The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 204
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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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Chapter 204
Episode 204.
Leon had pride.
Even if he didn’t know about other fields, he had pride that he could do enhancement better than anyone else.
Pride that he was the best in this field alone.
Of course, strictly speaking, he wasn’t the best.
Even in the Master Craftsman Competition, there were four craftsmen ranked higher than him, and above all, there were Master Craftsmen who were craftsmen above craftsmen.
‘But I’m still young.’
Unlike most craftsmen who averaged over their mid-thirties, he was still only 28 years old.
An age with a bright future ahead.
He believed he had enough potential to become the best someday.
Based on that conviction, he had been doing enhancements and finally reached his current position…
Clang- Clank-
‘I, I can’t believe it.’
Now that conviction was about to be shattered for the first time.
Clank-
Clang-
The clear, crisp sound that rang out as weapon and hammer collided.
“Oh… That sounds good.”
“It somehow puts my mind at ease.”
“But Kaiser is better than I thought? Is it luck?”
He could hear players expressing admiration at the clear sound that cleared their heads the moment they heard it.
But Leon couldn’t admire it.
More precisely, he didn’t have the leisure to do so.
That was because that sound wasn’t simply the sound of hammering a weapon.
‘The sound of the weapon resonating…’
Why are craftsmen called craftsmen?
What exactly is so special that craftsmen’s enhancements have higher success rates than ordinary players?
Why do enhancement NPCs always say their hands slipped and blow up weapons!
Actually, the enhancement NPC weren’t wrong.
No matter how much ordinary enhancement workers slathered on auxiliary skills and probability assistance items, they ultimately had to rely on luck.
But craftsmen were different.
‘Identifying strike points and vital points through the vibrations of steel transmitted through the hammer when striking. How well you can do that is the measure that separates craftsmen from ordinary blacksmiths.’
It was because of ‘Iron Resonance’ that could be obtained upon becoming a craftsman.
A cheat-like skill that allowed one to feel strike points and vital points more clearly, and to sense even minute vibrations more sensitively.
When it came to high-level enhancement, luck still had to follow, but at least you could cover most enhancements with skill.
‘That’s why craftsmen are special. And only after becoming a craftsman does the true path of a blacksmith open up.’
However, even with the ‘Iron Resonance’ skill, it was difficult to fully feel the resonance.
Communing with iron and feeling resonance was very difficult for modern people.
-The realm of becoming one with iron and having conversations.
That was called the realm of wonder, and blacksmiths called those who made it possible Master Craftsmen.
Like all craftsmen, Leon also dreamed of becoming a Master Craftsman.
Although he had no talent for crafting, he had talent when it came to enhancement.
‘But how…’
Therefore, Leon felt resonance better than anyone else.
Even resonance performed by someone else’s hands, not his own!
Claaang- Clank-
A sound that felt refreshing beyond clear.
Where no impurities could be felt.
The unique sound that could only be made when iron and hammer resonated perfectly, without a trace of muddiness to be found.
‘…How exactly are you, a mere guy like you, accurately penetrating the strike points!’
The sound that only a Master Craftsman could make was coming from that man.
A mere combat class player who hadn’t even obtained production skills, let alone become a craftsman, was showing the realm of a Master Craftsman.
‘This doesn’t make sense. Th, that’s right. This is coincidence. It can’t be skill. It must be beginner’s luck or something like that.’
They say the first thought process people go through when experiencing something unbelievable is denial.
Leon was the same.
It must be coincidence.
Something like beginner’s luck. Hammering done without knowing anything that luckily produced such a sound.
He rationalized it that way.
Clang- Clank-
[Enhancement has been perfectly successful.]
[Maximum stats are granted due to perfect enhancement achieved through a wondrous realm.]
[+2 Swift One’s Green Sword is born.]
“Now it’s your turn.”
“Wow… Perfect enhancement? Maximum stats? What is this.”
