The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 226

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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 226
Episode 226.
The demonstration had lasted only a moment.
“That was…….”
No blacksmith before had ever asked such a question.
Could he learn Wave Resonance?
Did that mean he had seen it?
Rupema couldn’t believe it.
He could see it.
He could see it, but he couldn’t pierce through it.
“Why did you think it was Wave Resonance?”
Rupema’s Hammering contained Wave Resonance.
It was his signature technique, the very essence of his refined craft.
He had shown his work to numerous blacksmiths.
He was the Grand Master of the royal palace.
To nurture the next generation, he had given freely of his tempering knowledge.
Yet despite all that generosity, no one had ever noticed.
Not a single person, until now.
That changed today.
One sole addition.
“I felt it.”
Jin-woo.
“The Wave Resonance.”
At Jin-woo’s words—that he had felt it—life kindled in Rupema’s expression.
It was suspicious, the whole thing.
Perhaps Oson had taught him.
If so, he would have offered a lengthy explanation.
Something like: This is how it works, and that’s how it works, and so you see, that’s how I came to understand Wave Resonance.
But Jin-woo had answered simply.
He felt it.
“Excellent. That’s right. Exactly right.”
A blacksmith with the bearing of a true teacher had entered the Workshop.
Faced with a pattern of craftsperson he’d never encountered before, Rupema spun his Hammer with a flourish.
‘It was clearly visible.’
Jin-woo himself had once used a similar technique—imparting vibration to his Hammer.
‘When I’d inject flame into the material to reshape it rapidly. I used to do it often.’
Rupema’s Wave Resonance technique was a tier above that.
‘I only managed to create something like Wave Resonance through manual skill.’
Rupema’s came through as a true Skill.
‘I envy it.’
“Excellent eyes you have. A blacksmith, you see—manual dexterity matters, yes, but the truly important thing is something else.”
With that, he pointed to his eyes.
“Eyes.”
Eyes that pierce through—that was essential for reaching higher echelons.
“You must see through the material, see through the Crafting itself. If you don’t see properly, you can’t create properly. And you—you have it. You have it.”
With those words, he laughed briskly.
“No one else noticed. The other blacksmiths think this is Enchantment.”
Some had felt the Wave Resonance, but none had named it precisely.
Because it carried a similar quality to Enchantment, they all assumed it was Enchantment. Moreover, they didn’t even understand how this Wave Resonance functioned.
“Wave Resonance. That’s the name of this Crafting technique—Wave Resonance.”
That piercing sight that saw through in an instant.
Rupema was quite taken with Jin-woo.
“I did say I’d teach you anything, but this is my signature technique. It’s something only a true disciple of mine should learn, and yet…….”
“Master.”
Without hesitation, Jin-woo addressed Rupema thus.
“We share the same faith in the Goddess of Fire and Furnace, and we’re connected through Oson. You are my master.”
“Hahahaha!”
Not a shred of unnecessary pride in him!
Rupema gestured at once.
“Then let’s begin immediately…….”
“It’s my turn now.”
But Jin-woo shook his head, gripping his Hammer.
“I’d like you to evaluate whether I can learn the Wave Resonance you’ve described.”
Clang!
Cecilia Silver. Rupema placed the material he’d used into the furnace, withdrew it, and brought the Hammer down in one motion.
* * *
Clang! Clang!
“Master.”
Hamilton watched Oson, who had stopped mid-Hammer strike.
His teacher, who ordinarily never lost focus, stood motionless for some reason.
“Hamilton.”
“Is something the matter?”
“I’m worried whether Jin-woo is doing well.”
“……Are you truly concerned about Jin-woo?”
“Yes. Do you know how many blacksmiths have had their hearts broken by my teacher’s Crafting?”
Oson spoke.
“But the Grand Master never retired, did he?”
“He didn’t retire because his skill was lacking. It was a matter of stamina.”
“Then…….”
“It means he’s unchanged. He’s likely still creating work that breaks the hearts of young blacksmiths.”
Of course, he thought, Jin-woo’s heart couldn’t possibly break.
Yet even Oson could not have foreseen what was happening now.
In Rupema’s Workshop.
Whoosh—!
The roaring flame of the Goddess of Fire and Furnace wrapped around Jin-woo’s entire body once.
-The intense flame deals damage to you.
“That flame…….”
It was a flame that chose its wielder of its own accord. But who was Jin-woo?
Whoosh—!
-A Rune effect activates.
-You are the Successor of the Goddess of Fire and Furnace. The flame follows you!
Jin-woo controlled the flame and brought his Hammer down.
Clang!
‘This heat.’
The vitality flowing from the flame.
