The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 179
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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 179
179.
Ding-! Ding-!
-Upload reservation completed.
“Phew.”
Dongwoo’s studio.
Dongwoo set up a new video upload schedule and checked his channel’s status.
“Nice.”
The newly uploaded Shorts were performing exceptionally well.
“The channel’s growth is even better now.”
The Bone Dragon Crafting Shorts he’d uploaded had hit the algorithm properly, drawing subscribers to JinTube.
“They watch the Shorts, then move to the long-form video. How could they not be curious? It’s a Bone Dragon!”
Sixty percent of those who viewed the Shorts were clicking through to the full-length content.
That meant sixty percent of the Shorts’ views translated directly into views for the longer video, making the channel’s revenue and growth accelerate dramatically.
“The view boost is insane.”
A video that had ten million views suddenly gained three million more through the Shorts.
“Ten million is already hard enough to hit.”
And now it was climbing toward twenty million.
Dongwoo felt the potential of Shorts.
“This isn’t just about repurposing old videos. I could use it differently.”
Currently, the Shorts were made by cutting up already-uploaded videos.
“What if I make Shorts from videos I haven’t uploaded yet?”
That would be like a trailer.
“Trailers aren’t bad either. Anyone who enjoys the Shorts will flock to the full video.”
The video would record high views the moment it uploaded, and those high views would quickly go viral for the channel.
“Good.”
Buzz—!
Dongwoo’s phone rang while he was working.
“A new video came in.”
Ever since his brother had entered a new area, videos arrived fairly often.
The frigid material footage he’d created in that new region was blowing up now. The Shorts video he was currently working on was about exactly that.
“The frigid material video is blowing up right now.”
Following Orichalcum, the frigid material—difficult to handle—that Jin-woo worked with effortlessly showed the steepest growth curve on JinTube.
“There’s no way you can resist clicking.”
People had to click just out of curiosity about how he handled such finicky material without a single failure.
“He works with this infamously difficult material so smoothly that it’s almost easy-looking.”
Dongwoo immediately checked the new video.
“Hmm.”
This time it was crafting in quite an urgent situation.
“What’s that monster in front?”
His brother was crafting even in the tower.
But this time was different.
“That looks incredibly strong……?”
A faintly glowing white monster and his brother’s Familiars blocking it.
“This is stronger than most tower bosses…….”
It looked even stronger than that.
And his Familiars were in terrible condition.
“How high is the difficulty?”
He was crafting in this kind of difficulty.
Dongwoo couldn’t believe it as he watched the video.
“Brother, is this really okay?”
It didn’t seem like the right time to be crafting. But that’s exactly why Jin-woo was doing it.
Jin-woo existed now because he walked a path others wouldn’t choose.
“!”
Then, in the midst of it all, Jin-woo completed the equipment.
Shwooooosh—.
An iridescent Aura emanating from it.
“Wait.”
Dongwoo’s expression shifted as he watched the video.
“Did you go beyond UR, brother?”
The Grade of the completed equipment was extraordinary.
Until recently, Jin-woo had been crafting UR Grade and UR+ Rank equipment.
Just recently, the Tentacle Whip video he’d uploaded was UR+ Rank.
“I heard UR+ could be where you stay for quite a while.”
That information meant nothing to his brother.
“He just broke through. Wow, seriously.”
He wondered if for his brother, this might be what he’d consider lingering.
“SSR Rank!”
SSR Rank.
The Attributes stood out even more than the high Grade.
“And he didn’t just make this casually—he made it while fighting. That white guy!”
Ding!
-Sending another video.
“He even crafted the Framework.”
Along with the SSR Grade equipment, he’d also crafted a UR Grade Framework.
“He used the frigid material here too. Where exactly is brother?”
Looking more carefully, it was attached in the message his brother had sent.
Underworld.
A city of souls and skeletal abyss.
“Hmm.”
The Underworld didn’t come up at all in searches.
“Looks like brother went there first.”
His brother was always like that.
First.
Even with Eternal Sunshine, he repeatedly claimed and maintained First Clear Titles across multiple categories.
“If he crafted SSR here, it must be a pretty high-difficulty place.”
Then he needed to put his all into the video he’d sent.
This was incredible material.
Dongwoo took a deep breath.
So far, he had quite a bit of information.
He’d made videos based on that information.
“Asking my brother would be the best approach.”
But Dongwoo didn’t want to do that.
He wanted to complete the video entirely through his own strength.
“My brother trusts me.”
He wanted to deliver as much as his brother believed in him.
“Information isn’t the only thing that makes a good video. I can go with my instinct.”
It wasn’t as if he had zero information about the Underworld.
When his brother sent the video, he’d included some very basic information.
-This Underworld video will go up as three-part long-form on Netflix. Count on me.
“You should’ve mentioned that first!”
Dongwoo’s heart raced hard.
“Whoooaa.”
If this Underworld content became the main feature of Netflix’s three-part series.
Those coming from watching the Netflix original would evaluate Dongwoo’s video by a high standard.
