The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 271

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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 271
271.
It was a sight beyond belief.
Yet at the same time, having witnessed it with his own eyes, it was undeniable.
Because it appeared to be nothing more than something compressed by hand, Nordin failed to fully grasp the situation.
But Drezan saw everything.
He saw clearly all the steps Jin-woo revealed in the process of enveloping the crystalline quartz.
“To think I would see such a sight only after death.”
Drezan had never believed that a human could craft an Objet of the Spirit Race.
Human perseverance was praiseworthy, but he thought its limitations were clear.
But look.
Look at who has achieved this great feat.
That bold Glass Crafting just now had surpassed even his own skill by a vast measure.
“Because he is human… because he lacked familiarity…”
It was precisely because he was less practiced in Glass Crafting that he could accomplish it.
Without fear of failure.
His focus lay solely on completion.
Jin-woo gazed intently at the completed glass orb, the Objet: Tears of Spirit.
‘Beautiful.’
With everything he had built up to this point serving as foundation, he was able to complete the Objet exactly as the blueprint specified.
“Were you not afraid of failure?”
Jin-woo smiled at Drezan’s question.
“I can simply try again.”
Drezan fell silent for a moment, watching Jin-woo smile as he spoke.
Try again. To Drezan, those words sounded like this:
Since I can do this delightful thing again, failure is almost welcome.
Almost welcome.
It’s wonderful because I can try again…
In life, Drezan had never truly enjoyed Glass Crafting.
Perhaps it had been so in the beginning.
It must have been delightful.
But as his skill grew and his eye improved, failure became frightening, and Glass Crafting ceased to bring him joy.
When he created fine glass pieces, it felt good. Yet at the same time, he was afraid. Afraid this might be the pinnacle he could reach.
Afraid he could not recreate the same work.
But there had been no need for such fear.
Glass Crafting was a joyful pursuit. Whether the piece turned out well or poorly, it was joyful in itself.
*Ding!*
—Drezan’s Affinity has reached MAX!
“You have admirably inherited my Glass Crafting.”
Drezan smiled at Jin-woo.
“I wish I had met you before my death.”
Even so, Drezan was content.
Thanks to Jin-woo, he learned in death what he had failed to grasp in life.
“Because of you, I can now sleep very peacefully.”
Though he had thought he was teaching Jin-woo, it was Drezan who had learned the greater lesson.
“As for applications, I need only explain them in words.”
Since Jin-woo had already grasped applications on his own, Drezan transmitted the very essence of all his knowledge to him simply and directly.
“Thank you, Drezan.”
“But this Glass Crafting of mine… I have refined it in my own way, yet compared to the techniques of Spirit Race Blacksmiths, it falls short in places.”
Loath as he was to admit it, if one judged the caliber of Glass Crafting skill, he was intermediate while Spirit Race Blacksmiths were advanced.
Drezan hoped Jin-woo would learn this Glass Crafting from Spirit Race Blacksmiths.
“I can teach you no further than this.”
“Thank you, Drezan.”
Jin-woo understood the bittersweet feeling behind those words.
“I will upgrade your Glass Crafting in my own way.”
And so Jin-woo anchored it as Drezan’s Glass Crafting.
Even if he learned from Spirit Race Blacksmiths, he would never forget that the essence originated from Drezan’s Glass Crafting.
Drezan smiled at those words.
“A rare Blacksmith indeed.”
Drezan smiled.
*Ding!*
—You have received Drezan’s Token!
“It is locked for now, I am told. Once all is done, you will meet the Blacksmith of Skypia and present that Token.”
Drezan spoke.
“And if you learn crafting from them as a result, you will no longer be fully human.”
And he chuckled.
This great one had come to Elementia, and he could not let the opportunity slip away.
“I will give you our power. One such as you is more than worthy to receive the power of the Spirit Race.”
Fearing Jin-woo might refuse, Drezan swiftly gathered his power and handed it over. Of course, Jin-woo had no intention of refusing.
