The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 70

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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 70
Episode 70.
Clang! Clang!
“Ah.”
Every time Yuran brought the pickaxe down, he felt a surge of emotion.
“Now this is a proper pickaxe.”
This was a true pickaxe. It was worlds apart from the ones he’d been using before.
“When I use the Mining Skill, the pickaxe usually breaks from the pressure, but this one holds up much better.”
Yuran’s level had already soared past 350.
Because of that, his Mining Skill had reached S-Grade, and it was extremely common for the pickaxe to shatter each time he used his skill.
But the Bone Pickaxe Jin-woo had crafted withstood the pressure of an S-Grade Mining Skill.
More than that, he was finally able to mine at full power after such a long time.
“There’s this massive ore vein I hadn’t been able to break through.”
Part of the massive ore vein before Yuran had crumbled away.
“Finally broke it.”
And with just a single pickaxe at that.
“Though I suppose I pushed a bit too hard.”
Jin-woo’s Bone Pickaxe had quietly completed its work, though its durability had dropped so severely that it was beyond repair.
“Still.”
Yuran picked up the fallen chunk of ore.
“I’ve got a custom pickaxe lined up just for me anyway.”
He’d fulfilled the contract terms Jin-woo had mentioned. Now all that remained was to sell this ore cheaply to Jin-woo and receive the Custom Pickaxe in return.
“Heh heh.”
That’s when a Messenger arrived.
-It’s Jin-woo. The item I promised is ready.
Yuran, who’d been mining, stopped everything at once.
* * *
Bruckle.
Having completed a Quest, Jin-woo immediately sent a Messenger to Yuran.
The New Gene had a Messenger system, and thanks to it, if both parties were registered with each other, they could communicate extremely easily.
‘It feels much more immersive than the Whisper System. I like it.’
Jin-woo sent Yuran a brief Messenger.
It said that the promised item was ready.
“Of course he’d come rushing over with excitement. And very quickly at that.”
The moment Jin-woo sent the Messenger, a reply came back from Yuran.
-Where are you! I’m coming right now!
* * *
Bruckle Plaza Tavern.
This tavern wasn’t open to the public, making it perfect for guild meetings or confidential gatherings.
Of course, the price was quite steep, but that didn’t matter much to Yuran.
“I’ve already taken care of the bill.”
Yuran took a seat.
Then he immediately got to the point.
“Is it… what you wanted to show me?”
Jin-woo smiled faintly.
“New equipment, Yuran.”
“…!”
Yuran’s eyes widened noticeably.
“A… a pickaxe?”
“Yes. Just as you mentioned.”
Jin-woo held out the pickaxe to Yuran.
“A Custom Pickaxe.”
“!”
A Custom Pickaxe.
After establishing a trading contract with Yuran, Jin-woo had received a commission from him.
Yuran needed a pickaxe of his own, so Jin-woo had promised to craft him a Custom Pickaxe tailored to his preferences in the near future.
Of course, he’d be properly compensated.
‘There were quite a few tricky aspects to it.’
Yuran’s specifications had been quite demanding.
‘Until I learned Rune Engraving from Rigardo, I could only imitate it.’
That made sense. Yuran was a high-level mining user.
Not just any mining user, but among the very best, so his demands had naturally been exacting.
But that’s precisely why it had been so enjoyable.
‘Once I learned Rune Engraving, I was able to have even more fun with it.’
As a result, Jin-woo had been able to craft a Custom Pickaxe specifically for him.
‘I combined Guardian Stone Crafting with Flame Crafting and wove in Rune Engraving.’
“Here it is.”
Jin-woo held back on words for now. He wanted Yuran to see it first.
The Guardian Stone Pickaxe was quite striking to behold.
Unlike the previous Bone Pickaxe, this one bore intricate patterns, and gems were embedded in the crafted handle from which a soft aura emanated.
There were also characters of indecipherable meaning, and they looked strangely cool.
“Wow.”
The quality was different from the previous pickaxe.
It wasn’t just different—the gap was so vast that it was fair to say the level itself was worlds apart.
Somewhere along the way, the pickaxe’s quality had skyrocketed.
“It’s SSS+ Grade.”
Without realizing it, Yuran reached out his hand.
He wanted to examine it closely.
He wanted to hold it.
