The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 208

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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 208
208.
A blonde foreigner in a small room wore a troubled expression.
This was the workspace of Studio Labo, which produced the documentary videos featuring Pendant.
Lemere, the main producer at Labo, frowned.
“Sigh.”
Pendant’s video was currently ranked number one in worldwide standings.
Even throughout Netflix’s long history, there had never been a work with metrics as impressive as Pendant’s.
Third most-watched hours ever.
Fifty million cumulative households.
In Los Angeles, they were receiving constant inquiries about inviting Pendant to appear on various programs.
“They’re even asking him to throw the first pitch.”
The LA Dodgers were strongly hoping to have Pendant throw the opening pitch.
Reportedly, the team’s owner played New Gene, and found Pendant’s video deeply moving.
Pendant’s status was rising without limit, and Studio Labo, his production company, was flooded with requests from all sides.
Naturally, their rates had skyrocketed as well.
They were no longer just New Gene content—they were evolving into the kind of content that could influence everyone.
A reversal of fortune.
An unknown studio had climbed the ladder that could take it all the way to the top through Pendant’s videos.
Yet Lemere felt uneasy.
“There’s really no reason to be this anxious.”
Despite all the metrics pointing upward, he harbored a strange, gnawing dread.
And there was only one reason for it.
“Jin-woo.”
It was because of a user named Jin-woo.
“How did things come to this?”
Lemere had gathered information on Jin-woo and was analyzing it.
A legendary creator and issue-maker from Eternal Sunshine, once the leading semi-immersive reality game, whose whereabouts became mysterious after New Gene opened—until recently, when he’d started playing the game and immediately began putting up monstrous scores, shattering every existing record.
In short, the moment he logged in, he was a monster, completely rewriting the record books.
“There’s no official confirmation whether he’s really Jin-woo, so some people say they don’t know for sure. But there’s no way a monster like this isn’t Jin.”
He simply hadn’t stated it openly himself.
But everything he did screamed Jin of Eternal Sunshine.
And now this monster was on Pendant’s heels in the video space.
“He’s the same kind of creator, and on top of that, he’s shattering every record the existing New Gene rankers had set…….”
Jin-woo was climbing by literally demolishing every single record the existing top rankers had established.
“The word ‘artisan’ suits him perfectly.”
A completely different sort of artisan than Starlight or Inclassic.
“And he’s incredibly free about it all.”
Not the freedom of being unbound to anything.
“He does everything he wants to do. His methods are entirely novel.”
Jin-woo possessed something that the existing master smiths did not.
“That used to be the sole province of Pendant.”
Before Jin-woo appeared, Pendant was the only blacksmith who possessed what the others lacked.
“Phew.”
Creak.
The door opened.
“Producer.”
Short blonde hair.
A sharp-featured man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties greeted Lemere.
“Pendant.”
Pendant—Emil—acknowledged Lemere.
“Is there something you needed?”
“It’s about that issue I mentioned before.”
At those words, Pendant’s expression hardened.
Pendant took a seat in the chair beside Lemere.
“About Jin?”
“Yes.”
Something interesting had happened on Korean Netflix.
Slayer’s video and Jin-woo’s video had clashed head-on.
Naturally, most people expected no contest and predicted a landslide victory for Slayer.
But the result was the opposite.
Slayer suffered an overwhelming defeat, and Jin-woo achieved the top position on Korean Netflix.
“I built equipment for Slayer, so I know just how strong he is.”
But the criteria for ranking on Netflix wasn’t about raw strength.
It was about how much more entertaining something was.
How much more captivating it proved.
“In terms of charm, there’s no one who can rival Jin. I was doing Bridge before, and I kept hearing stories about Jin. Even within Bridge, there were many fans of his.”
Jin-woo had played Eternal Sunshine, while Pendant had played Bridge, another semi-immersive reality game.
Though the games were different, Jin-woo even had fans in the Bridge community.
“I told you then—that Jin would win.”
Lemere nodded at Emil’s words.
“But I didn’t expect him to rise this far.”
Emil had considered it a possibility nonetheless.
When he played Bridge, a semi-immersive reality game, he’d heard Jin’s name constantly.
King Maker.
Legend.
Ranker of rankers.
He’d accumulated every accolade imaginable, and there was constant talk that if he came to Bridge, he’d easily crush all the accomplished creators and take first place without breaking a sweat.
To be honest,
“I was always curious about it.”
Pendant felt his pride wounded.
Despite the fact that they played different games and couldn’t be directly compared, the comparisons never stopped—and that itself was humiliating.
“What kind of crafting he did.”
He watched Jin’s videos.
They resembled nothing he had ever seen before.
Jin’s creations were original—something only Jin could produce.
Those creations, which would be difficult for anyone else to imitate, drew admiration from anyone with knowledge of crafting.
