The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 125

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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 — Chapter 125
Only one day remained before the time limit to stay in the Tower would expire.
Shin Tae-ho, who had exited the Tower before his companions, gazed at his smartphone with sunken eyes.
On the display screen were the posts and comments he had uploaded to Tower.com.
<I don’t think Northern Dwarves’ items are worth spending National Points on>
Content: If you climb the Tower diligently and save up money to buy items, that’s plenty enough — so why spend National Points to purchase items?
And honestly, we can’t even know if there’s some problem with the Northern Dwarves’ items.
On top of that, a Gate might open. Why use National Points at all?
‘The content itself was sound.’
After reviewing his own post once more, Shin Tae-ho scrolled his thumb to open the comment section.
Though the message contained nothing wrong in principle, the comments beneath it were mostly mocking him.
-This bastard isn’t even a challenger, yet he’s spewing garbage left and right
-Have you ever used Dwarf-made gear? What Dwarves make is in a completely different league from what blacksmith-class Awakeners produce, you fool
⌎ㅋㅋㅋ Just leave him alone. He probably won’t even get to see them anyway. Pointless.
⌎Dude, if you’re Korean you’ll figure it out quick. Based on the ideology showing in the post and how strictly they’re adhering to proper grammar, there’s a 99.2% chance this is the Management Bureau
⌎⌎You yourself should make some effort to follow proper grammar;;​
-Haha, used to use mass-produced garbage from the Management Bureau or some blacksmith, and now that we’re using Dwarf weapons it’s a whole new world ㅋㅋㅋ
-Seriously, 500 National Points could get you a Rare-grade item, so why burn tens of millions of won on mass-produced High-grade gear? The ones burning money are just dumber than rocks ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
‘The complaints are intense. Well, they’re not entirely wrong either.’
Among the Tower’s resident races, Dwarves were especially specialized in craftsmanship.
By contrast, the Production-Type Awakeners currently making items were still in the process of developing their skills.
From any angle, Dwarf items were inevitably far more attractive.
Combined with suspicions of profiteering by Production-Type Class Awakeners and the Management Bureau, appealing to patriotism only invited backlash.
‘And it’s true that the level of items currently being produced is markedly inferior.’
Kim Jong-soo, who worked at the Management Bureau Blacksmith Workshop, was recognized as a master craftsman after making a single Special-grade item once.
Of course, Special-grade was the fourth rank out of eight grades, so the level wasn’t low in itself.
But the problem was that he lacked the ability to consistently produce Special-grade items.
If Kim Jong-soo, who was being elevated to the status of master craftsman, was at that level, the blacksmiths below him went without saying.
‘I need to raise the average performance of items.’
Shin Tae-ho exhaled a deep sigh.
His original best strategy—posting on Tower.com to sway public opinion and convince everyone to cut off dealings with the Northern Dwarves for the sake of peace—proved far too unlikely.
‘Then I’ll have to use the backup plan.’
The Armor he’d been crafting on Floor 16 had been completed before leaving the Tower.
But wearing it and running around on foot was merely a last resort.
Before that, Shin Tae-ho had another backup plan prepared.
‘First, the Trial on Floor 17 comes first. If things still don’t improve after that, I’ll act immediately.’
Turning off the smartphone where malicious comments were streaming in in real time, Shin Tae-ho resolved to rest thoroughly until entering Floor 17, and lay down beside the sleeping Yong-ryong-i.

* * *
After resting with Yong-ryong-i during the remaining time, Shin Tae-ho entered the Tower immediately once Floor 17 opened.
Not long after Shin Tae-ho arrived, the rest of his companions entered the Tower and appeared.
“Welcome, Shin Tae-ho!”
Amaterasu greeted him first with a bright face.
“Hello, Amaterasu. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Tsukuyomi and Han Ji-hyun.”
Shin Tae-ho bowed to everyone.
Once the greetings finished, the three of them exchanged meaningful glances and opened their Inventories.
At the sight of countless minerals appearing from the Inventory, Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened.
“This is… surely?”
“Yes. These are the minerals we mined on Floor 16 last time.”
Amaterasu answered with evident pride.
During their previous stay on Floor 16, the companions who had passed the Trial beforehand were able to devote themselves to their individual pursuits while remaining there.
Of those, Amaterasu, who had grown fond of mining, spent nearly all her time in the Mine right up until leaving the Tower.