But Jin-woo swiftly pulled the pickaxe back.
“Ah ah.”
Watching the pickaxe recede, Yuran’s eyes grew moist.
“Did you manage to mine the ore I asked for earlier?”
‘First, I need to get what I’m supposed to get.’
Jin-woo had asked Yuran for just one thing.
To obtain a premium ore that was difficult to find on the market and hard to source through guilds.
‘I asked him to gather those kinds of materials that only top-tier mining users can obtain.’
Of course, he intended to pay fairly for it.
“I’ve prepared it!”
Yuran immediately pulled out a box.
“I’ve secured three top-grade ores as you requested.”
As Yuran handed over the box, Jin-woo in turn handed over the Custom Pickaxe.
“I was planning to charge you separately for this, but I won’t. Please think of this as payment for the pickaxe.”
Yuran understood instinctively.
That he needed to grow closer to Jin-woo. And for that, any short-term loss was worth bearing.
“Thank you for the good deal.”
Jin-woo smiled and took the box.
Yuran’s hands trembled as he examined the Custom Pickaxe.
“SSS+ Grade? But weren’t you just making SS-Grade items not long ago?”
The Bone Pickaxe he’d purchased had merely been S-Grade. It really hadn’t been that long ago—time measured in days, countable on your fingers.
“I just put in a bit of effort.”
Just by putting in a bit of effort, he could now craft SSS+ Grade items?
As expected. Just as expected. Jin-woo’s growth rate was faster than he’d anticipated, even.
“If there’s anything else you need, feel free to ask anytime!”
Yuran bowed his head respectfully.
“Then.”
Jin-woo broached the topic as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Would it be alright if I joined you when you mine ore?”
“For you to join me? Of course it’s possible.”
“Thank you.”
Jin-woo summoned his Familiar right there on the spot.
Shaaaaack—.
The Attendant materialized.
“You called for me.”
Jin-woo gestured toward the Attendant and spoke.
“This is my Familiar. I was thinking of having him learn mining from you. Would that be alright?”
The Attendant stood at attention sharply in front of Jin-woo.
He held a pickaxe in his hands and wore polished Armor just in case.
He looked rather like a veteran miner.
“A Necromancer!?”
“I ended up learning it one way or another.”
How does one end up learning Necromancer techniques?
Yuran found himself intensely curious about how Jin-woo played—what had led to crafting SSS+ Grade items and casually picking up Necromancer skills.
Yuran nodded without hesitation.
“There’s no reason not to. Shall I teach him the mining method? Mining isn’t easy, though.”
“Yes. His name is Attendant. He’s quite quick to understand and can speak well, so don’t worry.”
“I look forward to it.”
The Attendant let out a rattling sound and greeted him.
“He certainly has a cheerful demeanor.”
Looking at such an Attendant, Yuran discarded his preconceptions. If this was Jin-woo’s Familiar—a skeleton, after all—then he was surely capable and efficient.
“If you find it’s not working out after teaching him, just send him back.”
“Very well, understood.”
“Do well out there, Attendant.”
“Yes.”
“Mine a hundred of them.”
“… Yes!”
Though it sounded like a joke, the Attendant knew full well it wasn’t.
* * *
Abyss Mining Site.
This was a place Yuran frequented often. It was quite dark, which meant other mining users rarely came here, but Yuran had the Luminescence Skill, so he mined with ease.
“Hmm!”
Yuran immediately began swinging his pickaxe.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Unidentified ore flew up from the massive ore vein.
“Huh.”
The ore veins here yielded Mithril Ore by default, and with very rare probability, Adamantium.
That meant mining itself was extraordinarily difficult. Most pickaxes couldn’t overcome the ore vein.
Even Yuran, a mining expert, had to swing dozens of times before he could successfully mine a single ore.
“Three swings to get it?”
The SSS+ Grade pickaxe he’d received from Jin-woo had performance that was absolutely insane.
“I haven’t even gotten used to it yet.”
And yet he was able to mine Mithril Ore in just three swings.
“What is this…?”
-Mining successful!
-Your health has been restored.
“Huh?”
The moment mining succeeded, his health was restored. Just like Crafting, mining consumed stamina the more you did it.
Because of that, he always carried Health Potions and had even learned the Health Recovery Skill.
“The pickaxe even has a Life Drain Effect.”
