The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 19

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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 Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return – Episode 19
In recent days, the Management Bureau staff had found precious few reasons to smile.
As always, the culprit was the abnormal behavior of an Awakener who appeared to be a Tutorial Clear User.
Until now, it had been the kind of thing they could brush off with wonder, at least.
But what had just transpired crossed a line—and crossed it considerably.
‘So my prediction was right after all.’
Im A-young, a section chief, exhaled deeply as she scanned TowerDotCom.
TowerDotCom was the community where all global information about the Tower converged and where Awakeners from around the world gathered.
Monitoring TowerDotCom was a mandatory duty not just for Korea’s Management Bureau, but for every nation’s.
And TowerDotCom was still in an uproar from a notice that had surfaced among Awakeners several days ago.
[Notice: The Tower in South Korea has achieved its first S-Rank Clear of the 15th Floor.]
A 15th Floor S-Rank Clear that no one had ever accomplished.
The world had turned upside down upon learning that this feat belonged not to another nation, but to Korea.
S-Rank at the Floor of Tears, a place so difficult to merely pass through that it bore that very name.
This fact, shocking as it was, had simultaneously given certainty to a hypothesis the Management Bureau had been hesitant to judge.
‘The Awakener belongs to a Guild.’
Im A-young sighed again.
Though she knew the odds were low, the Management Bureau had secretly hoped the challenger had climbed the Tower alone.
That would have made recruitment so much easier.
‘But it’s water under the bridge now.’
As a result, the atmosphere at the Management Bureau had grown heavy in a new way.
All that effort—even overtime shifts—amounted to nothing.
To exaggerate a little, everyone looked like zombies robbed of their very souls.
‘I need healing. Please, I need healing.’
Just as Im A-young was internally screaming in the suffocating mood,
Kim Han-seok, a Tamer Class scholarship officer in the Education Support Division, rushed out of the office with obvious hurry.
Usually, Kim Han-seok presented nothing but a composed demeanor.
That such a person would show rare confusion piqued Im A-young’s curiosity.
“Kim Han-seok? Is something the matter?”
“Oh! Hello, Section Chief Im. A visitor has arrived, so I was just heading out.”
“I see. Though you do seem quite flustered…”
When Im A-young asked carefully, Kim Han-seok looked embarrassed.
“Well, the thing is—a Tamer I met at the Registration Office before apparently hatched an egg and has come by.”
“My goodness, truly?!”
At Kim Han-seok’s words, Im A-young’s eyes, which had been filled with nothing but darkness, suddenly gleamed.
She had been praying for healing, and now came the chance to see a Summoned Beast freshly hatched from its egg.
This had to be heaven sending her a lifeline in her moment of despair.
“What kind of Summoned Beast is it?!”
“That’s what I’m on my way to find out. Ha.”
“Would it be all right if I came along?!”
“What? You as well, Section Chief?”
When Im A-young, from a different department, asked to join, Kim Han-seok looked taken aback.
But observing the desperate gleam in Im A-young’s eyes and the heavy, murky atmosphere that seemed to drape her surroundings like a dark curtain, Kim Han-seok quickly grasped the situation.
“Of course. It would be reassuring to have Section Chief Im come along. Isn’t that right, Heukpung?”
“Woof.”
A wolf-type Summoned Beast called Heukpung, as tall as a human, responded.
His expression, however, belied his reply—he looked rather sullen.
The truth was he disliked the name Heukpung, but Kim Han-seok lacked the perceptiveness to notice such things.
“Thanks, Heukpung!”
“Grrrr.”
“Whoa there! Heukpung, you mustn’t do that!”
As Heukpung growled in displeasure, Kim Han-seok cautioned him.
Im A-young, flinching back, managed an awkward smile.
“Haha. It’s all right, sir.”
Though internally wounded by the rejection, Im A-young bore it without complaint.
Soon she would see the adorable newborn Summoned Beast fresh from its egg!
With color returning to her face for the first time in a while, Im A-young followed Kim Han-seok.
From within the room ahead, a clamorous sound reached them as if a conversation were in full swing.
“Yongyong. Calm down.”
“Yong-yong! Yong-yong-yong-yong!”
“Pipi, come down here! What’s got you so excited?!”
“Screeeek!”
‘Yongyong and Pipi—the names are adorable.’
Im A-young’s face lit up with delight.
Just then, Heukpung, who had followed Kim Han-seok inside, flinched and leaped backward, his fur bristling on end.
“Heukpung, what’s wrong?”
“Grrrrowl, grrrrrowl!”
Even as Kim Han-seok spoke, Heukpung remained tense.
