The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 34

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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 34
Yong-ryong-i wriggled out from inside the armor.
Yong-ryong-i’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of the World Tree.
Shin Tae-ho spoke to Yong-ryong-i, preparing for any sudden ambush.
“There might be living monsters here. Be careful, Yong-ryong-i.”
“Yong-yong.”
Yong-ryong-i answered in a low, clipped tone, unlike usual.
The fact that the response was “Yong” rather than “Ryong-i” made it clear the creature was quite startled.
Shin Tae-ho extended his Life Sense to its maximum.
He could have simply left the Gate, but having witnessed this, he couldn’t resist investigating.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—his fully extended Life Sense detected no monsters.
All he sensed was a single, impossibly faint presence, as though it might snap away at any moment.
“Yong-ryong-i, it’s over there.”
Shin Tae-ho ran forward.
With each step, the blackened, dead World Tree roots beneath his feet crumbled like charcoal briquettes.
As he drew near the place where his Life Sense had detected the sign of life, Shin Tae-ho slowed his pace.
‘It was definitely around here.’
He was debating whether to extend his Life Sense again.
Yong-ryong-i, floating in the air and observing the World Tree, suddenly spun around in alarm.
“Yong—!”
“It’s fine. I felt it too.”
Shin Tae-ho responded to Yong-ryong-i’s warning, pivoting his body.
A powerful arrow suffused with Gangi pierced the ground where Shin Tae-ho had been standing.
At the sight of that force, Shin Tae-ho’s face hardened.
‘Gangi?! How is such power manifesting already?!’
Gangi was a realm that only the warrior class could achieve.
Mages received energy through their class trait from the start, able to convert it into mana.
Warriors, by contrast, had to climb the Tower, accumulate countless battles, and undergo endless training to refine their energy—and only then could they obtain this Gangi.
‘Gangi cannot be stopped by my armor. I must evade it all.’
Shin Tae-ho rolled across the ground, dodging the volley of arrows.
As the excited Yong-ryong-i moved to charge forward, Shin Tae-ho shouted.
“No! It’s dangerous! Don’t get close!”
At Shin Tae-ho’s rare roar, Yong-ryong-i jerked back in surprise, changing direction.
Yong-ryong-i watched him with anxious eyes, but Shin Tae-ho had no intention of fighting.
“Epiel! Is that you?! It’s me! Shin Tae-ho and Yong-ryong-i!”
No response came back.
But his words had an effect—the arrows stopped falling.
Though he hadn’t yet seen her, Shin Tae-ho was now certain his opponent was Epiel.
At the very least, she was a World Tree Elf connected to Epiel.
‘It was only for a moment, but that arrow embedded in the ground. It was identical to the ones Epiel used.’
Shin Tae-ho waited for a response, staying alert in case more arrows came.
After a long, tense silence, a familiar voice reached him from somewhere.
“Who are you? You’re no elf. I have never seen a being like you.”
“Silver Treasure.”
At the sound of the voice, Shin Tae-ho called out the keyword he and Epiel had established before parting.
“It’s the keyword you gave me in case you didn’t remember me. Silver Treasure! Do you recall it?”
Silence fell again.
But this silence was not as long as before.
“…I don’t know how you know that. But you certainly know me. I will not attack. Come to me.”
Shin Tae-ho looked up at the sky.
Yong-ryong-i, hovering high above and looking down, was already staring at where Epiel lay hidden.
Shin Tae-ho moved carefully, following Yong-ryong-i’s gaze.
After passing a few rotted roots, a familiar elf’s form appeared between them.
“Epiel, you—!”
“Stop. Don’t come any closer than that.”
Epiel’s voice cut through, cold and warned.
Only now that he could see her did Shin Tae-ho understand why Epiel had asked him to come.
And why she was so wary.
There before him stood Epiel, grown taller than before, whom he hadn’t seen in so long.
But Epiel had lost everything below her waist, clinging to the fungal-like rotted roots of the World Tree.
