The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 58

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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 58
58.
‘Done.’
The tattoo on the hand that thrust up through the ground resembled Rigardo’s marking, yet something was different about it.
Jin-woo became certain the moment he saw it.
‘Rigardo’s Grandfather. An Int Orc who has completely mastered the Sorcery Inscription that Rigardo practices.’
“Grrrraaaghhh.”
Then, slowly, a massive Int Orc rose from the earth. His entire body was rippling with muscle, and tattoos covered him densely.
Jin-woo, having learned the Sorcery Inscription, could only marvel.
‘Every sorcery.’
was connected.
Not a single sorcery stood alone.
‘Starting from one, it culminates in all.’
“Huh.”
Jin-woo gasped involuntarily. That was it. Seeing the whole picture, he felt it clearly. Rigardo’s Sorcery Inscription had been incomplete.
This was the true, complete Sorcery Inscription.
Rigardo’s Grandfather, now awakened, looked at Jin-woo.
His face showed that he didn’t quite understand the situation.
He moved his body this way and that, then opened his mouth.
“……Human?”
But Rigardo’s Grandfather regarded him with a frown.
“To awaken me from my long slumber. You who walk alongside death, your transgression is greater than all else.”
Whoooosh—
In that instant, a powerful sorcery from his body became a curse, rushing to engulf Jin-woo.
Then Jin-woo revealed his arm. A Sorcery Mark was inscribed upon it.
“……Eh?”
Rigardo’s Grandfather’s expression shifted to shock upon seeing the Sorcery Mark carved into Jin-woo’s arm.
How could a human bear a Sorcery Mark?
“That sorcery is…….”
It wasn’t even a different Sorcery Inscription.
It was his own Sorcery Inscription.
Different in some ways, but unmistakable.
“How could you possibly…….”
“Are you Rigardo’s Grandfather?”
Rigardo.
At that name, the curse Rigardo’s Grandfather had been pouring out faded away.
“Could you be……Rigardo’s pupil?”
“Something like that. First, I apologize for my rudeness.”
The atmosphere shifted at once, becoming more comfortable.
‘The moment I mentioned his grandson’s name, everything softened. He truly must love that grandchild.’
“Not at all. If you’re Rigardo’s pupil, then so be it. Tell me—why did you summon me? It appears I’m not fully revived. Only my spirit has been drawn back out.”
This was not a living body but a temporary form created by the spirit.
“The reason is——”
Jin-woo got straight to the point.
“I wish to learn the Sorcery Inscription.”
“……?”
Hadn’t he already learned the Sorcery Inscription?
“Unfortunately, Rigardo’s Sorcery Inscription is not complete.”
“Something did seem off about it. Different from what I taught him. Hmm. It appears Rigardo lost his way somewhere and tried to supplement things on his own.”
“Yes, that’s correct. He told me as much.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather grasped everything in a glance.
“That’s why I’ve come to learn the true Sorcery Inscription.”
“Hmm. Then you’ve made an error. You shouldn’t have revived only my spirit—you should have created a proper body and brought me back fully.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather spoke seriously.
“Once you learn the Sorcery Inscription, you’ll understand—this isn’t something learned quickly. It takes a long time. I cannot linger in this world for long. Which means you will not be able to learn a proper Sorcery Inscription again.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather shook his head as he looked at Jin-woo.
“Even if I forced knowledge upon you here, if you grasped it incorrectly, it would become dangerous. And you can’t revive me multiple times anyway, can you?”
Every word was true.
But there was one thing he was wrong about.
“Well——”
Jin-woo had never needed a long time to learn the Sorcery Inscription in the first place.
“Still, I’d like to try. I’d be grateful if you’d teach me.”
As Jin-woo bowed his head, Rigardo’s Grandfather nodded.
“……Yes, let’s do that.”
It would be futile anyway.
But there must be a reason he was summoned. Time continues to flow regardless.
“I’ll teach you as much as I can. Before that, though—I want to ask something. What became of Rigardo?”
