The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 55

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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 55
55.
-A new god marvels at your Rune Inscription!
-The green-skinned god reveals their name to you!
-The green-skinned god asks if you are a half-breed!
As Jin-woo understood and inscribed Rigardo’s Rune Inscription, a new god began to take notice of Jin-woo.
A green-skinned god.
The moment the god took notice, they revealed their name.
‘So they’re a god of the orcs?’
It was obvious just from the name.
‘But if they’re a green-skinned god, wouldn’t they only bless orcs?’
Normally, a god of another race would never bless a human like Jin-woo.
That was how it usually worked.
But this god, despite being from another race, apparently couldn’t help themselves and bestowed a blessing anyway.
‘Seems they couldn’t resist.’
Jin-woo let out a quiet laugh. He seemed to have understood Rune Inscription in the right direction.
“Thank you!”
“Hah. Our god has blessed you. Jin-woo, how remarkable. Truly remarkable!”
Rigardo clapped his hands as he watched Jin-woo receive the blessing from the green-skinned god.
He had never seen such a thing.
An orc god blessing a human!
But what Jin-woo had just shown was something that even the orc gods would find difficult to resist.
“You certainly deserved it. Worthy of such a blessing.”
Rigardo, who had been somewhat excited, slowly tried to calm himself.
Or rather, he made an effort to do so.
“You’ve accomplished something extraordinary. Jin-woo, truth be told, I showed a shameful face just now. I tried to stop you.”
Rigardo lowered his head.
“I apologize, Jin-woo.”
“No, it’s understandable.”
Jin-woo was actually surprised that Rigardo was apologizing.
‘He’s more upright than I thought. They said Intelligence Orc, and it wasn’t an exaggeration.’
Whether it was in his craftsmanship or his character—or rather, his orc nature—there was something quite genteel about him.
‘Besides, I wouldn’t have stopped even if he’d tried.’
Jin-woo first examined the rune marks inscribed on his own body. The Arkshak was properly carved as intended.
Thanks to the synergy of this Arkshak, he could now perform Rune Inscription much more easily.
“Is this permanent once inscribed on my body?”
“Inscriptions on the body aren’t permanent. They fade gradually. But inscriptions on equipment last eternally—until that equipment breaks.”
Rigardo explained.
“You have now formally learned the power of the craft from me. I have shared that power with you. From now on, we are brothers.”
“Then I should give you something in return, shouldn’t I?”
Jin-woo crafted an accessory on the spot.
“That workshop… I covet it greatly.”
Rigardo’s eyes showed considerable longing, but Jin-woo pretended not to notice.
Scritch—.
He wove platinum and gold together with a polishing stone blade to create a bracelet.
Whoosh—.
He added Fire Engraving to it.
His hands moved so fast they were barely visible, yet the precision was extraordinary.
‘I also wanted to test how quickly I could make something.’
Even Jin-woo was amazed at the speed he could achieve.
Exhale.
-You have created a Platinum Gold Bracelet!
The time taken was just over forty minutes.
Rigardo marveled as Jin-woo completed an S-Tier accessory in such a short span of time.
“Indeed, your craftsmanship is remarkably extraordinary! To create such an accessory in just forty minutes. We cannot do this. I, at least, cannot.”
Such delicate movements were something even Rigardo, who had performed Rune Inscription his entire life, could execute—but maintaining such precision while increasing speed was entirely impossible for him.
“This is my thanks for teaching me Rune Inscription.”
Jin-woo applied Rune Inscription to the accessory.
-Rune Inscription: Arkshak
-A Special Option is granted.
-Special Option: Strength Attribute Enhancement
‘It seems simple, but the difficulty is considerable. That’s why such a powerful Special Option is inevitably attached.’
It was merely the act of carving characters, but carving those characters was incredibly difficult.
The resulting Special Option had excellent specifications.
‘And the fact that I can grant the option I want is itself incredible.’
To control an option, you ultimately had to modify the materials.
Or else you had to master using materials through multiple crafting methods, but even for someone like Jin-woo, you couldn’t perfectly guarantee the option you desired.
