The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 122

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 122
Episode 122.
A dozen Blaze Worms fell in a single volley.
Float-whoosh.
Souls drifting through the air.
And countless byproducts scattered below.
The sheer force of it stopped his familiars in their tracks.
“Not bad at all.”
The Obsidian Arrowhead performed remarkably well.
“The speed is excellent too.”
The Obsidian Arrowhead was legitimate equipment.
Since it wasn’t consumable, it came with special attributes attached.
“Beyond the Life Drain, obsidian has its own inherent properties.”
Due to its extreme sharpness, when used as an arrowhead, the projectile gained an additional burst of acceleration at the very tip.
‘Once the speed shifts like that, the target can’t help but be caught completely off-guard.’
Jin-woo smiled to himself.
“Obsidian. It’s quite the promising material.”
Moltus, watching from behind, rattled his bones.
This wasn’t merely impressive.
It was nothing short of extraordinary.
To produce that level of power from a ranged attack—Moltus, himself an undead specialist in ranged combat, understood perfectly how remarkable it was.
He seemed like a truly magnificent and great craftsman, yet the overwhelming force he displayed sporadically made his familiars’ loyalty surge.
Fourteen Obsidian Arrowheads remained.
‘This has real market potential.’
Now the Obsidian Arrowhead had shed all its former shortcomings.
‘Perfect for drawing from the quiver when I need serious firepower.’
He’d originally planned to sell them all, but Jin-woo decided to keep four and sell the remaining ten.
“These should fetch a good price bundled with the Blaze Worm Chitin bow.”
Jin-woo collected all the Blaze Worm byproducts through Pur.
—Blaze Worm Chitin
—Blaze Worm Soul
Whoosh-shaa.
He collected the drifting Blaze Worm Souls as well.
“High-tier monsters always drop high-grade souls. That’s the real benefit.”
—Blaze Worm Soul [S]
‘This one I’ll hold onto.’
He planned to hoard such souls and distribute them to the scout who’d been sent on expedition or to Second.
‘Basago’s soul is still sitting in reserves.’
Jin-woo glanced at Pur.
Pur had Pur-pur’s soul embedded within him; when first created, he’d been the strongest among the familiars.
But now, even in raw specs, he fell short of both First and Moltus.
‘The initial soul matters, of course.’
But how you nurtured them afterward mattered just as much.
‘I need to strengthen him.’
—Soul Sight proficiency increases!
Howl-howl! Howl-howl-howl!
Jin-woo saw more Blaze Worms rushing in. This time, he’d leave them to his familiars.
“Where are you going?”
But suddenly, the charging Blaze Worms wheeled about and fled.
“I thought they lacked intelligence.”
The Blaze Worms did possess intellect, however.
That devastating volley just moments ago.
And their kin, utterly annihilated.
Facing such dire circumstances, they’d simply bolted.
“Let’s go. Pur.”
Jin-woo mounted Pur.
“These things might pose a threat to Iron Helm later.”
Though that day would never come.
“Since we’ve started, we might as well finish the job cleanly.”
* * *
After hunting the Obsidian Golems and Blaze Worms, Jin-woo fought his way through several more monsters until he reached the edge of the Wasteland.
He’d come quickly, or so he’d thought, but it took longer than expected.
“Is this some kind of trap?”
The thought crossed his mind that the Dragon meant to lure him with promises of materials.
Rattle-clank.
His familiars said nothing.
They wouldn’t, of course.
How long they flew, he couldn’t say.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Another great tremor shook the ground.
And a volcanic crater erupted.
Crash!
Just beyond the erupting crater.
Something appeared in the distance.
An enormously vast mass.
—Entered Dragon Lair, Wasteland.
—Corruption constrains you.
—The mighty Dragon’s gaze bears down upon you.
“……!”
“…….”
“……Pur!”
A creature shrouded in pitch-black darkness. Only a single eye, gleaming with madness, was visible.
That eye scanned restlessly, surveying the surroundings.
Covering its entire body were chains as dark as the void itself, and with each movement, the chains rattled.
Clink-clank. Clink-clank.
Jin-woo’s familiars trembled at the sheer presence of the thing.
Fear—the kind that only a dragon could impose—gripped them.
Though they were beings who converted all debuffs into buffs, this fear was something else entirely, no mere debuff—they had no choice but to shake.
The familiars glanced at Jin-woo, wondering what he must endure—if they felt this strongly, surely their master bore the brunt.
Yet Jin-woo seemed composed.
“Bigger than I expected.”
More than composed—he was smiling.
‘Once I hunt that down…’
Hide, wings, bones, soul, and claws.
“Make potions from the blood, craft from the hide, tailor pieces, and…”
The teeth, mustn’t forget those either.
