I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 55

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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 55
Episode 55
Boom-boom-boom-boom!!
A deafening roar erupted from beyond the window.
I looked outside to see what was happening.
“Why here, of all places…….”
A Gate was materializing in the sky above.
This wasn’t my first time witnessing a Gate open.
I’d seen one tear open at the Park once before, on my way back from the Bank.
But this Gate was nothing like that one.
For one thing, both the aura I sensed and its sheer size were different.
And more than that—
Crackle-snap!
The moment the Gate formed, black electrical currents surged around its perimeter.
And then—
Boom.
Without anyone touching it, the Gate’s doors swung wide open.
“Shrieeeek—.”
Monsters began to emerge.
And they were—
“Eagles?”
“Storm Eagles, sir. Monsters that summon gale winds, true to their name.”
Storm Eagles—that’s what they were.
Enormous eagles, much larger than any I’d known, with wind constantly swirling around their bodies.
When one of them flapped its massive wings with all its might—
Crash!
The gale from those wings began tearing through everything nearby.
Tens of millions worth of single-family homes started crumbling under the assault.
Well, it’s not as though those houses were built with steel plating for their outer walls.
It was only natural that they’d fail to withstand a monster’s attack.
What’s more, these Storm Eagles didn’t seem to be low-tier monsters like the ones I’d encountered at the Hunting Ground.
‘If this keeps up…….’
This is dangerous.
The Gate is too close.
Not quite on our doorstep yet, so it might take a little time for the danger to reach our house—
But those eagles could be here in less than a minute if they decided to dive toward us.
“Master, please step back.”
“Right, kid.”
“Squawk!”
The moment I spotted the monsters, my assistants stepped forward.
Each of them drawing their weapons.
“Will you be alright?”
I felt a twinge of concern—except for Serin, they weren’t combat specialists.
“Mining gets all sorts of monsters crawling out. I’ve smashed every last one of them and kept mining. That’s me. Ahahaha!”
“Squawk! Grom’s a warrior too! Strong!”
Toran and Grom shouted that way, hefting their pickaxes and axes.
Serin was the first to open fire.
If she shot from here directly, there was a risk the monster’s aggro might be drawn back toward our house.
So she climbed up a nearby power pole and took aim at the Storm Eagle—
Whoosh!
—loosing an arrow.
Her arrow was fast and true enough—
Whisper—.
But the Storm Eagle’s body was surrounded by rapid, turbulent wind currents.
Piercing through them from that distance proved impossible.
Still, she steadied herself and fired another arrow—
And this time, the result was different.
This arrow had been calculated precisely: she’d accounted for how the wind currents wrapping around the Storm Eagle’s body would bend the arrow’s trajectory.
Thud!
The arrow drove deep into the Storm Eagle’s body.
Still, even though the arrows I’d crafted myself were far superior to ordinary wooden ones, landing a critical hit on the Wind-Swift Hawk proved difficult.
The airflow wrapping around its body weakened the arrows’ impact.
Watching this unfold, I couldn’t help but think.
‘At this rate, things could get dangerous.’
There was no way around that conclusion.
Serin was formidable, certainly, but her low level meant she couldn’t deploy her full strength in a situation like this.
So what could I do to actually help?
The answer was simple.
I was a blacksmith.
Then I ought to do what a blacksmith does best.
“Everyone hold on just a little longer!”
The moment those words left my mouth, I turned to the assistants and then—
Rumble—
I dashed into the Blacksmith Workshop.
Next, I opened the system inventory and pulled out the Flame Stones that Toran had painstakingly mined.
Adding a few other materials to the mix,
[ Crafting has begun. ]
Clang!
I swung the hammer immediately.
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve worked with deliberate care, striking each point methodically and with precision.
But right now, what mattered wasn’t caution or meticulousness—it was speed.
So I felt for the points instinctively, swinging the hammer as fast as I could.
Crack!
Each time I shattered a point, brilliant electricity crackled outward.
Every time that current touched my skin, a tingle shot through me, but I ignored it and kept swinging.
