I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 58

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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 58
Episode 58
“Ugh…….”
How long had I been lying here?
The moment consciousness returned, a dull throb spread through my body.
I’d expected to feel worse, having taken so many electrical shocks while crafting the Piercing Lightning.
My body felt better than anticipated—it was my head that pounded relentlessly.
‘Must be the bed.’
The bed I was lying on now.
‘Big Slime’s Embrace’ had to be responsible.
An SS-rank bed I’d crafted myself, no less, with Regeneration attached at Level 4.
The moment my eyes opened.
“Master! Master, are you all right!”
“Kid, are you coming to!”
“Squeak! Boss, wake up! You need to wake up!”
My assistants’ voices came immediately.
The way they reacted the instant I opened my eyes suggested they’d been at my side the whole time.
Waiting for the moment I’d wake, keeping their vigil beside me.
I could only feel grateful.
“I’m fine. ……Did you wrap these bandages yourself?”
“I administered emergency care. However, without potions or medicinal herbs, this was the limit of what I could manage.”
“Thank you. But I should be okay now, right?”
Bandages wrapped nearly my entire body.
Serin protested, but since there was no pain, I unwound them to check.
“See?”
“Remarkable recovery!”
“It’s just the bed that did most of the work, really.”
Not a single wound remained visible.
This was the power of Regeneration Level 4.
“How much time has passed?”
“Exactly one day.”
“A whole day?”
Since sunlight was streaming through the window, I’d thought I’d been lying down for maybe an hour.
A full day had passed while I slept.
Even when I’d suffered from severe muscle soreness, it hadn’t been this bad.
I must have pushed myself harder than I realized.
‘Well, I did just craft an SSS-rank item.’
My first attempt at an SSS-rank item.
The Piercing Lightning.
Its power had proven far greater than I’d anticipated.
Serin’s skill contributed greatly, but the arrow alone had been enough to fell a C-rank Gate’s boss monster, the Storm Water Sprite, in a single shot.
Only one thing troubled me.
“What happened to the arrow?”
“I apologize, Master. Despite my efforts to search, it appears to have been completely annihilated. Recovery seems impossible.”
It looked like I wouldn’t be getting it back.
If it had been found damaged, I could have repaired it with the Repair skill.
But then again, I’d crafted it by ignoring durability entirely, compressing only the essence of lightning stone.
It was an arrow made of pure essence itself, with no durability to speak of.
Its complete annihilation after one use was inevitable.
Without that constraint, it could never have achieved such power in the first place.
“What about the monsters?”
“They disappeared naturally as time passed. Still, I harvested materials from them before they vanished completely.”
“And every item the monsters dropped was collected, kid!”
“Squeak!”
“I’ve gathered all the Mana Stones as well. The Storm Water Sprite in particular dropped a rather substantial one.”
“Good.”
When time passed, monster corpses naturally disappeared and randomly dropped items.
Thanks to that, the surrounding area had been thoroughly cleared.
I turned on the television.
— The Gate Break is being resolved.
– Thanks to the swift response of the Awakeners Association and the efforts of all Awakeners in Korea, we were able to minimize casualties and property damage.
– In particular, Korea is known to have prevented the Gate Break fastest and with the least damage in the world.
– As a result, the world’s attention is now focused on Korea, and regarding the know-how…….
The Gate Break seems to have been fully contained.
More importantly, thanks to this break.
[ Status Window ]
– Name: Jang Gang-cheol
– Level: 20
– Job: Blacksmith
– Skill: Forge of Time
– Strength: 43
– Dexterity: 40
– Health: 40
– Intelligence: 20
– Wisdom: 20
– Remaining Points: 3
I’d managed to reach Level 20.
Originally, whenever I leveled up, I’d invest the Remaining Points one each into Strength, Dexterity, and Health.
But since all stats were supposedly important, I’d been distributing my Remaining Points as evenly as possible.
Though I still only invested the bare minimum in Intelligence and Wisdom.
