The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 56
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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 56
56.
Not long after agreeing to help Rigardo, Rodin came to visit.
“Jin-woo!”
“Rodin, welcome.”
“Did you know I’d come?”
“It was fifty-fifty.”
Of course, Jin-woo had been a hundred percent certain he would.
“How did it go?”
Rodin was absolutely burning with curiosity.
“Things worked out well, all things considered.”
Jin-woo began with the information Rodin was most eager to hear.
“It looks like we won’t have to fight. They’ve agreed to vacate the Jewel Mine.”
“!”
The matter had resolved so easily. Rodin stared at Jin-woo with a face that couldn’t quite comprehend it.
“How?”
“When I heard their circumstances, I understood there were deeper issues. I agreed to help resolve them.”
The Int Orcs that Rodin had encountered were considerably belligerent.
“They told you their circumstances?”
“Yes.”
Jin-woo nodded.
“They’re gentler than I expected.”
“More so than common orcs, anyway. Well, well, well.”
There was no way they would simply divulge their troubles like that.
If it were that easy, Rodin would have settled it with words long ago.
But Jin-woo had shown exactly what he said he would.
So Rodin had no choice but to believe what seemed impossible to believe.
“Phew. Truly remarkable, isn’t it? To charge so recklessly into enemy territory like that.”
Of course, Jin-woo hadn’t charged in blindly. He had carefully studied Rigardo’s Enchantment enhancements and even the equipment they wore before throwing himself into the situation.
But he didn’t mention any of that.
“I was fortunate.”
Rodin immediately withdrew a jeweled box from his breast.
“I didn’t expect to be giving you this so soon.”
-Quest cleared!
-Level increased!
-Reward obtained!
Quest clear. Though the Jewel Mine hadn’t technically been reclaimed yet, the major conflict with the Int Orcs had been resolved, so the quest registered as complete.
‘Since the situation worked out, Rodin can use the Jewel Mine freely enough even if I don’t manage to get the Int Orcs back to the Northern Mountain Range.’
Jin-woo’s Level had risen to 77.
Jin-woo opened the jeweled box he’d received.
Click.
Inside, a Jade Stone gleamed with radiant light. The stone’s color was similar to the Orcish Stone that Rigardo had shown him earlier, but examined closely, the depth was entirely different.
‘Far more saturated.’
The Jade Stone was much deeper in tone, while the Orcish Stone was lighter.
-Jade Stone [Grade: SS]
Description: A jewel that emits a beautiful green light. Within it slumbers powerful regenerative energy.
“Hmm.”
It was an SS-Grade jewel, no less.
At SS-Grade, the aura was quite palpable. It was beautiful even without any particular crafting.
‘If I craft this, how much more beautiful could it become.’
His fingers itched.
‘Patience for now.’
Jin-woo restrained himself and closed the jeweled box.
“Thank you, Rodin. I’ll make good use of it.”
Rodin licked his lips.
“That’s a jewel I wanted to use myself, truth be told. But it’ll serve you better if you craft it. I’ll try mining some new gems from the Jewel Mine.”
Rodin smiled then.
“I can return with peace of mind now. Thank you, Jin-woo. Once you’ve finished everything, do visit my estate again.”
“Of course. I understand.”
Along with a Map Fragment, Jin-woo had also received the Jade Stone from him.
“You’ll be off to hunt for the next Map Fragment, won’t you?”
Jin-woo nodded.
Having come to Rodin, Jin-woo felt certain of one thing. Their master, All Master, was a person of remarkable versatility. That was precisely why Jin-woo was curious.
What would his skill be?
And Jin-woo wanted to learn it, whatever it might be.
‘It should be fascinating.’
He was quite excited at the prospect of learning the original form of Rodin’s Flame Crafting.
“Then I’ll recommend someone for you to seek out next. It looks like you don’t have the Sewing Technique yet.”
“That’s right. I haven’t worked with leather or cloth yet.”
For that reason, Jin-woo had focused mainly on creating equipment using minerals.
But armor could be crafted from various materials.
Among those, leather armor was the most prominent.
Working with leather required both Leatherworking and Sewing Technique.
“Then go visit Mire.”
Rodin said this.
“Her Sewing and Leatherworking are flawless.”
Then he withdrew something from his breast. It was a pair of crafted Leather Gloves. Jin-woo examined them.
“These are…”
Jin-woo couldn’t hide his amazement.
“It’s as if this leather had naturally been shaped this way from the beginning.”
“There’s no trace of crafting, no stitching visible.”
Not even a single mark remained.
“This was the last gift she ever gave me. And back then, this is what she was called.”
Rodin said it.
“Flawless.”
Ding!
-All Master’s Disciples Quest has been updated!
* * *
Jin-woo gathered all the Int Orcs together.
‘Wow.’
The assembled Int Orcs numbered three hundred.
Most of the Int Orcs wore equipment enhanced with Enchantment, and the quality was considerable.
‘Now I understand what Rigardo was saying.’
The equipment’s level wasn’t poor, but that was entirely because the Enchantment was so masterfully done. It was only thanks to that the gear reached such high quality.
The equipment itself, compared to the Enchantment, was rather ordinary.
‘Still, this is impressive.’
Jin-woo hadn’t realized the variety of Enchantment that was possible. He examined the enhanced equipment with fascination.
