The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 177

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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 177
Episode 177.
The advertising contracts arranged through JBS were progressing rapidly.
Since the ad videos were created by editing existing footage, Han In-gu’s team moved with impressive speed.
“Ahhhhh! The incentive bonus came through!”
“Wait, why did it arrive so fast?”
“Because we delivered such incredible results! The department head is pushing hard for us!”
Han In-gu’s team was celebrating the incentive payment.
Thanks to it, the quality of the ad videos had risen considerably.
“Long live Jin-woo!”
“We eat because of Jin-woo!”
A positive cycle was taking hold in the editing room.
The PD’s office.
Han In-gu was pressing his forehead with his hand.
“Episode three. That’s the crucial one.”
They’d already claimed first place domestically.
But worldwide first place was another matter entirely.
“The view counts are insane.”
The video currently in first place belonged to Pendant—a user ranked among the top three in the crafting community.
“They shot it in documentary style, and in the middle, there’s footage of breaking through a long-standing barrier and reaching a new realm.”
The moment of shattering through a wall that had blocked the creator for years and ascending to a new level was captured vividly in the footage.
“Even I have to admit it’s moving.”
Thanks to that, Pendant’s video skyrocketed.
One month after release.
Pendant’s video had been watched by over forty million households.
Ding!
A text message arrived on Han In-gu’s phone.
-Hello, PD. This is Yoo Sang-hun, branch director of Netflix Korea.
It was a contact from the Netflix Korea branch director.
-Headquarters was deeply impressed with the [Soul Blacksmith, Jin-woo] video, and we plan to launch a major advertising campaign for it. We’d like to schedule a meeting to discuss it…….
“!”
Han In-gu read the message carefully.
-I’ll head over right away.
Episode three.
“If it’s like this, I have to go all in. Domestic first place alone won’t cut it.”
Netflix Korea.
The Korean headquarters at Gwanghwamun.
In the meeting room, Han In-gu’s expression froze in shock.
“Excuse me? The budget is how much?”
Han In-gu was stunned by the representative’s words.
“One billion dollars.”
“O-o-one billion dollars?”
Not one billion won.
One billion dollars.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Han In-gu’s entire body began to tremble. He thought the trembling hands spilling coffee in dramas was just cinematic effect—until he actually experienced shock and his body shook of its own accord.
It was real. His hands genuinely wouldn’t obey him.
An ocean had flooded in.
And not just any ocean—the Pacific!
* * *
The Cold Core.
When Jin-woo injected the Cold Core he’d obtained from hunting Boros into Pur, an intense cold burst forth.
Shhhhhh—.
-Using Bone Making skill!
-Granting an attribute to your familiar, Pur!
-Pur has acquired the Underworld Cold Attribute!
Shhhhhh—.
Pure white cold radiated from Pur.
The previously deep blue cold transformed into a pale, pure white.
‘This looks even better.’
The Frost Bone Crescent Sword and the white aura it gave off were quite striking.
Jin-woo continued his work.
He crafted weapons for both of his familiars—First and Pur.
‘I’ve matched them with USSR Grade weapons.’
Next came armor.
He had witnessed the Skystone Basago Armor and Pur’s Dragon Stone Armor shattered mercilessly by Boros.
‘The shortcomings were painfully obvious.’
They were well-made, even excellently made.
‘But the materials fell short. The grade was insufficient. I won’t settle for those excuses anymore.’
That’s why Jin-woo’s resolve only deepened.
If armor broke, he could remake it—he understood the joy in that. But seeing his own creations actually tear apart before his eyes was anything but pleasant.
‘It shouldn’t be my armor that shatters.’
It should be the opponent’s.
Jin-woo picked up the Scale Stone.
Shhhhhh—.
This Scale Stone, which he’d obtained from capturing Valam, was a dark blue mineral.
When he touched it, he barely sensed the properties of the Valam materials he’d handled before.
‘What I feel completely.’
Was the demonic power that Valam possessed.
Intense Dark Energy.
Jin-woo smiled faintly.
“Then.”
I’ll maximize this Dark Energy.
“Maximization Refining.”
Push it to the extreme.
Shhhhhhhh—!
Tremendous Dark Energy exploded from the Scale Stone.
The surroundings turned pitch black—the darkness was overwhelming.
The eyes of his familiars gleamed.
The two master blacksmiths of the Underworld, being fundamentally undead, were profoundly affected by this Dark Energy.
“What exactly is that material……?”
He possessed such a mineral.
What sort of monster had he hunted to obtain something like this?
“I was already coveting the bone he used before…….”
The Skeletal King, who had envied Valam’s bones when the Frost Bone Crescent Sword was made, now found himself equally drawn to this Scale Stone.
“I absolutely must ask where he obtained it.”
After drawing out the full power of the Scale Stone through Soul Forging.
Jin-woo began hammering.
Whoooosh—!
The Scale Stone placed in the furnace burned intensely.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
‘Tempering.’
Making something stronger through striking—that was tempering.
Jin-woo believed that tempering applied not only to minerals but to people as well.
Clang—! Clang—!
To temper something, you had to strike it.
‘The King of the Dead. His Successor would be even stronger than Boros.’
Jin-woo cleared his mind of everything else.
Armor that could withstand the attacks of the God of Death’s Successor?
There was no point in setting such a standard.
If he aimed only to defend against the God of Death’s Successor, the armor would inevitably shatter when facing someone even stronger.