But with this, if you inscribed the characters correctly, you could grant the Special Option you wanted.
‘In that sense, it rivals Fire Engraving in power.’
Since Jin-woo possessed both Fire Engraving and Rune Inscription, the equipment he would create from now on would have a significant advantage in option attribution.
“Thank you. Though I must say, this engraving is truly extraordinary.”
Rigardo recognized the Fire Engraving.
“This is certainly a technique I know. Are you perhaps a companion of that human?”
Rigardo described that human.
Thud—. A staff struck the ground and Rodin’s form appeared through magic.
“Yes. He’s my master.”
“Your master. Yet you came here only to learn Rune Inscription from me?”
“That was the primary reason. But there are other reasons as well.”
Jin-woo gave a brief explanation of the situation.
“…So that’s why I’m puzzled about why you two came to the Jewel Mine.”
“There’s a reason for that too.”
Rigardo’s eyes widened.
“Since we’ve become brothers, I’ll tell you. After hearing this story… would you be able to help us if possible? I’ll make sure the compensation is worthwhile. And we’ll leave this Jewel Mine so your master can use it again.”
* * *
“Why isn’t he coming out?”
Rodin had waited for quite some time.
Yet Jin-woo showed no sign of emerging.
“Could it be…”
Rigardo was far more ferocious than the Intelligence Orc guards.
When Rodin first encountered them, he had maintained the upper hand against the Intelligence Orcs until Rigardo appeared.
“Rigardo is different. That one is dangerous.”
He possessed power that could turn the tide of battle in an instant, and above all, he was coldly methodical.
“That fellow has the makings of a general. Or perhaps a lord.”
With further growth, he had the potential to become a king. His charisma was that formidable.
“If Jin-woo was captured by that Rigardo…”
There was nothing to do but go rescue him as his master!
Rodin immediately stood up from his seat.
Then he dashed toward where the Intelligence Orc guards were stationed.
!
“It’s the flame human!”
“Do not attack!”
Rodin charged forward prepared for counterattack if necessary, but was considerably bewildered to see the Intelligence Orc guards actually opening a path for him.
“…?”
He could only slow his charging momentum.
“Why… are you opening a path for me?”
“The human who entered first instructed us to open the path.”
“He said that if a human who uses flame enters, we should simply open the way, so we do.”
“…”
Rodin lowered his guard.
So he’d anticipated that Rodin would charge in like this.
“Hmm.”
Rodin regarded the Intelligence Orcs.
“Then take me to where Jin-woo is.”
It seemed he really might be able to use the Jewel Mine again.
* * *
Originally, the Intelligence Orcs had been living in the Northern Mountains, quite far from Bruckle.
“It was our land.”
The Northern Mountains were the Intelligence Orcs’ territory, and among the countless monsters there, none possessed the intelligence that the Intelligence Orcs had.
Thus they had lived for a long time as rulers of the Northern Mountains.
“A tower suddenly appeared in the Northern Mountains recently.”
With the emergence of the tower came a new presence.
“They called themselves guardians of the tower and attacked us.”
Massive in stature.
And possessing overwhelming power, the Intelligence Orcs were ultimately driven from the Northern Mountains.
“There was one called Red Eye at the center of it all, and we fled from Red Eye. Thus we came to be here.”
Rigardo, who led these Intelligence Orcs, was consumed with rage.
“I failed to protect my kin. I have no face to show to our long-departed ancestors.”
Yet that rage had nowhere to direct itself.
The Intelligence Orcs were too intelligent to lose their reason and rampage blindly.
Thus they were gradually driven back to Bruckle, to where the Jewel Mine lay.
“Here we decided to regain our strength. We planned to rearm ourselves using the gems from the Jewel Mine.”
In the process, conflict arose with Rodin.
“This is why we came here.”
Rigardo explained.
“What I wish to ask is that you would lend your strength in helping us reclaim our homeland.”
Rigardo believed that with Jin-woo’s overwhelming craftsmanship, they could even defeat Red Eye.
