I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 84

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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 84
Chapter 84
The Dark Night Society.
Their first move to kidnap Jang Gang-cheol was to blow out the tires of the automobiles.
Stopping the vehicles came first, after all.
Though all three automobiles belonged to the Awakeners’ Association and possessed excellent defensive capabilities.
And the tires themselves were sturdy enough to withstand most attacks.
But the Dark Night Society was no pushover either.
“Shadow Needle.”
An Awakener who had awakened the ability to manipulate shadows.
That Awakener had hidden himself along the automobiles’ route, and suddenly unleashed his power.
In that instant, sharp spikes erupted from the shadows beneath the vehicles.
Splurch!
All the tires burst at once.
Screeeech—
Boom!
The lead automobile screeched to a halt.
With it stopped, the automobiles trailing behind had no choice but to brake as well.
Then came the next phase.
“Smoke Boom.”
Whoooosh!
Smoke erupted everywhere.
A perfect cloud of smoke that engulfed all three vehicles.
To prevent the automobiles from reversing, and to strike before anyone could react.
The Dark Night Society rushed at the smoke cloud from behind.
Though the smoke blocked their vision, the Dark Night Society had come prepared—each member carried a means to see through it.
But the guards inside the vehicles weren’t fools either.
The moment they stepped out, they began wielding their powers to repel the attackers.
Indeed, the Awakeners’ Association’s elite guards.
They were as strong as the Dark Night Society’s elite, but it didn’t matter.
The Dark Night Society’s objective was never to defeat them in the first place.
“That car!”
The middle one.
Jang Gang-cheol must be inside it.
Two of the Dark Night Society’s elite engaged the Awakener who emerged from that vehicle.
The remaining two rushed toward the car to kidnap Jang Gang-cheol, but—
Click.
The rear door opened.
Was Jang Gang-cheol stepping out on his own?
No, that wasn’t it.
The Dark Night Society members, being skilled Awakeners, could sense it.
That palpable hostility emanating from inside.
It wasn’t Jang Gang-cheol.
Certain of this, they drew their daggers to slit the throat of whoever emerged, but—
Clang!!
An unexpected figure blocked the dagger’s path.
And that figure was—
“An orc?”
“Graaaagh!”
An orc.
The orc had raised an axe and blocked the dagger with it.
As they stood there in shock—
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The orc kicked one of the Dark Night Society members across the abdomen with a leg as thick as a wooden post.
Fortunately, the blow wasn’t devastating.
Given the creature’s size, the abdomen should have burst, but—
Despite appearances, its Level seemed quite low.
At this—
“Quickly, eliminate it and kidnap Jang Gang-cheol!”
Two members of the Dark Night Society began their attack.
The enemies were diverse.
One orc, one dwarf, one noum.
I’d assumed the one who appeared with a bow was an elf, but looking closer, they were just human.
Clang, clang, claaaang!
Time was running short.
If they dragged this out, it was their side that would lose.
Knowing that much, they needed to abduct Jang Gang-cheol quickly—but.
Four enemies emerged from the automobile.
After clashing weapons a few times, their levels didn’t seem particularly high.
‘How are they this seasoned?’
Combat experience—was that how to describe it?
It was far from ordinary.
Their attack speed was clearly faster, yet their opponents blocked everything with minimal movement.
They coordinated so perfectly, as if they shared a single body.
They were troublesome opponents to face.
Especially.
‘The dwarf and the archer.’
Those two were the most difficult.
The dwarf mirrored their attacks like a shadow itself.
And being small, they were hard to even see clearly.
And that archer sitting atop the automobile, firing arrows in rapid succession.
Their level didn’t seem particularly high, yet their marksmanship was good enough to be mistaken for a ranker’s.
Firing that quickly without a single arrow going astray—it was something else.
The attack power itself wasn’t that high, given the low level.
‘Every shot is a Lethal blow.’
Each arrow the archer unleashed was aimed at a vital point.