Because nothing that appeared ordinary was actually ordinary in his work.
“After seeing it, I understand.”
Yet Pendant could smile.
His skills were certainly impressive.
And yet, Pendant felt certain he could win now.
“I won’t lose the top spot. Actually, I’ve been waiting for this. Rather than keep being compared across different games where comparison is difficult,
Pendant said,
“I wanted to compete once in the same game.”
Riding this momentum just like Jin-woo, Pendant was preparing his Season 2 video.
He’d originally planned different content for it, but now things had to change.
“I’m planning to meet Jin directly.”
Pendant smiled.
“I intend to go and have an exchange with him.”
Of course, this would be no ordinary exchange.
It would be a direct confrontation in the guise of a meeting.
Pendant looked forward to it greatly.
What expression would Jin, who had never known defeat, wear?
Lemere’s expression relaxed at that overwhelming confidence.
“Then I understand. I won’t worry any further. I look forward to working with you, Pendant.”
* * *
“You’re saying you want to exchange with every craftsman on the workshop street?”
“Yes.”
That Jin-woo was versatile could be discerned from his crafting.
But the workshops on the crafting street were truly diverse.
“Alchemy, Magic Crafting—all of them?”
“Yes. They’re all in my field.”
“……?”
At Jin-woo’s words that these were his fields, Oson’s expression grew bewildered.
“I know you’re versatile, but…….”
This was far too many different fields.
Oson first showed Jin-woo a list of workshops in Chanran and asked,
“The Sewing workshop here—might you…….”
“Yes. Please add that one as well.”
“Leather Crafting……?”
“Yes. That one too…….”
After hearing “add that one too” five more times, the list was finally complete.
“I can visit them all. This should be an enjoyable exchange.”
Jin-woo smiled and reviewed the completed list.
Oson fell silent at the sight of it.
The completed list contained every single workshop in Chanran.
“Is this right……?”
As Oson compiled the list, his expression betrayed doubt about whether this could be correct.
“Can you really do all of this?”
He asked once more, unwilling to believe it. Jin-woo simply nodded easily.
Of course, to be honest, not all of them were truly his fields.
“There’s actually one I don’t know how to do.”
Jin-woo said.
“The Cooking workshop. I wanted to try learning it.”
Cooking, after all, was also done with Dexterity. Since he’d already started the exchange, Jin-woo wanted to meet with every workshop in Chanran.
‘I’m going to establish myself here.’
“So apart from that one, you’re telling me you can handle all the rest?”
Oson couldn’t believe Jin-woo’s claim that he could manage everything else.
If Hamilton had said something like this, Oson would have shaken his head vigorously and told him to stop bragging.
But Jin-woo’s expression carried a weight of sincerity.
“I see.”
Then there was no need to press further.
“Let’s depart right away.”
“Oh, and Oson.”
With the exchange list finalized, Jin-woo brought up another important matter.
This too was quite significant.
“I’d like to purchase a workshop.”
“Purchase? Not rent?”
“Yes.”
At those words, Oson crossed his arms.
“Hmm, that won’t be easy.”
“Are there conditions?”
“The conditions are complicated, certainly. But if I vouch for you, that can be resolved. The real problem lies elsewhere.”
“What might that be?”
In response to Jin-woo’s question, Oson formed a circle with his index and thumb and said simply,
“Money.”
Even though Chanran was a declining workshop district, the base price was astronomical.
“This is the capital of the Avallac Kingdom, after all. Buildings here cost far more than in small towns.”
Where exactly was this place?
Wasn’t this Avalon, the capital of the Avallac Kingdom?
Purchasing a workshop meant purchasing the land in the capital as well. That’s why the prices set were so immense.
“I know your skills are exceptional, but you’re level 300-something, aren’t you? Even if you saved diligently, you wouldn’t have accumulated enough to buy a workshop. It’s terribly expensive here.”
At Oson’s words, Jin-woo asked,
“How much are we talking about?”
“The smallest workshop wouldn’t satisfy you anyway. If we’re talking about an ordinary workshop,”
Oson recalled the empty workshop located in the third block, second position.
After the person who’d operated it moved to another kingdom,
it had remained vacant for a long time.
“roughly 100 million Gold.”
After saying so, Oson thought it would be too expensive for Jin-woo to afford.
100 million Gold—what an astronomical sum.
Oson had inherited his own workshop, so he’d never had to pay such a fortune. But if he’d had to, he absolutely couldn’t have afforded it.
Oson looked at Jin-woo.
“If you need help, I could provide some…….”
“100 million Gold or so?”
Jin-woo smiled.
“You needn’t worry about the money.”
‘The price is reasonable—for the capital, this is quite affordable.’
Fortunately, it was far cheaper than he’d anticipated.
“It’s more than enough. Plenty.”
Oson’s eyes trembled violently.

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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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