The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 102

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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 102
Episode 102.
“I am a spirit called Nordin…….”
The ancient spirit Nordin was a member of the Spirit Tribe from the Spirit Realm.
‘They’re a race that possesses spiritual power, like elves and orcs.’
Similar to Dust and Coco, but slightly different.
Nordin wasn’t a spirit who came to the Human Realm through a contract—he was simply a race that lived in the Spirit Realm.
‘Still, the roots seem similar enough.’
“I was bound to this tower by the merciless claws of Basago, the incarnation of evil.”
This tower was ruled by Basago, the incarnation of evil.
“Long ago, Basago invaded our Spirit Tribe’s city.”
The Spirit Tribe united their strength and barely drove Basago away, but he didn’t simply disappear.
He took powerful spirits like Nordin as hostages, and moreover, he even constructed another tower in the Spirit Tribe’s homeland before departing.
“Thanks to that, I broke free from my seal. I must return to our land at once. Without me, our land will never escape the abyss of the incarnation of evil. All the Spirit Tribe will perish and become his subordinates.”
‘He certainly feels a strong sense of responsibility.’
From what Jin-woo heard, Nordin seemed to be no ordinary spirit.
“Are you perhaps a Spirit King?”
“Yes. To be precise, you could say I am a Divine Spirit—one who houses a god within my body.”
‘Ah, that’s why.’
The reason Nordin could assign Jin-woo a Quest through a system message was likely because he possessed power comparable to that of a god.
‘Not a complete god, though.’
In any case, he was clearly a spirit of considerable standing.
Nordin watched Jin-woo for a moment before speaking.
“Would you perhaps be willing, with that overwhelming craftsmanship of yours……”
Nordin had witnessed Jin-woo’s skill.
It was extraordinary—the kind of mastery that left one speechless.
With such skill alone, he could surely protect their land.
“Could you help us?”
Jin-woo paused at Nordin’s proposal.
‘If it’s the Spirit Tribe, there’s a high likelihood I can upgrade Dust and Coco’s specs.’
Moreover, he’d likely learn techniques that would prove invaluable for crafting equipment.
But there was something even more important.
“Nordin.”
Jin-woo spoke.
“Are there certain materials in the Spirit Tribe’s land?”
Materials.
What he could obtain was what mattered most to Jin-woo.
At his words, Nordin swiftly pulled something from his garments.
“Our land contains a considerable number of minerals that don’t exist in this Human Realm. If you help us, I can provide as much of these as you wish. What I have now is truly trivial compared to what our land possesses.”
-Flame Spirit Stone [???]
Description: A spirit stone imbued with an attribute. It possesses formidable spiritual power.
‘Oh ho.’
It was actually a question-mark tier.
Jin-woo grinned, and Nordin smiled along with him. Nordin could read Jin-woo’s nature.
“I can offer even greater things!”
As Nordin spoke with emphasis, Jin-woo nodded immediately.
“Agreed.”
Apparently Nordin hadn’t expected such quick acceptance, for his expression shifted to one of surprise.
Then, as if understanding something, his eyes began to glisten.
“You truly are a great craftsman……!”
He was a great craftsman.
A truly great craftsman.
“The materials are merely a pretense, aren’t they? You deliberately mentioned materials so I wouldn’t feel burdened—nay, so that helping the Spirit Tribe wouldn’t feel like a burden to you. I’m deeply moved. I, Nordin, feel truly blessed to have met such a person!”
-Your Virtue Score shines.
‘Oh.’
The Virtue Score he’d accumulated one point at a time finally began to show its worth. Because it had been so difficult to earn, the points he’d accumulated had a considerable effect on Nordin.
‘Not bad at all.’
Of course, Jin-woo harbored no such sense of mission. He was simply doing this because he could handle excellent materials—killing two birds with one stone.
And if good deeds came from the process, well, wasn’t that all to the good?
‘The Virtue Score is more useful than I thought.’
Jin-woo’s expression grew serious.
“Helping all of them is just the natural thing to do.”
“Sob. I will wait.”
-You have received a Quest!
