The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 36

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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 Legendary Blacksmith’s Return — Chapter 36
There existed yet another kind of elf, distinct from the Pure Elves and Dark Elves — the World Tree Elves.
The World Tree Elves had existed beside the World Tree since their birth, and they regarded the protection of the World Tree as the sacred destiny of their lives.
They called themselves the Guardians, beings devoted to protecting the World Tree.
The captain leading these Guardians posed a question to Shin Tae-ho.
“Even elves dare not venture into this place. Yet here stands one who is not an elf at all. Who are you? What is your true nature?”
Despite the commanding tone, the Guardian captain regarded Shin Tae-ho with caution and tension.
‘How did he see through me?’
By nature, World Tree Elves were born under the World Tree’s blessing, and those who were not elves found it nearly impossible to perceive their existence.
Even if fellow elves deployed Energy Sensing, they would have sensed nothing of that warning shot from before.
Yet Shin Tae-ho had stopped as though he already knew of the warning, and though he hid his Natural Energy and used Concealment, he had stared directly at the place where they stood.
That alone was astonishing — but the greater mystery was how Shin Tae-ho had entered this place.
‘There’s no trace of the Barrier opening. He appeared suddenly, as if he’d always been here.’
Not by breaking or unsealing the Barrier that protected the World Tree, but manifesting instantly within it, as though he had always belonged there from the beginning.
That was a method only the Guardians themselves could scarcely perform — one that only one invited directly by the World Tree could accomplish.
‘The World Tree itself bestowed a Leaf upon him as an invitation? But why…?’
As the Guardian captain grappled with confusion,
Shin Tae-ho raised both hands and spoke loudly in answer.
“My name is Shin Tae-ho. I am a friend of Epiel.”
“Epiel?”
The Guardians’ bows wavered.
The World Tree captain’s expression hardened.
“How do you know Epiel?”
“Long ago, when ogres were destroying the Barrier, I helped Epiel hold them back.”
“Ogres? Could it be…?”
The Guardians exchanged glances as though recalling something significant.
A flicker of surprise crossed the captain’s face, displacing the wariness that had filled it moments before.
When the Guardian captain raised his hand, the other Guardians lowered their bows from Shin Tae-ho.
The captain sprang lightly from the branch above, descending to meet him.
“You are clothed in metal. You cannot meet Epiel in such a state.”
“Understood.”
Shin Tae-ho immediately placed the Armor he wore into his Inventory.
Rather than removing the Armor, he made it vanish in an instant, and whispers of fresh astonishment rippled through the gathered Guardians.
Confirming that only cloth remained, the World Tree captain turned.
“Follow me. Wherever you go, whatever you do, it must be in plain sight of the Guardians.”
“Very well.”
Shin Tae-ho assented and followed the captain’s lead.
As they ventured deeper, the massive roots of the World Tree, which had loomed from a distance, drew closer and swelled larger still.
Between those colossal roots, various structures emerged — dwellings, it seemed, of the World Tree Elves.
Then, one of the Guardians clambered over a root and approached the returning group.
“Welcome back, Captain. But who is this one accompanying you?”
Epiel, who had come to greet the returning Guardians, widened her eyes at the sight of Shin Tae-ho.
The Guardian captain regarded Epiel steadily.
“Epiel, your timing is fortunate. This one claims to be your friend and says he has come seeking you.”
“A friend… you say?”
Epiel, now larger than when first they met, yet younger than when glimpsed at the Gate, fixed her gaze upon Shin Tae-ho.
Shin Tae-ho, having already confirmed through the Epiel he knew in the past the utility of this knowledge, spoke without hesitation.
“Long has it been, silver treasure. Do you remember?”
“Silver treasure? Wait. Could it be… you?”
Epiel’s eyes widened in recognition.
From that expression, Shin Tae-ho could be certain this was indeed the Epiel he had known.
Epiel asked, her face mirroring disbelief.
“Are you the outsider who helped protect the Barrier back then?”
“Yes. Though ‘friend’ might suit better than ‘outsider.'”
“But that happened more than a hundred years ago. How are you still alive now? And what is this appearance of yours?”
At the time Shin Tae-ho had met Epiel,
he had worn his Armor and wielded a Hammer.
Epiel had failed to recognize him because she was seeing his face for the first time without the helmet.
The Guardian captain, listening to their exchange, broke in.
“So you are the one who helped defend the Barrier alongside her.”
“Yes. Back then I was wearing armor made of metal, so I didn’t recognize you right away.”
“If you know him, that’s enough. I came to see you, so have your conversation and come back.”
The Guardian captain finished speaking and led the Guardians past Epiel.
It was both permission to speak with Shin Tae-ho and a silent warning not to let him inside.
Epiel bowed toward the departing Guardian captain.
“Thank you, Captain.”
No answer came in return.
The Guardians, who had climbed the tree like monkeys, were already far away.
Only then did Epiel turn back and regard Shin Tae-ho with curious eyes.
“It’s astonishing. I wondered if it was just my imagination, something I’d conjured in my own mind. But it was real.”
“It was. Though I never expected more than a hundred years would have passed.”
For a human, it was a vast expanse of time, but Shin Tae-ho was not surprised.
He had grown accustomed to time slipping away with each floor he climbed during his time with the elf warriors.
“But then, there was also a mysterious creature with you, wasn’t there? One that consumed enormous amounts of Natural Energy, small and elongated—”
“Yong-ryong-i!”
At Epiel’s description, Yong-ryong-i answered vigorously from where it had been hiding.
As its Concealment fell away, Yong-ryong-i suddenly appeared, startling Epiel.
Epiel glanced around the surroundings and moved forward.
