The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 228

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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 228
Episode 228.
-You have entered the Royal Palace Underground Waterway!
Whoooosh—
Upon arriving at the Royal Palace Underground Waterway, Jin-woo immediately spotted a swift current flowing beside him.
“Hmm.”
Setting aside the possibility that there might be a Temple in this underground waterway, the violent torrent made Jin-woo’s brow furrow slightly.
“The current in this waterway is flowing this fast?”
The moment he entered, Jin-woo sensed something amiss.
Whoooosh. Whoooosh.
That wasn’t all.
Shiiing—
Black Aura was rising from the surroundings.
“This doesn’t feel right.”
Jin-woo smirked.
“Looks like I’ve found it.”
Following the swift current, Jin-woo began to run, with First and Pur at his heels.
Tap-tap-tap—
How far had they advanced?
The narrow passage began to widen, and a vast space opened before them.
Drip. Drip.
Water dripped from a massive pipe, and the air reeked of rot.
Moreover, iron bars were installed throughout the space to block the passage.
-Screech!
-Screech!
And from far ahead came the sound of cries.
“I’ve got a feeling about this.”
Jin-woo gestured to First and Pur.
Shriek—!
And then swarms of monsters began to emerge from beyond.
Through the gaps in the iron bars.
Through the pipes.
And through the ceiling came waves of rats.
“Looks like thousands of them.”
The rats flowed forward like a current.
Jin-woo examined the rats closely.
“These aren’t ordinary rats.”
Their eyes had a sickly gleam.
“Is there a Tower here too?”
Shiiing—
Green smoke rose from the rats.
“It feels like they’re carrying plague.”
First and Pur alone wouldn’t be enough.
Jin-woo flicked his fingers, summoning his subordinates one by one.
“Moltus.”
Shiiing—
“Ben.”
Grrrrrrowl—!
Ben roared and burst forth like a shaft of light before Jin-woo.
“Thousands—no, over ten thousand of them, maybe.”
Shriek—!
The moment Jin-woo summoned his subordinates, the Plague Rats rushed at them madly.
“Let’s consume them.”
All four subordinates moved simultaneously.
Boom—!
As First and Pur brought down powerful strikes, Moltus gathered the rats with telekinetic force and detonated them.
Boom—!
Ben, the other subordinate, dove among the swarms like a predator after prey, raking his claws through them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
‘Look at this.’
Individual rats weren’t particularly strong.
But these swarms attacked in concert, as if connected as one.
‘They’re adapting.’
This wasn’t merely a matter of the rats’ good teamwork.
‘Someone is controlling them.’
Suddenly, the rats began to converge.
And then—
“They’re even merging.”
The rats rapidly gathered and became a single massive rat.
Jin-woo’s eyes gleamed.
“That’s interesting.”
Crash—!
Jin-woo glanced at First and Pur.
“You two can’t merge, can you?”
Not right now, anyway, but there had to be a way.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
The merged rat had already grown larger than First.
The giant rat squealed and compacted itself like a ball before charging at First and Pur.
Shrieeeek—!
Then First stepped forward.
He gripped the Phantom Blade tightly and slashed diagonally.
Snikt-crack.
The giant rat was instantly decomposed.
The rats shrieked madly, trying to merge again, but this time the Ego Sword: Yurold spun wildly, shredding them.
Yet the sheer number of rats was overwhelming.
Another merged giant rat appeared from elsewhere, seeking an opening in First’s defense.
But Pur wouldn’t allow it.
Shiiing—
The Frostbone Glaive emanated its frigid power as it swept forward.
The giant rat, which should have been split apart upon impact, froze solid instead.
“Crescent Cut.”
Pur activated the special skill of the Frostbone Glaive, cutting the frozen rats to prevent them from merging.
With a single swing, dozens of Plague Rats were slain.
Complete dominance.
Yet something was wrong.
“The numbers aren’t decreasing?”
Shriek. Shriek.
When hunting, the numbers should have gone down.
Yet somehow the Plague Rat swarms appeared to have increased instead.
“They’ve increased.”
Jin-woo’s brow furrowed. They hadn’t just seemed to increase—they had actually increased.
“Some of them aren’t dropping souls…”
Some weren’t dropping souls at all.
“Is this some kind of illusion magic?”
If that were the case, they’d lose a war of attrition. Their numbers would keep growing while his equipment had limits.
“Declaration of Heaven’s Mandate.”
But there was a way.
Shiiing. Shiiiiing—!