“Amazing… Isn’t that a message only Master Craftsmen or top-tier craftsmen get?”
“I know that’s a message even Leon has only gotten a few times… The title he’s currently challenging for is related to that too.”
However, it didn’t take long for that rationalization to crumble.
Wondrous realm.
Literally a phrase that appeared when perfect enhancement was achieved through a realm that was wondrous beyond admiration.
It was also a phrase that even craftsmen didn’t see easily since you had to strike every strike point from beginning to end without a single deviation.
Such a phrase came from that mere guy?
‘It, it must be coincidence…’
Clang- Clank-
[Enhancement has been perfectly successful.]
[Maximum stats are granted due to perfect enhancement achieved through a wondrous realm.]
[+4 Swift One’s Green Sword is born.]
‘…Tw, twice might be possible with luck. I’ve done it twice too…?’
Clank- Clang!
[Enhancement has been perfectly successful.]
[Maximum stats are granted due to perfect enhancement achieved through a wondrous realm.]
…
No matter how much he denied it, that guy’s hammering didn’t stop.
Whenever the hammer struck down, the same clear sound rang out, and soon the iron resonance reacted and a message appeared.
Clang- Clank!
[Enhancement has been perfectly successful.]
[Maximum stats are granted due to perfect enhancement achieved through a wondrous realm.]
[+10 Swift One’s Green Sword is born.]
[You have performed perfect enhancement through a wondrous realm 5 times in a row.]
[Conditions are met.]
[You have acquired the title ‘Wondrous Enhancer’.]
[Wondrous Enhancer]
-Grade: Hero
-Description: A title given to enhancers who have shown a wondrous realm.
Once might be coincidence and luck, but if it repeats, that’s no longer luck but skill.
-Effect: The number of enhancement stones needed for enhancement is reduced by 20%.
Enhancement success rate increases by 5%. All stats + 5
[Hidden options will be unlocked upon succeeding in perfect enhancement through a wondrous realm 100 times.]
“Oh, what’s this. A title appeared? Is it okay to get it this easily?”
“…Th, that is.”
Unlike Dohyun, who thoughtlessly exclaimed in admiration at the sudden title, Leon was overwhelmed with shock and widened his eyes.
His pupils shook incessantly as if he couldn’t believe it, which was only natural.
“Whoa. That’s the title Leon was trying to challenge this time. Wasn’t that why he came here?”
“Amazing… Kaiser got that? And he’s not even a production class?”
“Honestly, doesn’t Kaiser seem better at it? It feels somehow faster and cleaner.”
“You feel that way too? I was thinking the same thing…”
“Setting everything else aside, only when Kaiser does it does the ‘Wondrous Realm’ message appear. Leon’s only had it appear twice, hasn’t he?”
“Actually, twice is already amazing, but Kaiser is really on another level. How can he be good at both fighting and strengthening?”
Leon had come to this place for that one title alone.
He had seen the ‘Wondrous Realm’ message up to 4 consecutive times here, so he had stopped by because it felt promising… but Kaiser achieved 5 consecutive?
‘That guy got something I failed at repeatedly? And in one try?’
He simply couldn’t believe it.
It was an impossible situation.
‘Right, this is a dream. I must be having a terrible nightmare.’
Faced with a series of absurd events, Leon eventually reached the stage of denying reality.
But contrary to his wishes, this place was cold reality.
As if to announce this fact, a cold baritone voice was heard.
“What are you doing? It’s your turn.”
“…”
Looking down at the Swift One’s Green Sword, which now held a blue glow instead of living up to its name, Leon broke out in cold sweat.
‘The maximum enhancement for Hero grade is +12…’
And the Swift One’s Green Sword was a Hero grade sword.
Meaning this would be the final enhancement.
If he succeeded this time, would that guy fail?
He shook his head.
The hammer that had been swung without a moment’s hesitation was still vivid in his memory.
‘If that happens, the next weapon will proceed with the order switched.’
