The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 106

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Chapter 106
Episode 106.
‘Better than I expected.’
The Mace had excellent feel.
The grip was solid, and the impact when striking was substantial too. That sinking sensation—the very advantage of the Mace that Jin-woo had envisioned was fully realized.
‘The only drawback is the reach.’
You had to close distance to use the Mace effectively.
‘But then again.’
If those wielding Maces were Priests, closing that gap would be effortless.
“One hit was a bit underwhelming, though.”
This holy power proved incredibly effective against every monster in the Tower of Evil Incarnate.
“I didn’t use Familiar Unity.”
That last strike.
Jin-woo had simply swung it using his own strength and the Mace’s raw specifications alone.
“If I’d used Familiar Unity, I could’ve taken her down in one hit.”
The Harpy, taking the full brunt of the blow, staggered back sharply. She had to recover her health, or the damage would kill her.
Jin-woo tightened his grip on the Mace.
‘To truly know a weapon, I have to set aside all the extras.’
Using only the weapon’s inherent power was cleanest.
“Though I don’t always do that.”
Jin-woo advanced toward the Harpy again.
‘With this holy power added in.’
Even swinging the Mace with just his own strength, Jin-woo could inflict fatal wounds on the Harpy.
Moreover, this holy power was devastatingly effective against the darkness-attributed monsters in the tower.
“Ignoring everything else.”
Jin-woo found the Mace’s distinctive feel quite satisfying.
“This is worth showcasing.”
Crafting the Mace had been genuinely enjoyable.
“I could make several more, just by changing the head portion.”
He’d made it blunt this time, but he could fashion it like a spiked morning star or sharpen it further.
“The base shape allows for plenty of arrangements.”
The Harpy, who’d retreated, seemed to have recovered enough health and ascended high into the sky. Jin-woo could’ve landed more hits, but he didn’t.
“I need to swing it more first.”
Testing with just one swing felt woefully incomplete.
He still wanted to explore the Mace’s latent potential further.
“The feel is too good to pass up.”
Truth be told, there was a simpler reason.
It was the sensation when swinging it.
“Screeeee!”
Unaware of Jin-woo’s true thoughts.
The Harpy assumed his last strike had contained his full power, so the recoil prevented him from following up. Now was her opportunity.
It was a chance she wouldn’t waste.
The Harpy, high in the sky, swept her wings.
Whirrrrr—!
A violent gust erupted from those wings, then came racing toward Jin-woo.
“That looks dangerous.”
Currently, Jin-woo wore no real armor.
“But I have my new familiar.”
Pur darted in front of the incoming gust.
Then lightly swung the Steel Wings, dispersing the wind entirely.
“Pur—!”
Pur looked at her own wings.
The Steel Wings that Jin-woo had crafted exceeded all of Pur’s expectations. Never did she imagine they could so easily nullify a Harpy’s attack!
The Harpy seemed equally shocked.
“Screeeeeee!”
Both ranged and close-quarters attacks had been rendered useless.
Only one option remained.
“Her song is good.”
But naturally, that sound wave never reached them.
Jin-woo quickly mounted Pur.
Then immediately pursued the Harpy and swung the Mace.
“Holy Strike.”
Crack—!
“Holy Strike.”
Bang—!
“Holy—”
Three times.
After three strikes from Jin-woo’s Mace, the Harpy couldn’t endure anymore.
Pur watched the spectacle unfold with a look of utter shock.
First and Pur.
She’d thought Jin-woo’s overwhelming combat prowess came from having two powerful familiars.
He wielded Familiar Unity, that mighty skill, and wore the legendary Orichalcon Greatsword.
“Pur…”
But she was wrong.
Without Familiar Unity.
Without the Orichalcon Greatsword, Jin-woo was formidable.
The sight of him crushing a Harpy with just that small Mace was breathtaking. Even without proper armor, he showed no fear whatsoever.
Jin-woo was the final boss. First and Pur were merely his one-two punch—the real threat was him. Pur decided she must never let him fall.
-You have slain the Harpy, Goddess of Storms!
-Beginning settlement of Floor 3 rewards!
-…
-…
-No Damage Clear!
-Outstanding performance!
-You have obtained a Stat Enhancement Potion!
“Oh.”
A Stat Enhancement Potion.
An extraordinarily rare item.
“Raising Stats is naturally difficult.”
Jin-woo drank the Stat Enhancement Potion immediately.
-You may increase any single Stat by 100!
“Health.”
-Health increased by 100!
Having claimed his reward, Jin-woo quickly gathered the Harpy’s drops.
-Harpy’s Soul [S]
The Harpy’s Soul, Harpy Bone, and Harpy Feather. Most avian monsters yielded feathers, so Jin-woo collected his materials with genuine delight.
“Perfect for sewing work.”
Jin-woo organized his materials.
“Now that I’ve warmed up.”
It was time to tackle the main chamber.
“True Enchantment has become second nature now.”
And only Floor 4 remained.
“Floor 4 is the boss chamber.”
The tower climb was effectively down to one final step.
“Summon.”
Jin-woo summoned his workshop. Then he summoned all three familiars.
First, Pur, and Moltus.
“You called, Master.”
“Next is the boss chamber. Stand by.”
“Yes, sir!”
Then Jin-woo began crafting.
A soft shimmer—
He placed the Sky Stone directly into the furnace.
“The Sky Stone is SSR Grade, so my current firepower won’t cut it. But I’m not without options.”
Jin-woo summoned Coco.
“Chirp!”
“Wrap flames around my hand.”
