The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 296
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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 296
296.
MR Grade equipment was in a different dimension.
“I apologize for being amazed every time, my lord.”
Pur wore an embarrassed expression.
Anyone would be left breathless before such overwhelming equipment.
And since he pulled out something worth marveling at each time, his reactions had taken on an air of lost sincerity.
“This is truly different!”
But this time, it really was.
First nodded his head as if understanding the sight before him.
“There-is-no-way-not-to-be-amazed.”
The MR Grade Jin-woo had made was always a cascade of astonishment.
The previous M Grade and M+ Grade equipment, when worn, had fit with a sensation so shocking it was almost alarming—but this was different.
It did not cling snugly at all; instead, it waged a contest of wills.
A moment of showing what kind of equipment it was. That powerful assertion that it would never submit to anyone weaker than itself—it had a unique flavor to it.
There had been nothing like that among all the equipment Jin-woo had made before.
Jin-woo’s equipment was usually user-friendly.
The better the user understood it, the easier it unleashed its strength.
But the MR Grade was finicky from the start.
It demanded not just understanding but control and familiarity.
That required maximum effort. Without it, one could only use the equipment half-heartedly.
This was no gift.
A weight of responsibility, crushing and immense.
Yet if one bore that responsibility properly, the reward would be certain.
Shaaaack—
Pur struck his chest with both palms.
“I’ll use it properly!”
He would draw out all the armor’s power.
He would savor the smile that the armor would show!
Pur’s motivation was properly ignited.
“Not yet, Pur.”
Jin-woo grinned.
“I need to reforge the greatsword. With new equipment.”
* * *
Kim Na-yun, the GM, was writing up a report on the three towers that had just been cleared alongside Jin-woo’s overwhelmingly advancing progress on the Main Quest.
“Something feels uneasy.”
Three towers had been cleared simultaneously, after all.
Which meant new Achievements would certainly have been unlocked.
“An alarm is going to go off, I feel it…….”
Ding—! Ding—!
-[Notification]
-User Jin-woo. First attainment of MR Grade.
-First attainment Level: 462.
-Achievement [Beginning of Legend] unlocked.
-Logical message: This could have been foreseen. However, prediction of timing has failed. Remarkable result.
“Just as I thought.”
Kim Na-yun nodded as she read Logical’s message.
“He cleared three towers alone.”
There was no way growth wouldn’t have occurred.
“MR Grade, and at Level 462 no less. Not even half the level of other Rankers.”
The current top of the Blacksmith rankings.
Compared to other Rankers at the top of the unified rankings, Jin-woo’s level was less than half.
And yet his level of mastery was approaching theirs.
Beginning of Legend.
From MR Grade onward, only an extremely small number among crafting-class professions could reach this realm.
“The Achievement name itself is ‘Beginning of Legend’, so.”
It wasn’t something one could achieve easily.
Even if a Guild pushed with all its might, it couldn’t be achieved. It was a realm that could only be reached through high Synchronization Rate and endless effort.
“……But how did he do it?”
The difficulty of three towers would have been extreme.
“I already knew Jin-woo crafts on the battlefield. But he did it in such conditions too?”
Kim Na-yun had made herself a promise each time.
Don’t be surprised when notifications from Logical about Jin-woo come in. Hadn’t she already been surprised by everything?
Yet whenever the message came, that promise evaporated in an instant.
“I can’t help but be amazed. I mean, even Logical is amazed.”
Even the super-AI Logical was astonished. So naturally, Kim Na-yun, a mere human, couldn’t help but be astounded.
“Pendant was defeated by Jin-woo on Netflix recently.”
She was curious.
When had Pendant first achieved MR Grade?
Kim Na-yun quickly pulled up the information.
-User Pendant.
-Achievement [Beginning of Legend] unlocked.
-First attainment Level…….
“799?”
Level 799.
“…….”
She had a rough idea of how fast Jin-woo’s achievement was.