I’d even given a few extra points to Strength, since it seemed lacking.
‘Not bad at all.’
I’d pushed hard, but thanks to that, I’d managed to shoot my level up in no time.
At this rate, I could save up some money and level up my summoning immediately.
Then I’d be able to summon a fourth assistant.
“Hehehehe.”
“Master, are you alright……?”
“Kid, you didn’t hit your head, did you? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Squeak! Boss! Get a grip!”
The thought made me smile without thinking.
What kind of person would the fourth assistant be?
Then again, looking at Toran and Grom, they might not even be human.
Either way, I was already looking forward to it.
So then.
Gurgle!
“Man, I’m starving. You all must be hungry too, right? Since you’ve all worked so hard, let’s get some food first!”
“Master, are you really sure? You could rest a little longer…….”
“You should eat even while resting. That way you’ll get your strength back and recover better, won’t you?”
“Gahahaha! The boy’s got a point!”
“Squeak! You gotta eat meat when you’re hurt!”
I ordered food right away.
We’d protected the house from the Gate Break.
We’d grown, and earned plenty of spoils.
Without worrying about the cost, I ordered everything everyone wanted to eat.
I’d ordered such massive quantities that delivery drivers were probably speeding toward our place by the handful right now.
Not long after.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
If this had been my old studio apartment, I would have rushed right out to open the door, but not anymore.
“Just leave it outside, please~”
To reach the door, I’d have to cross the garden and go down the stairs.
The house was spacious enough, and it was also for privacy and security.
So these days I’d tell them to leave it outside, and Serin would dash out to grab the food.
But then.
– This is from the Awakeners Association.
The voice coming through the intercom wasn’t that of a delivery driver.
“The Awakeners Association?”
Why would the Awakeners Association be looking for me?
Then again, thinking about it, it wasn’t all that strange.
During this Gate Break.
Toran and Grom openly went around knocking down the fire tortoises and mucus toads.
Even if it had been someone else, the fact that a dwarf and an orc like them made such a bold appearance would’ve looked suspicious at first glance.
And that was hardly all.
‘That final attack would’ve stood out too.’
Serin’s last arrow.
The Piercing Lightning—an SSS-rank item I’d crafted.
Was its effect anything but spectacular?
It unleashed an effect just like its name suggested, lightning surging upward, and brought down the Storm Turtle in a single blow.
Serin had fired the arrow from a utility pole near our house rather than from inside, but it was close enough that suspicion falling on me would’ve been inevitable.
A powerful, unregistered archer had been spotted, along with a dwarf and an orc.
It wouldn’t be strange for the Awakeners Association to come looking.
But then.
— Are you Kang Cheol-mangchi?
Words I hadn’t anticipated reached my ears.
I understood why the Awakeners Association had come—given the circumstances, it made sense they’d suspect an Awakener lived here.
But how did they figure out my name was Kang Cheol-mangchi?
‘Now that I think about it, that is strange.’
Our house intercom didn’t just carry voice.
Through the CCTV installed above the door, I could see not only the visitor’s face but their entire body.
Yet something about the appearance of the person claiming to have come from the Awakeners Association seemed off.
They’d made an effort to dress formally, like someone from the Association, I suppose.
But their necktie hung loose as if it felt constricting, and several buttons were undone.
Tattoos running long across the back of their hand—skin not covered by the formal wear—were plainly visible.
Regarding this with suspicion, I didn’t respond.
— Why the silence? The silence makes it even more suspicious?
The visitor—
No, the uninvited guest pressed their face against the intercom and continued.
— There was definitely someone home, wasn’t there?
— You asked me to leave something behind, didn’t you?
— Hey, aren’t you going to answer?
— Hyung, the fact that he’s not answering… doesn’t that mean he’s got something to hide? I really think he’s Kang Cheol-mangchi.
— You too? I’m getting a strong gut feeling about this.
— That dwarf has to be Kang Cheol-mangchi, I’m telling you.