Kim Han-seok’s eyes widened at the sight of Heukpung’s state.
‘Heukpung is… afraid?’
Heukpung, who had climbed all the way to the fortieth floor in perfect sync with Kim Han-seok for so long.
Throughout the ascent to the fortieth floor, Heukpung had never shown fear of any monster they encountered.
Yet now, he cowered before whatever presence lay beyond this door.
‘What kind of Summoned Beast could it be…?’
Kim Han-seok swallowed hard, tension coiling in his chest.
Without bothering to knock, Kim Han-seok eased the door open just a crack to peer inside.
The moment he cracked it open.
Something burst through the gap as if it had been waiting for exactly this instant.
“Screeeek!”
“Kyaaah! Pipi! You can’t go out! Pipi—!”
“Whoa?!”
As Pipi and Choi Yu-hwa suddenly bolted out, a startled Kim Han-seok toppled backward.
Inside the room, Yongyong thrashed and flapped in Shin Tae-ho’s grip, straining to chase after Pipi.
Shin Tae-ho, still holding the creature as it writhed like a great fish, shouted at Kim Han-seok.
“Close the door.”
“What? Oh, yes!”
Kim Han-seok hurried the door shut.
Even after Pipi had escaped outside, Yongyong couldn’t shake his agitation.
Shin Tae-ho breathed a quiet sigh and drew strength from his circuit.
“Yongyong. Calm yourself.”
“Yeoong! Yeoooong! Yong?! Yong-aack!”
When the creature didn’t obey, Yongyong shrieked as Shin Tae-ho’s Qi-reinforced grip tightened.
It was no wrestling throw—merely a Qi-enhanced embrace, yet it felt like one.
As Yongyong went limp, only then did Shin Tae-ho greet Kim Han-seok and Im A-young properly.
“Good day, Scholar. I see we have other company from the Registration Office.”
“Ah?! You’re the one who brought the egg in a bag!”
Im A-young recognized him.
Shin Tae-ho had been the only Awakener among all those hell-bent on insisting they were Tutorial Clear Users, so his visit left a deep impression.
Im A-young, greeting him warmly, watched Yongyong with gleaming eyes.
“My goodness! Is this little one the Summoned Beast that hatched from that egg?!”
“It is.”
As Shin Tae-ho released his grip, Yongyong came to his senses.
The excitement draining from him, Yongyong felt awkward and glanced up at Shin Tae-ho uncertainly.
“Ryeo, ryeo-ong….”
“Now you know what you did wrong. Later, we’ll apologize properly to Pipi.”
At Shin Tae-ho’s words, Yongyong nodded.
Kim Han-seok, who had been watching silently, was taken aback.
‘It understands words? A Summoned Beast does?’
Summoned Beasts varied wildly in intelligence from species to species.
Most couldn’t communicate at all—you had to physically overpower them before they’d listen.
Those with higher intelligence could be trained through bonding and basic commands.
Even then, only simple orders like attack or wait were possible.
But Yongyong….
“Ryong, ryong-ryong.”
“Now? Mm. Understood.”
Shin Tae-ho tilted his head back, baring his neck, and Yongyong draped himself around it.
Kim Hak-su gasped.
‘It reads the room well enough to ask for what it wants? No, more than that—he’s offering his throat? What if it bites?!’
Even if it was a Summoned Beast, a Tamer had to exercise caution until deep trust was established.
Yet Shin Tae-ho offered up his vulnerable throat without hesitation, as if it were nothing.
It was an action that would have startled even Im A-young, who wasn’t a Tamer.
“W-wait, Awakener! Is it really okay to expose your neck like that?!”
“It’s fine. Yongyong is warm, so there’s no discomfort having him around my neck.”
“Rrrong~.”
Yongyong nodded as if in agreement.
Both Kim Hak-su and Im A-young stood slack-jawed, mouths agape.
‘That wasn’t what she meant at all….’
As Kim Hak-su remained silent, Shin Tae-ho spoke up.
“Director. Is the registration complete now?”
“Yes? Oh, well… normally we’d need to verify the Summoned Beast’s aggression levels and the Trust Rating with the Tamer, but there’s no need for that with you.”
There was a reason Tamers had to register their Summoned Beasts.
Part of it was to record the Summoned Beast’s information, but the real concern was the possibility that a Summoned Beast might kill its Tamer.
Before the Tamer class became properly understood and its curriculum established,
it was fairly common for Summoned Beasts to kill the Tamers trying to tame them.
That alone was a major problem, but an even bigger one was that no other Tamer could ever tame a Summoned Beast that had killed its previous master.
A Summoned Beast that had tasted blood would descend into semi-madness, hunting people like prey.