But compared to Pendant, this was on another level entirely.
“He’s playing a different game.”
Pendant’s Level 799 wasn’t late either.
“The latest achievement was by.”
Artea, a seamstress who had fought fiercely to level up from the beginning and made her name known, stood highest in this field.
A massive 1002 levels.
“The gap is more than double.”
If Artea saw Jin-woo, she would feel terribly wronged by the level difference.
“I need to verify this information carefully too.”
She was handling the narration for the Netflix videos.
Of course, since the contract had already ended, she didn’t know what would happen, but if work came again, such information was quite crucial.
“I have to know about Jin-woo to keep getting narration work.”
Scratch—
Just the information on Jin-woo she’d noted had already accumulated over fifty entries on her tablet.
* * *
Clang—! Crash—! Crash—!
‘I was most curious about this.’
Among the materials obtained from Elementia, the highest Grade were the Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity and the Trinity Force of Aktoz.
‘And the Soul of Aktoz as well.’
A total of three MR Grade materials were in Jin-woo’s hands.
‘With the Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity and the bone, I’ll make armor for First.’
And with the Soul of Aktoz and the Trinity Force, he planned to make a weapon for Pur.
“Simply making it would be a waste.”
Jin-woo activated the Soul Furnace.
Whoosh—. Whoooooooosh—
Blue flames began to ripple and surge within the furnace.
“I insert the Soul of Aktoz.”
This Soul of Aktoz was MR Grade, just like Aktoz’s Essence.
‘Rather than absorb it, I’ll crystallize it.’
And blend it with the Trinity Force.
Whoooosh—!
-Refining the soul!
The Soul of Aktoz had been spiritually crystallized.
This Soul of Aktoz, with its gray-tinged light, began asserting itself tremendously the moment it crystallized.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
Whoosh—!
Boom-boom-boom—!
Lightning struck down and flames erupted, splitting the ground.
“Behave yourself.”
Jin-woo gripped the spiritually crystallized Soul of Aktoz with the Ocean Blue Stone Tongs.
“If you don’t, I’ll just melt you down and be done with it.”
Whoosh—
He dropped the spirit crystal into the furnace and immediately grasped his Hammer.
‘I’ve already decided what weapon to make for Pur.’
Pur had used many pieces of equipment.
He’d wielded a mace before, a greatsword as well, and a halberd too.
‘Large weapons suit him.’
Jin-woo recalled Aktoz.
Aktoz had been equipped with numerous arms, wings, and powerful elemental attacks.
‘But he was free in his transformations. He could merge all those numerous arms and wings into one.’
If Jin-woo’s subordinate had been only one, Aktoz would have merged his scattered arms and wings into one to attack.
Jin-woo was recalling that sensation.
‘If I were to describe that sensation.’
Crash—!
‘A Hammer.’
A massive war hammer at that.
Aktoz was himself a war hammer specialized for warfare.
‘Then I’ll give Pur a War Hammer forged from this Aktoz.’
Not just any war hammer.
‘When swung, thunder erupts.’
The ground cracks and a mad windstorm spreads outward—he was planning to create such an overwhelmingly powerful single strike weapon.
Crash—! Crash—! Crash—!
‘The most difficult part.’
Was circulating three Primary Attributes simultaneously.
Simple circulation creates a gap when switching between attributes.
‘This weakness that Aktoz had could become the equipment’s weakness too.’
Aktoz had erased that gap by absorbing power from Elementia. So it hadn’t functioned as a weakness for him.
But Jin-woo’s equipment would inevitably have that flaw.
‘So I need to enhance the circulation further.’
He had to focus on circulation.
“Breathe……”
He had to become familiar with Advanced Circulation, taught by the God of Elements and Circulation.
This Advanced Circulation was a power that allowed a material’s attributes to move much faster.
‘It prevents them from colliding.’
But it was equally dangerous.
