The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 21

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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 Return — Episode 21
Clang!
Shin Tae-ho placed Literium in the furnace and waited for the temperature to rise.
Literium had a much higher melting point than steel and was sensitive to temperature, so precise heat control was essential.
While the Literium melted, he was turning to attend to other tasks.
An unexpected notification chimed, and a message window appeared.
[You have begun crafting for the first time since acquiring your Class.]
[The Trait War Smith awakens.]
A Trait.
It was an ability possessed by only a select few, even among those Special Classes.
Rather than releasing power through the same principles as a manufactured system, it meant that the Class’s unique ability was etched into one’s actions.
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes gleamed at the appearance of a Trait that hadn’t existed when he was a blacksmith.
‘So War Smith has a Trait too. I thought it didn’t have one since nothing manifested during combat.’
Shin Tae-ho’s vision blurred as though obscured by fog.
What appeared before him, as if seen through a camera, was a smithy.
The possessor of that vision was striking metal with a hammer as he refined it.
It seemed unremarkable at first, but Shin Tae-ho immediately noticed something different.
‘He’s releasing Qi with every hammer strike.’
Qi densely condensed at the hammer head.
Each time the frost-laden hammer struck the metal, Qi seeped into it as though bruising the material.
Normally such Qi should have dispersed quickly, but the Qi that had soaked into the metal was absorbed, melding and becoming one with it.
As Shin Tae-ho watched this mysterious process with fascination.
His vision returned, and the Public Crafting Complex Smithy came back into view.
[The Trait of War Smith, Qi Infusion Forging, has been unleashed.]
[The masterworks of War Smith, forged with Qi breathed into them through refinement and hammering, always became creations that transcended imagination.]
[According to the strength of one’s will, you can guide the manifestation of desired abilities in your creations.]
“Qi Infusion Forging…!”
Shin Tae-ho’s heart raced as he read the explanation.
Though there was no detailed description, Shin Tae-ho instinctively felt that this was related to Unique Effects or Unique Abilities, much like granting abilities themselves.
Unique Effects and Unique Abilities were powers that even the Shin Tae-ho of the past could not infuse as intended—they were matters of chance.
For that reason, in the past, when he crafted items from rare and expensive materials on rare occasions.
If the finished creation lacked the desired ability, he had to remelt and remake it again and again.
But now, to think he could guide it simply by recalling it strongly.
‘Fascinating.’
The thought that he could now craft while guiding the realm that previously had to be left to chance made his fingers itch.
So much that waiting for the Literium to melt felt unbearable!
“Yong Ryong-i. Could you breathe some fire here?”
“Ryong?”
Yong Ryong-i, marveling at seeing Shin Tae-ho craft for the first time, looked bewildered.
Suddenly asking him to breathe fire?
But Shin Tae-ho was serious.
“This metal begins melting at 3,000 degrees and loses its properties above 3,500 degrees Celsius. That’s why temperature control is the most critical part.”
Shin Tae-ho checked the furnace.
Time had passed and the temperature had risen considerably, but it still hadn’t reached 2,000 degrees Celsius.
“I’ll give you signals. Can you adjust the intensity and temperature of the flames according to them?”
“Ryong!”
Yong Ryong-i, interpreting this as a game, agreed readily.
Once Yong Ryong-i said he was willing, Shin Tae-ho nodded and explained.
“Pull the left horn for weak flames. Pull the right horn for stronger flames. Pull both horns together to stop breathing fire. Got it?”
“Ryong ryong!”
“Good. Let’s give it a try. When we’re done, we’ll go out and have something delicious for dinner.”
Shin Tae-ho stroked Yong Ryong-i’s head proudly.
Soon, as Yong Ryong-i took a deep breath and opened his mouth, an intense stream of flame poured out in a straight line.
* * *
Inside the Public Crafting Complex Smithy operated by the Administrative Bureau.
Each crafting station was separated by tall, sturdy partitions.
This was a courtesy for blacksmiths who took great pride in their crafting methods.
In the same spirit, there was not a single CCTV camera inside the Public Crafting Complex Smithy.
It was also a rule that blacksmiths should not watch or interfere when someone else was crafting.
