The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 197

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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 197
197.
First and Pur unleashed a ferocious assault on Gamigin.
“Grraaaaaagh—!”
The reason he didn’t dodge was simple.
His scales were extraordinarily hard.
Defense using his scales possessed a special power that could shred ordinary attacks to nothing.
But that special quality had just vanished.
“That’s surprising.”
It was his first time using the Soul Harvest skill, and its utility was far greater than he’d anticipated.
‘I can burn five souls to strip away even constraints.’
Jin-woo, thanks to his job and rune effects, didn’t suffer debuffs at all, but he was still subject to constraints like these.
‘I couldn’t escape them even in the Underworld.’
But with this Soul Harvest skill, he could wipe away that debuff too.
‘Then what happens if I burn ten?’
Jin-woo was quite pleased with the Soul Harvest skill.
“Burning ten would stack twenty charges.”
It seemed worth gathering souls to study the Soul Harvest skill in detail.
“Grrrowl—!”
“My… my defense……”
Gamigin couldn’t quite grasp the situation he was in.
“It’s hard. I know—just looking at it.”
Jin-woo smiled darkly.
“But I’ve already dealt with defenses like that. In the Underworld.”
The Trial Tower was certainly a tower of high difficulty.
But that was only its difficulty rating from before Jin-woo cleared the Underworld.
‘The Tower of Sulfur and Furnace—this Trial Tower has the same difficulty rating.’
Four stars.
‘The kind of rating I cleared before even heading to the Underworld.’
He’d conquered a four-star tower even when he was using equipment of far lower grades.
Now that he’d reached USSR+ Rank, it could only be easy.
“And besides, my familiars are furious.”
He carried with him the resolve never to fail helplessly like he had then. And that resolve lived in every single strike.
He gripped First firmly and the Phantom Blade.
The Soul Engraving etched into his very bones grew fiercer with each movement he made.
Shrieeeeek—!
“!”
Gamigin felt firsthand just how lethal the Phantom Blade was when First wielded it with full force.
He fell back hard. In that same instant, Pur moved—silent and decisive. The Soul Engraving’s effects were equally potent on him.
He swung the Frost Bone Moon Blade and froze everything around it.
Whoosh—!
He thought he’d evaded it, but the blade caught him. Ice spread instantly from the wound, consuming his body.
“Damn!”
Gamigin spun, drawing up water to shatter the ice. But now Bom moved with vicious speed.
Crack—! Shriiek—!
He raked his claws wildly, scrambling Gamigin’s senses into chaos.
“Ugh!”
He shook free and dodged aside, but now a breath came hurtling at him.
Whoooooosh—!
The breath, thick with dark Aura, breathed weakness into Gamigin’s body.
“Curse it!”
The coordination of his familiars was tremendous. It flowed on and on, as though a single attack from the beginning.
“Just a bit longer. You need to hold on.”
Jin-woo spoke.
“Because I think I’m starting to understand something about those scales.”
Gamigin raged at those words.
“A mere human? That just now—I was careless. I’ll show you what I can really do. From this moment, I won’t falter even once—”
Before he could finish, Moltus erupted into the air.
Moltus was the one burning with the most fury among all his familiars.
The other familiars—Boros and Yurolde—had both won their rematches, but Moltus alone had accomplished nothing in either encounter.
Shaaaaaaa—.
With his power surging, Moltus focused completely.
In the Underworld, he’d been entirely useless. He wasn’t as strong as First and Pur, but still—he wanted to help.
He didn’t need a major role. He just wanted to be the support that made First and Pur shine, and that helped his master.
So he focused harder than ever.
To adapt to and deploy this rising power faster than any of the other familiars could.
“I will be of use.”
That single wish alone.
Shaaaaaaaaaa—!
He completely sealed Gamigin’s movements.
The power of Soul Engraving blazed forth.
First and Pur watched Moltus, marveling at how far more skillfully he wielded Soul Engraving than they did.
“Hm. Mm-mm.”
“Wow.”
Jin-woo too looked at Moltus, coming late to the sight.
‘He’s ablaze.’
“Moltus.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I’ll craft you a piece of equipment.”
Jin-woo said.
“Keep helping me.”
“Yes, sir!”
He could help. He could matter.
At those words, Moltus cried out with renewed strength.
While Moltus drove Gamigin relentlessly back,
Jin-woo drew Ego Sword: Yurolde.
“First.”
Jin-woo handed the Ego Sword to First.
“You’ll be able to use this far better than I can.”
With the Phantom Blade already in hand, he couldn’t wield the Ego Sword: Yurolde himself.
But First trusted Jin-woo’s word completely.
“Yes, sir.”
If Jin-woo said it, then it was so. First took the Ego Sword in hand.
Shaaaaaaa—.
And then the Ego Sword began to orbit his body like a satellite.
“Just as I thought.”
The Phantom Blade was a two-handed weapon.
First was now demonstrating the optimal way to use both the Phantom Blade and the Ego Sword: Yurolde simultaneously.
“Now!”
Moltus created an opening.
First planted his feet hard against the ground.
“Damn, damn!”
Gamigin couldn’t move.
He twisted his whole body, desperately trying to break free from this trap.
“Almost—!”
In the final moment, just as he was about to overcome Moltus’s power and escape,
“Too… late.”
First was already upon him.
