The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 31

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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 – Chapter 31
Days had passed since the Gate appeared.
Gaya Mountain, located in Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, was teeming with crowds.
Soldiers and police had strung up police lines, barring access to anyone not directly involved.
Just beyond the restricted perimeter, numerous reporters and independent broadcasters stood facing their cameras, each delivering their own commentary.
“I’m here at Gaya Mountain, where the Gate is expected to open. Behind the restricted line, the Rankers who will enter the Gate are waiting in standby.”
“Wow, guys! Can you see the people here?! This is really happening, I’m telling you! If a Gate opens here, we can bet all the money you guys sent for the live stream!”
“You can’t do that! Please move back outside the line!”
Several people attempted to sneak across the police line while delivering their broadcast commentary.
When soldiers and police reacted sharply, most of the people apologized as if it were a mistake and stepped back.
Though not everyone did.
“What the hell, whether I cross or not is none of your business! You’re eating on tax money I paid—where do you get off yelling at me?! Huh?!”
“What’s your official position!”
Several of the more sensational broadcasters instead asserted their rights as citizens and pushed forward.
Someone behind the police line watching this clicked their tongue.
“They tracked down the exact location of a Gate and they’re acting like this. Absolutely ridiculous.”
“Kiki. What would ordinary people who haven’t even Awakened know? To them it’s just some hilarious event.”
Park Su-hyuk, a Ranker waiting within the police line as part of the Gate exploration team, spoke these words, and another Ranker, Cha I-hyun, let out a chuckling laugh in response.
But despite the casual dismissal in his words, Cha I-hyun’s eyes watching those crowds were cold.
“Some people are risking their lives to seal a Gate, and look at them—provoking civil servants while filming for the camera because they think it’s fun. This is madness. Is this right, Ye-seul?”
“Why are you asking me that? If you’ve got time to lament over pointless things, use it to check your weapon one more time.”
Lee Ye-seul, a Ranker who was carefully inspecting her weapon—a Lance—answered with a nagging tone.
Cha I-hyun shrugged his shoulders.
“What, I can ask a question, can’t I? Why are you so irritable? But we’re really going in with just four of us? Didn’t you say the capacity was five?”
“We couldn’t recruit enough volunteers. And if we took someone who didn’t meet the standards, it would only be dangerous.”
Park Su-hyuk answered in his stead, and Cha I-hyun nodded.
“Right. It’s not a low-floor Gate either—it opened at the 66th floor. If someone who can’t even control themselves got in, they’d be a corpse in seconds.”
Cha I-hyun’s eyes shifted slightly.
There sat Han Ji-hyun, the last Ranker, holding a Qi Fragment in his mouth.
Watching him struggle to convert as much Qi as possible into Mana through the Fragment, Cha I-hyun asked quietly.
“Is he really okay? What if he has a Mana Addiction episode in the middle of combat….”
“There’s Qi inside the Gate too. He’ll be better off than he is now, so don’t worry.”
“Damn it. Mages are something I just can’t trust because of Mana Addiction.”
“But they’re an incredibly powerful class for the risk they carry.”
“I’ll give you that.”
Cha I-hyun sat down in a chair with both hands raised in surrender, taking a sip of his drink.
But it didn’t last long—fidgeting in his seat, Cha I-hyun struck up a conversation with Lee Ye-seul.
“By the way, is Park Je-hyuk doing all right? Still breathing?”
“What? The way you say that, it sounds like you’re hoping he’d die.”
“What are you talking about? How much I respect him. Hey, wait, wait. Don’t pick up the Lance!”
When Lee Ye-seul picked up the Lance with an eerie expression, Cha I-hyun yelped in terror.
With anyone else, there might have been room to interpret it as a joke.
But Lee Ye-seul, inflexible and wooden as she was, might actually stab him.
As the atmosphere turned tense, Park Su-hyuk let out a sigh.
“Stop joking around and focus, both of you. You know how serious this is.”
“That’s true. You can feel the weight of their expectations out there—whether we fail or succeed—even from in here.”
