The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 308

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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 308
Episode 308.
“This is unbelievable.”
He’d delivered the same report before.
Record-breaking performance, they’d called it.
But the metrics beyond week six were breaking records in a way no one had anticipated.
“It’s insane. This…”
He’d already surpassed week five, week six.
By all logic, it should have plateaued. Every successful project before had always peaked and declined.
But Jin-woo’s video was different.
“It did plateau, sir.”
The team lead pointed at the graph.
“But it plateaued upward, not downward.”
“You mean…”
Rod Paradox spoke.
“It’s still growing? Even now?”
“Yes, sir.”
The reporting manager looked flustered as well.
“It’s moved beyond record-breaking performance… it’s writing its own history.”
It wasn’t long ago that he’d overtaken Pendant and claimed first place.
And now he was climbing even higher.
“Right now it’s going viral — especially the crafting segments. Multiple countries are watching it on repeat. The song featured in that section is blowing up just like the first episode, and it’s not budging off the Billboard charts.”
Episode three, like episode one, had incredibly well-selected music.
……
Rod Paradox couldn’t contain himself.
“We need to arrange a meeting, no matter what.”
With numbers like these, he had to meet him. Not just wanted to — had to.
He had to.
“No matter what!”
Not long ago, after meeting Lee Hwa-shin, the representative of Suomi Company, in Jongno, Rod Paradox had stayed in Korea.
He’d taken a brief trip to the United States and United Kingdom for business, but he’d returned to Korea specifically to meet Jin-woo.
“Representative!”
Then another secretary entered.
“Representative, an email has arrived.”
!
Finally, they could meet.
“Let’s go right now.”
“He says he’s busy and needs more time to adjust his schedule.”
At those words, the representative’s pupils wavered.
Rod Paradox was a man influential enough to appear in TIME magazine.
Everyone wanted to meet him.
Meeting him meant Netflix collaboration was guaranteed, and anyone Rod backed was bound to succeed — without question.
So everyone wanted to meet him. Everyone tried to forge a connection somehow.
But… he’d been rejected.
Rod Paradox swallowed hard.
It was a refreshing situation, actually.
“Send another message. Tell him I’ll work around any time that suits him.”
“But, representative…”
“I’ll reschedule everything.”
The obsession of a powerful man with Jin-woo had begun.
“Until I meet Jin-woo.”
* * *
The deity who had taken interest in Jin-woo was one among the gods sponsoring October.
-A new god greets you!
“I take it you’ve been waiting for me to log out.”
The moment October logged off, the god showed interest, which made Jin-woo think this was a rather thoughtful deity.
-A new god reveals their true name!
-The god, Element Harmonizer, wishes to become your patron!
-He marvels at the elements and cycles and natural forces he senses from you!
-He marvels at your crafting skill!
-He offers you a quest!
Whoosh—
A green-hued mineral appeared in Jin-woo’s hand.
“Hmm.”
-Green Natural Stone [USSR+ Grade]
It was a mineral he’d never seen before.
-The Element Harmonizer marvels at your crafting method.
-He says it resembles his own power!
Jin-woo immediately checked the quest he’d received.
* Quest: Resonance of Nature
Grade: M
Content: The god Element Harmonizer wishes to sponsor you with his power. Using the Green Natural Stone you’ve received, craft a piece of equipment.
Constraint: You must use a material you’ve never worked with before.
Reward: Rune of the Element Harmonizer
The quest Jin-woo received was straightforward.
Craft equipment using this Green Natural Stone.
‘An unusual constraint, isn’t it?’
The Green Natural Stone was a mineral Jin-woo had never encountered.
Naturally, he’d never worked with it before.
‘Did he admire how I handled the Pure Jet Stone?’
The Element Harmonizer had said it resembled his own power.
‘He seems to like how I handle materials I’ve never seen before.’
Perhaps the Element Harmonizer possessed power related to that very thing.
If so, that was only better.
‘New materials are what keep me crafting in the first place.’
Jin-woo ran his fingers over the Green Natural Stone.
The green-gleaming natural stone, true to its name, held nature within it.
‘A delightful material to work with.’
It felt undemanding and gentle.
Thud—
In a moment, Jin-woo’s hammer seemed to seep right into the Green Natural Stone.
“I thought it was gentle.”
‘It’s absorbing the impact entirely?’
This meant he couldn’t use his hammer properly.
“This isn’t a material you can work with pleasantly.”
This is a material you can work with thrillingly!
Jin-woo struck the stone a few more times with his hammer, testing it.
-The god Element Harmonizer says the Green Natural Stone isn’t a material to be used lightly!
-The Element Harmonizer has observed intently how you handle the Pure Jet Stone!
-He says this material suits you!
In general, quests involving patronage from gods or Succession quests that pass on power tend to have considerable difficulty.
The rewards are substantial, and so the quests must be deep and challenging.
This quest too was Grade M.
While Jin-woo could now craft M Grade relatively easily, that was because of his skill — not because the grade itself was low.
Clearing an M Grade quest required considerable preparation and time.
-The god Element Harmonizer places his expectations on you!
-He says that because the difficulty is high, there’s no need to proceed immediately!
The Element Harmonizer naturally hadn’t given this quest expecting Jin-woo to complete it right away.
As long as he didn’t use up the Green Natural Stone by practicing with it, he could take as much time as he needed.
What mattered was how well he handled this new material he’d never worked with before.
“I’m fine with it.”
Jin-woo said, feeling the Green Natural Stone.
“I think I understand.”
He had a sense of how to work with this deeply green natural stone.
Jin-woo tightened his grip on the hammer.
Then he struck once more.
Crack—
The Green Natural Stone absorbed Jin-woo’s strike yet again.