*Whoooosh—*
*Ding!*
—Soul Resonance activates!
—You have obtained a Fragment of Spirit Race!
—Spirit Race power infuses you!
—Racial Trait: Mana Breathing obtained!
—Glass Crafting Skill functionality enhanced!
It had been some time since he last acquired a fragment of power.
‘So the Spirit Race’s racial trait leans toward Mana.’
It was quite distinctive.
‘And it’s something I needed, too.’
Until now, Jin-woo had focused only on Physical Endurance, but Mana was equally important for Crafting and Necromancer Skills.
*Ding!*
—Affinity with your held Spirits increases!
—Your held Spirits are enhanced!
*Whoooosh—*
Dust and Coco were summoned, and power flowed through their connection to Jin-woo.
“Screee!”
“Chirrup~”
The Spirits’ power began to surge even more forcefully, as if they sensed the Fragment of Spirit Race power flowing into Jin-woo.
*Whoooooosh—!*
—Darkflame Spirit Coco has been enhanced!
—Material Spirit Dust has been enhanced!
“They are different types of Spirits, yet it seems to have an effect.”
The Spirit Race and Spirits were similar yet distinctly different, yet the mechanism itself appeared to function similarly.
“Ah, so I was resonating with the Spirits as well.”
Drezan nodded. He had transferred his power to the right person. With this, his role was complete.
“Nordin. Spirit God Nordin.”
Drezan called to Nordin.
Nordin was no longer the swift Nordin of old. He was the leader of Elementia, the Spirit God who succeeded him.
“Carry more weight.”
The more burden Nordin carried, the more his people could thrive.
“Yes. Yes!”
Nordin received a tremendous burden from Drezan.
It was a burden that only a Spirit God could bear.
“I have faith in you, Nordin.”
“Yes, Master.”
*Whoooosh—*
Response of the Dead was deactivated. There was much time remaining, but it could not all be filled completely.
“Then let us go.”
Jin-woo grasped the Objet: Tears of Spirit and immediately climbed back onto Bone.
* * *
—Objet placed.
*Gulp.*
Nordin tensed.
Although the Tears of Spirit was placed according to the blueprint, if Jin-woo’s creation did not match the specification, there was a risk it would simply bounce back out.
*Click—*
But as if returning to its rightful place, the Tears of Spirit settled perfectly onto the altar.
*Rumble—!*
The trembling ceased.
—The devastation of the East halts!
“We did it!”
Following the South, now the East as well.
They were steadily preventing Elementia’s destruction. Two regions remained.
“There are three towers in the North, so…”
Crossing straight through this area, the West would be their next destination.
“But speaking of which… didn’t you say there were Spirit Kings in each region?”
“…Yes, that is correct. I too have been puzzled by this.”
“Nordin!”
Then, from far away, voices rang out.
“!”
Nordin’s expression shifted in surprise.
They were Spirits.
Armed Spirit Knights were rushing toward them in urgent haste.
“You survived!”
“Yes! Your Highness! We apologize profusely!”
“No, not at all. Thank you for staying alive!”
“But what on earth… what has happened? The trembling ceased as we arrived. What is going on?”
It was the end of despair.
Fleeing eastward, they had abandoned all hope. No matter where they went, demons were everywhere, and the earth continued to shake.
Yet they retreated believing Nordin would survive.
But at the same time, they wondered.
What if Nordin, like the Spirit Kings, had also turned?
If that had occurred, all would have been lost.
With such anxiety in their hearts, they came to the East and found Nordin unharmed, and found the earth no longer shaking.
“Reinforcements have arrived.”
Nordin introduced Jin-woo with both hands.
“He is both our reinforcement and a new member of the Spirit Race.”
“It is an honor.”
“A new member of the Spirit Race?”
“He carries within him a Fragment of our power. The previous Spirit God, Drezan himself, directly bestowed it upon him.”
“!”
The Spirit Knights’ expressions brightened.
“Then…! There is hope!”
“The East has been restored. Next is the West.”
