The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 69
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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 69
Episode 69.
While Jin-woo conquered the Tower of High Altitude.
The Auction House was descending into absolute chaos.
-Are these people actually insane??
-Spending money like this?
-Who’s the current highest bidder??
The Improved Dwarf Silver Staff had already climbed to ten million Gold.
-Who buys SS+ tier equipment for ten million Gold!
-Folks, that’s not even the issue.
-Jin-woo just listed more gear.
-What?
-Didn’t he already list eighty-two items?
-Thirty more just came up.
-These are different types. Accessories and farming tools made from different materials.
-There’s axes, shields, swords, spears too.
They looked like the equipment he’d listed before, but the materials and designs were entirely different.
-Wait, why are all of these SSS tier?
Every single one was SSS tier.
-Isn’t crafting this supposed to be incredibly difficult?
-Does the tier really go up by one level every few days?
Not long ago, he’d crafted the Red Stone Armor.
That Red Stone Armor was SS tier.
But then the Dwarf Silver Staff came out at SS+, and what just arrived was SSS tier.
-I mean, at this rate it’s not like his tier’s going up one level every few days—it’s one level per day, isn’t it?
-Given the speed he’s making equipment, that tracks.
Jin-woo’s growth rate was abnormal.
-Isn’t there supposed to be a massive wall between S tier and SSS tier?
-Yes, there definitely is.
-I’m telling you, there definitely is.
The craftspeople felt wronged.
“Look, it took me over six months just to reach S tier. And today marks my first year, and I can barely craft SSS tier even now.”
You had to pour everything into it just to produce SSS tier, and even then, you couldn’t manage it without premium materials.
On days when your condition dropped even slightly, it was even worse.
“This Jin-woo guy—hasn’t he only been doing this for about a month?”
If someone declared they’d be crafting SSS tier equipment in a month, he’d have no problem giving them a loud snort of derision while simultaneously betting his entire fortune against them.
“Thank goodness I didn’t make that bet.”
-I mean, this Jin-woo is seriously no joke.
-Can craftspeople originally make this much variety?
-Absolutely not. Please, don’t misunderstand from watching this.
-Craftspeople are originally limited! Each piece of equipment requires a different method, so making different equipment using the same method is difficult!
-Accessories especially are even harder.
The equipment Jin-woo listed was incredibly diverse.
There were well over thirty different types.
-So this just means Jin-woo is amazing?
-Yes. Other people can’t do this.
-Even the top-ranked craftspeople?
-I couldn’t say with certainty, but even the well-established and quite successful craftspeople would struggle with something like this.
With the flood of stories continuing to emerge, the craftspeople had no choice but to keep offering excuses.
“This shouldn’t be happening.”
“This is going to ruin everything.”
The craftspeople could see a bleak future ahead.
-I can see the future. Complaints are going to pour in—”But Jin-woo can do it, why can’t you?”
-??? : “But Jin-woo can do it?? Please do it like this!”
-Noooooo.
-Kyaaaagh! That’s only possible because it’s him!
The craftspeople shuddered.
Ding—!
Ding—!
-The bid has been updated!
-The auction will end soon!
The auction for the Improved Dwarf Silver Staff, which had surpassed ten million Gold, was nearing its final moments.
-The Red Stone Armor we sold before went for 1.1 million Gold, right? So this is more than nine times the price.
Everyone was curious how much the Dwarf Silver Staff would finally sell for.
And equally, they were curious who would buy it.
-Isn’t that guy a famous content creator?
-I think he’s been competing against some guild.
Two bidders had remained in the final stretch.
A member of one of the top thirty guilds, and Fritz, a famous content creator.
-Fritz is the New Gene review specialist content creator.
-He has five million subscribers.
A five-million-subscriber megachannel content creator—that was Fritz.
-But I thought he was a British player.
-He’s close with Kaiser, isn’t he?
He was a content creator with connections to Kaiser, one of the current top-ranked players.
-The auction has concluded!
-Final bid: 10,122,333 Gold.
The final winner of the auction was Fritz.
