The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 122

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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 Blacksmith’s Return — Episode 122
Dwarves were a race that loved meat and beer.
To that extent, their methods of preparing meat and their techniques for brewing beer had reached a masterful level.
The taste was comparable to—if not exceeding—the finest restaurants of the modern world.
Yet precisely because of this, Dwarves did not serve meat and beer to just anyone.
In cases where there was a favor to ask or an established relationship, beer might be offered, but nothing more.
For an entire clan of Dwarves to set out food and drink in such abundance that the tables nearly collapsed under the weight was an expression of profound respect and gratitude toward their guest.
“Nom-nom-nom-nom!”
“Yong-ryong-i, eat slowly.”
“This is absolutely delicious! It’s completely different from what we had back home!”
Yong-ryong-i’s eyes gleamed as he tasted meat for the first time in his life.
His cheeks puffed out like balloons as his mouth filled with the tender flesh.
Amaterasu smiled softly at the sight of Yong-ryong-i eating with such evident pleasure.
“My, how delightful and charming. Here, do try this as well.”
‘Ah, miss? If you comment on table manners here…!’
The moment Tsukuyomi let slip the thought he’d been holding back, he startled at his own words.
Throughout the meal, he’d wanted to point out that Yong-ryong-i was eating with his hands rather than utensils, but he’d refrained out of deference to Shin Tae-ho’s apparent indifference.
Yet no one besides Tsukuyomi interpreted Amaterasu’s remark as mockery or criticism.
“Thank you!”
“Please, think nothing of it. Just let me know if there’s something you’d like to eat that you can’t quite reach.”
“Then I want that one!”
“Of course—this one here, yes?”
“That’s the one!”
‘What…?!’
When no one showed any surprise at Amaterasu’s words, Tsukuyomi alone startled once more.
‘Could it be… these people genuinely don’t understand what she meant?’
The meal continued while Tsukuyomi wrestled with his bewilderment.
Once Shin Tae-ho finished eating first, he cleared his dishes and rose from his seat.
“I’ll excuse myself now. Thank you all for your efforts through this Trial.”
The time they could remain in the tower was limited to the period before a new floor appeared.
Unlike the Elven Tower, there was no strict duration limit, but a week had already passed in this Trial—leaving only about twenty-three days before the next floor emerged.
Shin Tae-ho, whose purpose was to extract as much ore as possible within that window, could afford to waste no time.
‘Even if I clear the next floor’s Trial in advance, I still need to visit Sinter-horn, and I have to continue practicing combat techniques with Orum and the Hammer.
As Shin Tae-ho was turning to leave, running through his mental list of tasks,
Amaterasu, who had drawn close without his noticing, caught his sleeve.
“Shin Tae-ho, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Is this about continuing to accompany you on the next floor?”
Shin Tae-ho had not yet given a definitive answer to Amaterasu’s request to remain as his companion on the floors ahead.
Just as he was about to respond, assuming this was her pressing for a final decision,
Amaterasu shook her head.
“That as well, but—I’d like to do the mining in your stead as a way of apologizing.”
“Miss?!”
Tsukuyomi started again.
Amaterasu’s tendency to act decisively without consulting him first never ceased to catch him off guard.
Shin Tae-ho too found himself momentarily nonplussed at the unexpected proposal.
“You would do the mining for me, Amaterasu?”
“Yes! Of course, everything extracted would be yours.”
‘This is tempting.’
Shin Tae-ho deliberated.
Mining required both time and effort, which meant postponing his other priorities.
But if Amaterasu were to do the mining instead?
With that time freed, he could squeeze in another training session with Orum.
“Are you certain? It will take considerable time.”
“Of course! Truth be told, I’ve long harbored a fascination with mining—I’ve always wanted to try it.”
Amaterasu recalled a film she’d watched long ago.
A miner in a dark coal pit, extracting unimaginably hard stone with nothing but a pickaxe, and the substantial ore deposits that emerged after countless hours of labor.
