was crumbling to dust because of my Ability.
Whether Ember noticed my anguish or not.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—
Where the walls had fallen away, blackened stone now filled the gaps.
But that was only the beginning.
Forges had cooled long ago, anvils thick with rust, hammers oxidized beyond recognition—
A smithy such as one might see only in fantasy games.
Ancient, decrepit, corroded, abandoned—a forge that appeared to have stood neglected for decades, centuries even, was materializing around me.
The moment I faced the Forge of Time that had been created that way.
The first thing that came to mind was.
“This can’t be happening!”
My small, precious One-room Apartment’s deposit.
“What do I do? I won’t be able to get the jeonse back? No, would that even cover it? I’ve destroyed the entire room, so I’d have to compensate them too. Wait, is this even the kind of problem that can be solved by just paying damages?”
My One-room Apartment, contracted with a full jeonse loan.
I’m already struggling to pay the monthly management fees, and if I can’t get the jeonse back?
What about the loan?
How am I supposed to handle the damages?
There’s no answer.
While I was thinking that.
[ Forge of Time Lv 1 ]
– Welcome to the Forge of Time.
– Jang Gang-chul.
Without my knowing it, Ember’s polite voice reached my ears.
In Ember’s voice, I could sense considerable pride in the forge itself.
But that wasn’t what mattered to me right now.
“Cancel, cancel! Send me back! This will be restored to normal, right? Please tell me it will! Please!”
I had to restore my One-room Apartment right away.
If I couldn’t, never mind the Awakening or anything else—my apartment would disappear, and I’d become a debt-ridden homeless man.
– ……I understand.
Fortunately, Ember obliged without question.
Crash.
The charred stones that had formed the walls all collapsed.
The cold, extinguished furnace crumbled down as well.
I desperately hoped my One-room Apartment would return exactly as it was.
“Whew…….”
Familiar wallpaper began to appear between the fallen stones.
Before long, my small, precious One-room Apartment had returned to its original state.
I’d worried that the ability might transform the entire room into the Forge of Time.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be that.
It felt closer to the subspace transition method I’d first imagined.
Judging by the size of the forge, its dimensions did seem to be based on my One-room Apartment, though.
“You startled me.”
– I apologize, Jang Gang-chul.
– I did not anticipate such concerns.
Now that the room had fully returned, it didn’t seem I’d need to pay for the jeonse.
Truly.
I’d almost faced charges and ruin from the landlord regardless of the Awakening.
In any case, now I knew I could use my ability without affecting my small, precious One-room Apartment.
“Can I go back again?”
– You need only call out ‘Forge of Time’.
“Ah, right. Forge of Time.”
Rumble!
The forge appeared again, accompanied by the same tremor I’d felt before.
“So this is my ability, then?”
– Welcome back.
– Jang Gang-chul.
It’s remarkable.
An ability to overlay an entire space onto reality itself.
But.
“Is this actually good, though?”
Honestly, I’m not sure.
A blacksmith does need a forge, that’s true, but couldn’t I find one in reality somehow?
If I think about it that way, wouldn’t having no ability be the same thing?
I would’ve preferred something actually useful for crafting—like “Master’s Touch” or “Swift Hammer Strikes” or “Roaring Flames,” something concrete.
“No, actually, this is better.”
Now that I think about it, it’s a little subtle.
If I tried to build a forge myself in reality, I’d need to buy land to use as a blacksmith’s site, construct a building, build a furnace, and acquire equipment like hammers and anvils.
Right now, I had no room for any of that.
With that thought, he surveyed the Forge of Time methodically.
“How long has this place been abandoned? There’s barely anything functional here.”
The walls looked ready to collapse at any moment.
The cold furnace appeared incapable of being relit.
The only things that looked remotely intact were the anvil and hammer positioned at the forge’s center.
Even those were worn and corroded, but they were the only usable items in sight.
He picked up the hammer carefully and felt its cold, rough surface and substantial weight.
And in that instant.
[ Blacksmith’s Hammer Lv 1 ]
A precious hammer that represents the very soul of a blacksmith’s craft.
– Crafting Lv 1
– Repair Lv 1
– Disassembly Lv 1
The hammer’s item description appeared in his mind.
Fortunately, it wasn’t much different from what he’d encountered in the Final Gate, so he grasped its meaning immediately.
“So I can use Crafting, Repair, and Disassembly through this hammer?”
– Precisely correct.
– A truly fitting insight from the master of the Forge of Time.
The hammer felt strangely familiar.
Even though he was ranked first among blacksmiths in the Final Gate, this was his first time actually holding a hammer.
Yet it felt as though he’d been swinging one all along.
As if it had always been his hammer—the grip settled into his palm naturally.
“To use this, I’ll need materials, though…….”
Should he buy iron from outside?
Or with the Disassembly skill available, should he grab a kitchen knife and break it down?
While he pondered this.
– The Mine has not yet been opened, so materials cannot be supplied at this time.
