I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 4
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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 4
Chapter 4
Items that kept selling even as their price climbed higher.
So confidence surged through me—my creations were earning recognition at the Trading Post.
That newfound confidence bled into my metalwork itself.
Clang!
[ Crafting complete. ]
“Hah!”
Each hammer strike felt electric.
In the final moment as I brought the hammer down, I could feel it instinctively.
This piece was different.
And I was right.
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
[ Obtained: Basic Club. ]
I’d managed to craft a club that transcended A-rank and earned an S-rank evaluation.
Honestly, compared to my peak during the Final Gate, I wouldn’t call this a masterpiece.
But it was undoubtedly the highest-rated item I’d produced so far.
Typically, longswords sold most reliably, but clubs weren’t bad either.
Despite their somewhat crude appearance, clubs were the one weapon any class could wield without issue—which likely explained the S-rank.
It deserved that rating.
I toyed with the idea of pricing it at roughly double what an A-rank item would fetch.
“Ah, forget it! Whoever wants it will buy it! If it doesn’t sell, so be it!”
[ Registered Basic Club (S) on the Trading Post. ]
I listed it at three million won.
I had no idea if that was fair market value.
Even scouring the Trading Post, while high-level items flooded the listings, low-level gear was sparse—making it impossible to verify prices.
It could’ve been underpriced. It could’ve been overpriced.
Either way, what did it matter?
Honestly, having lived my whole life as an ordinary person, seeing basic-grade weapons sell for hundreds of thousands of won felt surreal.
And this was a Level 1 weapon, no less.
What Awakener fresh out of their awakening would have the money to casually drop three million won on a weapon?
I’d thought this batch would be hard to move.
But Awakeners’ priorities seemed very different from mine.
[ Basic Club (S) has been sold. ]
“It sold right away?!”
Again, it vanished the moment I posted it.
An S-rank evaluation was one thing, but a Level 1 basic-grade club for three million won?
It made no sense.
In the Final Gate, I’d never list anything less than SSS-rank merchandise on the market.
……Though that was partly because the Final Gate had become so saturated with veterans.
Anyway!
“Jackpot!”
What mattered was the money I’d made.
It hardly felt like any time had passed since I began crafting.
Yet my sales total on the Trading Post read:
[ 5,000,000 won ]
Five million won.
My part-time job earnings barely scraped together a hundred thousand won a day.
And here I’d swung a hammer for a few hours and pulled in five million.
I couldn’t believe it.
And yet.
“So this is what it means to be an Awakener?”
A smile I’d never worn before crossed my face—the grin of capitalism’s seduction.
* * *
Through countless dimensions and countless masters, an Irregular-class unique ability had traveled.
The Time Forge.
Ember, the spark that dwelled there and guided those who entered the forge, could only stand bewildered.
– Surely…….
Throughout the time the Time Forge had existed, all manner of gifted individuals had passed through it.
Royal armorer.
Dwarf clan chief.
High Elf artisans, and legendary craftsmen of the Giant race besides.
After all, the Time Forge itself is a unique ability granted only to those who qualify, so meeting such skilled craftspeople one after another was only natural.
Still, even so, crafting with the Time Forge operates on an entirely different system than ordinary craftsmanship.
Because of this, no matter how legendary a craftmaster might be, when they first swung a hammer in the Time Forge, they produced at best items of C-rank or lower.
– In a world with no properly trained blacksmiths.
– A mere commoner, not even a blacksmith, creates A-rank weapons from the start.
This master was different.
Creating A-rank weapons right from the beginning.
Not even the next tier above the previous record of C-rank—skipping two entire grades to forge A-rank weapons.
It was unbelievable.
Especially from someone who looked far too ordinary compared to any master craftsman she’d ever encountered before.
But what came next mattered more.
[ You have acquired a Basic Spear (A). ]
At first, she’d thought perhaps he was simply lucky.
[ You have acquired a Basic Bow (A). ]
But every time the man swung the hammer.
[ You have acquired a Basic Longsword (A). ]
An A-rank item materialized.
And so Ember had no choice but to acknowledge it.
This master’s skill surpassed that of any master she had ever known before.
And then came the grand finale.
The moment he pulled his mouth into a grin and swung the hammer.
[ You have acquired a Basic Club (S). ]
An S-rank item had been created.
To forge an S-rank item in the Time Forge’s base state, without any upgrades.
It was a result almost impossible to believe, even seeing it with her own eyes.
Witnessing this, a figure surfaced in Ember’s mind.
– It seems we have finally found the true master of the forge. My lord.
Not this master, Jang Gang-cheol.
Not the countless legendary craftsmen who have passed through before.
But the true master of the Time Forge itself.
* * *
Converting Trading Post currency into cash was simple.
All I had to do was input my account number into my Trading Post profile.
[ 5,271,120 ]
And there it was.
The funds deposited directly into my account just like that.
I’d heard you could transfer money the other way around too, from account back to the Trading Post.
In any case, receiving such a sum in a single day—
“Hehehehe, pork trotters for dinner tonight!”
It was time to feed myself.
After deactivating the Time Forge and returning to my room, I realized I was starving something fierce.
But then.
