The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 113

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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 113
113.
Just one blow.
Backer went down from a single attack by Jin-woo.
“……Wow.”
“……Didn’t they say he was a Craftsman……?”
The guild members watching from behind were quite startled by Jin-woo’s strike.
Backer had been outfitted with numerous high-grade pieces of equipment.
Not only that, but he also had various skills activated.
Yet he went down from a single attack.
“Maybe I overdid it.”
He’d only swung the blade once.
And even then, he’d held back considerably. Despite that, Backer couldn’t endure it.
“Tsk.”
It wasn’t simply because of the quality of Jin-woo’s Orichalcon Greatsword.
‘He’s wielding that greatsword pathetically.’
If First had swung a blade that way, he would have scolded him harshly.
Both his stance and technique were a mess.
“That’s not how you use it.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
“Whoever made that must be crying.”
Hearing Jin-woo’s words, Backer simply vanished.
When you die, you’re immediately sent back to the last city you visited.
As Backer disappeared, Han-seom let out a long sigh and bowed his head.
“I apologize. I truly apologize.”
Han-seom, the guild’s executive, offered his deepest apologies before leading the remaining members away. The other guild members couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.
They knew Jin-woo was a formidable user.
He’d certainly demonstrated overwhelming skill in that fight.
But Backer wasn’t a particularly strong user. He was simply equipped with good gear because he had the full backing of the guild master.
His actual ability was mediocre.
Han-seom, on the other hand, was strong. The real deal. Yet for him to come forward with such deference was genuinely bewildering.
“See you again.”
Jin-woo spoke with a smile.
* * *
Crash!
Jin-woo swung his Orichalcon Greatsword and completely destroyed the cave entrance.
Inside the dark cave.
“Lizard Flame.”
Jin-woo used flame magic to illuminate the interior.
“Uuugh…….”
A groan echoed from deeper within.
As Jin-woo rushed inside, he found Hairun lying there, wounded.
‘He’s been hurt badly.’
The injured Hairun lay there.
“Please, please leave me alone!”
It seemed he’d developed trauma from how much he’d been attacked.
Seeing Hairun’s condition, Jin-woo’s mood darkened.
‘Look at him.’
He’d thought they were just pursuing him.
But looking at the situation now, it seemed like more than just pursuit.
‘They were attacking him continuously.’
Unable to endure the assault, Hairun appeared to have fled.
‘I don’t need to leave them be.’
If Hairun had been seriously injured, completing the quest might become difficult.
If things went wrong, it could fail entirely.
“Are you alright, sir?”
Jin-woo approached Hairun and fed him a Health Potion he’d prepared.
Gulp, gulp.
‘Thank goodness he was wearing good equipment.’
Otherwise, he would have suffered a fatal wound. Then he might have actually been captured.
“Th-thank you……. Who are you……?”
“I’m a different traveler than those others. I’ve driven all of them away. Don’t worry. You’re safe now, sir.”
“I see…… I see…….”
Hairun seemed reassured, exhaling deeply.
‘The Agent Guild’s vice-master. They said his name was Backer, right?’
It had been easy to remember thanks to the loud announcement.
“I’ll remember.”
‘If you can’t manage your guild members…….’
The guild naturally bears the responsibility.
* * *
After recovering his strength, Hairun thanked Jin-woo once more.
“Thank you, truly thank you. Without you, I would’ve suffered horribly. But…….”
“Actually, I was searching for you, sir.”
“For me?”
Hairun’s expression grew suspicious for a moment.
“I’m a disciple who learned techniques from Master Hoz, Master Rodin, and Master Mirae, each in turn.”
Jin-woo showed him the Map Fragment.
“Oh!”
-Quest updated!
“Names I’ve longed to hear! The fact that you carry that Map Fragment means…… you’re searching for your masters?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
Hairun looked at Jin-woo.
“A typical blacksmith’s build. Those muscles are quite remarkable.”
If Jin-woo had been compressed into a smaller frame, that would have been Hairun. Of course, they weren’t entirely comparable, but Hairun carried the typical physique of a master blacksmith.
Hairun chuckled.
“Thank you for the compliment. But I’m not only searching for Master All-Master. I heard from Mirae that your refining technique is extraordinary. That you’re called the Creator of All Things, capable of crafting anything.”
“……Mirae said it was extraordinary? That picky elf?”
Hairun’s expression brightened as he smiled genuinely.
‘That elf doesn’t praise others easily.’
Mirae was truly a cold-hearted elf.
It was only because Jin-woo had such good handiwork and learned the Flawless Seamstress Art well that he wasn’t kicked out. Otherwise, if he’d lacked skill, he would have been discarded long ago. She was the type to give up on you the moment she decided you weren’t worth it.
Why, she’d flatly refused even when the Ghost King had asked for her help.
‘But she did praise him.’
“Yes. So I’ve come seeking to learn refining technique.”
“……So you handled all those people outside?”
“Yes.”
“If it weren’t for you, things could’ve gone very wrong. Thank you for finding me.”
Hairun bowed deeply.
“But if I may ask—why did you come to this cave?”
Jin-woo was curious why Hairun had fled here of all places.
This was a dead end. And Hairun wasn’t a dwarf suited for hiding.
“Because there’s an entrance here.”
Hairun said.
Whoosh—
At that moment, a magic circle was drawn beneath Hairun’s feet.
And light began to shine.
“An entrance to Iron Helm, the dwarven city. I hadn’t opened it because those people were about—I was afraid of putting Iron Helm in danger. But thanks to you, I can return. I’m truly grateful.”
Intense heat.
The heat radiated from within the magic circle.
