I Became an SSS-Grade Time-Transcending Almighty Blacksmith - Chapter 93
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 93
Episode 93
First, the Pufferfish Poison Spine.
It was thin and delicate—fashioning a proper weapon from it seemed difficult.
I considered attaching it to a shield, but the spine would shatter far too easily if used that way.
So I chose a different approach.
Clang!
I decided to craft arrows instead.
The toxin was stronger than I’d anticipated, spraying with each swing of the hammer.
But that’s what the apron is for.
My Fire-Proof Apron blocked it all.
Fortunately, I had plenty of these spines to work with.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting evaluation: S ]
[ You have acquired Pufferfish Poison Spine Arrow. ]
I was able to craft a substantial quantity of arrows.
I shared them with Serin and listed the remainder on the auction house.
According to Serin’s feedback:
“The toxin was quite potent. When I used them against monsters weak to poison, they would collapse slowly on their own without needing further attacks.”
Apparently, they were arrows well worth making.
Even with Serin being as strong as she is, the monsters in Zone 3 are formidable.
For those creatures to fall to the arrow’s poison spoke volumes of its effectiveness.
Next came the second material.
[ Reef Octopus Tentacle ]
This one.
An octopus leg.
It was so squishy I wondered if it should be used as a cooking ingredient rather than equipment material.
But since it had appeared as a crafting material, I was determined to use it properly.
I considered how best to employ it.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting evaluation: S ]
[ You have acquired Reef Octopus Whip. ]
I crafted a whip first.
While whips weren’t particularly popular weapons, fashioning it as one seemed the most effective way to maximize this material’s performance.
After completing the whip, I began to grasp the nature of the material better.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting evaluation: S ]
[ You have acquired Reef Octopus Belt. ]
I then crafted a belt.
This allowed me to fully maximize the item’s evasion properties.
It even came with a modest regeneration effect as a bonus.
[ Stone Crab Claw ]
From this, I crafted gauntlets.
The claws themselves were exceptionally sturdy, so I was able to create gauntlets of quite impressive quality.
Afterward, I also crafted defensive pieces like shoulder guards, and their performance was equally satisfying.
And so it continued.
[ Crafting complete. ]
[ Crafting complete. ]
…….
I crafted items one after another.
In the midst of all this:
Rumble—
“I’ll bring more…….”
Drake arrived with fresh materials.
And I transformed them into new items as well.
Of course, throughout all of this work:
“Noum, do you think you could manage this?”
“Noum’s memory is good! Noum can do everything!”
Noum had been watching the entire process.
Once I crafted the first item from a material, Noum would then independently craft the next items from similar materials.
Making multiple copies of the same item tends to be tedious, there’s no getting around it.
But with Noum handling that burden for me, I could focus on crafting new designs and chasing that dopamine rush.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
While I was absorbed in itemmaking, curiosity got the better of me, so I pulled up the Awakener community forum.
[ Kang Cheol-mangchi Equipment — What is this even? ]
A seafood party? lolol
– fr fr lol
– They’re all ocean-related gear
– But where does Kang Cheol-mangchi even get all these materials?
– Right? They don’t just drop from defeated monsters
– And Kang Cheol-mangchi doesn’t seem affiliated with any organization, so I’m curious about the sourcing chain itself
– What is this guy
[ Just bought Kang Cheol-mangchi equipment!!! ]
It’s a gauntlet called the ‘Stone Crab Claw,’ and the feel of it is insane ㅠㅠ
I wasn’t expecting much since gauntlets rarely get made, but a gauntlet that perfectly matches my level just dropped and I’m so happy ㅠㅠ
– Congrats!
– So jealous;
– Seafood Series is solid
– Seafood Series lolol
[ Praise be to King God Mangchi ]
This batch of items is crazy good too
Bought the octopus belt and it has evasion capability.
Evasion on a belt? Now that’s a hit, a total hit!
– That’s boomer slang, when did that trend
– But this one really is solid ngl
– Even though the budget series has variety, there were limits to the selection, but the Seafood Series really expands what’s available
[ The Greatest Privilege of Korean Awakeners ]
That would be the King God General Emperor Majesty Gorgeous Splendid Beautiful High Class Elegance Luxury Classic Genius Wonderful Lovely World Top Class Mangchi
Foreign countries can’t use the Korean exchange after all lol
– But real talk, this is no joke
– You younger Awakeners don’t know, right? Those days before Kang Cheol-mangchi equipment existed, when you had to risk your life just to level up…….
– Young Party Awaker, run away!
Fortunately, the response looked quite good.
Well, it made sense—I was trying new approaches and crafting a wider variety of items than before.
With a broader selection of items to use, people naturally had more to celebrate.
Still, this new situation created one problem.
“Noum, are you managing okay?”
The volume of materials had grown enormous.
Originally there were three supply sources—hunting grounds, mines, and forests—but now the ocean had become a fourth.
I worried that Noum might be overextending.
“Noum is doing fine!”
It wasn’t empty reassurance either; Noum genuinely seemed to be holding up well.
More than that, even.
At a glance, I could see Noum’s crafting speed had noticeably improved.
It seemed something in his spirit had shifted, but what really mattered was this:
‘Has Noum been growing too?’
Noum’s growth.
As his level rose, so did his stats and skill levels, which meant his production speed had increased accordingly.
I was deep in the work when—
Rumble.
The moment my stomach growled,
“Let’s eat~!”
I started preparing a welcome party for Drake.
* * *
As had been the pattern all along,
I decided to order whatever menu Drake wanted for this party too.