-Didn’t he buy it too expensive?
-It really is pricey though.
“Too expensive? Are you joking?”
Fritz shook his head.
“Look at the options—eight of them. There’s no way SS+ tier equipment has eight options.”
He’d seen countless SS+ tier pieces over the years and used them all.
He’d never encountered an SS+ piece like this one.
“If he keeps growing, he’ll definitely crack the top ten. He’ll become Korea’s representative craftsperson. He’ll definitely surpass even the legendary makers from before.”
-Payment has been processed.
-Item received.
Fritz received the Improved Dwarf Silver Staff.
“I’ll review it then. Can’t wait.”
This was, in a sense, an early buy-in at a discount.
“I’m probably not the only one thinking this.”
Fritz was confident in his eye for talent, but he was equally certain that other content creators with decent taste would recognize the same thing.
“It’s a race against time.”
Who would upload first.
“Whoever recognizes Jin-woo first and gives him a shout-out.”
If Fritz uploaded a video being the first to recognize just how remarkable Jin-woo was, then once Jin-woo’s true value was properly recognized later, Fritz would grow right alongside him.
“So I guess I should test it out?”
Having received the Dwarf Silver Staff, Fritz immediately rushed into a dungeon.
And before recording his video, he swung it once at a monster.
Shrieeeeek—!
Boom.
“Wow.”
He let out an impressed exhale.
Equipment’s foundation is its options.
But there was something just as important as the options.
Something you couldn’t know until you actually bought and used it yourself.
That was what was called grip sense—the feeling of how it handled.
“The grip sense is insane.”
His hobby was fishing.
Because of that, he knew exactly how important grip felt in your hand.
“The grip is absolutely insane.”
Fritz was certain. He’d bought this ridiculously cheap.
“I need to record and upload this right now.”
Fritz started recording immediately.
And the moment he hit record, a worldwide notification popped up.
“Huh?”
Fritz’s eyes widened threefold.
“First clear? Jin-woo?”
Then he looked at the Dwarf Silver Staff in his hands.
“It couldn’t be the same person…… could it?”
* * *
“Hmm.”
There was a user carefully observing the auction house’s situation.
Jackal, a user in the crafting scene.
He was one of the established craftspeople in the industry.
“My name’s been undervalued for a while now, but this could actually be good for me.”
The equipment Jin-woo made had fundamentally excellent quality.
“Good quality, low price. And yet it’s popular.”
This was precisely the niche Jackal could target.
“I can do that too. Actually, I could even make higher quality than that.”
And Jackal had a remarkably diverse range of things he could craft.
“I’m taking this spot.”
Jackal immediately began preparing to craft.
* * *
Those attempting to clear the Tower of High Altitude.
And those preparing to attempt it stood blankly before the shattered tower.
“I can’t believe they kicked us out in the middle of an attempt.”
“Who cleared it?”
“Someone named Jin-woo, apparently?”
“Jin-woo?”
“Could that be that craftsperson Jin-woo?”
“No way. How would a craftsperson clear a dungeon with this difficulty?”
The players naturally didn’t consider that Jin-woo might be that craftsperson.
Since duplicate names were allowed, there was probably another Jin-woo among the rankers, and they assumed that Jin-woo had cleared it.
“Heh.”
The one watching this situation most dejectedly was the Abel Guild.
They had been ambitiously clearing the Tower of High Altitude.
The atmosphere had been quite good. Everyone was giving their all with complete focus, laying the groundwork for a turnaround.
“We were right in the middle of clearing the first floor……”
The guild master of Abel Guild’s grand plans came crashing down.
And leaving them behind, Jin-woo examined the materials he’d obtained, a smile never leaving his face.
“An S-tier Soul, bones, and Essence too. There are materials here I’ve never seen before.”
Beyond just the materials, what satisfied him most was that the Orc-ish Emerald Jade Stone Axe and the Great Guardian Stone Shield proved to be quite usable.
“Since these are my first SR tier pieces of equipment, this is pretty solid.”
Now it finally felt like he was starting from the beginning.