For years now, Amaterasu had yearned to experience mining firsthand.
But in the real world, of course, such permission was beyond imagining.
The Dwarves would not grant her access—they did not trust her.
Yet through Shin Tae-ho, she might actually experience mining?
And on top of that, she could convey her apology through the minerals she mined?!
‘Truly, two birds with one stone!’
Amaterasu’s eyes gleamed with resolve once her calculations were complete.
Tsukuyomi, catching sight of that look, instantly understood he could never talk her out of it.
‘…I’d better prepare.’
Tsukuyomi, realizing the choice was already beyond reversal, resigned himself and pulled fresh clothes from his Inventory.
* * *
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Crack-crack-crack!
Fingers of ice—each the size of a digit—swept through the orcs.
But the ice shattered against their reinforced armor, leaving only frost in its wake before dissipating.
“Grrraagh! That tickles!”
“A pathetic attack! Ignore it and focus on the others—kuh, kuh-hack? Krrraagh!”
The orc who’d been shouting while brushing frost from his armor coughed blood and collapsed.
Another orc watching this froze in shock.
“What’s wrong?! What’s hap—”
The orc’s words died mid-sentence.
Not just his voice, but his entire body had gone rigid; only his eyes rolled frantically, as though time itself had stopped.
Bianca, who’d activated the skill, let out a knowing laugh and pointed her staff at the orcs.
“They’re all poisoned. Attack!”
“Yaaaah!”
“Die, you cursed orc bastards!”
The other challengers, who’d been waiting for the signal, rushed forward without hesitation.
Having felt the power of the staff Shin Tae-ho had given them during their climb, the Crafter’s Poison Frost Staff, none of them harbored a shred of doubt.
As the challengers swept through the helpless orcs, Choi Yu-hwa, standing nearby, voiced her admiration.
“Your magic is amazing every time I see it! How is it so powerful?”
“Heh. Well, my abilities do have their merits, but honestly—without this staff, it wouldn’t be possible.”
Bianca caressed the staff.
If the staff hadn’t possessed Poison Conferral at Level 4, she’d have been finished the moment her Frost Magic met resistance.
Without Mana Amplification at Level 2 and Cold Enhancement at Level 3, casting magic so freely would have been impossible.
“Whoever made this—I don’t know who—but it’s genuinely incredible. This is no mere Elite-grade staff for nothing!”
“It suits you perfectly! And thanks to that staff, we can run the Trial so safely.”
‘An Elite-grade staff, she said.’
Several challengers, who’d subtly enhanced their hearing with Qi to eavesdrop, exchanged meaningful looks.
Bianca, the World Ranker, was someone whose class was so far above their own that they’d deemed her unreachable.
Yet from their conversation, it was clear that even Bianca owed much of her prowess to possessing superior equipment.
‘Damn it. If I had items like that, I could be so much stronger!’
‘It’s already bitter enough having a common class. Now the gear gap too.’
The challengers, nursing their frustration, pressed on with dispatching the orcs.
Once all the orcs were defeated, a notification banner appeared declaring the Trial passed.
As the Trial ended, the challengers scattered in different directions.
Three of the ten left the tower, while Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa followed Shin Tae-ho’s instructions and went to appeal to the Dwarves to let them participate in mining.
As the remaining five were debating whether to follow Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa or simply exit and rest,
a rough, heavy voice echoed from behind them.
“Ho. Remarkable. For mere amateurs, not properly trained orc warriors, to kill so many with only ten of you.”
“Who are you?!”
The challengers spun around in alarm, scanning their surroundings.
In answer to their call, a figure emerged, stepping over the scattered corpses of orcs.
Chest-height to the challengers, with arms and legs thick as tree trunks.
A dwarf in armor reminiscent of Viking garb walked toward them.
“Greetings, strangers. My name is Kogarum. As you can see, I am a dwarf.”
“A Dwarf from the north?”
Several reacted with surprise, recalling information they’d gleaned from TowerDotCom.
The enmity between the southern and northern Dwarves was a fact most challengers knew from someone’s guide post.
