The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 244

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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 244
244.
Jin-woo observed First carefully as he wielded the Void Crimson Destruction Sword.
Screech—screech—!
‘Hmm.’
From USSR+ to M-grade.
Having invested considerable effort into raising the grade, Jin-woo was concentrating intently on each crafting step.
‘I think I could make this sharper.’
Looking at the completed Void Crimson Destruction Sword, Jin-woo felt certain.
‘Normally I’d just finish and move on.’
But Jin-woo now possessed a technique that could make completed equipment even better.
A technique he hadn’t yet used.
‘Soul Engraving.’
Whoosh—.
Jin-woo drew out a soul.
Rummmble—!
The Soul Furnace began spinning frantically.
—Refining soul!
Soul Engraving, one of the Soul Furnace’s functions, was a technique that could inscribe the power of souls onto completed equipment.
Jin-woo took all the souls he’d obtained from the Underground Waterway and fed them into the furnace.
‘I should save Mirus’s soul.’
He had no intention of using this soul for Soul Crystals or Soul Engraving in the Soul Furnace.
‘It would be wasteful to use it that way.’
Since materials were plentiful, Jin-woo preserved Mirus’s soul and refined the others.
Hisssss—!
Compressed blue smoke billowed forth from the Soul Furnace.
Then he cast Soul Engraving on the Void Crimson Destruction Sword.
“Soul Engraving.”
Hiss—.
The soul’s power capable of being inscribed onto finished equipment.
—Soul is engraved onto the Void Crimson Destruction Sword!
—The power of the Void Crimson Destruction Sword is enhanced!
Hissssss—!
The moment Soul Engraving finished, the Void Crimson Destruction Sword began to sing.
“Done.”
Jin-woo smiled as he heard the blade’s resonance.
This meant one piece of equipment was properly complete.
“More things to worry about now.”
Jin-woo smiled.
“This is far too enjoyable.”
With that, he placed Seir’s bone on the workbench.
“Undulation.”
Jin-woo set about crafting First’s armor using Seir’s bone.
Having made M-grade twice now, he’d learned something.
‘The speed is too slow.’
It wasn’t that he was fixated on speed.
Jin-woo was thinking of absolute speed.
‘I can push harder while maintaining quality. I just haven’t adapted yet.’
This was the period of adapting to M-grade. Naturally it would be slow. But Jin-woo pushed himself.
There were still wasteful motions.
‘I can strip away more.’
And there was room for further optimization.
‘That entire process is what crafting is.’
As he crafted, Jin-woo was realizing something.
‘Simply reaching a grade doesn’t mean it’s finished.’
A grade could regress easily. So one had to adapt and optimize.
Jin-woo worked Seir’s bone with care.
Seir, who possessed the power of the void, had a bone with a peculiar quality to it.
‘It’s flexible.’
The moment Jin-woo applied the Ultra-Vibration Sculpting Knife, that flexibility vanished in an instant, hardening instead.
“Interesting.”
It hardened instantly upon impact.
Jin-woo immediately began carving Seir’s bone.
Crack—!
A wave rotated through once, instantly cutting the bone to size. Moving the undulation as if wielding a sword, Jin-woo quickly shaped Seir’s bone into the rough form of armor.
“Terra Tite.”
With that, Jin-woo retrieved Terra Tite.
It was a precious material he’d received from Rufema as compensation for finding the Temple.
“When you work only with precious materials, the excitement never settles.”
The corners of Jin-woo’s mouth wouldn’t fall.
The feel was exquisite.
Crackle—.
Jin-woo placed the Terra Tite in the furnace.
Flames enveloped it instantly. Jin-woo quickly retrieved it with tongs.
Crackle—. Crackle—.
Intense heat scattered outward.
Terra Tite, true to its name, was a mineral containing considerable earthen power.
Because of this, Terra Tite could withstand heat far more effectively.
‘Then I’ll use that.’
Jin-woo used the heat to roil the interior of the Terra Tite.
Crack—! Bang—! Bang—!
Bursting it from within with intense heat, even something as powerful as Terra Tite couldn’t withstand it.
Bang—!
As Jin-woo’s hammering continued, the Terra Tite began to deform.
Bang—!
With each strike, Jin-woo felt the powerful earthen force emanating through him. A truly precious material proved its quality through such mighty power, demonstrating what mineral it was.
‘Then imagination must follow.’
What kind of result could be made from this powerful mineral.
What power it might display.
So Jin-woo had only to follow this thread of imagination.
Extraneous thoughts weren’t needed.
Once in this state, he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to.
Bang—!
—Equipment created!
—M-grade equipment created!
—Terra Seir Bone Armor created!
Hissssss—!
The completed armor was earthen, radiating ochre-tinted power.
Simultaneously, Seir’s bone emanated its black aura, the two colors weaving mysteriously together and commanding presence.
It was armor that paired remarkably well with the Void Crimson Destruction Sword crafted just before.
Jin-woo gestured to First.
“First.”
—Gave Terra Seir Bone Armor to subordinate First.
