The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 7

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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 7
Episode 7.
Just as Haram had warned, the Blacksmith Shop’s proprietor, Rodrum, was in a decidedly foul mood.
He knew well enough that Travelers’ abilities varied wildly.
Not everyone could excel from the start.
It was an established fact that higher Levels enabled better craftsmanship, and it was true that having Skills allowed one to create more refined work.
But that didn’t mean effort wasn’t necessary.
The Travelers didn’t even try—they simply wanted to learn Skills first, claiming they couldn’t craft without them.
Yet Rodrum had no desire to teach his Skills to someone who couldn’t make a single piece of equipment without them.
Moreover, crafting wasn’t just about making something; it had to have a certain quality to it.
“Too many trying to get something for nothing.”
Then the door opened.
“Good day.”
A new Traveler had entered.
The moment he stepped in, he took a long breath through his nose, then looked around the shop.
In every way, he was a typical Traveler stereotype.
Rodrum watched him with a deep frown.
“What is it?”
“I—”
Just then, the apprentice standing behind Rodrum rushed forward in front of Jin-woo.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t teach Skills here. If you can’t craft a single piece of equipment without a Skill, you don’t deserve to learn one.”
The apprentice, sensing his master’s foul mood, moved quickly to settle the matter.
“I didn’t come to learn a Skill.”
“Then… are you a customer?”
“No. I was wondering if I might borrow the Blacksmith Shop for a while.”
At that, Rodrum’s expression—already behind the apprentice—grew even sharper.
“Borrow the Blacksmith Shop?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t lend the Blacksmith Shop to just anyone. A Blacksmith Shop is a master’s private space. If you want to use it, you’d need the skill to warrant it.”
Rodrum snorted.
By the look of him, he seemed even less accomplished than the Level 5 Traveler who’d just been thrown out.
Likely some greenhorn just starting his journey.
“A blacksmith standing before his forge doesn’t lend his hearth and anvil to just anyone. This place is mine alone.”
The apprentice sighed next to Rodrum, who was clearly seething.
He never would have guessed the request would be to use the Blacksmith Shop itself, not to learn Skills.
To a blacksmith, this was a profoundly disrespectful thing to ask.
Even among blacksmiths, the Blacksmith Shop is rarely lent out—and a greenhorn Traveler barely beginning his journey dares to ask?
This was an unmistakable show of disrespect to Rodrum.
Just as the apprentice was about to step forward and raise his hand in protest, Jin-woo opened his mouth.
“So if I have the skill, this becomes a reasonable request?”
“Absolutely.”
Rodrum bared his teeth in a grin.
Most Travelers brimmed with confidence in their abilities. And it was only after a thorough humbling that they came to understand.
Just how pathetic and contemptible their actual skill was.
The apprentice sighed behind them.
This Traveler, too, would likely be broken properly. And since Rodrum was already angry, his standards had probably risen considerably.
“If you don’t show me something worthwhile—if you embarrass yourself—there will be penalties.”
Ding!
* Quest: Rodrum’s Trial
Rank: D
Description: Rodrum wishes to confirm your qualifications. Prove your skill and pass Rodrum’s trial.
Reward: Permission to use Rodrum’s Blacksmith Shop.
<>
** [Debuff] Rodrum’s Rebuke: All Stats decrease by 5.
“If you’re scared, you can stop here.”
But Jin-woo accepted the Quest without hesitation.
“And if I meet the standard, what will you do for me?”
Then he made a counteroffer.
“Hah. You Travelers really don’t know your place—it’s quite amusing. Fine, I like it. I’ll grant you one thing you ask for. Ask for good materials and I’ll give them; ask me to teach you a Skill and I will. Anything goes.”
As if he’d ever have to make good on it.
Thinking that way, Rodrum offered up a generous reward.
“Use of the Blacksmith Shop, of course.”
At that, Jin-woo gave a slight smirk.
“Then I’ll get started. What should I make to show you?”
“Make me a sword. A Short Sword will do. Take as much time as you need, but faster is better. Use this Hammer if you need one.”
“The Hammer won’t be necessary.”
Jin-woo said.
“Then.”
Jin-woo immediately placed the iron he’d received into the roaring forge.
Then he brought the Hammer down.
Clang!
A simple hammer strike. Yet it was enough to make Rodrum, who’d been watching with his arms folded, go rigid.
Clang!
And the second strike.
Rodrum was no longer able to keep his arms folded. He couldn’t keep them folded.
“What on earth—”
A greenhorn Traveler.
Of course he’d lack Level and strength.
Without sufficient Stats, there was no way he could execute proper movements.
So he should only be able to move using the single ability he possessed.
Clang!
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
Those movements.
Impossible movements. The heated iron, deforming with each strike, was proof of that.
He surely must lack strength.
“There’s no wasted force.”
Moreover, he was delivering power at precisely the right moment, maximizing its effect.
Perfect timing.
Perfect stance.
And.
Clang!
“Perfect control of force.”
Controlling force meant regulating your power—precisely and consistently.
Exactly the same each time.
If you deliver five units of force, you continue delivering five units of force.
The delicacy of it was extraordinary.
“Could it be… he already has the Dexterity Stat?”
The Dexterity Stat was something every craftsperson needed, but it only appeared if you reached a certain level of proficiency.
In other words, it was extremely difficult to obtain the Dexterity Stat while still at Level 1.
“Met.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Watch how he breathes. Forget everything else—that steady, uniform breathing and focus are things you must learn.”