Compared to the flame he currently used in his Summoned Workshop, there was nothing lacking.
‘Especially in this sudden surge of flame, all impurities in the material vanish in an instant.’
The flame allowed him to use the material at a perfect hundred percent.
Using the flame of the Goddess of Fire and Furnace, Jin-woo mimicked the Wave Resonance Rupema had shown him.
Hummmmm—.
In a single moment, he summoned mana and struck with his Hammer to create the wave.
‘Like this.’
He tried using that Wave Hammering that Rupema had demonstrated, in his own way.
Since it was mere mimicry, there were considerable differences from the original.
“!”
Yet Rupema’s brow furrowed.
He had shown it only once.
“It’s not a technique simple enough to replicate from a single viewing.”
As he said, Jin-woo was not yet using the Wave Resonance perfectly.
But.
“You understand it, though.”
How the wave is created.
And how to make that wave seep into the material—he understood it all.
Thump—.
Thump—! Thump—!
Rupema’s heart beat heavily.
“So this is the feeling.”
Many who saw his Crafting had their hearts broken and quit the blacksmith’s trade.
Rupema had clicked his tongue and cursed them as weak and faint-hearted.
It made sense. How could a blacksmith who worked with flame expect to create anything worthwhile if his spirit broke so easily?
He’d thought it was for the best.
He’d reasoned that equipment made by such people would endanger the lives of those who used them.
But now, for the first time, Rupema felt it.
“So that’s why their hearts break.”
Seeing Crafting of this caliber, one’s spirit could not help but shatter.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Jin-woo swung his Hammer freely. He had just seen Rupema’s skill. So naturally, a blacksmith of Rupema’s level wouldn’t have his heart broken.
Thus he proved it, using the Wave Resonance he’d conceived for himself.
What his own Crafting was made of.
Clang!
“Mm.”
As Rupema watched Jin-woo’s Crafting intently, his eyebrow twitched suddenly.
Clang! Clang!
Then, absorbed again, it twitched once more.
Ding—!
-Equipment created!
-USSR+ Grade Equipment created!
Jin-woo had created an identical Shield from Cecilia Silver.
In terms of design, Jin-woo’s version showed slightly more detail.
“Remarkable. Truly remarkable. To wield Wave Resonance you’ve seen only once to this degree.”
Rupema examined the Shield Jin-woo had made.
Numerous Attributes.
And he’d created the Shield using Wave Resonance he’d seen but once.
“Huh.”
And on the Attributes, there it was—an Attribute added by Wave Resonance itself, boldly displayed.
Of course, since the Wave Resonance was imperfect, the Attribute was merely a nominal addition, yet the fact itself was genuinely impossible to believe.
“I’ve seen countless talented craftspeople.”
Yet talent like this was a first.
“Wait a moment.”
Rupema examined the Shield more closely.
Shhhh—.
He then released mana from his hand, studying Jin-woo’s Cecilia Silver Shield even more carefully.
“What’s with your Level?”
Then he looked at Jin-woo as though it made no sense.
“It says 409. Is this correct?”
“Yes, it is.”
“……?”
Level 409.
“Creating this at Level 409……?”
Rupema exhaled slowly.
He fully understood why his cherished student Oson had been so taken aback.
“You are magnificent. From just this one piece of Crafting, I can see who you are and the extent of your skill.”
Rupema spoke.
“But there’s something.”
There was something that bothered him.
“You seem to be restraining yourself in some way.”
“…….”
Just as Jin-woo had sensed Rupema’s Wave Resonance, Rupema too had perceived something from Jin-woo.
“Why do you sense that?”
“I felt it.”
Rupema smiled wryly and turned Jin-woo’s question back on him.
Jin-woo answered with a smile of his own.
‘He truly is different. Distinctly different.’
Among all the users and NPCs Jin-woo had met in NewGen, Rupema was close to the pinnacle of blacksmiths.
‘To notice even this.’
The apex of the Avalon Kingdom.
Grand Master.
He was not the kingdom’s foremost blacksmith for nothing.
‘It’s exactly what he sensed.’
The restraint Rupema felt in Jin-woo stemmed from a change in his Crafting style.
Originally, he had pursued rougher, more aggressive Crafting.
In fact, Peran’s Crafting bore some resemblance to Jin-woo’s earlier approach.
‘He refined it, restrained it, stripped it down.’
When had he shifted to this style?
‘I changed it during Eternal Sunshine.’
When Eternal Sunshine had roughly six months remaining before service termination.
He’d likely changed his style then.
‘I learned diverse styles to create better equipment.’
Thanks to this, Jin-woo had been able to reach L-tier equipment.