Thanks to her consistent presence, she was able to build rapport even with the Dwarves, who had grown fond of her.
Tsukuyomi likewise found mining enjoyable and spent his time in the Mine like Amaterasu.
But unlike Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi was not one to strike up conversations easily.
Since his dedication to mining stemmed from the goal of obtaining rare minerals, he hadn’t grown as close to the Dwarves as Amaterasu had.
Han Ji-hyun focused on mining for the same reason as Tsukuyomi.
However, due to the stamina limits of the Mage Class and mana addiction phenomena, at some point he shifted his focus from mining to absorbing Ki instead.
Shin Tae-ho examined the minerals and was astonished.
‘They managed to mine this much Towernium from a Mine that the Dwarves have been exhausting for generations? And they even got Literium from much deeper levels. Just how much did they dig?’
Tsukuyomi smiled knowingly when he noticed Shin Tae-ho’s eyes had fixed on the Literium he’d mined.
“It’s not much, but I worked hard to extract it over the past month. What do you think? Does it satisfy you?”
“I’m impressed. To be honest, it exceeds what I anticipated.”
Shin Tae-ho answered candidly.
Han Ji-hyun felt secretly deflated—she lacked the strength, and had spent much of the time refilling her mana, mining far less than the others.
“As promised, I’ll return one-third of the ore to you. However, the amount will shrink considerably once it goes through Ore Selection and Smelting.”
The ore the three of them had extracted was each piece as large as a boulder, but that was only before refining.
Once the mixed stone was removed through Ore Selection and the impurities were eliminated in the Smelting process, the actual yield remained uncertain.
With that in mind, his suggestion to divide it as raw ore was meant to eliminate any suspicion.
Yet none of the three asked Shin Tae-ho to give them the ore as-is.
“I apologize for the trouble, but if it’s all right, could I receive the refined portion instead?”
“I’ll take the refined version too. I don’t know any magic for smelting, so I couldn’t do it myself.”
Amaterasu and Han Ji-hyun replied.
Tsukuyomi, who had been silent and pondering alone, hesitated before asking carefully.
“But how much would the Smelting cost? I have no experience in this area, so I’m uncertain.”
“I’ll do it free of charge. Since I’m taking two-thirds, it’s the least I can do.”
“No, that won’t do. You’ll be paying out of pocket, sir. Of course I must compensate you for the work.”
Tsukuyomi firmly declined.
In Japan, there existed a culture called Meiwaku—an extreme aversion to causing trouble or being indebted to others.
He had already received help when they’d fallen into the orcs’ trap.
And when the dwarves refused to grant them mining rights, they’d used a Badge to secure permission for him. To now ask them to refine his ore for free felt far too presumptuous.
Realizing Shin Tae-ho’s puzzlement at the mention of personal expenses, he understood his own mistake.
‘Ah. They don’t know my Class is War Smith.’
As far as they could see, his Class was Tamer, paired with Yong-ryong-i.
Given that understanding, it was only natural Tsukuyomi thought as he did.
After a moment’s deliberation, Shin Tae-ho made his decision.
‘Right. I’ll accept a labor fee. I’m not rolling in money like they are.’
Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were official World Rankers of ITRO.
Though they were climbing the Northern Dwarves’ tower individually rather than as a team, so for fairness the World Ranker rankings had frozen at the Elf Tower.
Still, it was clear they both raked in far more money than Shin Tae-ho did.
‘And beyond that, since Amaterasu revealed she was a distant branch of the Imperial Family, she’s been receiving sweeping support.’
In the current twenty-first century, the Japanese Imperial Family held no political power as they once did.
Yet they were still held in great reverence by the people and served as the nation’s symbol.
And the Imperial Family’s own response had greatly solidified Amaterasu’s standing.
‘A member of an ancient imperial line rising courageously to protect her nation in crisis—it was brilliant rhetoric that elevated the Imperial image while also diluting the fear surrounding the tower.’
Moreover, Shin Tae-ho himself had stopped selling Fragments of Energy since obtaining Ki Explosion, now using them as materials for Bolt instead.
The money accumulated so far wouldn’t dry up suddenly, but eventually he’d inevitably need funds.
“I understand. Since you put it that way, I’ll accept just the labor fee.”
“Yes! Thank you so much then~.”
Amaterasu bowed in relief.
* * *
After finishing the ore Smelting work, Shin Tae-ho’s party went straight to Zetaum to receive a Trial.
