The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 317

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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 317
Episode 317.
The words in the preface were more than enough to make Baxter frown.
Hairun had been his fellow student, one who bore the grandiose title of Creator of All Things.
His own nickname, Mechanic Master, was also somewhat embarrassing, but it didn’t compare to Hairun’s.
Of course, a nickname like that wouldn’t stick without genuine skill to back it.
Because of his overwhelming pride, they’d clashed many times during their studies.
Baxter was deeply surprised—Hairun wasn’t accustomed to praising others, and he possessed that stubborn, curmudgeonly streak typical of dwarves.
Hairun offering praise like this?
That meant Jin-woo truly possessed considerable skill.
He said Jin-woo learned everything from Mirae in just a fortnight. That’s why she sent him to me, you know? That elf is quite impressive.
“Hmph.”
And yet—he’d mastered everything Mirae taught in just two weeks.
Who was Mirae, exactly?
A fellow student Baxter had teased more than once, joking that she was probably older than his master and that the elves’ lifespan was practically cheating.
She was widely regarded as having the finest craftsmanship among their peers.
That Jin-woo had learned her techniques in a mere fortnight was almost unbelievable.
And there it was in the introduction—he’d learned skills from Rodin and Hoz in less than ten days combined.
That made me the last, then.
So Baxter was the final master in this lineup of instructors.
“Ahem.”
From Hairun’s introduction, Baxter understood.
They couldn’t handle him properly, so they passed him along to the other fellow students.
Or rather, “passed him along” might be too harsh—”entrusted him” was perhaps more fitting.
But one thing was certain: this introduction was full of smiles.
“It’s written with the sentiment ‘Now it’s your turn to suffer’…”
Smirk.
Still, Baxter smiled.
He understood Jin-woo’s skill level well enough from this introduction.
But that skill was limited to craftsmanship. Baxter’s Mechanical Engineering was different altogether from the techniques of those other fellow students, despite certain similarities.
“I’ll make your wishes come true.”
Baxter was confident.
His Mechanical Engineering skill wasn’t something easily learned.
A fortnight? A month? That would only get you past the beginner techniques. And even that—a month—only applied to those with hands as gifted as Jin-woo’s.
Baxter nodded to himself.
“Hairun isn’t a dwarf who praises others often, you know. But this introduction is absolutely full of praise for you!”
Baxter spoke.
“It says you’re ready to learn Mechanical Engineering. Well, we’ll see about that soon enough.”
Baxter gestured for Jin-woo to sit in a chair.
“You must be quite bewildered, I imagine.”
Hairun had likely told him Baxter would be in the Sakra Engineering City.
So it would only be natural for Jin-woo to be taken aback, finding him not there but at the edge of this cliff in Positano instead.
Ping!
—Quest updated!
The All Master’s Disciples – Baxter quest began in earnest.
“But what brought you to this place?”
If he hadn’t come seeking Baxter, why had Jin-woo come to this cliff at all?
“Positano has become territory of the Avalak Kingdom.”
Jin-woo explained briefly how he’d come to find this place.
“Ah! Then Positano’s fortress has left neutral territory!”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
At those words, Baxter’s eyes lit up.
It meant everything that had been forbidden in Positano until now would be lifted.
“The harbor must be open now too!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Excellent!”
That particular detail pleased Baxter greatly.
“But then.”
He paused, studying Jin-woo for a moment.
“You received a quest to learn technical skills? Wait—does that mean…?”
Baxter’s expression turned puzzled.
“You were the one who achieved the most during the conflict?”
“Yes.”
“A craftsperson… somehow participated in a conflict?”
How had a craftsperson become the hero of a war?
Baxter looked at Jin-woo, slightly taken aback.
“I had several skills at my disposal, so I was fortunate,” Jin-woo said with a smile.
A chill ran down Baxter’s spine.
This was the same Jin-woo who had flawlessly demonstrated the techniques of each fellow student, colored with his own unique style.
If that were the case, Jin-woo might indeed possess the kind of power needed to become a hero of war.
“…I see, I see.”
“So I received the quest and came to this cliff. And.”
Jin-woo withdrew Positanium from his pouch.
“I received this as a reward, and this Positanium also pointed to this place.”
“Good heavens.”
The moment Baxter saw the Positanium, he frowned.
“That’s the finest synthesis material I’ve ever created—I gave that to the fortress’s most distinguished guest.”
‘Of course.’
Jin-woo smiled at those words.
“So you made it, Baxter.”
“Of all the things I’ve made, what you’re holding is the highest quality. It’s not something I can produce infinitely, so drop that look in your eyes right now.”
Baxter waved his hands emphatically—Jin-woo’s gaze had made him distinctly uncomfortable.
“But you can make more of them, can’t you?”
“Well, I can, but…”
“That’s all I need.”
Jin-woo immediately bowed to Baxter.
“I would like to learn Mechanical Engineering.”
“I can teach you as much as you like.”
Baxter said.
“If you came here originally to learn Positano’s technical skills, then this is even better.”
The Positano technical skill quest Jin-woo had received and the All Master’s Disciples quest now overlapped.