When Shin Tae-ho fell silent,
Epiel’s brow furrowed.
“Even looking at you like this, I don’t recognize you. Show me your face.”
“…Very well.”
Shin Tae-ho removed his helmet.
Fearing she might recognize him, he also suppressed the distortion-patterned ability hanging from his armor.
Yet Epiel, staring at him intently, shook her head.
“Still nothing. But you know me, don’t you? And the fact that you’ve made it this far means you must have received the leaf.”
“Yes. I had the leaf that the World Tree gave me long ago. It’s broken now, so I no longer have it.”
“The leaf itself is a compass meant to guide you to the World Tree. It seems no one explained that to you. Cough—!”
Epiel coughed.
Blood the color of charred, rotting roots spilled from her lips in a thick stream.
Shin Tae-ho rushed forward in alarm, but Epiel raised her hand to stop him.
“There’s nothing you can do for me now. But if you could meet the me of the past, we could change this. Together with the World Tree’s guardians. Were you and I close?”
“Yes. We worked together to protect the World Tree, even holding back entire ogre hordes.”
“Ogre hordes…? There were so many, I couldn’t say which time you mean.”
Epiel shook her head.
Her face bore the deep marks of exhaustion and despair, etched like charred roots.
“Then I ask you this. Help the me that you know. Please—help my kindred. Protect the World Tree.”
Epiel’s voice carried the weight of supplication.
Shin Tae-ho nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“Don’t worry. That’s something I want as well.”
“…Thank you. My friend, even though I don’t remember you.”
Creak-creak-creak—
Then the World Tree’s roots, which had been still, began to convulse and writhe.
As the roots scraped against one another, a horrible grinding sound like metal on metal filled the space.
Yong-ryong-i startled and retreated to Shin Tae-ho’s neck, while Epiel stared at the World Tree with a grim expression.
“To meet you just before this hell ends. Perhaps it is fate.”
Epiel’s hand plunged into her own bosom.
Her body, connected to the roots, was also cracking and hardening, yet Epiel paid it no mind.
As her form crumbled, she rummaged through her garments and withdrew two objects.
“Take these. All that I can give, and all that I have managed to preserve.”
Shin Tae-ho approached and accepted the items from her hands.
One was a World Tree Leaf, which Shin Tae-ho recognized.
The other was a silvery liquid like mercury, contained in a sturdy flask.
“This is the Silver Treasure. Drink it now, at once.”
“The Silver Treasure?”
Shin Tae-ho gazed at the bottle she had given him.
Unlike usual, the system took a moment before displaying the item’s information once its analysis was complete.
[Epiel’s Elixir]
—Description: An Elixir crafted by Epiel, the World Tree Elf, by gathering the essence of all knowledge.
Permanently elevates all abilities related to the drinker’s body and mind.
‘An Elixir? That Elixir that only those who have reached the pinnacle among alchemists can create?’
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened as he read the description.
Elixirs had been extraordinarily rare even in the distant past when resources related to the Tower were abundant.
Mass production was impossible, and even the greatest alchemists succeeded in making one only once in ten years of dedicated effort.
Moreover, even such Elixirs could do nothing more than sustain specific stats like Strength or Agility over extended periods.
Yet Epiel’s Elixir permanently enhanced all stats at once.
“Hurry. There’s no time left.”
Epiel urged him on.
Her body was already splitting and shattering along with the World Tree roots connected to it.
Shin Tae-ho uncorked the flask and drank the Elixir.
As the dense Elixir—suspended between liquid and solid—went down, heat flooded through his body and his mind cleared entirely.
Epiel, seeing that Shin Tae-ho had consumed every last drop, closed her eyes.
“Good. Now go. Hurry, or you’ll be caught up in this too.”
“Wait. Before I go, there’s something I need to know. How do I use the World Tree Leaf? And when I meet the you that I know, how will I prove I’m on your side?”
Perhaps thanks to the Elixir he had just consumed,
Shin Tae-ho, calmer than ever, asked for the information he would need—stripped of all sentiment.