Zetaum, embarrassed to ask more of them, insisted on giving only easy tasks.
But Shin Tae-ho himself stepped forward and refused Trials that were too trivial—mere cleanup around the Mine or tidying materials within the city.
Such Tasks looked easy to perform but offered little real benefit to the dwarves.
And since the content was so simple, both the rewards and National Points would obviously be meager.
So Shin Tae-ho asked Zetaum multiple times to switch the Trial.
Unable to resist his requests, Zetaum finally handed him a different one.
Boom!!
“Screeeech!”
As a Bolt detonated, an orc shrieked and fell.
The other orcs who heard the cry rushed out quickly, but their number was small.
Tsukuyomi, who had slipped in undetected as shadow before the ambush began, had eliminated nearly half of them.
“Screech! Intruders! Everyone out!”
“Damn fools! Daring to storm into our settlement!”
The orcs charged forward, weapons drawn and roaring in fury.
Nearly three hundred strong.
But before Shin Tae-ho could even move to dodge.
Amaterasu’s Ōdachi flashed like lightning, cutting off the toes of the leading orcs.
“Screeeech?!”
The orcs who had lost their toes stumbled, and those charging behind them tumbled and tangled with them.
The orcs behind veered around the tangle, and as the fallen ones thrashed to get up,
Yong-ryong-i descended from the sky and opened his jaws wide at the orcs.
Whoooosh!
Black violet smoke poured from Yong-ryong-i’s mouth and spread wide across the field.
The orcs, bewildered at first, began to show strange reactions as the poison dispersed among them.
“Craaaak! It—it itches! My whole body is itching!!”
“Kraaaack! My skin is rotting away!”
A poison technique that became usable after consuming the Poison Root obtained from the giant venomous centipede.
That poison had accumulated and condensed over a long time while Yong-ryong-i remained in Sinterhorn.
Strong enough that when Yong-ryong-i dispersed it as lightly as breathing fire, it created a deadly poison cloud.
“Flee! You’ll be infected too! We must create distance!”
While the orcs panicked at their poisoned kin,
Shin Tae-ho activated the Qi from the footprints left by the Guardian’s Physical Technique and took root in the poison cloud still lingering overhead.
With Yong-ryong-i’s scattered Qi as nourishment, Shin Tae-ho amplified his own Qi, then fired a Bolt into the center of the gathered mass.
Craaaack-boom!!
A Ki Explosion erupted, scorching the entire area.
Even as the orcs were swept away, the explosion did not stop.
Yong-ryong-i’s Qi and Shin Tae-ho’s Qi intertwined, and the explosions that cascaded outward consumed even the settlement like a living thing.
“What—?”
Amaterasu, who had been preparing for the next attack, let out a bewildered sound.
Tsukuyomi, sensing that the explosion was far more powerful than planned, instinctively pulled his body from the settlement through the shadows.
Tsukuyomi, who had crossed through Amaterasu’s shadow, witnessed the continuing explosions and wore a stunned expression.
‘No, how can an explosion be this—?’
Powerful explosions continued, violent enough to hurl buildings into the air.
Han Ji-hyun, who had been preparing a wide-area spell from behind, startled and dispersed the mana she had gathered.
At last, when all the explosions ceased,
what remained was only the shattered corpses of orcs and traces of the devastated settlement.
[You have cleared the Floor 17 Trial.]
[Points are awarded for clearing the Trial.]
[Rewards are being distributed for clearing the Trial.]
[Reward Details: 200 High-grade Qi Fragments, 2,500 Middle-grade Qi Fragments, Treasure Chest Key Fragment (1/3)]
‘As I thought. Asking Zetaum to change the Trial was the right call.’
After reading the message, Shin Tae-ho composed his satisfaction and gazed at one spot in the ruined settlement.
Not only Shin Tae-ho but Han Ji-hyun sensed something too, her eyes fixed quietly on the place he was watching.
Then, a moment later,
from the heart of the empty ruins, a figure suddenly appeared.
“Hehehehe. Quite impressive.”
The being they had met when rescuing the informant.
The very one who had instigated the challengers and pushed them to use their National Points.
Kogarum of the Northern Dwarves, smiled wickedly as he gazed at Shin Tae-ho.
To be continued ▶
The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith
Author
Bongeunhaejesae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publisher
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited. Violation may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram looks forward to receiving 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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