The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 276

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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 276
276.
‘It was worth making them into Hero-grade Undead.’
Jin-woo tapped Fin and Moltus on the back.
“Excellent work.”
“Thank you!”
“Fin!”
After dismissing his two Familiars,
Jin-woo led Nordin and the Spirits toward the location where the Objet of the West had once stood.
“……And that is how it came to pass.”
Nordin had explained the situation thus far to the two Spirit Kings.
It was nothing short of Jin-woo’s legend.
“You mean to say you created the Objet of the West……yourself?”
It was beyond belief.
The Objet of the West—remaking the Spirit’s Tear.
The two Spirit Kings glanced at Jin-woo repeatedly.
“…….”
Nordin, a Spirit God, said it should suffice to trust Jin-woo.
“But…….”
The Objet of the East and the Objet of the West were entirely different objects.
Since the Objet itself was a magnificent thing, direct comparison was difficult, yet even so, the Objet of the West appeared far more challenging to create than the Objet of the East.
“To remake it, it cannot be done by a single hand.”
No matter what skill one possessed, this was not something that could be made alone.
“Time until the Apocalypse is running short.”
The two Spirit Kings wore expressions of worry.
Could this one man alone save Elementia from destruction?
The Western Central Plaza, where the Objet of the West had stood tall.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo folded his arms.
He understood now why the Spirit Kings had said all was lost.
The Objet at this location was a colossal statue.
A towering statue—easily over ten meters—lay in ruins.
The upper half remained intact, but the lower portion was nothing but rubble.
‘There are cracks even in the intact part.’
Even the unblemished upper half bore fissures; to all appearances, the statue was beyond repair.
The two Spirit Kings lowered their heads.
“We failed to protect it.”
Spirit King Bisaji let out a deep sigh.
“And yet we must remake it…….”
At that moment, the other Spirit King returned with blueprints.
“The blueprints are torn.”
Not only were the plans incomplete, but the very materials used were beyond discernment.
Nordin furrowed his brow.
He stared blankly at the blueprints for a long moment.
This was difficult even for Jin-woo.
Merely thirty hours or so remained until the Apocalypse.
“Thirty hours is not enough time to even craft the statue…….”
Without knowledge of the materials and lacking proper blueprints.
Hope transformed once more into despair.
Moreover, the North remained intact.
They could not fail to notice that the South, East, and West had all fallen.
“They will descend soon enough…….”
They would not wait idle.
“Nordin.”
Jin-woo took the blueprints from the despairing Nordin.
—The Objet that Protects the West: Oath Elemental Statue
The primary material of this grand and magnificent Objet, the Oath Elemental Statue, was…….
The statue’s name was Oath Elemental Statue.
The blueprints were largely torn away, rendering them essentially useless.
“Oath Elemental Statue, then.”
Jin-woo examined the fragmented remains of the statue.
From the debris and cracked upper half alone, he could tell.
‘High quality.’
Not merely high quality—exceptional.
As he touched it, the material quality itself was remarkable.
‘Difficult to compare with the Spirit Stones I’ve used so far. If I had to say,
it feels similar to Brilliant Moonstone, yet even more difficult than Brilliant Moonstone.’
Swish. Swish.
Jin-woo examined the condition by running his hands over it repeatedly.
“Hmm.”
A detailed assessment would require striking it with a Hammer, but from what he could diagnose, this was a material that would not readily permit refining.
“Which means you cannot identify what material it is?”
At Jin-woo’s words, Nordin nodded.
‘First, I need to understand the materials.’
Jin-woo studied the blueprints closely. Within this Oath Elemental Statue lay a powerful force—a blessing magic that granted those who prayed before it profound buffs.
“Enchantment…….”
Moreover, numerous functions were embedded within this statue.
Of course, with the blueprints torn to shreds, he could not ascertain precisely which functions remained.
“The statue did more than simply protect the West, didn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct. The statue possessed powerful buff abilities. When we prayed before it, it greatly increased our mana.”
‘I think I can substitute that with Spell Enchantment.’
Jin-woo inquired in detail about the statue.
Nordin and the Spirit Kings provided extensive information about it.
‘The core function is buffing.’
Yet that buff ability was not a single one.
‘It grants random buffs.’
Elementia held countless Spirits.
Each Spirit possessed a different attribute, and the statue granted different buffs according to those attributes.
In essence, the statue wielded the power of all attributes.
“So that’s it.”
Jin-woo focused on the power he had newly acquired.
