The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 255

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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 255
255.
After the Underworld Reclamation arc opened.
The community had been buzzing with talk of it every single day.
At the same time, Netflix’s rankings began to fluctuate wildly.
-There are so many entertaining moments that I keep watching.
-I usually never do a second or third viewing, but I’m already on my fourth run.
-The inserted music is great, and there are so many masterful scenes.
-I’m a blacksmith myself, and honestly, there’s so much for blacksmiths to learn from this episode.
-Definitely worth watching.
This Underworld Reclamation arc was receiving praise from people in many different ways.
The narrative, the cinematography, the music.
What people liked most, though, was Jin-woo’s crafting.
-I don’t know much about crafting, but just from watching what he loves doing, I could see hope that you can overcome any hardship by pursuing your passion.
SharkNet’s message boards were filled with New Gene tips and tricks.
There was always one thing written whenever you looked at the information boards.
-You can’t just learn what you like. You have to learn what you’re bad at too, because it’ll help you later.
It was true.
There was always a limit to doing only what you loved.
But Jin-woo had pierced the heavens with nothing but his beloved crafting.
Of course, he had Necromancer Technique, but that too ultimately came down to crafting.
He created skeletons and made equipment.
Everything was connected to crafting, so viewers received a powerful message from Jin-woo’s videos.
If you dig deep into what you want to do and what you love, you can overcome any trial.
-Of course, we’re not Jin-woo, so we know it’s hard. But it’s nice to see that it’s possible.
-I’m going to dig deeper into what I love too.
-Ugh… The lingering impact of the Boros fight still stays with me. The Boros fight was really close.
And so Netflix users began watching Jin-woo’s videos obsessively on repeat.
And doesn’t fame beget more fame?
Even users who would normally never have watched started thinking, “Why not give it a try?”
And so the view count skyrocketed like mad.
Four days after release.
Jin-woo, the Soul Blacksmith 3: Underworld Reclamation’s numbers came in.
Four days after the initial release.
Originally, Netflix tallied view counts on a weekly basis.
Week one built momentum, weeks two and three saw the highest view counts, and by week four, the numbers would decline smoothly.
“Director.”
Netflix director Lord Paratix reviewed the numbers his secretary had brought him.
The numbers for Soul Blacksmith 3, Underworld Reclamation.
“We haven’t even hit a week yet, have we?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve brought you four days’ worth of data.”
“Why?”
“The numbers are…”
This Underworld Reclamation arc had been backed by advertising costs befitting Netflix’s flagship productions.
Not an astronomical sum, but certainly enough to warrant expectation.
Lord Paratix read through the document.
“…”
View count: 73,384,534.
“F-four days’ worth?”
It was a number too massive to believe in four days of views.
Seventy-three million four hundred thousand views.
“Max. I think you brought the wrong data. This doesn’t look like the numbers for Soul Blacksmith 3, Underworld Reclamation?”
Yet it was clearly written.
-[Jin-woo, Soul Blacksmith, Underworld Reclamation]
“Incredible as the numbers are, they’re accurate. If you look at that graph, it’s shooting up like a cliff face, isn’t it? We compared it against our top ten works of all time.”
The previous record was two hundred and fifty million views, achieved by current user Pendant.
“Pendant’s video reached 250 million views over the course of more than two months.”
Jin-woo was at seventy million views on day three.
“Just looking at raw numbers…”
First place was already a done deal.
But that wasn’t what mattered most.
“There’s a high probability we’re about to witness a record-breaking moment in history.”
The response to the Underworld Reclamation arc right now was absolutely scorching.
“Across all previous records, this is the hottest reception we’ve ever seen. In the first three days alone, we’re already at a tenth of what would normally be considered a major success, and…”
“…Is this even possible in three days?”
“Normally, view counts peak in weeks one and two.”
In other words, these numbers hadn’t even reached their peak yet.
“This won’t do.”
Lord Paratix immediately launched a massive advertising campaign.
Water was pouring in like crazy—you had to row with the current.
“Let’s increase the advertising budget and go big across the board!”
* * *
“I poked around a bit.”
A leap. His movements were definitely fast.
‘He figured out pretty quickly that I equipped the Realize team.’
Slayer seemed to have his eye on Jin-woo.
‘Since I beat him in that Netflix competition.’
And when Jin-woo cleared the Tower of Trials, he’d even smashed the Hall of Honor ranking that Slayer had achieved.
‘Slayer’s supposed to be number one among combat-class users.’
His pride had taken quite a hit from all angles.
‘But he couldn’t just attack me outright.’
Jin-woo had once been a top ranker himself, so he understood the mindset well.
“This should be interesting.”
Since Slayer had handed him something fun to work with, Jin-woo should return the favor.
‘When I have the leisure, I should pay him a visit myself.’
After dealing with the Maydongpung Guild.
Jin-woo looked at Speed with a pleased expression.
“Master, I have completed the order.”
“Well done, Speed.”
“Not at all!”
Speed, his newest familiar and his tenth, was a quite loyal subordinate.
‘Mirths’s soul must have had a good quality to it.’
Jin-woo immediately pulled up the familiar’s information.
“Familiar status.”
10.
Name: Speed
—–
Grade: Heroic LV2
Type: Undead, Melee [Undead Specter]
Trait: Lethal Velocity, Control [Superior]
Skill: Acceleration, Afterimage
“Specter?”
Speed was a familiar made from a type and traits Jin-woo had never seen before.
Being specialized in speed, both the traits and skills were speed-related, and even the type seemed connected to Speed itself.
