The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 27
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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 27
Chapter 27.
Sharknet.
Thanks to the influx of Crafting System Rankers from other games, the number of crafters had grown considerably.
As a result, the community was flooded with questions from Crafting System users.
-I’m level 100. My Dexterity Stat is currently 88—is that high?
-I’m level 120. How exactly do I make Grade A equipment? Do I need to learn high-tier Smelting techniques?
The Crafting System users were all expressing the same struggles.
Although more Crafting System Rankers had arrived, crafting itself hadn’t become any easier; users continued hunting for tips, and the stat they worried about most was Dexterity.
-I heard Dexterity Stat scaling is really good. But to raise Dexterity in the first place, don’t you have to craft well? It seems backwards.
-The person above—you said you’re level 120 and still can’t make Grade A? I’m 200 and still haven’t managed it.
-You might actually be better off switching to Alchemy. With alchemy, at least if you pump in good materials, Grade A gear can pop out sometimes.
-There are a lot of people who’ve gotten Grade A through alchemy and then switched back to Blacksmithing. They’re just unlocking the achievements first. That way they can apply to guilds.
-But how do you raise Dexterity stat well?
-If I knew that, I’d be a Master already. At least it’s clear that your Dexterity goes up when you craft.
-I didn’t know before I started, but the Crafting System Rankers are seriously no joke.
-How did they even get that far?
The Crafting System users were experiencing firsthand just how amazing the Rankers truly were.
And alongside that—
-Who is this person who made Grade A equipment before hitting level 30???
-I honestly can’t figure out how they did it.
-Is this a bug??
Talk of Jin-woo, who had stacked such an incredible achievement that it seemed like a bug, continued to circulate.
-Is this really Jin?
-If it’s Jin, then yeah, this makes sense.
-Is Jin really that good?
-I haven’t played Eternal Sunshine, so I don’t know—just how incredible was Jin??
-Jin was just the most famous name. Other users had nicknames, but Jin didn’t need one.
Jin’s name itself was literally his calling card.
-Just saying “Jin” meant rank 1.
-Wow. They were that amazing?
-But if this person really is Jin—
-No way. No way.
I already knew what they were about to ask.
-Rankers from other games came over, not just from Eternal Sunshine. The game was different, but there were plenty of monsters like that. You know how much stronger they’ve all become in the past year, right?
If Jin started New Genesis now, would he be able to catch up to them?
No—would he be able to surpass them?
-There’s no way.
Every user thought the same thing.
He was simply too late.
One year was far too long a gap.
-Still, we’d hope Jin would start. A good crafter is always welcome. It’d be nice to have at least one more Korean Ranker to be proud of in the narrow Crafting System community, you know?
-We’re already falling pretty far behind internationally.
The Crafting System as a whole was losing ground to overseas players.
Blacksmithing had a slight Korean advantage, but in alchemy, sewing, and anything else made by hand, Korea was falling behind. The most famous alchemists were overseas users.
-I heard Starlight isn’t Korean either.
-They say everyone except Craftsman Well is non-Korean?
-It’s rough on Korean Ranker pride.
So people hoped.
For a new Korean Ranker to be born.
-I wish they’d help Craftsman Well.
-Me too!
* * *
-Equipment created!
Having made the Lapis Lazuli Armor to follow the Lapis Lazuli Claw Sword, Jin-woo immediately tried on the armor.
Jin-woo deliberately dulled the lapis lazuli’s color and brought out the steel’s shine.
“No need to draw attention.”
The result was armor of deep blue.
“Armor has a lot of details to think about—it’s fun.”
Also, the crafting process was quite lengthy, which meant his concentration time stretched considerably.
“And thanks to that, my Immersion Stat went up too.”
The Lapis Lazuli Claw Sword.
And the Lapis Lazuli Armor as well.
“Got my basic gear sorted.”
Jin-woo packed away the Summon Workshop.
“Let’s go.”
-Entering Guuden Canyon.
-Warning!
-Warning!
-Recommended level: 120 hunting ground.
The moment he stepped into Guuden Canyon, warning alerts appeared.
This Guuden Canyon was a hunting ground designed for level 120.
“I’m level 32 right now.”
[Jin-woo][LV 32]
[Job: None]
[Rune: Will of Fire]
[HP: 750/750]
[MP: 200/200]
[Strength: 108+5%]
[Stamina: 65+5%]
[Agility: 30+5%]
[Intelligence: 30+5%]
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Thanks to making the Lapis Lazuli Claw Sword and armor, Jin-woo had broken through level 30.
But despite that, his level was still low.
The canyon was a hunting ground well beyond Jin-woo’s capacity at level 32.
“My highest stat is Dexterity.”
By now, Jin-woo’s Dexterity Stat had already surpassed 500.
“Over 500 Dexterity at level 32 should be pretty decent, right? My Strength Stat is a bit low though.”
Still, it was better than early on; he didn’t fail to swing the hammer quite as often now.
“I need to pay more attention to stats.”
Once inside the canyon, monsters would be crawling everywhere.
“It’ll be risky, sure.”
But the more dangerous it was, the more he could gain.
And it was necessary.
“I can get materials too.”
Thanks to the Summon Workshop, he could craft equipment anywhere.
“And I need to test it out.”
He needed to test the equipment he’d made.
Without hesitation, Jin-woo entered the canyon.
* * *
The moment he entered the canyon, a goblin greeted him.
“Skreeeee!”
A massive goblin thrust a club at Jin-woo.
Its eyes were bloodshot, and it was drooling—this goblin was clearly not in its right mind.
