The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 139
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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 139
139.
—You are a Quest Fulfiller for the God of the Great Dwarf!
—Your Quest has been updated!
The first floor of the tower.
The Tower of Sulfur and Furnace was, true to its name, filled with tremendous heat.
—The tower’s aura envelops you!
—You cannot breathe properly due to the heat.
—You take damage from the heat.
The structure made it impossible to last long once you entered—the intense heat hit you immediately.
‘This creates a natural time limit.’
As heat damage would stack and accumulate, the tower effectively imposed a very tight time constraint.
“This is going to be pretty tricky to clear.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
“Unlike me.”
—Rune, Flame Breathing activates!
The intense heat pouring from the tower was manageable for Jin-woo. Moreover, thanks to the Yongseongseok Chain Scythe, he currently possessed quite substantial vitality.
‘My health might drop, but I have the Radiant Rune of Nature.’
And Jin-woo was the person most familiar with fire.
“Why would someone who lives before fire fear such flames? Rather, this is good.”
Whoooosh—!
Heat rising from the ground. Flames spurting forth like smoke from all around.
He felt like he could craft more enjoyably here.
Jin-woo surveyed the first floor carefully.
“First, before clearing the tower.”
The most important thing was the Quest the God of the Great Dwarf had given him.
‘I do have a Spare Hammer.’
But he wanted to try the God of the Great Dwarf’s hammer.
‘They say a craftsman doesn’t blame his tools.’
But great tools enable you to create great equipment.
‘There’s no need to deliberately use an inferior hammer.’
—Eagle Eye activates!
The tower had various mechanisms installed.
‘This place especially so.’
“The first floor and shrine are merged together.”
After examining with Eagle Eye,
this tower had a different form than the two towers he’d previously cleared.
“The shape is strange.”
Rather than a standard tower form, it had a distinctly sacred aura throughout.
“But it’s not just a sacred feeling.”
There was something sticky about it.
“What about you all?”
Jin-woo asked his familiars.
“This part is different.”
“This… part… is… dif… fer… ent.”
Since his familiars had tower experience too, they began chattering about the Tower of Sulfur and Furnace.
“Sa… cred.”
First felt it particularly well.
‘Certainly.’
This place, a fusion of tower and shrine, created an eerie sensation. Some areas felt genuinely sacred, while others had Dark Energy significantly exposed.
Shhhhhh—.
“There are spots where the sacred and dark masses are completely merged.”
Some sections were separate, while others were combined.
Jin-woo examined that section closely.
“That’s odd.”
It was odd.
“It should have exploded.”
Opposing energies never merge.
By nature, this situation shouldn’t exist.
The moment they combined, they should explode.
“Someone isn’t controlling this.”
There was no being controlling the opposing energies. The sacred force and Dark Energy simply flowed.
Yet they somehow maintained perfect balance.
No—it went beyond balance.
‘I can do that much myself.’
Achieving balance was something Jin-woo had done several times over.
The Ice-Flame Smelting Technique itself was one such skill—using opposing energies in balanced fashion to draw out each attribute’s strengths.
“They’re naturally mixed together.”
Beyond balance, they simply flowed as one.
Jin-woo continued observing that flowing force.
A feeling arose in his mind.
Knowledge he needed.
The Ice-Flame Smelting Technique he’d just learned felt exactly like this, and the limits of his existing techniques lay precisely here.
‘Merging opposing energies is quite difficult.’
It required control, and even then, he never felt he’d utilized it perfectly.
‘I’ve only left it at a workable level.’
Now the clue seemed about to unravel.
“Hmm.”
Yet even as he sensed understanding, the clue wouldn’t quite form.
Boom—!
Then a roar came from within.
“Shrieeeeek—!”
A massive fire bat, its entire body wreathed in flames, appeared.
Not just one.
‘Dozens.’
The ground trembled the instant dozens of massive fire bats appeared.
“Hisssss.”
Making an eerie sound, something rushed from the ground toward Jin-woo and his familiars at high speed.
Massive bodies.
Skin like melting metal.
Furnace Lizards.
And behind them.
“A guest has arrived.”
A giant wreathed in smoke appeared.
—You have encountered the Coal Fire Giant, guardian of the Tower of Sulfur and Furnace!