“Looks like it’s a type related to velocity.”
Looking at it this way, Speed was a familiar that lived and breathed speed alone.
He had focused on speed to rapidly turn the tide of the situation.
But he hadn’t expected everything to consolidate around speed like this.
‘I quite like this.’
“Acceleration and Afterimage. That must be what I saw earlier?”
The overwhelming velocity along with the nearly crystalline afterimage that appeared when Speed had dealt with the guild members—those must have been the skills at work.
“Hmm. A speed-specialized undead.”
It felt somewhat like Bone, but Bone was a beast-type undead while Speed was humanoid.
‘If I dig deeper…’
This one could be classified as a rogue-type.
‘Similar to a scout?’
It resembled the spectral rogue, but the fundamental essence was different.
“For such a desperate situation, this turned out quite well.”
Looking at Speed, Jin-woo felt satisfied—he’d crafted well.
It had been a fleeting moment in time.
‘I focused purely on completion.’
“Not bad at all.”
Jin-woo checked the stat for Craftsmanship [Precision].
“Circumstances really are everything.”
Not only had the numbers risen more than usual, but Concentration, Strength, and Stamina stats had all risen evenly.
The urgent situation had demanded precise control and speed.
‘It’s that feeling of pushing your limits and breaking through them.’
Throwing yourself into adversity was the path to genuine growth.
‘My Synchronization Rate went up too.’
“As expected, just continuing to do what you’re good at doesn’t mean anything.”
Accomplishing the impossible.
Growing skilled in things you’d never done before.
Reaching places you’d never reached—that’s where true growth lay.
Whether ordinary people or those who’d climbed the ranker ladder through normal means, everyone treasured what they’d built themselves.
Challenge was always frightening, but you couldn’t grow without facing it.
Of course, Jin-woo was a latecomer, so he wasn’t taking risks carelessly in his challenges.
He’d always done it this way back with Eternal Sunshine.
‘I took far more risks back then.’
In fact, this was still relatively mild by comparison.
“My tenth familiar.”
Speed was exactly the tenth familiar.
“The significance runs deep. With ten, I can actually call it an army now.”
Having ten self-crafted familiars certainly warranted that.
“Heroic LV2. Same grade as First and Pur.”
‘Since I made it with Mirths’s soul, the quality is quite high.’
Generally, higher-grade souls tended to produce familiars with quite substantial personalities.
Bone was the prime example.
‘It was sharp right from the moment it was made.’
Jin-woo liked that aspect quite a bit.
‘It was powerful even without equipment.’
If he equipped it like he had First and Pur, it could move as effectively as they did. Of course, it would operate differently, but it had the makings of a keen blade.
“Please grant me your command.”
Speed, kneeling on one knee, had a thin frame but generated explosive force.
‘Speed itself became strength.’
Jin-woo immediately dismissed Speed back to the Summoning state.
“I’ll have work for you soon.”
Then he began climbing the Avalon Mountain Range again.
“Hope another ambush comes my way.”
* * *
Near the summit of the Avalon Mountain Range.
Because the Avalon Mountain Range was so popular, there were quite a lot of people near the summit.
“I thought this was the summit.”
The quest marker was pointing to a place lower than the peak.
‘Unfortunate.’
Jin-woo felt quite satisfied with the battle against the Maydongpung Guild.
‘Thanks to that, I learned a lot of valuable information.’
He hadn’t expected they could block familiar summoning itself.
‘From what I could tell, these seem like specialized users.’
The technique was useless in fights against monsters, but in player-versus-player combat it could be a trump card.
‘I’ll need equipment that can nullify or reflect skills.’
He felt the need for equipment capable of nullification or reflection.
“Before I go in, maybe I should make something.”
The feedback had been substantial.
He could clearly confirm the M-grade equipment he’d given to First and Pur.
“Push the reflective quality a bit more.”
And besides, Jin-woo had acquired a high-quality ore recently.
An ancient fantasy mineral: Brilliant Moonstone.
An M+ grade material, no less.
“If I work with this Brilliant Moonstone, I think I can craft something excellent.”
A necklace that could shut down skills like Counter Steer while serving as a trump card would be ideal.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
-The quest location is nearby!
“Ah.”
Jin-woo immediately activated his Eagle Eye skill.
-Eagle Eye activates!
Shwooooosh—
A shimmering illusion.
Jin-woo approached the wavering spot and waved his hand through the space. It began to tear open.
“Found it.”
The entrance to Spirit City.
Jin-woo had found the space torn open in green.
“Easier to find than expected?”
Shwooooosh—
But the moment Jin-woo reached out, the green space closed shut.
-A key is required.
“So there was a reason it was easy to find.”
Jin-woo smiled wryly and held up the key in his hand.
“The entrance looks simple because you need a preparation item to enter. That’s the trick they used.”
Of course, finding the entrance hadn’t been simple either. He’d just tracked it well using Eagle Eye.
“Then before I go in.”
Jin-woo immediately summoned the Workshop.
“Recalling that sensation from before.”
The Brilliant Moonstone was placed upon the work table.
“There’s courtesy to observe when entering Spirit City.”
Shouldn’t he prepare some spirit-stone equipment first?
Jin-woo immediately picked up the Ultra-Vibration Engraving Knife.
Whooooom—
Drawing a deep breath.
He channeled his power and brought it to bear on the Brilliant Moonstone.
Crack—!
“!”
And from the Brilliant Moonstone, an intense light burst forth.

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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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