‘Circulation.’
Elemental Circulation—the ability granted by the God of Elements and Circulation.
This ability allowed him to assign and strengthen attributes.
‘To create the statue, I must master Elemental Circulation completely.’
Jin-woo’s expression tightened slightly.
‘It will be difficult.’
Yet it was not impossible if he applied himself.
The problem was time.
“I’ll have to try.”
Nothing he had accomplished thus far had been easy.
In fact, such circumstances set Jin-woo ablaze.
To hurl oneself into adversity.
To find a way forward through impossible odds.
Jin-woo continued to examine the statue’s remains.
“Nordin.”
He then called out to him.
“Bring me Spirit Stones of every attribute.”
* * *
Spirit Stones bearing elemental power were remarkably diverse.
The Five Primary Attributes.
Beyond these, Spirit Stones imbued with moonlight, starlight, and sunlight also existed.
As Jin-woo handled the various Spirit Stones, he deduced the statue’s composition.
“Lord Nordin.”
The two Spirit Kings watched Jin-woo with worried expressions.
Numerous Spirit Stones lay gathered before him.
“Do you believe he can find them?”
Jin-woo was currently discerning the statue’s materials.
Yet one could not identify them merely by touch.
At least, so they believed.
“…….”
At the Spirit King’s question, Nordin shook his head.
Nordin shared the same doubt.
“We continue searching the archives. There must be information about the statue somewhere.”
And so they did what they could.
Tick. Tick.
Within the ticking countdown to Apocalypse, their options were severely limited.
“Perhaps we should appeal to Skypia…….”
“Haven’t we knocked on their door countless times already?”
Nordin said this.
He was right.
They had beseeched Skypia repeatedly, yet could not secure their aid.
“But this time it’s right before the Apocalypse!”
“Surely even the ungrateful would help us now.”
“Our words must reach them for persuasion to be possible. But we cannot even communicate with them.”
Nordin clicked his tongue.
“Then we simply…….”
“Must rely entirely on Jin-woo?”
The two Spirit Kings were uneasy about this. The helplessness gave rise to an intense anxiety that, paradoxically, weakened their faith in Jin-woo.
At that moment, Jin-woo selected a Spirit Stone and placed it upon the workbench.
Jin-woo had selected five Spirit Stones in total.
“Did you find them! Jin-woo!”
Nordin spoke, looking at Jin-woo.
To narrow down from countless Spirit Stones to merely five was quite encouraging.
“Now if we can just find the rest…….”
Jin-woo looked at Nordin.
“I already found them.”
“Pardon?”
It was not a matter of narrowing it down to five.
“These five are the primary materials of the statue.”
He had identified the five primary materials.
At this, Nordin was taken aback.
“These five Spirit Stones, when combined, form a single Spirit Stone.”
Jin-woo explained.
‘The torn blueprints likely contain more detailed instructions on how to synthesize these five.’
Yet Jin-woo did not know that method.
‘So then.’
From here, it was entirely Jin-woo’s domain.
This was where his capabilities would be tested.
Whoooosh.
Jin-woo intensified the flames in the Summoning Workshop’s furnace.
Roaaaar!
Simultaneously, he snapped his fingers.
“Dust.”
The power Jin-woo needed most now was Synthesis.
If he merely combined the five Spirit Stones through the furnace, there was a high likelihood he could not evenly imbue all the elemental forces.
‘Incorporating five Primary Attributes is impossible.’
So he would borrow Dust’s power.
‘To minimize the gap between Primary and Secondary Attributes as much as possible.’
“Chirp.”
Dust, now summoned, observed the materials laid upon the workbench.
“I’m going to synthesize all of them.”
“Chirp.”
Learning that all five would be combined, Dust’s form trembled.
Fusing materials of different attributes was no simple task.
“The Primary Attribute is wind.”
As Jin-woo touched the statue, he sought to identify the Primary Attribute as best he could.
‘Though it may have been broken and its balance disrupted,’
the attribute that resonated most strongly from the statue was wind.
‘Though the blueprints don’t show it,’
Jin-woo believed the statue, like all artifacts, would have clear Primary and Secondary Attributes.
‘But the difference between them is remarkably small.’
The Secondary Attributes possessed power equal to the Primary.
‘That balance was deliberate.’
Swish.
Jin-woo continued his examination of the statue.
‘No wait.’
Then he realized.
‘Two or more of the five are definitely treated as Primary Attributes.’
