The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 270

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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 270
270.
The crown jewel of Glass Artistry is the Shaping Work.
Since this Shaping Work had to be completed within three minutes, Drezan had spent a lifetime training to master it.
From childhood until death.
He had devoted nearly his entire life to Glass Artistry.
Though he was not quite at the level of a Spirit Race Craftsperson from Skypia, he had honed his skills enough to compete with them in Glass Artistry.
Yet what Jin-woo needed to create now was something that even Drezan—who had devoted his whole life to Glass Artistry—could not be certain about.
And he was going to learn it briefly and then do it?
Honestly, he thought it was a waste of time.
He thought it was quite arrogant. In Drezan’s heart, the word audacious came to mind.
But at this very moment, all those thoughts were overturned.
“This is…….”
Seeing the Spirit’s Tear—Jin-woo’s first Glass Artistry creation—Drezan’s soul trembled.
“It’s insufficient, but I did my best to follow what you taught me.”
“Huh…….”
Drezan looked at Jin-woo.
“You did this from just watching once?”
It was a genuinely bewildered question. This was not quality that could be achieved from a single viewing.
It wasn’t a waste of time.
Rather, time was being compressed—time was being saved.
“It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching.”
Drezan was taken aback by Jin-woo’s words.
This level of skill, and he’s humble too?
Drezan knew the Spirit Race Craftspeople well. Despite their exceptional talent, their pride was extraordinarily high.
That was precisely why they didn’t settle in this Elementía but moved elsewhere.
Skypia.
Even the name of the city felt like arrogance and vanity.
“You’re not human, are you? A half-breed?”
“No. I’m a pure-blooded human.”
“……That can’t be right?”
He certainly didn’t look like a Dwarf.
“You’re not elegantly beautiful like an Elf. Far from delicate—you’re muscular.”
“…….”
“I apologize. I was rather rude. I meant to say you don’t have that delicate, elegant beauty of an Elf.”
Rather, Jin-woo possessed considerable presence and weight.
“In that case…… I’d have to take back what I said.”
There would be no need to call the Spirit Race Craftspeople from Skypia.
“He can make it…… it seems.”
Perhaps.
Jin-woo could rewrite the very history of Elementía.
“Forgive me, Jin-woo. You weren’t here just to learn and use this Glass Artistry technique briefly.”
Jin-woo had poured every ounce of experience he possessed into that Glass Artistry work.
So this wasn’t arrogance.
Rather, it was Drezan who had been arrogant for thinking so. Jin-woo had spent all his years learning Glass Artistry.
So it wasn’t something learned briefly, but something mastered by devoting all his time. The ease with which he had done it was merely the result of how concentrated that time had been.
“The Obbje. I’ll help you. Let’s make it properly.”
It wouldn’t be easy.
But having confirmed Jin-woo’s skill, Drezan believed he could do it.
“You’re confident, aren’t you!”
He had only used Glass Artistry once.
“In all of our history, no one who wasn’t Spirit Race has ever made an Obbje in our Elementía.”
Now he had to write history.
He had to walk a path no one had ever tread.
“I’m not confident.”
“……What?”
Drezan looked at Jin-woo with a puzzled expression. Was he showing humility again at this point?
But Jin-woo was smiling.
It wasn’t humility.
“I have no doubt I’ll succeed.”
It was absolute confidence.
* * *
Seoul Jung District.
A secret meeting took place at an upscale restaurant.
“Wonderful to see you!”
CEO Lee Hwa-shin greeted a man in fluent English.
Rod Paradox.
The CEO of Netflix.
Today, the two men met to discuss important business matters.
“I hope it suits your palate.”
“My favorite Korean dish is this galbi. Hanwoo, right? Korea’s premium beef. Absolutely fantastic.”
Rod Paradox was quite fond of this Korean-style galbi.
“Japanese beef is delicious too, but Korean beef suits my taste better.”
“Is that so? I’ve prepared plenty.”
This wasn’t merely a social occasion for CEO Lee Hwa-shin to entertain Rod Paradox.
Rod Paradox pulled something out.
“I brought a gift. I heard you’re a fan of Messi.”
“!”
Lee Hwa-shin broke into a grin and accepted the signed Messi Jersey. He had never expected the Netflix CEO to bring such a fine gift.
“Messi wore it during a Netflix Original Series shoot. I brought it as a gift for you.”
“What a precious gift. Thank you so much, sir.”
After exchanging these pleasantries, the two CEOs moved straight to business.
“This user Jin-woo is achieving truly remarkable results.”
Rod Paradox expressed his admiration.
“These numbers are rare even by Netflix standards.”
“Haha. User Jin-woo is currently making history in NewGen as well.”
The two CEOs discussed just how extraordinary Jin-woo was.
“So I was wondering—would it be possible to meet with user Jin-woo?”
At Rod Paradox’s question, CEO Lee Hwa-shin’s expression became slightly uncomfortable.
“While user Jin-woo is playing NewGen, I can’t force anything on him.”
Lee Hwa-shin replied.
“And frankly, I haven’t met Jin-woo in person yet either.”
It was the deputy CEO who had met with Jin-woo.
“I can ask about arranging a meeting.”
“Ah, that would be fine. I’ll reach out directly.”
Contact information for Jin-woo naturally existed on their end too.
“Sir, regarding this Netflix matter—have you already signed an additional contract?”
“Not yet.”
“Then perhaps we could help with that?”
