The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 65

Choi Hyun stepped back and said.

“Fighting, Ha-geom.”

At Choi Hyun’s encouragement, Kim Ha-geom drew his sword and stepped forward.

As Choi Hyun remembered, a total of five Sword Ghosts would appear in this Tomb of the Demon Swordsmen.

Kim Ha-geom had challenged quite a few areas in his life, but he had challenged the Tomb of the Demon Swordsmen the most.

However, he ultimately couldn’t defeat the fourth Sword Ghost and had no choice but to give up.

That was because the swordsmanship skills of the Sword Ghosts that appeared here were beyond imagination.

But to put it another way, it meant he could handle up to the third Sword Ghost.

Choi Hyun moved to the side and began watching the fight in earnest with his arms crossed.

The Sword Ghost wore light armor all over its body and had only a skull for a face.

Its weapon was an ordinary longsword, a one-handed sword about the length of a longsword.

The resurrected Sword Ghost charged toward Kim Ha-geom.

Kim Ha-geom also charged toward the Sword Ghost without hesitation.

Clang!

A clear friction sound echoed through the air.

After that, Kim Ha-geom exchanged several rounds of attacks, then found an opening and completely sliced off the first Sword Ghost’s head.

Thud-

[ The Sword Ghost has been defeated. ]

System notification.

The first Sword Ghost had been defeated.

Choi Hyun clapped.

“Well done~”

“Begin.”

When Kim Ha-geom called out to begin, the second tomb crumbled and the next Sword Ghost emerged.

The next Sword Ghost was also a skeletal swordsman wearing light armor all over its body.

The weapon was the same too.

It was almost identical to the first Sword Ghost.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

However, unlike its similar appearance, the second Sword Ghost was quite aggressive.

It moved much better than the first one and occasionally found gaps to attack.

But it was still only the second one.

Clang!!

This time too, Kim Ha-geom caught an opening and magnificently knocked the second Sword Ghost’s sword far away.

Then he pierced through its forehead to claim victory.

“Begin.”

Without rest, he summoned the third Sword Ghost.

But the one summoned this time had dark gray, ashen-colored light armor.

The external conditions were almost similar.

Except for the ashen color all over its body, everything from height to build, armor structure, and even the size and appearance of the skull was similar.

Choi Hyun decided to call it Third Revenant.

From Third Revenant onward, Kim Ha-geom also began to get nervous.

Choi Hyun still watched silently without saying anything.

Unlike the previous ones, Third Revenant moved to the side and calmly engaged in probing combat.

Kim Ha-geom did the same.

Although he had seen and defeated this opponent several times before, the process was never easy, so he too nervously moved to the opposite side, engaging in probing combat.

And the moment a breeze flowed between them, without anyone going first, they both charged toward each other.

Clang!!

The swords clashed.

The crossed blades struggled constantly to push each other away.

Their strength seemed similar to each other.

However, that was the same for the two that had died earlier.

But if there was a difference between the earlier ones and Third Revenant, it was that Third Revenant knew how to use its strength calmly, unlike the previous two.

Clang!

Third Revenant pushed away the crossed sword.

Distance opened up, and without missing the opportunity, it thrust its sword forward.

“Oh.”

Seeing that series of actions, Choi Hyun unconsciously pursed his lips.

The fight continued.

However, as the fight went on, the tide of battle seemed to mysteriously lean toward Third Revenant.

Choi Hyun carefully observed Kim Ha-geom.

After watching for a while longer, he came to a conclusion.

‘He’s going to lose.’

He hadn’t really noticed it with the first and second ones, but watching the battle with Third Revenant, all the problems became visible.

That’s when it happened.

Swoosh!

Suddenly Kim Ha-geom’s sword shone brightly, emitting a flash of light as it completely cut through Third Revenant.

He had not used any skills until now, but finally used a skill at this moment.

Thanks to that, Third Revenant was completely cut through and ultimately had to meet its death.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

Kim Ha-geom, having achieved his third victory, breathed heavily.

Only after barely catching his breath that had risen to his chin did he try to start the fourth fight.

Just as he was about to call out to begin, Choi Hyun spoke.

“Wait, stop.”

At the stop signal, Kim Ha-geom lowered his sword.

Then he quickly approached at Choi Hyun’s beckoning gesture.

“Yes, President.”

“Since you came to Paragon to learn, I’ll explain without holding back.”

“Yes, please do.”

“The third one, was it very difficult?”

“Yes, I always give up on the fourth one, but honestly, if I fight without using skills, I’m actually outmatched by the third one in pure swordsmanship.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because Third Revenant’s swordsmanship is stronger than mine?”

“Simply a technical difference?”

“Of course there might be a skill gap too, but since it’s a monster inside a Gate, I’m guessing it has better swordsmanship than me.”

“Hmm, by that logic, shouldn’t I have lost to you, Ha-geom?”

“You, President?”

“I also have one sword technique skill. It’s called Nameless Sword Technique. You know what that is, right?”

