The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 15

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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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The Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith — Episode 15
Screech!
A massive centipede shattered the bark and drained the sap while lashing its tail.
The count was five.
The giant centipedes that had been the 14th Floor boss were rapidly destroying the forest.
Crunch!
A towering old tree was devoured and felled in an instant.
The massive centipede turned its body to bore into the next tree.
But what came into view was not a tree—it was the head of a hammer swinging toward it.
Thud-crash!
Shriek!
The giant centipede’s head crumpled under the impact of the hammer.
Before it could even counterattack, Shin Tae-ho’s next strike aimed at its head again.
[Using Destructive Strike.]
Crack!
The Destructive Strike, which ignored 50% of physical defense, shattered the hard head of the giant centipede to pieces.
Only after its kin fell did the centipedes nearby notice Shin Tae-ho and swarm toward him.
Shriek!
Screech!
Shin Tae-ho used the corpse of the dead centipede as a springboard and leaped high into the air.
His Ki-enhanced strength unleashed an explosive burst of power.
Boom-crash!
The hammer rang out like thunder once more.
Wielding it without sparing his Ki, he burst the heads of four giant centipedes in the blink of an eye.
‘Just as I thought—fighting’s easier when I don’t hold back on Ki.’
Shin Tae-ho checked his Circuit.
Consecutive uses of Destructive Strike had consumed more Ki than usual.
But he couldn’t afford to conserve it.
Even as he fought, the forest’s Destruction Rate climbed steadily.
‘The destruction is still happening too fast. I can’t afford to spare Ki.’
Shin Tae-ho scanned the forest for his next target.
Then, Yong-ryong wriggled out from inside his armor.
“Ryong!”
“Yong-ryong? What is it?”
Yong-ryong, born only a day ago.
And seeing the tower for the first time, she craned her neck curiously at her surroundings.
Shin Tae-ho, thinking it was nothing serious, was about to put her back inside his armor when—
Suddenly Yong-ryong opened her small mouth wide.
Roooaaahhh!
“What?”
As the surrounding Ki swirled and rushed inward, Shin Tae-ho was startled.
While he could move his own Ki, controlling so much ambient Ki so quickly required that much dominion over it.
But suddenly, this much Ki was moving?
And the source of the moving Ki was Yong-ryong’s mouth.
“Ryooooaahhh.”
‘Is Yong-ryong gathering Ki… or rather, consuming it?’
Struck by wonder and bewilderment, Shin Tae-ho stood still and observed the situation.
As all the surrounding Ki was sucked in at once, Yong-ryong finally closed her mouth.
“Yong-ryong. Did you just eat Ki?”
“Ryong!”
Yong-ryong answered vigorously, nodded her head, and slipped out of his armor.
Alarmed that she might fall to the ground, Shin Tae-ho reached out to catch her—then his eyes widened.
Instead of hitting the ground, Yong-ryong was gliding through the air as if floating on water.
“You can fly?”
Shin Tae-ho was astounded.
Of course, he had thought a dragon would be no ordinary creature.
But absorbing every trace of Ki in the tower and taking flight a mere day after birth was beyond his expectations.
Watching Yong-ryong glide proudly before him, Shin Tae-ho hesitated, then spoke.
“Yong-ryong. Do you think you could fight?”
“Ryong!”
Yong-ryong, who had answered, flew through the air as if to show him, cutting across empty space.
Shin Tae-ho pursued Yong-ryong’s wake, ready to dash forward the moment danger appeared.
Following Yong-ryong, Shin Tae-ho came upon Forest Goblins tearing through the trees, feeding on something.
Screech?
The Forest Goblins startled at the sight of Yong-ryong.
Yong-ryong put distance between himself and the creatures, drew a deep breath, and opened his maw as if to inhale Ki.
Roaaaar!
Fire erupted from Yong-ryong’s jaws.
It was no mere scorching flame—even from a distance, the searing heat was unmistakable, a high-intensity inferno.
The Forest Goblins, caught in the sudden onslaught of fire, burned and collapsed without even a scream.
Shin Tae-ho, watching from the sidelines, jumped back in alarm.
“No! Using fire in the forest will—!”