Cha I-hyun glanced toward the outside with the corner of his eye.
Among the countless people filming with their cameras, he sensed a gaze thick with Qi, staring intently at this place.
Cha I-hyun’s expression turned fierce, the corners of his mouth lifting into a grin.
“Quite a few countries sent people. Should we call this K-Culture, too?”
“Our country has the highest number of Rankers relative to land area.”
“This pisses me off. I should go say something.”
“Cut it out, Ye-seul. You think the Management Bureau doesn’t see what’s happening here?”
“…Tch.”
Lee Ye-seul turned her head away irritably.
No matter how frustrated she was, Lee Ye-seul also knew what would happen if she picked a fight with a foreign Ranker here.
Besides, they were about to enter the Gate.
Getting injured would only be a massive loss on their end.
Cha I-hyun, who had been spinning a Short Dagger in his hand like a toy, tossed it aside and spoke up.
“Speaking of which, is that guy not coming? He made it to the 60th floor yesterday and got S-Rank too.”
The surroundings fell quiet.
As the words they’d all been wondering about came to the surface, Park Su-hyuk, Lee Ye-seul, and Han Ji-hyun turned their gaze outside.
Park Su-hyuk shook his head at the crowd gathered beyond the tent.
“He won’t come. If he’d wanted to reveal his identity, he would have done it already.”
“What a shame. I wanted to see what kind of monster we’re dealing with.”
“Anyway, he’s not even a Ranker. Even if he showed up, he might not be much help.”
“I don’t know about that. He got S-Rank at the 60th floor—shouldn’t we consider him a provisional Ranker? It’s the first time in the world, after all.”
Lee Ye-seul flicked her eyes at Cha I-hyun’s response.
But there was nothing wrong with what he said, so she couldn’t really argue.
Just then, the tent where the Rankers were waiting opened.
Im A-young, dressed in a Management Bureau uniform, greeted them.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Park Su-hyuk, Cha I-hyun, Lee Ye-seul, Han Ji-hyun—Challengers.”
“It’s been a while, Captain Im. I wish we weren’t meeting under these circumstances.”
Park Su-hyuk received her greeting on behalf of the group.
After exchanging light pleasantries, Im A-young blocked the external view with the tent and began the formal briefing.
“As you know, Challenger Park Je-hyuk is expected to fail his attempt at the 66th floor, and a Gate will be generated. Being the 66th floor, the monsters inside will be formidable.”
“There was a Gate generated at the 61st floor in China once, wasn’t there? How did that turn out?”
“The official announcement was that all the monsters were subjugated, but… as you might expect, according to our intelligence, remnants of them are still hiding in various places.”
“Yeah, that figures. There were so many that poured out back then.”
Cha I-hyun spoke with a tone of knowing exactly what was coming.
Lee Ye-seul’s expression turned cold.
“And we could end up in that same situation right now.”
“However, if we fail to clear the 66th floor, this too will be nothing but a temporary fix.”
“Captain Im. Surely you’re not blaming us?”
Lee Ye-seul’s eyes flashed.
Though she didn’t say it aloud, Park Su-hyuk and Cha I-hyun also looked at Im A-young with taut expressions.
It was a tense moment, but Im A-young calmly shook her head.
“Not at all. I’m fully aware of the burden and danger you Rankers carry.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. If you’d said something like ‘Yeah, it’s because you lot dragged your feet,’ I would’ve been so annoyed I might’ve just walked out right then.”
Cha I-hyun spoke with a smile.
But only the corners of his mouth were smiling; his eyes held no warmth at all.
Before the atmosphere could turn heavier, Park Su-hyuk posed a question to Im A-young.
“So we four will be going in alone as planned?”
“Yes. We tried to gather one more person, but there were no volunteers. I’d love to offer Management Bureau personnel, but… it doesn’t seem like they’d be of much help.”
“We don’t blame you for that assessment, Captain Im. We agree.”
Lee Ye-seul nodded.
The truly skilled Challengers created their own guilds or joined strong ones, preferring a comfortable life.