And once more.
Boom—
This time, a sound emerged.
And once more.
Clang—
The sound grew sharper.
“Found it.”
Clang—!
As he struck again, the hammer’s ring became clear.
The Element Harmonizer watching this scene fell silent.
He’d been captivated by how Jin-woo handled the Pure Jet Stone, a material he’d never worked with, and by his crafting infused with natural power.
All things that enter the great embrace of nature become assimilated.
Even if it’s something never seen before, nature embraces it.
-The god Element Harmonizer says you are nature itself!
-The god Element Harmonizer asks if perhaps elf blood runs through your veins!
-The god Element Harmonizer says he’s joking…
“Yes, that’s right. Elf power flows within me.”
It wasn’t a joke. Jin-woo truly carried fragments of that power, so calling him a natural human infused with elf essence was fair enough.
-The god Element Harmonizer expresses surprise and offers an additional quest!
-He adds a time constraint to the quest!
“Oh no. You could have mentioned that earlier.”
Jin-woo said with some regret.
“I’ve already finished crafting.”
There was no time left to add a time constraint.
The Green Natural Stone was already nearing completion.
Clang—!
With Jin-woo’s final hammer strike, the dagger crafted from the Green Natural Stone was complete.
Shiiiiing—!
-You have crafted equipment!
-You have crafted a Green Natural Dagger!
-You have crafted M+ Grade equipment!
Jin-woo had already crafted M+ Grade equipment from Pure Jet Stone, which was USSR Grade.
With a USSR+ Grade Green Natural Stone, M+ Grade was the inevitable result.
-The god Element Harmonizer cannot find words.
-The god Element Harmonizer marvels at your abnormal speed.
-The god Element Harmonizer asks how elf blood could possibly flow through you.
The Element Harmonizer was not normally talkative.
But witnessing this scene, he had no choice but to become so.
It was the first time using the Green Natural Stone, yet Jin-woo grasped it instantly — and just as the time constraint bonus was about to be awarded, he’d already completed it.
“Couldn’t you simply grant the additional reward anyway?”
-The god Element Harmonizer grants the additional reward.
-The secondary quest is omitted.
-You have received the reward!
A green light settled over Jin-woo’s entire form.
At the same moment, a tremendous power surged through his body.
-You have obtained a rune!
-You have obtained the Rune of First Sight!
[Rune of First Sight]
Description: When crafting equipment with a material you’ve never handled before, the detailed attributes are enhanced!
‘Oh.’
It was a rune that enhanced attributes when crafting equipment from materials he’d never worked with before.
‘It’s similar to October’s power?’
It resembled October’s skill — one that strengthened and grew attributes.
-Your Successor, October, has not obtained this rune, he says!
October was a Successor of this Element Harmonizer.
This rune was precisely what hadn’t been given even to such a Successor.
More accurately, it couldn’t be given.
The quest had considerable difficulty, and fundamentally, October hadn’t even met the threshold to receive the quest in the first place.
‘So he was a Successor, not just a patron.’
Around rank 58, it was natural to hold a few titles as a god’s Successor.
Yet even October hadn’t obtained this rune.
Jin-woo was quite satisfied.
“Thank you.”
It was a rune he truly liked.
‘Materials I’ve never used before already have a mysterious appeal.’
And now his attributes would be enhanced on top of that.
This rune had excellent synergy for him.
That’s when October logged back in.
“…I’m sorry, Jin-woo. A health alert popped up, and I got forcibly logged out.”
There was a function that forced logout from the Capsule when extreme fatigue was detected.
“Ah, I see.”
-The god Element Harmonizer asks for your continued support going forward!
With that farewell, the Element Harmonizer quietly disappeared.
October cracked his neck side to side.
He’d stepped out for a brief rest and quickly grabbed some bread and milk.
But Jin-woo still looked perfectly fine.
“…We crafted together the whole time, didn’t we?”
He hadn’t been the only one working.
In fact, Jin-woo had done far more of the crafting — even watching and teaching his own work carefully.
If anything, Jin-woo should have felt more fatigue.
Yet there he stood, perfectly fine.
“Are you… alright?”
“I’m fine. How are you feeling, October?”
Jin-woo said with a slight grin.
“Want to keep going?”
“…I’m sorry! Could we… could we continue this next time instead?”
There was no room for pretense or pride left.
His reserves had already been exhausted.
Thanks to Jin-woo’s guidance, he’d broken through a bottleneck, but now he’d hit his limit.
“That’s a shame.”
“Let’s exchange again next time. I promise.”
His expression suggested he had no intention of doing so anytime soon.
‘Now I understand how to pace myself.’
Jin-woo had grasped something watching yet another deflated crafter.
‘This is the rhythm for exchanges, then.’
“It was enjoyable.”
* * *
October walked toward the Blue Sea Guild Workshop building as he exhaled deeply.
“MiTube’s going to explode.”
His exchange with Jin-woo would be uploaded to Jin-woo’s MiTube.
October could have uploaded the video to his own MiTube as well, having received permission from Jin-woo.
But he didn’t want to.
“Getting dragged in JinTube is enough torture already.”
Everyone watching the video would understand.
“This is… unfair, isn’t it.”
October clicked his tongue. Then a thought struck like lightning.
“…Now I finally understand why Peran went from being a rabid beast to being such a good person.”
Exchanging with Jin-woo naturally changed you.
“Let’s live humbly…”
And at the same time, he thought.
“I can’t be satisfied with just this.”
He could do more.
“I can do more!”
And so October left with this strange mix of confidence and strange discouragement.
“Just like Jin-woo asked… if there’s someone else to exchange with, I’ll bring them.”
October gritted his teeth.
“I won’t be the only one suffering.”

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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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