But now, for the first time, the blacksmiths had abandoned that rule and stood transfixed, staring at one particular section.
Clang! Bang! Clang! Bang!
The clear sound of metal being struck echoed out in steady rhythm.
“Ha. Looks like he’s seen a thing or two somewhere.”
“The metal hasn’t even properly melted yet. What a fool.”
The blacksmiths mocked Shin Tae-ho for beginning his forging less than thirty minutes after entering the workshop.
The steady rhythm of his hammering was impressive, but ultimately that was all.
The fact that he didn’t seem to know the melting time suggested he lacked proper knowledge.
The laughing blacksmith turned to Kim Jong-su, seeking agreement.
But unlike the other blacksmiths, Kim Jong-su stood with his eyes wide open, his gaze fixed on where Shin Tae-ho was working.
“Master Kim? What is it?”
“Don’t you hear that sound?”
“The hammering, you mean? Well, we can hear it, but…?”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Kim Jong-su’s eyes at the dull response, then faded.
Unlike the other blacksmiths trapped in their own experience, mocking Shin Tae-ho.
Kim Jong-su, having reached the level of a true master, could dimly sense what Shin Tae-ho’s process entailed.
‘This isn’t the sound of incompletely melted metal being struck. Rather, he’s precisely hitting the exact micro-correction points.’
The sound of straightening the shape whenever the hammering bent it even slightly.
The feel of force control, applying subtle power only where needed.
It was meticulous forging that even Kim Jong-su himself could scarcely manage.
There was one more astonishing fact.
‘Since he began forging, there hasn’t been a single moment when the hammering stopped.’
No matter how skilled, it was rare for forging to continue without interruption.
Of course, muscles grew fatigued and joints ached.
But more importantly, one had to constantly verify whether the shape was correct, whether the force was sufficient or excessive.
Yet here he was, forging without pause?
Then the answer could only be one of two things.
‘Either some fool swinging a hammer without foundation, or a master who has reached enlightenment!’
“Why is the master acting like that?”
“I have no idea. But he doesn’t look to be in a good mood, so let’s keep quiet.”
The blacksmiths, sensing that Kim Jong-su’s mood was unusual, quietly returned to their stations.
Soon the smithy filled again with only the sound of flames rising from the furnaces and the ring of hammers.
Kim Jong-su, now alone, regarded the spot where Shin Tae-ho was working with an odd expression.
A desire kindled in Kim Jong-su’s heart that had not been there before.
‘I want to see how he does it.’
By custom, one did not watch another blacksmith at work.
Yet his desire to see Shin Tae-ho work outweighed even that propriety.
Kim Jong-su glanced cautiously around, then quietly stood and passed by Shin Tae-ho’s station.
In that fleeting glimpse, Kim Jong-su’s eyes widened and he froze.
‘Did I… see that correctly?’
Kim Jong-su rubbed his eyes hard, then this time moved past more slowly.
As he cast another sideways glance at Shin Tae-ho’s work, his jaw dropped open.
‘He’s spewing fire from his mouth?!’
Though he could only see Shin Tae-ho’s back, flame was unmistakably being shot in a straight line from him toward the furnace.
Stunned by the astonishing sight, Kim Jong-su froze.
Sensing a presence, Shin Tae-ho turned his head.
‘Gasp!’
Kim Jong-su quickly hid his body.
After confirming no one was behind him, Shin Tae-ho tilted his head curiously and turned his face back toward the Literium.
“You’re doing well. Hang in there just a little longer, Yong Ryong-i.”
“Ryong….”
At Shin Tae-ho’s soft words, Yong Ryong-i, hidden while breathing flame, replied weakly.
The sound was too faint to reach Kim Jong-su in his hiding place.
‘Who… who on earth is that man…!’
With his mouth clamped shut, Kim Jong-su stared at the partition around Shin Tae-ho’s workstation with eyes mixing fear and astonishment.
* * *
Several hours later.
The blacksmiths who had completed their daily quota began standing up one by one.
“Ugh, my wrists are killing me. Didn’t notice the time flew by while concentrating.”
“Wait, I still hear hammering? Did someone not finish?”
“Who could it be?”
“Wh—? W-wait. Where is…?!”
The blacksmiths who’d followed the sound stared in bewilderment.