Even with low attack power, a hit to a vital spot was always threatening.
And whenever they tried to target Jang Gang-cheol, the orc and dwarf stood at the door like an iron wall.
Even when trying to break through, they wouldn’t yield an inch—they’d take the hit themselves first.
‘Damn it.’
This was a problem.
If this dragged on any longer, it would be a disaster.
Thinking as much.
“Break through with force! Jang Gang-cheol or death—doesn’t matter! Make the smoke thicker, concentrate everything here!”
The Dark Night Society began gathering their power more forcefully.
Jang Gang-cheol’s subordinates were defending admirably, and while they could overcome the overwhelming level difference through items and skill, overcoming both that and the numerical disadvantage perfectly was difficult.
And yet.
“We hold firm!”
“We don’t fall back, you whelps!”
“Noum!”
Jang Gang-cheol’s subordinates didn’t give up.
* * *
Clang, clang, claaaang!
The metallic sounds of combat echoed constantly from outside.
Though the windows were darkly tinted, I could perceive the situation well enough.
‘They’ve grown.’
I didn’t know who the enemy was.
But unlike when I faced the Red Wall, we weren’t being overwhelmed.
My level still seemed insufficient.
Yet my subordinates were overcoming the level gap through items and skill, somehow holding back the enemy’s attacks.
But.
“Break through with force! Jang Gang-cheol or death—doesn’t matter! Make the smoke thicker, concentrate everything here!”
The enemy didn’t seem inclined to retreat easily.
This was bad.
My subordinates were barely holding on right now, overcoming the level gap as they fought.
If reinforcements arrived in this state, we wouldn’t be able to hold much longer.
But what could I do in this situation?
Should I open the window slightly and fire the Revolver?
No, something like that wouldn’t help.
But if my existence were exposed, the situation could spiral further out of my control.
As I wrestled with this dilemma,
‘Wait.’
I took a fresh look at where I was.
A full-sized sedan.
The interior was so spacious I could stretch out and lie down comfortably.
And it was an enclosed space.
At a scale like this… couldn’t I use my unique ability?
With that thought,
“Forge of Time.”
The moment I spoke the ability’s name,
Rumble—
the interior walls of the car began to crumble.
And there appeared a small forge.
A forge exactly the size of the sedan’s interior.
At least the chairs and tables vanished entirely, leaving space for the anvil and hammer.
Though even so, it was a forge so low I could barely stand upright.
‘That works.’
This much was success.
It wasn’t running away.
I didn’t know what would happen to my ability if the car took a hit in this state.
I summoned the forge not to flee, but to fulfill my role as a smith.
‘I need to create something.’
Right.
A blacksmith doesn’t need to participate directly in combat.
A blacksmith does their part by crafting items suited to their purpose.
But what kind of item should I make in this situation?
Creating ordinary equipment wouldn’t help much in a fight.
‘What if I made arrows like Lightning Pierce?’
Once before,
I’d crafted an SSS-rank arrow to defeat the boss monster Serin faced.
Would something like that help now?
That’s what I thought, but—
an SSS-rank item isn’t something you simply hammer out on demand.
Besides, this time the enemies aren’t just one or two.
With Lightning Pierce, I couldn’t fell a handful of them and be done.
So I was wrestling with this when—
‘Wait, if it’s a disposable weapon…’
A better idea came to me.
I don’t have time to craft proper equipment, and I can’t easily change the situation.
But wouldn’t a disposable weapon that spikes firepower in an instant—like Lightning Pierce—help?
‘Good.’
I made my decision about what to create.
Next came the materials.
Thinking of what I’d make, I started to consider the safest options—Explosion Stone, Flame Stone, Iron Ingot—but then
‘That won’t do.’
I had to shake my head.
Materials at my level wouldn’t be enough.
I needed something much more substantial.
And so, after some thought,
the Spine of Explosive Demon—
I took out an item I’d received from the Association.
Right.