‘I have to control the larger flow perfectly.’
Otherwise, the attributes would inevitably collide.
Excessive greed disrupts circulation and further clouds the very essence of circulation itself.
Crash—!
As Jin-woo swung the Hammer, he felt his hand’s sensitivity.
Crash—! Crash—! Crash—!
The Trinity Force of Aktoz had substantial feel. Being the crystallization of three forces, and with Jin-woo’s hand sensitivity growing ever more acute, the sensation he felt was vivid.
-Equipment has been created!
Crackle—!
Lightning struck down upon the completed equipment.
-MR Grade equipment created!
-Fusion Aktoz War Hammer created!
-A new god gazes upon you!
-The God of Lightning and Hammer officially bestows Sponsorship upon you!
-The God of Lightning and Hammer greatly favors your equipment!
-You have received a blessing from the God of Lightning and Hammer!
-Strength Stat and Agility Stat increase by 30!
The god who had sponsored Jin-woo once before sponsored him again.
“Pur.”
Weapon and armor.
Pur, now equipped with a complete MR Grade set, grasped the War Hammer in both hands and raised it high.
He had wielded many weapons until now.
As a two-handed weapon, it was quite heavy, but there had been no material as heavy as this War Hammer.
The slightest miscalibration of strength could cause him to stumble, swayed by the weapon.
Jin-woo watched his hands.
This sensation.
‘I must not forget it.’
Jin-woo felt he was standing at a boundary line.
‘It feels like something more could go in.’
It wasn’t a matter of Grade.
It felt like he could handle materials better and create better than before.
A kind of realm.
It could be a realm of focus, or a realm of immersion.
That hazy, hard-to-describe realm felt as if it were about to slip into Jin-woo’s grasp right now.
‘I’ve felt this before, not long ago.’
Then he had been cast out.
As if telling him he still lacked.
But now it felt like he could enter.
Jin-woo immediately pulled out new materials.
It was time to make First’s armor.
Shaaaack—
The Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity shone brilliantly.
Whoosh—
Jin-woo immediately placed the Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity into the furnace and withdrew it with tongs.
‘No other materials are needed.’
This Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity was a material that shone alone.
‘In fact, mixing it with other materials would damage it.’
To draw out everything this material possessed, he had to use only this material.
‘Noble materials demand craftsmanship befitting their nature.’
To draw out all that power, it had to be this way.
“Soul Forging.”
Jin-woo struck the Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity.
Shack—
The soul within the Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity rose up, floating gently.
“…….”
He had drawn out and examined the souls of countless materials so far.
“Pure white.”
But no material was as pristinely white as this Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity.
The soul itself was crystalline.
There was no impurity whatsoever.
-The power possessed by the material’s soul is strengthened!
Soul Forging produced a beautiful synergy.
Jin-woo immediately swung his Hammer.
Crash—! Crash—! Crash—!
The Spirit Stone of Spirit Deity was a vast mineral.
So first, Jin-woo flattened it out.
‘Curves.’
And he incorporated curves.
This curve work was quite crucial for maximizing defense.
The more perfect the curves, the better shock could be dispersed.
Crash—! Clang—!
Shhhhhhh—
Jin-woo repeated Heat Treatment to reinforce hardness.
“Dust, Coco!”
He then summoned the two spirits and immediately requested material reinforcement from them.
The summoned Dust let out a scoff upon seeing Coco.
Coco instinctively sensed Dust’s confidence and erupted with powerful dark flames.
“Rune Inscription – Extreme.”
Jin-woo cast an inscription befitting the defense.
“Essence Bestowal.”
He bestowed essence.
Crash—! Crash—!
-Equipment has been created!
For a moment, Jin-woo closed his eyes.
The sensation in his hands spread throughout his entire body.
Jin-woo smiled slowly.
That realm he’d been cast out of.
That sensation.
That feeling.
“I’ve grasped it.”
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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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