I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 43

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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 43
Episode 43
A Stone Golem.
Literally a golem made of stone.
Quite massive in size too.
At that scale, it’s on par with the Giant Bear we faced before.
Maybe even stronger than that.
I stood braced, thinking exactly that.
“Let’s go, Grom!”
“Squeak!”
Toran charged straight at the golem alongside Grom.
Had they cooked up some kind of plan on the way here?
No, I would’ve heard about it if they had.
While I was turning that over in my mind, the two of them charged headlong at the golem, drew their weapons in unison, and swung.
Crash!!
They struck at the golem.
Toran with his Pickaxe.
Grom with his Axe.
Both of them boasted tremendous strength, and since both weapons were SS-rank, their impact was devastating.
Crackle!
A vivid fissure split across the Stone Golem’s body.
Though, naturally, an axe isn’t the best weapon for striking stone—the blade looked a bit dulled from the impact.
“Don’t worry, Grom! I can use Repair on that blade!”
“Squeak!”
It didn’t matter.
A dulled edge could be restored in a heartbeat with my Repair skill.
Hearing my call, Grom swung his axe with even greater ferocity.
I drew my Revolver as well.
Bang, bang, bang!
I pulled the trigger at the golem.
Not that my shots would deal any real damage to the creature, of course.
I was satisfied if I could just make it flinch.
But there was one among us who still hadn’t thrown a single attack.
‘Serin?’
Serin.
She hadn’t released any arrows.
Instead.
Creeeeak—
The SS-rank arrow I’d made for her.
The Iron Scorpion was nocked on her bowstring, the string drawn back taut.
After spending so much time with Serin, I recognized that stance immediately.
‘Focused Fire.’
Her signature skill.
A technique that concentrated her power to amplify the arrow’s impact.
Meanwhile.
Clang, clang, clanging!
“Hahahaha!”
“Squeeeak!”
Toran and Grom were bearing down on the golem relentlessly.
Not metaphorically—they were literally pushing it back.
Cracks were already spreading across the Stone Golem’s body.
Watching this, I finally understood why Toran had simply said let’s go.
With our levels even higher now than when we’d fought the Giant Bear.
My companions had all grown strong enough that a Stone Golem posed no real challenge—we didn’t need to regroup at all.
The Stone Golem thrashed about, still trying to resist, swinging stone fists back at us.
“Squeak!”
Grom took the impact head-on, holding his ground.
In that instant, Toran rushed in and drove his Pickaxe into the elbow of the arm Grom was holding, caving it in.
Keeping the pressure on, we pressed the golem back further.
Crash!
Toran’s Pickaxe and Grom’s Axe swung in unison, shattering the Golem’s chest.
With it came a faint blue light trickling from the broken section.
As one of the old-timers at Final Gate and a fantasy novel enthusiast, it wasn’t difficult to recognize.
‘The Core!’
The greatest weakness of Golem-type monsters.
This was unmistakably the Stone Golem’s Mana Core.
And then.
“Now!”
The moment Toran shouted.
Twang!
Serin, who had been maintaining a state of focus while drawing back her bowstring since the battle began, finally released it.
Having maintained that focus from the very start of combat.
Her arrow flew faster and more menacingly than ever, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle.
Thud!
It pierced the Stone Golem’s Mana Core with perfect accuracy.
Triggering the Iron Scorpion’s Instant Death Level 3 and Critical Level 2 in succession.
And then.
……Boom!
The Stone Golem’s body crumbled into shards of rock.
Without any significant repositioning.
Without sustaining any real damage.
They had felled the Stone Golem—seemingly on par with the Giant Bear—far too easily.
And then.
[ You have defeated the boss monster of ‘Blacksmith’s Mine’, the Stone Golem. ]
[ ‘Blacksmith’s Mine’ is expanding. ]
Rumble—
The back wall of the cavern collapsed, revealing a passage leading downward.
Just as space had expanded when they defeated the Giant Bear, so too had the mine expanded.
Moreover, the rewards didn’t end there.
“I knew it was tough for a reason! This thing itself is a goldmine!”
Toran began swinging his Pickaxe at the fallen Golem.
He broke apart the crumbled fragments piece by piece, and then.
“Hahahaha! Just as I thought! Here, kid! Take this!”
“What is this?”
“A jackpot, what else.”
“……A jackpot? Gold, you mean?”
“Obviously not gold—it’s a figure of speech. It’s the finest ore you can get in this place, so use it wisely.”
He handed me a newly excavated mineral.
[ Stone Golem’s Rock ]
A material with a deceptively simple name.
Yet it looked far finer than any ore Toran had excavated thus far.
It was roughly comparable to the Giant Bear’s hide in terms of value.
I was disappointed not to obtain the Mana Core, but the substantial quantity of rock more than made up for it.
‘What should I craft with this?’
Since it was stone, making a shield or armor seemed the safest choice.
Well, that could wait.
“Hahahaha! Finally a new space! Thanks, everyone! I’m heading straight down to mine!”
Toran immediately rushed toward the passage that had appeared in the cavern.
He must have been very curious about the next level.
Though I’ll admit, I’m curious too.
Up until now, everything had been iron ore, with stat-related minerals appearing only occasionally.
I wonder what kind of ore would be found down there.
Well, that would take some time to find out.
“Alright, dismissed! Everyone return to your duties!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Squeak!”
We returned to our work.
* * *
Stone Golem’s Rock.
I spent quite a bit of time deliberating over what to craft with it.
Given the nature of the material, shields and armor are really the best things to make.
There’s no shortage of requests for good defensive gear either.
The problem is, I’m still only level twelve.
Level twelve Awakeners have limited budgets, and no matter how good an item I craft, it’s hard to raise the price significantly.
Given that constraint, the item I decided on was.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Craft Rating: S ]
[ You have obtained a Large Rock Necklace. ]
This.
A necklace.
Its true nature was.
[ Large Rock Necklace ]
Type: Necklace
Grade: S
Restriction: —
Description: A necklace crafted from fragments of the Stone Golem’s Rock, chipped into fine pieces. You can feel the solid resilience of the Stone Golem within it.
Ability: Defense Lv 3
A necklace with defensive capabilities.
Of course, despite being called a defense ability, it was nothing more than a simple necklace that raised defensive power.
But simplicity meant versatility.
As defense increased, incoming damage decreased, and survivability rose proportionally.
Unlike a game where you have multiple lives, among actual Awakeners, defensive equipment was preferred over offensive gear since you only had one life to lose.
I figured a Large Rock Necklace like this would draw considerable interest.
Whether it was because defense was such a fundamental and straightforward ability, or because the material was exceptional.
Even being an S-grade necklace, it came with an impressive Defense Level 3, which filled me with confidence.
Sure enough, the moment I posted the necklace.
– The Ironhammer showed up!
– Defense level 3?
– Absolute must-have for tanks
– Nah, essential for glass cannons instead. With defense level 3, even squishy types like mages and archers could tank a surprise attack at least once
– It’s just a must-have for everyone lol
– Survival gear for real
The responses came immediately.
A defense necklace.
I’d expected it to be popular, but the reaction was more intense than I’d anticipated.
And the important part was that this was a set item.
The Large Rock Necklace, Large Rock Bracelet, and Large Rock Ring.
When all three of these accessories were equipped together.
[ You have created the Large Rock Set. ]
[ Set Effect has been applied to the Large Rock Set. ]
[ Set Effect ]
1. Defense power increases further.
2. A one-time Protective Shield is generated once per day.
A Set Effect like this emerged.
However, competition was so fierce that if I waited, it would take quite a while before knowledge of the Set Effect spread, so I decided to post the information directly to the community.
Using the name ‘Ironhammer’ for the first time.
[ The Set Effect of the Large Rock Accessories. ]
I posted the message like that, but.
As expected.
– ?
– Is this really Ironhammer?
– There’s no way lol
– They got the bait immediately lol
– Wait, wasn’t that Set Effect not revealed yet?
– And it’s not an anonymous account — the actual username is ‘Ironhammer’?
– For real?
– Wait, it’s actually Ironhammer?
– The real deal?!
The Awakener community descended into chaos.

