I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 68

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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 68
Chapter 68
Kwon Seok-hun, President of the Awakener Association.
Today, like any other day, he was reviewing the paperwork that had come across his desk when he paused.
He looked down at his own hand, the one holding the pen.
No—at the gloves fitted over those hands.
[Faded Saint’s Gloves]
The S-rank black gloves that had suppressed his curse.
No, thanks to Kang Cheol-mangchi’s repairs, they had now become SS-rank.
Not only had they regained the lost Purification ability, but the color had returned to a soft gray.
Feeling oddly unsettled, he clenched his fist and then released it.
‘…….’
He could feel it.
It wasn’t that usual parched sensation.
No—not that feeling of cracks deepening with the slightest wrong movement, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Not that feeling of fragmenting and scattering away.
Having endured the curse for so long,
he found this sensation strange. He removed the gloves.
“Ah…”
The association president nearly wept.
His hands, once blackened and deeply cracked,
hands that looked like drought-ravaged, withered fields,
were slowly mending.
Though they weren’t fully restored yet,
the gloves’ Purification Level 2 was clearly taking effect.
At this rate,
given enough time, couldn’t he fully recover his hands?
Such hope began to kindle.
While the role of association president was indeed an ideal position for him,
his true desire was to stand where monsters roamed freely—
at the very front lines of battle.
“Kang Cheol-mangchi…”
The association president thought of him.
The world’s first and only master craftsman, who had repaired his gloves.
Though he’d already sent a fee, watching his hands heal made him understand.
That wouldn’t be nearly enough.
He considered sending more money, but not everything could be solved with funds.
Then, for the association president,
[This is Kang Cheol-mangchi.]
I am now accepting item repair commissions.
If you have an item in need of repair, please submit a request.
A new report arrived.
News that Kang Cheol-mangchi had posted on the Awakener community.
It seemed he wasn’t just taking item sales and crafting commissions—now repair requests too.
The association president understood immediately.
The very reason Kang Cheol-mangchi had begun accepting repair commissions was because of his gloves.
If that was the case,
“I should repay the debt.”
There seemed to be
a way for him to help Kang Cheol-mangchi.
And then.
“President, a Gate Break has occurred.”
At the news,
“I’ll go.”
“Sir? You, President?”
“Show me the way.”
“But sir, how can you possibly—”
The association president rose from his seat.
* * *
The comments on my post were flying in fast.
Repair requests kept arriving one after another.
Repair commissions were pouring in, just as I’d hoped.
“But something’s off…….”
These weren’t the jobs I’d actually wanted.
And for good reason.
[ Do you repair A-rank equipment at level 10? ]
[ I’m a fan of Kang Cheol-mangchi! I bought this item from Kang Cheol-mangchi, and I was hoping you could repair it! ]
…….
The level of repair requests was far too basic.
My interest in taking repair commissions wasn’t just about conserving materials.
More importantly, I wanted to broaden my eye for evaluating items.
But what was the point of receiving items I’d made myself and repairing them, or fixing low-level equipment?
By that logic, most of the requests coming in now wouldn’t help me at all.
Naturally, I had no intention of accepting such work.
‘Should I specify something like level requirements?’
No, come to think of it, that’s still too vague.
The association president’s gloves had a requirement of “Cursed One” instead of a level restriction for equipping.
The real question was whether I could repair equipment with high equip-level restrictions when my own level was lower.
Fortunately.
[ This is level-24 restricted equipment I used to wear, so I’m sending this request on the off chance…… ]
A request that looked just right arrived.
If I took this job, I’d be able to find out whether my Repair Skill could handle equipment with equip-level restrictions higher than my own level.
With that in mind, I sent a reply.
[ Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ]
I received the item from the requester.
[ Orc Warrior’s Glaive ]
Form : Polearm
Grade : A
Restriction : Level 24 or higher
Description : A newly bestowed weapon for an orc warrior who stood on the threshold of achieving the rank of great warrior, even among the orc warriors of the thick-tusked clan.
Attack Power : 121
Abilities : Savage Strike Lv 2, Weight Increase Lv 1, Hemorrhage Lv 1
The Orc Warrior’s Glaive.
True to its name, it seemed to be a weapon I’d obtained from defeating an orc warrior.
To be honest, it wasn’t as good as the weapons I’d crafted myself, but that was only because my items were higher-grade.
Generally speaking, A-rank items are considered quite decent among the items monsters drop.
The requester probably treasured this weapon quite dearly.
Yet.
‘How roughly was this thing used?’
The condition of the weapon was appalling.
The blade was so worn it looked more like a long blunt club than a glaive.
Not only that, but there were cracks running through what remained of the blade, the grip was peeling, and the shaft seemed unstable.
It looked like it would snap in two the moment someone wielded it again.
That must’ve been why the requester commissioned the repair.
The moment I picked it up.
[ Using Repair Skill. ]
I attempted to use my Repair Skill.
I wondered if the level mismatch might prevent me from using the skill at all.
Fortunately.
[ Insufficient materials. ]
“It works.”
The skill activated without issue.
The lack of materials wasn’t really a problem.
The moment I added a bit of iron ore and some wood, the repair conditions were immediately satisfied.
After that.
[ Beginning repairs. ]
Clang!
I swung the hammer.
“This is manageable.”
It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I’d expected.
A Level 24 weapon meant equipment four levels higher than my own, so I’d been worried the difficulty would be steep.