So what he pursued instead was.
‘Ultimate defense.’
Just as Hephalese had sought.
‘High defense. Focus only on that.’
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Jin-woo brought his hammer down in rapid succession.
The Hammer, Agnes, answered his strike.
The Scale Stone began to transform.
“Rune Inscription.”
Jin-woo cast Rune Inscription on the Scale Stone.
Guided by the Hephalese Refining Technique and refined through Soul Forging, the runes began to glow at his fingertips.
‘Layer them.’
It was similar to the basic reinforcement method of Bone Sculpting.
‘But layering has its limits.’
Jin-woo paused to think.
‘Ultimate defense.’
The essence of the Hephalese Refining Technique was skewing all focus toward a single stat.
‘Destabilizing balance.’
Jin-woo realized that the power to destabilize balance wasn’t unique to refining—it applied to all his techniques.
‘All my skills are connected.’
The Flawless Seamstress Art had shown him that.
There was no technique limited to a single domain.
‘So then.’
Jin-woo inscribed the rune characters with the precision of the Flawless Seamstress Art, stitching them meticulously into the stone.
And then.
‘Destabilize the balance of the runes themselves.’
Ding!
-Rune Inscription has failed!
Along with the failure message.
Shhhhhhhh—!
Light burst forth from the failed rune characters.
“!”
-You have learned a new skill.
-[Rune Inscription: Extreme]
The Rune Inscription Jin-woo had learned transcended the teachings of his master, Rigardo, evolving into Jin-woo’s own unique technique.
“Done.”
Jin-woo cast Rune Inscription: Extreme on the Scale Stone.
“A shield of perfect defense.”
This was his desire.
“That blocks every conceivable attack.”
Clang—!
“An unbreakable bulwark.”
-Equipment crafted!
-USSR Grade equipment created!
-Valam Scale Stone Armor created!
-Your level has increased!
Looking at the finished armor, Jin-woo smiled.
“I’ve got the momentum now.”
Riding this wave.
Jin-woo placed Boros’s bones on the workbench.
“Let’s go.”
-Using Bone Making skill!
The form of a new familiar began to take shape in an instant.
Scritch—. Scritch—.
He would use two materials.
Boros’s bones and his fur hide.
‘I’ll set the fur aside for now.’
The materials to use directly in the skeleton were.
‘Boros’s bones and.’
Shhhhhh—.
A material radiating intense cold.
“Blizzard.”
He intended to embed the Blizzard—a cold sphere containing Boros’s powerful essence—into Boros’s bones.
“Boros was incredibly formidable.”
Jin-woo recalled his battle with Boros.
‘Both speed and power were overwhelming.’
Because of that, First and Pur had been continuously pushed back in combat.
First and Pur were fundamentally powerful dealers.
‘But now the two dealers are creating their own openings.’
That meant they were dictating the entire pace of battle.
However, Jin-woo didn’t think that was particularly efficient.
‘Against a Tyrant-class Monster like this one with both mobility and power, they could easily find themselves at a disadvantage.’
Boros had held significant advantages in combat.
Being fast and strong, he could rampage freely.
‘He specialized in striking and withdrawing.’
That strike-and-withdraw tactic created its own rhythm.
He struck on his own timing and withdrew on the opponent’s.
Moreover.
He disrupted the opponent’s rhythm, imposing his own timing instead.
‘That’s what I need.’
A familiar that could create openings.
So First and Pur could land their attacks perfectly.
‘I’ll create a familiar that makes the timing.’
Crack—.
Crunch—.
Jin-woo began carving Boros’s bones.
Scritch—. Scritch—.
The form he envisioned was simple.
‘The motif is basically Boros.’
But I’ll add nimbleness and heft to it.
Boros had taken a fox form, but what Jin-woo imagined now was larger.
‘Smaller than a full Bone Tyrant.’
Slightly larger than First and Pur.
Scritch—. Scritch—.
“Bone Sculpting.”
Shhhhhhhhhh—!
Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch—!
Jin-woo carved through the bone without hesitation.
The form took shape.
Details emerged.
“Wow…….”
The Skeletal King marveled at Jin-woo’s advancing skill.
He’d been amazed even the first time he saw bone carving.
Jin-woo had demonstrated exceptional bone work even using the old-fashioned method.
But now, with the cutting-edge Ultra-vibration Sculpting combined with his own mastery of Bone Sculpting elevated to such heights.
The overwhelming dexterity shown in the old method, enhanced by the new technique.
“It’s beautiful.”
This was no mere sculpting.
It was art.
For the Skeletal King, who had carved bone his entire existence, it was art incarnate.
Scritch—. Scritch—.
Massive.
Fox-like, yet far larger.
“Bone Tiger.”
The form of a tiger made of bone began to emerge.
Scritch—. Scritch—.
-Skeleton created!
Surpassing the grade of previously crafted skeletons.
-UR+ Grade skeleton created!
A new tier achieved.
“Whew.”
Jin-woo retrieved the crucial material to complete the skeleton.
-Boros Soul [USSR]
Jin-woo slowly poured Boros’s soul into the skeleton.
Whoooosh—.
-A powerful soul binds to the skeleton!
-Your familiar opens its eyes!
-Familiar contract established!
The eighth familiar.
“Your name is.”
Shhhhhh—.
The new familiar rose to its feet.
“Tiger.”
From Jin-woo’s hands, a new familiar was born: Tiger.

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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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