“He became Chieftain and now leads the Int Orcs well.”
At that, Rigardo’s Grandfather’s expression grew considerably more relieved.
“Thank goodness.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather began drawing something on the ground at once.
His method of teaching held similarities to Rigardo’s.
But there were quite a few characters not seen in Rigardo’s Sorcery Inscription, and the compositional patterns were considerably different.
“I suspect this is where things diverged. My memory isn’t sharp, but perhaps at this point……I failed to teach him properly.”
He pinpointed exactly where Rigardo had judged independently and advanced—the very place Jin-woo had felt a sense of dissonance.
“From here on, I’ll show you what to do.”
Swish. Swish.
He drew the characters without hesitation, but their arrangement was quite complex. Even Jin-woo, now fairly accustomed to the Sorcery Inscription, found himself momentarily lost in the intricacy.
Blade upon blade, circle upon circle.
The fundamental mechanism itself hadn’t changed greatly.
Instead, there were many new patterns.
‘New characters.’
New images.
“If there’s one most critical element, it would be Immersion. Without Immersion as the foundation, it becomes difficult. It seems Rigardo perhaps missed that kind of Immersion and tried to achieve it through some other method.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather clicked his tongue.
“The Flow of Mana—all of it springs from this single drawing. And you begin by understanding this drawing. How did this Sorcery Inscription come to be? The origin, the foundation, the emotion, the reason. You must understand all of it. You are human. We sorcerers have walked alongside sorcery for ages, so it was easy—but it will be hard for you.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather had drawn the essence of it all on the ground.
“As time passes, it will fade. I too will vanish soon, having exhausted all my strength. Now then, try if you wish…….”
Before he could even finish saying “learn,” Jin-woo had already entered an Immersion.
And he was drawing identical characters beside those drawn by Rigardo’s Grandfather.
“……!”
Rigardo’s Grandfather furrowed his brow.
The Sorcery Characters Jin-woo was drawing were identical to those he had just inscribed.
It wasn’t imitation.
He understood.
Jin-woo was certain of it.
“Huh.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather looked at Jin-woo again. He had to look twice, wondering if this was truly human. How could a human draw Sorcery Characters like an Int Orc?
Swish. Swish.
Jin-woo picked up his pace.
At first it seemed he couldn’t grasp it, but soon he caught the rhythm, understanding and completing it identically.
One was completed, then two.
The two connected organically.
He even drew the parts Rigardo had sketched and left unexplained.
For a moment, Rigardo’s Grandfather felt the vivid sensation Rigardo himself had felt.
His talent was being stolen. Swallowed whole.
This human was comprehending and submerging himself in the grand epoch that Orc sorcerers had built over ages.
Whoosh. Scratch.
Jin-woo drew the Sorcery Characters. For an instant, Rigardo’s Grandfather saw the figure of an Orc sorcerer overlaid upon him.
The ancient Orc sorcerer who had taught him Sorcery Marks.
The sorcerer beneath him.
Passing through grandfather, father, to himself.
And in a moment——
he even saw his grandson’s visage.
Whoosh.
Jin-woo, who had now finished drawing all the Sorcery Marks that Rigardo’s Grandfather had made, wiped the sweat from his brow.
Then he looked up at him with a relieved expression.
—Sorcery Inscription has been completed!
The completed Sorcery Characters had become a perfected Sorcery Inscription.
“Rigardo said he still had much to learn, and it was truly so. Without learning this, I couldn’t have claimed to have mastered the Sorcery Marks entirely.”
“Are you perhaps a Half-Orc?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I asked if you were a Half-Orc.”
“…….”
So his appearance was that ugly, was it?
“I am a pure human.”
“Then this shouldn’t be possible…….”
“……What shouldn’t be possible?”
“Everything!”
Jin-woo regarded Rigardo’s Grandfather.
“The Green-Skinned God said the same thing. He asked if I was half-breed too.”
