The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 68

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 68
68.
“I don’t know how you got in here, but welcome, human.”
Shaaaaaaack—!
-All stats decreased!
-Attack power decreased!
-Defense power decreased!
A storm of debuffs crashed down on Jin-woo and his three retainers.
“I took a shortcut, that’s how.”
Jin-woo checked on his three retainers. There was no trouble moving.
“Debuffs. If anything, this is better.”
To see the limits of the equipment, he needed to experience the worst-case scenario too. Whether the equipment would hold up under such conditions or collapse.
“A Necromancer, I see. Those three retainers of yours appear far too weak and pitiful.”
Purpur sneered.
Then he examined Jin-woo carefully, noting his complete lack of equipment. A Necromancer. Naturally, the correct strategy was to target the main body first.
But Purpur did not do that.
“I’ll crush all the retainers you believe in, one by one.”
He intended to toy with them thoroughly before killing them.
Jin-woo sent First forward.
“First.”
First stamped the ground firmly, then closed the distance to Purpur in an instant. Purpur chuckled lightly and reached out a hand.
“Quite a fine weapon you have there. But know that this place is my domain. In my domain…”
But before he could finish, First swung the axe and struck Purpur’s hand.
Crack—!
“Gaaahhh!”
His hand was severed cleanly. Purpur retreated in shock.
At his side stood the Attendant.
“Shield Bash!”
The shield strike landed with precision, and Purpur toppled to the ground.
Chrrrrack—.
Whip—. Whip—.
Moltus bound Purpur’s entire body. In an instant, Purpur was neutralized. Panicked, he cried out.
“Rise! Awaken!”
A dark aura began pouring from Purpur’s body.
Then his subordinates, a demon legion, were summoned from the ground.
“Oh. Not bad.”
The demon legion Purpur had summoned appeared one by one, each flaunting its own power. Jin-woo first examined their equipment.
“Is that mineral that only appears in Hell?”
But no one answered.
“Seems right.”
Jin-woo’s eyes gleamed.
‘Rare minerals.’
Since he couldn’t go to Hell right now, this was the only chance to obtain these materials.
“First!”
Jin-woo took First’s axe and held it himself.
“Keep Purpur bound!”
Shaaaaaaack—.
A dark aura erupted from Jin-woo’s entire body.
Then he swung it lightly.
Crack—!
The demons summoned by Purpur were sliced apart instantly.
“Ah.”
-Hellish Demon Stone [SSS]
“So that’s what it was.”
Jin-woo grinned. The Hellish Demon Stones he obtained from them were the very materials they used for their equipment.
“SSS Grade materials, no less. That’s right—this is the boss of the main scenario tower. His subordinates should drop this quality!”
Crack—!
First observed Jin-woo’s axe techniques. The way he wielded the axe was completely different from his own, and the feeling was fresh.
‘They’re my equipment, after all.’
Of course, the one who understood them best was their creator.
“Equipment is the strongest asset one can build in this world.”
Jin-woo laughed and swung the axe with wild abandon.
“Didn’t I say I was a Necromancer!”
Purpur watched Jin-woo casually cleave through the demon legion he had summoned and could say nothing more.
He was definitely a Necromancer. After all, weren’t the man’s retainers binding him right now?
“Why is the main body so strong!”
Naturally, the main body should be the weak point.
So why was the main body so strong?
“I’m not the strong one.”
Jin-woo smiled.
“The equipment is.”
“You…!”
Purpur raged and tried to rise.
But he couldn’t. First, wielding the shield, had pinned Purpur down.
“What… a shield…!”
The way the shield was being used was entirely different from when the Attendant wielded it. For the Attendant, it was a shield that blocked any attack. For First, it was a blunt weapon.
Boom—! Boom—!
First pressed the assault relentlessly against Purpur.
“What are you doing, Purpur.”
Jin-woo called out.
“Keep going like that and you’ll actually die. You need to keep summoning.”
“This equipment… did you make it!”
“I did.”
“Then you’re not a Necromancer!”
“A Necromaster.”
Purpur struggled to turn the tables somehow.
“Yeah, yeah. Keep summoning.”
He was a demon legion commander.
He could continuously summon the demons under his command. Jin-woo hunted the summoned demons and gathered materials.
But even that had its limits.
“Got anything else?”
“Kraaaaaaaaahhhhh—!”
Purpur let out a desperate scream.
Jin-woo handed the axe back to First. Then he approached Purpur.
“Looking at this, anyone would think I’m the master of this room.”
Jin-woo grinned and spoke.
“Can’t summon anymore? Then…”
First brought the axe down in response to Jin-woo’s gesture.
-First has learned a skill.
-All-Out Strike learned!
Crack—!
Purpur’s health took a massive hit from that single blow.
“Gwaaaaahhhhh—!”
Phase 1 ended in an instant, and Phase 2 was beginning.
Jin-woo invested all the souls he had gathered into First.
-First’s level increased!
All-Out Strike was a skill that, true to its name, had a cooldown after each use. But as the level increased, that cooldown reset.
-All-Out Strike!
“Is this how I end it? Do you think I’ll finish you like this?”
Then Purpur’s eyes flared.
“Even if I die, you will suffer eternally.”
-Purpur has cast a Powerful Curse upon you!
