The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 126

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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 Regression Episode 126
Kogalum marveled at Shin Tae-ho, who gazed directly at him without flinching.
When they first met before, Shin Tae-ho had sensed his presence by piercing through his Concealment Wall—that had surprised him then.
But now, far more advanced than before, he had seen through this Concealment Wall itself, constructed with every resolve to remain undetected.
‘A monster of a man. But I like him all the more for it.’
Kogalum’s lips curled upward.
The work he was doing now yielded greater rewards the stronger his opponent, the more National Points they possessed.
In that sense, Shin Tae-ho, who enjoyed the deep trust of the southern dwarves, was a tempting prize.
“It’s been a while, Shin Tae-ho. How have you been?”
“As you see.”
Shin Tae-ho answered curtly.
The one standing before him now was merely the Kogalum of the tower he was ascending.
Just as the elves’ memories differed for each challenger in the Elf’s Tower—
The Kogalum who received National Points from other challengers and sold them items was a different being from the one before his eyes.
Kogalum whistled as he surveyed the devastated surroundings.
“Impressive. Even though the Weapons given to those orc brutes aren’t particularly fine, to think you’d demolish them so utterly one-sided.”
“More to the point—your appearance here means you have something to say?”
“Haha! I sensed it from the moment you saw through my Concealment Wall, but you’ve got sharp instincts. You’re right. To be precise, it’s a transaction.”
“A transaction…!”
Tsukuyomi’s eyes sharpened.
Japan wasn’t exempt from the headaches of selling off National Points.
And the very culprit stood right before them.
As Tsukuyomi began to contemplate assassination and tightened his grip on his fan—
Amaterasu, standing beside him, subtly raised her hand and broke his train of thought.
“You can relax, Tsukuyomi. This dwarf named Kogalum shows no hostility, and he’s likely a different person from the Kogalum you’ve encountered.”
“…You’re right. My apologies, miss.”
Tsukuyomi, understanding her meaning at once, lowered his fan.
Shin Tae-ho, who had been watching intently lest Tsukuyomi rush in, exhaled a low breath of relief.
‘That was close.’
Kogalum, despite appearances, was a tribal chieftain of the northern dwarves.
Laying a hand on Kogalum would have made the entire northern dwarf clan a certain enemy.
The outcome differed vastly—whether they helped the southern dwarves and gained credit for dealing with orcs, or became adversaries to the northern dwarves.
“Don’t worry. I’d like to make a transaction with you as well.”
When his name came up in the conversation between Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, Kogalum spoke, interpreting that they wanted to trade with him.
Tsukuyomi, understanding his meaning, wore an expression of disbelief.
“To infer the contents from merely overhearing a conversation. Do people often tell you that you’re good at reading what’s on others’ minds?”
Tsukuyomi was saying, in roundabout fashion, that he had no intention of transacting with Kogalum.
But his subtlety fell on deaf ears—dwarves were nothing if not direct.
“What are you talking about? What does reading minds have to do with this?”
“…It doesn’t. Let me be clear instead. Miss and I have no intention whatsoever of transacting with you.”
Tsukuyomi answered firmly and bluntly.
Rejected before even making his proposal, Kogalum looked startled and turned toward Han Ji-hyun, who also shook her head.
“I won’t be trading either.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because it’s obvious you intend to have us purchase items with National Points.”
At Han Ji-hyun’s words, Kogalum’s eyes narrowed.
But conscious of Shin Tae-ho before him, his eyes soon returned to normal.
“Well, I understand. I wasn’t planning to pressure anyone. So then, Shin Tae-ho. Do you feel the same as they do?”
“No. I’ll trade.”
“See? Before the words even leave your mouth, as if I already know everything— Wait. Shin Tae-ho, what did you just say?”
Tsukuyomi, who had been gesturing to Kogalum triumphantly, was suddenly taken aback.
Not only Tsukuyomi, but everyone present—even Kogalum himself, who had made the proposal—wore expressions of shock.
“Ho? You’ll make a transaction?”
“Yes. I have need of certain things. And opportunities to trade with a dwarf don’t come often.”
“Shin Tae-ho. Are you certain?”
A faint shadow of disappointment crossed Han Ji-hyun’s face.
Given how rarely she shifted expressions, and how seldom she expressed negative reactions, it was clear she was genuinely disappointed.
Yet when Shin Tae-ho nodded, Han Ji-hyun stepped back one pace with that same expression unchanged.
One could not force another’s deliberate choice simply because it displeased you.
Just as Amaterasu was about to add her voice, following Han Ji-hyun—
Kogalum clapped his massive hands together and cut through the conversation.
“Those of you who won’t trade—stop spoiling the mood and get out! Shin Tae-ho. What do you want? Just name it!”
“What I want, you ask? Let me ask you the same thing. Will you truly give me anything?”
“Of course! If I have it, I’ll trade it without hesitation. And if I don’t have it, I’ll make it myself and give it to you!”
‘He’s excited.’
At Kogalum’s booming laugh, Tsukuyomi’s eyes narrowed.
‘It’s his choice, so there’s nothing we can do about it. Besides, what of it? Even if we sell National Points, there’s no direct harm to us.’
Tsukuyomi, having drawn a clear line, looked toward Shin Tae-ho.
It would have been a lie to say he wasn’t curious about what item Shin Tae-ho wanted—one who would go so far as to sell National Points, a sensitive topic of late, acting nothing like his usual self.
Shin Tae-ho, waiting until Kogalum had laughed his fill, finally revealed what he desired.
“Then I’ll tell you what I want. What I’m after is information—specifically, about a Hammer that the northern dwarves possess.”
“What? A Hammer?”
