I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 9

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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 9
Episode 9
Clang, clang, clang!
Today, like every day, I swung my hammer with all my strength.
When Iron Ore runs out, I head into the Mine and swing my Pickaxe.
When Wood runs out, I head into the forest and swing my Axe.
When Fiber runs out, I pull grass from the forest.
And with items made this way, I keep listing them on the Trading Post.
[‘Basic Iron Armor’ has sold.]
[‘Basic Longsword’ has sold.]
[‘Lowest-Grade Wooden Helmet’ has sold.]
……
“Hehehehe.”
Money kept piling up in my account on its own.
Even after accounting for what I’d spent on Lowest-Grade Magic Stones, my bank balance had easily crossed ten million won.
To think I’d earned this much in just a few days.
If I keep this pace, couldn’t I easily clear a hundred million in a month?
Being conservative—a hundred million a month—that’s at least a billion a year.
I’d become an Awakener with a salary of over a billion won annually!
“Hehehehehehe.”
With that thought, the hammering didn’t feel tiring at all.
Before long, swinging away like that, it was time for lunch.
Rumble.
My stomach clock was ringing.
I could go outside and buy a proper meal, but right now every minute, every second counts.
The money I’d make swinging a hammer in the time it takes to walk outside and eat—that’s too much to give up.
Besides, hammering is genuinely fun, too.
“Ember, want anything to eat?”
– I appreciate the thought, but I am a being who has no need for sustenance.
– Please do not concern yourself.
“You really don’t need anything?”
– ……Well, if you insist, that thing you gave me before.
“Toast, right? Got it.”
They say generosity comes from having a full purse.
Now that the numbers in my account were growing, I’d even started taking care of Ember’s meals.
The old me couldn’t have dreamed of such a thing.
As I ordered food and checked the Trading Post.
“Wow, everything’s already sold out.”
I could see that all the items I’d listed had been completely cleared.
That wasn’t all.
The Basic series items others had listed on the Trading Post.
Second-hand goods that people had bought from me, used until they leveled up, and then resold—those were disappearing from the Trading Post the moment they appeared.
Seeing this, I naturally opened the Awakener Community.
As expected.
[What’s this Basic series?]
Seriously insane lol. The weapons are powerful enough to one-shot a goblin, and the armor is durable enough to tank one. The price is a bit steep, but it’s better to buy this than to keep breaking cheap weapons and risking your neck.
Plus it’s so sturdy you can resell it on the Trading Post after you’ve leveled and basically get your money back lol
– Beginners these days are living it up
– Back in my day, level 1s risked their necks fighting goblins with dull blades
– That’s why low-level players are weak these days. They grow up getting carried by good items
– Old guys, if you’re jealous just say so lmao
– I am jealous ㅠㅠ If we’d had this back then I would’ve bought it too ㅠㅠㅠ
[Breaking News!]
The Awakener Association is bulk-purchasing the ‘Basic series.’
Apparently, they’re lending them to Level 1 Awakeners with proper certification to increase the survival rate of new Awakeners.
– Wait, they’re lending these out?
– Beginners these days really do have it good lol
– Nice
– But what even is this stuff? Where did something like this suddenly come from?

