The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 124

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

The Legendary Blacksmith’s Return — Chapter 124
Tsukuyomi was raised in a distinguished family of Kyoto, a proper young lady.
Not that she could compare to Amaterasu, who carried the blood of distant royalty.
Yet for someone of Tsukuyomi’s standing—born to privilege, heir to an established name—mining was utterly beneath her. She had never given serious thought to a mine, much less its photographs.
Which was precisely why Tsukuyomi found it impossible to accept the reality of her situation: here within the tower, covered head to toe in stone dust, swinging a pickaxe in a mine.
‘What in heaven’s name does she find so entertaining about this?!’
Tsukuyomi stole a resentful glance at Amaterasu.
But Amaterasu noticed nothing.
Amaterasu, who spent her days drowning in academic pursuits, imperial etiquette, and political studies, was now—
—entirely absorbed in her mining work, her face lit by a rare and radiant smile.
“Look! Tsukuyomi! Han Ji-hyun! Come see this! We dug just where Shin Tae-ho told us to, and this enormous ore appeared!”
Where Amaterasu had swung her pickaxe, a massive mineral deposit began to reveal itself.
Only its edge was visible so far, yet even that fragment stretched a good two meters in length.
Tsukuyomi’s mouth fell open at the sight, and she rushed to stop her.
“My lady, please. Let me handle this. You should rest.”
“What? Tsukuyomi, are you trying to steal my credit?”
Amaterasu’s eyes widened in innocent alarm.
Tsukuyomi nearly protested at the absurdity, but barely swallowed the words.
“If you keep mining something this large, you’ll injure your hands. Let me finish it.”
“Impossible. Shin Tae-ho said so himself—we get one-third of whatever we extract. That means one-third of this ore becomes mine, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll give you my entire share. Please, just rest. If it’s not enough, I’ll purchase more with my own funds.”
Tsukuyomi pleaded.
The last time they’d emerged from the tower, Amaterasu had been covered head to toe in grime—and several courtiers had nearly fainted at the sight.
If it happened again, Tsukuyomi suspected she would have to commit seppuku before any of those attendants got the chance to execute her.
Finally sensing Tsukuyomi’s anxiety, Amaterasu chuckled softly and shook her head.
“Ah, you’re worried about last time? Don’t concern yourself. I’ll wash thoroughly before we leave.”
Realizing there was no breaking Amaterasu’s resolve, Tsukuyomi sighed.
As Amaterasu returned to her pickaxe, Tsukuyomi retrieved her own.
‘How in the world does she find this so entertaining?’
Tsukuyomi’s pickaxe struck where Shin Tae-ho had marked.
Sparks flew. Hard stone fractured and fell away.
She had been swinging in this monotonous rhythm when, quite suddenly, doubt crept back—
—only to vanish entirely as a mineral just as vast as Amaterasu’s burst through the broken stone. Tsukuyomi’s eyes snapped wide.
‘Towerinium? No. The color is… different somehow…?!’
Tsukuyomi’s pickaxe work accelerated dramatically.
At the sudden flurry of her movements—as if the footage had been fast-forwarded—Amaterasu and Han Ji-hyun exchanged puzzled looks and drew closer.
The pickaxe came down again and again. The stone could not withstand it and shattered.
Through the broken rock, a mineral unlike any they had seen so far emerged. All three of them gasped.
“What… what is that?”
“I’m sorry, my lady. I don’t know either.”
“Wait. Let me check.”
As the other two exchanged confused looks, Han Ji-hyun activated the Appraisal skill.
Though it was ordinarily a skill possessed by those of ore-related classes—blacksmiths, miners, and the like—
Han Ji-hyun had been fortunate enough to obtain it through a skill orb, granting her the ability to identify minerals.
She channeled mana into the skill and used Appraisal. Her expression shifted to shock.
“This… this is called Literium. The rarity ranks three tiers above Towerinium.”
“Literium?! Heavens, Tsukuyomi! That’s remarkable!”
Amaterasu gasped at the mention of a mineral whose name she had actually heard before.
Just a few years ago, Literium had been sold for pennies, its properties unknown, or written off as defective stock.
But as Awakeners grew stronger, Literium’s true capabilities had been revealed to the world.
Now it fetched as much as 2.5 million won per gram—and they had just discovered it?!
‘Mining! Magnificent!’
Tsukuyomi’s eyes blazed with new fervor.
From the mine came only the quickening rhythm of pickaxes now, striking with renewed urgency.
* * *
Inside a workshop in the Dwarf City.
It appeared no different from any other dwarven workshop—
—yet the work being conducted within it was extraordinary by any measure.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Unwavering, constant speed and force.
And striking with such remarkable precision—each hammer blow landing exactly where it needed to.
Orum, who had lent his workshop at Shin Tae-ho’s request and watched the work unfold, stood frozen in shock.
‘This foreigner, Shin Tae-ho. Could it be that him being a dwarf from another world wasn’t just a figure of speech?!’
Dwarves were a race born with an inherent talent for craftsmanship.
Moreover, Orum was one of the rare few among them who could work with souls—a dwarf called a master—yet.
Even to Orum’s eye, Shin Tae-ho’s skill surpassed not only other dwarves but even himself.
But what startled Orum wasn’t merely his exceptional skill.
Crackle and hiss!
It wasn’t the sound of fire consuming kindling.
The body of Shin Tae-ho, absorbed in his work, held a new power reborn not through Qi but through skill.