“……What did you say? The Green-Skinned God……?”
“Yes. He bestowed a blessing upon me. When I was learning the Sorcery Inscription.”
“Huh.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather was deeply shocked.
The Green-Skinned God was the deity of the Orcs. For such a god to bestow blessing upon a human was an impossibility.
“My heart nearly stopped.”
“It already has stopped.”
Jin-woo replied.
* * *
Having learned the complete Sorcery Inscription from Rigardo’s Grandfather, Jin-woo conducted several experiments on the spot.
‘That’s it.’
The things Jin-woo had always felt were missing began to be filled in.
‘This is the complete Sorcery Inscription.’
“Is there anything difficult? Anything you don’t understand? I can still remain in this world a while longer.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather asked.
He had thought time would run short, but much remained.
“No, nothing.”
Yet Jin-woo had no further questions.
“I need to start making things now.”
Jin-woo’s fingers twitched. Having learned the complete form, he wanted to create immediately.
‘I can definitely enhance the Int Orc equipment.’
“I’ve learned well. Thank you.”
Rigardo’s Grandfather could only see Jin-woo off awkwardly, so quickly had it all ended.
But then——
Boooom—!
A roar began to echo through the surroundings.
Then a sound came from the entrance where Jin-woo had entered.
Thud. Thud.
Someone was walking closer.
“I expected to find Orcs.”
The figure was unmistakably the Guardian.
That Guardian who followed the red eyes and guarded the tower.
“A human? What business does a human have in the Orc Tomb?”
“Guardian?”
When Jin-woo asked, the Guardian suddenly began to laugh heavily.
“So you recognize me. You must be one of those humans trying to conquer the tower.”
‘Conquer the tower?’
Jin-woo immediately summoned First.
But the Guardian was even larger than First. With both of them in the Underground Tomb, the space became cramped.
“Huh, a filthy Necromancer. So that’s why you came to the Orc Tomb. Well, no matter. Since you came to destroy the Orc Tomb, I’ll destroy you too and bury you deep beneath this earth.”
Whoooosh—!
The Guardian’s body began to turn crimson.
—You have been given a Main Quest!
—Defeat the Guardian…….
Before the notification could finish.
First’s attack struck the Guardian directly.
“Gack……!”
The Dwarf Silver Staff that Jin-woo had upgraded with Flame Crafting was formidable in power.
“Your soul shows.”
Jin-woo observed the Guardian through Soul Sight.
“And it looks very good.”
It was a soul of exceptional quality.
“You cursed bastard……!”
The Guardian was greatly flustered by First’s attack.
It had been a blow so powerful he could barely keep his footing.
“Just a bag of bones!”
But the Guardian didn’t know.
That those bones had been created by Jin-woo.
Whoooosh—!
A pair of knuckles was now fitted onto the Guardian’s hands.
“These are the Steel Destruction Knuckles given by our lord.”
Whatever stood before him mattered not.
“I’ll crush it all!”
Screeeeeech—!
The Guardian’s mighty strike slammed into First. First did not dodge. There had been no command to do so.
Crack.
“……Huh?”
Until now, the Guardian had destroyed countless things with these Steel Destruction Knuckles.
Famous for their hardness, shields and armor alike—all had fallen before him. Against these knuckles, all became mere paper.
Yet what broke was not the armor.
Snap!
The Steel Destruction Knuckles shattered entirely. That was not the end.
“Grraaaagghhhh—!”
Starting from his fist, the bones of his entire shoulder were pulverized from the full-force retaliation.
“This, this is……. What exactly is that armor……. What are those things?!”
SS+ Rank.
The Elven Luna Stone Sapphire Armor was Jin-woo’s finest equipment currently.
“Brings back some old memories.”
Jin-woo regarded the Guardian with considerable satisfaction.
Then he slowly sent First forward.
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
Jin-woo issued a command to First.
First raised the upgraded Dwarf Silver Staff high.
“Who was it you said you’d bury?”

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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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