The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 366

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 366
366.
There stood Hamud, fallen and demonified.
‘I never expected it would come to this.’
He’d made a contract with a demon, so Jin-woo had assumed he’d either been devoured by it or was being used by it.
‘So they merged.’
Hamud noticed Jin-woo.
His expression was cryptic.
It seemed to carry malice, yet also a resignation to everything—an odd mixture of both.
‘It doesn’t look good.’
His condition appeared far from well.
“This is my Tower of Wishes. Normally, this tower should never have been built at this stage… but I had no choice. Gordan tried to open the door. He should never have opened it, but he tried. So I made him the first sacrifice.”
Hamud spoke.
“The tower opened as a result. So wait a moment. My wish must be fulfilled, come what may.”
“What’s your wish?”
“You should already know by looking.”
He slowly pushed himself upright.
“I must… bring her back. She alone—only she ever acknowledged me.”
It was exactly as he’d suspected.
‘His goal is to resurrect his lover.’
And from what he’d seen earlier, the lover appeared to have died in an accident.
‘His family doesn’t seem to be involved.’
The lover held deep significance in Hamud’s life.
‘She probably researched Runestones independently to help him.’
Through the haze, it had looked as though she’d mixed Ether Cores and Magic Cores together.
“Don’t interfere. If you do…”
Hamud held a Hammer in one hand and a Spanner in the other.
“Then you too will become a sacrifice.”
Whoooosh—!
-Quest updated!
-Encountered Hamud at the Tower of Wishes!
-Stop Hamud!
In an instant, Hamud created mechanics.
But these were no ordinary mechanics.
‘Mechanics infused with demonic power.’
All of Hamud’s mechanics were built from pure Ether Cores, which meant their output was inevitably weak.
‘Pure Ether Cores.’
Hamud despised the idea of covering the Ether Core’s weaknesses with the Magic Core’s strengths—exactly as Tabuk had said.
‘That obsession came from her.’
“I’ve heard that Outsiders don’t die even when they die. So be still and accept your fate. You don’t need to be Sacra, do you? I must consume everything in this place. Only then can I bring her back.”
With those words—asking him to die quietly—Hamud pointed at Jin-woo.
“Consume him.”
Screech—. Screeeech—!
The demonified mechanics rushed at Jin-woo.
Jin-woo stepped back slightly.
First, holding the Eternal Hammer, brought it down on a mechanic without hesitation.
Crack—!
-Defeated a Demon Mechanic!
The Demon Mechanic dropped an Ether Core.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo examined the Ether Core that Hamud had made.
‘Deep.’
A profound level of completion.
It showed clearly what an Ether Core looked like when made by someone who’d pushed themselves to the limit pursuing Ether Cores alone.
‘Excellent.’
Jin-woo felt genuine admiration. He could see Hamud’s obsession plainly—his determination to perfect this, to make real the words his lover had spoken, his quiet greatness.
‘But his vision has grown too narrow.’
Crack—!
“…!”
Hamud’s brow furrowed sharply.
“That weapon…”
Seeing the Mechanical Engineering equipment that combined Ether Core and Magic Core—the Ether Magic Core apparatus—Hamud’s hands trembled. He was a Mechanical Engineer. Confronted with such a device, he couldn’t help but feel awe. Yet he forced it down and swallowed it whole.
“Abominable. That is not an Ether Core! It’s mere deception. Only pure theory earns recognition.”
He gestured, and Demon Mechanics poured out endlessly.
“I made them daily. If you want to count how many, you’re welcome to try. If you can, that is.”
Demon Mechanics flowed forth in such numbers that no count seemed possible.
‘That’s why he’d locked himself away.’
Jin-woo suddenly felt all the pieces falling into place.
Hamud had confined himself to craft complete Ether Core Theory.
Alongside that, he’d been pursuing an enormous plan—contracting with demons to resurrect his lover.
‘He’d stopped caring about the Special Moons long ago.’
Or rather, he’d planned to use them as sacrifices as well.
Whoooosh—.
Pssshhhhhhh—!
The Demon Mechanics, belching black vapor, tried to surge past First toward Jin-woo.
But First would not permit it.
Snap—!
“How dare.”
How dare they try to reach his lord when they hadn’t even managed to topple him?
First gathered his strength.
“Eternal. Judgment.”
He invoked the Eternal Hammer’s special skill.
Craaaash—!
In a single sweep, its tremendous piercing force obliterated the Demon Mechanics.
First continued to swing the Eternal Hammer and pressed forward.
Crack—! Craaaash—!
The Demon Mechanics couldn’t halt First’s advance.
Hamud gestured. The Demon Mechanics were endless anyway.
“Combine.”
The Demon Mechanics began fusing together.
Thrum—. Thrum—.
A colossal Demon Mechanic took form.
“Ah.”
Jin-woo exclaimed at the sight.
“Fusion. The simplest approach, yet I hadn’t thought of it.”
Jin-woo recalled Abyssal.
‘If I could manage Abyssal and the JU series well, couldn’t I fuse them?’
“First.”
Jin-woo sent a look to First. A glance was all it took—First understood. Don’t destroy this outright.
“Understood.”
First swung the Hammer with controlled force against the fused mechanic.
In that instant, First’s body was pushed back slightly.
“Screee—.”
