The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 24

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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 24
Chapter 24.
Suomi’s Office.
“Logical approval came through. You can distribute the workshop,” the Deputy Director said.
At the Deputy Director’s words, GM Kim Na-yoon immediately sent Jin-woo a confirmation email.
“Tell him the system will grant it right away through the in-game interface, and post a notice on the homepage that we’ve distributed the Steel Monster clear reward. There are still plenty of uncleared hidden quests left that haven’t been solved yet, right? Promote those alongside it.”
The uncleared hidden quests had been a major issue in the early days of launch, with many users attempting them, but all had given up.
The reason was high difficulty and uncertain rewards.
But if they promoted again in tandem with Jin-woo clearing the Steel Monster, it could serve as excellent advertising as well.
While the game had considerable global market share, such a good promotional opportunity didn’t come often, so it was wise to capitalize on it.
Moreover, a large-scale event was scheduled in connection with NewGen’s main scenario afterward, so they needed to build momentum.
“Yes, we’ll do that. There’s something else I should report, Deputy Director.”
“Additional report? Is it about the Jin-woo user?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
At GM Kim Na-yoon’s words, the Deputy Director’s expression suggested he already knew.
It had been a constant issue on MiTube and SharkNet already.
“The A-grade equipment he made has become quite the hot topic. Has he made any more A-grade items since then?”
Sometimes, through sheer luck, one could make A-grade equipment. Of course, luck alone couldn’t produce A-grade, but it was possible with sufficient potential.
“I suspect he hasn’t made any more A-grade since then.”
“No, that’s not it.”
It wasn’t about A-grade equipment.
“Then what is it? Is there something else to report? Wasn’t it the day before yesterday or yesterday? The thing about making A-grade?”
“After making A-grade equipment, something else came up to report immediately.”
GM Kim Na-yoon spoke.
“He entered into a Spirit Contract with an S-grade Spirit. The Jin-woo user did.”
“What?”
It was a completely unexpected report.
“A Spirit? He made a contract with a Spirit?”
And it wasn’t just any Spirit.
“An S-grade Spirit!?”
An S-grade Spirit.
Among users with the Spirit Master job, it was known that contracting with an S-grade Spirit was incredibly difficult unless heaven itself ordained it.
Various tips had been posted on SharkNet’s forums, but none of them proved effective.
Some users managed to contract with A-grade Spirits using those tips, while others contracted with C-grade or unranked Spirits.
Spirit Contracts depended entirely on the user’s capability.
“No, how did he do it?”
But Jin-woo had achieved this, and he wasn’t even a Spirit Master user—he was a crafting-focused player.
“Which Spirit did he contract with?”
“The Spirit of Materials.”
“A Spirit like that exists?”
The Deputy Director wore a bewildered expression.
A Spirit of Materials—he’d never heard of such a thing.
“No, what exactly is it?”
How had he managed to contract with a Spirit in the first place?
“Wasn’t he supposed to still be in Syns?”
“I cannot confirm all the details, but he contracted with an S-grade Spirit not long after making the A-grade equipment. So he likely still appears to be in Syns, but…”
To contract with an S-grade Spirit while still in Syns, a starter town.
“If he’s already reaching this level in the beginner village, he’ll definitely stand out once he heads to the Metropolis. Though it won’t be easy, of course.”
NewGen had several kingdoms, and the capitals of those kingdoms or the major cities serving as regional hubs already had numerous Guilds established.
Large Guilds.
Top-tier Guild users were in the major cities, and naturally, the famous crafting rankers had already established themselves and were showing their prowess.
Of course, Jin-woo’s skill was excellent, but that was only possible because he’d been in a beginner village up until now.
He’d simply crafted better equipment relative to his level—objectively speaking, he was still just an intermediate craftsman who’d barely begun making A-grade items.
“The standard for crafters in the Metropolis is S-grade to begin with.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The average in the Metropolis was S-grade.
Without reaching S-grade, it was difficult to make a name for oneself as a crafter in the Metropolis tier.
“And even that S-grade is just the starting line.”
S-grade was the starting line in the Metropolis.
Making a name for oneself or establishing a foothold in the Metropolis wasn’t easy by any measure.
“The Guilds are scrambling to recruit the Jin-woo user right now, aren’t they?”
“Yes, that’s correct. But it seems no Guild has successfully recruited him yet.”
That was based on checking the SharkNet community.
Of course, community information wasn’t a hundred percent reliable, but if Jin-woo had been recruited, word would have inevitably spread.
“But wait.”
The Deputy Director, pondering for a moment, asked Kim Na-yoon.
It was fine that he’d made A-grade equipment.
Fine, he could even contract with a Spirit.
“So what’s his current job?”
What on earth was his job, then?
He understood Jin-woo hadn’t yet progressed through the Legendary Job Quest.
But if he’d contracted with an S-grade Spirit, did that mean he’d abandoned the Legendary Job Quest and switched to become a Spirit Master?
Obtaining a job was free, but generally a main job was important in many respects.
“He’s Jobless.”
“…Wait, that’s possible? He’s Jobless and contracted with an S-grade Spirit? Can that actually be done?”
“I didn’t know either.”
That it was possible to contract with an S-grade Spirit even without being a Spirit Master was news to GM Kim Na-yoon as well.
* * *
“We couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“Not even at that Mine we heard he’d discovered!”
The Guilds that had come to recruit Jin-woo came back empty-handed.
“What about the hunting grounds nearby?”
“Nothing!”
“Did he already leave Syns?”
Jin-woo was in Syns.
He hadn’t stepped out of Hoz’s Blacksmith, so there was no way to find him.
The materials he’d mined from the Mine on the second day were still stocked.
Whoosh!
Pyo-rong.
The dust that had been flying about actively until yesterday now looked listless.
It made sense.
He’d crafted with Jin-woo all night, so he was bound to be exhausted.
“I’m glad I learned Potion Crafting first.”
Jin-woo had repeated crafting until he suffered Potion Addiction symptoms and could no longer consume potions.
As a result, he’d accumulated twenty Pickaxes.
“I tried making a variety of Pickaxes, and there should be quite a bit of demand for these.”
He could sell them directly to users as he had before.
But this time, Jin-woo was thinking of using the Auction House.
The total quantity was twenty.
“This one here is the best made.”
Nineteen would go on regular auction.
And one would be listed on a free auction starting at one gold.
“A-grade Pickaxe. Made from brass steel, so the durability is decent and it shouldn’t be bad for mining either.”
Jin-woo immediately registered the items at the Auction House.
“I’m not sure how much it’ll sell for.”
But it seemed like it would be quite fun.
Ding!
An alarm sounded then.
-Your reward has arrived! Please check your mailbox!
Jin-woo opened his mailbox.
-You have received the Steel Monster Subjugation reward!
“!”
Jin-woo’s expression showed surprise.
-You have received the Summoned Workshop.
A Summoned Workshop.
It was exactly the type of workshop Jin-woo had wanted.
“I was thinking I’d have to craft one myself if I couldn’t get it.”
Jin-woo immediately summoned the workshop.
An anvil, a furnace, and a workbench appeared before his eyes.
-Jin-woo’s Workshop [LV 1]
[Furnace] [Anvil] [Workbench]