For Jin-woo, the Dragon was a boundless tree of resources.
Having spotted such a tree, he couldn’t help but smile.
“…….”
The trembling familiars looked at their master.
He was unafraid.
That single fact restored their composure.
More than that—their morale surged.
Then the Dragon’s eye turned toward them.
Screeee-eee!
An energy storm erupted outward from the Dragon’s position.
Corruption spread further through the air.
“I thought dwarves would come, yet a human appears. Have those dwarves finally swallowed their pride and begged humans for their lives? But you…an enemy, through and through.”
The sole human was Jin-woo; the rest were undead.
“Human who plays with corpses, do you truly believe the dancing dead at your fingertips can harm me?”
The Dragon bellowed.
—Dragon Fear!
—Your body freezes under the overwhelming force!
“Will you insult this great being with that shell of life!”
This was the most potent fear he’d yet experienced.
Moreover, this Dragon Fear was the source of all fears—no mere debuff, but something deeper.
‘Dragon skills don’t register as debuffs at all.’
So the Bone Heart’s effect didn’t trigger.
The familiars began to inch backward.
But First held her ground.
Clink-clink-clink!
Then the Dragon’s chains rattled.
“If not for these binding chains, I would have swallowed you whole in a single bite. But it matters not. These chains break soon enough.”
The Dragon fixed its gaze on them.
“You shall remain in that place eternally.”
With that, it stamped its foot with a boom.
Something materialized before Jin-woo.
Whoosh-shaa.
“To the undead, an undead. To one who plays with corpses, I grant a corpse to face.”
The Dragon spoke.
“You shall spin eternally in that place.”
Then the Dragon vanished.
What remained was the erupting lava of the crater and.
“……a Miner?”
A Miner wielding an enormous Pickaxe.
A Miner with a colossal Pickaxe materialized before Jin-woo’s eyes.
“…….”
The scenery had shifted.
A massive mountain stood before him, and the Miner, Pickaxe in hand, advanced silently toward it.
Crack! Crack!
Then he began to dig.
Jin-woo observed the Miner for a moment. Since he was a subordinate of the corrupted Dragon, he tried attacking first.
“First.”
He had First lightly wield the Orichalcon Greatsword.
Slash!
The Miner with the Pickaxe was cleaved nearly in half by the Orichalcon Greatsword.
But in an instant, he healed and stood whole again.
“Immortality.”
Jin-woo quickly grasped the situation.
‘Now I understand why the Dragon spoke that way.’
Remain here eternally.
“There’s no escaping.”
This Miner was clearly the master of this space.
“Domain Declaration.”
Jin-woo attempted the method he’d once used against Hephaestus, the Incarnation of Evil.
This space was a kind of domain.
If he could claim dominion over it, perhaps he could seize control and escape.
“Hmm.”
But it had no effect. The Miner continued his work, swinging the Pickaxe at the massive mountain.
“Miner, what are you doing right now?”
“…….”
Only when Jin-woo spoke did the Miner look at him.
“Drilling through the mountain.”
Drilling through an entire mountain with a single Pickaxe?
“For what reason do you seek to drill through it?”
“I need a path.”
With those words, the Miner fell silent again.
Jin-woo folded his arms.
Then he immediately employed a skill.
“Soul Sight.”
His soul was heavily turbid, filled with regret and despair. And the feeling was strange.
‘I’ve felt this before somewhere.’
That profound regret lingering in him.
‘Hephaestus.’
Jin-woo sensed Hephaestus in this Miner.
‘Does the act of drilling through the mountain carry regret?’
“Why do you need a path?”
Jin-woo pressed further, but the Miner offered no reply. He had no need to answer.
“Master.”
First gripped her Orichalcon Greatsword with the resolve to strike him down.
Pur too stepped forward, bearing the World Tree’s Judgment.
“I shall try.”
But Jin-woo sensed something strange. This Miner didn’t seem like a subordinate of the corrupted Dragon at all.
‘And it doesn’t feel like a simple fight would solve anything.’
Jin-woo signaled his two familiars to fall back.
“There’s a reason for this.”
He needed to understand the Miner’s actions.
Without that, no other approach would work.
He felt certain of it.
‘Then again…’
Jin-woo sat down for a moment.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Then he observed the Miner closely.
Jin-woo had crafted quite a few Pickaxes before, and he’d learned the technique as well, so he understood the Miner’s movements quite intimately.
‘He’s clumsy.’
And his purpose seemed oddly misaligned.
‘He’s not a skilled miner.’
His purpose didn’t seem to be acquiring precious minerals for their own sake.
‘He said he needed a path, didn’t he?’
Suddenly, Jin-woo rose to his feet.
“I’ve figured it out.”
He stood and summoned his workshop.
“How to solve this problem.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————