But it was A-rank gear, after all.
The difficulty turned out to be far easier than I’d expected.
Thanks to that, before long—
[ Repair Complete. ]
I was able to finish the Repair perfectly.
But that wasn’t all.
[ Orc Warrior’s Glaive ]
Form: Spear
Grade: A
Requirement: Level 24 or higher
Description: A new weapon bestowed upon an orc warrior from the thick-tusked orc tribe who stood on the very brink of becoming a great warrior.
Attack Power: 127
Abilities: Savage Strike Lv 2, Weight Increase Lv 1, Hemorrhage Lv 1
“Huh?”
The glaive’s original attack power had been 121.
Though subtle, the attack power had risen slightly.
If I’d used something like blacksteel instead of common iron ore as my material, wouldn’t the attack power and abilities have been enhanced even further?
That thought crossed my mind.
Well, I’ll verify that later.
But it was now clear that I could Repair items with level requirements higher than my own.
‘Should I post this on the community?’
I was about to repost repair requests on the Awakener community.
When I opened it, the community’s reaction was extraordinary.
Just moments ago, the Awakener community had been abuzz with talk of my repair request.
Now it was filled entirely with someone else’s name.
That someone was—
[ Wait, the Association Chairman? ]
[ Insane, he sent the Ogre flying with one blow ]
The Chairman was always this strong?
– He was a top-ranked Awakener from the beginning lol
– You don’t know Kwon Seok-hun, the Fist Sovereign? Kids these days… tsk
[ Guess some people forgot about the Fist Sovereign after all this time lol ]
The monsters are all dead now.
…….
It was all talk about Kwon Seok-hun.
The Chairman of the Awakener Association.
When I dug a little deeper—
[ The Awakener Association Chairman Kwon Seok-hun’s Fist Returns ]
[ Kwon Seok-hun Brings Down a Boss Monster in the City with a Single Punch! ]
[ The Return of the Fist Sovereign ]
…….
The media was likewise flooded with articles about the Chairman.
Out of curiosity, I clicked on one of the articles and found an attached video.
When I played it, I saw Ogres pouring forth from a Gate Break.
Ogres.
Strong enough monsters that the Awakeners were struggling hard to hold them back.
And when the Boss Monster appeared, things grew truly dangerous.
Then, in that moment—
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—
Just like when I’d first seen the Chairman.
The sound of helicopter blades beating the air.
– That’s—!
– The Chairman?
– Why is the Chairman here……?
The Chairman appeared.
The moment he leapt from the helicopter and, before my eyes, struck the red cliff with all his might just as he had done before—
Crack!!
He smashed the Boss Monster’s head with tremendous force.
But the power behind it was beyond anything I’d ever witnessed.
Back then, even though he looked incredibly powerful to my eyes, the truth was he couldn’t knock down a single criminal with one strike.
It was a pathetic attack compared to what I’d imagined of the man once called Kwon Hwang.
But now, things were different.
Kwon Hwang. Kwon Seok-hun.
With the fist he swung.
Crack!
The ogre’s head caved in.
Thud.
The ogre went down in a single blow.
Watching this, I understood.
“It really is working. Thank goodness.”
The Faded Saint’s Gloves I’d repaired.
The newly added Purification Level 2 was proving its worth.
The curse on his hand was gradually being cleansed.
And so the Boss Monster fell.
The Gate Break was cleared.
— Director, what just happened?!
— Did you really recover your strength from your prime?
— Are you making a comeback as an active Awakener?
— Give us a statement!
Where the ogres had been swarming, reporters suddenly came rushing in from nowhere, thrusting microphones at the Director.
And his answer was something I never could have imagined.
— Kang Cheol-mangchi repaired my gloves. It was only possible thanks to him.
The Director had mentioned my name.
“What…?”
I never expected him to say my name in front of all those cameras.
After that, he simply refused to answer any further questions and left with an unhurried stride.
Naturally, what followed was inevitable.
[ Kang Cheol-mangchi repaired the Director’s gloves? ]
[ Now that you mention it, the Director’s gloves were originally black, but they’re gray now ]
[ Wait, this is actually real? ]
[ But if those are the Director’s gloves, the level requirement has to be pretty high, doesn’t it? How did Kang Cheol-mangchi even repair them? ]
— That’s what I’m confused about too
— Could it be that Repair doesn’t have level restrictions?
— If that’s the case, that would be insane
— There are tons of high-level equipment out there that’s run out of durability and people can’t even throw them away lol
— No way
— That doesn’t make sense lol
[ I had Kang Cheol-mangchi repair level 24 equipment today ]
Kang Cheol-mangchi’s max craft level is usually 20, but since he repaired my gear, it looks like level really doesn’t matter
— Is this for real?
— I’ll attach a photo. Plus, after the repair, the attack power actually increased
— Wait, this is legit
— Really?!
— Jackpot
Posts about this began flooding the Awakener community.
Thanks to that, without me having to post anything myself, it became established fact that I could repair equipment of even higher levels.
And not long after that.
[ Kang Cheol-mangchi, what’s the maximum level equipment you can repair? ]
[ I’d like to request S-rank accessory repairs. ]
[ This is the Deputy Guild Master of the Mir Guild. I’d like to request a repair. ]
…….
Repair requests of the caliber and level I’d been hoping for began pouring in.

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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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