It’s a shame to use it, but I think this is what’s needed.
Besides, the ability attached to the Spine of Explosive Demon seems to suit the item I’m about to make.
I immediately set the Spine of Explosive Demon on the anvil and
activated the Decompose skill.
Clang!
I began swinging the hammer.
First, I would shatter the spine completely.
He doesn’t just shatter the bone into pieces—he separates every element that forms the core function of this item.
Still, the difficulty from this point on is no joke.
No wonder, really. The Spine of Explosive Demon was a weapon with a level requirement of 70, after all.
Yet still.
Clang!
He brings the hammer down without hesitation.
Time flows swiftly, but he doesn’t chase after it.
He doesn’t grow anxious about time.
Because I am the master of the Forge of Time.
[ The Forge of Time responds to the blacksmith’s yearning. ]
[ The time-slowing effect of the Forge of Time grows stronger. ]
Within the slowly flowing time, he completes the item’s decomposition.
In that instant.
[ Modification begins. ]
He modifies the item.
If he used a crafting skill instead, he’d end up with something suited to his current level anyway.
By using Modification rather than crafting, he preserves the item’s abilities and level restrictions to their fullest potential.
Meanwhile, he discards the item’s original form entirely.
He concentrates the item’s essence at the center.
There, he adds both Explosion Stone and Flame Stone.
The outer surface he surrounds with fragments of the spine.
Is it because the material’s quality is so extraordinarily high?
No matter how hard he swings the hammer, the focal point refuses to fracture.
It’s all right, though.
Time is on my side.
Clang!
However stubborn the focal point, persistent strikes to the same location will eventually shatter it.
He hears the tick of a second hand.
A dull ache throbs through his head.
Yet he swings the hammer harder still, and then—
[ Modification complete. ]
[ Modification Rating: SS ]
[ You have obtained Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion. ]
[ A Masterpiece is born. ]
[ A masterpiece worthy of spreading your name across the world has been completed, and through it you gain inspiration, raising your abilities. ]
[ Intelligence increases by 2. ]
[ Wisdom increases by 1. ]
At last, the modification is finished.
Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion.
The Spine of Explosive Demon, modified by adding Explosion Stone and Flame Stone.
Or rather, this item seems better described as a reconstruction than a mere modification.
And its true form is none other than—
[ Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion ]
Form: Bomb
Grade: SS
Requirement: Level 70 or higher
Description: A bomb born from the spine of the Explosive Demon—a spirit of chaos that wanders about causing explosions—dismantled and reconstructed into this instrument of devastation.
Attack Power: 420
Ability:
Exploding Ear-piercing Cry
, Explosion Lv 6, Flame Lv 3, Burn Lv 2
A bomb.
This is exactly the single-use weapon he had aimed for.
Where the Lightning Pierce he had made before was a one-time weapon designed to topple a single enemy—
This one is designed to bring down multiple foes.
And it even carries a special ability.
Grasping it in hand, he immediately deactivated the Forge of Time.
Looking out the window—
Boom!!
As expected.
The situation was deteriorating.
Toran and Grom were bleeding, and Serin and Noum didn’t look much better.
It wasn’t surprising—nearly ten enemies had already closed in around my automobile.
In truth, holding out this long was remarkable in itself.
But my subordinates looked like they’d reached their limit.
Click.
I opened the door.
Whoosh!
I hurled the Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion toward the enemies.
There was no need to call my subordinates separately.
“Emergency Summon!”
Through the summon, I called all my subordinates back.
After that, I tried to move directly to the Forge of Time, but.
A variable appeared.
I’d expected the Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion to hit the ground and detonate on impact.
But one of the enemies judged it too dangerous and attacked it immediately.
So before I could even escape to the Forge of Time with my subordinates,
Boom-ooooooooom-!!!
The Demon’s Ear-piercing Cry of Explosion’s special ability—Explosive Piercing Cry—activated.
And it detonated with a blast loud enough to burst eardrums.

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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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