— What’s the word from the China side?
— I didn’t ask them because they seemed like they’d cause trouble if I did. Better to just quietly bring him and show them directly, right?
— Ha, you really are my brother. Sharp as ever?
— Heh heh, that’s exactly why I’m your brother, sir.
Suspicious conversation, no matter how you looked at it.
More than that—a dwarf was Kang Cheol-mangchi?
It seemed they’d come here under some kind of misunderstanding.
While I was thinking that,
— Well then, we’re coming in. Kang Cheol-mangchi?
The uninvited guest put a hand in their pocket, then raised one leg.
Crash!
They kicked the door clean off.
Given that the house was built with security in mind, the door itself would’ve been made extraordinarily sturdy.
Yet they sent it flying with a single kick.
The person was an Awakener.
And apparently a far stronger one than I’d bargained for.
I wasn’t the only one who saw this.
“Master, fall back!”
“Damn it—how long has it been since those monsters disappeared, and now this shows up?”
“Screee!”
Serin, Toran, and Grom rushed outside.
Serin in particular drew her bowstring the moment she stepped out and fired an arrow at the uninvited guest.
“What? That’s way weaker than I heard. You said you brought down the Storm Turtle in one shot?”
“That must be some kind of finishing move, right? But even if it is, there’s no way it’d work on hyung. Heh heh.”
A crimson barrier materialized before the uninvited guest, blocking every arrow.
They’d clearly activated some kind of skill.
As that happened, Toran and Grom came rushing in.
Crack!
“Oh, fairly strong, aren’t you?”
“Argh!”
“Tsk!”
The uninvited guest weathered even Toran and Grom’s assault.
Toran and Grom were already powerhouses whose physical abilities far exceeded what an Awakener of the same level should possess.
Yet here he was, effortlessly enduring both their attacks.
This Awakener was far stronger than I’d initially assessed.
I wasn’t about to stand idle while they fought.
It seemed the two of them were completely ignoring me.
Click.
I carefully drew out my Revolver.
Then I loaded the bullets I’d specifically crafted to bring down the Rushing Wind.
Lightning Bullets.
The moment Toran and Grom’s assault wore thin the intruder’s defensive barrier,
Bang!
I pulled the trigger.
Six rounds fired in rapid succession.
The first two were stopped by the barrier,
but then it shattered.
Crackle-pop-pop-pop!
The remaining four rounds struck the intruder’s body.
Though his frame was so solid that no wounds opened,
the Lightning Bullets were far more than mere high-damage rounds.
Bzzzzt!
Electric current spread outward from the Lightning Bullets.
Even the strongest Awaker would hesitate for a split second under that surge.
In that instant,
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Serin’s arrows came pouring down.
As if she’d been waiting for this very moment, she unleashed a barrage of concentrated fire—arrows of exceptional power.
Thanks to her volley, arrowheads lodged shallowly into the intruder’s body.
“How bothersome…”
“Dropped your guard!”
“Gagh!”
Toran and Grom seized the opening and pressed their assault.
Fortunately, the one who’d come with him wasn’t a combatant—he just cried out “Brother!” in alarm.
For a moment I thought we had him overwhelmed.
“You think thrashing about like that will work on me?”
Boom!
“Tsk!”
In that instant, the intruder burst forth with raw aura.
A crimson barrier erupted from his body, hurling back Toran, Grom, and every arrow Serin had fired.
Then he gathered that barrier into his fist and swung.
“Ugh!”
Even blocking together, Toran and Grom were sent flying.
How strong was this man?
Wasn’t this the level that would earn him the title of Ranker?
As that thought struck me,
a name surfaced in my mind.
“…Red Wall, Jang Tae-su.”
“Oh, you know my name?”
“Well, what fool wouldn’t recognize such a notorious alias?”
This wasn’t just some Ranker.
The Gate reports had frequently mentioned this notorious criminal.
The intruder himself.
A man bearing the epithet Red Wall.

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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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