* Quest: Savior of the Spirit Tribe
Tier: ???
Details: The Spirit Tribe suffers at the hands of the incarnation of evil. Yet with their power alone, they cannot drive him out. They await a hero. They await a savior who will free them.
Constraint: Failure if all Spirit Tribe members die
Reward: At the Quest Taker’s Discretion
Since this was a Quest that should have been received upon clearing the tower, its tier too bore a question mark.
“I will go ahead to make preparations. Please come once you are fully ready. I have no intention of placing everything upon your shoulders alone.”
Nordin spoke with firm resolve.
“Then.”
With that, he vanished in a mist.
“It’s not such an urgent Quest after all.”
Jin-woo had other Quests before this.
Moreover, he hadn’t yet cleared the entire tower.
“I need to head to the second floor now.”
He had only just broken through the first floor.
“The tower has four floors total, right?”
Thanks to Nordin, Jin-woo had learned much about the tower’s structure.
It consisted of four floors in total, and the tower’s master was Basago.
“He looks plenty strong just to look at.”
Jin-woo gathered all the souls he’d collected.
-Griffin Soul [A]
The souls of the griffins he’d obtained on the first floor were quite high-tier.
“An A-grade soul is quite serviceable. Certainly, the materials from the Main Scenario Tower are all top-tier.
Of course, the difficulty was proportionally high, but Jin-woo loved high difficulty.
“First, Pur.”
Jin-woo approached his two familiars.
“Good work, both of you.”
Then he approached Pur and tapped him on the shoulder.
“From the second floor on, you’ll need to give it your all, Pur. So that’s why……”
Jin-woo invested all these souls into Pur.
-Pur’s power rises!
As he fed all the griffin souls from the first floor to Pur, the familiar’s specs increased.
“I thought his level would rise.”
Currently Pur was Elite Level 3.
“Since he’s climbing a tier, I’ll probably need to feed him more.”
Shaaaah—.
Powerful Dark Energy radiated from Pur’s body.
“I’m at my peak, Master! I’ll do my best on the second floor! I’ll make sure you can rest!”
“……No. Resting.”
But First had no intention of resting whatsoever.
“Now. My. Body. Is. Loose.”
“Good. You both ready?”
Certainly stronger monsters would appear from the second floor onward.
“Let’s go. I’m curious what materials will drop…… or rather, what kind of monster awaits us.”
* * *
-You have entered the Sky Floor, Second Level.
Upon ascending to the second floor, airborne monsters and their terrain became prominently featured.
-Your body grows heavier!
-The Stats of all who walk the ground are reduced.
This was the Sky Floor. The first floor had merely been a taste.
The second floor was where the tower’s entire concept truly manifested.
The sky stretched impossibly wide.
And alongside the griffins he’d seen on the first floor, new monsters appeared.
The most eye-catching among them was——
“There are demon-like creatures here?”
Jet-black, stone-like bodies.
And grotesque wings with holes scattered throughout.
Horns jutted from their heads, and their claws were exceedingly long.
-A Gargoyle roars!
-Due to the Bone Heart effect, you gain immunity to debuffs.
“Gargoyles, then.”
The name was familiar.
“Though they look far more grotesque.”
And they seemed to possess harder bodies as well.
“If they’re gargoyles, they must be quite high-tier monsters.”
Jin-woo licked his lips.
“Hmm.”
Which meant better materials would drop. But there was a problem at hand.
“First.”
Jin-woo gave First an order.
First then took a stance and hurled his boomerang with all his strength.
Shrieeeeeeeek—!
The boomerang cut through the sky, completely smashing the griffin ahead of it. And as it turned toward the gargoyle behind——
Whoosh—.
The gargoyle evaded the boomerang at high speed.
“Griffins I can handle.”
Gargoyles were faster than griffins, and could climb to even greater heights.
“At least if we hit it, something might happen.”
Suddenly the gargoyle began a steep dive.
It seemed displeased with First, who had thrown the boomerang.
Crack—!
The gargoyle’s arm deformed and became a massive hammer. It descended in a crushing arc, intent on smashing everything in its path.