A Traveler who’s just starting out. Could there truly be something to learn from such a Traveler? Met’s expression showed wounded pride, but as he watched Jin-woo’s work, he found himself nodding unconsciously.
It was as Rodrum said.
Jin-woo’s breathing resembled his master’s breathing.
Constant and uniform, like that.
…
Then Haram, who’d been thrown out earlier, carefully entered the Blacksmith Shop.
It was because of the hammer strikes he’d heard from outside.
He’d heard sounds that certainly shouldn’t have come from there, so for Haram, curiosity was irresistible.
“What—what the—!?”
Haram’s body trembled. Something impossible was happening.
“What is this…?”
Haram understood well what the Blacksmith Shop meant to a blacksmith.
Rodrum’s pride was such that he would never lend the Blacksmith Shop to anyone lacking sufficient skill.
Yet a greenhorn user, apparently just beginning, was hammering away.
And Rodrum and the apprentice were watching in admiration.
“What in the world is happening?”
It was incomprehensible.
Clang!
Yet seeing Jin-woo’s hammer strikes, Haram too found his gaze captured in an instant.
…
Jin-woo’s hammering was distinctly different.
Though similar in appearance, the uniformly descending strikes possessed a consistency that was unmistakable.
The force didn’t leak outward; it was delivered precisely to the iron.
It was an impossible feat.
“…It’s actually happening.”
Yet Jin-woo was pulling off that impossible feat.
He must surely be Level 1.
“Those movements are absolutely something a Level 1 couldn’t make. Could it be… Could it actually be that he has the Dexterity Stat at Level 1?”
At that thought, Haram recalled videos he’d once seen on the community forum.
Various videos were posted to the community, but the ones from top players got the highest view counts.
What Haram had seen were Level 1 players—that is, veterans who’d hunted Wyverns starting from the tutorial.
Movements that defied their Level, impossible feats, and eyes that gleamed with intelligence.
Their control was so inhuman that watching it made you question whether they were even people at all.
With that nearly supernatural precision, they’d whittled down the Wyvern’s health bit by bit, and in just an hour, they’d hunted the boss of the tutorial zone.
Hunters who caught things they weren’t meant to catch.
Watching them, the feeling that struck him was wonder—were they really the same species as him?
“They weren’t human. That control was inhuman.”
And now, watching this greenhorn user, Haram felt that same sensation.
Especially since he dreamed of becoming a craftsperson himself, his body couldn’t help but tremble at this sight.
“That’s it. I’m certain. He has the Dexterity Stat.”
And it seemed the Dexterity Stat was still being accumulated.
Even Haram, now over Level 5, still didn’t have the Dexterity Stat.
“Dexterity…”
Rodrum had said it.
That Level wasn’t what mattered.
That Skills weren’t what mattered.
That all those things were merely supplementary.
Of course he hadn’t believed it then. That sort of thing was only possible because they were NPCs, wasn’t it?
He’d thought it natural that there were certain impossibilities for his kind, and that those impossibilities should be compensated for by other elements.
He’d believed that Rodrum’s talk of skill necessarily required Stats and Levels as essentials.
But seeing it directly, he could finally understand.
Rodrum’s expectations weren’t unreasonable.
It really was possible.
“What I actually needed was…”
Not Skills or Levels.
Skill.
Genuine craft—honing it and developing Dexterity was all that mattered.
“Damn it.”
Haram ground his teeth.
And yet his gaze remained fixed on Jin-woo.
* * *
-Dexterity Stat increased!
-Your Dexterity Stat increases through excellent hammering.
-Dexterity Stat increased!
Every time he struck with the Hammer, his Dexterity Stat rose.
Jin-woo had no idea that the Dexterity Stat was difficult to obtain.
That was because it formed so easily and accumulated so quickly for him.
“Haaah.”
Jin-woo breathed deeply, in perfect concentration.
Each swing of the Hammer brought an unbidden smile to his face.
‘Not perfect yet.’
The sensation was novel.
Swinging the Hammer, he could control his force with subtle, meticulous precision.
Clang! Clang!
And so, striking the iron, Jin-woo created a small Short Sword.
Ding!
-Equipment crafted!
-First equipment creation!
-You receive equipment crafting bonus!
“Whew.”
The moment the Short Sword was complete, Jin-woo took a deep breath.
-You have created Grade C equipment!
The equipment Jin-woo had made for the first time was an impressive Grade C.
“I’m not sure if you’ll be satisfied with it.”
Jin-woo handed the completed small Short Sword to Rodrum.
“Is this enough to borrow the Blacksmith Shop?”
Rodrum examined the Short Sword with astonished eyes.
He didn’t even need to look closer.
First equipment creation at Grade C?
“Mine had no Grade at all…”
Sometimes created equipment didn’t receive a Grade.
Usually the first creation was like that—durability was quite low, and no Grade was assigned.
Yet Jin-woo’s work had achieved Grade C.
“I apologize. I was mistaken. You’re clearly different from every other Traveler I’ve seen!”
Rodrum broke into a genuine smile.
It was genuine skill.
And on top of that, impeccable hammer strikes.
This wasn’t the result of a day or two of practice.
At least ten years.
No—it was a mastery that couldn’t be achieved without many more years of dedicated training than that.
“Use it as much as you like. Better yet, use it all you want!”
-Quest completed!
-Rodrum’s favor has reached [MAX]!
-Synchronization Rate increases by 0.1 percent.
-With the increased Synchronization Rate, more desired movements become possible!
‘Synchronization Rate went up? I didn’t know that was increasing.’

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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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