I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 38

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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 38
Episode 38
A Level 3 Magic Circle.
It looked far larger and more difficult than when I’d summoned Toran.
That it was manageable at all was likely thanks to the Mana Necklace, which boosted my intellect, making the whole process easier.
Next, guided by the heightened wisdom granted by the Spirit Bracelet, I struck at the vulnerable point of the constellation.
Clang!
I swung the hammer.
I felt it.
The hardness of the point.
In my former self, it would have been too solid to even craft gold.
Crash!
The strength gained from the Beast Power Gloves.
And with my physical strength vastly improved thanks to the Power of the Great Bear.
Clang!
I could shatter the point with ease.
Then, swiftly and unexpectedly, as the next point emerged.
Clang!
Thanks to the agility boosted by the Ring of Speed, I could strike rapidly.
‘This is more doable than I expected.’
The thought came naturally.
Well, when I think about it, it makes sense.
I’d crafted custom items for myself to enhance all my stats for this very moment.
And with the Power of the Great Bear buff layered on top.
It would be strange if it weren’t manageable.
The problem, however.
Clang, clang, clang!
Was time.
When I’d summoned Toran, it hadn’t taken what I’d call a long time.
But this was taking truly long.
More than an hour had passed since I’d started swinging the hammer, and still the point showed no sign of stopping.
If I hadn’t raised my Stamina stat, I would have collapsed from exhaustion.
Thanks to the Power of the Great Bear supporting me.
Clang!
I could swing the hammer with even greater force.
And as a result of swinging with such force.
[ Summoning complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
I’d managed to complete the summoning successfully.
I’d done it what seemed nearly flawlessly, so I’d even hoped for an SS-rank evaluation.
But again, I received an S-rank evaluation.
Perhaps the higher difficulty of a Level 3 circle meant the evaluation criteria were stricter.
Or perhaps achieving a higher grade required something else entirely.
Various thoughts crossed my mind, but what mattered most was, above all, my new assistant.
I’d been waiting with such anticipation that as the light burst forth from the Summoning Circle, it began to fade away.
And what appeared was.
“Tsk-hiss.”
“……An orc?”
An orc.
Of course, this was my first time seeing an orc, but I could still be certain.
The distinctive green skin, the massive frame towering over two meters, the muscular physique that would put bodybuilders to shame.
Above all, the jutting jaw and protruding tusks.
A classic orc straight out of novels and films.
And his identity was.
“Tsk-hiss, Master. Pleased to meet. Grom Blackwood. I greet you.”
My new assistant.
Grom Blackwood.
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Jang Gangcheol.”
“Jang Gangcheol. My master.”
Let me check his Status Window.
[ Status Window ]
– Name: Grom Blackwood
– Level: 11
– Class: Lumberjack
– Ability: Crevasse
– Strength: 50
– Agility: 37
– Vitality: 41
– Intelligence: 5
– Wisdom: 6
His stat distribution was nothing short of extreme.
Strength, agility, and vitality towered impressively high.
But intelligence and wisdom sat at five and six respectively—half the baseline of ten that awakened beings were known to start with.
What mattered most, though, was Grom’s class itself.
“A lumberjack, then?”
“Tch-hehe, yes. Grom lumberjack. Cut wood very good.”
A lumberjack.
Now I had them all—hunter, miner, and lumberjack.
The Blacksmith needed materials from three places: the Mine, the forest, and the Hunting Grounds.
And now every one of those places had someone assigned to it.
Until now, I’d either barely used timber or made quick trips into the forest myself whenever necessary.
But with Grom here, that problem was solved.
Now I could simply stay at the Blacksmith and swing my hammer all day.
Excited by the prospect,
“Grom, I’ll make you an axe!”
“Tch-hehe! Axe good! Good axe even better!”
I decided to forge an axe for Grom.
Besides, I had suitable materials on hand.
But first,
“Grom, tell me—what was your old axe like? I don’t have abundant materials, but I’ll try to match the design as closely as I can.”
It would help me understand his preferences better.
I asked Grom about the axe he’d used before.
“Grom’s axe! Axe made from demon tree!”
“Demon tree? Well, I can’t source that, so just tell me the size and shape for now?”
“Handle this long! Head this big!”
“As for weight—” “Tch-hehe, master! Can Grom hold it up so you feel?”
“Huh? Ack—”
“Tch-hehe! Lighter than master! But hard and sharp!”
Impossibly abstract.
But what choice did I have?
I’d do my best to match it.
Following Grom’s descriptions, I began drafting the design for the Crimson Axe—the weapon he’d once wielded.
Length, weight, the shape of the handle and blade, everything.
Once I’d absorbed every detail and nodded to myself,
[ Using Special Crafting Skill. ]
[ Please create a blueprint for the specialty item. ]
I dove straight into the work.
I input every measurement and detail as precisely as I could, with Grom standing beside me to refine each nuance.
And because of that effort,
[ Blueprint Complete ]
the design came out better than I’d expected.
I’d concentrated hard to parse Grom’s vague descriptions, and it showed.
[ Please select materials. ]
Next came the materials.
For the handle, I’d have to use timber harvested from the forest.
But for the crucial axe head,
[ Giant Bear Claw ]
I chose that.
It was the last item I’d obtained from defeating the Giant Bear—after claiming its hide and gall.
