The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 299

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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 299
299.
Yuslish closed his eyes tight.
There was no exaggeration in what they’d said.
A god of a single game. Of course, that should have been an exaggerated claim.
Top-tier Rankers always controlled the game to some degree, but even that had limits. No one had ever called a top-tier Ranker a god.
At least not in the game he’d played.
Respect, or awe.
You could direct various emotions toward a top-tier Ranker. But a god? And it wasn’t exaggeration? How was he supposed to accept that?
“You’re all serious about this?”
“We’re currently playing New Gene and belong to the Leap Guild.”
The Guild member spoke.
“Jin-woo and Jin are the same, but they’re different people now. So we’re just stating objective facts.”
The fact that they came from the same game gave him no reason to take their side.
And this was what had emerged from that neutral ground.
“Hah.”
Yuslish pressed his forehead.
“We won’t lose.”
“The weight class difference is too great. If war breaks out, we won’t lose.”
“……Yes. We won’t lose.”
They wouldn’t lose. But they’d lose far too much in the process.
“That is, if possible. Though I realize this may be presumptuous….”
The Guild member continued.
“Using force for war doesn’t seem like the best choice….”
The confrontation had already begun. He’d already made Jin-woo an enemy. Dwelling on that now was pointless.
What mattered was finding some way to contain the situation.
“We were attacked first.”
Yuslish spoke as if making an excuse.
“We always extended our hand first in such situations. The god—no, Jin doesn’t make mistakes.”
“…….”
Yuslish found it absurd.
They were attacked first and yet extended their hand in reconciliation?
“Avoid any war conducted through force. That’s the only thing you can tell me, right?”
“……Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, thank you. Thanks to this, I think I understand what to do.”
Yuslish showed the Guild members out and pressed his forehead again.
“Heh.”
In the end, you only learn by experiencing it yourself.
But having heard such talk from trustworthy people, he couldn’t help but take it seriously.
“There’s nothing more pathetic than an entire Guild mobilizing against a single player.”
What’s more, Leap had even created Netflix content to solidify its position at the top.
It was content made by carving out time from Slayer’s already packed schedule.
“A full-scale war is out of the question.”
A violent confrontation was absolutely not an option. That kind of fight offered no advantage.
“Then we have no choice but to follow Slayer’s method.”
Yuslish immediately sought out Slayer.
“You found me, Vice Guild Master.”
Yuslish relayed to Slayer the story he’d just heard.
“I had a rough idea, but of course I thought it was all nonsense.”
He already knew that Jin was a remarkable player.
But wasn’t that from back when he was with Eternal Sunshine?
That’s why he’d dismissed it as nonsense.
“Certainly, a direct confrontation would be disgraceful.”
Winning or losing was a secondary concern.
To capture Jin-woo now, allied guilds wouldn’t be enough.
“Either I move, or Kalantiir moves—one of us has to.”
To guarantee a decisive victory, that would be necessary, but doing so would inevitably create a terrible public perception. That wasn’t what Leap wanted.
When the Guild Master learned of this situation, he would certainly be furious.
“I’ll get confirmation from the Guild Master. Let’s try it your way, Slayer.”
Yuslish said.
Slayer would commission equipment that allows him to fight at full power and then break it.
A very simple method to preserve Leap’s image and humiliate Jin-woo.
Especially, it was revenge befitting Jin-woo, a professional at Crafting.
If this succeeded, Jin-woo’s reputation would plummet, and they could effectively establish the image of shattering the legend of Eternal Sunshine.
That way, Leap could gain everything it wanted.
But.
“But we have to be careful about this.”
Jin-woo was already a player drawing significant attention.
If Slayer failed in that situation, it would be like giving Jin-woo wings to soar.
Success would let Leap obtain everything possible, but failure would mean losing it all and even creating an irreversible situation.
At Yuslish’s concern, Slayer shook his head.
“Don’t worry.”
Slayer said.
“If I put my mind to it, I can break anything.”
He had the confidence to break the equipment of Pendant, Starlight, and Inclassic.
Let alone Jin-woo.
Though Jin-woo had grown rapidly, Slayer didn’t believe he’d yet reached the level of those three master craftspeople.
And besides, wasn’t he still at USSR+ grade?
“He reached M+ grade. You can’t let your guard down.”
“Wasn’t he USSR+ not long ago?”
“M+ grade equipment came up on the Auction House this time.”
“Impressive indeed. But that’s fine. M+ grade is actually safer.”
Excellent skill, but if I intend to break it, I can.
“If I break it properly, his reputation will plummet.”
This was how he’d demonstrate Leap Guild’s caliber and shape its image.
“And I hear that Starlight, Inclassic, and Pendant all have considerable interest in Jin-woo.”
With this opportunity, we might be able to reestablish contact with them.
Over the past six months, Starlight and Inclassic had taken commissions only from a select few.
“I’m curious how much they’ve grown in that time.”
“They’ve focused solely on Crafting.”
Yuslish was quite pleased with how cold and calculated Slayer had become.
“I’ll go handle it personally.”
Yuslish said.
“Get ready.”
* * *
SharkNet Community.
-Everyone absolutely has to visit Chanran. It’s nothing like it was before.
-ManSang Workshop is being run by Ghost King, a disciple of Jin-woo, and wow. Insane skill.
-His skill seems pretty average though?
-But it has a certain quality. At this price point, this level of quality isn’t common.