Wrapping the hand holding the hammer in flames—a crafting method he’d used before.
“Moltus!”
He’d already tested raising the furnace’s heat through Moltus and found its limits.
‘Since that method has a ceiling, I’ll use a different but similar approach.’
He’d already confirmed those limits when working with SSR-Grade materials recently.
Rather than apply the same method, it was better to find a way to maximize the material itself.
“Once I clear this tower, I’m heading straight to Dwarf City.”
Improving his firepower was essential.
Flames roared—!
Fire channeled into Jin-woo’s hammer.
Shhhhhhh—!
-Status Effect [Burn]
‘As Coco has grown stronger.’
The flames being injected into the hammer were correspondingly potent.
Jin-woo further amplified the heat by drawing on Moltus’s power.
“At maximum now!”
-Taking Burn damage!
“The Burn damage exceeds my recovery speed.”
Which meant time was tight.
But thanks to this, he could maximize the heat.
‘I’ll inject it directly.’
Far more effective than raising the furnace temperature.
Bang—!
Jin-woo brought the flaming hammer down.
“Hmm.”
The first strike was reconnaissance. The Sky Stone was unlike ordinary minerals.
‘Difficult to work with—almost like Orichalcon.’
Bang! Bang—!
Jin-woo struck and studied the Sky Stone’s nature.
“That slick surface, and the sensation when the hammer lands precisely.”
Even slightly too much or too little force, and the hammer would slip right off.
Difficult. Extraordinarily difficult.
“But this is good. Very good.”
That’s why he loved it. Working with Orichalcon had been thrilling as well.
Jin-woo refocused on his work. He injected the flames precisely into the Sky Stone’s interior.
Bang—!
‘I have to drive it in.’
He needed to strike that slick surface with absolute precision. The harder he struck, the likelier it would slip—but Jin-woo didn’t hesitate.
‘More decisively.’
He’d force this intense heat into the mineral in one motion.
Bang—!
The Sky Stone flushed crimson. But it didn’t deform.
Bang—!
He’d struck precisely, but the slickness remained. The hit didn’t land clean. Jin-woo gripped the Sky Stone by hand, took a breath, and reset his focus.
Bang—!
‘Just a bit more.’
Accuracy was paramount. It was far slicker than other materials, so his previous approach would simply slip.
“I need to strike harder. Much harder than before.”
Even if it slips—
That was the only way to work this Sky Stone.
“As long as I’m precise.”
Jin-woo’s hammering was naturally meticulous.
He drew a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes.
-Focus Stat increased!
-Focus Stat increased!
In this moment, Jin-woo was utterly absorbed. Completely concentrated. He’d forgotten he was even in the tower.
Right now, his only thought was to strike that material with perfect accuracy. Nothing else mattered.
Flames roared—!
Bang—!
The fire spiraling through his hammer injected directly into the Sky Stone.
Bang—!
The Sky Stone trembled.
Bang—!
The Sky Stone deformed.
Bang! Bang! Bang—!
Under the rhythmic hammer strikes, the Sky Stone finally yielded.
-Dexterity Stat increased!
-Extreme concentration! Focus ignites!
-For the next 10 minutes, Focus Stat rises dramatically!
Riding this momentum, Jin-woo continued. Precisely. Then more precisely still.
Bang! Bang—!
The limit of force this Sky Stone could bear.
Jin-woo sensed and calculated it through his hands.
The two familiars watching nearby instinctively recognized that their master was in extraordinary concentration.
That their great crafter was this absorbed meant the material’s difficulty was immense, and the risk of failure equally high.
A smile tugged at his lips.
And Jin-woo was smiling.
Genuinely, joyfully smiling.
“…You’re enjoying this, aren’t you.”
This moment of tension.
This heart-pounding, knife-edge moment—to Jin-woo, it was pure joy.
Pur watched him intently.
If this were battle instead.
Jin-woo would be fighting for his life right now. A single misstep, and it was over. A knife’s edge, hanging by a thread.
Could one smile at such a moment?
“Then we must smile.”
That’s how one reaches greatness!
Pur gained a revelation.
-Pur’s Affinity increases.
-Pur gains enlightenment.
Pur, who’d been watching, seemed to have grasped something, and now stared at Jin-woo with intense focus. First, beside her, simply nodded quietly.
Bang! Bang! Bang—!
Under the cascade of Jin-woo’s strikes.
The Sky Stone had been carved into a perfect sphere.
True Enchantment.
Crack—.
Flame Crafting.
And Jin-woo melted down the Guardian Sapphire Staff that Moltus had been using to extract the sapphire.
Clang—!
With the final hammer strike, the equipment was complete.
-Equipment crafted!
-SSR+ Grade equipment created!
-You have perfectly handled unmanageable material! The finished equipment is strengthened!
-Level increased!
-Level increased!
-Hephaestus Smelting proficiency increased!
[Sky Stone Orb]
-Attack Power: 2,000
-Grade: SSR+
-Durability 25,000 / 25,000
<>
* Special Option [Sky Stone: Mana regeneration speed increases by 20%!]
* Special Option [Sapphire’s Azure: Mana capacity increases by an additional 15%. ]
* Special Option [Enchantment – Darkness LV2: Darkness-attribute attack power increases by 20%.]
* Special Option [Life Steal: Absorb 13% of damage dealt as health!]
* Special Option [Dark Flame: Adds flame attribute.]
* Special Skill [Power of Sky: Instantly gain an additional 10% of your mana capacity.]
“Complete.”
A new piece of equipment had come into being through Jin-woo’s hands.