Having repeated countless failures himself to obtain that power, Orum recognized it instantly—that it was the Soul.
‘I taught him how to handle souls, but could such an achievement be possible in such a short time?!’
Orum swallowed hard.
The Soul was an ancient secret art that only dwarves could use.
With Shin Tae-ho wielding it so naturally, Orum could deny it no longer.
‘Shin Tae-ho… you are truly one of us—a dwarf!’
Orum, who had harbored doubts about Shin Tae-ho’s true intentions, clenched his fists tight.
[Your favorability with Orum has increased significantly.]
‘What?’
Shin Tae-ho, concentrating on his work within the slowed time, felt puzzled.
But seeing Orum watching his labor with eyes gleaming like a great ox, he grasped the situation at once.
‘Dwarves barely acknowledge even other dwarves when it comes to craftsmanship. Surprising.’
Having gained Orum’s favor almost by accident, Shin Tae-ho smiled faintly.
In that moment, a new warmth bloomed in him—the joy and satisfaction of being recognized by someone whom he himself had grown to acknowledge.
But the moment passed; Shin Tae-ho, his thoughts quickened, returned his focus to the work.
‘Gate Breaks will occur worldwide soon.’
National Score couldn’t be traced to its owner.
In other words, there was no way to track who had accumulated how much score, or who had spent it.
Yet if one merely sold National Score, one could obtain items that previously would have been beyond all reach?
‘Then and now. Nine out of ten will sell their score to buy items that make them stronger.’
The eyes of Shin Tae-ho, suffused with Soul, burned heavy with intensity.
It was the unique aura of his Soul, reflecting individual character—the kind that Zetaum and Orum had glimpsed like flickering flames.
‘I cannot stop that flow entirely. But I can minimize it as much as possible.’
Within the slowed time, Shin Tae-ho struck the Towerinium as though in meditation.
The Towerinium he had mined himself, heated by Karnix Crystals, gradually took on the shape of armor.
‘This is merely kept in reserve as a final fortress. First, I do what I can do now.’
Recalling that he would leave the tower sooner than planned, Shin Tae-ho quickened his pace with the hammer.
The Towerinium spreading beneath his strikes shimmered with a faint, wondrous hue as it absorbed his Soul.
* * *
Inside the Korean Awakener Management Bureau.
The Bureau was rarely bright even in normal times, but recently the atmosphere had grown even darker.
Oh Jin-hyuk, bearing dark circles beneath his eyes like a panda, glanced at the bureau chief’s door at the knock.
Without waiting for a response, Lim Ah-young entered with ease—recently promoted from section chief to department head.
Yet despite her promotion, Lim Ah-young’s face had grown not brighter but more ashen than before.
“Welcome, Director Lim. So it’s time for the report already. Well, how does it stand?”
“As expected. Our nation’s score has dropped sharply.”
Lim Ah-young extended the report she had brought.
The report showed a graph that had climbed steadily before suddenly plummeting in near-vertical descent.
But Oh Jin-hyuk’s eyes focused not on where the graph broke, but on more detailed contents.
The detailed record tracking the score decrease in real time.
There, scores under 300 points were listed countless times.
But nowhere was there a single transaction exceeding 1,000 points.
Oh Jin-hyuk’s expression brightened slightly upon reviewing the details.
“Thank goodness. Mystery hasn’t sold any score yet.”
“That’s right. Given how the Rankers of other nations easily surpass 1,000 points per transaction, it’s certain.”
The face of Lim Ah-young, giving her report, brightened somewhat as well.
Of course, other challengers selling their score posed a serious threat.
But looking at what unfolds in the world right now.
If challengers at the level of Mystery or World Rankers began selling score, it would become an even greater threat than the score falling itself.
“What’s the situation with the Management Bureau in other countries?”
“There hasn’t been much change. Rankers from countries with poor public safety or weak economies continue to emigrate at a steady rate.”
It was one of the most common desires among Awakeners.
To leave their birthplace for a nation that offered greater stability and opportunity.
This wasn’t limited to the poorest countries—Somalia, South Sudan, and others like them.
It was a phenomenon that appeared equally among challengers from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and other nations where wealth gaps were severe and crime rates were high.
“Today alone, more than ten Rankers from South America have applied for U.S. immigration. The American president has accepted them as well.”
“There must have been fierce backlash.”
“Yes. The current American president has been vocally critical of illegal border crossings in the past. But since Rankers contribute to national security, the public seems understanding of the policy.”
“Right. That makes sense. And I imagine plenty of our own people are among those applicants.”
“I think it’s unavoidable. But among East Asian nations, we’re holding our own quite well.”
Oh Jin-hyuk nodded at Lim Ah-young’s words.
They all knew the reason why.
“Yes. Mystery has become a pillar of strength for our nation right now.”
A Korean who had earned a place among the World Rankers.
Mystery had only grown more famous and beloved by refusing to reveal his identity despite countless overtures from around the world.
Simply by being in Korea, Mystery was achieving feats that other nations would need to spend vast sums of money and manpower to accomplish.
“How many immigration applicants do we have?”
“Ten from Vietnam, six from Thailand, three from the United States—thirty in total. They’re not Rankers yet, but an Evaluator assessment shows they’d all easily qualify as B-Class challengers.”
“Excellent talent. But we can’t afford to be complacent.”
Despite the good news, Oh Jin-hyuk’s eyes didn’t leave the report.
His gaze deepened as he studied the National Score graph, the line plummeting even now, in this very moment.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong In-haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited. Violators may face criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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