The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 382

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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 382
Episode 382.
—Boundless loyalty grants First a new power.
—You have learned a new skill.
—Passive Skill: Combat Nerve learned.
Skill [Combat Nerve]: When entering combat, all physical stats are enhanced. Defense is greatly increased. Magic resistance is greatly increased. Resilience is established.
First, Jin-woo’s very first familiar and now the center of all his subordinates, had just become a Necromancer’s subordinate, and so his loyalty toward Jin-woo had reached its absolute limit.
That extreme loyalty had granted First a new skill.
Through his battle with the Special Months, First had learned a great deal.
The users possessed considerable combat sense, and through fighting such users, he understood what mattered—
That understanding was reflected in this new skill.
‘Combat Nerve. I gained so much from that clash with the Special Months.’
Through that battle with the Special Months, First had truly come to understand what real combat meant.
‘He carries a heavy burden on his shoulders.’
Even as he steadily defeated the undead, he bore the responsibility of being stronger than any of them.
“I’ve confirmed your loyalty well, First.”
Jin-woo smiled at First.
So he would grant First the strongest equipment he could currently make—the very first.
‘But I can’t leave Pur as is.’
Pur was just as vital to Jin-woo’s undead legion as First.
‘But not yet.’
Currently, Pur hadn’t yet come to understand the War Hammer as deeply as First had.
Without a prior understanding of the equipment, he couldn’t give Pur a new one.
‘It was possible before.’
But now Jin-woo’s equipment crafting had risen to a level where it was no longer feasible.
‘When Pur fully understands the War Hammer, that’s when I’ll make him new equipment.’
“I look forward to the next battle.”
“Yes.”
Whoosh—
Jin-woo dismissed First and gazed at Agnes in his hands.
“You’ve done well. Agnes.”
Agnes bore a crack.
During the final hammering strike, he felt it then—that Agnes’s lifespan had reached its end.
The cracked head and diminished strength compared to before.
It had become difficult to refine new materials.
‘All materials from here on will be L-Grade or higher.’
Agnes couldn’t handle that.
‘No. Not yet.’
Whoosh—
A flame’s power radiated from Agnes.
One more strike was still possible.
It wasn’t over yet.
‘That’s right.’
It was merely cracked.
More could be done.
“Next is—”
Jin-woo examined the materials he’d obtained from hunting Faust.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—!
All the materials that had been marked with question marks began to flip like cards.
L. L. L. L.
All L-Grade materials.
Jin-woo intended to craft a hammer from these L-Grade materials.
Crackle—
“Soul and essences. And bone with wings too.”
From Faust’s byproducts, Jin-woo selected the soul and two essences.
‘I’ll use the bone and wings for other equipment.’
For now, only the soul and two essences were needed.
Jin-woo activated the furnace immediately.
Crackle—!
Blue flames filled it as the furnace spun fiercely.
—Activating Soul Furnace!
Jin-woo crystallized Faust’s soul.
—Faust’s Soul Crystal [L]
The crystallized soul of Faust emanated its distinctive aura.
“It’s as if he’s right before me.”
Faust was the demon of wishes and the demon of betrayal.
‘There’s considerable meaning in crafting a hammer from that soul crystal.’
Whenever Jin-woo crafted equipment, he imbued it with strong aspiration.
‘The material is a wish, and crafting equipment is fulfilling that wish.’
It was entirely fitting to say that the great demon Faust and this hammer were connected.
‘It’s returned to its rightful place.’
Jin-woo set the soul crystal on the workbench.
Clang—!
Jin-woo struck the soul crystal down.
Then immediately placed it into the furnace.
Crackle. Crackle—
‘This isn’t a material Agnes can handle.’
Jin-woo channeled power into the hammer.
Clang—!
Yet on the very next swing, Agnes displayed incredible strength.
‘You understand too.’
That this was the end.
So without regret, she gave her strength for one final swing.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
If this was the end, he didn’t need to worry about the hammer’s damage anymore—just craft freely.
Agnes would unleash her final flame.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Jin-woo continued striking Faust’s soul crystal.
Faust’s crystal, which shouldn’t have transformed easily, began to change. The price was clear.
The crack in Agnes deepened.
Crack. Crack—. Jin-woo paid it no mind.
Stopping here would be a greater humiliation to Agnes.
“Brilliantly.”
Clang—!
Jin-woo brought Agnes down one final time.
He set the refined Agnes aside and took up the Essence of Wish and Essence of Betrayal.
Whoosh—
Now came the time to engrave these two radiant essences.
Jin-woo summoned the spirits first.
“Spirits.”
Dust, Coco, and Sing materialized.
By now, all three spirits had developed the habit of quickly assessing the situation upon summoning.