Crunch—!
The combined mechanic’s arm had been broken by the impact.
“The fusion was incomplete.”
Jin-woo summoned Abyssal and the JU series.
Screeeee—!
With Abyssal at the center, Jin-woo began attaching the JU series to it.
“This doesn’t seem right. Hmm. They don’t simply… attach to each other.”
It appeared each mechanic had specific fusion points built in.
“So you’ve embedded Ether Cores at those points?”
The moment Jin-woo understood it, Hamud’s eyebrow twitched.
He hadn’t expected it to be grasped so quickly.
“Your Ether Cores are superior, so it’s possible. This won’t work with what I’ve built.”
“…”
Hamud stared at Jin-woo with a deepened frown.
Praising the enemy. Learning from the enemy’s technique.
“Are you… learning from me? Right now?”
“Does one need to distinguish between enemy and ally when learning?”
Jin-woo replied.
“And besides, you’re not my enemy yet.”
The Demon Mechanic continued attacking Jin-woo. But there had been opportunities—several of them.
Chances to strike the main body. Hamud himself.
Hamud knew it too, which was why his entire body remained tense. If First suddenly surged forward, he was ready to meet the blow.
‘That’s why I haven’t summoned the other Familiars.’
There was curiosity—a desire to test First and this Mechanical Engineering marvel, the Eternal Hammer. But fundamentally, Jin-woo was extremely curious about Hamud and his technique.
‘And because I’m a Craftsperson.’
When facing a Mechanical Engineer and Craftsperson like Hamud, Jin-woo wondered if he should rely solely on force to win.
‘The quest only says to stop Hamud.’
The easiest method would be to overwhelm him through combat.
But Jin-woo was a Craftsperson.
For Jin-woo, combat was not the primary solution.
To clear a quest using what he did best—that was the path Jin-woo should walk.
“…Then watch from where you stand.”
Suddenly, Hamud withdrew the combat mechanics.
He had staked everything.
The contract with the demon, the accord with the Special Moons—all of it was to bring her back.
“So I must… complete the Ether Core Theory.”
He had to prove that this Ether Core Theory surpassed Magic Core Theory.
No—Magic Core Theory was beneath his notice entirely.
Only Ether Core.
He had to show that only this Ether Core Theory was the truth.
Whoooosh—!
Bang—!
He hammered.
In the Hammering of this Mechanical Engineer and Craftsperson, desperation was woven through every strike.
Jin-woo did not attack him.
He simply watched.
“Do you also think my Ether Core Theory has limits? That it can’t compare to Magic Core Theory? No. No, it can’t be. This is a perfect theory. I will perfect it.”
Hamud ground his teeth.
“Why are you so fixated on Ether Cores?”
Jin-woo asked.
‘It’s an abnormal obsession. And yet you already understand the efficiency of Magic Core Theory.’
That’s why he asked.
“Because Roana… said I was the greatest for establishing Ether Core Theory. She alone understood me.”
Accepting Magic Core Theory, acknowledging Ether Core’s limits—that would be betraying Roana.
Absolutely. He could never do that.
“…”
The words his dead lover had spoken bound him still.
‘I understand why you can’t let go.’
Suddenly, Hamud brought his hammer down with force.
Demons began pouring out.
“The wish will be granted.”
“The Magic Circle’s completion is near.”
“All humans in Sacra are sacrifices!”
The demons roared.
In that instant, they began moving outside the tower.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
A great resonance spread.
Each step they took drew massive Magic Circles.
Bang—! Bang—!
Hamud, continuing his Hammering and Engraving work on the Ether Cores with his Engraving Knife, looked at Jin-woo.
“Mock me if you will. Mock freely. Craftsperson. Call it an absurd theory. Call it a failed one. Still I will go forward.”
“I won’t mock you.”
Jin-woo gripped the Wave Carving Knife.
“And I don’t believe Ether Core Theory is inferior to Magic Core Theory.”
“…What?”
“But if you do it the way you’re doing it, it will be.”
“…!”
Hamud’s anger flared as he gripped the Hammer tightly.
His expression suggested he wanted to hurl it at Jin-woo right then.
But Hamud had seen Jin-woo’s skill, so he didn’t throw it recklessly.
“Do you… know the answer?”
“No.”
Jin-woo shook his head.
“I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know. But.”
Jin-woo continued.
“You wanted to complete Ether Core Theory and prove it to your lover, didn’t you?”
Hamud nodded at Jin-woo’s words.
“It’s a dream impossible to achieve… She’s already dead, so I can’t even take back the words…”
He could only live forever bound in that cage.
“I… understand that too.”
That Ether Core Theory has its limits.
“That’s why you made a contract with a demon.”
To resurrect his lover and show her. That he had completed Ether Core Theory.
To hear her praise him once more.
“What should I have done?”
Hamud cried out quietly.
“I can’t give you the answer.”
Jin-woo said.
“But I can show you my own answer that I’ve found.”
Jin-woo said.
‘There isn’t just one answer.’
Each person has their own.
Right and wrong rest with the self. If you believe your path is correct and move forward, what’s wrong to others can be right for you.
‘We can do it.’
“…Show me. Your answer.”
Ding—!
-Quest updated!
Jin-woo smiled at Hamud.
Then he extended his hand.
“Materials.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————