The Life Drain Effect was fundamentally a very high-tier option.
“To have such an advanced option attached to a pickaxe…”
Tears rolled down.
Yuran wept.
Beside him, the Attendant observed it all carefully and learned.
“Proper response.”
Simply marveling at good equipment was the mark of a novice.
Discussing options and understanding their significance was the mark of intermediate skill.
Just bursting into tears was the mark of a master.
The Attendant judged Yuran to be a master. And showing such a reaction without Jin-woo present? That made him a master among masters.
Yuran, still caught up in the throes of emotion, soon noticed the Attendant.
“Right, I almost forgot. Let’s start right away. Should I just call you Attendant?”
“Yes. Please do call me that.”
“Attendant, the basics of mining are…”
Auto Hunting.
The first step of Jin-woo’s grand plan had begun.
* * *
After handing the Custom Pickaxe over to Yuran.
Jin-woo examined the ores he’d received from him.
Creak—.
As he opened the box, a luminous gleam appeared.
“Khhhh.”
The ores Yuran had brought were all top-tier materials.
“SSS+ Grade.”
They were even higher grade than the Mithril he’d received before.
Of course, Jin-woo had obtained SR-Grade materials during this Tower Conquest.
But these top-tier ores were definitely different.
“Each one has its own distinct appeal.”
High grade alone doesn’t make a material good.
“They’re good materials that also happen to be high grade.”
Jin-woo smiled contentedly.
‘I’m really glad I secured that supply line.’
Jin-woo first pulled out a Mithril.
What he held was Shadow Mithril, a particularly rare variant.
“It contains all the properties of Mithril,”
Yet it possessed a uniquely cool black luster that was beautiful.
-Shadow Mithril [Grade: SSS+]
Description: A fantastical ore that seems to have been drawn from within shadows. Extremely light and flexible, it readily accepts the power of darkness.
“And Star’s Tear.”
It was a distinctly blue gem.
But the material he was most excited about was the last one.
“Thousand-Year Steel.”
An ore infused with the biting cold of ten thousand years, just one grade below Eternal Frost Iron.
“They say it’s as hard to obtain as Eternal Frost Iron itself.”
Yuran had said he’d mined it with great difficulty. Though he also promised that next time he’d definitely bring Eternal Frost Iron. Having the Custom Pickaxe in his hands seemed to have really motivated him.
“This will be perfect for crafting new equipment for my Familiar.”
When he touched it, intense yin-qi and cold poured forth, and it even resonated with the darkness within Jin-woo.
“And it should pair well with the Shadow Mithril too.”
During this Tower Conquest, Jin-woo had quite a few things he wanted to craft.
“First became an elite Death Knight, but it’s ridiculous that he only has one set of Armor and one Axe.”
Seeing the Shadow Mithril struck Jin-woo with sudden inspiration.
Jin-woo didn’t hesitate.
“Leaving good materials sitting idle is a disrespect. To the materials.”
Though admittedly, it was unclear whether the materials held such thoughts.
Whoooooosh—.
Intense heat began warming the furnace.
“Coco, maximum power.”
“Ding—!”
Coco began spouting dark flame with incredible intensity. The furnace grew so hot it threatened to melt.
“The stronger I get, the stronger you become too.”
During this Tower Conquest, Jin-woo had broken through level 100.
Thanks to that, Coco, the dark flame spirit, was able to grow stronger as well.
“Then.”
Jin-woo immediately summoned Dust.
“Dust, you’re in, right?”
Jin-woo pulled out the Shadow Mithril.
“I’m going to mix in Hellblood Stone.”
Combining an SR-Grade material with an SSS+ Grade material.
“You can handle it?”
Dust spun around once, as if asking what Jin-woo took him for.
“Porp.”
“Let’s go.”
-Material Synthesis has begun!
Dust swallowed the Shadow Mithril and Hellblood Stone. Then he looked at Coco.
If you’re doing it, so am I.
“Yeah. That’s the spirit.”
Jin-woo smiled.
“Ding.”
Coco also cried out upon seeing Dust.
You think you’re the only one who can do this?
That was the sound he was making.
-Material Synthesis complete!
-Dust, the Spirit of Materials, has leveled up!
-Recycle Ability has been enhanced!
Jin-woo looked at the synthesized material in surprise.
“!”

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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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