Shrieeeeeeek—!
He swung the Phantom Blade horizontally while bringing the Ego Sword: Yurolde down vertically.
Horizontal and vertical.
First’s strike exploded like a perfect cross.
Crunch—.
Gamigin fell to his knees before First’s blow.
‘An undead performing a cross attack.’
It was deeply ironic, but if anything, that made it more interesting.
Gamigin looked at his familiars.
Then he looked at Jin-woo.
“I concede. You are strong. But that strength will become your shackle. Infinite Chaos shall turn its gaze upon you—”
-The true master of the Trial Tower, Gamigin, falls into eternal rest.
-Your level has increased!
-Your level has increased!
* * *
“Damn it, damn it—!”
“Slayer. Perhaps we should stop now.”
“I’ve already lost count of how many attempts this is.”
“Over dozens now.”
“Without you, Slayer, we won’t run another raid. And there are countless other towers we need to be clearing right now.”
The Tower of Sulfur and Furnace.
Slayer was running the tower repeatedly.
With each run-through, he’d come to understand the Tower of Sulfur and Furnace completely.
Yet not once had he surpassed Jin-woo’s score.
Despite leaving nothing overlooked and clearing it perfectly, he couldn’t catch up.
-2. Slayer 980 points
“How the hell do you break 1,000 points?”
And how, for that matter, does one even reach 1,150?
“Slayer!”
Slayer was the core of Dogyeop.
Dogyeop was originally strong enough without him, but now, competing simultaneously against countless other guilds in multiple fronts, Slayer was necessary.
“We have far too many fronts open right now. We need you, Slayer! This is no time to waste hours on a single tower—”
“I know!”
Slayer shouted.
He knew perfectly well that the Tower of Sulfur and Furnace held no real value.
He understood that repeated attempts, despite already clearing it once, were nothing but a waste of time.
But the Hall of Fame ranking inscribed here was symbolic.
“It has value because it has no value.”
If another player came to this tower and saw Slayer ranked second, that became the image of Dogyeop.
“Finishing in second place means Dogyeop’s image becomes second place.”
How much had Dogyeop already invested in cementing the image of being first?
They’d signed contracts with broadcast networks and entered Netflix—all for the image of being first.
But to remain in second place here?
“That can’t happen.”
“I understand, Slayer. But if we focus here, we’ll lose everything else!”
Slayer clicked his tongue.
That much was true.
Gritting—!
He clenched his teeth and turned his body away.
“…Next time.”
To a different tower, not this one.
“I’ll crush him.”
This humiliation—he’d repay it one day.
* * *
Boom—!
-You have cleared the Trial Tower!
-Calculating rewards…
-You have defeated the true boss, Gamigin!
-You have achieved a magnificent feat!
-Your Honor Score has increased!
-You have achieved an Achievement!
-You have achieved the Achievement [Eye of Truth]!
-You already know Eagle Eye. Eagle Eye has been strengthened!
-You have obtained the Achievement [Conqueror of the Trial Tower]!
Amid a flood of notifications, Jin-woo saw souls floating up from Gamigin’s body.
-Gamigin’s Scales [UR+]
-Gamigin’s Soul [USSR]
-Gamigin’s Bone [USSR]
Gamigin’s Scales were UR+ Rank materials.
And Gamigin’s Soul was USSR.
“The grades are quite decent.”
And there was one more new material.
“I thought there would only be scales.”
-Specter Titanium [USSR]
A new USSR-grade titanium had appeared.
It exceeded the specs of titanium or super-titanium he’d obtained before.
“USSR-grade titanium.”
Gamigin had been a demon who summoned corpses from water as subordinates.
This titanium seemed to have been forged from that nature.
-You have obtained a powerful soul!
-Your Necromaster-Lord experience has increased!
Since he’d undergone his first Awakening, his familiar count didn’t grow easily.
But experience was steadily accumulating.
‘I still have room for more familiars.’
-Gamigin has been sealed in the Ten Thousand Demon Palace!
-Profound power flows into your body!
As Gamigin was sealed in the Ten Thousand Demon Palace, Jin-woo’s power surged.
“Gamigin said something rather ominous before dying.”
Infinite Chaos.
‘Is it some kind of higher existence among demons?’
Jin-woo was indeed collecting demons by clearing various towers.
‘But I doubt I’m leading in that field.’
Jin-woo wasn’t devoting himself solely to tower-clearing.
Since towers were scattered across the Flam Continent, there were simply towers along his path.
‘Is it because of the Ten Thousand Demon Palace?’
Or perhaps Gamigin had seen something in Jin-woo.
‘Either way, it’s good.’
Strong enemies held no fear for Jin-woo.
If anything, they were a plus.
‘Strong enemies yield strong materials.’
It was a very simple premise.
Shaaaaaaa—.
And the most interesting result from this Tower of Trial clearance came through as well.
-Your clear score has been calculated!
-You have been registered in the Hall of Fame!
It was the score for clearing the tower.
<>
1. Jin-woo 1,000 points
-The Hall of Fame rankings have changed.
The first-place spot that Slayer had held.
“I managed to break 1,000 after all.”
Jin-woo had taken it.
-2. Slayer [↓]
Ding—.
The notification of his rank drop reached Slayer as he was leaving the Tower of Sulfur and Furnace.

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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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