Jin-woo sensed the Circulation Golden Jade Stone in his possession.
‘Placing multiple attributes into a single object.’
This was something he had never accomplished before.
Of course, there was a method to set Secondary Attributes close to Primary ones.
‘But I’m not trying to create an inferior copy.’
He intended to recreate the Objet itself—not merely something ‘similar’ to it.
Therefore it had to be identical.
‘Or better, if possible.’
Jin-woo took a deep breath.
Feeling his resolve, Dust settled atop his head.
“Chirp!”
“Don’t worry.”
Jin-woo first selected two Primary Attributes.
Wind and flame.
‘These attributes create synergy.’
Wind tempered the ferocity of flame.
Flame allowed wind’s force to spread more broadly.
‘I’ll establish these two as Primary Attributes.’
This was no mere piece of equipment.
Therefore incorporating two Primary Attributes was actually more feasible.
‘And this is a colossal statue.’
Even if the two Primary Attributes clashed, it could be managed.
And Jin-woo entrusted the remaining three attributes to Dust.
“For these remaining attributes, they don’t all need to have equal power. You can make one Primary and the rest Secondary.”
Jin-woo instructed.
“Play it safe.”
“Chirp.”
It sounded simple, but this was no easy task even for Dust.
Yet Dust was a Spirit of materials and a supreme Spirit.
“Chirp!”
Moreover, being Jin-woo’s Spirit, it was quite aggressive in temperament. With the mindset that failure simply meant trying again, it took position atop the Spirit Stones.
Whoooooosh!
Simultaneously, Jin-woo brought the Engraving Knife to bear against a Spirit Stone.
Ether Flame Engraving.
Drawing on the subtlety of Bone Craft, he began carefully shaping and fusing the two Spirit Stones.
Scritch. Scritch.
As two clashing attributes burst forth with intense force, Jin-woo’s expression hardened.
The power coursed through the knife and his five fingers.
Spreading through his entire body, his health plummeted drastically.
—You have suffered critical damage!
For the first time, he took critical damage—not from an enemy, but from the very material.
Merging two attributes was indeed no trivial task.
‘The higher the Synchronization Rate, the greater the pain.’
As Jin-woo was violently thrown back, Nordin and the Spirit Kings startled and looked to him.
“Are you alright!”
Yet Jin-woo brushed off both hands and immediately activated a Rune.
—Shining Nature Rune activates!
—Health regeneration is maximized!
Then he swiftly used the Core of Earth to restore his health.
“Phew.”
—Rune: Flame Blessing Power activates!
Jin-woo reinforced his Agility Stat with Flame Blessing Power.
—Agility Stat is reinforced!
What he needed now was not raw strength.
‘I need to heighten my hands’ sensitivity.’
Whoooosh!
As his Agility Skill rose, such delicate finesse manifested in his hands that even Jin-woo was startled.
‘The difference is quite substantial.’
He had only boosted Strength and Health Stat with Flame Blessing Power before; raising Agility was entirely new.
Jin-woo carved into the Spirit Stone.
‘Timing.’
He had raised Agility Stat precisely to capture this window.
The forces within the Spirit Stone continuously collided.
The window for proper carving was microscopically brief.
And with each carving, that window grew shorter still.
‘Because the two Primary Attributes keep clashing.’
The more he carved, the more pronounced this became.
Therefore speed was essential.
Crackle!
Jin-woo’s two hands became enveloped in azure flame.
He pushed Ether Flame Engraving to its limits, concentrating fully.
Jin-woo contemplated this Objet, this colossal statue.
‘Why was it made from five Spirit Stones?’
The reason, likely written in the blueprints, could only be inferred from the remaining clues.
‘Surely to protect Spirits of countless varieties.’
So that those with many different attributes would feel safe and protected.
‘They would sense the attributes.’
Perhaps by witnessing those attributes, they could find reassurance.
‘In that process, all difficulties would fade.’
Questions of Primary and Secondary Attributes.
Impossibilities of merging disparate forces.
‘To protect them.’
That singular purpose alone would have driven its original makers to completion.
Jin-woo recalled that intent and, drawing upon it, imbued the same longing into this work.
—Engraving successful!
Whoooosh.
A Spirit Stone bearing two merged attributes was born in Jin-woo’s hands.
“Dust.”
And Dust likewise had fused the three Spirit Stones into one.
Glimmer.
“Now for the final step.”
These two and the three.
“I combine them.”
Whoooooosh!
—You have created an Ether Prism!

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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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