The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 87

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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 87
87.
“Jin-woo! I’ve brought the timber!”
Felling trees was no simple task in itself.
But it was far easier than processing wood to match Jin-woo’s pace.
“You’ve brought rather little, haven’t you?”
Jin-woo knew Katri’s skill well.
Even though considerable time had passed, bringing only this much meant he had deliberately brought just this much.
“Were you planning to make another trip?”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
How had he known? Katri stepped back in momentary alarm.
“I was joking, Katri.”
“Ha, haha. I can’t fell all the timber in the Forest of Glory, after all! I brought just the right amount. Surely you don’t think I was planning to go again and rest halfway!”
Sweat was forming on his brow.
“Shall we begin processing?”
“Before that, there’s something I need to discuss.”
At Jin-woo’s words, Katri grew tense.
“All the Elf Warriors’ equipment—you make it all, correct?”
“Not entirely by myself. I do craft most of the equipment made from wood, but the cloth equipment is being made by Mire.”
The Elf Warriors’ equipment consisted of a basic set: wooden gear paired with cloth gear.
Bows crafted from wood.
Cloth armor and gloves, and more. The warriors were outfitted with equipment made by the finest craftspeople in the Elven realm.
“The warriors’ equipment was all destroyed fighting the phantom legions. But now that the Forest of Glory has been restored, we can make it again!”
The Forest of Glory had been purified, and timber supply was now flowing smoothly.
“I thank you again, Jin-woo.”
He had received enough help from him.
Now it was his turn to work for the city.
“It will be better to do this together rather than alone.”
Jin-woo said this.
“Are you… going to help us?”
“I’m not helping unilaterally. We’re cooperating with each other.”
At those words, Katri’s eyes grew moist.
This was elf land. Yet a human was offering to defend what elves ought to protect.
“But I’m not just helping.”
Jin-woo continued.
“If you have materials set aside, bring them all.”
Jin-woo smiled wryly.
‘Mire had quite a lot too.’
Mire had brought out even the materials she had been saving to counter the Specter King. Thanks to her, Jin-woo had secured a good supply of fine cloth.
‘I haven’t used any of that yet.’
“Ah… you are truly a hero. Our Elven hero…! Very well. I’ll bring everything!”
-Elf Katri’s Affinity has reached MAX!
-The God of Nature and Harmony admires your eloquence.
He had simply coveted the materials.
But Katri’s affinity was already at maximum.
‘The Elven deity surely sees all.’
“Please overlook it—I’m just trying to do something good.”
-The God of Nature and Harmony smiles.
Jin-woo spoke to Katri’s back as he prepared to dash off.
“I’ve learned wood processing from you, so I’ll do my best as well!”
At Jin-woo’s polite words, Katri summoned a spirit and wrapped Wind Magic around his body.
“I’ll be back quickly!”
He needed to present the materials before him as soon as possible.
“I’m back!”
Katri returned remarkably fast and produced various materials.
“Hm.”
What Katri had brought were several processed timbers.
‘Some of the timber I saw in the Forest of Glory, but many I’ve never seen before.’
Moreover, all of it was quite excellent in quality.
“I’ve placed preservation magic on them, so they’re in excellent condition.”
Katri smiled slightly.
“There’s timber processed in the Forest of Glory, but aside from that, there are rare materials. This one I really did save.”
Katri pointed to a brilliant crimson timber.
-Red Iron Wood [SR]
Description: Timber imbued with volcanic power over long periods. Extremely rare.
It was SR Grade timber.
Its distinctive red sheen stood out beautifully.
“It’s called Red Iron Wood. Near the Elven City there was once a Lava Field, and this Red Iron Wood was a tree that had absorbed that region’s power over eons! It can hold far more Mana than ordinary timber. So if we craft equipment from it…”
“We can embed far more attributes into it.”
“Yes! Exactly!”
And that was not all.
“Though I’m a carpenter by trade, I’m fundamentally a craftsperson, so I have minerals as well. These minerals come from a small Gem Mine in the Elven City.”
What he produced was an emerald-hued mineral.
“It’s fairly common in our city, but I’ve collected only the finest quality specimens.”
-Green Pearl [SR]
Description: A mineral naturally formed in places of abundant verdancy. A specialty of the Elven City.
“I have twenty of these Green Pearls.”
‘The materials are sufficient.’
“I’ll begin work at once.”
Jin-woo summoned his Summoned Workshop and carefully stacked the timbers beside the work table.
Then he laid the cloths he had received from Mire atop the work table.
“Should we call all the Elf Warriors here?”
To craft equipment for them, he needed to meet with them.
But Jin-woo shook his head.
‘There’s not much time.’
There was no margin for delay.
‘The Specter King will have noticed.’
Jin-woo had recovered the fragment of the Specter King’s soul that had been in the Forest of Glory.
Originally, his plan would have been to slowly corrupt the Forest of Glory and eventually devour the entire Elven City.
‘So he’ll definitely attack first. We can’t let that happen.’
If the battle took place within the Elven City, even victory would be costly.
‘I’m confident in producing large quantities quickly.’
He had already gained the knack while crafting equipment for the Minos Orcs.
“Do you have any information about them?”
“Ah, yes, I do. I kept parchment notes I made when I previously crafted equipment for the warriors.”
“That will suffice.”
At Jin-woo’s words, Katri brought the parchment at once.
“Here it is, Jin-woo.”
It was parchment containing the characteristics of the Elf Warriors. As he had made equipment for them, he had jotted down their traits in rough form.
“I’ve organized it somewhat, but I haven’t compiled it in detail.”
Katri was right.
As he unfolded the parchment, the Elf Warriors’ traits were written very briefly.
-Guredeun: Prefers long bows. Agile—gloves essential. Prefers leg guards and waist belts.