“And goblins are usually smaller, aren’t they? This must be some kind of variant. Makes sense for a level 120 hunting ground.”
The goblin charged at Jin-woo with a crazed expression.
It was much faster than he expected.
“First real fight since I battled that steel beast.”
Jin-woo watched the goblin’s shoulders.
Rough, ungainly movements.
And the timing of when it raised its hand.
Crash!
The goblin’s club came down to crush Jin-woo.
“Crude work.”
Jin-woo scowled. What the goblin was holding barely qualified as a club—it was more a chunk of wood.
Roughly carved wood shaped into a club-like form, nothing more.
“Whenever I see something like that, I always feel like smashing it. Did you make that yourself?”
Crude equipment needed to be broken; it was the only way to find peace.
Crash!
Jin-woo swung his blade to meet the club whistling through the air.
He wasn’t particularly skilled at combat.
But at least—
“I know how to use my own equipment well.”
Boom!
With a deafening crack, Jin-woo’s Lapis Lazuli Claw Sword shattered the club outright.
It was torn to pieces.
“Eeek, krrr!”
Shocked at its broken club, the goblin stumbled backward.
The force had been so great that its hands were torn open.
But Jin-woo paid the goblin no mind. He was looking at the sword.
“Better than I expected.”
The Grade A+ Lapis Lazuli Claw Sword was living up to its name.
It had torn straight through the variant goblin’s club.
“The steel beast’s claws were that terrifying.”
Jin-woo smiled.
“And I stopped them with my shield.”
He quickly sheathed the sword. Just like that—
“Hit me.”
Now it was the armor’s turn.
“Go ahead and strike. I can take it.”
Had the man lost his mind?
But the variant goblin didn’t miss its chance. Its club was shattered, but it still had its fists.
Being a much larger variant than a normal goblin, its physical prowess was exceptional.
“Krrgh, raaaah!”
Bang!
The instant the goblin’s fist crashed against Jin-woo’s armor, the variant goblin shrieked like a madman and staggered back hard.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo lightly touched the spot where he’d been struck.
“There are things to fix. I’ve been away for a year and I’m basically a beginner again, basically a beginner.”
Jin-woo gestured for it to come again. The variant goblin roared and swiped with its leg this time, but it was the goblin that went flying.
“Keek!”
The goblin started to flee.
“Not so fast. You need to keep hitting me.”
Jin-woo grinned and leaped forward.
Normally the variant goblin would have escaped, but its feet had been damaged from kicking Jin-woo’s armor.
“Come on. Keep swinging.”
The goblin flailed its fists desperately.
-A new god watches you in amazement!
-An additional stat has been granted to you!
-The goblin has begun to fear you!
Jin-woo added the bonus stat to Strength.
“Oh my, you caught me being shameless. Still, thank you.”
Jin-woo’s expression became embarrassed.
“Armor check complete.”
Jin-woo gripped his sword.
Shred!
The variant goblin was torn to pieces.
“You really don’t know until you actually use it.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
“I need to sharpen my own skills.”
It was time to hone himself.
* * *
Jin-woo pressed forward.
Crash!
Boom!
“Shrieeeek!”
Dozens of variant goblins blocked his path, yet not a single monster could slow Jin-woo’s advance.
“Ugh, with these big bodies comes decent loot.”
Jin-woo picked up every last scrap from the variant goblin corpses.
-Goblin Leather
-Goblin Blood
-Goblin Jawbone
“Goblin Leather, huh.”
Currently, Jin-woo didn’t have the Leather Working skill.
“That’d be fun to learn too.”
To work this leather properly, he would need two skills.
“Sewing and Leather Working. I’d need both to make proper leather armor.”
For now, he could only work with Goblin Jawbone.
“Could make a bone sword, or lace them together for bone armor instead.”
Actually, bone was a very familiar material for him.
“Bone-crafted gear was one of my specialties back then.”
-Goblin Jawbone [Grade: C]
Description: A goblin’s powerful jawbone. Quite difficult to work with.
Jin-woo summoned the workshop.
“Light touch.”
Then he began processing the Goblin Jawbone.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
-Goblin Jawbone Sword created!
-Grade A equipment created!
-Lava Smelting Technique proficiency increased!
With bone alone, he’d now reached the point where he could make Grade A gear from mere Grade C materials.
Of course, its durability wasn’t high.
“I processed it to maximize attack power. It’s Grade A in rank, but it doesn’t have the durability to match.”
Jin-woo examined the bone sword from every angle.
“Still not dead though.”
But he sensed something lacking.
‘A skill backing it up would be nice.’
“Still, it’s been a while since I’ve worked with bone. This is fun.”
Jin-woo retrieved all the remaining jawbones.
Then he started grinding them.
The most critical part of working with bone was processing.
Grinding the bone just right.
The quality of this grinding work determined the overall quality of the bone equipment.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
Too much pressure and it would crack.
Too little and it wouldn’t grind enough, making the whole effort pointless.
So, delicately.
Extremely delicate control was required.
-Dexterity Stat increased.
-Dexterity Stat increased.
-Immersion Stat increased.
Fine Dexterity and perfect Immersion.
Despite the canyon being quite dangerous, Jin-woo was wholly absorbed in bone processing.
Scrape.
In his mind’s eye: a wall made of bone.
“A shield.”
-Equipment created!
-Grade A+ equipment created!
-Level increased!
-Goblin Jawbone Shield created!
-A new god takes notice of you!
“A new god?”
Jin-woo looked at the notification with interest.
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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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