“I’m the one providing all of Positano’s technical knowledge, after all.”
Baxter spoke with absolute confidence.
* * *
Inside the Workshop.
In Baxter’s workroom, the formal instruction in Mechanical Engineering began.
“How much do you already know about Mechanical Engineering?”
“Very little.”
Baxter smiled and offered a simple explanation.
“Mechanical Engineering is quite straightforward, really. It’s the use of mechanical components to create various equipment—that’s what it is.”
Baxter showed him the goggles he was wearing.
“These count as Mechanical Engineering equipment too.”
He then led Jin-woo to a storage area, displaying various pieces of Mechanical Engineering equipment.
“This is a Mechanical Engineering belt. It temporarily strengthens your core, increasing your speed.”
The Mechanical Engineering equipment consisted of minerals, mechanical components, and a power core capable of operating those components.
“You’ve made a variety of equipment before, haven’t you? Some with blueprints, some without.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Mechanical Engineering is quite complex—blueprints are essential.”
Certainly, the belt and goggles Baxter had created would require blueprints.
Baxter then snapped his fingers with a smile.
“Mechanical Engineering equipment isn’t limited to wearables.”
Beep.
“The Mechanic skill can be used like this.”
Beep-beep.
With a mechanical whir, a robot appeared beside Baxter.
“I. Am. Butler. Robot.”
It was a remarkable familiar with wheels instead of feet.
“Oh!”
The moment Jin-woo saw the robot, his heart raced faster.
“This is my butler robot, M-5. The Mechanic skill within Mechanical Engineering is the technique that allows you to create robots like this one. I’ve honed this skill for a long time—creating Mechanics, repairing them, enhancing them. All of this is my craft.”
Baxter’s nickname was Mechanic Master, after all.
‘So he specialized in the Mechanic field like he said.’
Jin-woo was quite interested in that area.
‘Since I have familiars too.’
Creating familiars from bone versus creating them from machinery—in a way, they felt similar enough.
‘You could say there are parallels between a Necromancer and a Mechanic Master.’
Baxter handed Jin-woo a pair of goggles.
“These are absolutely essential for Mechanical Engineering. I’ll give you a pair.”
Jin-woo accepted the goggles.
“The basics of Mechanical Engineering start with these goggles. The materials are so small—gears, screws, and the like—that you need magnifying goggles to see them clearly.”
—Baxter’s Test Goggles [SSR Rank+]
“You’ll be able to see very well with them.”
Whoosh.
As Jin-woo put on the round test goggles, everything around him began to magnify.
“If you infuse mana, you can adjust the magnification.”
Click.
When Jin-woo infused mana, the magnification immediately began to increase.
‘Interesting.’
Mechanical Engineering was quite fascinating.
‘Is there some kind of magic core inside the goggles that’s creating the magnification?’
Since Jin-woo had learned Spell Enchantment, he could roughly understand the source of Mechanical Engineering’s power.
‘Magical circuits and mechanical materials.’
And the delicate fusion of these resulted in Mechanical Engineering equipment.
‘But there’s something more to it.’
There was far more that couldn’t be understood just by looking.
“And like these goggles, Mechanical Engineering requires new crafting tools. I’ll give you the basic ones for now.”
Just as he’d received the Engraving Knife from Rodin and learned sewing from Mirae, Mechanical Engineering had its own essential equipment.
“This Universal Wrench!”
It was designed to tighten, assemble, and disassemble.
—You have received the Universal Wrench!
Jin-woo gripped the Universal Wrench.
‘It feels familiar.’
He’d used a tool like this many times in the real world.
Of course, there was a significant difference between that wrench and this one.
‘It has magical enchantments on it.’
“Beyond the basic magical enchantments, the very essence of my Mechanical Engineering is embedded in that wrench.”
Shwing!
When Jin-woo infused mana, a massive gear suddenly emerged.
“You can cut materials with it.”
Zzzap!
Immediately after, lightning sparked from the Universal Wrench.
“And you can weld with it too.”
It truly was a universal wrench.
‘This welding function is similar to Bone Craft in some ways.’
Within Bone Craft, there was a technique for fusing bones together.
This was similar to that.
‘Crafting skills really do compound the more you learn them.’
Jin-woo moved the wrench back and forth, testing it.
Everything he’d learned before was interlocking.
Crunch.
Jin-woo gripped the wrench firmly.
Every time Jin-woo learned something new, his heart would race.
Words like “difficult” or “hard” only served as fuel for his motivation.
Learning something new is naturally difficult and demanding. But in exchange, you grow stronger.
‘That’s the true appeal of crafting—that uncertainty.’
When you could forge certain results from uncertain power.
That’s when Jin-woo felt truly alive.
“Jin-woo.”
Baxter spoke to him.
“Why do you wish to meet our master?”
Why did he want to meet the All Master, their shared teacher?
Jin-woo fell silent at the fundamental question.
‘To learn more.’
No, it was simpler than that.
Jin-woo’s heart wasn’t complicated.
It wasn’t about learning more.
“I want to learn everything,” Jin-woo answered with a smile.
To learn everything.
Whatever it is, all of 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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