The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 190

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Episode 190
190.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
—The Master of Soul and Abyss is bewildered.
—The God of Nature and Harmony says your Hammering is akin to meditation itself.
Like the Guardian of Flame and Crafting, the Master of Soul and Abyss was deeply astonished as well. He knew full well what kind of material a Soul Crystal was.
A crystal refined from soul varied in difficulty depending on what Grade the soul possessed.
The Soul Crystal that Jin-woo was now handling was made from Yurolde’s soul.
Yurolde’s soul was a USSR Grade soul.
That meant it was far more difficult to handle than standard USSR materials.
Of course, precisely because of that, it could yield far superior results compared to materials of the same Grade.
Clang!
Yet he was grasping its nature in mere moments through successive strikes and beginning to work with it.
—The God of Bone and Death approves of your method of handling souls!
Countless gods offered their praises to Jin-woo’s Hammering.
But Jin-woo saw nothing around him.
He was absorbed in the work. His focus fixed entirely on the Soul Crystal. He had no fear of it breaking. He simply wanted to handle this Soul Crystal well.
Clang! Clang!
So his entire concentration went into controlling the newly acquired power.
This formidable strength, wielded for the first time, had shattered every instinct his hands had cultivated through years of tactile habit.
Strike as he normally would, and the material would shatter.
With each blow, he had to recalibrate his strike force.
And that principle applied not merely to Hammering, but to everything involving his hands.
Harmonia Refinement Technique, Soul Forging, Flawless Seamstress Art, Maximization Refinement Technique.
Everything he had learned was instantly affected by his newly amplified strength.
So now Jin-woo was relearning them all.
“Harmonia Refinement Technique.”
Whoosh—! Clang!
Bending his existing strength. Smaller. Larger.
Finding balance.
Rather than using it exactly as before, he had to scale it up to match his transformed power. Compressing that entire process and embedding it in the hammer caused blood to flood Jin-woo’s eyes in an instant.
Sweat poured from his entire body, and his fingertips grew numb.
Yet Jin-woo did not stop adjusting his control.
Clang!
As he brought down the hammer, his mind never ceased working.
He had to demolish what once came naturally to his hands.
Without doing so, he could not handle the material.
That process was extraordinarily difficult.
For it meant abandoning everything cultivated over long years and building a new tower from the ground up.
Emptiness.
Despair.
Perhaps even fear could seep in.
The gods watching Jin-woo witnessed the despair their patron was enduring.
So they thought this would be a grave trial for him.
But Jin-woo did not hesitate to demolish the tower he had built.
No matter how beautifully constructed, if a tower cannot be built higher, it must be torn down.
To build higher.
To build stronger.
Difficult Crafting was not something Jin-woo feared.
What he truly feared was the inability to craft at all.
‘I’ve already known that fear.’
He had experienced that terror thoroughly enough.
Crafting is difficult?
Jin-woo was simply grateful he could craft. So even this trial was nothing but joy.
—The Master of Soul and Abyss senses terror in your Hammering.
The god of the Underworld was sensing terror from Jin-woo.
It was a form of ultimate praise.
A Necromancer god feeling terror meant depths that defied comprehension—a malice overflowing without end.
—The Master of Soul and Abyss grants you a blessing!
Clang!
—Your Concentration Stat rises.
—Your Strength Stat rises.
—Your Dexterity Stat rises.
Concentration, Strength, Dexterity.
All three Stats rose simultaneously.
Clang! Clang!
Whoooosh!
Flames from the Soul Furnace wrapped around the Soul Crystal.
Clang!
And then one final strike.
This time the Soul Crystal withstood the blow.
Or rather, it did not merely withstand it.
“Done.”
Jin-woo set down his hammer.
The Soul Crystal had been transformed—minutely, delicately, precisely as much as he desired, through perfect control of force.
“So this is the feeling.”
The newly bestowed power began to blossom in Jin-woo’s hands.
“Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”
It was not mere awakening in words.
True comprehension.
True awakening.
“I understand now.”
Clang!
—Equipment has been created!
—USSR+ Grade equipment has been created!
Made from Yurolde’s Soul Crystal.
Whoooosh!
“A blade.”
The newly forged blade emanated a dark aura. This sword, made from Yurolde’s Soul Crystal, carried Yurolde’s power intact.
Jin-woo slowly grasped the blade.
—Ego Sword: Yurolde has been created!
—Achievement unlocked!
—Achievement [Equipment Forged from Soul] unlocked!
[Ego Sword: Yurolde]
—Attack Power: 30,500
—Grade: USSR+
—Durability: 280,000 / 280,000
<>
* Special Skill [Ego Acting: Entrust Judgment to Yurolde—the blade moves autonomously.]
