The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 213

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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 213
Episode 213.
A new video went up on MiTube.
-Shocking!>> Jin-woo’s UR+ is different from other crafters’ UR+!
People didn’t hold great expectations for a video with such a typical title.
Lately, videos featuring Jin-woo’s name had been getting decent views, so they assumed it was just another one of those.
-Huh?
-I thought the title was just clickbait from some desperate MiTuber.
-It’s Fritz!
It was Fritz, the MiTuber who had bought into Jin-woo early on.
-Fritz is worth watching, at least.
-But what’s with the title? Jin-woo’s UR+ is different from other crafters’ UR+?
The title did its job of stirring curiosity, and subscribers quickly began scrolling through the video.
-Wow.
-Insane.
-I figured it might be like that, but seeing the analysis video is even more shocking.
-Jin-woo isn’t human. He’s a god.
Fritz had equipped himself with several UR+ weapons.
And he displayed information about Jin-woo’s equipment alongside them. He’d have wanted to acquire Jin-woo’s UR+ gear in person, but it was impossible.
-Now, if you look here.
Fritz began by explaining the Grade system.
-All the same Grade. When the Grade is identical, the options tend to be largely similar too.
Jin-woo’s equipment was a UR+ Tentacle Whip.
-But look at this.
This Tentacle Whip had attack power far superior to other whip weapons.
Moreover, the difference in special options exceeded twofold.
-The average is four to five, but Jin-woo’s equipment has over ten options.
The Grade is the same, only.
But the detailed options show an overwhelming difference.
-At this level, isn’t it difficult to call them the same Grade?
-They’re literally just the same Grade.
-The title isn’t clickbait. It’s real.
By Fritz’s explanation, this was nonsensical.
-And everyone, this is the gap that’s widening every time Jin-woo’s equipment Grade increases.
In other words.
-Jin-woo’s equipment isn’t merely a different Grade—it’s a different category altogether.
* * *
Editing. Editing again. Nothing but editing.
In the JBS Editing Room, Han In-gu’s team was cutting down on sleep to edit.
“Strangely, I’m not tired.”
“Maybe it’s because the video’s so entertaining.”
Despite what should have been an exhausting state, they were alert and energized.
“You feel that way too, PD?”
“Normally I’d be collapsed by now.”
Han In-gu also maintained sharp focus. As a result, the video’s quality continued to improve.
“Is it the money?”
But it wasn’t simply the earnings from this video.
“The Underworld footage here. It’s genuinely entertaining. Just purely entertaining.”
They all knew about New Gene, so watching the raw footage while editing was extremely enjoyable.
“But the more you watch, the more astounded you become.”
And simultaneously, they were amazed.
“The growth just doesn’t stop.”
“I’m curious when it will level off.”
“At this rate, he’d qualify for the Ranker list. It’s shocking that he still hasn’t entered the rankings despite being at Level 300s.”
Jin-woo in the Underworld was still in the Level 300 range.
“What’s the minimum Level to enter the rankings?”
“I believe it’s 500.”
“I’ve heard you can enter in the 400s if you meet other conditions.”
“Still, we’re probably looking at late 400s!”
PD Han In-gu chuckled.
“The Pendant people must be trembling right now, huh?”
Pendant was rewriting Netflix history.
If it maintained the top spot just a little longer, it would transcend that history and become its own legend.
“But once the third installment drops, that record’s done for.”
Han In-gu was certain of it.
Jin-woo would inherit the history Pendant was writing and take it even further.
* * *
No one had announced a start.
Clang-!
Jin-woo and Peran’s Crafting had begun.
Peran struck the Hammer rhythmically.
“Ooh.”
Oson marveled at that Hammering.
Eritun was not someone who trusted easily, much like Oson.
So when he heard Eritun had taken a foreigner as an Apprentice, he was puzzled. What kind of foreigner could it be to warrant accepting as an Apprentice?
But now he could see.
That Hammering. And that particular sense of rhythm.
“A true craftsman.”
He was already a proper master of his craft. Almost too accomplished to be called an Apprentice.
Clang-! Clang-!
He wielded fire as if it were part of his own body, freely reshaping the Flower Steel.
“He can work Flower Steel like that.”
Flower Steel came only from the mines of Avalon.
It was harder than ordinary steel, and above all, it contained forest energy, giving it considerable flexibility.
Because of that flexibility, the thinner it became, the stronger its durability grew, and its natural energy increased as well.
But achieving that thinness was not easy.
Because of the Flower Steel’s inherent resistance, attempting to thin it could result in a blade that was neither one thing nor another.
Clang-! Clang-!
Yet Peran wielded his Hammer without hesitation, steadily thinning the blade.
“But has your student worked with Flower Steel before?”
“No.”
Oson looked at Jin-woo.
Jin-woo was examining the Flower Steel carefully.
Eritun glanced at Oson with a slightly apologetic expression.
“And yet.”
Oson seemed unconcerned.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Clang-!
Once Jin-woo had understood the material, he placed it in the forge and quickly retrieved it with tongs.
Whoosh. Whoooosh.