With the Void Crimson Destruction Sword and the Terra Seir Bone Armor both.
Armed to M-grade, First now commanded the presence to cut down whoever the enemy might be.
“I. Will. Show. You. When. It. Matters.”
“Yes. Show me when it counts.”
After First was dismissed.
“Next then.”
He tried to continue crafting in succession, but Jin-woo was forced to stop.
Tremor—.
His hands were shaking.
Crafting M-grade equipment continuously and focusing on optimization, he’d exhausted all his remaining strength.
“It’s been a while.”
This was a limit he hadn’t felt back at USSR+.
—Earth Core restores you!
—Rune, Shining Nature’s Rune effect activates!
Jin-woo then also took a Supreme Health Recovery Potion.
Gulp—gulp—.
The tremor subsided. Of course, this didn’t fully recover his mental stamina, but he could still manage.
“There’s still plenty of materials left.”
Jin-woo examined his hands. Sensation remained.
‘There’s something I can almost grasp.’
Jin-woo then melted down the Dragon’s Breath Sword he’d received as a reward from the Royal Palace Warehouse.
—Dragon’s Breath Stone [M]
Upon melting, a mineral he’d never seen before appeared.
“Huh. Dragon’s Breath Stone!”
Jin-woo exclaimed.
“I chose well.”
He’d chosen it precisely because he couldn’t predict what it would be, and true to that intuition, it was a mineral he’d never encountered.
Just as the name Dragon’s Breath suggested, its shape was unusual, its feel distinctive.
“It feels like breath solidified into ore.”
Jin-woo immediately placed the Dragon’s Breath Stone in the furnace.
This time, he would craft equipment for Pur.
“I’ve made quite a variety of equipment for Pur already.”
Pur’s current equipment was the Frost Bone Halberd.
“This breath doesn’t have a fixed attribute. It depends on the will of the maker.”
Then he would imbue this breath stone with an Ice Build attribute as he worked.
‘This time.’
Rather than making them one at a time, he planned to proceed simultaneously.
‘Because I have two furnaces.’
The first reason he’d wanted to acquire multiple furnaces wasn’t to have one in each section of the workshop.
It was because he wanted to craft two pieces of equipment at the same time using two furnaces.
‘Whether I can make two M-grade pieces simultaneously, I’m not sure.’
But not attempting something because it seemed impossible was a shame.
If it didn’t work, he could try again.
‘Until it does.’
Jin-woo began sculpting Mirus’s horns and bones with the Ultra-Vibration Sculpting Knife.
“Phew.”
The mere thought of making two M-grade pieces simultaneously sent tension through his entire body.
Jin-woo released the tension with a deep breath.
In this very moment, Jin-woo was displaying to all the gods who sponsored him.
What he could do.
What he could show them.
Bang—!
—Master of Soul and Abyss whistles at your confidence!
—God of Bone and Death says that sponsoring you has been his best decision in recent memory!
With the gods’ acclaim.
—Equipment created!
With an aura nearly explosive, Jin-woo completed the Icy Breath Greatsword.
But it wasn’t over.
Jin-woo immediately continued working on the armor he was crafting alongside it.
Crack—.
Crack—crack—.
His hands were shaking.
His whole body was sore, and his hands seemed likely to move incorrectly.
But Jin-woo held on.
‘This is the moment.’
All the previous effort was for this grueling instant.
‘Working hard when it’s easy is easy.’
But taking one more step forward even in this state was extraordinarily difficult.
So all the previous moments existed for this one instant. If he stopped here, all that time before would become meaningless.
Crack—.
‘Let’s go.’
Bang—. Bang—. Bang—.
Jin-woo moved the sculpting knife in succession.
Bang—! Bang—!
The flames settled into Seir’s horns and bones.
These horns and bones of Seir were materials that would make the main component, Infernal Steel, even stronger.
Jin-woo placed the Infernal Steel into the furnace.
Crackle—.
True to the name Infernal Steel, even placed in the furnace, it demonstrated its power.
Jin-woo immediately retrieved the Infernal Steel.
“Undulation.”
His hands were shaking, so using Undulation was risky now.
But Undulation was essential to crafting better equipment.
‘There’s no reason not to use it.’
Bang—!
The Infernal Steel that would be the main component sank inward with the Undulation.
Shaping it.
‘Heat Treatment.’
This time, he lowered the flame temperature and reheated it.
‘By applying different heat treatment to each section.’
Flexibility was secured.
Crafting flowed from Jin-woo’s fingertips.
The things requiring attention naturally became familiar to his hands.
Settled into his mind.
That fleeting sensation became distinctly tangible.
Bang—!
The refined Infernal Steel merged with Seir’s horns and bones.
—Equipment created!
Hissssss—!
The M-grade equipment created before had erupted with tremendous impact upon completion.
But this armor was different.
Black aura spread, then erupted like flames.
—M+ grade equipment created!
—Marvelous result!
—Craftsmanship [Precision] Stat increased significantly!
“Ha-ha.”
He hadn’t intended to raise the grade.
He’d simply.
‘Tried to make good equipment.’
So the grade followed.

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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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