And that made sense—while many Awakeners had impersonated me using anonymous accounts and posted under false names,
only I could post under the nickname “Steel Hammer.”
– Steel Hammer, please take my commission ㅠㅠ
– Polar Bear << Please read my message, sir
– I'm a fan, sir!
– Steel Hammer, what level are you?
– Please give me a thumbs up.
– Steel Hammer, please take my commission, I really want this so much, I'll do anything you want, please just consider it a life-saving favor and accept my request……
And with that, the comments exploded in volume.
Most were meaningless posts or requests for commissions,
– Set Effect, you say?
– Lol seriously essential gear for tanks ㅋㅋㅋ
– What are you talking about, didn't you see the Protective Shield? This is essential gear for low-health characters like mages, archers, and thieves
– Shouldn't those characters prioritize offensive abilities instead?
– This isn't a game, and if you get ambushed after stacking offense, who's gonna take responsibility lol even if attack power drops a bit, defense-related abilities are king
– True, it's not just raising defense either but also creating a Protective Shield, so survivability would definitely spike.
Exactly as I'd intended.
Many were taking interest in the Set Effect of the Large Rock set.
As such, even if I raised the price further and listed them again,
[ 'Large Rock Necklace' has been sold. ]
[ 'Large Rock Bracelet' has been sold. ]
[ 'Large Rock Ring' has been sold. ]
…….
The accessories sold quickly the moment I posted them.
And that wasn't all.
Whether it was the quality of the materials or the improvement in my own skill,
as I grew accustomed to crafting the Large Rock accessories,
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Craft Rating: SS ]
[ 'Large Rock Necklace' obtained. ]
SS-grade ratings began appearing.
They weren't recognized as masterworks or legendary pieces, but an SS-grade was still an SS-grade.
Especially with 'Defense Lv 4' attached as an ability.
[ 'Large Rock Necklace' has been sold. ]
It sold for an astronomical price.
All of this was thanks to the material itself—'Stone Golem's Rock'—which was so abundant.
I could craft dozens upon dozens of accessories from its remnants.
As such, I was able to earn far more money than I'd anticipated.
Not quite enough to buy a luxury penthouse like the wealthiest executives owned, though……
"Maybe it's time to start looking?"
Even if not luxury-grade, I was finally ready to move into a high-end residence.
At last, the time had come to escape my small, cramped studio apartment.

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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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