The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 100

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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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Transcendent Grade Blacksmith’s Return Episode 100
[You have cleared the Trial of Floor 3.]
[Points are awarded for clearing the Trial.]
[Rewards for clearing the Trial are being distributed.]
[Reward Contents: 350 Middle-grade Qi Fragments, 800 Lower Essence Fragments,]
“Phew! Finally beat it!”
Cha I-hyun sat on the ground gripping a Dagger, breathing heavily.
The Trial on Floor 3 that Cha I-hyun’s team members faced was to hold back one thousand Orcs attacking the Mining Site.
Before the Mining Site after clearing the Trial, Orc corpses were stacked like a mountain.
“Everyone did great work! Let’s rest for a bit now!”
“Ha ha. These Orcs are nothing special.”
“You’re right—people need to use their heads, their heads.”
Challengers from different countries gathered by nation, encouraging each other about their hardships.
Cha I-hyun watched the scene with a displeased expression and clicked his tongue.
“It irritates me to see them singing their own praises when they didn’t do much. Je-hyuk, are you really going to keep tolerating that?”
“They’re still our teammates, aren’t they? They can be happy for what they’ve endured.”
“The endurance part is nonsense—you and I basically handled most of it. And out of the two of us, you struggled the most.”
Park Je-hyuk smiled silently at Cha I-hyun’s words.
At that frustrating response, Cha I-hyun started to say something but let out a heavy sigh instead.
“Fine. What can I expect from the apostle of justice?”
“What? I’ve never thought—”
Park Je-hyuk tried to protest in surprise, but Cha I-hyun waved him off dismissively.
“Forget it. Ah, if Ye-seul were here, she’d take care of this without thinking. I never thought I’d actually miss Ye-seul.”
Lee Ye-seul, who usually nagged and irritated him, leaving him exhausted.
But precisely because of that, Cha I-hyun missed Lee Ye-seul now more than ever.
As Park Je-hyuk fell silent at the mention of Lee Ye-seul, Cha I-hyun probed carefully.
“By the way, hyung. Where exactly did you get that spear? I think it’s about time you told me.”
Cha I-hyun gazed at the spear still gleaming with sharp intent, his eyes meaningful.
When the conversation turned to the Spiral-Bladed Long Spear he held—an Elite Grade weapon—Park Je-hyuk shook his head.
“No matter what, I can’t tell you where I got it. It’s a promise.”
“That’s really disappointing. All right, all right. My Dagger’s about running out of durability anyway. When it breaks, I guess my neck breaks with it.”
Cha I-hyun held up a large Dagger with chipped teeth in places, his expression sad.
Before Park Je-hyuk could respond, Cha I-hyun continued his complaint.
“What good is being teammates? Some people show up from who knows where with great weapons and fly around like Mystery, but I’m stuck worrying my weapon’s about to shatter. At this rate, losing my Ranker position in South Korea is only a matter of time.”
“Cha I-hyun.”
At the subtly pressuring words, Park Je-hyuk deliberately adopted an angry expression.
At that expression and tone, the grieving look on Cha I-hyun’s face turned serious.
“So please, just tell me. I’ll keep it to myself. I’m asking because I want to help South Korea.”
“…!”
Park Je-hyuk was taken aback by Cha I-hyun’s rare seriousness.
Cha I-hyun continued his explanation in a low, sincere voice.
“I’ve seen Mystery directly, so I know. Mystery doesn’t flaunt their power, and they don’t fight in a style of taking down Orcs one by one. Everything they talk about is fake.”
On TowerDot.com, there were countless posts claiming to climb the Tower alongside Mystery.
Having seen Mystery directly, Cha I-hyun immediately recognized that those weren’t the real Mystery.
When entering the Gate, Mystery had wielded a Flying Hammer, literally sweeping away enemies.
But there had never been a post claiming to have seen Mystery fight that way.
“I don’t know how important the promise you made is or why you hide it like that. But if you could give me even a thread to follow, it would really help. Please, hyung.”
Cha I-hyun normally wore a smiling expression, his eyes narrowed in a crescent shape.