—The Shrine’s power has been twisted and corrupted!
A fusion with the shrine.
Because of it, a Mid-Boss monster appeared from the first floor.
“This is fun.”
‘Meeting a Mid-Boss on my first encounter.’
Jin-woo looked at the three monsters. Normally, this would be quite dangerous—encountering a Mid-Boss without properly gauging the tower’s difficulty?
It was unavoidably perilous.
But Jin-woo was pleased instead.
“All three are completely new to me.”
None of these three were monsters he’d seen before.
New monsters meant new materials dropped.
“And they look very strong.”
Shhhhhhhh—!
The Coal Fire Giant leading the bats and lizards had, befitting a Mid-Boss, a massive frame.
Of course, he had a familiar with a massive frame too.
Bon.
That enormous form was even larger than the Coal Fire Giant, whom it was named after.
When the Coal Fire Giant saw them, it gripped the massive serrated greatsword it held tightly.
“Oh.”
Jin-woo smiled slightly as he looked at the Coal Fire Giant’s serrated greatsword.
“That looks good.”
There was something enjoyable about crafting blades of that rough, jagged form. You could deliberately create serrated edges or destroy a blade to achieve that effect.
‘It’s more about tearing than cutting.’
The Coal Fire Giant and the dozens of monsters—the familiars awaited orders.
Jin-woo stepped forward slowly, holding the scythe.
This time, he didn’t plan to use his familiars.
‘To see if it suits me.’
And to confirm whether it was well-made.
“Rest.”
Bzzzzzzzzzz—.
Dozens of monsters flying from sky and ground. Against them, Jin-woo spun the scythe as he slowly advanced.
Currently, Jin-woo wore ordinary armor.
Of course, he had a UR-Grade Ring and a necklace, but if those monsters focused their attacks on him, he could die.
Yet Jin-woo didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll just dodge everything.”
Jin-woo’s focus was solely on the Yongseongseok Chain Scythe.
This opportunity was perfect timing to test it. In the first place, the concept of getting hit never existed in Jin-woo’s mind.
Schreeeee—!
Jin-woo spun the scythe in a wide arc.
The fire bats flying toward him were instantly bisected. Dozens were hunted down in a single strike.
—Your Level increases!
“Even good for crowd hunting, isn’t it?”
Jin-woo was quite satisfied with the Yongseongseok Chain Scythe’s power. Especially the chain’s ranged attacks offered unexpected versatility.
“It has higher attack power than the Orichalcon Greatsword. The feel is even better than that.”
The Orichalcon Greatsword was SR+ Grade.
The difference with UR+ Grade was certainly clear.
“Not because of Level or Stats.”
Jin-woo’s current level was in the 200s.
His Strength and Dexterity stats were abnormally high, but not enough to one-shot tower monsters.
So this enormous power came entirely from the Yongseongseok Chain Scythe.
Jin-woo quickly retrieved the chain scythe. A Furnace Lizard was already close.
“Shrieeek!”
Jin-woo used a skill on the charging Furnace Lizard.
“Crystal Shield.”
When Jin-woo raised his ring, the barrier formed.
Shhhhhhhh—!
Boom—!
The shimmering Crystal Shield blocked the Furnace Lizard’s charge once.
“Shriek.”
The Furnace Lizard stopped momentarily, then lashed out with its flame-coated tongue.
Whip—!
Dozens of Furnace Lizards wielded their whip-like tongues, and cracks began forming in the Crystal Shield.
“I thought it would break.”
To think it only cracked against dozens of Furnace Lizards.
“That’s good.”
At this level, it couldn’t be called merely an accessory.
“This is proper armor now.”
The Furnace Lizards lashed their whip-like tongues once more, and the Crystal Shield shattered completely.
—The Crystal Shield breaks!
‘I have one more barrier.’
The Dragon Shield from the Dragon Fang Necklace was available, but Jin-woo didn’t use it.
‘No need to use it now.’
The moment the barrier shattered, Jin-woo stepped forward.
If that was a ranged attack test, now came melee.
Schreee—!
This time, gripping the scythe’s handle, he drove it downward. The Furnace Lizard at the front was instantly bisected.
“Oh.”