Hide became an apron, gall became elixir, and now its claw would become an axe.
I couldn’t have been more absorbed in the work.
Wait, now that I think about it.
‘The effect won’t last much longer.’
The Power of the Great Bear—the effect I’d gained from the Bear Gall Soup.
Its duration was running short.
It would be best to complete the item before that time expired.
[ Beginning crafting. ]
I started the crafting at once.
First, the axe head.
Even if the Giant Bear Claw was thick, a single claw wouldn’t suffice to fashion an axe head.
Naturally, I’d need to gather and refine all the claws together.
Normally, claws don’t melt like metal, and attempting refinement this way would be impossible.
Clang!
But my Special Crafting Skill defied such logic.
Multiple claws fused together, taking on the shape of an axe head exactly as I envisioned it.
The blade grew sharp and keen.
Yet thick enough to withstand the impact of axe blows.
Keeping the weight distribution perfectly balanced, I referenced the shape of the axe Grom had used, completing the head with meticulous care.
Next came.
‘The handle.’
I began working the timber.
Or rather, it went far beyond mere working.
Just as I had compressed two raw gems when crafting jewelry, drawing out their power.
Clang!
I compressed multiple pieces of wood through repeated striking with the hammer.
Though each was only the lowest-grade magical stone, when compressed to this extreme limit together.
I could produce timber that was harder than ordinary wood or iron.
This demanded far more strength and time than I’d anticipated.
And in the midst of it all.
“Grom, press your palm against this.”
“Chirp!”
Clang!
“Chirp! Startled me!”
“Hold it more steadily this time.”
So that Grom could wield it with greater comfort.
I pressed his palm directly against the handle, leaving a shallow imprint of his hand upon the shaft.
This would make it far easier for him to grip and swing.
Once the completed handle was attached to the axe head and secured fully.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: SS ]
[ You have obtained the Grom Claw Axe. ]
I had successfully created an SS-grade axe.
[ A Masterpiece has been born. ]
[ A work worthy of announcing your name to the world has been completed, inspiring you and raising your stats. ]
[ Strength increased by 2. ]
[ Vitality increased by 1. ]
It had even earned a Masterpiece rating.
When I checked the item information.
[ Grom Claw Axe ]
Form: Axe
Grade: SS
Requirement: Level 11 or higher
Description: An axe crafted by blacksmith Jang Gangcheol for Grom Blackwood, modeled after the Crimson Axe fashioned from demonic beast remains.
Attack Power: 95
Abilities: Lumberjacking Lv 4, Strength Lv 3, Vitality Lv 2
A truly satisfying axe had been forged.
When I handed it to Grom.
“What do you think, Grom?”
“Chirp! Good axe! I love it! The length and weight feel just right!”
Grom seemed quite pleased with it as well.
“A fine axe! I must put it to use! Grom, I shall fell some trees!”
“I’ll show you where the forest is.”
With Grom in tow, I set out toward the woods.
A forest situated just beside the Mine.
Unlike the Hunting Grounds, which had grown considerably wider after defeating the boss monster, or the Mine, whose depths had expanded thanks to Toran’s efforts.
The forest saw little lumberjacking, so my view was completely obstructed by dense trees.
The moment we entered.
“Many trees! Grom, Grom fell trees!”
Grom charged straight at the first tree he spotted.
If I were to fell it, even wielding an S-rank axe, I would need several swings before it came down.
Watching Grom dash forward, the trees suddenly seemed thin and pathetic.
With Grom’s raw strength, his skill, and the Grom Claw Axe—an SS-rank lumberjacking axe—I wondered if he might topple a tree in a single stroke.
Crack!
Grom’s brute force surpassed my expectations.
The axe came down and felled the tree in one blow, of course.
Crack, crack-bang!!
And then the tree beside it.
He succeeded in felling two more trees on top of that.
Even accounting for the thinner trees at the forest’s edge, I hadn’t anticipated him toppling three trees with a single swing of the axe.
This much was certain now.
We would never lack for timber again.
“Grom fell trees! Fell well!”
Crack, crack, crack-bang!
Could felling trees really be this much fun?
Grom swung his axe in rapid succession, absolutely delighted.
Come to think of it, Toran was much the same.
I hadn’t forced him to work, yet Toran had taken to excavating the Mine with genuine enthusiasm.
Serin seemed to love hunting itself.
‘Am I any different?’
When I thought about it, I wasn’t.
I crafted items partly to earn money, but truthfully, the crafting itself was what I found truly engaging.
Even now, watching Grom fell trees, I found myself thinking how nice it would be to craft equipment from timber to my heart’s content.
While such thoughts occupied my mind.
Grom had cleared every tree from the forest’s entrance.
Beyond that point, the trees began to thicken considerably.
Even for Grom, felling multiple trees in one swing became impossible.
It was then.
“Hm? Grom, what is that?”
A new tree caught my eye.
Among all the others, which seemed to be the same species whether thin or thick.
There was one tree whose surface looked rough as stone, unlike the rest.
And fortunately, Grom, a skilled woodsman, recognized it at once.
“That’s Shunpung Wood!”
“Shunpung Wood?”
“Light and resilient wood! Very good wood!”
Just as various ores had dropped in the Mine.
With Grom’s lumberjacking, new varieties of trees began to appear throughout the forest.

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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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