Naturally, those who gathered at the Management Bureau fell short in ability.
“Park Je-hyuk was the exception.”
“Oh, what’s this? You’re criticizing the Management Bureau right in front of the Captain?”
“I said nothing of the sort. Don’t twist my words.”
As Lee Ye-seul and Cha I-hyun bickered.
Han Ji-hyun, who had been quiet until then, raised his hand.
“Are we prepared against assassins?”
“Of course. Special forces are posted around to protect and monitor you Rankers.”
Challengers could recharge their Qi inside the Tower, but in the real world, they could only expend it.
Once they exhausted their Qi, they became defenseless, so precautions against this were always essential.
Especially since they were Korean Rankers.
Considering the national security value a single Ranker held, such measures were naturally imperative.
While Im A-young and the Rankers were still speaking.
The walkie-talkie crackled with a Management Bureau staff member’s voice.
[Captain. The Gate is being generated. Please prepare.]
“Copy that.”
Im A-young answered, pressing the walkie-talkie, then turned to face the Rankers.
Though her manner of speaking was casual, the preparations were flawlessly complete, fitting for those bearing the title of Ranker.
“Shall we depart?”
“Yeah, let’s go. I’ve got a date this evening, so let’s wrap this up quick.”
Cha I-hyun answered with his fingers interlocked, cradling the back of his head.
As they stepped outside the tent, the murmur of the crowd reached its peak.
“Look! A Gate is forming in Korea! This is Korea’s first Gate since the Tower appeared!”
“Wow! I’m fired up! You guys, this isn’t a dream, right?! I’m working this hard—if you think that’s impressive, how about throwing some support my way, huh?!”
A fierce wind swept across the plaza, and a perfect circle began forming in the empty air.
Ordinary people couldn’t sense it, but the Awakened could feel the dense concentration of Qi flowing from that circle.
“Haa…!”
Han Ji-hyun, the Ranker who had been silent until now, let out a gasp of wonder.
After squeezing out drops of Qi from the Qi Fragment, he drank in the wave of Qi like a tide, and vitality surged through his body.
The light that had been dancing like will-o’-the-wisps soon settled into a perfect circle.
Once the Gate was complete, the Qi flowing outward ceased and stabilized.
Im A-young, catching Han Ji-hyun just as he was about to rush toward the Gate, rallied the Rankers.
“Don’t break formation! Everyone must enter together!”
“Wh-why not go in now? Hurry. Come on…!”
“Already getting restless.”
Lee Ye-seul shook her head, watching Han Ji-hyun’s Qi-fueled agitation.
Im A-young, knowing they couldn’t hold him back much longer, cleared her throat and called out sharply.
“All right, we’re beginning the Gate exploration operation now. From this moment, you will all enter the Gate—”
Im A-young stopped mid-sentence as she was laying out the operation.
Looking around, she noticed everyone’s gaze was fixed not on her, but somewhere else.
It wasn’t just the ordinary people.
Park Su-hyuk, Cha I-hyun, Lee Ye-seul.
Even Han Ji-hyun, who had been anxious to enter the Gate, was staring in the same direction.
Clank. Clank.
The steady metallic sound drew steadily closer.
As the crowd parted like the Red Sea, the source of that sound revealed itself.
‘Full Plate Armor…?’
“Are you Captain Im A-young, in charge of this Gate operation?”
Im A-young flinched at the mechanical timbre of the voice.
Yet with so many eyes upon her, she quickly composed herself.
“Y-yes, I am. And who might you be?”
“I’ve come to participate in the Gate operation.”
“The operation? No, wait. A Gate isn’t somewhere you can just enter because you want to. One misstep and you could—”
“Tutorial Clear.”
Im A-young’s words died on her lips.
Not only Im A-young, but everyone present held their breath, and the surroundings fell into a silence as dead as a tomb.
In that silence.
Shin Tae-ho, his face completely hidden behind a visor, spoke with the weight of a declaration.
“A Challenger who cleared the Tutorial and climbed to the 60th Floor. That’s me.”
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong In Haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
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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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