“Help?”
“You’re definitely going to sign an additional contract with Jin-woo, aren’t you?”
An additional contract was essentially a done deal.
With performance this exceptional, it would be strange not to pursue an additional contract. Of course, from this point on, it depended entirely on Jin-woo’s choice.
“InJoy will likely try to poach Jin-woo.”
InJoy was a very prominent animation company. Like Netflix, it had its own platform and possessed numerous IPs.
Currently, it was InJoy that owned the most famous IPs—the Princess series and the Mabel series.
Moreover, various broadcasters were now preparing to approach Jin-woo, who was as a Free Agent, with desperate intensity.
“It’s already confirmed. Besides InJoy, other companies are reportedly trying to approach Jin-woo.”
Rod Paradox nodded in acknowledgment.
Then CEO Lee Hwa-shin continued.
“If you go together, you’ll definitely have the upper hand.”
Rod Paradox paused to think.
But his deliberation didn’t last long. One of the reasons he had sought this meeting with CEO Lee Hwa-shin was precisely this matter of the additional contract.
Jin-woo was a big catch.
An enormous catch at that.
It was now clear that whatever platform he chose would gain tremendous competitive advantage.
Currently, no subscription platform had the weight class of Netflix.
That was why there had been synergy early on, but now that Jin-woo had grown, he was at a level where moving to any platform would dramatically increase subscribers.
A game changer.
The platform that secures Jin-woo now can make a leap.
“You seem like a good partner.”
Rod Paradox thought that if Lee Hwa-shin, the CEO of NewGen, partnered with him, he could appeal to Jin-woo more effectively.
“Money won’t cut it anymore for securing user Jin-woo.”
CEO Lee Hwa-shin said.
“We’ll need to appeal to him through other means.”
* * *
The primary material for Glass Artistry was Glass Mineral.
‘A mineral with special properties.’
This Glass Mineral, which could undergo Blowing work by channeling breath into it, was an exceptionally rare mineral.
-Glass Quartz [SSR Rank]
This Glass Quartz was highly sensitive.
Other minerals could withstand considerable heating, but Glass Quartz would shatter immediately if heated even slightly too strongly.
‘The same applies to Blowing.’
If even a fraction too much breath was channeled into the Blowing process, it would expand dramatically and become unusable.
‘Balance from beginning to end—that’s the most crucial part.’
Balance, quick reflexes. These were essential qualities a Craftsperson needed, and unless one possessed them at a sufficiently high level, one couldn’t even attempt it.
Which is why Drezan had said it was absolutely unlearnable.
No matter how skilled a Craftsperson was, without experience it was nearly impossible to attempt Glass Artistry, and without the ability to perform delicate movements, it was something one could never master in a lifetime.
Whoooosh—.
Jin-woo channeled his breath into the glass.
The Glass Quartz expanded in an instant.
‘The process of channeling breath is the most critical.’
Drezan had said the Shaping Work was most important, but Jin-woo focused on the breath-channeling process instead.
The Shaping Work was certainly important.
‘But the Blowing work as the initial step—that’s the true heart of Glass Artistry.’
Whoooooosh—!
‘At the moment of channeling this breath.’
-Activating Soul Forging!
Jin-woo could use Soul Forging.
This was not merely a process of channeling breath.
By channeling breath, he could purify his soul and allow that purified soul to permeate perfectly into the glass.
“!”
Drezan gasped in amazement at Jin-woo’s Blowing work. Expansion didn’t happen just from breathing into it.
Moreover, there was something special about Jin-woo’s Blowing work.
“It’s different. Completely different.”
He was already improvising.
He was learning Glass Artistry under his own judgment.
Moving forward.
Whoooosh—. As the Blowing work continued and each Shaping followed, Jin-woo’s skill began to skyrocket.
-Glass Artistry item created!
-Glass Artistry item created!
After creating two more Glass Artistry items,
‘I understand now.’
Blueprints came alive and breathed in his mind. The parts he couldn’t understand on first reading and the sections written in the language of sensation—all of it became clear.
“Now I’ll begin.”
Jin-woo heated the Glass Quartz.
Perfect temperature.
Whoooooosh—!
-Activating Soul Forging!
The extracted soul was purified and all the power held within the Glass Quartz was unleashed.
Crackle-crackle-crack—!
“It’s breaking…….”
He had blown too hard. This was bound to shatter.
Just as Drezan was about to gesture,
“It hasn’t broken.”
Rather, in this state, there was more he could do.
Crackle—. Crackle-crackle—.
Jin-woo began shaping with exquisite hand movements. The most critical step in making a glass bead was this compression process.
The greatly expanded Glass Quartz was compressed within Jin-woo’s two hands.
Squeeze-crunch—. Squeeze-crunch—.
It wasn’t mere bunching. As he compressed, Jin-woo shaped it with delicate precision.
This would normally be impossible by hand.
But Jin-woo had experience using Vibration on an ordinary carving blade before.
Only the carving blade couldn’t be heard.
Jin-woo’s two hands moved through that Vibration,
And rippled with waves.
Squeeze-crunch—.
A small sun rested in Jin-woo’s two hands.
-Glass Artistry item created!
Ding—!
-Obbje: Successfully recreated the Spirit’s Tear!
-Quest cleared!
-A remarkable achievement!
-Additional reward granted for this extraordinary accomplishment!
-Achievement unlocked!
-Achievement [Legendary Restorer] unlocked!

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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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