The moment the Declaration was proclaimed, black shadows began to flow beneath Jin-woo’s feet.
-The Declaration is proclaimed!
-The dead beneath the declared domain become subordinates of the Lord!
The moment the Declaration was proclaimed, First and Pur wielded their weapons.
“Screech!”
The hunted rats instantly became Jin-woo’s subordinates.
As former allies suddenly turned enemy and charged, the Plague Rats panicked and fell back.
“Screech! Shriek!”
Crack! Crackle!
First and Pur increased their pace.
Their blue luminous eyes burned brighter as even the giant Plague Rats struggled to face them.
Crunch—!
Moltus crushed the rats together into a mass, while Ben hunted them like someone playing whack-a-mole.
Dozens of rats gathered at Jin-woo’s feet, and they charged at their former comrades.
“Numbers against numbers.”
In large-scale combat, none could defeat a Necromancer.
The Plague Rat swarms that had charged in like waves were now overwhelmed by undead Plague Rats.
Rats and rats.
Since the undead Plague Rats’ kills also became Jin-woo’s subordinates, the outcome of this battle was effectively decided.
-You have hunted the Plague Rat Swarm!
Thousands of souls rose.
-Your Level increases!
“Oh.”
Jin-woo reached toward the floating souls.
Immediately, a thousand souls were sucked into him.
Shiiing—!
-You have obtained a Plague Rat Soul.
-You have obtained a Plague Rat Soul.
-You have obtained a Plague Rat Soul.
……
……
“Excluding a thousand, these weren’t real Plague Rats at all. So that’s confirmed—there’s someone behind this.”
And they weren’t welcoming Jin-woo into the underground waterway.
Jin-woo examined the Plague Rat Souls first.
“Unfortunately, no byproducts.”
Still, with this many souls, he didn’t need byproducts.
-Plague Rat Soul [SSR+]
“The Grade is decent?”
The fact that these seemingly trivial Plague Rat souls had such a high Grade meant they weren’t just ordinary monsters.
“They’re likely connected to a Quest.”
Jin-woo smiled and immediately fed the Plague Rat Souls to First and Pur.
-The soul dwells in First.
-The soul dwells in Pur.
Shiiing—!
“Now, Moltus, your turn too.”
He then infused souls into Moltus and Ben.
Over a thousand souls seeped evenly into his four subordinates.
Grrrrrowl—!
Suddenly, black lightning crackled across First and Pur’s bodies.
Grrrrrowl—!
“!”
Jin-woo watched the two subordinates.
-Your Subordinate’s Level increases!
-First’s Level increases.
-Pur’s Level increases.
Both subordinates were currently Heroic Undead Level 1.
“Since they’re Heroic Undead, their leveling is quite flashy.”
Shiiing—
The black Aura emanating from both subordinates now appeared like flames.
“This will be more helpful!”
“Much… more… useful.”
Along with his subordinates’ growth, Jin-woo also gained experience.
-Necromaster – Lord experience increases!
Gaining over a thousand souls at once affected his job experience as well.
His Level didn’t increase, but his experience grew substantially.
“After Awakening, raising job Level isn’t easy either.”
Yet it was quite enjoyable nonetheless.
“If Levels rose too easily, where’s the challenge?”
Jin-woo cleared away the Plague Rats and surveyed the path ahead.
Splash. Splash.
“The path should be here.”
Bars completely blocked the way.
“This should definitely be the path.”
Jin-woo observed the bars where the Plague Rats had primarily poured out. Beyond them, there was almost certainly a passage.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo examined the bars closely.
“Insane.”
The bars’ material was incredible.
“They look like they’re made of titanium? They were made unbreakable!”
Titanium Bars.
Normally, he’d frown and search for another way, but not Jin-woo.
“How generous.”
Gifting such fine materials to him!
First was already moving forward.
Jin-woo examined the Titanium Bars more intently.
“Here. Here. Here. Cut them, First.”
Jin-woo’s eyes saw it clearly—the weak points in the Titanium Bars.
“E. G. O. S. W. O. R. D.”
Then, using the Ego Sword: Yurold, he began carefully cutting through the bars.
Bars that normally couldn’t be severed were cleanly cut by the Ego Sword.
Snikt-crack!
-You have obtained Titanium Bars!
-Titanium Bars [UR+]
“Excellent.”
Jin-woo smiled as he examined the Titanium Bars.
“Thank you.”
After harvesting all the Titanium Bars from the underground waterway, Jin-woo advanced onward.
* * *
Crash—!
Jin-woo melted the Titanium Bars in the Furnace.
