I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 53

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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 53
Episode 53
Gate Conquest.
Low-level Gates can be conquered through sheer force if you have adequate power—you can simply throw your body at them and muddle through somehow.
But higher-level Gates? That’s a different story entirely.
Without proper preparation, Gate Conquest becomes impossible.
There are various reasons for this.
But the most obvious one is, without question—
“Isn’t it way too dark in here?”
“Hold the torch up properly.”
“Using torches to light our way in this day and age? Does that even make sense?”
“We can’t help it. Lighting equipment doesn’t work inside Gates.”
“Still, though. I don’t know when a monster might jump out, and holding a torch in one hand makes me nervous.”
“Just keep a firm grip on it. I’ll protect you.”
Light.
Labyrinths, caves, nighttime—
Many Gates had terrain that blocked out light entirely, making it impossible to secure proper visibility.
What’s more, modern lighting equipment didn’t function inside Gates, so explorers had to carry torches.
Those in better circumstances sometimes brought Luminous Stones, but the brightness of a Luminous Stone fell short of even a torch, so it made little practical difference.
Because of this—
“Fire.”
Whoosh!
Mages who wielded fire or light magic were in high demand.
They could conjure flames or light in controlled amounts, brightly illuminating the interior of a Gate.
And so Gate Conquest was inevitably difficult.
Luminous Stones were expensive yet emitted weak light.
Fire and light mages were rarer still.
Torches had to be held in one hand, making them cumbersome and a hindrance in combat.
Most Awakeners had come to avoid Dark-Type Gates.
In such circumstances, the real problem was—
“Investigation of Gate E-52 is complete.”
“Please don’t tell me it’s another Dark-Type.”
“Labyrinth-Type Gate. Luminescence level is…… zero.”
“Damn it.”
The Awakeners’ Association.
The Awakeners’ Association investigated Gates discovered by Gate Response Headquarters, then assigned them to appropriate Awakeners or sold them off.
Though “sold” might be the word, the most important objective was still to conquer every Gate and seal it shut.
And the biggest problem in doing so was precisely these Dark-Type Gates.
Not that “Dark-Type” was a grandiose classification.
It simply meant any Gate—like labyrinths or caves—where no natural light could penetrate.
“And the difficulty level is awkwardly in-between too. Even large Guilds will avoid this one.”
“Yes…….”
Dark-Type Gates didn’t offer better rewards by default.
So from an Awakener’s perspective, there was no reason to actively seek out a Dark-Type Gate that was tedious and difficult to conquer.
It was more profitable to conquer easier, more convenient Gates and harvest Mana Stones—why would anyone bother with a Dark-Type Gate?
The Awakeners’ Association had dangled various incentives.
But Dark-Type Gates were vulnerable to ambushes; the risk of death was considerably higher.
It was difficult to compel Awakeners into such places.
Especially since the number of Gates had increased recently, causing a shortage of Awakeners and creating additional strain.
The shortage of Awakeners available to deploy to Dark-Type Gates felt even more acute.
But then—
“……Team Lead, the Goyo Guild says they’ll take on the Conquest.”
“Goyo Guild? Weren’t they the ones who always refused Dark-Type Gates?”
All at once, support for Dark-Type Gate Conquest came flooding in.
From the very Guilds that had refused Dark-Type Conquests until now, Guilds unprepared for Dark-Type Conquests.
And their numbers were increasing.
So the question was—what was going on?
“That’s correct. And I think you need to see this.”
“See what?”
A video uploaded to NewTube had revealed the answer.
“This is a headlamp, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“But how? Electronic equipment shouldn’t work inside a Gate at all.”
“It’s an item made using Luminous Stones.”
“Even if it uses Luminous Stones, there’s no way it could emit light that bright…….”
“It’s said to be an item made by Kang Cheol-mangchi.”
“……Kang Cheol-mangchi?”
The world’s first blacksmith, Kang Cheol-mangchi.
He had begun crafting lighting devices.
These lights emitted powerful brilliance even inside Gates, casting clear illumination throughout the Dark-Type Gates.
The headlamps not only shone brightly forward, but there were also items that brightened the entire area around them instead of concentrating light in one spot.
As these varied lighting-related items began appearing on the Exchange,
“It appears to be the influence of these items.”
Awakeners began overcoming their fear of darkness and started Conquering Dark-Type Gates.
In response,
“We should purchase some as well.”
“Us, sir?”
“Yes. If we buy them and lend them to Guilds Conquering Dark-Type Gates, more Awakeners will be able to tackle these Gates.”
“Understood!”
The Awakeners’ Association too began purchasing Kang Cheol-mangchi’s headlamps.
And so,
“Kang Cheol-mangchi…….”
The Awakeners’ Association engraved his name in their minds once more.
* * *
Since I’d already crafted various items using Luminous Stones for Toran,
creating new items with them proved no great difficulty.
[ You have obtained a Luminous Necklace. ]
[ You have obtained a Luminous Bracelet. ]
[ You have obtained a Luminous Ring. ]
A three-piece luminous set.
I started with accessories that had the Luminescence ability inherently built in.
Unlike Toran’s Safety Helmet, which concentrated light on one area, these accessories cast a wide glow all around.
Wearing the set even expanded the light’s range, making it quite practical.