“You said you wanted to learn refining technique from me, yes? My refining skill is fairly ordinary, but I do have another ability instead.”
Hairun spoke.
“Thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. I can work with countless things. Through the power of mighty flames.”
With that, he wrapped flames around both his hands right there.
‘Interesting.’
It was similar to how Jin-woo wrapped flames around his hammer. But one difference stood out—the sheer power of those flames was extraordinary.
“Fire Build. That’s what this technique is called. It seems you’ve learned good techniques from your three senior disciples before me…… but this one will be difficult to learn easily. And that’s not all. Even harder techniques await.”
‘They all take considerable pride in their own techniques.’
All three had opened with the same kind of warning.
It’s difficult.
It takes more than a short time.
‘This one seems difficult to learn in a short period too.’
Of course, that’s only if you’re not Jin-woo.
“Still, would you like to learn it?”
“Yes. I would like to.”
“Then…… let’s go first, to Iron Helm. We’ll see whether you can learn it or not once we’re there.”
* * *
-You’ve arrived at Iron Helm, the dwarven underground city!
Whoosh!
Clang! Clang!
The sound of hammers striking.
Intense heat.
And the smell of sulfur.
Iron Helm was an extraordinarily hot city.
“Hmm!”
Jin-woo’s first impression of Iron Helm was quite favorable. There were ore deposits scattered throughout, and quite a few dwarves mining them.
“It’s a wonderful place.”
As Jin-woo spoke with a smile, Hairun looked surprised.
“Hmph! Humans who like Iron Helm are rare. Even Hoz struggled when he first came here.”
Hairun had taken a liking to Jin-woo.
“Come, let’s head straight to my smithy.”
Hairun’s smithy was quite impressive. It was a typical blacksmith’s workshop, yet it carried the unique aesthetic sensibilities of the dwarves.
‘It’s far rougher than Hephaestus’s workshop.’
“First, let me ask. You said you’ve met Hoz, Rodin, and Mirae? Then did you learn all of their techniques?”
“Yes. I learned them all.”
“Then this will go quickly. Our techniques were passed down from the one we call All-Master. And we mixed in our own sensibilities to make them uniquely ours.”
Hairun opened his storage and showed it to him.
“I, in particular, mixed in my own taste.”
The storage contained countless pieces of equipment.
Swords, spears, bows, blades, glaives.
Various types of armor.
So many pieces that it was difficult to count them all.
“I earned the nickname ‘Creator of All Things’ for this very reason. I don’t have the temperament to focus on making just one type of equipment.”
Craftsmen were indeed such beings.
Specializing in a single field.
Building the remarkable from the ordinary.
That was what a craftsman was.
But Hairun thought differently.
He believed that as long as you adhered to the broad framework of crafting, anything went.
“The things you learned before were difficult too, I imagine.”
Hairun wore an uncomfortable expression.
“But this can’t be learned overnight. Are you in a hurry? If you are, I can teach you a few core techniques relatively quickly.”
“No.”
Jin-woo replied.
“I’m not in a hurry. And……”
Gazing at the finished equipment piled in the materials storage, Jin-woo smiled warmly.
‘This is it.’
Hairun’s philosophy resembled what Jin-woo had always believed.
A craftsman is one who specializes in a field.
‘There’s no reason to compress that one field into just one type of equipment.’
“Sir, I share your thinking.”
“Oh!”
-Hairun feels closer to you. Affinity increased by +1.
“Then let’s try it right away! Don’t worry even if it’s difficult. I’ll make sure to pass it on to you properly.”
Hairun said.
“After all, you’re my benefactor.”
Hairun went inside and brought out materials.
“Now then, we’ll start right away. This is what’s called Droizen Steel.”
‘I’ve never seen materials like these before.’
The equipment he’d seen in the materials storage earlier—he had no idea what they were made of. They were all completely unfamiliar.
“The materials that come from Iron Helm are special.”
The materials from Iron Helm all bore the name “Droizen.”
“These Droizen materials are hard to obtain from outside. We keep them circulating internally and strictly prevent their export.”
Of course, there wasn’t just one dwarven city, so some materials did leave the city.
But at least Iron Helm maintained strict controls.
“Now, the essence of my technique is the power of these flames. They’re not mere flames. This is delicate, intricate work.”
Whoosh—
“To be precise, my technique involves using these flames to——”
Something white burst forth from the mineral.
“——extract the soul of the material.”
This soul is the essence of the mineral.
Drawing out the material’s core and maximizing its attributes—that was the unique power Hairun possessed.
“After extracting the soul, you refine and purify it. You remove impurities. The impurities within the material’s soul itself.”
Hairun explained.
“This way, the quality of the material itself becomes irrelevant.”
“So you extract and purify the soul itself?”
“Exactly. As you know, even within the same grade, quality varies. But now, you only need to concern yourself with the grade.”
This was the reason he could be called the Creator of All Things.
“By understanding the soul, extracting it, and purifying it, you come to understand materials, and thus you can craft countless pieces of equipment.”
Hairun smiled wryly.
“It will be difficult. But I believe you can do it. First, you’ll learn the Fire Build.”
-You have learned Fire Build!
The Fire Build—wrapping flames around your hands.
This Fire Build was the foundation of Hairun’s refining technique.
Jin-woo immediately used Fire Build to wrap flames around his hands.
“Yes, well done. Now feel from there. Through mana, understand the material, extract the soul…….”
Whoosh.
“……?”
As Jin-woo brought his hand to the material, the soul flowed out from it.
Very smoothly.
“Wh-how…….”
-Soul Sight ability activates!

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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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