Then he would go first, and he would be the one doing the final +12 enhancement.
And the final maximum enhancement of each weapon boasted extremely harsh probability.
All enhancements boasted extremely harsh probability when at maximum stage.
There was a reason they were called the cursed +10, +12, +15, and so on.
Gulp.
If it were Rare grade with +10 as the maximum, it wouldn’t be impossible. He was confident as a craftsman with the Iron Resonance skill up to +10.
But if it was Hero grade +12?
‘…Even I’m not confident about +12.’
Given enough time and opportunities, nothing was impossible.
But to succeed in just one try?
No craftsman brought here could be certain of this.
Unless they brought ‘that Master Craftsman’ called the legendary blacksmith.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
As Dohyun urged Leon, who hesitated without readily taking the weapon, the murmuring around them grew louder.
“What’s wrong, why isn’t he taking it quickly?”
“…Don’t tell me he’s scared?”
“A craftsman got scared in an enhancement battle against a non-production class player? Leon, who was in the top 5 of the Master Craftsman Competition?”
“But honestly, looking at the current situation, doesn’t Kaiser seem more like the craftsman than Leon?”
“What, so he really is scared? That’s disappointing.”
By this point, it was impossible for the players not to grasp the situation.
If he delayed any longer, he’d become the craftsman who ran away because he was afraid of losing to a combat class in an enhancement battle.
But even if he continued with the enhancement, would anything change?
If he lost anyway, he’d still be tarnishing the craftsman’s name, wouldn’t he?
‘Damn it, what exactly am I supposed to do!’
In this dilemma, Leon rolled his eyes busily before finally losing his patience and shouting.
What Leon chose was to throw a tantrum.
“Damn it, this is cheating. Cheating!! What kind of ridiculous situation is this! You’re a craftsman but lied about not being one! How the hell is that guy a combat class!”
“Ah, my ears hurt. What’s with the sudden cheating talk? I just arrived at the Empire, where would I have had a chance to try enhancement?”
“Th-that’s…”
At Kaiser’s reasonable argument, Leon became speechless.
At least in the Empire, no one was unaware that Kaiser had just set foot on Empire soil.
And enhancement was a system that opened from the Empire onwards.
In other words, it proved that Kaiser was doing enhancement for the first time in Godseeker, at minimum.
But he couldn’t back down like this.
He couldn’t let the reputation he’d built up over the years crumble so futilely.
Leon himself was a promising young craftsman with a bright future ahead!
“You bastard!!! What kind of trickery are you using!! A mere combat class who isn’t even a blacksmith succeeding at 5 consecutive wondrous enhancements? You expect me to believe that! There must be some kind of cheating…!”
“Silence!!”
While he was desperately trying to deny everything.
At the heavy shout that suddenly came from behind, Leon shut his mouth. A voice his body reacted to first. It was a very familiar voice to Leon.
‘…Th-this voice, could it be?’
And that prediction was exactly right.
“Tsk tsk… Pathetic fool. Acting stubborn like a five-year-old child because you can’t accept defeat… There’s no greater disgrace than this.”
A white-haired elderly man walking with his hands behind his back.
The wrinkled elderly man with snow-white mustache and beard as impressive as his hair seemed like looking at a sturdy ancient tree.
Anyone interested in enhancement would recognize this face.
“Whoa… Isn’t that Aison?”
“Amazing, that craftsman NPC?”
“Why is Aison appearing here?”
“I heard rumors were already spreading about Leon and Kaiser having an enhancement battle… Don’t tell me Aison came after hearing about it too?”
Called the craftsman among craftsmen, a quasi-Master Craftsman NPC who might soon become a Master Craftsman.
A craftsman with few equals in the enhancement world, an NPC whose teachings all blacksmith players dreaming of becoming enhancers desired.
“M-Master…?”
Also, the elderly man who was Leon’s master.
It was the moment when Master Craftsman Aison Briem appeared in the Alley of Strengthening.
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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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