It was so they could move ahead of the other spirits.
“Only Dust and Coco.”
Mechanization wasn’t universally helpful in crafting.
‘A hammer doesn’t need steam.’
A hammer needed to be fundamentally a simple vessel.
Because mechanization would inevitably bias it.
For a vessel that could hold anything, simplicity was paramount.
“Sing.”
Sing made a disappointed expression while Dust and Coco wore ones of opportunity.
Whoosh—
The moment Dust and Coco settled, Jin-woo scattered Wave around them.
“Wave.”
After generating Wave, he began engraving the essences.
He carved the Essence of Wish and shattered the Essence of Betrayal with Flame Crafting to engrave it.
“Ether Flame Engraving.”
Crack. Crack. Crack—!
The Essence of Wish and Essence of Betrayal each required different technique.
‘The feel is so completely different.’
Crack—!
Pulling Wave to its height, Jin-woo made the Essence of Wish the main focus and let the Essence of Betrayal seep in.
—Casting Ether Flame Engraving!
Jin-woo grinned and brushed off his hands.
“Demonification.”
When crafting the Mechanical Engineering trinity, Jin-woo had learned to use Demonification quite effectively.
The sudden burst of firepower allowed energy to flow into the material, creating special attributes.
Whoosh—
Jin-woo gripped Agnes firmly.
“One more time. Agnes.”
This was their final crafting together.
So he continued without regret.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
The color of the soul crystal deepened.
Faust’s soul rose as smoke and flame.
Clang—!
“Soul Forging.”
Jin-woo purified that soul. The blackened spirit burned brilliant blue. With one more hammer blow against the burning soul crystal, the hammer’s form took shape.
The hammer’s shape had set.
“Inserting.”
Then he inserted the Ether Flame Engraved Essence of Wish into the refined soul crystal.
Whoosh—
In that instant, the soul crystal reacted strongly.
The Essence of Wish and Essence of Betrayal, which were originally its own power, entered and their force began to multiply.
Whoosh. Whoosh—!
As energy threatened to explode, Jin-woo’s hands moved.
“Circulation.”
Circulation and Flexibility.
‘Not just the core alone—these are effective when combining multiple materials.’
The Essence of Wish seeped in, beginning to glow green. Then it shifted to blue, to red, then to black.
‘A crafting hammer doesn’t need to be flamboyant.’
Colors weren’t necessary either.
So Jin-woo deliberately chose the hammer’s color.
“Black.”
Clang—!
The moment it was complete, Agnes’s crack deepened.
Clang—!
As if passing the torch, Agnes shattered completely.
—Hammer: Agnes breaks.
And in that same moment, a new hammer was born.
A crafting hammer of ash-tinged black, emanating a black aura in rippling waves.
—Equipment created!
For the first time since arriving at New Gene.
“Using a hammer I made with my own hands, belatedly.”
The very first hammer he’d ever crafted himself was now complete.
—L-Grade equipment created!
—Hammer: Faust has been completed!
Jin-woo gripped the new hammer, Faust.
In reality and from Eternal Sunshine to New Gene.
The hammer was what Jin-woo had held most often.
So a hammer embodying his ideals could only feel familiar despite its newness.
‘Because my ideals were set high.’
Had he crafted a hammer in the early days, he would have felt perpetually insufficient.
‘He would have broken and remade it over and over.’
But now it was possible.
Crafting a hammer filled with his tastes and ideals.
Resound—
The hammer sang as if it were a blade.
“I feel the same.”
Jin-woo picked up the fallen fragments of Agnes.
Her final moment of glory.
He held the broken handle of Agnes tightly.
“Thank you.”
Then he gripped the new crafting hammer.
“Your will shall live on through this hammer.”
Jin-woo gazed at the new crafting hammer Faust.
Resound. Resound.
“With bone and wings still remaining—”
Jin-woo grinned.
With a new crafting hammer, even L-Grade materials would be manageable.
Whoosh—
‘I’ll know when I grip it.’
How much power it holds.
How far it can reach.
Click—
Jin-woo placed the bone and wings on the workbench.
“Now it’s time to make equipment for myself.”
From the clash with the Special Months, it wasn’t just his familiars who’d learned something.
Jin-woo himself had gained new understanding.
‘My familiars won’t be targeted first.’
It was knowledge he’d already possessed, but against a strong Guild like the Special Months, it was executed systematically.
He’d won this time, but he couldn’t guarantee victory next time.
‘When they come after me, the Necromancer himself, I need to be able to evade that reliably.’
He had to escape those attacks specifically targeting Jin-woo.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo, who’d been pondering briefly, smiled.
“That’s what I’ll make then.”

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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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