The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 159

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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 159
159.
Tap—.
Clang—!
Jin-woo shaped the bone. Bone was a material that broke far too easily.
‘Heat treatment is the most important thing.’
That was why, to spread the form wide, he had to heat it at low temperatures for a long time.
‘Flexibly.’
The goal was to make it flexible.
And to infuse it with optimal force and strike it down with a hammer to spread it wide.
Clang—! Clang—!
Tap—.
-The God of Bone and Death whistles at your bone-crafting!
-Your bone-handling skill is said to be the finest on the continent! They say they’ve witnessed something wonderful!
-The God of Bone and Death has bestowed a blessing.
-You have received the blessing of bone.
-For a set duration, when crafting bone-related equipment, additional attributes are attached.
Normally, bone that should have shattered remained intact.
The God of Bone and Death had no choice but to be pleased with Jin-woo’s bone-handling skill.
“Harmonia Smelting Technique.”
Along with that, Jin-woo maximized the Harmonia Smelting Technique and employed it.
“Soul Forging.”
The material’s potential.
By maximizing the power dwelling within the soul he possessed, he could draw out durability atop flexibility.
‘Maximum hardness and maximum flexibility.’
Jin-woo’s craftsmanship was advancing by the day.
‘And the rising cold energy—’
He was thinking of utilizing the rising cold energy, a characteristic of Underworld materials, in the skis.
‘I can’t use it all completely.’
He suppressed what needed suppressing and used what needed using.
‘I’ll strengthen the cold energy on the bottom—’
Making it so the contact surface would freeze solid.
Clang—!
Clang! Clang—!
Agnis moved according to Jin-woo’s hand.
Like the dark iron crafting hammer before, it gradually became familiar to his hand, fully becoming an extension of Jin-woo himself.
Clang—!
-Equipment created!
-UR Grade equipment created!
UR Grade.
What had been created was a pair of skis.
Long bone skis—Jin-woo immediately fastened them to his feet.
Whoosh—.
“Using the cold energy inherent in the material.”
He made the contact surface of the skis freeze completely.
Jin-woo smiled thinly.
“With this, I can move fast.”
Moreover, this Underworld was a place of deep yin energy, so the ground had many slippery sections.
Jin-woo drew inspiration from that.
Swish—.
Jin-woo took a stance and shifted slightly to test.
Whsssh—!
“Oh.”
In an instant, he shot forward.
“!”
The spirits watching from behind cried out urgently.
“Ahead!”
“There’s a monster!”
Boom—!
A massive worm burst through the ground, radiating cold energy all around.
A Cold Worm.
The Cold Worm swung its enormous front legs at Jin-woo, who was approaching defenseless.
Its sharp, ferocious claws raked down, intent on cleaving him in two.
“This isn’t just a movement tool.”
Jin-woo disliked crafting equipment for only one purpose.
Versatile.
As versatile as possible for any situation.
Jin-woo infused mana.
His body lifted into the air along with the skis. Then he tilted the ski blades upright.
Screech—!
-Fatal Blow!
“Shirrrriek—!”
The Cold Worm shrieked in pain and collapsed.
Because the equipment was made from Underworld materials, it could easily damage Underworld monsters.
Crunch—!
Jin-woo landed and glanced at the Cold Worm he’d just cut down.
“The carapace is worth taking.”
After efficiently collecting the Cold Worm’s byproducts, Jin-woo turned to Rek and the spirits.
“With this, I think we can get to Fragment 9 City where Ice-Elves are, pretty quickly. We can hunt monsters on the way. What do you think?”
It was excellent.
Absolutely excellent.
But there was something even more important than that.
“How do we ride it!?”
“Are… are we getting some too?”
The skis Jin-woo had just ridden looked truly magnificent.
And above all, they looked incredibly fun.
Jin-woo laughed at the spirits’ words.
“Of course. We worship the same god—we’re brothers!”
As Jin-woo nodded, their spirits trembled.
Then Jin-woo began crafting additional skis.
‘I thought I’d grown accustomed to handling bone. But no. I hadn’t.’
The bone of the Underworld was a completely different material wearing the form of bone.
Bone and yet not bone. That made it endlessly fascinating.
‘Make them sharper.’
Jin-woo crafted skis in forms suited to Rek and the spirits.
‘Since they’ve never ridden before, I should make it much easier—keep them from falling.’
So he also crafted Ski Poles for them.
Rek and the spirits, receiving their complete ski sets, slowly stepped onto the ski boards.
“Hnnngh!”
Whoooosh—.
The path of ice spread the moment their feet touched ground.
Naturally, they fell after just one step.
“Slowly. Take your time.”
Jin-woo demonstrated how.
Then they followed slowly behind him.
After about ten minutes, the spirits had at least reached the point where they could walk.
“!”
And at that moment, they felt it.
What true equipment was.
What emotion good gear brought to its user.
Jin-woo’s equipment radiated a powerful sense of stability.
Using it made them feel as though they had become supreme beings.
Sccccreeeech—!
Though awkward at first, the spirits soon adapted and moved at ferocious speed.
Jin-woo followed loosely behind them.
‘This is fun.’
Swish—. Swish—.
Jin-woo rapidly crossed through this Fragment City.