Jin-woo brought the Hammer down.
A single strike.
The kind of Hammering any blacksmith would perform.
“Huh…?”
Yet that strike captured Eritun’s attention entirely.
And moreover.
……
Even Peran, whose concentration normally never wavered, found his Hammer faltering without his realizing it.
Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!
Jin-woo swung his Hammer without interruption.
Though he was handling the material for the first time, Jin-woo seemed to already grasp every principle of how Flower Steel should be worked.
In that moment, Peran found himself mesmerized by Jin-woo’s Hammering—a moment when he should have been focusing on his own Crafting.
But he couldn’t look away.
Jin-woo’s Hammering commanded the eye.
It made one unable to tear away one’s gaze.
One could blame it on a lapse in concentration. But you had to experience it yourself to understand.
‘How is anyone supposed to concentrate while watching that?’
A different thought flashed through Peran’s mind.
He had assumed Jin-woo was undoubtedly below InClassic and StarLight—far below.
Because he wasn’t a Ranker.
He’d become famous purely from being a named player in another game.
But watching that Hammering changed his assessment.
‘Just below… no, at least equal… no….’
It was difficult to judge properly.
Despite having encountered countless crafters, Peran couldn’t gauge this. This was unprecedented.
Clang-!
Jin-woo pressed forward with sword-making to the sound of the Hammer.
Peran shook his head.
This was no time for admiration.
He had to focus on his blade.
‘Destroy everything.’
Win against Jin-woo.
Peran thought of nothing else.
Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!
Peran Hammered and activated a skill.
His signature skill—the special technique that had brought him to this place.
-Skill: Option Transfer is being cast!
Peran wielded a special skill called Option Transfer.
Many crafters possessed their own signature skills, but Peran’s Option Transfer was a remarkable ability that let him insert desired options into completed equipment.
Peran began pouring all the options he’d been saving into this blade.
-Option Transfer complete!
Clang-!
With the quenching done, the equipment was finished.
-Equipment created!
And Jin-woo completed his equipment at the same moment.
“Hah.”
Eritun, Peran’s master, was witnessing his student give everything like this for the first time.
Blessed with natural talent and considerable composure, Peran typically had the bad habit of looking down on every other crafter save himself.
But for a blacksmith, such confidence was also a necessary ingredient.
A blacksmith is a warrior.
In Eritun’s philosophy, a humble blacksmith could never forge superior equipment.
Peran, raised with this philosophy, now seemed utterly without composure.
Sweat poured down his body and his breathing was ragged.
“He pushed himself to the limit.”
Eritun nodded. He would have liked to applaud.
That was when he saw Oson’s expression grow grave.
Eritun sighed at the sight. With Peran demonstrating such overwhelming skill, of course Oson’s expression would turn serious.
But Oson was grave for a different reason.
“He’s not using spirits. And it looks like he’s not using any of his other techniques either.”
Just Hammering. And a few simple skills to forge the blade.
“I wonder if that’s alright.”
Oson spoke.
“For Peran’s sake.”
Eritun stepped forward immediately.
“I’ll examine the equipment!”
As Jin-woo and Peran’s equipment were completed, Eritun and Oson came forward.
The two outstanding blacksmiths would serve as judges for this Exchange.
“Let me look at Peran’s blade first.”
Peran took a deep breath.
Just as Eritun had seen, Peran had given everything.
This blade contained all that he was. He had never forged anything finer in recent memory.
The Grade was slightly lower only because of the material’s limits.
As for detailed options, he was confident.
“Whew.”
Jin-woo made people nervous.
Until now, Peran had engaged in Crafting Exchanges with many crafters, living up to his reputation as Peran. Though it was called an Exchange, it was essentially a battle between blacksmiths, each trying to crush the other with their Crafting skill.
Against famous Rankers.
Against renowned blacksmiths.
Peran had never been intimidated. He devoured their presence and proved who he was.
Now he was experiencing the opposite.
His own presence was fading in a way even he couldn’t perceive.
“Mmm!”
Eritun immediately examined Peran’s blade.
When comparing equipment, the first priority was always the options.
Attack power value, durability value, what special options and skills existed.
Since top-tier crafters naturally maximized the material’s inherent limits, the fine-tuning of detailed options was what truly mattered.
And after that came the actual felt experience of wielding the equipment.
“!”
“!”
Both Oson and Eritun wore expressions of surprise.
The detailed options were extraordinary.
“To create this in such a short span.”
“And an USSR+ Grade, at that.”
The USSR+ Flower Steel Sword that Peran had produced was, as expected, an incredible piece of equipment.
“The options are…”
“Remarkable.”
Having examined Peran’s blade, Eritun naturally assumed Peran had to be victorious.
This was the finest Peran had ever made in Eritun’s presence.
“Now, Jin-woo.”
Eritun reached for Jin-woo’s blade first.
Both swords were surprisingly simple in design.
Clunk.
Eritun grasped Jin-woo’s sword and examined its detailed options.
It was also USSR+ Grade.
And yet.
“This… this makes no sense….”
Eritun’s hand trembled as he held Jin-woo’s blade.

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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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