The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 95

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 95
Episode 95.
The Attendant glanced at Jin-woo in that instant. Had he made a mistake? Was Yur’s Advanced Technique something only Yur could use?
But then he saw Jin-woo’s eyes.
Even as Jin-woo spoke, he seemed quite satisfied. As his servant, the Attendant could tell.
“But it’s not bad, is it?”
Jin-woo rather liked that exaggerated, amusing reaction.
“Yes, sir!”
The Attendant felt proud. Learning from a master craftsman like Yur had indeed produced satisfying results.
Unit 2 trembled at the sight.
Was this what experience meant?
This being who had been born earlier and served the master—did it truly possess such strength?
Unit 2’s own essence was deeper.
Yet if this was the extent of what experience could achieve, it meant that what one learned after birth could overcome even an inborn advantage in the quality of one’s essence.
Unit 2 ground its teeth with a clanking sound.
I will learn that Advanced Technique as well.
“Let me try carrying this. Ugh, unghhh.”
Clank-!
Just as First had been unable to handle Jin-woo’s equipment once his tier jumped dramatically, neither could the Attendant.
“Attendant, hold on a moment.”
Jin-woo immediately fed the Attendant essence. He had obtained quite a number of essences from his battle with the Phantom King.
Of course, not all of them were high-grade, but there was more than enough to level up the Attendant.
‘If the essence quality is lacking, I can simply increase the quantity.’
Besides, though many were low-grade, there were A-grade essences scattered among them as well.
Shaaaaa-!
Light blazed across the Attendant’s form.
-Servant Attendant’s level increases!
-Servant Attendant’s level increases!
The Attendant, who had originally been Rare LV3, advanced to Special LV2.
Shaaaaa-.
The Attendant’s bones began to reshape.
-Servant Attendant’s type changes.
-Attendant has become a Phantom Rogue.
Phantom Rogue.
‘The Attendant is naturally agile.’
Perhaps that was why he seemed to have evolved into a higher-ranked rogue class.
“Master. I, the Attendant, have become a Phantom Rogue. All of this is thanks to your grace. That I, who was nothing but bone, could become a Phantom Rogue!”
The Attendant brought his fist to his chest with a sharp gesture. That posture made him look, in an instant, like a higher-ranked undead.
The characteristic creaking movements that had plagued him before were completely gone.
Then he picked up the Pickaxe.
Shaaaaa-.
With the Pickaxe resting on his shoulder, he looked unmistakably like a miner.
‘Heh.’
Just as Jin-woo was growing, so were his servants. He quite liked that.
‘But where did he really learn that from?’
He had only sent the Attendant to Yur, yet the servant had returned a true believer.
‘Did he learn it from Yur, then?’
Well, whatever works.
“Mine even better than before and bring back more! What you brought this time was excellent!”
As Jin-woo offered his praise, the Attendant’s body quivered with delight.
“Then I shall depart. I will answer your call whenever you summon me, Master!”
The Attendant hurried off with a clattering sound, casting one glance back at Unit 2 before heading out immediately.
Unit 2 watched that retreating figure. A great senior’s back, they said, loomed as tall as a mountain.
“A most excellent skeleton specimen.”
First nodded with satisfaction as he observed both servants.
* * *
“MiTube?”
A restaurant that specialized in selling grilled Han-woo-mul meat.
In front of sizzling ribs grilling on the fire, Jin-woo brought up the topic.
“That’s right, MiTube. I’m thinking of starting a MiTube channel now.”
“Wait, hyung—I was going to bring that up with you too. You should start a MiTube channel!”
“Yeah?”
At Jin-woo’s words, Dongwoo’s expression grew interested.
“The demand is definitely there, hyung! I’ve been checking Sharknet, and it’s all about you. Everyone’s curious about you, but there’s practically no information about you out there, so people are hungry for it. I bet tons of people are waiting for your content. And hyung—”
Dongwoo had often searched for information about his brother since he started New Gene.
He’d been curious about how his brother was doing and interested in how the legend who’d made his return was being evaluated. After all, his brother was his pride.
And from what he’d seen directly, the response on Sharknet was white-hot.
“Hyung, isn’t it just starting to get fun now? Then right now is like a warm-up.”
And if videos of his brother properly playing the game appeared on MiTube, it would definitely be a massive hit.
Dongwoo grinned widely.
“Back when you were in Eternal Sunshine you said it was too bothersome to do!”
Seeing his brother actually enjoying New Gene, Dongwoo himself was thrilled.
“Here’s the thing, though.”
To run a MiTube channel, you couldn’t just upload videos.
The process of filming and editing videos was crucial. And it had to be proper editing, not just something slapped together.
‘I can do it, but it’ll eat up a lot of time.’
That was why he’d found the perfect person for the editing work.
‘My younger brother.’
“Isn’t tutoring wearing you out?”
“No, I actually enjoy it. Even though it’s tough, there’s something rewarding about teaching kids.”
But the strain was real. School itself was demanding, and as a Seoul National University student, Dongwoo was getting requests from parents who wanted rigorous, structured curricula.
Because he was being paid well, he felt obliged to meet those expectations, and Dongwoo was exhausted every single day.
“Teaching kids is fun, sure, but there’s something more fun out there for you.”
“……?”
“My MiTube channel. You’re going to be the editor.”
Jin-woo recalled something.
Back when Dongwoo had just entered his first year of high school, he’d talked about becoming a MiTuber, learned video editing, and created surprisingly polished videos.
‘He said he wasn’t interested and didn’t want to do it.’
But Jin-woo knew better.
