The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 108

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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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Episode 108
108.
Basago, who had held dominion over this place moments before, found that dominion stripped away in an instant. Over it, Jin-woo’s power settled like a second skin.
Whoooosh—!
Basago felt the power that had sustained him draining away in that single moment.
“You are no common foe. No common foe at all.”
He hadn’t expected the situation to reverse so completely, so swiftly. Yet Basago remained unruffled.
“So you possessed the strength to reach this height.”
With that, he snapped his fingers—a sharp, decisive gesture. In response, gargoyles and griffins materialized, creatures Jin-woo had seen before on the first and second levels.
“I shall handle this.”
The moment the monsters appeared, Moltus stepped forward to meet them.
First and Pur yielded naturally to him. Of all the subordinates gathered here, Moltus alone had never wielded the new equipment before.
Shhhhaaaaa—!
Moltus raised the Skystone Orb high, surrounded by dozens of monsters.
Thuum—.
Whoooouuuugh—!
The Skystone Orb’s power radiated outward with terrible force. In the same breath, Dark Energy erupted in all directions, taking shape before splitting into dozens of chain-like strands.
Clank-clank—!
The spreading chains bound the gargoyles and griffins in place.
“Darkness Explosion.”
Then Moltus detonated the Dark Energy.
“Shriek—!”
“Caw—!”
The gargoyles and griffins plummeted from the sky in tatters.
Pur moved swiftly.
“Magnificent.”
With seamless efficiency, Pur collected the materials left behind. Jin-woo gave him a thumbs up.
“Pointless.”
Despite how easily they’d dispatched the gargoyles and griffins, Basago remained composed.
A single gesture brought the creatures back to life.
“We’ll see soon enough whether it’s pointless.”
Watching this, Jin-woo deliberately provoked Basago.
‘I’d appreciate it if you summoned more.’
A three-hundred percent drop rate.
There was still more to gain.
First and Pur, observing Moltus at work, felt their eyes gleam with anticipation.
Now came their turn.
They gripped their weapons firmly and stepped forward.
“Pur—!”
Pur, likewise, brimmed with confidence in combat now.
With these Steel Wings, he could deflect any enemy assault and rain down attacks without restraint.
“Not yet.”
Moltus wanted to use the Skystone Orb more.
All four subordinates yearned to wield Jin-woo’s equipment, desperate for the chance.
They wanted to show him.
How masterfully they could use the tools he had created.
And they wished to display just how formidable those tools truly were.
Boom—! Boom—!
First and Pur surged forward with raw force.
They cut through the gargoyles and griffins, then charged straight for Basago.
“Oho. Impressive destructive power.”
Basago extended his hand toward the two onrushing subordinates.
“But you see, a Domain is not so easily overturned.”
Crunch—!
An invisible barrier halted both subordinates. Yet in the same instant, they raised their weapons.
Crack—!
The barrier shattered entirely.
“Too slow.”
Basago smiled coldly, then produced something from his grasp.
First and Pur lunged forward, but a formidable barrier blocked them. The two subordinates swung their weapons rapidly, intent on breaking through once more—
A tremendous wave of force exploded outward, hurling them backward with tremendous violence.
“So quick to lose your composure.”
Basago chuckled at the two subordinates, then his gaze fell upon Jin-woo, who still stood calmly in place.
“Composed indeed.”
Despite having entered the most dangerous region of the tower, Jin-woo maintained his ease. This displeased Basago greatly.
“But how long can you maintain that composure?”
The debuffs were merely a greeting, one might say.
Basago’s true power lay elsewhere.
“I am the master of this tower. Even if this single chamber becomes your Domain, it means nothing to me—nothing whatsoever.”
Then he withdrew a scale.
-Settlement commencing!
“The Karma Scale. You have been scored on every deed you performed in this tower. Is that not so?”
Ascending from the first floor through the fourth, Jin-woo had received settlements for each layer conquered.
“Those points shall become your strength… and your shackles.”
Basago laughed with malicious glee.
“The same applies to me. Kuhahahaha—! How long do you think I have dwelt in this tower? Do you truly believe you could accumulate more points than I, the undisputed master of this place? This battle has been tilted in my favor from the start!”
Cha-rattle—. Cha-rattle-rattle-rattle—!
-Settlement complete!
-The Karma Scale has placed your points and Basago’s upon the scale.
-Jin-woo: 2,052 points
Jin-woo’s score was 2,052 points.
And Basago’s score was—
-Tower Master Basago: 1,900 points
“?”
Basago’s eyes blinked wildly, as though possessed.
“What… what is this…?”
“Mine is higher.”
