The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 89

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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 89
89.
“Next elf, come take your equipment. We don’t have time.”
Derma Hate was on the move.
In such circumstances, there was no room for leisure.
As Brighton stood bewildered, the other elves rushed forward to receive their gear.
“Grembl, Hudson, Mike.”
The three elves received armor. The equipment came from what Katri had crafted.
The moment they donned the Cloth Armor, it clung snugly to their bodies, wrapping around them perfectly.
“This armor…….”
“These Gloves……!”
“It fits me perfectly.”
Improbably, it suited their tastes exactly, and more than that, it felt as familiar as something they’d worn all along.
In this way, all one hundred elves received Jin-woo’s equipment. Of course, they received not only Jin-woo’s gear but also equipment made by Katri and Mire.
Then.
Mire pointed toward the back.
“The person who crafted your equipment is entering now.”
Everyone’s attention focused on Jin-woo. Jin-woo looked at the elves wearing the equipment he’d made.
“Does everyone’s equipment fit well? I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you all in person and craft your gear directly. The situation became urgent.”
Jin-woo explained the circumstances.
Then Brighton raised his hand.
“Um, Jin-woo! So how exactly did you make these…… equipments? This really fits me perfectly.”
“Katri left notes while making your equipment. I crafted based on those notes. I apologize—I didn’t make them very well.”
“……Pardon?”
Brighton understood.
Katri noted each elf warrior’s characteristics very simply.
Often just one line, sometimes less than that.
“……How could you possibly…….”
Jin-woo simply offered a smile.
“If these aren’t well-made, then how much more extraordinary would truly good ones be?”
One elf warrior’s eyes blinked hard. There was sincerity in Jin-woo’s words—he genuinely regretted not making them better.
That was what was unsettling.
How much more remarkable would they be if made properly.
“You all. I heard that you suffered one defeat at the hands of Derma Hate. Your equipment was destroyed and many elves were gravely wounded.”
The elves’ expressions hardened at those words.
“But.”
Jin-woo spoke with force.
“That won’t happen anymore.”
Once, Jin’s equipment dominated the battlefield. Not a single one who wore Jin’s gear failed to become a Ranker.
Not one.
“From now on, you won’t need to flee, nor fear defeat.”
Those who wore Jin’s equipment couldn’t lose even if they wanted to.
‘I have far more diverse power now than I did back then.’
The current Jin-woo could do far more than the Jin of the past.
That’s why he could speak to them with conviction.
“Because you’re wearing my equipment.”
From now on, they couldn’t lose even if they tried.
At Jin-woo’s words, light returned to the elf warriors’ eyes. With just one sentence, he’d perfectly restored the morale that had sagged so badly. Mire watched it all from beside him.
She thought he was only skillful with his hands.
“……Thank goodness he’s on our side.”
The words came from the heart.
* * *
-You have received a Quest!
* Quest: Eliminate Derma Hate
Grade: SSS
Objective: Eliminate Derma Hate, the ominous threat to Elven City!
Constraint: The Quest will not clear unless Derma Hate is eliminated.
Reward: At User’s Discretion
Outside Elven City.
Derma Hate and his forces dwelt deep within the Maze Forest.
‘So the condition is to definitely eliminate Derma Hate.’
Katri, Mire, and the elf elders.
Leaving them behind, elf warriors took the vanguard.
“Ooooooh…….”
“Jin-woo’s equipment…… is magnificent!”
The elf warriors wearing Jin-woo’s equipment were practically worth a hundred men each. With Mire’s Cloth equipment backing them up, it was supremely reassuring.
And at the very front of this force was Jin-woo.
“Jin-woo, we’ll lead the way.”
Hito, the commander leading the elf warriors, spoke.
The elf warriors wearing Jin-woo’s equipment were considerably uplifted. Of course they were. The equipment they now wore was no longer inadequate against Derma Hate’s forces.
There was no need to fear as before, and instead they could now take proper revenge this time.
“That’s fine.”
“Are you planning to fight directly?”