In that regard, Drake’s favorite meal was—
“Fish…….”
“But you ate plenty of fish in the sea, didn’t you? I could order something different if you’d like.”
“Fish is good…….”
It was fish.
In that sense.
“Ta-da!”
Today’s menu was.
“Following Drake’s suggestion, I’ve prepared a seafood party for us today.”
Seafood it was.
The first thing I pulled out was, naturally, sashimi.
I’d planned to order a mixed platter, but with me included, we were already six people, and since everyone had a voracious appetite.
Instead of a mixed platter, I ordered one of each type of sashimi—the full variety.
All in large portions, too.
Even that seemed like it wouldn’t be enough, so I added extra orders of the more popular fish.
“What’s this……?”
“I’m not really an expert on sashimi either. Oh, it says here—it’s flounder.”
“Flounder…….”
He really did seem to love fish.
Drake’s eyes, which had been glazed over as if he might devour everything on the spot, suddenly gleamed as he asked me a question.
When I answered, he immediately picked up a piece of sashimi and popped it into his mouth.
“It’s delicious……!”
He couldn’t help but marvel.
“It’s so tender and chewy……!”
“Isn’t it?”
Well, most of the fish Drake ate were sea monsters, after all.
Having eaten nothing but monsters that looked visibly tough, he couldn’t help but be amazed when he tasted such tender sashimi.
“Try dipping it in soy sauce and wasabi too. There’s also hot pepper paste. Or you could wrap it in the lettuce and vegetable leaves over there.”
“……!”
Drake began eagerly picking up sashimi and eating.
He seemed to have a little trouble with the wasabi, but the soy sauce dip appeared to be his favorite.
“Master, what’s this?”
“Oh, that’s salmon sashimi. You’d enjoy it if you dipped it in tartare sauce with green onion and radish sprouts on top.”
“……! It’s delicious! It melts so gently on the tongue!”
“Right?”
Serin seemed to be enjoying the salmon sashimi.
“Phew! This is so refreshing and nice!”
Toran appeared to be fond of the spicy fish stew.
“Noum likes this one!”
Noum was enthusiastically eating the corn cheese that had come as a side dish.
As for Grom, well, he was being his usual self.
“Chomp-chomp, delicious! Meat, meat, fish! Delicious!”
He was eating fish.
Or rather, devouring it.
Fortunately, it seemed his palate was just as satisfied with fish as it was with meat.
“Is this fin meat? It’s good.”
I was happily eating sashimi as well.
Usually when I eat a mixed platter, I have no idea what any of it is.
But having it laid out in front of me like this, I could appreciate the different textures and flavors of each type.
Flounder, rockfish, wrasse, sea bass, and so on.
Beyond the varieties of fish themselves, even the same fish had different textures depending on which part it was from—that was the real delight.
As we finished our meal.
— Gate Report.
— Today’s news.
— Recently, Kang Cheol-mangchi’s ‘Seafood Series’ has been making headlines?
— Ha ha, the ‘Seafood Series’? Just from the name alone, I’d have thought it was a fish restaurant menu rather than an Awakener’s gear.
— Ha, that’s quite true. But isn’t there really no better name for items crafted from Underwater Gate monsters?
— Ha ha, that’s a fair point as well.
I had the news on, as usual.
And just then, my name came up on the broadcast.
The Seafood Series.
It was accurate, but just as the announcer said, it sounded like a restaurant menu, which felt oddly strange.
Still, well.
It didn’t seem like anything particularly serious was happening.
I’d nearly finished my meal and was about to clear the dishes when
— the news broke that progress on the Gate that appeared in the Waters off Incheon had stalled.
— Doctor, how serious is the current situation with the Gate?
— I’d say there isn’t much time left. We’ve confirmed the wavelengths are destabilizing, so a Gate Break is inevitable within a week at most.
— A Gate Break, you mean……
— Yes, that’s correct.
The news anchor delivered the update with evident concern.
— A Gate Break, then.
— What kind of damage would we be looking at if that happens?
— Gates emerging from the sea are such a critical issue that the entire world is watching them closely.
— If the Gate in Gyeonggi Bay were to rupture, the Waters off Incheon would be overrun with monsters.
— Oh no, if that were to happen……
— Yes, Incheon Port would be completely paralyzed.
— Beyond that, there’s the risk of monsters attacking facilities along the coast, or in extreme cases, crawling ashore onto land itself.
— That’s incredibly dangerous!
— Then why are they allowing such a dangerous situation to go unchecked?
A Gate Break in Gyeonggi Bay.
Even I could see this was serious.
But if the Gate was so dangerous, why weren’t they attempting to clear it?
I’d wondered if perhaps the Gate’s level was exceptionally high, but that wasn’t it.
— It’s because it’s underwater.
— Pardon?
— The Gate in Gyeonggi Bay is an Underwater Gate. Its interior is entirely submerged, making even breathing impossible.
— That can’t be……
— Gates like this require Underwater Awakeners to cooperate and clear them, but Korea’s Underwater Awakeners haven’t completed sufficient development yet……
An Underwater Gate.
Exactly as the name suggested — a Gate whose interior was entirely beneath the ocean.
With a Gate like that, there was no way to clear it.
No matter how strong an Awakener was, they had to breathe to survive.
— So what can be done?
— It seems we’ll have to request assistance from overseas Underwater Awakeners, but since they’re so rare……
From what I gathered, Korea had virtually no means to resolve this alone.
They would have to ask foreign nations for help, though it seemed even that wouldn’t be easy.
And watching that news,
a thought naturally occurred to me.
“I think I might be able to handle this.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————