The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 22

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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 22
Episode 22.
Sharknet Community.
The holders of the achievement Legend’s Beginning, obtainable by crafting A-grade equipment, were posting frantically.
-What is this??
-Hall of Fame got updated.
-Starlight dropped to 2nd place!!
-InClassic is 3rd now. Who the hell is Jin-woo?
-I feel like I’ve seen that name somewhere.
-My friend is Jin-woo. He’s registered in my friend list.
In NewGen, nicknames could be duplicated, so the name Jin-woo was far too common.
Which was why no one could deduce his identity.
Though there were those who suspected, just as Kim Na-yun the GM had.
-Could it be that Jin?
-That Jin?
-The Eternal Sunshine legend?
-Wasn’t he in the ICU after a car accident?
-That’s just a rumor.
-I heard he enlisted.
-Really?? Then he’s still got like a year left, doesn’t he??
With a newcomer suddenly appearing in the otherwise quiet crafting scene, it was inevitable that things would get loud.
-But wait, this is just something everyone gets if they make A-grade, right?
-Is he a blacksmith?
-An alchemist?
-Could be some other profession.
So everyone paid attention to Jin-woo, who had newly seized the top spot in the Hall of Fame across all crafting fields.
-Let’s see if we can catch some trickle-down effect.
-But what exactly did he craft?
-I’m curious what he made to achieve Legend’s Beginning.
The Legend’s Beginning achievement could be obtained by reaching A-grade in any crafted item.
That’s why everyone was curious.
About what kind of crafted item Jin-woo had made to dethrone Starlight and reclaim first place.
-I really hope it’s alchemy.
-It’s about time alchemy had its own star.
-But there’s Arna.
-I mean actual skill, not just a pretty face.
At the same moment.
In the major city of Ludban.
A meeting was being held in a building run by the Friendly Guild, currently ranked 7th.
“We spotted him in Shins village.”
“Shins? Isn’t that a mid-sized town?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So this user Jin-woo is a beginner then? A beginner made A-grade right now?”
The executives of the Friendly Guild were receiving a report on Jin-woo.
“Hah. I can’t believe it.”
Rucle, an executive of the Friendly Guild, was an alchemist user ranked in the top rankings.
The Friendly Potion he created was a famous item among conquest parties tackling towers and dungeons.
“I didn’t make my first A-grade potion until I was over level 100.”
Crafting Professions.
Including blacksmiths, alchemists, cooks, tailors, jewelers, and Magicraft Engineers who specialized in option enchantment and magical infusion were all called Crafting Professions.
These crafting professions had clear dividing lines, and that line was A-grade.
Whether or not one could produce A-grade crafted items was quite significant.
Moreover, the system tracked when each A-grade was made, and there was a Hall of Fame for that as well.
“But he made A-grade in Shins?”
So Jin-woo’s achievement had caught their attention.
The place where he was spotted was Shins.
Shins was a beginner village.
At level 30, you had to leave quickly for another town—a village literally made for beginners.
Making A-grade there meant—
“He likely hasn’t exceeded level 30.”
Then it made sense.
“That’s how he ranked first?”
Starlight had made his first A-grade at level 50.
Of course, even though both were A-grade, what Starlight made at level 50 was superior to any other user’s crafted item, but at least Starlight also hadn’t made A-grade until he hit 50.
“When Starlight made A-grade at 50, things went crazy.”
The memory came back.
Starlight’s name appeared everywhere—on MeTube, on Sharknet, everywhere.
Guilds were loading up gold trying to recruit Starlight by any means, and Starlight became a star just as his name promised.
“This is going to be a real mess.”
* * *
Top-tier guilds took notice of Jin-woo, just as Rucle from the Friendly Guild said.
Information was already spreading widely.
That Jin-woo was in Shins, and that he didn’t belong to any guild.
“He might plateau at A-grade. But his potential could also explode. Either way, it’s to our advantage to bring him in!”
Each guild had already done their calculations.
“If we let him learn the Legend Smelting skill and give him access to S-grade and higher materials, he’ll definitely come.”
Moreover, they had already recruited many crafters and thoroughly understood all their preferences.
“Go find him!”
At the entrance to Shins village.
Top-tier guild users in gleaming equipment began searching for Jin-woo.
Shins Mine.
Unaware of what was happening in the village above.
Jin-woo had ventured deep into the mine.
“Hmm. So besides mining directly, there’s also the Auction House system?”
NewGen had two sales methods.
One was selling directly to users like he was doing now.
Of course, he could also consign items through a blacksmith shop.
And the second was the Auction House system.
“I can set the price myself and sell it that way.”
Literally setting an opening bid and selling to whoever offered the highest price.
“The auction duration is 24 hours.”
Bidding happens over 24 hours.
“Famous crafters don’t seem to use the Auction House much.”
But this Auction House system was largely unused.
Famous crafters sold their equipment through personal connections, while lower-tier crafters belonged to guilds and sold through them.
“Seems like only freelance crafters who don’t belong to any guild use the Auction House.”
And their numbers were quite small.
“A crafter basically has to belong to someone.”
