The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 238

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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 238
238.
Inside the box was something drifting faintly through the air.
“……A spirit?”
Anyone else would have thought the box was empty.
But to Jin-woo, a Necromaster, it was unmistakably visible.
This was a spirit.
As Jin-woo slowly extended his hand, the spirit slipped into his palm with a soft sound.
Ding—!
—You have received a quest!
—An ancient, worn spirit whispers to you.
—It entrusts you with its will.
* Quest: Spirit’s Legendary Equipment
Grade: M → ??? → ???
Description: From this ancient, worn spirit, you sense a flame. That flame was once great. He was a legendary blacksmith of the Avalarc Kingdom, standing at the front lines to prevent the Downfall. But he fell. He succeeded in sealing the Door of Downfall, yet could not seal it completely.
Restore everything the Great Flame has lost! Complete and seal the Legendary Equipment of legend.
Constraint: Failure if the Kingdom falls to ruin
Reward: Everything of the Great Flame
‘This isn’t just a quest.’
The ancient, worn spirit was inscribed as having once been the Great Flame.
Moreover, the grade started at M and continued into ??? ranks.
—As the great spirit awakens, the door sealed beneath the kingdom makes a sound.
—The power of the sealed door gradually weakens.
“I think I just touched something I shouldn’t have.”
A massive quest seemed to have begun.
And this quest appeared to be deeply connected to the kingdom.
‘The constraint is Kingdom Downfall equals failure.’
Which meant this quest could potentially bring about the ruin of the Avalarc Kingdom.
Until now, in NewGen, not a single person had destroyed a kingdom alone.
‘I won’t destroy it myself.’
But he could be the catalyst for it.
“Legendary equipment.”
The quest itself was quite intriguing.
‘So there was a blacksmith who tried to prevent the Downfall.’
Jin-woo was curious about that blacksmith.
‘If he was kept so carefully in the Royal Palace Storage, his skill must be certain.’
Looking at the equipment in the Royal Palace Storage, Jin-woo became curious about the legendary blacksmiths of the continent.
‘Like Lupema.’
What skill and technique did the blacksmiths of the previous generation possess?
‘I can’t proceed right now, though.’
For now, Jin-woo had accepted the quest.
“The fact that the sealed door is weakening means it can still hold out for now, right?”
If so, it was better to do what needed to be done first.
“But.”
Jin-woo, who had unexpectedly received the quest, paused in thought.
“So I haven’t received the reward yet, right?”
Since the spirit had been converted directly into a quest, he essentially hadn’t chosen yet.
Jin-woo reached out his hand toward another piece of equipment.
—Will you select the Pure Starlight Tear Armor?
“Hmm!”
It seemed this wasn’t being counted as a reward. After a couple of awkward coughs, Jin-woo smiled and picked a different piece of equipment.
—Will you select the Dragon’s Breath Sword?
The Dragon’s Breath Sword. There was only one reason for choosing this blade.
‘I have no idea what it’s made from.’
That’s why he wanted to melt it down and examine it.
Jin-woo selected the Dragon’s Breath Sword.
—You have selected the Dragon’s Breath Sword!
“I’ve ended up with two pieces without meaning to.”
Jin-woo left the Royal Palace Storage with a satisfied smile.
* * *
“Now that you’ve settled in the Capital City, you’ve joined the Center.”
“The Center?”
“Yeah. Until now, you didn’t have a building and were basically operating on the kingdom’s outskirts, right? But skilled crafters operate in the capital of the kingdom.”
In the brothers’ home, during their evening together.
Dongwoo was relaying what he had investigated to his brother.
Crafters basically establish a base and operate from there.
Since no one like Jin-woo, who possessed a Summoned Workshop, existed, you had to set a base to operate properly.
“Of course, you start in the outskirts at first.”
The outskirts.
Starting from very small towns and gradually moving toward the capital was the standard path.
“And once you enter this capital city.”