“….”
The moment the West was mentioned, the Spirit Knights’ expressions hardened.
These Spirits had descended from each region.
Those who came from the North had regrouped with the Spirits of the West and come here to descend rapidly to the South.
“Right now, the West is… a hell realm.”
A Spirit who barely escaped from the West spoke with a grave expression.
To barely escape the West only to return there…
The Spirit Knight trembled.
“Both the Spirit King of the East and the Spirit King of the West are destroying everything mindlessly… and continuously hunting down any Spirits that survived. We barely managed to escape, but the rest are probably…”
The Spirit Knight shed tears.
Hearing this, Nordin closed his eyes.
“So the Spirit King of the East went to the West.”
He had not expected the Spirit Kings to turn like this.
Though lesser Spirits could not resist the power of the mighty demons, surely Spirits of Spirit King caliber would have immunity to mental attacks.
Just how powerful was this force?
“Have no fear. The South is now safe. We have saved all surviving Spirits there.”
Nordin spoke.
“There should be surviving Spirits in the East as well.”
“We must save them.”
“There should certainly be Spirit Knights from the East too.”
Nordin also found that puzzling.
Even in that harsh West, there were surviving Spirit Knights.
“Before I retreated from the East to the South, there were certainly Spirits alive.”
Nordin had made them flee at the cost of his own life.
“They must surely still be alive.”
Then Jin-woo surveyed the surroundings. He had been sensing something off from a moment ago.
‘It’s the same feeling I had at the tower.’
—Eagle Eye activates!
“It seems like there’s something over there?”
As Jin-woo approached that spot, suddenly the space rippled.
Then, with a soft whisper, the magic dissipated like a curtain being drawn.
“!”
“!”
Spirits were there.
Spirit Knights, and common Spirits alike.
They emerged from the space with expressions of amazement.
“We thought it was an illusion… some kind of trick. But it is not, is it? You really are Nordin Your Highness, and these really are our Knights!”
The demons had conducted so many mental attacks that they naturally assumed this was a trap.
Because of that, they had not dared emerge and had remained vigilant.
But it was real.
It was really Nordin, and really the Spirit Knights.
‘They must have been watching all along.’
“You are alive!”
Nordin’s hope surged.
“Forgive me for being a poor leader. Thank you all for surviving.”
“Not at all!”
“It is because of you that we are alive! Thanks to you, Nordin, using the power of that Spirit God to allow us to flee…”
It was a joyous reunion.
Nordin raised his hands high.
“Jin-woo will save us, and save all of Elementia!”
At those words, all the Spirits began to cheer.
‘Two Spirit Kings in the West, then?’
Jin-woo felt considerable anticipation.
‘Nordin seems quite strong.’
Which meant the Spirit Kings would be considerably powerful too, and it also meant he could obtain more feedback on Grade M Equipment.
‘As a result, I keep gathering more feedback on M-grade Equipment.’
Since creating M-grade Equipment, Jin-woo had struggled to obtain information about it—the feedback opportunities had been sparse.
But thanks to the demons, he had gained considerable feedback.
‘I can see things that need refinement.’
M-grade Equipment possessed countless advantages.
Yet there was no equipment without flaws.
‘Though I call them flaws, they are more accurately points to refine.’
The awkward spots that only appeared through actual use—that work of refinement was, to Jin-woo, the pinnacle of Crafting.
To advance further, one must confront the imperfect.
‘You keep the strong points as they are.’
If one becomes intoxicated by what was done well, one eventually closes one’s eyes to everything else.
‘Then you’re stuck right there.’
Jin-woo looked at Nordin and the Spirit Knights.
They were all struggling to survive.
‘This is how it should be.’
There must be desperation.
Desperation was the most powerful force that could change circumstances.
“I will restore your everyday lives for you.”
Jin-woo spoke.
Then he smiled.
“So I ask only one thing of you.”
There was but one thing to ask for. Just one thing.
“Please give me the precious materials you have hidden away so carefully.”

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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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