“I myself have some skill in crafting, but it falls short. The equipment I’ve made for my kin relies largely on my Rune Inscription rather than the quality of the equipment itself. With such equipment, we could not win. I came here and crafted equipment anew, but there were limits.”
This was the full account of events.
‘We’ve been fighting for no reason.’
Rodin and the Intelligence Orcs had no need to fight.
‘Actually, this is better. Now we can resolve this more amicably. But…’
After hearing the full story, Jin-woo felt a sense of unease.
‘This happened recently?’
The quest itself seemed to have arisen only recently.
‘The timing is awfully suspect.’
Jin-woo searched his memory.
“How long ago did this happen?”
“Only a few days.”
A few days ago.
“It happened after the tower suddenly appeared.”
A tower that appeared suddenly.
‘It seems connected to my advancement?’
Jin-woo had seen information about the Main Quest through Sharknet.
This Main Quest was the overarching scenario that ran through the New Gene story, and depending on this scenario, the Flam Continent could be shaken greatly and power dynamics could shift.
‘It might be because of me.’
Of course, even if that were true, it wasn’t something he’d done intentionally.
“Then perhaps…”
Jin-woo looked at Rigardo.
“You said you made all of this, but the materials…?”
“Of course, the materials were brought by my kin. The Northern Mountains have many small mines where various ores can be obtained. And we have many minerals refined using the special techniques of our Intelligence Orc people.”
Rigardo made a brief gesture, and an Intelligence Orc escort brought forth a powerfully green-hued mineral.
!
Jin-woo’s eyes were immediately drawn to that mineral.
He was staring so intently that his pupils themselves took on a green tint. He was completely fixated on that mineral alone.
“This is Orkish Stone.”
Orkish Stone.
“When you craft equipment with this, special effects emerge. Magic reinforcement, vitality amplification. Though it depends on how you use it, of course.”
Jin-woo extended his hand.
Rigardo gave the Orkish Stone to Jin-woo.
“Mm!”
The Orkish Stone’s surface was quite smooth.
‘I could keep touching this.’
It was light.
Jin-woo pulled out a hammer and tapped it experimentally.
Clang—. Clang.
“It has good rebound too. Hmm…”
Jin-woo’s expression shifted to one of pleasant surprise.
‘Of all the minerals I’ve ever worked with, this has the best resilience.’
Particularly, the physical rebound was exceptional.
‘This is it.’
Jin-woo wanted to use this Orkish Stone.
‘Once I’ve seen this, there’s no choice but to use it.’
“How much of this mineral do you have?”
“Orkish Stone isn’t abundant. But we have a decent quantity of other materials.”
Jin-woo examined the equipment being worn by the escort Intelligence Orcs.
The materials of their equipment were entirely unfamiliar to him as well.
“Are all of these materials found only in the Northern Mountains?”
“They are.”
Rigardo looked at Jin-woo. Seeing Jin-woo seemingly deep in thought, Rigardo felt a twinge of guilt.
Jin-woo had merely wished to learn Rune Inscription from him.
Though he was the apprentice of the human who uses flame, he felt completely different from that human. Yet now, to reclaim the Northern Mountains, his power was necessary.
Without his remarkable talent, there was no way to defeat Red Eye.
Rigardo waited.
But of course, Jin-woo wasn’t conflicted at all.
‘This is how I could make it.’
He was simply imagining what he could create with the materials Rigardo would provide.
“If you help us, Jin-woo…”
Rigardo extended his hand.
“I will give you something special that has been passed down through our family line.”
Ding—!
-You have received a Quest!
* Quest: Reclaim the Northern Mountains
Grade: S+
Description: Rigardo, the great chief of the Intelligence Orc Tribe and master of the Northern Mountains, was driven from his homeland by a tower that appeared suddenly and its guardian, Red Eye. Help him advance into the Northern Mountains and reclaim his people’s home!
Restriction: Quest fails if Rigardo dies
Reward: Orkish Stone, Family Treasure
Unintentionally, he could now receive the family treasure as a reward as well.
Jin-woo grasped Rigardo’s extended hand.
“I’ll help you.”

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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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