The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 53

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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 53
Episode 53.
“SS-Grade.”
“!”
The Jade Stone was no less than SS-Grade.
‘It’s a higher tier than the Elven Luna Stone.’
More than that, this was an SS-Grade gemstone.
‘Gemstones and minerals are completely different things.’
On top of that, the Jade Stone was something Jin-woo had never worked with before, so his anticipation was only natural.
‘The Elven Luna Stone felt absolutely exquisite in my hands.’
So what would an SS-Grade gemstone be like?
‘I’d probably go mad.’
Jin-woo nodded without hesitation.
With an SS-Grade gemstone, what couldn’t he accomplish?
“I’ll be happy to help.”
With materials like these, there was no reason to refuse.
“I’ll take care of it. So if you could provide it beforehand.”
“Much obliged.”
“Yes!”
Jin-woo’s motivation had never been more intense.
* * *
The Gem Mine.
This place lay more than a kilometer away from Rodin’s Burning Mansion.
“Do you see it?”
Having arrived near the Gem Mine alongside Rodin, Jin-woo looked toward where the man pointed.
A horde of monsters gathered there.
They were massive creatures with green skin, and at a glance, it was clear what kind of monsters they were.
“Are those Orcs?”
“Not just any Orcs.”
Rodin replied.
“They’re Int Orcs.”
“Int Orcs?”
Intelligence Orcs.
“They’re the superior subspecies of Orc called Intelligence Orcs.”
In short, Int Orcs were the higher breed of Orc.
Put another way, just as there existed a distinctly superior High Elf among elves, Orcs also had their superior strain.
Int Orcs were far larger and far more intelligent than ordinary Orcs.
“They certainly do seem different.”
Jin-woo studied them carefully.
Their massive frames.
And above all, intelligence gleamed in their eyes.
Moreover, the Orcs Jin-woo knew of used crude equipment haphazardly.
But these creatures wielded proper gear.
“!”
That wasn’t all.
“Did those Orcs make their own equipment?”
“They did. And special power is imbued in it.”
Jin-woo narrowed his eyes, focusing intently.
One of the Orcs carried a Greatsword, and something like characters were inscribed upon its surface.
“That’s the technique called Rune Engraving.”
Rune Engraving.
That was the nature of what caught Jin-woo’s attention.
“They’re well made, aren’t they? And that Greatsword with the Rune Engraving…”
“It’s accomplished work.”
As Rodin said, the equipment was indeed accomplished.
“Now I understand why you had no choice but to retreat.”
‘They’re definitely dangerous.’
“There’s something even more dangerous.”
But Rodin said the trouble didn’t end there.
“Among them is an Orc who can perform Rune Engraving professionally — a remarkable creature. Not merely a monster, but the sort of individual you’d call the king leading this entire race.”
Among monsters existed those who transcended the boundaries of their kind, surpassing even humans.
Named Monsters.
“See him? The massive Orc wearing a huge hat, leaning on a Staff.”
Jin-woo’s expression shifted in surprise.
“The Rune Engravings are different. He has them alone.”
The Staff he held bore Rune Engravings. But there was more.
“Rune Engravings on his body.”
The same characters that covered his equipment were inscribed across his flesh.
His arms, legs, and even his neck.
Every exposed part of his body bore Rune Engravings.
Like tattoos.
“That Orc is the tribe’s Great Chieftain, and simultaneously its Grand Rune-Master. His name is Rigardo. He’s the primary reason I had no choice but to flee.”
Rodin clicked his tongue.
“To defeat that Rigardo, you’ll need formidable equipment. Since you’re a smith, if you could create gear through Flame Crafting… then victory would be possible.”
When Jin-woo fell silent, Rodin nodded as if in understanding.
Jin-woo certainly possessed extraordinary skill with his hands.
But fighting was another matter entirely.
“Rodin, what you want is to reclaim the Gem Mine, isn’t it?”
“…Not so much reclaim it as share it. The mine was never mine alone anyway.”
The mine had no owner.
“I’d at least like to share it, but they’ve already refused. They even attacked me. In that case, we have no choice but to settle it through combat.”
Rodin spoke plainly.
‘Hmm.’
Jin-woo studied Rigardo closely.
‘Settling it through combat would be nice. Simple enough. Just hunt them all down.’
Jin-woo had First, and the newly crafted equipment as well.
These Int Orcs looked formidable, but with proper strategy, there was nothing he couldn’t overcome.
Yet Jin-woo’s attention fixed on Rigardo’s equipment. No — not merely the equipment. He observed the tattoos inscribed across his body.
‘These aren’t just tattoos.’
The markings had been drawn with systematic precision.
Like magical incantations.
‘That’s no mere design.’
Work rendered with such uniformity and clarity had already become equipment fused with his very body.
‘I can’t just kill him.’
This was something Jin-woo had never experienced before.
If that were so, he wanted to experience it.
How those Rune Engravings and tattoos could enhance equipment in such a manner.
“Rodin, there’s no fixed method for resolving this situation, is there?”
“As long as the situation is resolved, any method will do. But those stubborn brutes don’t seem resolvable except through combat.”
“Since you’ve entrusted this to me, I’ll go handle it.”
Jin-woo’s focus settled on Rigardo, who led them.
‘I can resolve this with words.’
Jin-woo was a craftsman.
‘A craftsman speaks through equipment.’
Jin-woo began cautiously approaching them.