“Nameless Sword Technique…”

How could he not know?

Nameless Sword Technique was easy to obtain skill pages for, and it was also a skill that could be learned through practice with a little effort even if you weren’t a swordsman class.

Moreover, it was the most basic standard sword technique given first to all swordsman Players.

There was no way he wouldn’t know it.

“I’m even lower level than you. And no matter how I distributed and raised my stats, I don’t think my strength stat would be higher than yours, Ha-geom. What do you think?”

“That’s right. Then it must just be due to my lack of skill.”

“From what I can see, there seem to be two problems.”

“Two problems?”

“Yes, first of all, I can feel impatience when you deploy your swordsmanship.”

“Impatience… in what way?”

“Were you very nervous today?”

“Yes, the President was watching, and it was a Gate I had internally given up on, so I was quite nervous.”

“So it wasn’t your usual performance?”

“It seems that way.”

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Someone was watching, it was a place where you failed before, so it wasn’t your usual performance. What meaning does any of that have? Whatever the situation, what you demonstrate in the field itself is your true ability.”

“…I see, you’re right.”

“Well, I mean, you can get nervous and make mistakes. I understand that. But what I want to tell you is that for whatever reason, when your mind gets impatient, your actions become slightly faster.”

“….”

“I told you before, right? To watch until the end. It’s the same this time. Third Revenant watches until the end and positions his sword where needed, but Ha-geom, you get impatient and keep positioning your sword based on rough guesses. As this continues, fatigue builds up and pressure accumulates, so you end up thinking you’re being overwhelmed in swordsmanship.”

It was true.

In fact, from Choi Hyun’s perspective, there wasn’t much difference between Kim Ha-geom and Third Revenant’s swordsmanship skills.

However, the reason Kim Ha-geom was being pushed back was that while Third Revenant watched actions until the end and positioned his sword in the right place at the right time, Kim Ha-geom’s impatience was causing unnecessary stamina consumption.

This was a very big difference.

After all, when those with similar skills fight, it inevitably becomes a prolonged battle, and in prolonged battles, whoever runs out of stamina first loses.

Choi Hyun tapped under his eye with his index finger and said.

“Watch until the end. Your concentration seems a bit lacking – didn’t you get juggling balls from Jin Secretary?”

“I did. I’m practicing with them too.”

“From what I can see, if you master Ultra Focus, this problem should be resolved. Anyway, if you can boost your concentration a bit more through skill correction effects, you’ll be able to focus more on the sword, and that way you’ll spend more time observing the sword, ultimately leading you to watch until the end.”

“I see. I’ll work to master it as quickly as possible.”

“Good. Now for the second issue. I think I can solve this one right now.”

“What problem is that?”

“The sword you’re currently using – it doesn’t seem to suit you very well, Ha-geom?”

“The sword?”

When the sword was pointed out, Kim Ha-geom looked at his sword with surprised eyes.

“If it’s okay, can I take a look at it?”

“Ah, yes.”

He immediately handed over the sword.

Receiving the sword, Choi Hyun lifted it a few times, swung it around, then soon checked its information.

[ Origin Sword ]

– Type : Item

– Restriction : Level 80 or higher

– Durability : 2,652/2,652(2,210+442)

– Attack Power : 390/390(325+65)

– Options :

1. Targets hit by attacks take 10% increased damage.

2. When using sword-related skills, additional power increases by 5%.

3. Damage received by the weapon is reduced by 20%.

4. User experiences 20% reduced fatigue while using the sword.

# A sword made by an excellent blacksmith for Kim Ha-geom.

# Enhanced performance will disappear if durability falls below the original level.

A sword with a level 80 restriction.

As expected, it was a custom-made weapon.

Moreover, while he didn’t know who the excellent blacksmith was, one thing was certain – the person who made it and the person who repaired it were different.

Looking at the specs, it was obvious.

With a level 80 restriction, the average specs would be 1700 durability and 250 attack power.

From there, with good materials and crafting skill buffs, it had 30% improved specs compared to average.

Finally, though it was one-time use, there was an additional 20% spec boost from repair skill buffs.

That’s how these numbers came about.

‘It even has 4 options attached. At this level, it’s probably the best among swords made through domestic custom orders.’

There was no doubt about it.

That’s because among the current domestic blacksmith Players, the highest crafting skill level was 5, and repair skill was also maxed at level 5.

The additional buff increase from level 5 repair skill was 30%, so the calculation roughly matched.

So at least the repairs weren’t done by Lee Yeong-han.

His repair skill level was 3.

But what was important now wasn’t that.

Choi Hyun asked.

“What level were you when you custom ordered this?”

“Right when I reached level 80.”

“So that was the problem.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your current level?”

“87.”

“Are your strength stats the same as back then?”

“Of course they’re differ… Ah!”

An expression of realization.

At the same time, a smile formed on Choi Hyun’s lips.

“That was the problem.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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