The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 388

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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 388
388.
Swish—. Swish—.
Jin-woo crafted a light sword from the extracted darkness.
‘Even if I endlessly break the balance, the material properties of darkness mean it doesn’t work as a flaw.’
After all, darkness as a material itself would scatter over time.
‘So I can create Dark Equipment suited to my intended purpose.’
Just as I’d made moments before, I could easily fashion Dark Equipment with devastating destructive force concentrated at a single point.
‘This way, beyond my contracted familiars, I can reliably strengthen the one-time subordinates summoned through Proclamation of Thousand Names.’
They were no longer mere foot soldiers padding out numbers—they became subordinates I could actually deploy effectively.
‘Of course, it’s not all advantages. These are truly disposable equipment. I can’t use them for long.’
Darkness would continuously leak away, and each use consumed it; after a few proper deployments, the darkness would inevitably dissipate.
‘But that’s the thing—it’s a disadvantage and an advantage at once.’
“If one approach fails, I just make new Dark Equipment instead.”
Jin-woo smiled.
‘I mustn’t neglect the Necromancer side either.’
The worry I’d been carrying evaporated in an instant.
Of course, I still needed to test it further. The Dark Refinement Technique was a skill that revealed its true potential the more experience I accumulated through repeated use.
‘Besides, these High Goblins aren’t particularly strong.’
They were foes I could’ve handled easily by summoning just First or Pur alone.
Crack—!
The last of the High Goblins fell.
Thump-thump.
-High Goblin’s Soul [USSR+ Rank]
-High Goblin’s Bone [USSR+ Rank]
“A Grade I haven’t seen in ages.”
Now that Jin-woo had reached L-Rank, USSR+ Grade was indeed a tier he hadn’t encountered in a long while.
“To think I’d triumph over the High Goblins’ assault this easily…… I never expected it.”
Velasquez drank in the Dark Refinement Technique Jin-woo had deployed with both eyes.
“Magnificent. Truly magnificent. An overwhelming display of craftsmanship. The Dark Equipment I forge pales in comparison—sheer different dimensions. I think I should be learning hand-crafting techniques from you instead.”
Velasquez spoke with a smile.
Sincerity lay beneath that laughter.
“Thank you.”
Velasquez expressed his gratitude to Jin-woo with genuine feeling.
“Not at all. Against what you taught me, I still haven’t repaid the debt.”
Velasquez shook his head at Jin-woo’s words.
“No, this is enough. Now I just need to seal the Mana Storm. No matter how cunning those High Goblins are or what Holy Power they wield, they can’t break through the Mana Storm.”
Velasquez immediately swept his hand.
Dark mana began gathering, then spread outward.
The opened Mana Storm started to recover and seal itself shut.
Rumble—!
“Phew.”
The fact that Jin-woo had simply shattered the Mana Storm and breached it was honestly shocking. It wasn’t something that broke from a simple attack—multiple conditions had to be satisfied to enter.
And all those conditions were a process proving one posed no threat to Velasquez.
“Still…… well, all’s well that ends well, right?”
But it was sealed now, so it worked out.
Velasquez, looking more relieved, reached out to Jin-woo and showed him something.
Flare—.
“The Great Fire. Only one-third remains, yet the greatness hasn’t faded.”
Jin-woo had come seeking the Great Fire, the legacy of the Twin God of Fire and Soul.
“You said you came looking for this, didn’t you? I’ll give it to you. Once you have the Great Fire, your Dark Refinement Technique will reach an even higher completion. Right now, you’re using the Dark Refinement Technique without the Great Fire at all.”
That’s why Velasquez couldn’t help but be taken aback.
He’d thought a blacksmith would manage well, but this was really on an incomprehensible level.
“Without the Great Fire…… how did you forge such things? Your craftsmanship is far more than just ‘a bit good.'”
If such things could be made with merely good craftsmanship, then Velasquez might as well have had no hands.
“Thank you for the praise.”