“First, Pur.”
First and Pur were already holding the Bone Swords Jin-woo had crafted. Earlier, they’d fought by coating their souls when hunting shadow hounds, but that was intentional since it was a drive hunt.
“You two have yours as well.”
First and Pur were Hero-rank Undead. Of course, they adapted faster than Rek and the spirits.
“!”
“It’s… absolutely… wonderful.”
Especially First rode the skis with complete freedom.
Whoosh—.
Using Underworld Flame, he melted the ice beneath him or used its power as a booster.
Sccccreeeech—!
“There’s a Swamp Malevolent Spirit ahead!”
A dreadful sight.
At Jin-woo’s gesture, First and Pur shot toward the Swamp Malevolent Spirit on their skis at tremendous speed.
Sccccreeeech—!
Both thrust their Bone Swords into the Swamp Malevolent Spirit simultaneously.
“First, Pur!”
Rek and the spirits naturally assumed Jin-woo was praising his two subordinates for doing well.
“Recover the materials carefully!”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
Those two powerful subordinates were being put to work harvesting materials.
“Mmmm…….”
Yet somehow, both subordinates seemed deeply satisfied.
In that way, Jin-woo’s party skied through the Fragment Cities in a flash.
-You have arrived at Fragment 7 City!
Fragment 7 City.
This could be seen as the final gate.
“Master Jin-woo!”
Rek, who had surged ahead, stopped in his tracks.
“From here on, to reach Fragment 9 City…”
Rek spoke to Jin-woo.
“We must pass through the city of defectors.”
Boom—.
Fragment 7 City was a place with gates unlike anything they’d seen before.
“A proper city, then?”
Small in scale but completely different from anywhere they’d been so far.
“Yes, that’s correct. Fragment 7 City is a hub city of medium scale. And every spirit here has already defected. Not a single one is exempt.”
“Are there other cities like this?”
“Yes. In fact, all city-tier locations have been transformed into cities of defectors.”
Rek ground his teeth as he spoke.
“How many?”
“Over hundreds. And there are knights too, and…”
Rek continued.
“There are even Hero-rank Undead.”
The current objective wasn’t to hunt down defectors.
That’s why Rek asked Jin-woo a question.
There was no need to pass through here. There were alternate routes at various points; a considerably longer path was available. Of course it took more time, but with the skis they could make up the difference.
“There are paths we can take around it.”
“Should we go around?”
Jin-woo shook his head.
“There’s a faster way.”
Jin-woo said.
“No need to go around.”
“Then…”
“You’re thinking of a direct assault.”
He’d seen firsthand how strong Jin-woo and his subordinates were.
The green souls in this city were also quite powerful, but with First and Pur leading the charge, they could hunt them all down.
But Jin-woo wasn’t thinking of simply fighting.
‘There might be a better way.’
There must be a better way.
‘I’ll save combat for the last resort.’
Jin-woo stepped forward.
“Let’s go in.”
-Entering Fragment 7 City!
* * *
Whoooosh—.
Fragment 7 City.
The place they entered was packed with green souls.
Green spirits floating in the air.
And the buildings were quite striking.
“I feel eyes on me.”
As Jin-woo entered, he felt countless gazes.
And between the buildings, green souls began creeping out. They all carried equipment.
‘Pretty decent gear?’
-Eagle Eye activated!
The quality was incomparably higher than what Rek and the spirits carried.
And above all, the cold energy was substantial.
Swish—. Swish—.
And from among them emerged a green soul wearing proper Full Plate Armor.
“Those live ones are still foolish enough to wander over, and blue bastards at that.”
He seemed to be the commander of this city.
“Everyone else, stand down. It’s nothing.”
Then he gestured toward the rear.
Knights appeared.
‘That commander is Hero-rank Undead.’
The knights in the back were the guard unit protecting this city.
‘Elite tier.’
They were indeed strong spirits, just as Rek and the others had described.
“I came to have a talk.”
The knights ignored Jin-woo’s words.
They drew their swords and charged forward.
“As expected… words don’t reach these fools!”
“Master Jin-woo!”
But Jin-woo didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t advance his subordinates either.
He simply.
Walked slowly toward them.
“Sacred Declaration.”
Whoooooooosh—!
In an instant, an enormous aura spread outward.
A sacred domain spread from Jin-woo’s position, and then.
Boom—!
The entire Fragment 7 City was engulfed in the sacred domain.
In this moment, Fragment 7 City was no longer the city of green souls.
It was Jin-woo’s.
A sacred domain for Jin-woo alone.
The knights charging forward went rigid.
They could not move.
“Now, let me ask again.”
Jin-woo wasn’t looking at the knights.
Among all the frozen ones, he spoke to the sole green soul trembling behind them—their commander.
“Shall we talk?”
“Y-yes. Let’s talk.”
Lerankal, the commander of the green souls, quickly grasped the situation. This living being before him was no ordinary creature.
His posture became deferential again, but it hadn’t changed his core assessment.
“You’re perched quite high.”
Jin-woo looked at Lerankal.
Then an immense pressure bore down on him.
Crack—. Craccckk—!
Lerankal’s knees gradually buckled.
Thump.
“Good.”
Jin-woo said.
“Now our eyes are at the same level.”

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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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