But the Trust Rating between Shin Tae-ho and Yongyong was among the highest Kim Hak-su had ever encountered.
Considering that Yongyong was still young, their bond would only deepen further.
‘I’m envious.’
Kim Hak-su felt genuine admiration.
Trust had built up over years now.
But in the beginning, like every other Tamer, he’d walked the razor’s edge between life and death countless times.
Being attacked during training happened almost daily.
There had even been days when he’d barely managed to fend off what felt like genuine attempts on his life.
Yet here was a Tamer who’d formed such a bond from childhood.
‘The Summoned Beast’s high intelligence makes communication possible, but above all, it’s because Shin Tae-ho genuinely adores Yongyong.’
Kim Hak-su, wearing a warm smile, entered the data into his laptop.
Shin Tae-ho’s Awakener profile updated with Yongyong listed as his Summoned Beast’s name.
Below that, both Trust Rating and Safety Rating showed a perfect 100 out of 100.
“I apologize for having you come all this way, only to finish so quickly.”
“Not at all. I have other things to attend to.”
“Other things?”
“I need to sell some items I obtained from the Tower shop, and I’d like to use the Public Forge that you mentioned before.”
“Ah yes, you did mention that. Please wait just a moment.”
Kim Hak-su nodded and touched his laptop again.
Since forges were typically used by Awakeners of the Blacksmith class, Awakeners of other classes needed reservations to use them.
“Fortunately, there’s an opening. Will you be going right away?”
“I plan to sell the items first, then head over immediately.”
“Then I’ll make a reservation for two hours from now, accounting for travel time.”
“That will be sufficient. Thank you.”
The reservation was complete with just a word, and Shin Tae-ho expressed his gratitude.
Just then, Im A-young, who had been staring intently at Yongyong, swallowed hard and raised her hand.
“Um, Shin Tae-ho! Would it be okay if I touched Yongyong?”
“Rrrong?”
Yongyong was taken aback.
This was the first time anyone other than Shin Tae-ho had asked to touch him.
“Yongyong, what do you think?”
Respecting Yongyong’s agency, Shin Tae-ho didn’t answer for him but instead asked Yongyong directly.
After a moment’s thought, Yongyong nodded.
“Rrong.”
“He says it’s fine. Go ahead and touch him.”
“Oh wow, yes! Thank you! Thank you, Yongyong!”
Im A-young bounced with delight.
As her cautiously extended hand made contact with Yongyong’s scales, the softness of his still-young scales and his warmth transmitted through her fingertips.
‘It’s w-warm!’
At the sensation and temperature she felt, Im A-young broke into a wide grin.
All the stress and tension she’d accumulated seemed to melt away in an instant.
Watching her, Kim Hak-su let out an impressed sigh.
So the Summoned Beast could interact with people other than its Tamer.
With that level of intelligence, it ranked among the highest grades of Summoned Beasts in existence.
‘As it grows larger, its intelligence will rise further, and its strength will increase as well. If that happens….’
What abilities would it use, and how powerful would it become?
Kim Hak-su, being a Tamer himself, felt his heart race at the mere thought of such possibilities.
It was while Im A-young was lost in the moment, stroking Yongyong as if under a spell.
Yongyong’s tail suddenly swatted away Im A-young’s hand, which had been caressing it.
“Yong!”
“What? What? Why? How could you—?!”
“It seems he’s telling you to stop. You should only touch him up to this point.”
“Just—just a little more, wouldn’t that be all right?!”
“Yongyong!”
Yongyong shook his head firmly and raised his tail high.
Im A-young’s face crumpled as she crashed back into cold reality.
“I’ll be taking my leave now. Thank you both for your time.”
“Yes, and thank you as well, Shin Tae-ho. Here’s my direct number—please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”
“No! Yongyong! Don’t go!”
Shin Tae-ho took the business card from Kim Hak-su and quickly left his seat.
He found it too burdensome to watch Im A-young crying out Yongyong’s name so desperately right before his eyes.
Besides, Shin Tae-ho had something he needed to do.
‘Since I’m stopping by the forge, I should craft a weapon to use in the Tower.’
Recalling the necessity of a secondary weapon that he’d felt while climbing the Tower, Shin Tae-ho quickened his pace.
Kim Hak-su watched Shin Tae-ho’s retreating figure with a wistful gaze and clicked his tongue.
‘I should’ve asked if I could touch it too.’
“No! Yongyong! Yongyong—!!”
Unable to let go of her regrets, Im A-young clutched the hand she’d been using to stroke Yongyong and cried out his name.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Unsealing
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publisher
Grae Publishing
Inquiry Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited. Violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ 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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