It was a very basic workshop.
“A furnace, anvil, workbench—it’s got everything I need.”
But it had some considerable shortcomings.
The furnace didn’t look good, and the anvil and workbench looked barely adequate.
“Doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I can summon it anywhere. And I see you can add and remove items here.”
In other words, he could strengthen the workshop however he wanted.
“That came through as advertised.”
A customizable workshop of my own.
That’s exactly what it was.
“So let’s try it right now.”
Jin-woo grinned as he looked at the workshop.
* * *
The Auction House.
Jin-woo had listed nineteen Pickaxes each at one thousand gold.
Pickaxes weren’t standard equipment.
They felt more like consumables, and they were items that could be easily replaced if broken. Generally, all players played that way.
Because of that, the baseline price didn’t exceed one hundred gold.
“What’s this? A thousand-gold Pickaxe?”
“Even a hundred gold is expensive, and you’re saying a thousand gold?”
The price Jin-woo had sold for at the Syns Mine was one hundred gold. Of course, some had bought it for three hundred gold, but truthfully, even one hundred gold had been a fairly steep price at the time.
But those who bought them knew firsthand.
What Jin-woo’s Pickaxes were like.
“What exactly is this?”
But since the Auction House didn’t allow direct demonstration, Jin-woo had deliberately set the gold price high.
That way, it would inevitably draw attention.
“Jin-woo? Wait. The person who listed this is Jin-woo?”
“Is this that Hall of Honor rank one?”
“Or is it just someone with the same name?”
“But these Pickaxes look kind of unusual.”
The users’ deliberation didn’t last long.
Particularly the miner users’ eyes lit up the moment they saw Jin-woo’s Pickaxes.
“Whether it’s real or fake, to think he’d make such quality Pickaxes.”
For them, a thousand gold was actually a cheap price.
As long as the Pickaxe was genuine, they could pay any amount.
“And honestly, these look pretty cool too.”
Jin-woo’s strategy had worked perfectly.
All nineteen Pickaxes sold in an instant.
Nineteen thousand gold.
And the Pickaxe he’d listed on the free auction entered into a full-fledged bidding war.
Starting at one gold, it quickly reached one hundred gold.
“This is worth spending gold on.”
“I’m buying this one.”
Miner users excitedly began placing continuous bids.
Five hundred gold.
One thousand gold.
And then.
“Are you kidding me? Three thousand gold? Who the hell bid three thousand gold on a Pickaxe?”
But it wasn’t over.
“Three thousand five hundred?”
Thirty-five hundred gold for a single Pickaxe.
It was a record-breaking price.
And there was still time remaining.
There was plenty of room for it to go higher.
* * *
Reviews of the nineteen sold Pickaxes came up quickly.
-You guys are actually insane.
-This is Han-deun, a year-one miner user.
First, let me say this upfront.
The Pickaxe from this crafter named Jin-woo that I bought this time. It’s actually insane.
It was a vividly written review.
The kind of review that would excite every miner out there.
And the moment those reviews went up.
-Bid has been updated!
The price of the Pickaxe listed on the free auction began to skyrocket.

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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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