The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 16

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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 16
16.
—Legend of the Tutorial
You have cleared an nearly impossible quest in the Tutorial! That magnificent achievement deserves to be hailed as legend!
Effect: All Stats permanently increase by 5%!
“All stats plus five percent?”
It was an achievement of extraordinary magnitude.
“The higher your stats climb, the better the effect becomes.”
Right now, with his stats still low, the five percent gain amounted to modest numbers—but as his absolute stat values grew, the total volume of stats he could obtain through that percentage would increase dramatically.
“A growth-type achievement, then.”
Jinwoo smiled to himself.
“It was tough to clear, but what I got is pretty decent.”
This could be called an excellent start.
“Status window.”
Jinwoo then checked his status screen.
[Jinwoo][LV 20]
[Class: None]
[Achievement: Legend of the Tutorial]
[HP: 500/500]
[Strength: 35]+5%
[Stamina: 15]+5%
[Agility: 15]+5%
[Intelligence: 15]+5%

[SP: 20]
“As for the points…”
Jinwoo invested all his Stat Points into Stamina.
“When I was making equipment, stamina was what I lacked the most.”
His stamina shortfalls had forced him to stop midway through work countless times.
“I maxed out my Strength stat with all the points I earned up to level ten.”
—Your Stamina Stat increases by 20 points!
Whoosh.
“Oh.”
Normally, a twenty-point increase shouldn’t have been noticeable.
But Jinwoo’s high Synchronization Rate and keen senses allowed him to feel even the minutest differences.
“Is that all the reward?”
Just then, a notification chimed.
Ding!
—The Guardian Deity of Flame and Craftsmanship takes notice of you.
—The Guardian Deity of Flame and Craftsmanship has begun to sponsor you!
“A Guardian Deity?”
—You have learned a skill!
“So there really are Guardian Deities.”
Haram had mentioned such things.
This New Genesis supposedly had countless gods watching over it.
Those gods would sponsor users when they took interest in their actions.
“Getting sponsored by a god is supposedly the first step to becoming a ranker. And getting sponsored by gods is supposedly very difficult.”
Since gods had varied dispositions, one had to play in diverse ways to earn their sponsorship.
“Apparently, defeating a steel beast with a Black Steel Shield caught someone’s eye.”
Jinwoo checked the skill he’d obtained.
* Lava Smelting
Grade: B
Description: A smelting art used by the deity of flame, volcanoes, and blacksmiths. Its applications are endless depending on one’s skill, and it can grow.
Effect: Additional options when crafting equipment.
“Oh.”
It was far from bad.
Grade B, no less.
“Isn’t B-grade high?”
Jinwoo was currently level twenty.
A B-grade skill at level twenty was exceptionally high.
“And this is a growth-type skill.”
The more he used it,
and the more he mastered it, the higher its grade would climb. It was B now, but it could become even higher later.
“Let me try it out.”
Jinwoo smiled. The Tutorial was finally over.
That meant he could truly begin enjoying the game.
“I wanted to have fun playing, but now that I’m actually starting, my heart is pounding.”
Time had returned.
* * *
Sinse.
It was a city—far larger in scale than the Tutorial.
“It feels like a proper city.”
Not a major metropolis, but a mid-sized one with everything a city should have.
Moreover, with forests and dungeons nearby, it ranked quite favorably among the towns players typically migrated to after clearing the Tutorial.
“It seems like the town selection depends on what you focused on learning during the Tutorial.”
Sinse had numerous workshops and forges.
“If you’re going to start with crafting, this isn’t a bad city at all.”
While examining the map of Sinse, Jinwoo spotted the workshops.
“There’s a smithy, an alchemy workshop, and it looks like there are almost ten of them. I should visit each one.”
The one and only smithy in Sinse: Hammer and Anvil.
Inside, there was one elderly blacksmith.
Clang! Clang!
“Greetings.”
Jinwoo smiled, breathing in the scent of fire.
‘Just the smell of fire, and I feel it.’
The owner of this smithy was quite skilled.
‘A skilled craftsman has…’
Good materials, naturally.
Jinwoo knew this well.
“Looking to buy equipment? Take your pick.”
The elderly blacksmith greeted Jinwoo.
“I haven’t come to buy equipment.”
Jinwoo said.
“Und sent me. My name is Jinwoo.”
“Und sent you?”
The elderly blacksmith regarded Jinwoo with interest.
“Whatever for?”
“He said he has nothing more to teach me.”
“Hmm.”
The elderly blacksmith, Hoz, looked Jinwoo up and down.
“Und was one of the most exceptional among my apprentices. That he says he has nothing more to teach you suggests your skill is rather considerable, doesn’t it?”
“My name is Jinwoo. As you say, I do have some aptitude for craftsmanship.”
“So it seems. Then you need my smelting technique?”
“Yes. I would like to learn your smelting technique.”
Jinwoo nodded.
“Hmm.”
Hoz frowned upon hearing this.
“Though Und did send you, I don’t yet know you. And my smelting technique isn’t something learned in a day. So…”