But in this moment alone, those crescents turned serious, drawing a straight line.
Park Je-hyuk quietly mulled over those words and sighed softly.
“All right. But don’t get your hopes up. From what I’ve seen, they’re not the kind of person who makes deals just for payment.”
“Yes. That’s enough.”
Cha I-hyun’s crescent eyes returned to their smiling shape.
‘That’s enough.’
Cha I-hyun, gazing at the Spiral-Bladed Long Spear held in Park Je-hyuk’s hand, swallowed back the words that were about to escape his throat.
* * *
Shin Tae-ho, who had exited the Tower, immediately moved to Synterhorn by rubbing the World Tree Leaf right after leaving, following his usual routine.
Though he could have rested at home for a day, since one day in reality was roughly four days in Synterhorn, moving immediately was more efficient in terms of time.
After resting a full day and waking, Shin Tae-ho began receiving Guardian Martial Arts training from Epiel starting the next day.
Crack-crack-crack!
Tap! Tap-tap-tap!
Their feet tangled in dizzying patterns, scuffing against the ground and leaving countless footprints in their wake.
The exchange that followed—shoulders, arms, hands and fingers interlocking—had progressed far beyond where it had been when first learned.
Epiel, who had taught Shin Tae-ho directly, could feel this better than anyone.
‘How can he master Guardian Martial Arts so quickly? Now I’m struggling just to defend…!’
As one of the long-lived races, far outlasting humans, Guardian Martial Arts had been refined and developed over centuries.
Epiel had learned this art alone after all the other Guardians had fallen.
Though she had learned it from no one directly, she had painstakingly mastered the techniques based on what she had witnessed through the Guardians, honing her form over long years.
Yet now, Shin Tae-ho wielded Guardian Martial Arts as skillfully as she did.
No—more precisely and flawlessly than she herself could manage.
Crack!
“Huh?!”
As Shin Tae-ho’s energy burrowed into her body and began to bore through her Natural Force, Epiel immediately tried to shake off the invasive power.
But Shin Tae-ho’s energy, spreading like tree roots, twisted and writhed as if alive, evading her attempts to cast it out and coiling around her Natural Force.
Crack-crack-crack!
“Ugh—!”
Where the energy and Natural Force tangled, blood vessels burst, and bruises bloomed across her skin.
On the verge of flesh being crushed under any further pressure, Shin Tae-ho withdrew his energy entirely, having been waiting for her surrender.
Epiel stared at Shin Tae-ho, cold sweat pouring down her face.
“Why—hah—did you, withdraw your, hah, Natural Force? You could have, pressed further.”
“This is a match. We’re not trying to kill each other or destroy our bodies. Recover yourself first.”
“…Tch.”
Urged by Shin Tae-ho, Epiel hesitated briefly before releasing her stance and drawing her Natural Force back up.
Only after extracting and dissipating all the lingering traces of his energy, like the last rootlets, did the aching sensation finally fade.
“How in the world can you master it so fast? You’ve trained for far less time than I have.”
Epiel fixed him with an aggrieved look, and Shin Tae-ho shrugged.
“Just as you have talent for alchemy, I must have talent in this area.”
“Talent… well, I can’t argue with that, but your growth rate is beyond what that alone could explain.”
“Maybe it’s unreasonable talent, then.”
At Shin Tae-ho’s continued attempts to brush past the question, Epiel narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
But there was little he could do about it.
‘It’s better to call it talent than to say I obtained the energy of Arimeer, a dragon, in the Tutorial Tower, and underwent complete transformation in the process of accepting that power.’
To explain everything would inevitably mean revealing information about the Tower itself.
It hadn’t been long since the temporal disparity in Synterhorn had stopped contracting.
If he carelessly disclosed strange information like this and problems arose, there was no way he could handle the consequences, so Shin Tae-ho remained cautious.
“Regardless, would you say I’ve learned enough to be useful?”
“I already said so. You’re at my level or beyond it.”
Epiel admitted it reluctantly, her lips pursing in a pout of frustration.