Kogarum’s lips curved into a smile at their recognition.
“Indeed. Since you know me, we can skip the pleasantries. Tell me—are you satisfied with the weapons you currently wield?”
“Weapons?”
“What’s this about? What are you scheming?”
The challengers bristled with caution and tightened their grips on their weapons.
Kogarum shrugged his shoulders and raised his hand; a figure in a deep-hooded robe, appearing from nowhere, took position on either side of him—Inyoung.
One of the two Inyoung drew a long sword from within his robes.
When the startled challengers were about to attack Kogarum,
Kogarum, who had received the sword from Inyoung, hurled it toward them.
“Take a look.”
The challengers who had been about to strike hesitated uncertainly at his words.
One hesitant challenger picked up the sword and checked its item information as he’d suggested.
By some trick, he was able to view the item’s details even though it wasn’t his own.
[Dwarf’s Longsword]
-Grade: Special
-Description: A longsword forged by dwarves.
The razor-sharp blade resists damage thanks to its high durability.
-Unique Effects: ⌜Sharpness (Lv.1)⌟, ⌜Durability Enhancement (Lv.2)⌟
“What?! A Special Grade item?!”
“Are you insane? I’ve never seen an item with a Unique Effect before!”
“What? A Unique Effect?! Where?! Give it here!”
A Unique Effect was something you rarely saw unless you invested vast sums or were extraordinarily lucky enough to receive it as a reward.
The challenger who snatched up the longsword widened his eyes at discovering not one, but two Unique Effects.
“This is incredible!”
“Getting even one Unique Effect from a High Grade item is rare, but two?!”
“Gahahaha! I only offered it as a sample taste, and you’re all so thrilled.”
“A sample?”
At Kogarum’s words calling such an item merely a sample, the challengers’ eyes went wide.
Kogarum chuckled and nodded.
“I have even better goods here. And naturally, I wouldn’t be saying this to you unless I was willing to make a deal.”
“A deal? What do you want? Money? Or perhaps Fragments of Energy?”
“No. What I want is something called National Points.”
“National… Points?”
When National Points came from the mouth of the dwarf—a being within the tower—the challengers were taken aback.
It was an oddly accented pronunciation, as if a foreigner were speaking another country’s language, but it unmistakably meant National Points.
“That’s right. If you provide an appropriate amount of National Points, I’ll exchange you for items of corresponding value.”
[A quest has been generated.]
[Kogarum’s Trade Request]
Description: Kogarum wishes to trade his possessions for a specific price.
Once a trade is made, it cannot be undone. If you accept the quest, you must proceed with the trade without exception.
[Will you accept the quest?]
After reading the message, the challengers’ eyes wavered.
The item’s performance was clear enough from what they’d seen,
but the price being National Points—something that determined the nation’s fate—stuck in their throats like a thorn.
None of the challengers stepped forward readily.
From the robed figure standing beside Kogarum, a voice emerged.
[What are you hesitating about? This is an opportunity.]
The challengers startled at the voice that felt distinctly foreign.
The robed figure continued, unconcerned by their reaction.
[You’ve all felt it too. What a difference a good weapon makes.]
All the challengers recalled the same thought at once.
It was the image of Bianca wielding her staff, easily subduing the orcs they’d struggled against.
“I’ll accept the quest.”
“Wait—!”
One challenger spoke aloud, and the other four were taken aback.
But the one who had accepted the quest remained unwavering.
“Regardless, this is an opportunity. I want a weapon stronger than what I have now.”
“But the price is National Points—the very survival of the nation hangs on it!”
“That’s exactly why I need a more powerful weapon. My current strength has reached its limit.”
…
At the challenger’s words, the eyes of the other four trembled greatly.
Though they said nothing,
it aligned perfectly with the thoughts they had each been swallowing down in silence.
Shortly after,
all five challengers who had accepted the quest stood in a single line before Kogarum, waiting their turn.
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong-in Haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes submissions 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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