Kogalum’s expression, which had been at ease the whole time, shifted dramatically.
In contrast, Shin Tae-ho, his face as composed as always, answered calmly to Kogalum’s question.
“What I want is the location of the Hammer said to have been forged by Vulkastos himself, the god of blacksmiths.”
“You…?!”
As Kogalum’s face flushed red and purple, the three listening to the conversation looked bewildered.
“The god of blacksmiths, Vulkastos? I’ve never heard that name before?”
“And Shin Tae-ho, you want information? Not an item?”
“How interesting…!”
At the three’s murmuring, Kogalum reached for the Hammer hanging at his waist.
But before Kogalum could even draw the Hammer.
Shin Tae-ho pulled something from his Inventory first.
The moment Kogalum saw the badge in Shin Tae-ho’s hand—the very Badge of Friendship he had given him—Kogalum’s movement stopped short.
“If you see this, no dwarf will ever attack you. And just a moment ago, you said you would trade anything you could give. You gave me your word.”
Kogalum, meeting Shin Tae-ho’s eyes, started slightly.
Despite his polite words, Shin Tae-ho’s gaze was calm and sharp, gleaming like a beast watching its prey—as if he had calculated everything from the beginning.
“So as promised, give me what I want. Northern chieftain Kogalum.”
“…Ha. Haha!”
Only then did Kogalum grasp the situation and burst into laughter.
‘Ah, so you weren’t drawn into my trade at all. You used my trade to draw me out!’
He should have realized when Shin Tae-ho didn’t seem particularly surprised at his appearance.
Kogalum laughed again, gesturing with his thumb toward the back.
“Fine. Let’s trade. But not here. You’re the only one I deal with. I can’t leak that information to anyone else.”
“Agreed.”
Shin Tae-ho moved in the direction Kogalum pointed.
Once Kogalum disappeared after him, the three left behind stood with bewildered expressions.
“I don’t understand what just happened.”
When Tsukuyomi wore a sour expression, Han Ji-hyun nodded in agreement.
Amaterasu, also nodding, let out a small laugh.
“But one thing has become clear. Shin Tae-ho didn’t accept the trade impulsively.”
“…You’re right. I made an error in judgment.”
Tsukuyomi bowed respectfully to Amaterasu and conceded.
Inwardly, he had assumed Shin Tae-ho wanted to sell National Points for personal gain, like anyone else.
But now that he had answered, a belated doubt occurred to him.
‘…But whether he’s trying to obtain an item or information, isn’t selling National Points for personal gain the same thing either way?’
It was a valid question, but Tsukuyomi held his tongue.
For Tsukuyomi, who had grown up in Kyoto and served Amaterasu his entire life, such discernment was as natural as breathing.
* * *
Only after putting distance between himself and the group did Kogalum stop walking.
Shin Tae-ho stopped and turned his head, and Kogalum’s face came into view, twisted with a fierce smirk.
“Amusing. To think you’d put information about a sacred Hammer on the negotiating table. But what’s more surprising is that you even know about it. Were those southern fools chattering away like magpies?”
“I only learned about it because I needed to. They guard it so carefully—it took considerable effort.”
Shin Tae-ho smoothly protected the southern dwarves.
Feeling his sincerity, Kogalum snorted with laughter again.
“Whether it’s the southern fools who told you the secret or you protecting them to the end—you two share quite a bond.”
“I won’t deny it. But I’d appreciate it if we kept the idle talk brief.”
Shin Tae-ho regarded Kogalum quietly.
Feeling the pressure in that gaze, Kogalum scratched his head.
“I promised, so I’ll trade. But you’re going to pay a steep price for this.”
“How many National Points are you asking for?”
“Three thousand.”
Kogalum held up three fingers.
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened slightly.
Before his Regression, the average National Points earned from a single floor of the Tower was one hundred and fifty.
Yet Kogalum was asking for three thousand points just for information?
When Shin Tae-ho said nothing, Kogalum read it as doubt and shook his head.
“I swear on my honor—I’m not overcharging you. I set my prices according to true value. If anything, I’m giving you a discount.”
“If it’s true value, why are you calling it a discount?”
“Think of it as a special price—the Badge of Friendship I gave you comes with a reduction applied.”
Kogalum chuckled.
Of course, that was only half the truth.
‘If I ask for too much, the deal won’t close before I even try to sell. But you—I’d wager you’re sitting on just barely enough to make this work.’
They were on the seventeenth floor of the Tower.
By simple mathematics, the average challenger would have accumulated around twenty-five hundred National Points by now.
Three thousand was the maximum price Kogalum could realistically ask—tight enough to be risky, but not impossible.
Hearing Kogalum’s offer, Shin Tae-ho checked his National Points balance.
[Current National Points: 29,700]
‘That’s… cheaper than I expected.’
He had cultivated deep connections with the dwarves of the south, earning their favor and trust.
At his own request, he had ascended the Tower by choosing only the hardest Trials, never the easy ones.
His National Points and rewards were determined entirely by the importance and difficulty of each Trial the dwarves assigned him.
As a result, his National Points far exceeded the average—ten times over, in fact.
Not a single World Ranker had yet accumulated ten thousand National Points, though Shin Tae-ho had no way of knowing that.
“Done. Let’s make the deal.”
‘Yes—!’
Kogalum, who had secretly worried he’d asked for too much, rejoiced silently at Shin Tae-ho’s acceptance.
Continued next episode ▶
The Regression of a Transcendent-Grade Blacksmith
Author
Bong Injihaejesae
Publishers
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 or distribution is prohibited, and violators may face criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram is always looking for promising manuscripts from writers.

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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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