“This wasn’t your original style, then?”
“The approach was somewhat different.”
“Different approaches, but not necessarily one superior to the other. However…….”
Rupema spoke.
“There seems no reason to keep it hidden.”
At Rupema’s words, Jin-woo nodded.
“Thank you for the counsel.”
Jin-woo found merit in his words.
‘There’s no need to hide it.’
If he could use it, he should.
‘Thanks to him, I remembered what I’d forgotten.’
“But more striking than that is your Crafting itself.”
Rupema marveled at the mimicked Wave Resonance Jin-woo had displayed.
“Wave Resonance is a technique difficult to learn in the first place. Yet you saw it once and managed to mimic it.”
It was only possible because he understood its essence.
“Perhaps.”
The thought struck him that Jin-woo might actually be able to master Wave Resonance.
“I’ll help you learn it.”
* * *
-You have learned Wave Resonance!
Skill: Wave Resonance.
This Wave Resonance was a superior version of the Hand Tempering Jin-woo had once learned from Oson.
‘Everything Hand Tempering could do, Wave Resonance can do as well.’
“There was no need to help at all.”
Rupema crossed his arms.
“You learned it far too easily…….”
“It’s a difficult Skill. Learning it proved quite challenging.”
In truth, Jin-woo had encountered considerable difficulty mastering Wave Resonance.
‘Now I understand why no one has properly learned it before.’
It simply hadn’t shown outwardly.
‘Now that I’ve learned it, I see clearly. Wave Resonance stems from the Wave itself.’
Hand Tempering, which he’d learned from Oson, was Wave Resonance with flame substituted.
‘Wave is the higher power.’
Jin-woo examined the Power of Wave from every angle.
‘With the Power of Wave, I can join materials together.’
I could infuse it into the material and transform from within as well.
‘Mm.’
Jin-woo continued testing Wave Resonance.
Clang!
Just as Rupema did, he expelled the wave from his hand and embedded it in his Hammer.
Clang clang!
Jin-woo struck the material using the Power of Wave.
-Equipment created!
-Equipment created!
Jin-woo created equipment while actively employing this Wave Resonance.
-[Special Attribute] : Power of Wave – Intense wave unleashes latent potential! Attack speed increases!
The Wave brought new Special Attributes with it.
‘Attack speed, attack power, defense, durability.’
All were Attributes deriving from the Power of Wave.
Yet Jin-woo sensed something else.
Wave Resonance was not merely about using the Wave alone.
‘The Wave isn’t the sole focus.’
Through dozens of hammer strikes, he delved into this Skill again.
“…….”
Clang! Clang!
Rupema watched Jin-woo, striking his Hammer with frenzied intensity as he explored.
Now that he’d learned Wave Resonance, he should naturally ask questions about it.
Yet Jin-woo was seeking answers through using the Skill himself.
At that sight, Rupema too found himself smiling.
A student like this was unprecedented.
Immersing himself, delving deep, finding his own answers.
Mistakes would naturally emerge in that process.
Yet Jin-woo treated them as utterly ordinary.
And he never hesitated to move forward.
Clang! Clang!
Rupema watched over Jin-woo’s Wave Resonance training from beside him.
Once, twice, thrice.
In mere moments, he was raising his proficiency, making Wave Resonance his own.
“Hmm!”
But there was more.
Understanding the very essence of Wave Resonance, he was transforming it into his own unique version.
Should he refine it a bit further, it would no longer be Rupema’s Wave Resonance.
Clang!
Jin-woo brought down his Hammer and created yet another piece of equipment.
“The more I use it, the more impressed I become, Master.”
“I find you more impressive still.”
He had taught only the fundamentals.
Yet reaching this level through exploring those fundamentals took only three hours.
“It’s such an excellent technique, understanding comes more readily.”
Rupema thought Jin-woo a most humble blacksmith.
Among young blacksmiths, one like him was unheard of.
Especially one with such formidable skill.
“Tell me. Now that you’ve used it, what do you think?”
Rupema wanted to assess how deeply Jin-woo understood Wave Resonance.
That way, he could teach advanced techniques afterward.
In three hours of deep exploration, Rupema estimated Jin-woo had reached perhaps two levels of understanding.
“Hand Tempering is a form of Wave Resonance, isn’t it? I suspect that Oson couldn’t learn Wave Resonance itself and so adapted it to an Attribute suited to him—is that correct?”
“…….”
It wasn’t two levels.
“You’ve understood that much?”
He had already leaped stages beyond, comprehending it fully.
“Then…….”
Jin-woo smiled and wrapped the Wave around his Hammer.
“Something like this might be possible as well.”
“!”

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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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