-Desai: Dislikes gloves. Prefers short bows. Wants equipment made by mixing minerals with wood.
……
……
The parchment was densely filled with records about the Elf Warriors.
“I did record all the Elf Warriors.”
The number of Elf Warriors in the city was not particularly large.
With only about 150 warriors, records of all of them existed, but those records were sparse.
It would be difficult to craft proper equipment with this.
Katri thought Jin-woo would surely ask him to bring the Elf Warriors here after seeing the parchment.
No matter how great a craftsperson Jin-woo was, creating equipment for them with notes this crudely organized would be difficult.
“That’s perfect.”
Jin-woo began reading the parchment. His eyes moved rapidly.
Then he placed timber on the work table.
“I understand.”
Crack! Crackle.
Scrape.
Jin-woo began carving the timber, forming the desired shape before immediately starting to cut the cloth.
“…!”
Katri was seeing it for the first time.
Jin-woo using the Flawless Sewing Technique.
If Mire’s Flawless Sewing Technique could be described as beautiful, Jin-woo’s was literally flawless.
Like a single continuous motion.
Everything flowed without pause, undulating seamlessly. His hands connected without interruption, and before long a single glove had been created.
Jin-woo then mixed in the mineral.
-You have crafted Silkria Green Pearl Cloth Armor!
-You have crafted SR Grade equipment!
“This is equipment for Brighton.”
As Jin-woo handed over the Silkria Green Pearl Cloth Armor, Katri examined it closely. Then he fell silent for a moment.
It was real. The equipment for Brighton had been created from that single line of notes.
“Hah… it’s true. You really can craft equipment perfectly suited to him from those crude notes.”
Katri knew Brighton well.
So he could tell just how perfectly suited this equipment Jin-woo had created truly was.
“How did you craft it so perfectly without even meeting him… from just this brief note?”
“It’s not perfect. Meeting directly is always best.”
“…So you’re saying this was made hastily?”
“Yes. Because time is short. The Specter King will move, so we must move faster than him.”
Katri suddenly came to his senses.
“I’ll help too!”
There was no time to stand idle.
* * *
-Equipment has been crafted!
-Equipment has been crafted!
Dust and Coco.
Jin-woo began crafting equipment while actively harnessing the power of his two spirits.
‘I need to bring out the characteristics of the timber more.’
He couldn’t simply craft equipment from wood.
‘The enemies are phantoms.’
They had no physical form, and only attribute attacks through spirits could damage them.
‘And they have the power to rot equipment.’
The equipment Katri had crafted before had all rotted and become unusable.
Bang!
“Jin-woo.”
Katri, who had been helping craft equipment, wore a troubled expression.
“The Specter King and his legion have the power to rot all equipment. We need to craft equipment that can withstand that power.”
Crafting as they were now would yield the same results as before.
“Don’t worry.”
Bang!
‘The rotting happens because of their Dark Energy.’
Undead. Equipment rots because of the fundamental power that the dead possess. Especially wood would inevitably suffer this fate.
Then the solution was simple: infuse Dark Energy from the start.
‘I’ll embed the Necromaster job effect abundantly.’
I’ll abandon other attributes.
Jin-woo focused solely on preventing rot.
Whoosh.
Dark Energy settled into Jin-woo’s hammer.
“Like counters like, eye for an eye.”
Dark Energy could be suppressed by Dark Energy.
-Equipment has been crafted!
Whoosh.
What was born from Jin-woo’s hands was a bow dripping with Dark Energy.
“!”
Katri already knew Jin-woo possessed a Necromancer-class job.
“I didn’t know you could apply it to crafting as well.”
This changed everything.
“It will never rot.”
Jin-woo smiled.
“Should we push the pace a bit harder?”
Gulp.
In truth, Katri was already crafting at near his limit. But he wanted to try. Standing beside Jin-woo, watching and feeling his work, he felt the urge to follow in his footsteps.
“Yes!”
* * *
Mire’s Mansion.
“Mire.”
“I heard the news, Jin-woo! I went to see it with my own eyes!”
Mire spoke with delight. She had never imagined the Forest of Glory would recover so quickly.
Hope gleamed in Mire’s eyes.
“The Forest of Glory has come back to life! How on earth did you manage it!”
“Fortunately, it fell within my area of expertise. Now there are no contaminated areas remaining in the Elven City.”
“We had given up. The Specter King is formidable, and we could no longer create anything. If the Forest of Glory rotted, the World Tree at its heart would be affected too.”
The World Tree is the heart of the Elven City.
The Mana the World Tree emanates is what allows the Elven City to withstand the Specter King’s grasp.
‘That enormous dome in the sky must be the Mana Barrier.’
Had the purification of the Forest of Glory failed and affected the World Tree, that massive Mana Barrier would have shattered.
‘Since he cannot directly target the World Tree, he was trying to topple it through the Forest of Glory.’
That was why the Specter King had waited patiently.
‘But now there’s no need for him to wait.’
“Now we just need to hold back the Specter King. He’ll likely lead his entire legion in an assault. So we need to prepare our defenses…”
“That’s what I came to discuss with you, Mire.”
“Yes?”
Mire looked at Jin-woo.
“The Specter King will make his move. He’s realized the Forest of Glory’s corruption has vanished, and this time he’ll bring his entire legion.”
“That’s likely. But don’t worry. The city has the World Tree, and now we have the restored Forest of Glory. I’ve completed all the cloth equipment as well… though there is an issue.”
But Mire’s expression remained dark.
A major problem remained unresolved.
“You mean the equipment rotting.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Jin-woo produced a piece of equipment.
It was a Wooden Long Bow.
“Because I made it.”
Whoosh.
A black aura emanated from the Wooden Long Bow.
“Equipment that will never rot.”

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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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