The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 333
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 333
Episode 333.
-Bid updated!
The US Auction House was experiencing unprecedented prosperity.
-Please wait a moment!
Traffic was so heavy that even a wait message—something that had never appeared before—began showing, making it difficult to update bids in real time.
-Didn’t the US Auction House usually not have that many people? I don’t think this wait message came up back then either.
-Just how many people are flooding in?
-It’s insane.
Even so, the war continued.
-Who keeps bidding on Jin-woo’s equipment?
-They said it’s Yur and Artemus.
-Wow, just how much Gold do they have saved up??
-It’s already 200 million Gold??
-McCarthy’s equipment is insane too.
-It’s broken 80 million Gold!
The US Auction House was in turmoil.
From 1st to 4th place.
The craftspeople registered in the Hall of Honor were engaged in a true contest against one another.
Ironically, Jin-woo was in the lead.
Fourth-ranked Jin-woo held the highest position.
-Bid updated!
-Bid updated!
McCarthy’s Mace was the finest he had ever made.
Combined with overwhelming holy power and elegant design, any Priest or holy-type class would desire it.
It was perfect for warrior-type classes that primarily wielded blunt weapons as well.
-Special Attribute: Holy Enlargement.
This special attribute was the reason.
This special attribute was normally compact but gathered holy power in necessary situations to enlarge the Mace.
Because of this, it could adapt to various circumstances, and above all, it was magnificent precisely because it was a special attribute expressed through gathered holy power.
The Mace, brimming with radiance, had presence merely from being held.
-You have to buy this.
-Absolutely have to buy it!
-No, you’re forcing me to spend my money. How am I supposed to resist bidding on something like this?
-It seems McCarthy made this equipment intentionally.
-80 million Gold! Still a bargain!
McCarthy was the sovereign of the US Auction House.
His equipment had never once sold at a cheap price, and countless users couldn’t help themselves when it came to his gear.
-Krh krh krh. I’ll complete the McCarthy set with this.
-What luck, thanks to Jin-woo.
-I’m buying it!
Wealthy users who favored McCarthy would bid on anything he made first and ask questions later.
They also purchased equipment through private deals with McCarthy, but recently they hadn’t been able to acquire anything.
McCarthy wasn’t the type of Blacksmith to mass-produce equipment.
Because of that, even with money, purchasing was difficult.
You’d have to commission him to make something to buy it in the first place.
But now, thanks to Jin-woo, McCarthy’s motivation had surged, allowing new equipment to be created.
-I’m truly grateful to you, Jin-woo.
-Thanks to you, McCarthy’s drive seems to be overflowing!
-At this rate, won’t he make another one?
They had no choice but to be endlessly grateful to Jin-woo.
Likewise, the equipment of Stranger and Mister Horn was skyrocketing.
-Wow, everyone. Stranger raised his price again?
-Looks like he’s fired up.
-Crazy, it’s going up again.
Among these, Stranger, ranked 39th, had the nickname of the fastest Blacksmith.
-Your hands are incredibly fast. You’re practically mass-producing at this point.
In a way, he could be seen as the complete opposite of McCarthy. While McCarthy spent long periods crafting one piece of equipment, Stranger churned them out at high speed.
-Item registered!
-Item registered!
A total of 5 items had been registered.
-Damn. Five MR+ Grade items.
-Going for the overwhelm strategy with volume, I see??
-Starting the bid right away.
Stranger, second-ranked in the US Auction House, loosened his hands.
He was a rather lean-looking man.
Unlike typical Blacksmiths, his hair was quite long and wiry, giving him the impression of a wild horse.
“Weren’t you confident about speed?”
Stranger currently held the nickname of fastest Blacksmith, but Jin-woo was also rumored to be fast at crafting.
Just entering the US Auction House, hadn’t he register twenty-two pieces of equipment?
“Can’t maintain quality while increasing speed?”
Stranger clicked his tongue.
“Then you can’t call yourself fast.”
To be called fast, you needed both speed and quality above a certain threshold. Otherwise, it was meaningless.
But Jin-woo’s equipment had captured both speed and quality.
“Then my provocation was too weak.”
Stranger thought he’d finally found a worthy rival.
Among Blacksmiths, many were now intentionally slowing their pace. There was a widespread perception that speed meant careless craftsmanship.
“Nonsense. Lies spread by those who couldn’t master speed.”
Speed and quality don’t have an inverse relationship.
“Fast and precise.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Stranger began striking his Hammer frantically.
“Fair Wind.”
Then he began accelerating his pace.
“I’ll end Jin-woo’s legend.”
* * *
The Kraken, tyrant and terror of Positano Bay, fell into eternal slumber.
-Achievement unlocked!
-Achievement [Captain] unlocked!
-Achievement unlocked!
-Achievement [Marine Monster Hunter] unlocked.
-Registered in the Hall of Honor!
From hunting the Kraken, Jin-woo obtained two additional achievements.
“It seems this is an achievement you can get when you accomplish something while aboard a vessel.”
Golae could reasonably be considered a ship.
“This must be an achievement gained from hunting marine monsters. And since it’s registered in the Hall of Honor, it seems you can’t just hunt any marine monster—it has to be a boss-class one.”
The Kraken wasn’t an easy marine boss to hunt.
-32. Jin-woo [NEW!]
Thanks to this, Jin-woo rose to 32nd place in the Marine Monster Hunter rankings.
“This rank is going to be tough to climb.”
Combat classes and Hunters were overflowing.
‘Even the Kraken only got me to 32nd place, huh.’
Of course, rising to 32nd place was itself unreasonable.