Jin-woo was a crafter. Hito naturally assumed he should protect Jin-woo. Having received Jin-woo’s equipment, they felt it was their duty to protect him.
“No.”
Shaaaaa—.
Jin-woo snapped his fingers immediately.
Darkness spread outward from Jin-woo, and his Familiars began to materialize.
“You summoned us.”
First.
Moltus.
Pur.
And the newly contracted Unit 2.
A total of four Familiars had been summoned.
The Familiars materialized with considerable aura, then paused upon seeing the elves. As a race of nature and harmony, the elves and the undead composed of darkness energy couldn’t be said to have favorable compatibility.
But Jin-woo didn’t mind. Their Affinity with him was already high enough to disregard such concerns.
‘They’ll be surprised, certainly.’
But the elf warriors were surprised for a different reason.
“Whoa…….”
“The equipment quality…….”
Having fought Derma Hate’s forces, they knew: fundamentally, undead don’t wear equipment. When they do, they wear equipment so utterly tattered from their living years that it’s barely cloth.
But the equipment worn by the Familiars Jin-woo had just summoned was of considerable quality.
“These are my Familiars. I’ll take the vanguard together with them.”
Jin-woo said.
“I’ll fight alongside all of you.”
‘I need to get equipment feedback.’
This was a chance to see the Cloth Armor he’d made with his own eyes up close.
‘Getting a close view is best.’
If so, the vanguard was naturally the place to be.
“Jin-woo…….”
“Ugh. We’re truly grateful.”
But the elves understood it differently. The fact that he’d made them equipment was moving enough, but to fight alongside them for the city like this…….
-The Affinity of Elven City’s elves rises greatly!
-You have earned a Nobility point.
-Your Nobility score has increased by 1 point.
Already three Nobility points had accumulated.
‘Oh.’
“I’ll give you a family heirloom passed down through our lineage. It’s nothing grand, but a precious gem—it should help light your path forward.”
“I’ll give you something too.”
“I’ll give you my wedding ring.”
“Hamir!”
“My apologies. I’ll give you something else.”
The elves bore resolute expressions, each speaking their intentions.
The Maze Forest.
The moment Jin-woo and the elf warriors entered, a viscous presence greeted them.
Shaaaaa—.
“As expected, he was already coming.”
At Jin-woo’s words, Mire’s brow furrowed.
“He came deliberately. If he’d reached the city…… the whole city would have been corrupted.”
He would have pierced the barrier too. The presence was that intense.
Thud-thud.
Thud-thud-thud.
They’d walked some distance when the fog of the Maze Forest grew thicker and the ground began to move.
“Weak, withered flowers.”
A voice echoed from beyond that mist.
“Have you come of your own feet to shed that shell and become great souls? I could have come myself and made you great without you lifting a step.”
Grooooon—.
Suddenly a sharp sound pierced the air.
-The Dead whisper!
-[Debuff] Whispers of the Dead.
-All Stats decrease!
-Movement is restricted!
With just that voice, Derma Hate instantly froze the elf warriors. A single Debuff made the elves who’d marched forward courageously contort in pain.
Ding—!
-Necromancer class effect activates.
-The Debuff disappears.
-Whispers of the Dead sound sweet.
-Your body feels light!
-All Stats increase!
“The smell was good from the moment we entered.”
Jin-woo smirked.
“Your voice is quite nice, Derma Hate.”
Of course, that Debuff functioned as a Buff for Jin-woo. In fact, the dreadful voice of Derma Hate sounded pleasant, like echoes within a cavern.
Along with the Debuff, Derma Hate slowly revealed himself.
Hair disheveled, snow-white.
A crown sat upon his head, and his feet were bare.
His eyes held the vacant stare of madness, and his appearance was deeply unsettling.
The elf warriors, both Debuffed and bearing old trauma, groaned the moment Derma Hate appeared.
“Aaaaahhh…….”
“Uuuughh…….”
But it had no effect on Jin-woo and his Familiars.