I worried that rushing might produce something below S-grade,
but fortunately—
[ Crafting has been completed. ]
[ Crafting Assessment: S ]
[ You have obtained the Lightning Arrow. ]
I received an S-grade evaluation and managed to forge the item I’d been after.
[ Lightning Arrow ]
Form: Arrow
Grade: S
Requirement: Level 17 or higher
Description: A lightning arrow fashioned from processed Thunderstone by blacksmith Jang Gang-cheol, crafted specifically to bring down the Wind-Swift Hawk.
Attack Power: 106
Ability: Lightning Lv 3
The Lightning Arrow.
As the item description stated, it was an arrow created expressly to fell the Wind-Swift Hawk.
An arrow whose arrowhead was entirely fashioned from Thunderstone.
As such, it came with the ability Lightning Level 3 attached.
Though I’ll admit I’d also guided the lightning ability into it using my channeling function.
The moment the stack of arrows was complete, I exited the Forge of Time.
Thanks to the Forge of Time’s effect, almost no time had passed in the outside world.
“Serin!”
“Master, these are—!”
I handed the bundle of Lightning Arrows to Serin.
The instant she took them, she climbed back onto the telephone pole and drew her bowstring taut.
True to Serin’s marksmanship, the arrow flew with perfect accuracy.
Tracing a trajectory wreathed in electrical current befitting its name, the Lightning Arrow hurtled forward.
Crack!
Ignoring the airflow coiling around the creature’s body,
Thud!
it pierced clean through.
And then—
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Violent electricity surged through the Wind-Swift Hawk’s body.
“Screeeee—!”
Unable to endure it, the creature plummeted toward the ground.
The moment the creature hit the ground, it was as if we’d been waiting below for exactly this.
“That thing was pestering us from above! Serves it right!”
“Screeeeeee!”
Toran and Grom rushed in and finished it off.
My Lightning Arrow had found its mark perfectly.
“Master, how did you know the weakness of the Wind Swift Toad?”
“Even though I’m a blacksmith now, I held the top rank among blacksmiths in the Final Gate. Guessing elemental affinities for monsters is simple enough.”
“The Final Gate…?”
“Yes, such a place exists.”
In the Final Gate, most flying-type monsters are weak to electricity.
Other monsters can dissipate electrical attacks into the ground through their feet, but flying monsters have nowhere for the current to escape—their bodies absorb it completely.
They can’t help but be vulnerable to electricity.
The game designers must have had the same insight, which is why flying monsters are weak to lightning in the game.
In any case, thanks to that.
Crack, crack, crackle!
“Screeeeee—”
We hunted the Wind Swift Toads with surprising ease.
Serin’s Lightning Arrows struck with perfect accuracy, embedding themselves in the creature’s body every time.
Though the damage wasn’t enough to kill in a single shot, Toran and Grom below made sure to finish off any monster that fell.
Seeing our progress, I returned to the Blacksmith Workshop and crafted more Lightning Arrows.
I’d made plenty, so we wouldn’t have to worry about running short.
“With these, we shouldn’t have any problems, Master.”
The number of Wind Swift Toads dropped rapidly.
Moreover, the Wind Swift Toads looked noticeably stronger than the monsters we’d fought in the Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
[ Your level has increased. ]
We were gaining enormous experience points.
My level was rising on the spot, right then and there.
At this rate, rather than being dangerous, this seemed more like an opportunity to level up quickly.
Or so I thought.
Reality, however, was less kind.
“Croak, croak.”
From far off in the distance.
A massive toad suddenly bounded into view.
Splurt!
Its entire body was coated in mucus, slick and dripping wet.
The moment it landed, it began lashing its tongue around like a whip, attacking everything nearby.
And that wasn’t all.
Though the distance was considerable.
Whoosh!
“…A turtle?”
A massive turtle was breathing fire from its mouth.
Two monsters were slowly advancing toward us from completely opposite directions.
Likely, though we couldn’t see them from here, Gate Breaks had erupted somewhere on both sides.