-Level decreased!
-All stats permanently decreased!
Purpur unleashed a mighty curse upon Jin-woo.
-A fatal curse!
-The curse is negated.
“Not on my watch.”
-The effect of Bone Heart activates.
But that curse had no effect on Jin-woo.
-The Necromaster’s class effect activates.
-Ultimate Defense Formation negates the fatal curse!
“What in the…!”
Purpur, toyed with until the very end, simply faded away.
-You have hunted Purpur, Avatar of Evil!
-You have achieved a great achievement!
-The world applauds your achievement!
-A new god takes notice of you!
-Level increased!
-Your great achievement spreads across the entire Plam Continent!
-Integrity Score increased.
Boom-boom—.
Boom-boom-boom-boom—!
The tower began to collapse.
At the same time, Jin-woo saw a floating soul.
-Purpur’s Soul [S]
“An S Grade soul.”
His first S Grade soul.
* * *
-[Purpur, Avatar of Evil, has been sealed in Demon Hall!]
-[Some of the world’s darkness has been dispelled.]
-[Player Jin-woo has become the first to clear the advanced tower!]
The moment Jin-woo sealed the Avatar of Evil in Demon Hall, a World Wide Message appeared.
At that instant, the leaders of each guild conducting their own clears wore expressions of shock.
“What?”
“They already hunted it? They cleared the tower already!?”
It was absurd.
“The tower has over 20 floors alone.”
One of the current top three guilds.
The guild leader of the Realize Guild stared at the message in disbelief.
“Who is it? Who in the world is this?”
The name of the one who cleared it was Jin-woo.
“What? Who’s Jin-woo? Is there a guild leader named Jin-woo?”
“I’ll search right away!”
“No. We need to focus on ours right now.”
The Realize Guild was in the middle of clearing the Infinite Tower.
A tower filled with infinitely reproducing monsters, whose Avatar of Evil possessed particularly twisted tastes.
“I suspect it might be that user.”
One of the executives spoke up.
“There’s a user who’s become famous among production-focused players. A user who stands out in the Auction House, selling Pickaxes, farming tools, and S Grade and SSS Grade equipment.”
“The Auction House?”
The guild leader of the Realize Guild looked puzzled.
It was a name he hadn’t heard in a while.
Top-tier and highest-tier players rarely use the Auction House.
All the best materials and equipment are sold through direct trade.
“Why would someone sell that caliber of equipment through the Auction House?”
“The reason is unclear, but it seems he doesn’t want to belong to any organization. He’s currently the idol of the Auction House, the user Jin-woo.”
The most sought-after crafter in the Auction House was undoubtedly Jin-woo.
“He enjoys a cult-like following there.”
“How in the world?”
While top-tier players don’t use the Auction House, there are still quite a lot of users who do.
“Equipment is posted there every hour.”
In the past, the Auction House had even been a gateway to fame.
So many production-focused players still crowded the platform.
The amount of equipment they post is immeasurable.
It was hard to understand how Jin-woo had become an idol of the Auction House.
“He creates and posts over 150 pieces of equipment that certain users go crazy for.”
“Ha. That’s impossible. There’s no way quality is maintained.”
“Apparently it is.”
The executive spoke with an awkward expression. The guild leader, who had paused to think, snapped his fingers as if remembering something.
“Wait. Could this Jin-woo be that Jin-woo?”
The Realize Guild had quite a few exclusive crafters.
“That Jin-woo who’s ranked first in the Hall of Fame? The one who hunted the Steel Colossus?”
“Yes, sir. Judging from the circumstances, it appears to be the same person.”
The guild leader of the Realize Guild was taken aback.
“But that person is a crafter.”
How could a blacksmith clear a tower alone?
Clearing even one floor might be possible with equipment, but the tower fundamentally had well over 20 floors.
“As far as I know, he hasn’t joined any guild.”
Multiple guilds had tried to recruit him, but only one had actually made contact, while the rest couldn’t even find him.
“What in the world is he?”
His identity was impossible to determine.
* * *
First clear.
The moment that World Wide Message spread, an alert came directly to GM Kim Na-yoon, who was monitoring.
Suomisa.
GM Monitoring Room.
“World Wide Message came through!”
“Is it that Jin-woo?”
“Yes, that Jin-woo player!”
“Put up the cinematic and event content!”
The GMs began moving urgently.
“Contact the broadcast stations and have them start a special broadcast right away.”
“Upload it to YouTube too!”
While all this was happening, only GM Kim Na-yoon calmly checked the notification message.
“A message from Logical?”
Normally, the superintelligent AI Logical rarely offers opinions.
Quietly regulating the game was Logical’s characteristic.
But this notification came with an attached message from Logical.
-[Commentary on the First Tower Clearer: Jin-woo]
Found a shortcut with transcendent intuition. Remarkable.
“What on earth?”
GM Kim Na-yoon was flustered.
“Logical was surprised?”
The superintelligent AI, Logical.
He was a perfect AI model. That Logical had sent a commentary message saying he was surprised.
“What exactly did he do to surprise even Logical like this?”
GM Kim Na-yoon was deeply taken aback.
“This needs to be reported to the director immediately.”
Until now, no special user had ever received mention from Logical.
“How did he manage to surprise a superintelligent AI?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————