“Unit 2.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Let’s greet him properly.”
“Yes.”
Unit 2 drew the Starlight Bow. Then, just as Jin-woo had taught, released an arrow.
Twang—.
It struck Derma Hate’s forehead precisely, and a sound followed.
“Oh, ohhh.”
“Quite competent.”
“Shall I go next?”
First, Moltus, and Pur each reacted to the new Familiar Unit 2’s performance.
“No. Wait.”
Derma Hate lightly plucked the arrow lodged in his brow. With a crack, it simply crumbled to dust and vanished.
“It seems to deal no damage?”
“Jin-woo…… he takes no damage. He’s immortal……!”
Mire spoke through the pain of the Debuff.
“So you’re the human Necromancer the little spirit of the forest spoke of.”
Derma Hate looked at Jin-woo and began laughing madly.
“I’ll invite your weak shell to the path of eternity.”
-Quest updated!
-You have encountered the Nightmare of the Forest, Derma Hate!
Shaaaaa—!
The surroundings began filling with darkness energy.
“Arise, awaken, my legion.”
Derma Hate’s forces were immense.
Tens, hundreds, thousands.
The Maze Forest filled to bursting.
They were crystallized souls—undead yet not alive.
The strength they’d possessed in life now dwelt within them.
Hehehehe—!
Death Knights riding skeletal steeds, headless Dullahans, and countless other undead writhed and advanced.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo’s legion was merely four strong.
The elf warriors couldn’t move, so these four were all he had.
“What can you possibly do with such a meager force.”
The gap was far too vast.
Yet Jin-woo remained composed. This greatly irritated Derma Hate.
“Let’s see how long you can stay at ease.”
He then raised his hand.
Just as he was about to issue the attack command.
“These four aren’t all.”
Jin-woo smirked.
“Being a ghost, you don’t see well—but our legion stands behind them.”
“You mean those paralyzed grass insects who can’t even move?”
“Paralyzed and can’t move?”
Jin-woo laughed.
“Who says?”
Shaaaaa—!
-Domain Declaration!
Darkness energy poured forth from Jin-woo, filling the surroundings.
The eyes of the four Familiars glowed blue.
-Your Familiars are strengthened!
Until moments ago, this place was Derma Hate’s domain. But from now on, it was Jin-woo’s ground.
“From now, no one can stand without my permission.”
All who entered Jin-woo’s domain without sanction were intruders.
“Insolent……!”
Derma Hate gnashed his teeth and sent a signal. His domain had been pushed back. That meant the source of Jin-woo’s power came from something far stronger than himself.
But it didn’t matter. No matter how strong that power was, he could suppress it.
“Slaughter them all. I’ll personally obliterate their souls!”
Derma Hate’s forces rushed at Jin-woo and his Familiars. Thousands charged, and Jin-woo’s four Familiars surged to meet them.
“Trusting only in that meager power…….”
Then a whistling sound came from behind.
“!”
The elf warriors who should have been paralyzed charged forward with abandon.
“Why……!”
The power of Domain Declaration.
Normally, elf warriors who weren’t Familiars wouldn’t be affected by Jin-woo’s Domain Declaration.
But that was only in ordinary circumstances.
Now they wore equipment Jin-woo had crafted imbued with his Necromancer power.
“Warriors who wear my equipment are essentially my legion.”
The Necromancer’s power dwelt within the equipment.
‘The conditions for being a Familiar are looser than I thought.’
To wear a Necromancer’s equipment.
‘That’s all it takes.’
They were treated as Familiars granted Jin-woo’s power.
Shaaaaa—.
Robes, Gloves, Armguards.
Short Bows, Iron Bows, Long Bows.
The elf legion wearing Jin-woo’s equipment broke free from paralysis and charged at Derma Hate’s forces. And simultaneously, they began to whistle.
Whiiit—. Whiiit—.
“For the city!”
“For the city!”
The impeccable craftsmanship of seamstress Mire combined with equipment from Jin-woo.
“Let’s test which legion is stronger.”

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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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