The Yongseongseok’s power was considerable.
“You’re not weak either, are you?”
The Tower of the Incarnation of Evil’s monsters had been uniformly strong so far.
Jin-woo checked the drops from the Furnace Lizard he’d hunted.
“SR Grade?”
The Grade verified the monster’s strength.
“Dragon Swarm.”
Crackle—.
Red lightning spread, piercing through all the Furnace Lizards.
“Shriek, shriieeeek…”
The bodies of the charging Furnace Lizards suddenly froze.
The Coal Fire Giant watching from behind suddenly cried out in astonishment.
“That power…! You were of the Yongin Tribe!”
The Coal Fire Giant threatened to approach, but Jin-woo systematically processed the Furnace Lizards paralyzed by Dragon Swarm first.
“So the Yongin still survived. Good, good! I’ll offer you to the Great One and become his right hand! Kekekeke.”
“Is there a tribe called the Yongin?”
“Playing dumb, are you? That power just now—it’s the Yongin’s power, isn’t it! You can’t be a Dragon, so you must be human using Dragon power—that would make you Yongin.”
‘Such a tribe exists?’
It was a tribe he’d definitely never encountered in Eternal Sunshine.
“Do the Yongin have skilled craftspeople among them?”
“They’re skilled in all magic. I’ve heard there are craftsmen specialized in spell enchantment among them… no, that’s not it.”
Suddenly, the Coal Fire Giant stomped its feet heavily.
“You! You’re trying to bewitch me with Dragon words!”
“Impressive. You broke free of it.”
“Kekeke. The power of fire burns through everything.”
‘Thanks to that, I learned useful information.’
Then the Coal Fire Giant stepped forward. The heat radiating from that massive body sought to melt everything around it.
“Since you gave good information,”
Jin-woo stomped the ground forcefully.
“I’ll make you good equipment.”
His elevated Strength stat significantly affected Jin-woo’s movements.
Crack—!
Crafting meant being able to control your entire body’s power as desired.
‘Whether it’s hands,’
or feet, it didn’t matter.
Jin-woo was free in controlling his strength.
The moment he reached the Coal Fire Giant, Jin-woo concentrated all his power into his arm.
Just once.
‘To the limit.’
UR-Grade equipment.
How much this equipment could accomplish in the Tower of the Incarnation of Evil.
And moreover.
‘I’m curious.’
He was simply curious about its raw power.
Base attack power of 14,500 with numerous attack options on Special Options—how strong were they really?
Schreee—.
Jin-woo slashed the Coal Fire Giant diagonally.
“With just that tiny scythe…?”
This was a different dimension from the fire bats and Furnace Lizards. The Coal Fire Giant laughed dismissively and took Jin-woo’s attack head-on.
Crunch—.
The Coal Fire Giant’s body began to tilt.
—Fatal Blow!
The tower’s Mid-Boss, the Coal Fire Giant, saw its health drop below ten percent instantly.
“Ghaah…! Cough…!”
The Coal Fire Giant retreated in shock. Its body had taken lethal damage and couldn’t move properly.
But smoke poured from the Coal Fire Giant’s entire body as it rapidly began recovering.
“It has strong regeneration. Is it recovering from the tower’s heat?”
Jin-woo approached the retreating Coal Fire Giant slowly.
The Coal Fire Giant couldn’t believe it.
“How… how…?”
That wasn’t power that should come from a tiny scythe.
The Coal Fire Giant backpedaled, staring at Jin-woo.
Jin-woo looked like nothing less than the Grim Reaper itself—holding that scythe, coming for its life, the Coal Fire Giant fell on its backside.
“Thanks to that, I understand well now.”
Jin-woo spun the scythe slowly.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Each time the scythe split the air, the Coal Fire Giant trembled.
“This is what UR+ feels like.”
Schreeet—!
Jin-woo threw the chain scythe with precision.
Thud—!
The scythe embedded itself perfectly in the Coal Fire Giant’s torso.
Shhhhhhhh—.
The Coal Fire Giant’s body collapsed.
—You have hunted the Coal Fire Giant!
Jin-woo checked the drops from the fallen Coal Fire Giant.
“Huh?”
And he discovered it.
Something burning.
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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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