He tried to stop Yong-ryong’s destructive act, but froze mid-word.
‘The trees… aren’t burning?’
Remarkably, despite the tremendous heat of the flames, the surrounding trees remained undamaged.
As if discriminating between ally and enemy, Yong-ryong’s fire consumed only the Forest Goblins before vanishing.
Shin Tae-ho immediately recalled a skill from his memories that operated on a similar principle.
‘It’s like a cleric’s healing spell.’
Clerics’ restoration spells worked by designating a target to heal, channeling the skill’s power only to that target.
Without such precision, allies would be harmed alongside enemies—a necessity, not a luxury.
‘I don’t understand why the same principle applies to Yong-ryong’s flames, though.’
“Ryo-ong!”
Having dealt with the Forest Goblins, Yong-ryong flew before Shin Tae-ho and puffed out his chest.
He was showing off his handiwork.
Shin Tae-ho smiled wryly and stroked Yong-ryong’s head.
“You scared me. But you did well. You’re strong, Yong-ryong.”
“Ryo-ong!”
Shin Tae-ho watched as Yong-ryong savored the touch.
Publicly, Shin Tae-ho’s class was known as a Tamer.
Since he had to act the part when operating outside, he needed to understand Yong-ryong’s capabilities.
“Yong-ryong. Can you keep fighting?”
“Ryo-ong!”
“Then fight alongside me, staying close. Only engage enemies you can handle. Don’t overexert yourself.”
“Ryong-ryong!”
Having heard Yong-ryong’s affirmation, Shin Tae-ho charged back into the forest.
Heading toward the sound of splintering wood, he encountered a swarm of colossal larvae tearing through trees and drinking sap.
Shin Tae-ho issued an order to Yong-ryong.
“Yong-ryong. Breathe fire. Don’t burn the trees.”
“Ryong-ryong~!”
Yong-ryong spewed flame once more.
Without slowing, Shin Tae-ho pierced through the flames and drove into the midst of the giant larvae, who were too bewildered by the surprise attack to notice him.
Engulfed in fire, the colossal larvae remained oblivious to Shin Tae-ho’s presence.
Thwack! Bang! Crack! Boom!
Shin Tae-ho’s hammer swung without pause.
In their coordinated assault, more than fifty colossal larvae fell to annihilation in under five minutes.
‘Perfect synergy.’
Though they were fighting in concert for the first time, Shin Tae-ho’s expression grew satisfied with the results.
Moreover, Yong-ryong’s flames proved more formidable than expected, more than sufficient to take on the colossal larvae.
‘At this rate, I can achieve meaningful progress even operating as a Tamer.’
Having memorized Yong-ryong’s abilities, Shin Tae-ho checked the message window floating at the corner of his vision.
[Current Forest Destruction Rate: 3.8%]
Among the enemies encountered up to the fifteenth floor, the colossal centipede and Forest Goblins were among the strongest.
With their elimination, the pace of forest degradation visibly slowed.
Though Shin Tae-ho had spent Ki continuously and might have been tempted to rest, he remained vigilant.
‘The remaining ones must be weaklings. If I press on, I might just earn an S Clear Rank.’
Thwack!
Shin Tae-ho rested the hammer on his shoulder and looked at Yong-ryong.
“Yong-ryong. Let’s go.”
“Ryong-ryong~!”
As Shin Tae-ho sprinted forward, Yong-ryong flew steadily at his side, a stalwart guardian.
* * *
The forest stretched wide, and the monsters lured into it were numerous.
The Trial’s difficulty scaled with the time limit.
The fifteenth floor’s time limit was a full twenty-four hours.
Precisely because of this, the fifteenth floor—so grueling to clear—had earned among challengers the grim epithet of the Weeping Layer.
Its average clear time was eighteen hours.
But those statistics didn’t apply to Shin Tae-ho.
[All enemies in the forest have been eliminated.]
[Current forest Destruction Rate: 7.3%]
[Remaining time: 18 hours 3 minutes.]
[Floor 15 Trial cleared.]
[Clear Rank: S.]
“Hah. S rank.”
Shin Tae-ho checked the message window, then sank down where he stood.