“This is getting fun.”
And now that his subordinates had grown in number, it was quite enjoyable testing different weapons on each of them.
Jin-woo began sorting through the materials.
-Purpurpur’s Bone [Tier: SR]
“!”
Purpurpur’s Bone was SR tier—Jin-woo’s eyes widened instantly at the sight of it.
“So the Incarnation of Evil delivers as expected. Giving out rare-tier materials like this.”
Just touching it, he could feel it. This bone was no ordinary material.
‘Perfect for crafting bone-based frames.’
“I’m not even bored with SSS tier materials yet, so I wonder how good SR will taste.”
Jin-woo swallowed hard.
“And this Essence… hmm. It looks unusual.”
The Essence was a kind of gemstone.
“This would be incredibly difficult to engrave.”
It shone beautifully, but it was quite fragile.
“Either I set it directly into a staff as-is, or I destroy it completely and use it as alchemy material.”
It was that delicate and sensitive, looking as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
“Difficult material to work with.”
Jin-woo smiled deeply. Materials like this were the fun kind.
“These are the ones that matter.”
And there was one core material obtained from defeating Purpurpur.
-Hell Blood Stone [SR]
“This is a higher-grade mineral than the Hell Demon Stones that those demons Purpurpur summoned dropped.”
Hell Blood Stone.
Its color was far more vivid, and it had a lustrous sheen.
“And next is…”
There was quite a unique material.
-Shadow Cloth [Tier: SR]
Description: Cloth as dark as pitch-black darkness. Infused with Purpurpur’s power.
Purpurpur had been wearing ornate clothing.
“Looks like she made the outfit herself.”
Jin-woo folded his arms.
“Using this right now would be difficult.”
But it worked out perfectly.
“I was planning to go learn Tailoring anyway.”
Jin-woo was planning to learn Tailoring to handle a wider variety of materials.
“So now…”
It was time to check the rewards he’d obtained from the first floor.
A glimmer of light.
Jin-woo pulled out the Golden Key.
“I’m looking forward to Purpurpur’s treasury.”
The location presumed to be the treasury was deeper inside. The tower was collapsing in real-time, but Purpurpur’s chamber where Jin-woo stood remained intact.
Click—.
-Golden Key has been used!
-Purpurpur’s treasure vault has opened!
The treasure vault was remarkably small.
Inside the small vault sat an even smaller chest.
“Simple enough.”
It wasn’t the treasure vault he’d imagined, but Jin-woo felt interest stir at the sight of this seemingly precious chest.
“Oh.”
As Jin-woo reached to open it, he was startled by the quality of the chest itself.
“This isn’t just any chest.”
It looked like a jewelry box, or perhaps the chest itself possessed artistic value.
As Jin-woo extended his hand, the chest slipped smoothly into his grasp.
-You have obtained the Manma Codex.
-You have become the master of the Manma Codex.
“Master of the Manma Codex?”
When hunting Purpurpur, there had been text stating that Purpurpur was sealed within the Manma Codex.
-To open the Manma Codex, summon the Manma Codex!
“Manma Codex.”
Following the instructions, as Jin-woo called upon the Manma Codex, its power infused into him.
-Purpurpur is sealed within the Manma Codex.
-Quest received!
* Quest: Master of the Manma Codex
Grade: SSS
Objective: You have become the master of the Manma Codex, capable of sealing the Incarnations of Evil! Seal the Incarnations of Evil who seek to devour the Flam Continent within this Manma Codex.
Reward: Your stats increase based on the number of Incarnations of Evil you seal!
“Oh.”
This was a benefit and reward exclusively available to Jin-woo, who had achieved the first clear and obtained the Golden Key to open Purpurpur’s treasure vault.
‘It’s essentially a first-clear bonus.’
“So the more Incarnations of Evil I seal, the more my stats increase?”
From defeating Purpurpur, Jin-woo had obtained numerous high-tier materials.
Not only that—he’d gained a Soul and bones too.
“And now stats on top of that?”
Jin-woo let out a pleased laugh.
“This is going to be interesting.”
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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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