The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 46

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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 46
Episode 46.
First stood guard beside his master, holding the Dwarf Silver Staff.
To ensure his master’s perfect creation, he had to protect him.
Whoosh—
Clang!
Jin-woo could now create two more Familiars.
‘Having used First, I think it’d be good to have Familiars of various types.’
First was quite well-suited for combat.
So he didn’t need a combat-oriented Familiar right now.
‘I need a Familiar I can use in diverse ways.’
For that, a swift Familiar would be better.
‘Since I’m using bones to create a skeleton, there are no real constraints.’
In other words, though the property itself remained skeletal, the form itself could be customized however Jin-woo wanted.
Clang! Clang!
“Not too tall.”
Clang!
“Make the skeleton developed like muscle.”
Jin-woo crafted while imagining a versatile Familiar in the mold of a skilled Practitioner.
-Bone Making proficiency increases!
From the start, Jin-woo had high understanding of bone.
With that high understanding, proficiency rose swiftly as he shaped the skeleton.
-Skeleton created!
“A swift-type skeleton.”
For a name.
“Practitioner.”
Jin-woo inserted the soul of a Cyclops into the swift-type skeleton.
Whoosh—
The Cyclops’s soul entered the swift-type skeleton.
-A second Familiar is born!
-A Familiar contract is established!
Creak—
The swift-type skeleton slowly rose to its feet.
“From now on, your name is Practitioner.”
The newly named Familiar looked at Jin-woo.
Like a skeletal knight, both eyes glowed blue.
‘Can’t it speak?’
“What… shall… I… do… first.”
Practitioner spoke in a clipped, measured tone.
“Oh.”
As expected, with the Cyclops’s soul inside, it began speaking from the start.
Practitioner’s gaze was sharp enough that it seemed capable of assassinating monsters at any moment.
‘The skeleton was fashioned from Cyclops bones.’
Moreover, unlike when he created First, Jin-woo was now an SS-Rank Crafter.
Not to mention his Dexterity stat was quite high.
So the skeleton’s craftsmanship was bound to be excellent.
“From now on, you’ll have a very important task.”
“I… will… eliminate… all… of… master’s… enemies. Please… give… your… command.”
Jin-woo spoke to Practitioner.
“You’ll be collecting materials.”
“…Pardon?”
“Collect materials from the monsters First hunts, and gather medicinal herbs when you find them.”
Jin-woo said this with a serious expression.
“It’s a very important task. Really.”
And it truly was important—at least to Jin-woo.
* * *
Jin-woo opened the Familiar list to check information about his second Familiar, Practitioner.
[Familiar List] 2/3
1.
Name: First
——-
Rank: Rare LV 1
Type: Undead, Melee
[Weapon] Dwarf Silver Staff
[Armor]
2.
Name: Practitioner
——-
Rank: Rare LV 3
Type: Undead, Melee
[Weapon] None
[Armor] None
Traits: High Command Comprehension, Agility
“First’s Rank went up as his level rose?”
First’s previous level was Common LV 3.
From there, after leveling up, he became Rare LV 1.
“So Level 3 is the ceiling, it seems.”
Practitioner was Rare LV 3.
“It has Traits attached?”
There was text that wasn’t present on First.
Traits.
Practitioner was quite an excellent Familiar, with Traits attached.
It had two Traits total.
“High Command Comprehension and Agility.”
The concept from when the skeleton was crafted had manifested exactly as intended.
“Whatever I order it to do, it’ll excel.”
And since a Cyclops’s soul was inside, it was bound to be strong.
“First, there’s a monster.”
“Understood.”
The two Familiars worked together quite well.
Practitioner was far more sensitive than First and had excellent hearing for monster sounds. Once Practitioner confirmed the location, First would attack.
Crack! Crackle!
Slash—
And once they hunted the monster that way, the next phase belonged to Practitioner.
Practitioner gathered every scrap of material that fell from the monster without exception.
At first it had seemed awkward, but now it was natural. The moment a monster hit the ground, Practitioner moved and collected materials.
And occasionally, it even harvested medicinal herbs.
“After I showed it which herbs to look for, it turned into automatic hunting with automatic collection.”
It felt like a magnet pet from old games that would gather every item that fell to the ground.
All materials Practitioner collected went straight into Jin-woo’s inventory.
Seeing this, he wanted to create one more Familiar and use it similarly, but he stopped himself.
“I won’t create another Familiar right away.”
He decided to keep one slot open.
“I’ll create another when the need arises.”
Jin-woo moved swiftly through the forest with his two Familiars.
After some time had passed.
He reached the location marked by the quest marker.
“Here it is.”
This was where the flame craftsman Rodin was supposedly located.
But there was nothing at the marked location.
“There’s nothing here.”
As Jin-woo slowly approached the spot.
Whoosh—
-Proceeding with Allmaster’s Disciples quest.
-The mist clears.
The forest space turned white, then gradually began to dissipate. And after it cleared, what appeared was an enormous mansion.
-Entering Rodin’s Flame Mansion!
Rodin’s Flame Mansion.
Whoosh—Whoosh—whoosh!
“What?”
Jin-woo frowned.
“The mansion is burning.”
The mansion was ablaze with wild intensity.
And with brilliantly crimson flames at that.
“Could it be…”
Jin-woo rushed toward the mansion with his two Familiars.
“He’s not dead, is he?”
Whoosh—whoosh!
As he drew closer to the mansion, the flames surged as if to engulf Jin-woo and his companions.
-First takes damage.
-Practitioner takes damage.
“Bone is naturally weak to flame.”
Jin-woo immediately unsummoned his two Familiars.
-Familiar has been unsummoned.
-Due to the rune [Will of Fire], damage is reduced.