Crafters weren’t combat users.
To grow, one obviously had to craft.
“Getting materials would be difficult otherwise.”
To walk the so-called Royal Road and grow, it was naturally best to belong to some organization.
“A guild is the most convenient option.”
That’s why there was almost no reason to list equipment on the Auction House.
“Next time I’ll try selling here.”
Jin-woo checked how much he’d earned today.
“I was just aiming for 50 gold per item.”
Since he’d made about 20, he should’ve earned exactly a thousand gold.
But now in Jin-woo’s hands was 2000 gold.
-Held Gold: 2000G
“They insisted on paying extra. What could I do?”
Jin-woo looked at his A-grade Pickaxe.
The letter ‘W’ stamped prominently on it looked magnificent.
“Actually, when you craft, the maker’s name shows up anyway.”
In NewGen there was no need to stamp initials.
“It’s just become a habit.”
Though he’d used ‘J’ before, this time he’d gone with ‘W’.
“‘W’ does look much cooler.”
Going deeper into the mine, Jin-woo felt a chill.
“Monsters… shouldn’t appear down here, they said.”
Naturally, the mine was one type of dungeon, so monsters did exist.
But in this Shins mine, as long as you didn’t go too deep, monsters didn’t appear.
“Just need to avoid going in too far.”
Clang!
Jin-woo began collecting materials.
-You have obtained an unidentified mineral!
After mining for about two hours.
“Oh.”
He discovered a massive ore deposit.
It was ten times the size of a normal deposit.
So large you had to look up at it, and above all, it looked incredibly solid.
Clang!
Jin-woo tried striking the giant deposit. But the ore’s powerful recoil sent him stumbling backward.
“If this hadn’t been my newly made Pickaxe, I could’ve gotten hurt instead.”
An ordinary pickaxe would’ve shattered outright.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo hesitated for a moment, but abandoning this giant deposit was already off the table.
“Something this size…”
It had to contain quality materials.
Jin-woo searched around the mine.
“There are things that function like herbs in here too.”
If his strength was lacking, he could restore it.
“I can use a potion for that.”
The mine had an abundance of mushrooms. Being such a dark, damp place, certain materials grew quite well here.
“Here it is.”
Jin-woo found a mushroom colony.
-You have harvested a Gwanglo Mushroom!
-You have harvested a Green Mushroom!
“Effects are best learned through experience.”
Jin-woo began consuming the mushrooms.
Naturally, it was quite a dangerous thing to do.
“Blech.”
Given that this was a full immersion VR game where taste was implemented, and Jin-woo had a high Synchronization Rate, he couldn’t help but feel the bitterness acutely.
There were safeguards, though.
“The bitterness doesn’t seem to trigger the pain threshold.”
But the bitter taste kept coming.
Jin-woo spat.
“I can bear this.”
If anything, it was good.
“The bitterness clears my head.”
Jin-woo began eating and identifying the herbs.
-Herbalism skill is enhanced!
-You can now identify the effects of consumed herbs!
“Oh.”
This is why skills are so valuable.
With the herbs he’d identified by eating them, Jin-woo made potions.
“Thankfully, Potion Crafting doesn’t require a workshop.”
With just a flask and materials, you could craft potions anywhere.
Splash.
Jin-woo ground the materials finely into powder, then mixed them into a mana-infused solution.
-You have created a potion!
-You have created a Strength Potion!
B-grade, Strength Potion.
Jin-woo immediately drank the potion he’d made.
-Your strength temporarily increases!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jin-woo’s pickaxe struck the exact same spot with precision.
Then the giant deposit, which hadn’t budged before, began to show cracks. Jin-woo targeted that spot. He swung hard several more times around the cracked area.
Clang!
Thud.
A dark chunk broke off from the giant deposit.
Jin-woo quickly reached out to examine the ore.
Swish.
“What?”
The unidentified mineral began to move. Like it was alive.
“Its shape is different?”
Moreover, its shape was odd.
All the unidentified minerals so far had been black, but this one wasn’t just black—it was something dull and gray.
“Like dust.”
Thud. Thud.
Eyes formed in the gray dust.
“What?”
Then it suddenly floated up and quickly began darting away.
“Dust with eyes on it?”
Instinctively, Jin-woo found himself chasing after it.
“Is that a material too? It came from the deposit so it should be ore, which means it’s a material, right?”
If so, it had to be A-grade material. Or possibly even higher.
Jin-woo reached out.
But the dust suddenly sped up, deftly evading his grasp.
“Hah.”
Too fast.
Yet Jin-woo’s eyes continued following the dust.
Watching its movements for a moment, he noticed a pattern.
But even if he moved according to the pattern, by the time he reached out, the dust was already gone from that spot.
He had to predict.
‘Predicting as I go…’
Normally he’d never catch it, but Jin-woo’s high Synchronization Rate made it possible.
Snap!
-Your Dexterity stat has increased!
“Got it.”
The moment he caught the dust, it looked right at him and opened its eyes wide.
-You have captured a Spirit!
“…A Spirit?”
Jin-woo’s expression hardened.
“Not a material…?”

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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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