That’s when you enter the Center.
“From here on is where Rankers begin, they say?”
Small towns, then larger towns, cities, outer cities, and so on.
Crafters who made names for themselves in their chosen bases naturally come to the capital.
“But from here on, it gets rough.”
From Dongwoo’s explanation, Jin-woo could sense why it would be difficult.
“There must be way too many skilled people.”
Once you enter the capital, the grade of everything you encounter rises.
Materials, equipment, quality.
But the highest rise of all comes from the crafters you must compete against.
Since all of NewGen’s skilled crafters gather in the capital, mediocre talents instantly plummet into the heart of competition.
“Exactly. Crafters who were recognized wherever they went before entering the capital often become lower-tier once they arrive.”
The dissonance and despair that followed could only be immense.
“Especially alchemists—many of them give up entirely, or so I’ve heard.”
Countless crafters join the Center only to have their spirits crushed.
It’s a phenomenon that occurs when frogs who lived in wells encounter existing powerhouses.
‘Phew.’
Jin-woo let out a relieved sigh.
‘If I’d made a mistake, Peran’s heart would’ve genuinely been broken.’
At Jin-woo’s gesture, Dongwoo’s expression softened—as if acknowledging that even his brother was human after all.
“You’re scared too, aren’t you? The Center is no joke.”
“I am afraid.”
“But it’s okay, brother. With your skill…”
“Breaking their spirits is what frightens me.”
“?”
A question mark appeared on Dongwoo’s face at Jin-woo’s words.
“It’s not the Rankers themselves that scare you…? You’re afraid of breaking the Rankers’ spirits?”
“Exactly. Peran almost had his broken.”
“…….”
That was actually the truth.
Dongwoo, who had edited Peran’s video, had seen his pupils trembling madly more than once.
Peran’s spirit was essentially already broken.
It was because Jin-woo had comforted him and soothed him well that he regained his strength.
“But how exactly do Center crafters compete?”
“Fight? It’s not quite like that. It’s similar to what you did with Peran this time. The method differs, but it’s like deciding things through crafting.”
“Can I just go challenge people, like breaking seals or something?”
“……Like Peran did?”
“To be precise, it’s called an ‘exchange.’ Famous blacksmiths in the capital all have their own workshops.”
Jin-woo smiled. The Center’s blacksmiths were already doing things similarly to what he’d done.
If that was the case, it was actually good.
‘Then I can just keep doing what I’m doing.’
“It’d be good for MiTube content too, don’t you think?”
“It definitely seems like it would be.”
Currently, Peran’s shorts video had already surpassed fifty million views. The full video had crossed twenty million views as well.
It was a tremendous achievement in a short span of time.
“But brother, there’s more to it. It could actually be demoralizing. Right now in NewGen, there’s a lot of talk that Eternal Sunshine veterans can’t reach top Ranker status.”
Dongwoo showed him the comments.
—So they’re from Eternal Sunshine, huh.
—Aren’t all the other Eternal Sunshine veterans stuck in the lower ranks?
—True. Not a single one has made it to the top.
—Crafting Han U-mul came up but just kept sliding down.
—Yeah, they just found their real level.
NewGen has countless Rankers from the semi-virtual reality game that was hot back then.
Users who couldn’t face off due to different games gathered in NewGen to properly compete.
And the results were devastating.
“The results prove it. There’s no Eternal Sunshine veteran among the current top Rankers. This person, Crafting Han U-mul, had potential but ultimately fell short.”
“So all Eternal Sunshine veterans are stuck at the bottom?”
Various named players flashed through Jin-woo’s mind.
Eternal Sunshine definitely had many competent people.
Even though Jin-woo had broken their spirits, there were still many skilled individuals among them.
‘Who is Crafting Han U-mul?’
Since they didn’t carry over their original nicknames, he couldn’t tell.
‘Where did they all go?’
Eternal Sunshine’s pride crumbled like this.
