The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 77

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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 77
Episode 77.
The village of Sinse.
Hoz’s smithy was operating at full capacity.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hoz had significantly increased his productivity compared to before.
“I hope he’s finding his way all right.”
He thought of his fellow craftsman.
Not long ago, he’d sent an exceptional disciple who’d come to him to that fellow. The pretext was good—learn what you wish to learn.
But the real meaning was different.
“Rodin, how are you faring? I’m sorry. Truth is, I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I sent him.”
Hoz was thinking of Jin-woo, the most unconventional disciple he’d ever taught.
He’d sent Jin-woo to Rodin.
Rodin was a master engraver who wielded the specialized technique of Flame Engraving, and among all the craftspeople Hoz had ever seen, Rodin was the most brilliant.
“Still, if anyone can make something of him, I’d wager it’s you. He’ll burn through your reserves slower than mine, at least.”
Hoz carried a weight of guilt.
By now, the boy had probably arrived.
“Will he be able to handle it?”
He himself had exhausted his own knowledge in an instant, and though he’d wanted to teach more, there was nothing left to give, so he’d had to let him go.
“He’ll burn through Rodin’s reserves just the same, though.”
That was inevitable. What mattered was how long it would take.
“I just pray it takes longer than a day, Rodin.”
And at that same moment, at the Flame Residence.
In his workshop, Rodin was entertaining the very same thought.
“Has he set out yet, or is he still on his way?”
Rodin sat with his head bowed.
“I’m sorry, Mirae.”
Hoz was wearing an apologetic expression, but Rodin broke into a wide grin.
“Now you’ll know what it’s like.”
* * *
The Council Chamber.
Jin-woo’s bold declaration had stirred diverse emotions among the Elven Elders.
Some of them raged.
“Is this truly the right course of action?”
“We stand at a crossroads—can we protect the city or cannot we? The Forest of Glory is decaying before our very eyes!”
“What on earth can that human possibly accomplish? Solve everything on his own? Preposterous!”
The Elven Elders were not ordinarily so emotional. But the pressure of the Ghost King and their own helplessness had left them no choice.
“We truly are sorry, but we have no other recourse.”
Yet some of the elders sensed something different in Jin-woo’s face.
Confidence.
They wondered what lay at the root of his unwavering belief.
Moreover, his willingness to help the Elven City driven solely by the desire to learn Tailoring from Mirae—this too won them over considerably.
Selfless kindness breeds doubt.
But kindness rendered in service of a clear and mutual benefit could be trusted. Especially in circumstances such as these.
“He crossed the Forest of Labyrinth to get here. Where the Ghost King’s power has grown so strong.”
“He carried himself with confidence.”
The Elven Elders fell silent for a moment.
“Then let us make a request. Let him address the greatest problem we face first.”
“The Forest of Glory, you mean?”
The Elven City was home to the World Tree and the Forest of Glory, the source of all elvish power.
“The trees have all rotted due to the Ghost King’s influence.”
“Without Blessed Wood from that place, we cannot craft equipment capable of standing against the Ghost King!”
“You mean to entrust the Forest of Glory to this Jin-woo?”
“Should the Forest of Glory be rendered beyond recovery, the Elven City will lose all means of resistance. We will be unable to protect our beloved World Tree.”
The Forest of Glory was as symbolic to the elves as the World Tree itself.
They could not place such a place in the hands of a stranger.
“Then you propose we leave things as they are?”
……
“We have done all we can. So let us accept aid. Should this Jin-woo fail to resolve this matter, it will not be too late to ask him to leave the city afterward.”
……Very well.
The Elven Elders’ council had concluded.
The dissenters among the elder elves believed Jin-woo would fail.
“Solve everything? That boy will learn just how presumptuous such words are.”
His skill was certainly remarkable.
But how could craftsmanship alone protect the Elven City from the Ghost King?
“It may well end with Elder Mirae. After all, no elf has ever succeeded in learning her Tailoring before.”
Mirae’s Tailoring was one of the Elven City’s greatest powers.
It could fairly be called the guardian force that protected the city alongside the World Tree itself. This was why so many elves had sought to learn it.
Mirae too had desired to take on disciples, and she had taught her Tailoring to numerous elves.
“Most of them could not even master the fundamentals.”
Yet not a single elf had truly grasped Mirae’s Tailoring.
“If even our finest elves could not learn it, how could a human succeed?”
Indeed, the matter might resolve itself quite easily.
“I shall go in person to deliver the message.”
Cain, one of the Elven Elders, spoke.
“I will inform him of the Forest of Glory and confirm whether he has learned Tailoring from Elder Mirae. Please wait for my return.”
* * *
……
Mirae erased the line she had drawn. Her first disciple. For a moment, she entertained the possibility that she might actually have her first true disciple.
Jin-woo tied off the final stitch and knotted it.
-Equipment has been crafted!
-SSS-Grade equipment has been crafted!
-Leafweave Cloth Gloves have been crafted!