– However, I have prepared the minimum necessary materials for you, Jang Gang-chul.
Whoosh!
With Ember’s voice.
Fire ignited in the torch hanging on the forge wall.
Thanks to that, the darkness in the Forge of Time lifted somewhat.
“Oh!”
The torchlight revealed it.
In one corner of the forge.
A heap of Iron Ore abandoned in the darkness.
It looked old, but what did that matter?
He picked up one piece and placed it on the anvil.
Not knowing what else to do, he swung the hammer forcefully in true blacksmith fashion.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Screee!
Futile.
A sharp metallic screech accompanied a stinging shock through his wrist.
Naturally, the Iron Ore showed no change whatsoever.
Only then did Ember’s voice reach him.
– As the Blacksmith’s Hammer description states, when holding the hammer, you can use three different skills.
– Using the Disassembly skill allows you to break items down into materials.
“……You should have told me that sooner.”
Since this was reality and not a game, he’d instinctively swung the hammer first.
But using skills to manipulate items suggested his Awakened ability leaned far more toward game logic than real-world mechanics.
With that realization.
“Disassembly.”
The moment he invoked the Disassembly skill.
Hum!
A small magic circle-like pattern materialized above the Iron Ore.
And it was.
“Points?”
A magic circle he recognized well.
Item crafting in the Final Gate worked the same way.
Of course, looking at it in detail, the shape and color of the magic circle differed slightly here and there.
But it was very similar to the Final Gate’s creation format.
– Whenever a skill is used, points like those above are generated.
– The skill’s success rate increases depending on how quickly and accurately you strike those points.
Ember’s explanation that followed was much the same as the Final Gate’s.
Given that much,
Bang!
I immediately swung the hammer.
Even though I’d spent entire days swinging a hammer as a blacksmith in the game, this was my first time wielding one in reality.
Whether it was natural talent or the blessing of having awakened as a blacksmith, my hammer fell precisely onto the point.
[ You have successfully disassembled the Iron Ore. ]
[ A Lowest-grade Iron Ingot has been created. ]
The Iron Ore had transformed into a Lowest-grade Iron Ingot.
I wondered if the ore was simply of too low a grade to require more than one strike to disassemble.
– Indeed, you are most excellent.
– I did not expect you to strike the point accurately on your very first attempt, even with such low-grade Iron Ore.
“Did I do well?”
– Quite splendidly, I must say.
Praise flowed from Ember.
Whether it was flattery or not, who didn’t enjoy being praised?
As they say, praise makes even whales dance—in my good spirits,
“Crafting!”
I called out the next skill.
Ember hadn’t explained it yet, but still—I ranked first among blacksmiths in the Final Gate.
Just from hearing the Disassembly explanation, I could predict the next step.
Sure enough, the moment I cried out Crafting,
[ Using the Crafting skill. ]
[ Please select an item to craft. ]
A new system message appeared.
Since this too resembled the Final Gate’s system, I understood it quickly.
Here, I first had to select an item to create from the listed options.
[ Craftable Items ]
1. Short Sword
2. Longsword
3. Short Spear
…….
“Nothing but standard equipment.”
– It cannot be helped.
– As your unique ability grows, you will be able to craft a wider variety of items.
The catalog showed nothing but the most basic items.
But what else could I do?
I had to work with what was available.
I selected the most straightforward option among them—a Longsword.
[ Please select materials. ]
I tried inserting the fresh Lowest-grade Iron Ingot I’d just created,
[ Insufficient materials. ]
“……Ah.”
Crafting didn’t begin.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Crafting a Longsword required two ingots.
Too lazy to fetch more ore, I instead selected a Short Sword, which could be crafted with just one ingot.
[ Beginning crafting. ]
At the same moment as the system message,
Hum!
A small magic circle—a point—materialized above the ingot.
“Perfect!”
Bang!
I swung the hammer at once.
When disassembling the ore, a single hammer strike had finished it, but this was different.
Points appeared in succession.
Thanks to my mind dwelling on memories from the Final Gate.
Clang!
I could immediately strike the next point that appeared.
After that, points kept surfacing one after another.
Like playing whack-a-mole.
Like playing a rhythm game.
The difficulty was considerable, but it was something I’d always done at the Final Gate.
For someone who had crafted the ‘Black Dragon Nadan’s Execution Blade +20’, crafting a short sword was child’s play.
The issue was that this crafting wasn’t being done with a keyboard and mouse, but with an actual hammer in my hands, swinging it down.
“This is manageable, isn’t it?”
Clang!
That wasn’t much of a problem either.
Perhaps because I’d Awakened as a blacksmith, the hammer felt remarkably light in my grip.
It was more fun than difficult.
After all, I was now enjoying the crafting from the Final Gate in reality.
It couldn’t help but be fun.
After striking the points multiple times that way,
[ Crafting is complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: A ]
[ You have obtained a ‘Standard-issue Short Sword’. ]
“Yes!”
I’d finished my first item crafting.

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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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