And alongside that, he scanned the orcs.
“Mm.”
The gathered orcs regarded Jin-woo with sharp eyes. Except for the Int Orcs who had been sentries, they were displeased that a human would be helping them.
“The equipment our Chieftain made for us is sufficient.”
“We will offer our lives and strike at the Red Eyes.”
The Int Orcs’ loyalty was considerable.
But their sharp gazes left no impression on Jin-woo. He wasn’t looking at them at all. His eyes were only on the equipment.
‘The Enchantment was applied to match their attributes.’
Normally, equipment would need to be individually crafted to suit each orc, but Rigardo had solved that with Enchantment.
‘Brilliant.’
And this appeared to be precisely the part Jin-woo could fill in.
‘Check complete.’
That was all he needed. Jin-woo immediately called for Rigardo.
“Rigardo, what exactly are these guardians and Red Eyes?”
Jin-woo needed to understand what he’d be facing to craft the right equipment.
“Their heads are a head or two larger than ours. And their bodies themselves are extremely durable. They weren’t even pierced by sharp spears.”
The Red Eyes didn’t take proper damage even from the Int Orcs’ techniques.
“We wounded them with Enchantment and attacked around the wounds, but it was no use.”
‘Their defense is formidable.’
It seemed their outer shells were particularly hardened.
‘I can’t craft entirely new equipment for three hundred Int Orcs.’
So he’d need to either upgrade their current gear or modify it instead.
‘This should be a fairly interesting task.’
“Okay, I’ve got it. Can you have the materials brought here?”
At Rigardo’s command, the material warehouse was opened.
The warehouse contained all the materials brought from the Northern Mountain Range.
“Whoa.”
Jin-woo moved through the warehouse, examining what materials were available.
‘All of these are new to me.’
Minerals, medicinal herbs, monster bones and hides. Countless materials filled this storage.
There were even jewels.
‘These must have been mined from the Jewel Mine.’
The jewels brought from the Northern Mountain Range and those mined from the Jewel Mine were stored separately.
‘Materials are more than sufficient then.’
“Then I’ll get started right away.”
Whoosh.
Jin-woo summoned Coco.
“Chirp.”
“Coco, keep the forge fire burning, would you?”
Whoosh!
Then Jin-woo summoned Mun-ji.
“!”
“!”
Mun-ji and Coco were meeting for the first time.
“You two haven’t seen each other before, right? Say hello.”
“Squeal.”
“Chirp.”
The two spirits didn’t look particularly pleased with each other.
But with Jin-woo beginning his Crafting, now wasn’t the time for rivalry.
They began helping with his work, as if understanding that for now, cooperation was necessary.
“Commanding spirits, no less.”
Rigardo also worked with spirits necessary for his Enchantment.
But Jin-woo’s spirits were entirely unfamiliar.
“These aren’t elemental spirits. Especially that black-flamed one—I can’t fathom the limits of its potential.”
Even to the enchanter Rigardo, the spirit burning with black flames was astounding.
“I’m counting on you, Jin-woo.”
* * *
Clang!
Jin-woo’s Crafting had begun.
The Int Orcs divided into groups and waited their turn.
Jin-woo planned to manage all three hundred orcs in sequence.
“Chieftain.”
An Int Orc who had been watching approached Rigardo.
He looked deeply displeased.
“Rigalren.”
“Chieftain, can we truly trust him?”
Tribal Chief Rigalren asked.
“If we don’t trust him, then what? You know as well as I do—we can’t win with our strength alone. We might never return to the Northern Mountain Range.”
Hearing Rigardo’s words, Rigalren sighed.
It was true. Though they called it a tactical retreat, the Int Orcs currently lacked the strength to advance again.
Yet Rigalren still didn’t like entrusting this crucial matter to a human.
“He’s human, Chieftain. This is something we must overcome with our own strength.”
“Rigalren, do you see?”
Clang! Clang!
Jin-woo was hammering away as if possessed.
Shhhh.
Clang! Clang!
After shaping with the hammer, he etched characters into the equipment. Using a crafting knife to inscribe runes into the gear, he was applying Enchantment for Defense Fortification.
“!”
Rigalren was taken aback.
“Enchantment… how is he…”
That was Enchantment.
A power passed down through the Int Orc tribe for generations, wielded only by the Chieftain Rigardo—a formidable force.
And Jin-woo was using it.
“Did he teach you?”
“I taught him. He came to learn from me.”
“To teach him such a thing…”
“Rigalren, you know this as well. Enchantment can only be learned by those chosen.”
Because of this, only a select few Int Orcs had learned it, and among them, only Rigardo carried the lineage forward.
“Teaching doesn’t mean one can learn it. Yet Jin-woo is managing it, Rigalren.”
Rigalren couldn’t believe it. But it was undeniably true—he was using Enchantment.
“Your objection is because he’s human? Then there’s no need. Does a man who wields Enchantment so deftly look like a mere human to you?”
“…No, sir.”
“And.”
Rigardo added one more thing.
“Our god has blessed Jin-woo.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“Jin-woo is no different from an orc.”
Rigalren fell silent after that.
“Suddenly, I feel great trust, Chieftain.”
“Don’t you?”
In a situation like this, not to trust would be un-orcish.
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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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