I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 25

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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 25
Chapter 25
The moment I returned to the smithy, I began thinking about various ways to use the Stone of Strength.
Fortunately, I had experience crafting a diverse range of items back in the Final Gate.
Recalling that, I was able to quickly grasp the general form the item should take.
But.
‘The materials are lacking, though.’
The Stone of Strength was undoubtedly a fine material.
Using it alone would certainly allow me to craft something useful.
Still, it felt wasteful to use only this.
If I combined it with proper complementary materials, I sensed I could draw out the Stone of Strength’s power even further.
As I stood there pondering this—
“Master, are you still working?”
“Oh, Serin. You’re back?”
“Please take care of yourself and work at a steady pace. Since you’ve only just started, there’s no need to rush.”
“Thanks.”
Serin had arrived.
Her hunting had been so clean that not a drop of blood stained her clothes despite having just returned from the field.
Slung across her shoulder was a bag, and its identity was—
[ Blacksmith’s Bag Lv 1 ]
My dimensional storage bag.
Fortunately, Serin could use my bag as well, and thanks to that, she’d been carrying all the spoils she gathered from her hunts back here.
Just as expected—
Crash—
An enormous pile of loot tumbled out from her bag.
“What’s all this?”
“Materials from a new type of monster that appeared.”
Among them were monster materials I’d never seen before.
As my level rose, the monsters in the hunting grounds had grown stronger as well.
It seemed new monsters had been added along with that progression.
Curious, as I examined the new materials—
“This one?”
I spotted something that caught my eye.
[ Brown Bear Hide ]
“It’s material from the newly appeared monster. Only one was found, so the amount of hide is limited.”
The moment I saw that material—
“That’s it!”
An idea struck me like lightning.
An item using the Stone of Strength that could increase my physical strength.
The instant that realization hit—
“Thank you, Serin!”
“Yes?”
I immediately got to work.
Rather than recklessly using Special Crafting—
[ Crude Wild Boar Bow ]
I pulled out one of the items Serin had brought back as spoils from clearing a Gate.
A bow that looked hopelessly crude compared to anything I’d made, true to its name.
I placed it on the anvil and used the Disassemble skill.
[ You have successfully disassembled the Crude Wild Boar Bow. ]
[ Lowest-Grade Timber has been generated. ]
[ Wild Boar Sinew has been generated. ]
From this, I obtained the timber that had served as the bow’s limbs and the sinew that had been its string.
The timber that had formed the limbs looked too aged to be useful, so I set it aside.
The Wild Boar Sinew, however, seemed worth keeping.
That finished my preparations.
Recalling the equipment from the Final Gate and the information from my compendium—
[ Activating Special Crafting Skill. ]
[ Please provide a design blueprint for the special craft. ]
I began drawing up the blueprint in earnest.
Honestly, this part wasn’t particularly difficult.
The item I was about to craft wasn’t particularly complex.
And so the blueprint that began to take shape before me was—
‘Gloves.’
Yes, it was gloves.
The materials were limited in quantity and size, after all.
If I wanted an item to boost strength, gloves seemed like the natural choice.
Wearing a well-fitted pair while swinging the hammer would surely help.
[ Blueprint Complete ]
Once the blueprint was finished—
[ Please select materials. ]
After placing the Brown Bear Hide, Wild Boar Sinew, and Stone of Strength into the crafting space—
[ Beginning crafting. ]
Clang!
I immediately began work.
First, I had to cut the bear hide to size.
With each swing of the hammer, Points shattered away, and the bear hide was trimmed to fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.
I then stitched the cut hide together using the Wild Boar Sinew, weaving it carefully.
But that wasn’t all.
To make full use of the sinew’s elasticity, I distributed it appropriately around the fingers as well.
Finally, the most important step.
Clang!
As I brought the hammer down, the Stone of Strength suspended above shattered into fine fragments.
The Points crumbled, and the Stone of Strength broke apart completely, scattering as dust.
The dust was completely absorbed into the gloves made from bear hide.
And in that moment, a vivid crimson light rippled across the gloves.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: SS ]
[ You have obtained the Beast Strength Gloves. ]
The item was finished.
The evaluation was SS Grade.
The result was incredibly satisfying.
[ A Masterpiece has been born. ]
[ A masterpiece worthy of making your name known to the world has been completed, granting you inspiration and increasing your Abilities. ]
[ Strength increases by 3. ]
The Masterpiece designation followed.
Now I could be certain that the crafting had been a complete success.
And with the bonus from creating a Masterpiece, my strength had increased by 3, filling in some of the shortage I’d been feeling.
But what mattered most was the item itself.
With anticipation building, I checked the item information.
[ Beast Strength Gloves ]
Form: Gloves
Grade: SS
Requirement: Level 8 or higher
Description: Gloves crafted from the materials of beasts known for exceptional strength, infused with powdered Stone of Strength for enhanced grip strength.
Defense: 71
Ability: Strength Level 5
I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“Strength Level 5?”
I’d already been astounded when the Mountain Crushing Ferocious Tusk I’d made just before gained a Level 4 Ability.
But this had a Level 5 Ability attached to it.
Of course, in exchange, it had no other abilities—only Strength.
But for me, that was actually ideal.
Simply wearing these would be enough to cover the strength deficit I’d been noticing.
Delighted, I put on the gloves—
Snap!
“Perfect fit.”
Just as expected, they hugged my hands perfectly.
It was only natural.
These gloves had been made with my own use in mind, crafted to fit my hands exactly.
The moment I equipped them—
“Whoa!”