Fortunately, Epiel, having accepted her death, remained composed as well.
“You remember that the me you know called the Silver Treasure the Silver Treasure, yes? Then tell her that what I left behind is the Moonlight Blood.”
“Moonlight Blood?”
“Yes. It’s fine if you don’t understand it. Since I know you, I’ll understand it for you.”
Shin Tae-ho nodded.
Whether or not he knew what Moonlight Blood was, it didn’t matter—as long as Epiel understood it.
“And for the World Tree Leaf, you just have to tear it while thinking strongly of the World Tree. But you can only use it once, so you must get a new leaf from the World Tree before you leave without fail.”
“Can I ask you for one?”
“No. Only the World Tree, its owner, can give you the leaves. You already have one, so you should know what I mean.”
“…Yes, I think I understand.”
When he had first obtained the World Tree Leaf.
Shin Tae-ho had received it from the World Tree itself, not from Epiel.
As their exchange continued, more than half of Epiel’s body was already crumbling away.
“Now… go….”
Epiel, collapsing, warned Shin Tae-ho in a voice that seemed ready to break at any moment.
Confirming that Yong-ryong-i was properly attached to his neck, Shin Tae-ho stepped outside the roots that were trying to trap him as well.
“Go well. I cannot save you now, but I swear I will save the you I know.”
Epiel could not answer.
The roots, crumbling like mud and being sucked inward, cut off the space between Epiel and Shin Tae-ho.
But Shin Tae-ho could feel that Epiel had heard his words.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a message window appeared.
[Gate conquest successful.]
[Would you like to move out of the Gate from this unidentified location?]
“Move.”
The instant Shin Tae-ho answered, both he and Yong-ryong-i vanished.
* * *
On Gaya Mountain, where Korea’s first Gate had appeared days earlier and thrown everything into chaos.
The sun was now setting, but those who hadn’t descended were savoring the mountain’s evening.
“Can you believe a Gate actually appeared here? I watched the video but it still doesn’t feel real.”
“What doesn’t feel real is how those Rankers sent to explore it made it disappear on their very first visit.”
“Right. I thought Rankers were just lucky bastards who got a decent Class and climbed the tower a bit, bragging about it. But I guess a Ranker is a Ranker after all.”
“Those Rankers are seriously insane. Out of all the countries where Gates have appeared, we’re the first to collapse one on the initial entry—that’s huge.”
“But I heard it wasn’t the Rankers, but the tutorial conqueror who was really impressive?”
“Oh, I heard about that too. The challenger armored from head to toe, right? Some kind of mystery gimmick?”
“If that’s the case, it’s working. Right now on Tower.com, that person’s nickname is Mystery—meaning nobody knows their name, class, or even gender.”
“Man, I’m dying to know. Why are the authorities and those Ranker bastards ignoring our right to know? I’m so pissed.”
“What are you talking about, you lunatic?”
“By the way, where did Mystery go? They never came back out of the Gate, right?”
“Who knows? Could happen. Maybe they’ll just suddenly appear here?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Something like that would never—wait, hold on. What’s that?”
As the friends exchanged casual banter among themselves.
Light suddenly gathered on one side of the mountain and began drawing a circle.
Faced with the inexplicable sight, the friends crouched low, holding their breath.
And from within the completed circle, a figure emerged.
“Armor…?”
Someone, bewildered by the sight of a person clad entirely in armor, murmured.
As if hearing that faint voice, the helmet turned sharply, scanning the surroundings.
The moment it caught sight of them hiding there.
The armored figure pushed off the ground with tremendous force and vanished in an instant.
No one could speak.
Then one friend, stammering like a hiccup, gasped in awe.
“M-M, Mystery…!”
“I-Is this real…?”
“Mystery! It’s Mystery!!”
The excited shouts of those who’d finally come to their senses exploded into the air.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Breaker
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Published by Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Published
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violators may face criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscript.

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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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