“If you’re coming down like that……!”
Jin-woo shouted.
First swung the Orichalcon Greatsword at the descending gargoyle.
“This is perfect. Abandoning the sky to come down.”
Clang-clang-clang—!
The gargoyle’s transformed hammer collided directly with the Orichalcon Greatsword.
Because the attack came from above, the gargoyle’s strike was far more powerful than a normal blow.
“Shrieeeek—!”
But it was the gargoyle that shattered. Its arm snapped catastrophically, crumbling to the ground.
“Thank. You. For. Coming. Down.”
First slammed the gargoyle with savage fury.
-You have hunted a Gargoyle!
-You have obtained a Gargoyle Stone.
-Gargoyle Stone [SR+]
“Ah.”
Upon defeating the gargoyle, a new material dropped.
“A Gargoyle Stone, then.”
Jin-woo collected the Gargoyle Stone first.
As First mercilessly hunted the gargoyle, the gargoyles watching from above grew deeply alert.
Then, with a cry of “Screee——,” they spat acid.
Ssshhhhh—!
Where the saliva landed, the earth melted.
It was a corrosive acid spit.
“Absolutely refusing to come down?”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
“So the difficulty here is definitely harder than the advanced tower.”
Jin-woo’s deliberation didn’t last long.
“If you want to keep fighting in the sky.”
He would accept that fight as-is.
Jin-woo withdrew the materials he’d obtained from the first floor.
Souls and bones.
And feathers.
“Not much left.”
He gathered everything and placed it on his work table.
“First, Pur.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
His two familiars shielded him. The gargoyles hovering in the sky spat acid wildly, and the griffins looked ready to deploy their feathers at any moment.
Yet Jin-woo began working at his Summon Workshop.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Since I first created a familiar, I’ve been considering it.”
Jin-woo had been walking this whole time.
Since he rarely fought directly, mobility hadn’t been particularly necessary.
But if circumstances were like this, things changed.
“It’s not just you who can fly.”
-Soul Sight activates!
“By gathering the souls as one.”
Jin-woo unified and overlaid the griffin souls.
Then he began carving bone.
Clang—!
Tap—. Tap—.
Jin-woo created a colossal griffin.
‘Based on the griffins I saw on the first floor.’
But those griffins hadn’t satisfied him in many ways.
‘Not such a small griffin.’
Something far larger.
And far more powerful.
‘A solid frame is essential.’
Making the frame too large would reduce speed.
Making it too small would negate the point of having a mount.
Bang—! Crack—!
“It has to be rideable.”
At the same time, it had to function as a familiar capable of independently intercepting enemies.
As Jin-woo focused on Bone Making.
The gargoyles and griffins continued their assault.
“I’ll handle this, senior.”
First stepped back slightly. It wasn’t mere consideration for Pur. He wanted to protect Jin-woo more closely.
Of course, being fellow familiars, he also wanted to gauge Pur’s strength. His power fluctuated with each new piece of equipment after all.
Shrieeeek—!
Whoosh—!
The gargoyle’s corrosive spit came alongside a massive energy projectile, and spiky feathers flew from the griffins.
“Fuuuh!”
Pur breathed deeply and swung the Judgment of the World Tree.
Shrieeeech—!
The Judgment of the World Tree deflected the acid spit outright and crushed the massive energy projectile.
“Not even one gets close.”
“Oh. Oh. Oh.”
First watched from behind in admiration. Pur’s staff, the Judgment of the World Tree, was every bit as formidable as First’s own Orichalcon Greatsword.
“Quite. Well. Handled.”
“Thank you for the praise!”
While his two familiars held the line well.
Jin-woo completed the massive frame.
“This is fun.”
This was his first time crafting a non-humanoid frame.
And it was quite enjoyable.
“There’s no need to insist on human form.”
-The frame is complete!
-You have created an SS-grade frame!
-Bone Making proficiency increases!
The frame Jin-woo created this time was even larger than Pur, whom he’d made biggest before.
“Giant Griffin, complete.”
Now he had wings as well.

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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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