Just as Dongwoo knew his older brother well, Jin-woo knew his younger brother very well too.
‘That wasn’t lost interest—that was giving up.’
Knowing the weight of supporting an older brother, he’d chosen a reliable path forward, choosing a good university over something uncertain.
“You asked me before, didn’t you? If I had any regrets. I did, Dongwoo. I really did. What about you?”
Jin-woo spoke. Dongwoo sat in silence for a moment.
“…….”
After a brief moment of thought, Dongwoo nodded.
“Okay, hyung. I’ll do it. I’ll be the editor for your MiTube channel!”
Dongwoo’s eyes grew resolute.
“So we need a goal, right? 100,000 subscribers within a year?”
“No. Will that even be enough? You’re the content.”
Dongwoo held up a single finger.
“1 million.”
Not views. Subscribers.
“1 million subscribers. If we don’t hit it within a year, I’m stepping down as editor, hyung. If we can’t do that with you as the content, then I’m incompetent.”
* * *
-Hall of Fame record is being updated.
-SSR-rank Craftsman Hall of Fame ranking drops.
A grand, ornate room.
A masked user sat in a space that didn’t seem like a Workshop at all.
Starlight.
That user, also known as Starlight, was the preeminent craftsman, competing for first or second place in New Gene’s Crafting Community.
“Starlight, I’ve brought the materials.”
“Leave them there.”
A neutral voice.
Long crimson hair.
The equipment she wore was so exquisite that its value was difficult to assess.
“Jin-woo.”
At the same moment.
InClassic, who competed with Starlight for first and second place in the Crafting Community, was also looking at the same thing.
In the darkness, InClassic simply stared at the fallen Hall of Fame ranking.
“Interesting. Jin-woo, Jin-woo, huh. I wondered when you’d surpass me. Wondered when you would.”
A growth rate that was truly overwhelming.
And rankings overturned in an instant. InClassic was certain of who he was.
“Jin.”
The name was known. It was a name that anyone playing a semi-immersive reality game couldn’t help but know.
But since they were playing different games, they’d never actually met.
“Coming to reclaim the crown I left behind, is that it?”
InClassic smiled. Even in the darkness, that smile shone brightly.
“Go ahead and take it. If you can.”
It was the moment New Gene’s two craftsman titans became fully aware of Jin-woo.
* * *
Artemis purchased the Millennium Steel Pickaxe.
Since a top-tier figure in the mining industry had bought it, it was fair to say that the actual end-user had made the purchase.
But the Great Guardian Stone Shield had been bought by a very famous MiTuber.
“Fritz gave it high praise? Whatever for?”
Mister Left.
He was a famous American MiTuber and craftsman user.
He was more famous than Fritz in the United States, and his main content was dungeon clearing.
As a user with a combat-oriented class, he often cleared dungeons solo, and his excellent control made him popular.
Mister Left would watch review MiTubers like Fritz and use their content for his own, but this time he was taken aback.
“He’s Korean.”
Korean.
“Sure, they did well back then, but isn’t the Korean crafting scene only about fifth rank these days?”
Other countries lined up above them.
“They’re past their prime now.”
There had once been quite a few master craftsmen from Korea.
“Like Crafting Han-woo-mul and others.”
There were various crafting community users, but the current top rankers were from other countries.
Starlight, InClassic. The industry’s top two were foreign users, and the rankings below them were also dominated by foreign users.
Of course, Korean master craftsmen hadn’t completely disappeared. They existed, but they didn’t hold the same standing as before.
A crafting minor power.
That was Korea’s current situation.
So Mister Left was deeply puzzled. Fritz was a level-headed MiTuber. Since he earned well enough without taking sponsorships, there was no reason for him to make a video full of nothing but praise.
“I wanted to see if it was real, so I bought it.”
That was why he’d purchased the Great Guardian Stone Shield.
The shield was one of his main weapons, and he even had signature content where he cleared dungeons using just a shield.
“Hmm.”
Being able to buy an SR+ Grade piece of equipment at this price definitely had merit, but when investing this much money, performance was ultimately what mattered.
“It’s money I could’ve used to buy equipment from famous named craftspeople.”
-You receive your auctioned item!
Mister Left received the Great Guardian Stone Shield.
“First I should compare it with the Emulsion shield.”
Emulsion was a famous craftsperson ranked in the top 100.
Since shields were her primary specialty, Mister Left had used and reviewed her work quite extensively.
The gleaming golden shield was far more ornate compared to Jin-woo’s Great Guardian Stone Shield.
“The Emulsion Golden Shield has served well enough.”
Mister Left had his own star rating system.
Three stars meant “Serviceable”.
3.5 stars meant “Recommendable to anyone”.
Four stars meant “Excellent”.
He gave out 3.5 stars readily enough if something was well-made and fairly priced, but he rarely handed out four stars. Because of this, not many pieces of equipment had received that score.
Only top 20. Only craftspeople within that tier had ever received this score, and not a single piece of equipment from users outside the rankings had ever gotten it.
Of course, Mister Left wasn’t absolute, but he had a keen eye, and many people praised his judgment.
“It’s never happened before. Not even in the top 100—no craftsperson outside the rankings has ever gotten 3 stars or higher.”
Mister Left immediately collected Jin-woo’s shield and lifted it.
“……Hm?”
Then he immediately picked up Emulsion’s shield.
“Huh……?”
In that instant, his expression hardened.
“Emulsion’s shield…….”
This Emulsion shield had been 3.5 stars.
“Three stars—no, more like 2.5 stars…….”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————