Crackle—!
First, Pur, and Moltus.
All of his combat subordinates had equipment. Of course, Ben had some too, but it had been damaged in the Underworld.
‘Ben is more of a special-force asset than a frontline fighter, excelling in large-scale battles and aerial combat.’
Moreover, Ben’s very identity as a dragon exerted immense power on its own.
‘He doesn’t need new equipment right now.’
So Jin-woo decided to craft Ben’s equipment from the Titanium Bars.
‘Ben’s claws are sharp.’
But they had their limits, honed as they were from his skeletal frame itself.
‘Equipment will break through those limits.’
-Wave Resonance is activated!
Jin-woo swung his Hammer.
This was Hammering, and simultaneously, craftsmanship.
‘This isn’t easy.’
Tricky—extremely tricky.
Yet to move the waves delicately, he had to match the wave’s force. In other words, he had to endure the wave’s backlash directly.
The wave dealt recoil damage, requiring equal force from Jin-woo.
‘I understand now why Oson couldn’t teach this.’
Oson’s skill was excellent enough for Jin-woo to acknowledge.
Yet even Oson had to convert Wave Resonance’s power into Hand Tempering to learn it.
‘Because he couldn’t endure it.’
But if one could endure and wield it—
The reward was absolute.
The Titanium was shaved away rapidly amid pain and difficulty of control.
What normally took three or four shaping passes was done in one.
Crash! Crash!
Jin-woo smiled.
But it was only momentary.
Suddenly, Wave Resonance pushed back against him.
As if the power wasn’t yet permitted to him, it twisted his wrist. But Jin-woo wasn’t flustered.
‘This bucking horse is beyond my current control.’
At present, he couldn’t achieve one-hundred-percent control over Wave Resonance.
Even with suppression, it would only be a suppressed Wave Resonance, not its true form.
‘It’s not that Wave Resonance itself is difficult.’
He was using Wave Resonance in an entirely different manner, which caused this.
Currently, Jin-woo was mercilessly pushing past Wave Resonance’s limits.
If Rupema, the Wave Resonance’s owner, saw this, she’d warn him he’d die, so roughly was he wielding it.
“Harmonia Forging.”
So then, he’d balance this mighty power correctly.
“I don’t know how Rupema used this.”
Jin-woo gripped the Hammer tightly.
“But I have no intention of using it halfway.”
Boom—!
Crash—!
As Jin-woo took the reins, Wave Resonance continued bucking, trying to break loose.
Normally, one would grip the reins firmly to control Wave Resonance.
But Jin-woo did the opposite—he struck the reins hard.
If it wants to buck, let it buck.
“But I set the pace.”
Crash—!
Jin-woo began swinging Wave Resonance with savage intensity.
The Titanium was shaved, shaved, and shaved again. It was cut exactly as Jin-woo desired, in exactly the amount he desired, carved into indescribable sharpness.
-Concentration Stat greatly increases!
Using the mighty power of Wave Resonance, Jin-woo sank into endless Immersion. The moment this Immersion fractured even slightly, Wave Resonance’s backlash would come.
Level 400 and change.
His Health Stat was also extremely high.
Yet Jin-woo was certain of one thing:
If his Immersion broke and the backlash hit wrong, he could die on the spot.
‘The penalty is severe.’
In New Gene, death penalties were substantial.
Experience points decrease.
In severe cases, Level could drop, and Stats would inevitably decline.
Moreover, certain items in his inventory could break upon death.
Jin-woo’s inventory currently held various materials.
Including Cecilia Pure Silver and Pure Gold, precious materials still remained from the Realize Guild.
‘The Twilight Stone will break too.’
The Twilight Stone, a ??? Grade material, could potentially shatter.
Experience loss, Level drop, Stat decline—honestly, those were bearable. He could raise them again.
But materials?
‘Absolutely not.’
Jin-woo concentrated.
In an instant, everything vanished.
He forgot where he was.
Whooom—
The wave. And the Resonance from that wave.
He heard the voice of the Titanium.
Crash—
When Jin-woo’s Hammer fell, the Titanium answered.
In that moment when the wave resonated in harmony and aligned—
Crash———!
In a single strike, the Titanium spun and was shaved away in an instant.
“……”
-Equipment has been created!
-USSR+ Grade equipment has been created!
-Titanium Wild Claw has been created!
Suddenly, a fierce wave dwelt in Jin-woo’s arm.
“!”
The wave consumed him entirely.
Ting—!
And then—
-The wave’s power……

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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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