“It’s fine.”
Actually, this was good.
“If they’re unsatisfied after coming to JinTube, they’ll go back to Netflix and watch my brother’s video once more.”
Either way, his brother benefited.
“Let’s do this.”
* * *
Fragment 15 City.
Jin-woo had summoned every soul that had been in Fragment 9 City.
“I’ve brought them all!”
Lerankal, the commander-class soul from Fragment 9 City who had guided Jin-woo, led the souls into Fragment 15 City.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve entered Fragment 15 City.”
Since the Tyrant-grade Monster Boros had settled in Fragment 15 City, the souls rarely ventured into the central Fragment district.
Getting caught by Boros meant certain annihilation.
“Yet you hunted that Boros.”
Lerankal exhaled a sigh of genuine, deep relief.
You drove off a Tyrant-grade Monster?
No. It was relief at his own choice not to fight when Jin-woo first came to Fragment 9 City.
Had he engaged in battle then…….
All of Fragment 9 City would have been destroyed, every soul annihilated.
Shwooooosh—.
The souls, including Lerankal who had arrived in Fragment 15 City, naturally assumed that Jin-woo had defeated even the new god’s Successor and reclaimed the Underworld.
But he hadn’t.
Beyond.
An intense spiritual presence could be felt.
The new god’s Successor.
And the Underworld’s new god.
That power radiated plainly.
Lerankal and the souls immediately understood why Jin-woo had called them.
“We trust the old god’s Successor more. What should we do?”
At Lerankal’s resolute words, Jin-woo gestured.
“What kind of body do you want?”
“……Pardon?”
“What kind of body do you want?”
“I… the body I want is…….”
Without realizing it, Lerankal answered Jin-woo’s question.
“Oh. That sounds cool. Okay. Got it.”
“……?”
As Jin-woo said next, Lerankal stepped back to the side, then wore a very puzzled expression.
Then he looked at the Skull King.
At that gaze, the Skull King cackled with delight.
“Thought you came to fight?”
“……No, didn’t you?”
“No. That’s not it.”
The Skull King cried out in a loud voice.
“Souls! The Successor of the Underworld before you has made a promise! To give you bodies!”
And he continued.
“And he says he will fulfill that promise right now!”
“!”
“!”
“If, if that’s the case……”
“He called us to create bodies for us!?”
Naturally, they thought he’d summoned them to fight together.
This Underworld was the domain of the Master of Soul and Abyss.
The rightful ruler appeared with the Successor’s power, and with that appearance came the hunt of the Tyrant-grade Monster Boros.
Now the reclamation of the Underworld was just one step away.
The situation had already shifted to Jin-woo’s favor.
Of course, the new god and his Successor possessed even greater power, enough to make the Tyrant-grade Monster Boros their guardian.
Without dealing with the new god’s Successor, reclaiming the Underworld would be impossible, but if the souls gathered and combined their strength, they could overcome it.
In that process, souls might be annihilated, but sacrifice was the price of righteousness.
With such thoughts, the souls came this far.
But the old god’s Successor held no such thoughts.
Rather.
“He says he doesn’t intend to borrow your strength!”
It was different.
The words the new god’s Successor spoke when first arriving.
And the words the old god’s Successor spoke were drastically different.
“We are…….”
The gathered souls were bewildered.
They had rejected Jin-woo.
They attacked on sight. They said this land had already become the new god’s domain.
Yet Jin-woo embraced all of that.
“Ah…….”
“Old god…….”
“Master of Soul and Abyss!”
They all knelt.
“We beg your forgiveness, Successor of the Underworld.”
-The Master of Soul and Abyss admires your actions! He says he’s so glad he chose you as Successor!
‘I didn’t plan this.’
He’d only meant to craft them Frameworks.
‘Since it’s come to this.’
Jin-woo rose smoothly.
“I will restore the Underworld. In the right direction. And the first step of that restoration is fulfilling my promises. I will directly carry out the promises that the King of the Dead’s Successor made only in words.”
Ding-!
-All souls of Fragment 9 City praise you!
-Their loyalty toward you has reached MAX!
-Quest updated!
‘As expected.’
Just as Jin-woo had anticipated, the Underworld Reclamation Quest wasn’t clearable by just one method.
‘How you view Underworld Reclamation can change how it unfolds.’
Jin-woo smiled faintly.
“In the crafter’s way.”
I’ll resolve it.
At Jin-woo’s gesture, the souls lined up.
“Skull King. Find out everything.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“Their preferences. What kind of bodies they each want.”
“Could it be…….”
“Giving them all the same Framework would be boring.”
Boring wasn’t for them.
It was entirely for Jin-woo.
‘If I just make identical ones right away, it won’t be fun.’
“Giving Frameworks to all souls of the Underworld…… tailored individually to each one…… that’s impossible!”
And besides, the new god’s Successor was coming.
He didn’t know when, but it wouldn’t take long.
In the short time available, it was absolutely impossible.
Jin-woo spoke.
“Something that looks impossible. I’ll make it possible.”
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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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