Thanks to the rune’s effect, Jin-woo’s damage was minimized.
After examining the mansion from various angles, Jin-woo realized there was nowhere to enter.
“Hmm.”
Jin-woo moved closer.
Fire in the forest—normally the entire forest would have burned, but oddly, only the mansion was burning.
‘Something’s off.’
Jin-woo examined the form of the flames more carefully.
“The mansion isn’t the one burning.”
The flames were blazing, but they weren’t actually consuming anything.
“It’s guarding the mansion’s perimeter.”
It was functioning like a barrier—to prevent anyone from carelessly entering the mansion.
“Hmm.”
If that was the case, then there might not be an emergency.
“If the barrier is active, it means it’s thoroughly blocking outside access. So there are no enemies inside.”
But that simultaneously meant Jin-woo couldn’t enter either.
“Normal methods won’t work.”
Then there was no choice.
“I’ll have to break through.”
Jin-woo had the rune [Will of Fire].
A rune that greatly increased flame resistance—he could definitely endure this.
Jin-woo took a deep breath.
Then without hesitation, he leaped into the flames.
-Intense heat!
-Powerful flame damage incoming!
-Rune effect activates.
-Flame Resistance! Damage is reduced.
But the damage was only reduced, not negated.
“Ugh.”
His high Synchronization Rate brought with it tremendous pain.
But Jin-woo didn’t stop.
“I have to learn Crafting.”
Pain like this was bearable.
“The applications of Crafting are boundless!”
With such tremendous resolve, a Blessing descended upon Jin-woo’s head.
-The Deity of Flame and Creation says you’re insane.
-A new deity takes notice of you.
-A new deity bestows their Blessing upon you!
-The Goddess of Fire and the Hearth bestows the Blessing of Flame upon you!
-Rune [Flame Breathing] obtained!
-Rune [Flame Breathing]
Description: When taking flame damage, you recover a portion of your health.
“Oh.”
In fact, Jin-woo had leaped into the flames with faith in the Deity of Flame and Creation.
The rune he had given him, and if he were to die, he was certain that deity would help him.
If he didn’t help?
‘That’d just be the first time I die.’
Pain was bearable either way. He just hadn’t known if another new deity might offer additional patronage.
‘If they call her the Goddess of Fire and the Hearth…’
There could only be one such being.
“Thank you.”
Whoosh—
Jin-woo pushed forward through the flames.
-You take damage!
-You take critical damage!
-Health recovers!
-Health recovers!
Wounded and recovered.
Wounded again and recovered again—repeating this cycle, Jin-woo was finally able to cross the flames and emerge into the mansion’s courtyard.
“Ugh.”
But the process had involved considerable pain.
“High Synchronization Rate has its drawbacks too.”
Crackle—
Yet something cool approached before him.
“To breach the flames and enter like this.”
An NPC with brilliant crimson hair stood there.
“How did this happen? Are you a contracted servant of a flame spirit?”
“No, I simply broke through.”
“…?”
The red-haired NPC eyed Jin-woo suspiciously. Then took a hostile stance.
It was only natural.
The flames around this mansion were meant to keep intruders out.
If someone broke through them, they could only be an enemy.
Should Jin-woo make even the slightest suspicious move, the Crafted Blade the NPC held to his throat would pierce him straight through.
“Wait, please.”
Jin-woo raised his hands to show he was harmless, blocking the red-haired NPC who seemed ready to strike at any moment.
“Aren’t you Rodin?”
At the mention of the name, suspicion deepened on his face.
“You know me?”
“Greetings. I am Jin-woo. I’ve come seeking you on the introduction of Hoz.”
At the mention of Hoz, Rodin’s wariness melted away like snow.
“Oh. A disciple of Hoz! A name I’ve missed.”
-You have met Rodin, the Flame Craftsman.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Rodin. A Craftsman.”
Rodin was quite an ornate NPC.
Two necklaces were layered around his neck, and every finger bore a ring.
Bracelets adorned his wrists, and atop his head sat a jeweled hat.
“Come inside for now.”
* * *
Rodin’s mansion was as ornate as Rodin’s appearance.
It was filled with jewels, and every corner bore crafted gems.
Decorations had gems.
Chairs had gems. Tables had gems.
‘His Crafting skill is quite remarkable.’
Everything was crafted, and the quality was exceptional. Merely seeing it was a delight to the eye.
As a result, Jin-woo felt quite at ease.
‘Well-made items bring joy just by looking at them.’
Jin-woo sat in the ornate reception hall, waiting for Rodin.
“It’s truly astonishing. Those flames aren’t something one can simply break through. Until now, no one has managed to breach them.”
Rodin clicked his tongue.
“I’ll need to increase the firepower when I come back. I’ve used quite a few Rubies because of this.”
Then he sat before Jin-woo.
“So, Jin-woo, disciple of Hoz. What brings you to seek me out?”
Rodin got straight to the point.
“I’ve come to learn Crafting techniques. I initially tried to learn from Hoz, but he told me to find someone more suited to me.”
Jin-woo spoke.
“He said no one surpasses you in wielding flame, and that I should learn both flame and Crafting from the greatest Craftsman. So I came.”
“You say you’re Hoz’s disciple? Hoz isn’t known for his way with words, but he’s certainly picked a fine one for once!”
Rodin said with a slight smile.
“But I can’t teach you easily. Even if it’s Hoz’s request…”
“Hoz said he originally wanted to send me to his master.”
“…What?”
Rodin’s expression hardened at those words.
“Are you that accomplished?”
‘It seems the master truly holds great significance for these people.’
Rodin immediately stood from his seat.
“Then let’s see.”
He pointed inward.
“Your skill.”

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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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