I felt it right away.
I’d picked up and inspected other gear I’d crafted before, just briefly.
With only Level 1 or 2 abilities, I’d never felt much difference.
But Level 5 was a world apart.
The moment I put them on, I could feel strength flooding through my body.
Using Special Crafting repeatedly had burned through a fair amount of stamina and spirit, it’s true.
But with gloves like this on my hands, I couldn’t just sit idle.
“What should I make first?”
Thanks to Toran, I had iron ore in abundance.
Thanks to Serin, I had monster materials in abundance too.
It was a shame I had to source timber myself, but that was manageable.
I could either craft equipment that didn’t require wood, or substitute monster materials for the parts that normally called for it.
So the first item I chose to make was:
[ Standard Iron Shield ]
A steel shield.
Being forged from metal, the Points that emerged during crafting felt particularly sturdy and dense.
Since I was making it exactly as listed in the compendium rather than doing Special Crafting, there was no need to draft a separate design.
[ Crafting begins. ]
The crafting started immediately.
The Points that emerged looked solid enough at first glance.
Clang!
“Whoa!”
The Points that looked so sturdy—
Points that, in the past, would have required me to hammer them repeatedly—
Shatter!
Shattered in a single blow.
I’d put considerable force into it, but for the Points to break with just one strike…
The power of the “Strength Level 5” ability on the gloves was unmistakably real.
And because of that:
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
[ You have obtained ‘Standard Iron Shield’. ]
“This is easy.”
I savored the power flowing through the gloves
and continued crafting items for quite some time.
* * *
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
I’d pushed myself too hard testing out the gloves’ strength.
Feeling muscle soreness I hadn’t experienced in ages, I downed one of the potions I’d bought earlier.
After that:
“Serin, Toran!”
“Yes, Master.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go eat!”
Serin and Toran.
I’d called for them both.
As the saying goes, even the grandest mountain looks better on a full stomach—you have to eat before you can work properly.
Besides:
Growl—
I was absolutely starving.
After putting on the gloves, I’d been so absorbed in crafting items that I’d lost track of time.
Of course I was hungry.
Moreover, today was also the day Toran had started working as my new assistant.
“Toran, is there anything special you’d like to eat?”
I tried to figure out what to order for him.
“Something I’d like? Hmm… Spicy Rock Porridge? Mole Soup?”
“…We don’t have those.”
Right from the start, we weren’t speaking the same language.
What in the world was Spicy Rock Porridge? And Mole Soup?
At least the meat stew Serin mentioned sounded somewhat normal.
As for the menu Toran described, I couldn’t think of anything remotely similar.
I was about to just make up some “Toran soup” on the spot.
“Aw, you don’t have those delicious things? You people have no taste. Never mind—just get me something nice and spicy.”
“I’ll do that. Is that okay with you too, Serin?”
“I’d prefer something a little milder, if you don’t mind.”
“Mm.”
Still, since it was our first day, I decided to respect both their wishes as much as possible.
Something spicy and something mild.
As I scrolled through the delivery app, trying to decide what would work,
“That’s it!”
Toran and Serin.
I found a menu that could satisfy both of their different requests.
I placed the order right away, and not long after,
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, an enormous pile of food containers sat there.
Lately I’d been ordering meals in quantities like this three times a day,
so I wondered what the delivery driver must think of me.
Anyway, after bringing in all the delivered food,
“Ta-da!”
I began opening the menus in front of them both.
“What is this?”
“It’s pork and kimchi stew! I ordered it spicy the way you mentioned, Toran.”
“Why is the broth so red? Did someone bleed into it?”
“That’s not it. Just try it first. I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste, but it’ll definitely be spicy.”
“Hmm.”
What I’d prepared for Toran was kimchi stew.
Kimchi stew loaded with pork, at that.
Even though he’d said he liked spicy things, this was apparently a new experience—Toran held the spoon uncertainly, considering.
“Mm.”
He took a large spoonful of the kimchi stew.
Pork, kimchi, and even tofu spread evenly in one bite.
As he worked his jaw and swallowed,
“Kyuooooooh!”
Toran shot up from his seat.
“What in the world is this! It’s spicy and hot—no joke!”
“It’s good, right?”
“Good doesn’t even begin to cover it!”
“Eat it with rice. I ordered plenty, so enjoy as much as you want.”
“I’m digging in!”
Toran then began spooning up the kimchi stew eagerly.
Next was Serin.
The menu I’d prepared for her was—
“Master, this is…….”
“Seafood and soybean paste stew.”
“I’m grateful for the meal.”
Seafood and soybean paste stew.
I’d ordered it because I thought she might struggle with the spiciness of kimchi stew.
Since she’d been active in the mountains, I was worried the seafood might feel strange to her.
“……!”
“What do you think?”
“It’s delicious! The broth is so refreshing—no, the temperature isn’t cool, but the flavor is so refreshing!”
“Oh, so that word for a clean, refreshing taste exists where you come from too?”
“Not exactly, but that’s what this is! That’s the best way to describe this flavor!”
She seemed satisfied as well.
What I’d ordered for myself was silken tofu stew.
The harmony between the spicy broth and the silken tofu was exquisite.
Beyond that, there was spicy tuna kimchi stew, beef belly kimchi stew, and more.
Since I’d ordered various types of menu items, we were able to enjoy a hearty, varied meal.
After I’d eaten my fill,
I opened the trading house, leaving the two of them to their meal.
The first thing I searched for
was elixir.
An elixir to supplement my inadequate Abilities.

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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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