-Plus, if you’re lucky, you can even buy Jin-woo’s equipment.
Upon returning, Jin-woo checked how Chanran was operating.
‘The public opinion is good.’
Moreover, the equipment Pree had made was receiving high praise. Of course, those who came with inflated expectations because it was Jin-woo’s Workshop complained, but even they acknowledged its outstanding cost-effectiveness.
At the center of all this was Pree, his Familiar, whom Jin-woo had taught Crafting to.
“I worked very hard!”
True to her words, Pree had indeed worked very hard.
During Jin-woo’s absence, she’d earned a remarkable twenty million Gold.
‘Excellent.’
The ManSang Workshop was operating smoothly despite his not being away for very long.
‘I think we could expand the operation.’
Jin-woo smiled as he looked at Pree.
‘But not in this current state.’
For Pree to accomplish more refined Crafting, she needed to become stronger than she was now.
“Tell me everything that was inconvenient about Crafting.”
“Well, you see…….”
Pree spoke about her manual dexterity.
“My mind understands, but my hands can’t keep up. And I lack stamina too.”
Her overall comprehension was excellent.
‘With outstanding manual dexterity and top-tier command understanding.’
But Pree was currently a Heroic Undead Level 1.
‘It’ll be difficult to satisfy the players coming to ManSang Workshop.’
Those players had come looking for the Workshop specifically because of Jin-woo. They naturally had high expectations.
“And I want to better execute what you’ve taught me, but my physical capabilities are lacking.”
Moreover, Pree had learned Crafting from Jin-woo.
Because of that, there were many inconveniences.
‘I need to upgrade her.’
Just then Unit 2 and Attendant entered.
“Good timing.”
“Master!”
“We’ve been executing your commands well!”
“Pree told me you’ve been acquiring materials quite well.”
The two Familiars showed him the materials they’d just procured.
‘Hmm.’
The two Familiars had obtained USSR+ grade materials side by side.
Of course, the rest were USSR mixed with some UR+, but even so, this was excellent material acquisition.
‘To produce results like this from materials of this quality?’
Jin-woo looked at Pree.
It seemed her skill had grown exponentially during his absence.
“This is a commissioned piece.”
Jin-woo examined an undelivered commissioned item.
‘USSR.’
He marveled at the USSR grade equipment crafted from UR+ materials.
‘This is even better than my own work.’
Perhaps because she was his own creation, her growth rate resembled his own.
“All three of you, gather.”
Jin-woo cast Soul Imprint on his three Familiars.
-Soul Imprinting begins!
-Familiar Unit 2’s grade rises!
Jin-woo raised the grades of Unit 2 and Attendant through Soul Imprint.
Whoooosh—!
The two Familiars were not yet Heroic Undead.
‘Grades need to be aligned.’
The Demon Souls obtained from Elementia burned within the Soul Furnace as they imprinted themselves onto the two Familiars’ bodies.
-Familiar Attendant’s grade rises!
As the souls imprinted onto their bodies, darkness suddenly enveloped them both.
Crack—.
With the sound of something breaking, the two Familiars began to strengthen within the darkness.
Boom-boom-boom-boom—!
Thunder roared again, and the two Familiars emerged from the darkness.
Whoosh—.
“Master……!”
“My Lord!”
The two Familiars, transformed, barely resembled their former selves.
‘Just as expected of Heroic Undead.’
Whoooosh—.
Flowing darkness Aura and an enlarged frame.
The Attendant in particular maintained a relatively nimble appearance despite the increased size.
‘The Attendant is fundamentally a Familiar of the rogue type.’
Similarly, Unit 2 was modeled after a versatile Familiar, so it shared many similarities with Attendant.
The two Familiars, now Heroic Undead through Soul Imprint, suddenly looked at each other.
“…….”
“…….”
Then they nodded simultaneously.
They had to acknowledge it. Their Heroic Undead selves were quite impressive.
‘This rival dynamic is pretty entertaining too.’
Just as his two Spirits created synergy through competition, these two also did the same.
“With your strength, you can obtain even better materials. You learned from Yur and Artemus, and from Tehent.”
Having learned from the best users in each field, they shouldn’t stop at USSR+ grade.
‘With Heroic Undead, you should be able to obtain Grade M materials.’
Though it wouldn’t be easy, of course.
‘You’ll steadily bring USSR+ and occasionally Grade M, which Pree will then craft beautifully.’
“Pree.”
Jin-woo then began Soul Imprint on Pree as well.
Crack—!
Pree’s Soul Imprint required different care than the previous two Familiars.
‘The parts where Pree felt inconvenient. That can’t be filled simply by reinforcing the skeleton.’
So additional modifications were necessary.
‘Shoulders, waist.’
And the lower body.
Strengthening these three areas properly would dramatically increase the force behind each hammer strike.
‘I need to focus extra care on those areas during Soul Imprint.’
Hummmmm—.
The Wave Craft Sword cried out.
Jin-woo gripped the Wave Craft Sword and slowly imprinted the soul.
The quality Demon Souls were strengthened within the Soul Furnace.
-Soul reinforcement complete!
The reinforced, quality souls seeped into Pree’s body and imprinted themselves.
Whoosh—.
Originally, Pree had a physique befitting her skeletal frame.
-Familiar Pree’s grade rises!
“!”
Pree’s appearance had transformed remarkably as her grade rose.

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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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