Outsiders typically have fickle dispositions.
Because of this, many left halfway through their training without completing it.
“I cannot teach you if you won’t see it through.”
“No need to worry.”
Jinwoo spoke then.
“I won’t give up.”
Hoz let out a short laugh.
“Well, at least you have confidence. That’s something.”
Hoz rather liked that boldness.
At this level of determination, he certainly wouldn’t abandon things halfway.
* * *
“So, listen here.”
Hoz proved to be quite a capable teacher.
He explained clearly and demonstrated in easy-to-understand ways.
“It won’t happen in just one sitting. Roughly speaking, I’d say it’ll take about a month.”
It could easily take longer.
“What you learned in Luton Village was rudimentary, after all. What Und taught you was also quite basic. So you’ll just need to master the fundamentals. First, the furnace—the heat from this furnace is intense. For a newcomer like you, it’s dangerous enough to be life-threatening. So you need to time it right. You want to minimize heat damage while…”
As Hoz spoke, he gripped his hammer again.
Explanation and demonstration repeated. Having decided to teach, he did so properly.
As he had warned, understanding from just one explanation was quite difficult.
Even if you grasped the theory, execution was another matter entirely.
“Don’t worry. Since Und sent you, I’ll help you as long as you don’t give up.”
Hoz looked at Jinwoo reassuringly.
“Then, once more…”
“No, that’s all right, Hoz.”
Jinwoo smiled broadly.
“I understand.”
With that, he immediately swung the hammer down.
Exactly as Hoz had just shown him.
Exactly as he had described in words.
“…”
For a moment, Hoz held his breath.
Clang! Clang!
In Jinwoo’s hands was low-grade iron.
Jinwoo proceeded with the work exactly as instructed.
The heat from the furnace was intense.
Because of this, he had to insert and remove the materials while minimizing heat damage.
—Intense heat!
—You take burn damage from the heat.
Whoosh.
Jinwoo inserted the iron into the furnace. And then removed the material with perfectly natural timing.
It was exactly the timing Hoz had described.
“!”
Then he placed the now-glowing-red iron on the anvil and swung the hammer down.
Clang!
“No…”
He had been shown only once.
Only once.
Yet he reproduced it perfectly.
“It shouldn’t be this easy…”
Ding!
—Hoz’s Favorability increases!
Watching Jinwoo’s hammer work, Hoz smiled warmly. It wasn’t a smile he forced. The smile came of its own accord.
It was certainly different from the Tutorial.
‘There must have been some assistance in the Tutorial.’
Now that the Tutorial had ended, that assistance had vanished, and his movements were severely restricted.
—Insufficient Strength!
—Your Craftsmanship Stat is insufficient to wield the hammer as desired!
Strength and Craftsmanship.
Both stats were severely lacking. Despite working with low-grade iron, the hammer work was quite difficult.
‘Of course it is.’
Then he would simply use the best method available to him now.
‘The Crafting Hammer’s special option can supplement my lacking Strength. But this isn’t the right time to use it.’
The dark Crafting Hammer he was holding had a special option that temporarily boosted his Strength Stat.
Thanks to that, he’d been able to handle Black Steel before.
But now he had to show his true current state.
‘Purely my baseline is being evaluated.’
Jinwoo took a deep breath.
‘If I’m lacking, then I’m lacking.’
Jinwoo released the tension from his body.
‘It was hard during Eternal Sunshine,’
but in New Genesis, where his high Synchronization Rate let him wield the hammer as naturally as in reality, it was possible.
Clang! Clang!
Jinwoo controlled his hammer work with delicate precision.
—Your Strength Stat increases!
—You are in a state of Immersion!
—Your Immersion Stat increases!
—Your Craftsmanship Stat increases!
Clang!
—You have crafted equipment.
—You have crafted an Iron Sword!
—You have crafted Grade-B equipment!
[Iron Sword]
—Attack Power: 25~35
—Grade: B
—Durability: 3000/3000
Shwip.
It was hard to believe it was made from low-grade iron.
The blade’s speed was remarkably fast.
Hoz swallowed hard.
“Impossible. B-grade? You just cleared the Tutorial and came straight here?”
“Yes, that’s right. I came directly after.”
Someone who’d just cleared the Tutorial could make B-grade?
“Even making C-grade would be surprising…”
B-grade.
Moreover, the attack power was considerable, and the crafting speed was swift.
“You’ve essentially already learned my smelting technique. You did exactly as I said.”
Hoz spoke.
With only one explanation, Jinwoo had essentially mastered Hoz’s smelting technique.
Hoz was utterly bewildered.
But soon he nodded.
“You may use all the materials in my forge.”
Hoz’s eyes gleamed.
“So show me more of this crafting. And try it yourself—use that smelting technique however you wish.”
“Is that a promise?”
Suddenly, a chill ran down the back of Hoz’s neck.

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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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