“Huh?”
Something was off about the clock.
I could’ve sworn I’d spent an enormous amount of time inside the forge.
Subjectively, it felt like I’d been hammering all day long.
Yet not nearly as much time had actually passed.
I thought perhaps I was mistaken, but—
As I stared at the clock, Ember’s voice reached me.
– That is the effect of the Time Forge.
“What kind of effect?”
– It is precisely as the name suggests.
– Time flows differently within the Time Forge.
– More precisely, while you are hammering, the time ratio is adjusted accordingly.
“Time flows differently?”
This was entirely new information.
No wonder the unique ability was called the Time Forge and not just the forge.
So this effect existed all along.
Now this situation makes sense.
Hearing the explanation laid out like this.
Ding-dong.
“It’s here!”
The braised pork feet had arrived.
And not just any delivery.
“Hehehehe.”
A large portion made from the front legs, beautifully presented.
Not ordinary pork feet either—these were a trinity of cold jellylike feet and spicy braised feet together, piled high with knife-cut noodles and generous vegetables and kimchi.
Pork feet prices had climbed so steep that ordering them alone always felt like a splurge.
But what did that matter now?
I had five million won filling my bank account—an Awakener earning five million won a rank.
“I gratefully partake!”
The tender, chewy skin of the gently simmered feet and rich, savory meat flooded my mouth.
The spicy braised feet came through with peppery seasoning and char, followed immediately by the cold, tangy sauce of the jellylike feet that cut through the heat perfectly.
Then a piece atop lettuce.
A wrap in perilla leaf.
A wrap with the knife-cut noodles.
With three varieties of feet, the combinations were endless—there was real joy in playing with the flavors.
“Man, this is delicious. How long has it been since I had pork feet like this?”
Honestly, glancing at the receipt price made me wince instinctively.
But today, I wanted to enjoy myself fully.
Today I was an Awakener who’d earned five million won in a single rank.
Usually a large pork feet platter was considered three to four servings, so finishing it all should’ve been impossible.
I’d planned to eat my fill and stick the rest in the fridge.
“Wow, I ate all of it. Wait—apart from being hungry, is that even physically possible?”
Empty plastic containers, spotlessly clean.
I’d eaten every last bit of those expensive pork feet.
I winced a little at demolishing such pricey food in one meal, but watching my bank account still holding firm at the five-million-won mark, I reassured myself.
As I disposed of the empty containers, I scrolled through the system and opened a new feature for Awakeners.
[ Awakener Community ]
It was essentially an exclusive community for Awakeners.
The original purpose seemed to be information-sharing among Awakeners and party formation and things like that.
[ My lunch today ]
One 360,000-won omakase meal lol
[ Why are Goblins this strong tho; ]
Honestly I’m too scared I can’t even Awaken;
[ Street Guild are such assholes ]
You happy about skimming the bonuses from us foot soldiers? That’s why you Awaken and then waddle around with a gut full of grease
– You didn’t turn on anonymous mode. Your nickname’s showing
– Oh no
Honestly, to my eye it wasn’t much different from community message boards in the real world.
There were few genuine information posts—mostly just Awakeners posting random nonsense.
But then one post caught my attention.
[ Has anyone ever seen a weapon like this? ]
A weapon.
Curious, I clicked in and found a photo attached.
And it was—
“Wait? I made that.”
A Basic Dagger.
The post said that Goblins normally needed two or three solid hits with a Goblin blade to go down, but with the Basic Dagger, they fell in one strike.
The author was marveling at seeing such a weapon for the first time.
– This has to be image manipulation, right?
– Where would you even find a weapon like that lol
– Never seen anything like that in my whole Awakener career
– Double the attack power of a Goblin blade? Plus that sharpness and piercing power? Impossible
Below, a stream of comments from people who didn’t believe the post.
But the real problem came when a new post appeared in the Awakener Community not long after.
[ I got one too. ]
Mine’s a Basic Bow and it’s got double the attack power of anything on the market. Goblins drop left and right with one arrow. Leveling up fast with this thing
[ Wait, that’s mine? ]
Reports kept streaming in that someone had bought my weapons.
And then, the grand finale.
[ Mine’s S-rank ]
One hit on a Goblin for sure, and if I’m lucky, takes out a Goblin Warrior in a single blow.
– ??
– Wait, is this real?
– Well, the craftsmanship quality is definitely there
– I mean, how would you even fake something on the Awakener Community lol
– You’re telling me that’s legit?
– What weapon is that?
– Did you get it from dropping some monster?
– OP: Bought it at the Trading Post. Three million.
A post had gone up from the Awakener who’d bought my S-rank Basic Club.
– How is that even possible?
– Wait, it’s a Level 1 weapon but the attack power is that high?
– At that level, you could probably keep using it for a while even after leveling up, right?
– You bought it from the Trading Post?
– There’s a Level 1 weapon like that?
– Who’s the seller?
– Someone called Steel Hammer
– Steel Hammer, please come out ㅠㅠ
– Did you really get this from killing some monster;
I’d been casually browsing without much thought.
But seeing the reaction now,
it seemed I’d somehow created an impossible weapon that shattered the common sense of Awakeners.
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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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