However,
‘This is a bit disappointing.’
To use these items and emit light, you had to sacrifice the accessory’s own ability.
While the accessories’ powers weren’t enormous, even those small abilities were precious to any Awakener.
Yet to gain light, you’d have to give up that accessory slot.
It was not an easy choice.
Well, it beat sacrificing armor or weapons, at least.
Thinking it over, the item I created was
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
[ You have obtained a Headlamp. ]
This, precisely.
A headlamp.
In other words, I removed just the lighting part from the Safety Helmet I’d made for Toran and connected it with a cord.
It’s worn on the head, but this isn’t a helmet.
It’s what goes over a helmet—what they call Overlay Equipment.
Because of that, the Level of the Luminescence ability did decrease,
‘But with this, I can emit light without any loss while wearing full equipment.’
That advantage more than made up for it.
Satisfied, I uploaded all the crafted items to the Exchange.
As expected,
[ The Luminous Necklace has been sold. ]
[ The Luminous Bracelet has been sold. ]
[ The Luminous Ring has been sold. ]
[ The Headlamp has been sold. ]
…….
All the items began selling off at a rapid pace.
Curious about the reaction, I checked the Awakeners’ community.
[ What’s this luminous accessory set? lol ]
Our team’s tank wore the whole set and turned into a walking light bulb lol
– That good?
– Yeah it was a Dark-Type Gate but the whole room was bright lol
– For real?
– Yeah like, the monsters that were setting up an ambush saw our tank walking toward them and just froze up, couldn’t even ambush us and got hit first instead
– lololololol
– ambush failed
[ The Headlamp is insane though? ]
You don’t wear it instead of a helmet, you can layer it over the helmet.
– Really?
– So you can secure your vision without wasting an equipment slot or carrying a torch?
– That’s broken
[ This is a revolution ]
With just this, Dark-Type Gates aren’t scary anymore
Truly a blessed soul
– With this on, Dark-Type Gates actually feel easier lol
– Well, Dark-Type Gates have monsters that suit the darkness, so they’re bound to be weak to light
– Yeah no need to carry a torch, love it
– More than that, blocking monster ambushes is the real game-changer;
– The monsters in the gate I went to had degenerated eyesight, so they covered their eyes when they saw the light and couldn’t get their bearings, made hunting real easy lol
– Wow seriously amazing
The response in the Awakeners’ community was quite positive.
The feeling that everyone had been waiting for exactly this.
Come to think of it, Gates without light—
What they call “Dark-Type Gates” turned out to be far more numerous than I’d imagined.
And even setting that aside, situations requiring light during Gate Conquest were more common than I’d expected.
My items were proving far more useful than I’d anticipated.
Curious how my items were being used, I browsed through NewTube.
[ Goblin Assassins Blinded by the Glare ]
I found related videos right away.
The first video was a Dark-Type Gate Conquest using my Headlamp.
As the strong light from the Headlamp shone down, the hidden Goblin Assassins were startled, unable to open their eyes, bewildered—and fell to the Awakeners.
An item that did more than just light the way; it could disorient monsters accustomed to darkness.
That was the Headlamp I’d made.
But that wasn’t all.
[ Human Lantern ON ]
There was an Awakener who equipped my entire luminous accessory set and became a tiny sun in a Dark-Type dungeon.
[ Secret Room Found Thanks to the Light! ]
And there were Awakeners who discovered hidden chambers that never would have been found with just a torch, thanks to the wide range of my items.
As such reactions multiplied,
[ Please make more Headlamps, Blessed Soul ;; ]
[ Will you make more of the luminous accessory set? Please; ]
[ My guild master says I absolutely have to buy a Headlamp, is there any way to purchase one separately? ;;; ]
[ All hail the Blessed Soul !! ]
……
More people were demanding my items.
Request messages asking for lighting items kept arriving.
But unfortunately,
“I’m all out.”
The core material for making lighting items—
Luminous Stones had run dry.
So I couldn’t make them even if I wanted to, was what I thought around then.
“Hey kid, I’m back!”
“You’re back quick?”
“Thanks to the gear you made, mining’s gone way faster! And I found another Luminous Stone vein! A huge one at that!”
Toran came in through the door.
Rumble—
He dumped out a whole pile of Luminous Stones.
With this, it seemed he could continue crafting luminescence items for quite some time.
They sold well, and plenty of Awakeners needed them.
And since things had come this far.
He was thinking of trying to make them in more varied forms.
Lost in that thought, he was about to lift his hammer again when—
“Hey, kid!”
“Yes?”
Toran spoke to him once more.
He’d thought the Luminous Stones were the end of it, but apparently not.
Toran was reaching into his bag with a satisfied smile on his face.
The last ore Toran pulled from the bag was none other than—
[ Flame Stone ]
A Flame Stone.
Like Luminous Stones, Flame Stones were rare deposits that occasionally appeared on the Exchange.
But that wasn’t the point.
The fact that both Luminous Stones and Flame Stones had come from the blacksmith’s Mine meant—
“Right, it seems the deposits on this floor all have the qualities of Attribute Stones with various elemental properties.”
This suggested that Flame Stones would continue to appear.
No—that a wealth of Attribute Stones bearing various elemental powers was buried in this place.

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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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