The hammering continued from where Shin Tae-ho was working.
Only then did a sudden realization dawn on the gathered smiths.
“Come to think of it… has that hammer sound ever stopped…?”
“I… I don’t know. I’m busy with my own work—how am I supposed to keep track of that?”
Among the confused blacksmiths, Kim Jong-su caught their attention.
Noticing he’d been staring in Shin Tae-ho’s direction, the smiths approached him with questions.
“Master Kim, surely that tamer hasn’t been forging nonstop all this time, has he?”
“He has.”
Kim Jong-su answered, his expression oddly hollow.
The blacksmiths’ faces went pale.
‘Is he insane?! Over five hours straight of forging?!’
No machine could manage that—let alone a person.
And the one who’d arrived was a tamer, not even a blacksmith!
While the smiths reeled in shock,
Shin Tae-ho’s work was drawing toward completion.
‘Almost done.’
Before him lay three hammers—including one still undergoing Self-Repair, damaged on the fifteenth floor.
Since the damaged hammer couldn’t be melted down and remade, he’d fitted processed Literium ingot into the broken sections.
As he finished the quench and moved into tempering work, Shin Tae-ho stroked the head of an exhausted Yong Ryong-i.
‘This one, Yong Ryong-i was invaluable.’
The flames that poured from Yong Ryong-i’s mouth—
he’d felt their heat even in the tower, but it defied imagination.
Moreover, thanks to the ability to direct temperature only at the target, Shin Tae-ho had been able to forge comfortably even as the inferno raged around him.
Shortly after, once the hammer had cooled completely, Shin Tae-ho withdrew two runes.
They were the Lowest-tier Fire Rune and Lowest-tier Ice Rune he’d received as rewards from the first floor.
When Shin Tae-ho wrapped the runes in Qi, they glowed softly.
[Will you use the Lowest-tier Fire Rune?]
“Yes.”
As Shin Tae-ho answered, the rune crumbled like sand.
The fragments scattered like things alive, drifting toward the hammer before seeping inside and being absorbed.
He then applied the Lowest-tier Ice Rune to the other hammer in the same way, then checked the information of his completed weapon.
[Dragon-Fire Tempered Throwing Hammer]
-Grade: Epic
-Description: A hammer tempered in dragon fire.
Forged from Literium, it can be summoned by the user’s will.
Contains the potent Qi of an entity whose true nature remains unknown.
-Characteristic: Infused with a Lowest-tier Ice Rune.
-Unique Effects: ⌜Self-Repair (LV.5)⌟, ⌜Weight (LV.5)⌟, ⌜Purification (LV.4)⌟, ⌜Penetration (LV.4)⌟, ⌜Natural Attribute Ignore (LV.Max)⌟
-Unique Abilities: ⌜Frost Release (Rune Effect)⌟, ⌜Divine Green Shackle⌟
“Excellent.”
Having read the item information for the hammer forged at the smithy, Shin Tae-ho smiled, his face glistening with sweat.
When he checked the other hammer, it was nearly identical except that one Unique Ability was ⌜Flame Release (Rune Effect)⌟ instead.
‘The Unique Abilities came out exactly as I wanted, and the Unique Effects too—except for Purification and Natural Attribute Ignore, everything I envisioned appeared.’
Using the War Smith Trait for the first time, Shin Tae-ho felt satisfied.
The item grade itself was Epic—two ranks higher than the Elite-grade weapon still under repair.
Even making use of Literium, this was a grade the old Shin Tae-ho would have struggled to achieve.
‘The World Tree’s Qi, the War Smith Trait, and Yong Ryong-i’s help.’
The Qi that he and Yong Ryong-i had wielded was none other than the World Tree’s Qi.
He’d infused that World Tree’s Qi through forging using the War Smith Trait,
and combined with the dragon fire of Yong Ryong-i, the result was this triumph.
‘I want to test them in the tower right now.’
Satisfied, he finished polishing both hammers and completed the creation.
At that moment, a message window appeared as if on cue.
[You have completed your first crafting.]
[An excellent work has been completed!]
[Class Experience requirement satisfied.]
[The War Smith skill awakens.]
Continued in next chapter ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong Unsealhae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[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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