Jin-woo received the Great Fire from Velasquez.
-The Great Fire dwells within you.
-The Great Fire merges with your soul!
Flare—!
“Try once more. Your very capacity to wield the Dark Refinement Technique will have changed.”
Swish—.
Jin-woo extracted darkness and deployed the Dark Refinement Technique anew.
“!”
Velasquez was right.
‘The Great Fire grips the darkness far better.’
It caught the darkness that seeped in momentarily, fixed it, and allowed Jin-woo to command the darkness exactly as he desired.
Smooth—.
Jin-woo immediately began to shape the darkness.
“Just as expected.”
Even without the Great Fire, Jin-woo had molded equipment freely.
With the Great Fire in hand, the darkness transformed as if bowing to Jin-woo—without the slightest resistance.
-You have shaped darkness.
-You have created Dark Equipment!
A new piece of Dark Equipment was born in Jin-woo’s hands.
A rather elongated rapier fashioned solely for a single, supremely powerful thrust.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo regarded the Dark Equipment with clear satisfaction, then examined his own hands.
‘And this is only one-third.’
The Great Fire Jin-woo had obtained was not the original.
One-third of the original.
With the complete Great Fire, he could control darkness far more masterfully.
‘It’s not just about crafting equipment through the Dark Refinement Technique. There are more ways to harness darkness.’
So there was no reason to settle for one-third.
“But didn’t you say the High Goblins possess two-thirds of the Great Fire?”
Velasquez frowned at Jin-woo’s words.
“They do. But they’re strong. Beyond the Holy Power those we’ve encountered possess, they also have Mechanical Engineering Equipment.”
It was to say that reclaiming it would be quite difficult.
“That’s rather good news.”
“……?”
To Velasquez, Holy Power and diverse Mechanical Engineering Equipment would be fatally troublesome factors.
Yet for Jin-woo, they actually worked in his favor.
“It should be simple.”
Jin-woo had no intention whatsoever of settling for one-third.
“Let’s go reclaim it.”
* * *
Northern Plateau of Sacra.
A peculiar settlement sprawled across a tract of land some distance from the spire.
There were quite a few tents erected as if hastily constructed, and at their center stood buildings—structures that embodied the very essence of High Goblin intelligence.
What ordinary goblins could never build, they had overcome with their sharp minds.
The same held true for Mechanical Engineering Equipment.
Among them, the cleverest High Goblin was currently forging Mechanical Engineering Equipment.
“The signal hasn’t come.”
“No signal? There’s no way that could’ve happened to that Velasquez bastard. That weak, pathetic Necromancer ought to be helpless against Holy Power.”
Among the High Goblins, one whose head was a couple of sizes larger than the rest—that was the cleverest of them.
A High Hobgoblin: Mengka.
The king commanding these High Goblins.
He was draped entirely in Mechanical Engineering Equipment.
Clad in the finest Mechanical Engineering Equipment he’d forged himself, he’d survived in this tainted North.
“The end of revenge draws near. For that, we’ll need more of the Great Fire. We must bring that Necromancer Velasquez back to our side.”
He was the settlement’s supreme warrior and supreme craftsman alike—indispensable.
Every High Goblin in the settlement possessed Mechanical Engineering Equipment Mengka had created, and through it, he was preparing a grand vengeance.
“Lord Mengka.”
“The Eternal Ore mining team has returned.”
“……Our apologies, Lord Mengka.”
“We tried our best, but it was no good.”
“We need more of the Great Fire! We must have more of the Great Fire!”
“But is the Eternal Ore truly necessary? We have the Great Fire now, so couldn’t we take our revenge against the humans of Sacra?”
Their purpose, their dream, was to mine the Eternal Ore within this Millennium Cave.
This Eternal Ore was the primordial mineral from which Sacra Eternite sprang.
And not merely Sacra Eternite alone.
All minerals of Sacra derived from this ore.