* * *
“Sigh…”
“How much longer must we remain in this mine?”
“The Great Chieftain is devising a solution. We must wait.”
“But that red-eyed one is far too fearsome an opponent.”
“What if we sought aid from the humans?”
“They see us only as monsters to be hunted.”
“Isn’t it because of our foolish brethren?”
“If you speak such comparisons, then humans and we become no different. So refrain from such words.”
“Grrgh—. This is infuriating, infuriating.”
The Int Orcs standing guard were deeply dissatisfied with their situation.
“We wish to reclaim our land, our home.”
“We wish to burn away this power!”
They had not come here by choice.
“Grrgh! Someone approaches!”
“Is it that human from before!?”
But the one who approached was an entirely different human.
“That human… is it not the one from before?”
“Yes! That human!”
“No, it’s that human!”
Though Int Orcs were intelligent, all humans looked much the same to their eyes.
Yet even among them, some possessed keener perception.
“A different human!”
“Human! Stand back. We are resting here for now.”
The human, Jin-woo, remained still at their warning.
Then he summoned the Workshop.
Whoosh—
“Do you like Accessories?”
“…Accessories?”
“You mean shiny things?”
“Yes.”
Int Orcs were so massive that Accessories were scarce among them.
At most, bone necklaces made by shamans could be worn, but only they had the right.
“We wouldn’t mind having one…”
Jin-woo crafted gems on the spot.
Whoosh—
When dark flames erupted, the Int Orcs briefly tensed, but the moment they realized the flames were for crafting Accessories, they began watching with keen interest.
A human had suddenly appeared and was making Accessories.
“Consider them gifts from me. I’m a blacksmith, after all.”
“A blacksmith makes… Accessories too?”
“This human blacksmith is unusual!”
“But why give us such things?”
Jin-woo answered the Int Orc’s question.
“I wish to meet your Great Chieftain.”
“…Meet the Great Chieftain?”
“Human, the Great Chieftain is occupied. Though we’re grateful for your gift, of course.”
Any trace of hostility in the Int Orcs toward Jin-woo’s Accessories had vanished.
“Your equipment — your Great Chieftain made it, didn’t he?”
“How did you know, human?”
“A craftsman would recognize it at once. Your Great Chieftain’s skill seems extraordinary. Are these characters Rune Engravings, by any chance?”
Jin-woo spoke based on what he’d learned from Rodin.
“!”
“How do you know so much? Human, you crafted this Accessory instantly. Are you perhaps an extraordinary craftsman yourself?”
The Int Orcs began regarding Jin-woo with new respect.
“Your Great Chieftain is the extraordinary one, not me. Look at this. Your equipment with Rune Engravings — it’s incredible work. I’ve never managed something like that.”
Speaking thus, Jin-woo continued his praise.
“Grrgh!”
“He speaks truth, human! Our Great Chieftain is truly remarkable!”
“Indeed! A human who recognizes the excellence of the Great Chieftain’s work is surely skilled himself!”
Jin-woo spoke further.
“Because I want to create equipment as magnificent as yours, I came seeking to learn from your Great Chieftain.”
“!”
The Int Orcs were startled that a human wished to learn from them.
Humans had never before asked to learn from their kind.
Humans had only ever viewed them as monsters.
Their Great Chieftain possessed remarkable ability.
Yet even he had been treated as a mere monster by humans, despite his superior craft.
But now, having their achievements acknowledged, the eyes of the Int Orcs grew misty.
“Human, come with us.”
“We shall bring you to the Great Chieftain.”
“It’s not our right to grant you instruction, but we can certainly lead you!”
This was a human who spoke well of their respected Great Chieftain.
There was no reason such a human would harbor ill intent.
Jin-woo smiled softly and followed in their wake.
* * *
Rodin, watching from a distance, grew considerably uneasy.
Those Int Orcs were quite violent.
“They’re not the sort you can reason with.”
Yet Jin-woo had said he’d resolve it through words.
To use words on creatures who wouldn’t listen to reason.
No matter how skilled Jin-woo was, Rodin himself was far superior in combat.
“I should prepare myself.”
Should Jin-woo suddenly find himself in conflict with the Int Orcs, Rodin needed to be ready to join the fight and extract him.
“Or perhaps fight alongside him and bring down the Great Chieftain.”
As Rodin tensed thus.
Jin-woo suddenly summoned something.
“…A Workshop?”
What Jin-woo had summoned was a Workshop.
A hearth, anvil, and workbench. Unmistakably a Workshop.
“What exactly is that?”
Setting aside the fact that he’d summoned a Workshop, Jin-woo began crafting at once.
Using dark flames, he quickly fashioned rings and presented them to the Int Orcs.
The Int Orcs began expressing considerable delight.
After exchanging a few words, Jin-woo soon followed in their footsteps.
“What…?”
Jin-woo had followed the Int Orcs quite naturally.
Rodin, watching, found himself at a loss for words.
“He pulled it off like that…?”
Rodin marveled at Jin-woo’s swift command of words and his technical mastery, which had dissolved hostility in mere moments.
“I could have done that myself.”
To Rodin, the Int Orcs had been nothing but adversaries to be fought.
But to Jin-woo, they were something else entirely.
To him, the Int Orcs too were creatures who would listen to the language of his craft.
“Perhaps they appeared differently to you.”
Rodin let out a breath.
“Ha. I’ve learned something today.”
A craftsman speaks only through his equipment.

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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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