In a sense, it was inevitable.
Jin-woo had shattered every highest score on his ascent through the tower. He had not expected to surpass even Basago, the tower master himself. He’d imagined the scores would be comparable at best.
“How… how did you climb the tower…?”
How could a score like this be possible?
“I simply climbed it.”
“Impossible! You climbed it and achieved a score like this!?”
-The tower’s master is changing.
-The tower’s power flows to its new master.
“…This cannot be real!”
Basago’s position as tower master was stripped from him.
“Noooooo—!”
Shhhhaaaaa—!
Tremendous power erupted from Jin-woo’s body—power granted by Basago’s own Karma Scale.
“Excellent.”
The situation became clear now. It appeared Basago had been using the accomplishments of those who entered the tower to inflict ever-stronger debuffs upon them.
‘And in proportion to those debuffs, he received buffs for himself.’
The Karma Scale was originally a technique designed to give Basago a decisive advantage—one so certain it was almost guaranteed to favor him.
The tower’s difficulty was high enough that climbers faced considerable hardship.
But Jin-woo had simply demolished the tower from the first floor upward.
Perfect scores. Perfect scores again and again.
He had not surrendered a single highest score from the moment he entered until now, standing before Basago.
Jin-woo gripped the Mace firmly in his hand.
“First, Pur, Moltus, and Pur.”
The four subordinates’ eyes blazed with brilliant blue light.
“Show me.”
At Jin-woo’s command, all four subordinates charged toward Basago as one.
“Harpy!”
Basago, in turn, summoned his own subordinate.
“I shall take them.”
Shhhhaaaaa—.
Moltus raised the Orb and released Dark Energy. The unleashed power split into four tendrils, binding Harpy completely.
“Pur—!”
Pur struck the bound Harpy with his Steel Wings. Being attacked one-sidedly by another winged creature, Harpy’s fury ignited.
“Shrieeeeeeeeeek—!”
Harpy unleashed her distinctive scream as an attack.
“Much obliged.”
Moltus laughed with a metallic rattle. They now stood within the Domain that Jin-woo had declared. An attack using sonic fear held no meaning here.
In fact—
“It benefits us considerably.”
Moltus released Dark Energy with even greater force.
What would normally have been devastating damage sounded to the subordinates like nothing more than pleasant music.
“The game ends here.”
Basago folded his wings. They transformed into two massive arms, which then became enormous fists.
Screeeee—!
“How pathetic—cowering behind your underlings instead of fighting yourself!”
Basago fixed his attention on Jin-woo.
If he could eliminate the master, the subordinates would be meaningless.
But Basago failed to comprehend one thing.
That to reach Jin-woo—
“Where. Do. You. Think. You’re. Going?”
He would first have to pass through First and Pur.
Screeeee—!
First and Pur swung their weapons in perfect unison.
The Light Sword and the Judgment crashed against Basago simultaneously.
Basago met both weapons head-on.
“Witness my true might!”
Crack—!
“…Cough—!”
Basago’s body staggered violently. Blood sprayed from his lips.
“This cannot be…”
-Critical Hit!
-Fatal Blow successful!
The power of Domain Declaration.
Combined with the devastating force of the Karma Scale—the very weapon Basago had forged against himself—the two subordinates’ attack brought him to Critical State.
“Cough… impossible… this impossible power… how…”
He had just unleashed his full strength.
Without the tower’s buffs, he believed he could have crushed an attack of this magnitude.
But he was utterly wrong.
“Those weapons…!”
Basago stared at the subordinates’ equipment.
Viewed up close, these were no ordinary arms.
“Curse this—!”
With his health plummeting below ten percent, Basago attempted one final, desperate gambit.
But fate deemed he make that final attempt against Jin-woo himself.
Having felt the subordinates’ power, he assumed their master would be weak.
He was right—Jin-woo had virtually no defense in his current state.
But what he held in his hand was—
“Thank you for handing me this.”
While ostensibly an opportunity to inspect the subordinates’ equipment, Jin-woo had also wanted to swing the Mace. He had felt its weight and balance when he struck Harpy, and that sensation had lingered.
“Holy Strike.”
Screeeee—!
With Jin-woo’s final blow, Basago’s form crumbled.
-The Incarnate of Evil, Basago, has been sealed in the Demon Prison.
-Your Virtue score increases!
-A great Achievement spreads across the entire Plam Continent!
-A new god begins to take notice of you!
-Your Level increases!
-Your Level increases!
-You have cleared the Mirage Fog Tower!
-Tower Conquest Settlement beginning!
-….
-….
-An unprecedented outcome!
-Tower Conquest Reward granted!

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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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