The monsters that emerged from them were making their way to us.
At this,
“Looks like it’s our turn now!”
“Yaaaah!”
Toran and Grom charged forward.
Toran, claiming familiarity with heat, rushed first toward the Fire Turtle.
Grom lunged toward the Slime Toad, which had landed closest.
But despite their momentum, the results were not favorable.
Clang!
“This beast is tougher than expected!”
Toran’s pickaxe failed to shatter the Fire Turtle’s shell.
To withstand the force of Toran’s blow.
It must be incredibly hard.
The Fire Turtle, struck, opened its maw toward Toran and unleashed a massive gout of flame—larger than before.
Fortunately, Toran’s boast about having mined all the way to the scorching depths of the Mine proved no exaggeration; he endured the fire.
But it seemed unlikely we could bring it down easily.
And.
Slip—
“Croak?!”
Grom looked equally frustrated.
He’d swung his axe with all his strength, but the blade skidded uselessly across the slime coating the toad’s body.
Seeing the layer of mucus, Serin took a chance and fired a Lightning Arrow.
Crack—
“Ribbit.”
The electrical current from the Lightning Arrow didn’t conduct through the creature’s slime.
A trickier opponent than expected.
Toran and Grom were as skilled as Serin—if their levels were just higher, elemental affinity and all that nonsense aside, they’d have crushed the toad and the slime toad flat.
But at their current level, there was simply no way around the difficulty.
Watching them struggle,
I rushed forward—
and entered the Blacksmith Workshop immediately.
Right after that,
[ You are using the Special Crafting skill. ]
[ Please provide a blueprint for the special craft item. ]
The moment I activated Special Crafting,
I pulled up the design for the pickaxe I’d made for Toran before.
There was no time to leisurely design something new.
I selected the materials in quick succession,
[ Crafting begins. ]
Clang!
I swung the hammer immediately.
First, I crafted the pickaxe handle.
Since Toran’s pickaxe had a steel shaft rather than a wooden one, I forged a steel shaft first, just as before,
Clang!
then, unlike when I’d used the Ferocious Wild Boar’s Tusk last time,
this time I used the Water Flow Stone that Toran had obtained
Clang!
to forge the pickaxe head.
Working with the Water Flow Stone, water seemed to spray violently each time I struck the focal point.
The spurting water nearly obscured my vision, but that was fine.
This wasn’t my first time wielding a hammer.
Even if my sight was partially blocked, my body remembered how to identify the focal point and swing the hammer.
Clang!
And so, after swinging the hammer,
[ Crafting is complete. ]
[ Craft evaluation: S ]
[ You have obtained the Water Flow Pickaxe. ]
I’d successfully forged the pickaxe I wanted.
[ Water Flow Pickaxe ]
Type: Pickaxe
Grade: S
Requirement: Level 18 or higher
Description: A water-infused pickaxe forged by the blacksmith Jang Gang-cheol, who crafted the head using a solid steel shaft and Water Flow Stone, channeling the power of water itself.
Attack Power: 110
Abilities: Water Flow Lv 5, Penetration Lv 2, Fierce Strike Lv 1
It didn’t reach the SS tier that Toran’s original “Ferocious Tusk That Crumbles Mountains” had achieved,
but I’d managed to craft an S-grade pickaxe befitting his risen level.
Most importantly, the Water Flow Lv 5 ability on the pickaxe.
After all, that single ability was the entire reason I’d crafted this pickaxe in the first place.
Truthfully, using only the Water Flow Stone for the pickaxe head had compromised its durability somewhat, but that wasn’t what mattered now.
Immediately after,
[ Crafting is complete. ]
[ Craft evaluation: S ]
[ You have obtained the Earth Axe. ]
Having just finished crafting an earth-aspected axe for Grom using the Earth Stone,
I stepped back into reality and immediately called out,
“Toran, Grom! Take these!”
He hurled the newly crafted pickaxe and axe toward Toran and Grom with all his strength.

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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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