“Right. They’re all at the bottom. Except for a few. Especially in crafting—it’s practically a total wipeout.”
Dongwoo nodded.
“The highest rank is just barely top ten. Including Crafting Han U-mul, there are hardly any.”
And there were zero Rankers in the top three.
“Hmm.”
‘So that’s how things have been unfolding.’
He hadn’t expected it to be this severe.
“Is it because of me?”
“……What?”
At Jin-woo’s words, Dongwoo’s eyes blinked.
Back in the Eternal Sunshine era, all those Rankers had used Jin’s equipment.
Perhaps they’d grown accustomed to that gear.
Since Jin-woo hadn’t existed in NewGen until now, it was natural they couldn’t perform.
“I need to set things right.”
It was time to restore order.
* * *
Peran’s private workshop.
Heiry, a mid-sized city near Avalon.
Peran’s small workshop was located in Heiry. Despite being an 80th-ranked Ranker, purchasing a building in the capital was still quite burdensome for Peran.
“Is Peran here?”
“……Who might you be?”
Peran’s workshop usually didn’t receive many visitors.
Until now, Peran had been the one visiting numerous other workshops.
To engage in crafting battles called “exchanges.”
“How do you do.”
The one who came seeking Peran was a blacksmith named October.
“You’re October, aren’t you.”
Peran knew the names of all the crafters in the ranking zones.
October. A crafter ranked 58th.
Currently belonging to the Jiryong Guild, October was a user who had played games like Pendant and Bridge.
He was one of Bridge’s golden generation, and while not quite at Pendant’s level, some believed that if Bridge hadn’t shut down, he might have surpassed even Pendant—such was his skill.
Of course, after transitioning to NewGen, he hadn’t shown performances quite like those days, but his skill was solid.
Peran had also searched all over hoping to exchange with October, but had ultimately failed to meet him.
Yet here he was, coming to find Peran himself.
Gulp.
Peran recalled words Jin-woo had left with him.
‘It has turned out just as Jin-woo said.’
After the exchange ended.
Jin-woo had taken quite good care of Peran.
From their first meeting, Peran had been presumptuous, and the exchange itself was unilaterally decided by him.
Yet despite that, Jin-woo had been kind to him. Peran could only look up to such a person.
He was magnanimous.
A true senior blacksmith worthy of respect.
And that senior blacksmith had said.
—Famous crafters will come looking for you.
—If they seek me out,
—please bring them to me along with words that the exchange was truly enjoyable.
Peran had been moved by those words.
That he would give genuine teaching to Rankers about the true nature of crafting.
“What brings you to seek me out?”
“I saw your video of the exchange with Jin-woo.”
Just as expected.
At October’s words, Peran smiled.
“You want to meet Jin-woo, then. You wish to exchange with him?”
“Yes.”
October’s face was full of confidence.
The center of every issue.
Watching that crafting, one could barely breathe from the overwhelming pressure.
But if he could break that?
If he could overcome that crafting?
He could break through the completely sealed wall and ascend even higher.
“I’ll ensure the compensation is generous…….”
“I’ll show you the way.”
October had naturally assumed Peran wouldn’t reveal Jin-woo’s location.
And even if he did find out the location, October didn’t think he’d be able to easily exchange with Jin-woo.
That’s why he had prepared compensation.
Materials that would make any crafter’s eyes glaze over.
“Give that compensation to Jin-woo instead.”
“……Ah, yes.”
October was so relieved that things went so smoothly that his tension melted away.
“Well then, shall we go?”
October felt something odd, but soon clenched his fists.
In his mind, there was only Jin-woo now.
He would seize Jin-woo and meet the PD.
And just as Jin-woo had done, he would write mythology on Netflix and ascend to the top ranks of NewGen!
Seeing his ambitious eyes gleam, Peran found himself laughing without meaning to.
He had once felt that way.
Before he exchanged with Jin-woo.

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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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