“It’s awkward to talk here. Let’s go somewhere I know. I’ll give you something to drink and eat.”
“All right.”
Shin Tae-ho followed Epiel.
The place Epiel led him to was a small cabin that appeared to be used temporarily.
There were everyday necessities inside, and a pond in front—it looked like someone’s dwelling.
“It’s my temporary residence.”
“Why do you live alone out here by yourself?”
“There’s a house inside too. I just prefer being here.”
But despite her words, Epiel’s expression seemed tinged with melancholy.
Shin Tae-ho was curious about the story behind it, but he deliberately suppressed the urge to ask.
After so long apart, prying into secrets without warning would be discourteous.
Epiel brought out tea steeped with Leaf and studied Shin Tae-ho.
“The scent of nature has grown stronger on you. Have you been living with elves outside?”
“Yes. I’ve been staying in a city built by Pure Elves and Dark Elves together.”
“What do you mean? The two of them living together?”
Epiel asked in astonishment, and Shin Tae-ho explained.
At the mention of how Shin Tae-ho had held back countless monsters outside, Epiel’s brow furrowed.
“Just as I thought. Strange phenomena are occurring out there too.”
“Are similar things happening here as well?”
“Yes. Thousands upon thousands of goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres have been trying to cross over into this place. That’s why the Guardians were away when you and the ogre fought back then.”
“Thousands?”
Shin Tae-ho was taken aback.
There was a possibility Epiel might be exaggerating.
But if her words were true, then the Guardians were fighting enemies numbering several times over the trials they faced on each floor.
“Why don’t you request support from the Pure Elves or Dark Elves outside? It would be a tremendous help.”
“That’s impossible. They are exiled kin. The Guardians will never permit them to come here.”
“Exiled?”
“Yes. A very long time ago. When they dared to alter the World Tree under the pretext of development, we banished them.”
Shin Tae-ho was amazed by elf history he had never known before.
When Shin Tae-ho showed interest, Epiel added more explanation.
In the past, three kinds of elves lived together within the World Tree.
But unlike the World Tree Elves, some among the Pure Elves and Dark Elves came to view the World Tree not only as an object of faith but also as a “resource.”
Naturally, they desired to harness the World Tree, which overflowed with Natural Energy.
And as a result, the Guardians, acting on the World Tree’s will, cast them out beyond its boundaries.
‘The way even Epiel speaks of it like ancient history suggests it was truly long ago.’
“After the Dark Elves and Pure Elves were driven out like that, the problems we have now began. One day, suddenly, a race of goblins and ogres appeared that we’d never seen before.”
“Appeared? They weren’t native to this place?”
“No. We don’t know everything about the world, but at least near the World Tree, there were no such races.”
Epiel continued her explanation.
“They commanded beasts to increase their numbers and attacked the World Tree. Naturally, the Guardians grew furious.”
“You think the monsters appeared because of those two?”
“It’s not a guess—it’s a certainty. The Guardians even found evidence of it.”
“What is that?”
“A tall, imposing structure.”
Shin Tae-ho fell silent.
Epiel finished her thought, watching him carefully.
“Goblins and hobgoblins, and ogres too. Those creatures came pouring out of the tall structure that the two races discovered.”
‘Surely not…?’
A tall, imposing structure.
There seemed to be no name for it, but Shin Tae-ho felt he knew what it was.
Because he was inside that structure right now.
‘Those monsters… they came from the tower that appeared here?’
“That story you just told me—where did the Guardians hear it from?”
“From one of their own kind, they said. Whether Pure Elf or Dark Elf, I don’t know. But the name—they knew the name.”
“What was it?”
“Bedillem.”
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened.
He had never met her, but it was a name he knew.
‘The Tutorial Tower. The name of the armored knight that stood at its peak…!’
“Roar, roaaaaar~.”
Just as Shin Tae-ho gasped at the memory of Bedillem’s name.
Yong-ryong-i, who had been quiet until then, gently tapped Shin Tae-ho’s shoulder with a foreleg.
When Shin Tae-ho looked at Yong-ryong-i, the creature had its mouth wide open, using another limb to point at it.
“You want to eat Energy Sensing?”
“Roar~!”
Yong-ryong-i nodded eagerly.
Shin Tae-ho glanced back at Epiel, and for the first time, she wore an expression of hesitation.
“If it needs Natural Energy, taking a little is fine. But you can’t take as much as before—not enough to weaken the World Tree. The Guardians will come.”
“Did you hear that, Yong-ryong-i? Drink slowly.”
“Yowwww….”
Yong-ryong-i let out a low rumble of discontent, thumping Shin Tae-ho’s back with its tail.
But when Shin Tae-ho shook his head, the creature soon gave up, opening its mouth halfway and beginning to sip the Energy slowly.
Once Shin Tae-ho confirmed that Yong-ryong-i was drinking the Energy, he turned his head back.
He was about to resume the conversation that had been interrupted.
When suddenly, a gust of remarkably dense Energy swept toward where Shin Tae-ho and Yong-ryong-i stood.
Epiel, whose expression had remained unchanged throughout their meeting, startled visibly for the first time.
“This is the World Tree’s Natural Energy…?!”
The suddenly surging dense Energy poured into Yong-ryong-i’s mouth, which had been drawing it slowly.
As Yong-ryong-i scrambled to drink the cascading Energy.
Shin Tae-ho read the message window that had appeared before his eyes.
[An unidentified being recognizes you and offers a greeting.]
“It has been a long time.”
At the World Tree’s greeting that appeared in the message window, Shin Tae-ho returned the salutation.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Legendary Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong Eun-haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[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, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram eagerly awaits submissions from writers.

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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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