* Special Skill [Ego Auto Counter—awakening the soul’s power to counter automatically.]
* Special Skill [Abyss: Black Flame Steel—encircling fierce black flames to inflict damage.]
* Special Option [Maximization Refinement—Attack Power has been maximized. Attack Power increases by 11,000.]
* Special Option [Ultimate Attack Power—Attack Power increases by 9,500.]
* Special Option [Curse Infusion – Arcshak LV3—Attack Power increases by 6,500.]
* Special Option [Life Drain—absorb 15% of damage dealt as your own Life Force!]
* Special Option [Ambush—Necromaster’s power is imbued; the first attack is guaranteed to become a Fatal Blow.]
* Special Option [Soul Forging—drawing forth the soul’s power. Attack Speed increases by 25%.]
* Special Option [Soul Penetration—bypassing defense to deal damage!]
* Special Option [Gaze of the Dead—discerning enemy weaknesses. Gain 3% additional Attack Power.]
Ego Sword: Yurolde.
This blade containing Yurolde’s soul could move and judge of its own volition.
“USSR+.”
And its Grade had risen one step from the USSR he had previously achieved to USSR+.
Jin-woo examined his hands.
He had successfully assimilated the power gained through Job Awakening.
“Raw power won’t be an issue anymore.”
The Necromaster Job Awakening felt different from merely having his Stats increase.
‘Which is why it was so demanding.’
Jin-woo sensed vast potential in this power.
“New Special Options too.”
The Ego Sword: Yurolde carried the power of Jin-woo’s awakened state.
“Gaze of the Dead—not bad at all!”
Three percent additional Attack Power.
As weapon Attack Power grew stronger, percentage-based Options truly shone.
‘Soul Penetration synergizes beautifully with this.’
“The Soul Crystal material has exceptional properties.”
Moreover, this newly used material—the Soul Crystal—was extraordinarily unique.
“It captures the soul’s owner’s characteristics entirely.”
The Special Skills affixed to Ego Sword: Yurolde proved it.
“Named Monster cores and essences carry characteristics too.”
But souls were far more vivid.
Jin-woo immediately examined the Ego Sword’s detailed Options further.
‘I’ve crafted Ego Swords before.’
Fundamentally, an Ego Sword could not be wielded by just anyone.
The weapon chose its master, and those not chosen could not use it at all, which is why high-rank players favored such Ego Swords.
‘Equipment imbued with Ego was preferred, certainly.’
Equipment that only he could wield.
Such equipment held enormous merit for high-rankers.
‘Because it emphasized exclusivity.’
High-rankers are fundamentally exceptional beings.
But with so many rivals, they emphasized their exclusivity once more through Ego Swords.
‘I even started the trend myself.’
Ego Swords were extraordinarily difficult to forge, so back in Eternal Sunshine, they used materials containing souls to craft them.
‘Now, though.’
With the Soul Furnace, he could now forge equipment imbued with Ego.
“One step. Climbing higher.”
With the ability to use Soul Crystal as a material, the breadth of equipment he could create had expanded.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo grasped the Ego Sword.
“Its Attack Power is lower than the Phantom Blade or the Frostbone Crescent Moon Blade.”
But it was considerably lighter.
And it had one advantage.
‘Because a soul dwells within.’
He could use Yurolde’s power directly.
Whoooosh.
“Auto counter using soul power. This is quite practical.”
The Ego Sword’s strengths were on full display.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo paused to consider.
“If it’s like this.”
Jin-woo had the Scythe of Judgment.
And First and Pur had the newly forged Phantom Blade and Frostbone Crescent Moon Blade respectively.
‘Using it as a spare feels like a waste.’
“Creating one more Familiar might not be bad.”
Jin-woo currently had eight Familiars, including the one newly created this time.
‘The Familiar limit is fifteen.’
He still had space for seven more.
Moreover, having recently given flesh-forms to the souls of the Underworld, Jin-woo’s understanding of bone had reached its absolute zenith.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo gazed at the Soul Furnace.
“Rather than simply creating one more Familiar to wield this blade.”
There must be a far better application.
Then the Soul Furnace began to glow.
Whoooosh!
“You want me to explore further?”
* * *
Jin-woo continued using the Soul Furnace, researching the functions it possessed.
“The basic function is crystallizing souls.”
Refining souls and crystallizing them.
This refining process was simple enough. The furnace automatically took in souls and spat out crystals.
“The second function is.”
This second function deeply intrigued Jin-woo.
“So you’re telling me that’s the answer.”
Jin-woo looked at the furnace.
One of the newly unlocked functions.
That was the solution.
“Soul Marking.”