Having heard Epiel’s acknowledgment, Shin Tae-ho paused thoughtfully.
“Epiel. Truth is, I’m trying to learn Guardian Martial Arts by adapting it in my own way. Would you watch me once?”
“What? You’re going to modify the form itself? No. If you’re not careful, you’ll distort the flow and injure yourself.”
Epiel objected vehemently, her voice urgent.
But Shin Tae-ho shook his head reassuringly.
“I’m not saying I’ll try it now—I’ve already verified it works. I just need confirmation that this form is integrating properly.”
“…So you weren’t fighting at full strength during our match?”
Epiel’s eyes narrowed again.
But since it was the truth, Shin Tae-ho did not deny it.
Staring at him intently, Epiel exhaled a deep sigh.
“I suppose. Given that you’re our elf hero, even if you possess talent to this degree, it’s hardly inconceivable. Fine. I’ll watch.”
“Thank you.”
Having obtained Epiel’s consent, Shin Tae-ho retraced the footprints still remaining on the ground.
Shin Tae-ho’s energy, which had remained alongside the footprints without dispersing, responded to his will and moved root-like once more.
As Shin Tae-ho focused his intention strongly, his energy reacted with the World Tree’s energy spread throughout the surroundings.
Just as it had intertwined with Epiel’s Natural Force, Shin Tae-ho’s energy coiled with the World Tree’s energy like intertwined gourds.
‘Now.’
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes flashed.
In that instant, the energy that had only just begun to intertwine with the World Tree’s power responded and began to swell at rapid speed.
Bang!
The energy lodged in the footprints erupted, wrapping around the World Tree’s energy and using it as a power source.
At the sight of the explosion—leaving a crater roughly one meter in diameter—Epiel’s jaw dropped.
“What? What did you just do?”
“I grafted the Qi Explosion Technique into it. You could call it a skill.”
“Energy? So what you’re telling me is that this explosion just now came from the Natural Force you left behind in your footprints?”
“That’s right.”
Epiel’s jaw clenched shut—the opposite of the slack-mouthed shock from moments before.
After staring at the crater in the ground with an ashen face for a long time, Epiel forced his mouth open.
“There’s no flaw. It grafted perfectly with the original martial art. It’s as if it became an entirely different technique altogether.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
Shin Tae-ho smiled with satisfaction at Epiel’s approval.
But Epiel, by contrast, couldn’t even lift the corners of his mouth.
‘What is he, exactly…?’
He’d sensed something unusual about Shin Tae-ho from the beginning.
But now, watching Shin Tae-ho take their own unique martial art and refine it further, Epiel’s eyes narrowed with barely concealed unease.
* * *
After finishing his martial arts training, Shin Tae-ho left Synterhorn.
He could have stayed in Synterhorn indefinitely, but he had a prior commitment this time, so he couldn’t.
-Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow, Shin Tae-ho! Please be careful on your way, Bianca!
-Got it. I’ve prepared Yong-ryong-i’s chocolate and watches for both of you, so look forward to it. See you soon.
-Really?! Yes!
-Thank you. We’ll see you soon.
After sending his thanks, Shin Tae-ho closed the group messenger window.
Just as he was about to turn off the phone screen, Shin Tae-ho stopped short, noticing a notification icon from an app that had suddenly caught his eye.
‘What is this? I’ve never seen this popup before.’
Shin Tae-ho examined the popup.
It was an icon from the TowerDot.com app—one he’d never seen send a notification before.
Shin Tae-ho paused to search his memory for an app he’d barely used.
‘The last time I used it was when I received a message from Park Je-hyuk. So then…?’
When Shin Tae-ho accessed TowerDot.com, a notification appeared confirming a message had arrived, and the message title appeared on screen.
-Hello. This is Park Je-hyuk, the one who purchased the spear from you before….
“…Hmm.”
As Shin Tae-ho read the message subject line, his eyes turned cold.
Continued in Next Episode ▶
The Transcendent Grade Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Release
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiry Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violators may face criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from authors.

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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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