Yong-ryong, exhausted from fighting mid-way through, had long since transformed back into Armor and was coiled around Shin Tae-ho’s neck.
He was so tired that the vibration of his snores could be felt from within the Armor.
Shin Tae-ho too felt his body heavy as waterlogged cotton, but he didn’t rest—instead, he examined his Circuit.
The Circuit sat empty, not a trace of Ki remaining.
‘I spent so long accumulating this, and now it’s all gone.’
Still, there was no regret. He had used it where it was needed.
[Rewards are granted according to Clear Rank.]
[Reward contents: 25 Intermediate Qi Fragments, 1,000 Basic Qi Fragments, Broken Box Key Fragment (2/5), 1 Skill Orb]
“A skill?”
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened in surprise as he spotted the Skill Orb among the rewards.
A Skill Orb—break it and gain a specific skill.
The skills within weren’t restricted by class, so a Warrior could acquire a mage’s spells, or gain skills from other classes.
Of course, mishaps did happen—a Warrior receiving a Rogue’s rapid-fire archery skill, for instance.
But in such cases, simply selling it could fetch an enormous sum.
‘I was needing a skill anyway. This works out perfectly.’
To think he’d obtain such a rare Skill Orb on the fifteenth floor.
Pleased by this unexpected fortune, Shin Tae-ho extended his Ki-sensing and began to walk.
This time, with ample remaining hours, he intended to refill his depleted Circuit as much as possible.
But unlike usual, the Ki caught by his Ki-sensing was far too faint.
‘What? Why is the Ki so thin here? Oh… could it be because of Yong-ryong?’
When Shin Tae-ho fought the giant centipede, Yong-ryong had suddenly absorbed an enormous amount of Ki.
And then had flown through the sky, spewing fire.
Now that he thought about it, there was no way Yong-ryong could have suddenly generated such powerful fire in such quantity on his own.
But if he’d used the absorbed Ki to manifest his ability…
‘Everything fits perfectly without a single gap.’
Shin Tae-ho felt troubled.
His Circuit was nearly drained.
Ascending to floor sixteen in this condition would be dangerous if a difficult situation arose.
Yet wandering the fifteenth floor, where Ki had grown so sparse, wouldn’t gather any meaningful amount either.
As Shin Tae-ho pondered what to do, his eye fell upon an inventory still open.
‘Now that I think about it, I do have other Ki.’
The Core that had come with him from the return.
Within it lay Arimyr’s Ki, and the Ki of an undead Elf Knight named Bedillaem whom he’d met in the Tutorial.
Shin Tae-ho drew out the Core and focused his Ki-sensing; two presences became palpable.
‘I’ll start with Bedillaem’s Ki.’
Since ascending the tower posed no great difficulty yet, using Arimyr’s Ki would be premature.
Drawn by Shin Tae-ho’s Ki-sensing, Bedillaem’s Ki began to transfer from the Core into Shin Tae-ho’s Circuit.
The moment Bedillaem’s Ki settled into the Circuit.
A sensation Shin Tae-ho had never felt before rose through his Ki-sensing.
‘What is this?’
Shin Tae-ho focused on the new sensation.
Through his Ki-sensing, which until now had perceived only the tower’s Ki, other things began to transmit themselves as well.
The rustling of leaves.
The strength and direction of the wind.
And somewhere, a Ki trapped and confined—dense and intense, far more vivid than the tower’s Ki.
And even the gaze of something lurking in the trees above, watching him.
“Who’s there?”
Shin Tae-ho drew a Hammer from his inventory and looked up into the tree.
The moment their eyes met, the leaves rustled in startled confusion.
When no answer came, Shin Tae-ho let out a low growl.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll treat you as a monster and attack. If you don’t want to fight, show yourself now.”
“Wait. I’m not a monster.”
Finally, a response came.
As Shin Tae-ho lowered his Hammer, the hidden presence revealed itself.
His eyes widened at the sight.
This was something that shouldn’t have appeared on this floor yet.
‘An Elf…?’
The appearance of a young Elf who still looked inexperienced sent a ripple of bewilderment through Shin Tae-ho’s gaze.
Continued in next episode ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong In-haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
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※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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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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