– So that’s what’s strange about it. What kind of monster drops Basic Series equipment? Someone must be hoarding their own private Gate and farming items.
– Are you sure that equipment is actually dropping from monsters?
– What do you mean? Equipment drops from monsters—that’s just how it works.
– Even if monsters are dropping it, does it make sense for this much to be flooding the market?
The Awakener Community was indeed packed with talk about my equipment.
But as I read through those posts,
a problem began to reveal itself.
“Making things too durable is a problem too.”
The number of Level 1 Awakeners is limited.
Awakeners may continue to emerge, but the better the equipment I make, the faster their levels climb.
No matter how good my equipment is, once their level rises, it becomes advantageous to equip higher-level gear.
And aren’t those who’ve leveled up that way already reselling the equipment they bought from me?
What’s more,
“They’re renting it out?”
The Awakener Association is a problem too.
They’re buying my equipment to rent out to Level 1 Awakeners.
So what am I supposed to live on?
This is troublesome.
Really troublesome.
And there’s only one way to solve this problem.
“Level 2.”
Level 2 equipment. Better yet, I need to craft even higher-level gear.
The issue is,
“But I still don’t want to go out and hunt monsters…….”
To level up, I’d have to hunt monsters.
Of course, I’m confident.
Especially wielding a well-crafted S-Grade weapon.
If I equipped myself entirely in S-Grade armor, no ordinary monster would stand a chance against me.
Even if goblins fired their poisoned stingers endlessly, my armor wouldn’t be pierced.
With an S-Grade weapon in hand, I could cleave a goblin in two with a single stroke.
Even without combat-enhancing abilities, I could hunt safely enough.
But.
“Do I really have to keep facing monsters from now on?”
This was rather troublesome.
One reason I’d chosen Blacksmith in the Final Gate and wanted to become one in reality was because I wanted to avoid combat.
As I wrestled with this dilemma,
once again, my personal problem-solver had the answer.
– If leveling up is your concern, you can use the exclusive hunting ground provided at the Blacksmith Shop.
“An exclusive hunting ground? There’s something like that?”
– It’s a newly unlocked area that opens when you raise the Blacksmith Shop’s level.
A newly unlocked area.
The moment I heard those words, I placed my hand against the Blacksmith Shop’s wall to check, and
[ New Unlocked Areas of ‘Forge of Time Lv 3’ ]
[ 1. Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground ]
[ 2. Blacksmith’s Assistant Waiting Room ]
It was really there.
The unlocked area I’d wanted.
“It really exists? A hunting ground?”
Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
I didn’t know the details, but according to Ember, it seemed I could level up comfortably there as a blacksmith.
As for the next option, the Assistant Waiting Room……honestly, I have no idea.
What that space is even for.
An Assistant Waiting Room when I don’t even have an assistant.
Could it be a function to hire an assistant from outside and bring them in?
It doesn’t matter.
Right now, what I needed wasn’t the Assistant Waiting Room—it was the hunting ground.
If there was a problem,
“Ember, so how many Magic Stones would I need…….”
– Eight Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.
“I figured as much.”
Magic stones.
As I’d predicted, the number of Lowest-Grade Magic Stones needed increased twofold each time I raised the Blacksmith Shop’s level.
So this time, I needed eight of them.
In money, that came to eight million won.
An enormous sum, but…….
[ You have purchased a Lowest-Grade Magic Stone. ]
Eight million won was less than half the money I had now.
If I meant to grow, the answer was to invest quickly and strike hard in return.
With that thought in mind.
[ You have purchased a Lowest-Grade Magic Stone. ]
I bought all eight Lowest-Grade Magic Stones right there at the Trading Post.
Eight million won.
A few days ago, I wouldn’t have dared dream of such a sum.
But the real problem comes next.
I can somehow scrape together eight million won, but the sixteen million after that——
And then the thirty-two million after that, I’m not sure how I’ll manage.
I could only hope that through the upgrade, the weapons I crafted would sell for much higher prices.
With that thought.
[ Will you raise the level of ‘Forge of Time Lv 2’? ]
[ Y / N ]
“All right!”
I raised the Blacksmith Shop’s level.
In that instant, the eight Lowest-Grade Magic Stones scattered and dissolved.
Crack-crack-crack——
At the same time, a vibration ran through the Blacksmith Shop, just as it had when it reached Level 2.
Still, now that it was the second time, I wasn’t startled.
Looking calmly around, I noticed changes in two places.
The first change was at the entrance to the Mine.
Light was seeping out from inside.
“There it is.”
It was easy enough to guess.
The ‘Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground’ had been created in there.
And then there was another.
The wall on the opposite side crumbled, and a new door appeared.
A rather plain-looking wooden door.
That must be the ‘Blacksmith’s Assistant Waiting Room’.
Not long after.
[ The Forge of Time has reached Lv 3. ]
[ A new space has been unlocked. ]
[ 1. Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground ]
[ 2. Blacksmith’s Assistant Waiting Room ]
The Blacksmith Shop’s level-up was complete.
I set out immediately to find the Hunting Ground first.
Sure enough, as I’d anticipated.
Entering the left corridor, I found not just the two forks leading to the Mine and the forest, but a third passage opening up.
This was the Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground!
I wanted to rush in.
“Better not. I need to be careful.”
There’s a saying: the more urgent, the more you must take the long way around.
Back at the Blacksmith Shop, I crafted and equipped myself with a ‘Basic Iron Armor’ set that I’d grown quite practiced at making.
I sold all the pieces that earned an A-Grade Rating to the Trading Post, keeping only those that earned S-Grade Ratings for myself.
The weight was quite heavy, slowing my pace, but that didn’t matter.
What mattered now wasn’t movement speed, but defense.
Even if I was ambushed in the Hunting Ground, this armor could take a decent beating.
“Phew.”
I picked up a weapon just in case.
I thought about grabbing a Basic Longsword, something straightforward.
But when I picked it up and swung it, the grip didn’t feel right, so I crafted a new weapon that felt better in my hand.
Its nature was, of course.
[ Basic One-Handed Hammer ]
Type: Hammer
Grade: S
Requirement: Level 1 or above
Description: A one-handed combat hammer crafted from decent wood and Iron Ore.
Attack Power: 27
Abilities: Power Strike Lv 1, Stun Lv 1
A hammer, in other words.
But that wasn’t all — I’d also picked up a Shield, just in case I needed to block an enemy’s attack.
Fully equipped with an S-Grade Level 1 weapon and armor.
This should be more than enough.
Since they called it a hunting ground, some monster would probably emerge — but with this gear, I was confident.
After all, hadn’t I seen the reviews on the Awakener Community?
How my armor had completely blocked a goblin’s attack.
How my weapon had sent a goblin down in a single strike.
Trusting in that.
Step.
I stepped into the hunting ground.
And what I saw was—
“Oh?”
A fairly spacious plain.
And also—
“A slime?”
A monster appeared at once.
The first one I spotted was a slime.
It was known to be the weakest monster of all.
Besides that, I could see quite a variety of monsters, but—
“Horned rabbits, giant moles… they’re all Lowest-Grade Monsters, aren’t they?”
They were monsters commonly known to be weak.
Since these were weaker than even the goblins I’d heard were weak, there was nothing more to say.
“At this level…!”
Seeing such monsters, confidence naturally swelled within me.
I’d said I didn’t like combat, but at this level, I felt I could manage it.
With that in mind, I cautiously approached—
“Hah!”
And swung my hammer at the slime.
Then—
My worries proved groundless.
Thud.
The slime, struck by the hammer—
“Squueee…”
Let out a pathetic sound.
“…Is that it?”
And deflated like a punctured balloon.

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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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