[Leafweave Cloth Gloves]
-Defense: 150
-Grade: SSS
-Durability: 5,000 / 5,000
<>
* Special Option [Rune Inscription – Grutem: Defense increases by 250.]
* Special Option [Leafweave’s Potential: Mana Recovery increases by 5%.]
* Special Option [Flawless Tailoring: Movement restrictions vanish. Dexterity Stat increases by 150.]
The material Jin-woo had worked with was called Leafweave.
It was S-Grade material, yet Jin-woo had casually produced SSS-Grade equipment.
‘This is no joke.’
Flawless Tailoring alone could imbue a special attribute without additional aids. Of course, part of it came from how well Jin-woo had applied the technique as Mirae had taught it, and part from drawing out the full potential of the Leafweave, but even so, it was remarkable.
‘I haven’t even set gems yet.’
And yet the gloves were already this impressive.
-Flawless Tailoring proficiency increases!
-First equipment crafted using Flawless Tailoring!
-Dexterity Stat increases further!
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
“No.”
Tailoring was his first experience.
“It’s my first time. Sewing.”
Mirae couldn’t believe it, but at this point she had no choice. Carefully, she put on the gloves Jin-woo had made.
She had clearly shown him how to make cloth armor.
Once the method was understood, changing the type of equipment was trivial.
Slip.
The moment Mirae donned the gloves, she was certain.
This feeling. The qualities of Flawless Tailoring were fully alive in them.
“How does it feel?”
“Now that I’ve seen them and worn them, I understand.”
She had to acknowledge it.
“It really does seem like you learned this in three hours.”
He had learned Flame Engraving from Rodin in three hours.
“I think I understand now why Rodin sent you to me.”
When she saw him again, she’d have a word to share with him.
“Your Tailoring is truly outstanding. This is my first time teaching, but to see someone pick it up so naturally. You need not concern yourself with fundamentals.”
Jin-woo seemed ready to move straight into advanced techniques.
“Flawless Tailoring rests on three pillars: the stitch, the cut, and the knot. But as you witnessed at the end, the knot also calls upon the spirits’ power. It is through the knot that we imbue options into the equipment we create.”
That was the essence of advancement.
“Here is new fabric.”
-Silkria [Grade: S]
Description: Delicate cloth infused with moonlight. Woven from the cocoons of a rare silk moth. A specialty of the Elven City.
Jin-woo held in his hands a fabric only elves could produce.
Rustle.
The feel of it was entirely different from what he’d worked with moments before.
‘Silver-white. Mana flows through it. It’s similar to the fabric the elders were wearing, isn’t it?’
“This Silkria holds considerable mana, which is why it’s wonderfully supple. But that suppleness means the needle slips easily. If you approach it as you did before, your stitches will fail, and the knots will come undone.”
Silkria was the classic test material. Master it, and you could learn everything the advanced techniques had to offer.
Conversely, fail with it, and you remained at the fundamentals.
The seamster’s wall.
And a necessary hurdle in Mirae’s Flawless Tailoring.
“So the difficulty is high.”
“Yes. But to learn the advanced methods, you must master Silkria. Let me first demonstrate—”
“No, that’s all right.”
Jin-woo, who’d been feeling the fabric, shook his head.
“I think I understand how to approach it.”
“……You understand how to approach it?”
Slip.
Rustle.
Instead of answering, Jin-woo immediately began to sew.
This Silkria is delicate and flexible, far more demanding than the previous fabric. The moment he would try to guide the needle in as before—
“……it should slip.”
Jin-woo threaded the needle with perfect precision.
“The trick is revealing itself.”
“You’ve done it once.”
Mirae’s voice carried undisguised disbelief.
“One attempt and you’ve grasped the technique?”
“I learn fairly quickly, I suppose.”
Jin-woo began to sew in earnest.
‘A good skill truly is different.’
That supportive sensation.
The direction it pushed him toward. In other words, the very concept the skill embodied was so clear to him.
So for Jin-woo, understanding the skill was enough. Grasping what it pursued.
Understanding how to wield it. Once he knew that much, using it with such finesse became trivial.
Slip. Rustle.
Moreover, Mirae’s Tailoring was the culmination of his greatest strength.
Deft precision. Absolute control of power—that was Jin-woo’s gift.
Slip. Soft-rustle.
The Silkria was being cut and sewn by Jin-woo’s hands. This time, he took the long length of fabric and began crafting a robe.
Slip.
Jin-woo’s fingertips grew keener.
He worked through the Silkria with measured care, each stitch deliberate. Speed diminished, but detail flourished.
“Ha-ha-ha.”line>
Mirae laughed at the sight.

What she had sought to see was whether he could craft equipment from Silkria.
But now Jin-woo had transcended that entirely.
Completion was merely the baseline; he was elevating the quality of the finished work itself.
-Equipment has been crafted.
-SSS+-Grade equipment has been crafted.
The gloves were SSS-Grade.
The robe was SSS+-Grade. In two attempts, Jin-woo had hit perfection twice.
“Jin-woo, is craftsmanship your specialty?”
“No. I craft as well.”
“Craft……as well?”
At his words, her expression turned to shock.
“I’m a blacksmith by trade.”

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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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