Not only had Jin-woo taken down the Kraken alone, he himself suffered no damage in the hunt.
That was reflected heavily in his score.
“Being in the top 50 is good enough.”
Jin-woo was pleased. Activity outside his main field was always enjoyable.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The byproducts of the fallen Kraken began sinking into the sea.
“Ha.”
Jin-woo watched the falling byproducts with a slight smile.
“Yes. This is the taste.”
Baxter watched Jin-woo, trembling.
“Hoo… hoo…”
The Kraken was a natural disaster spawned in this vast sea.
It was fear itself, a monster that absolutely had to be avoided.
Baxter himself had feared encountering this Kraken while traveling from Sakra to Positano.
So he always kept track of where the Kraken was active and the locations of other marine leviathans besides the Kraken.
“That natural disaster…”
Was now swallowed by an even greater disaster.
Witnessing that spectacle, Baxter found Jin-woo slightly terrifying.
“You really are something else. Jin-woo. What exactly is your main specialty?”
Baxter asked Jin-woo.
“I’m good at anything I can do with my hands.”
Jin-woo smiled.
Whoosh!
First, returning on a vessel, was greeted by Pur and Fin.
“Excellent work! As expected of the Commander!”
“Fin!”
First waved to them, then approached Jin-woo and knelt.
“Command. Executed.”
“Well done. Brilliant work. But you understood even more, didn’t you?”
First knew what Jin-woo was referring to.
“Slightly. Understood.”
First’s eyes gleamed. From the recent battle, he had managed to grasp something about Jin-woo’s equipment. He had figured out how to control MR Grade with his own equipment.
He could grow stronger.
He could execute any command.
Whoosh.
That overwhelming confidence reached Jin-woo.
The momentum also seemed to greatly influence Pur.
‘First advances. Pur follows.’
Pur also wielded the War Hammer quite well. But merely wielding it well wasn’t enough.
‘But he understands now, so that’s good.’
“Trust. In. Me.”
“I do.”
Jin-woo answered without hesitation.
“I believe you can keep up.”
Jin-woo looked at First, then at Pur.
He believed they could not just keep up but move forward together.
“I’ll do my best.”
Cold air emanated from Pur’s body.
‘That’s reassuring.’
Whoosh. The Familiars vanished into the darkness.
Jin-woo spoke to Baxter, who wore a dazed expression.
“The one thing lacking about marine monsters is a single item.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Looking at the fallen Kraken’s byproducts, Jin-woo made a regretful expression.
“Bones.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
The Kraken he’d just dealt with unfortunately had no bones.
It was natural for an invertebrate.
“Even cuttlebone has a skeleton. For the Kraken to have none…”
Still, materials abounded in its place.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Jin-woo checked the Kraken byproducts he’d obtained, leaving the seawater pouring down like rain in his wake.
The first thing he obtained was a massive Soul floating buoyantly.
“I’ve never seen a Soul this large before.”
-Kraken’s Soul [MR Grade]
It was an MR Grade Soul, no less.
The moment he obtained this gleaming Soul, a notification appeared.
-Acquired a powerful Soul!
-Experience increased!
Jin-woo caressed the Soul.
“This is perfect for making into a Soul Crystal.”
Looking at the Kraken, Jin-woo had quite a few equipment ideas come to mind.
“It would be good for equipment for Moltus.”
Riding Golae, he recovered the byproducts one by one.
-Obtained Kraken Hide.
-Obtained Kraken Hide.
-Obtained Kraken Hide.
-Obtained Kraken’s…
Numerous Kraken Hides fell. Jin-woo grinned and summoned Fin.
There were so many that Golae alone couldn’t recover them all.
“Fin!”
The summoned Fin moved in an instant, recovering the byproducts.
-Obtained Kraken Hide.
-Obtained Kraken Hide.
Among the numerous Kraken Hides.
Jin-woo saw other gleaming byproducts.
“Fin! Prioritize those!”
“Fin—!”
Fin brought back two glittering byproducts in his mouth.
-Obtained Kraken Essence.
-Obtained Kraken’s Deep Sea Pearl.
“!”
He’d anticipated obtaining Kraken Essence and Hides.
“I didn’t expect something this good to drop.”
-Kraken’s Deep Sea Pearl [MR+ Grade]
MR+ Grade.
Whoosh.
It radiated with an enigmatic hue. Pearls were normally white, but this one was quite dark.
Jin-woo touched the Deep Sea Pearl.
“Oh. This isn’t a jewel.”
It was only a pearl in name.
“This is bone.”
The most solid material the Kraken had dropped was this Deep Sea Pearl.
It was packed with the power of the deep sea, and its water affinity was considerable.
‘Ha.’
He’d definitely made the right choice hunting such a powerful marine monster.
“With materials like these dropping, how could I not hunt it.”
“Good work, Fin.”
“Fin!”
Fin vanished into the darkness, as if saying he’d come whenever called.
“I’ve never once thought about hunting the Kraken until now.”
Baxter was flabbergasted.
“It certainly is a strong monster, so it does drop good materials…”
Just as Jin-woo said, the Kraken was a generous tree.
Hides, Essence, and even the Deep Sea Pearl.
On top of that, he’d obtained a Soul that was meaningful to Jin-woo.
“This way, we can take the shortcut.”
Baxter said.
This sea route held countless threats. Innumerable disasters existed.
But if a greater disaster consumed those calamities, then they should be the ones fearing Jin-woo instead.
“Let’s take the shortcut.”
Jin-woo said.
“The most dangerous shortcut, that is.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————