“The Eternal Ore must be obtained. Only then can we overwhelm all Mechanical Engineering Equipment. The Runestone, Sacra Eternite, all else—they all flow from this Eternal Ore. If we have the power of the origin, we can dominate everything that came from it.”
Mengka urged them onward.
Mining the Eternal Ore was no simple task, yet without it, they could not defeat the humans.
“Humans are strong. Stronger than our own strength.”
“……But a Necromancer like that Velasquez…….”
“That’s why he’s a Necromancer. The humans of Sacra are far stronger—we need the Eternal Ore.”
“……Yes.”
After convincing the High Goblins, Mengka himself made ready to move.
“Hear me, all goblins. From now, we march to claim the remaining Great Fire.”
“Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!”
The High Goblins let out their characteristic cries.
“Now shall our land be centered on this! We cannot continue to suffer at the hands of the humans who tainted our land and made our lives this way. We shall seize it back and have our vengeance!”
“Ooh! Ooh!”
“Ooh—!”
“The entire army—”
Just as the order to advance was about to drop.
Something appeared in the distance.
“……A human?”
Not merely a human.
Swish—. Swish—.
Scattering darkness all around, a human approached slowly.
Swish—. Swish—.
“Coming while scattering darkness.”
Velasquez stood beside him.
Seeing this, another High Goblin began to cackle.
It seemed Velasquez had brought reinforcements. But he’d brought another Necromancer as reinforcement—of all things.
Only a Necromancer scattered darkness like that.
“Ha! That coward of a Necromancer brought a human ally!”
“Hahahaha—! If you bring another Necromancer to our side as an ally, you’ll face the same fate!”
“How foolish!”
Yet Mengka alone did not sneer.
Rather, his brow furrowed.
Moreover, his breathing quickened.
“……Impossible.”
It was impossible.
His breathing rapid, his body began to tremble.
Shake—shake—shake—.
“Lord Mengka?”
“That’s…… not just a human.”
The High Hobgoblin Mengka seized his own heart.
Thump—. Thump—. Thump—.
“Look at the helmet!”
The Bone-Wing Helmet Jin-woo wore seemed ordinary at first glance, yet any true blacksmith would recognize the power woven into it.
“Not a Necromancer…… a blacksmith. An overwhelmingly skilled blacksmith…….”
But the High Goblins could not discern this.
Only Mengka recognized it, and deep dread began to seize him.
“A monster. A true monster. To forge such a helmet—no human should be capable of such a thing!”
He would have praised ordinary equipment.
But this could not be called ordinary equipment.
Even Mengka had not imagined being overwhelmed by a single piece of gear.
“Damn. Curse it. Hell.”
Mengka slammed his own hands repeatedly.
Yet the trembling would not cease.
As Mengka succumbed to fear, the High Goblins grew flustered.
“W-what shall we do, Lord Mengka?”
“…….”
Mengka himself could not grasp what to do.
But the answer had already come.
“Attack…….”
But then.
Jin-woo’s voice rang out.
“I’ve come to talk—!”
At that, relief washed across Mengka’s face. So he meant to negotiate first?
Even better.
If it could be settled through talk, then talk it would be.
He had plenty to say as well.
“Good…….”
But before those words finished, the High Goblins in front raised their weapons high.
Mengka’s Mechanical Engineering Equipment had filled them with confidence.
“Nonsense!”
“What talk is there to have! Vermin like you understand the weight of sin only in death!”
“Go tell it to your own kind!”
“Graaaaaah!”
“Charge!”
“Rush forward!”
Mengka swept his hand.
“Damn it.”
Mengka spat out a curse.
“I meant to talk! Everyone fall back—…….”
Boom—!
The High-Speed Boots he’d fashioned shone brilliantly. In an instant, a High Goblin closed the distance to Jin-woo.
“There. Open that mouth of yours, human!”
And that High Goblin crumpled an instant later.
“First.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue.
“Too bad. I was trying to do this through words.”
When they came at him like this, it couldn’t be helped.
“I gave fair warning.”

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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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