The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 38

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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 38
Crack!!
Shin Tae-ho’s hammer drove clean through the Stone Skin Ogre’s skull.
Its rocky hide shattered, the ogre’s neck snapped backward, and it crumpled without another breath.
Shin Tae-ho wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead and swept his gaze across the battlefield.
He’d been fighting without pause for at least an hour, yet the enemy numbers seemed endless—they weren’t visibly dwindling at all.
‘I’ve burned through more than half my reserves already, and there’s still this much. This fight is harder than the Trial itself.’
Goblins, Hobgoblins, Ogres—he’d faced all of them before in Sinterhorne.
But the creatures swarming the World Tree now were a step stronger, and far more numerous.
The only mercy was that they hadn’t tamed any of the greater beasts—giant centipedes and the like—to attack alongside them.
Yet mercy rang hollow when the tide of monsters pressing forward was overwhelmingly vast.
‘I’ve never fought for this long before.’
Shin Tae-ho’s body now operated under Body Transformation, reinforced further by elixir.
And unlike in the past, he’d gained the War Smith Class—a combat-specialized Class—which made all of this possible.
If even one of those three strokes of fortune had been missing?
Even Shin Tae-ho couldn’t stand against thousands of monsters bearing down on him like this.
That was a truth he knew better than anyone.
‘Even I can’t believe the strength I possess now.’
Even swinging his hammer at full power without rest, he felt no muscle soreness, no labored breath.
And the longer he moved, the stronger his limbs grew, the sharper his reflexes became.
If his reserves held out, he could fight endlessly, slaughtering every monster in this endless wave.
‘Let’s try it.’
Shin Tae-ho pulled a Core from his Inventory.
He clasped it in his grip and extended his Qi sense—and felt the World Tree’s energy stored within it.
Moving his Qi sense, the World Tree’s essence poured into his Circuits like a waterfall.
Rumble—!
Qi surged rapidly into the half-empty Circuits within his body.
While he refilled, Yong Ryong-i unleashed torrents of flame to hold back the monsters surging toward him.
With his Circuits full again, Shin Tae-ho layered his body with protective Qi.
“Ach, ack!”
“Krraaagh!”
Goblins hurled by the Ogre descended on Shin Tae-ho, thrusting their spears at him.
But attacks that couldn’t pierce even his base armor—layered now with Qi—struck without even scratching him.
The frightened Goblins tensed, preparing to dodge as Shin Tae-ho wound up his hammer.
Yet the Goblin’s head snapped back as a Throwing Hammer arrived from behind, striking it dead.
Thunk!
Shin Tae-ho caught the incoming Throwing Hammer mid-flight.
The weapon, accumulating impact damage through the prolonged battle, was chipped and scarred in places.
‘Even with self-repair, much more damage and the mending will take forever. Time to swap it out.’
Shin Tae-ho called the second Throwing Hammer to him.
With a mere gesture, the Litternium obeyed his will, returning to his hand.
Confirming the Throwing Hammer was relatively intact, Shin Tae-ho poured Qi into it and activated its unique ability.
Shhring—!!
Frost Burst—the unique power granted by the rune effect—swept across the battlefield at maximum output.
Combined with the Frost Rune Inscription, thirty meters around Shin Tae-ho crystallized into solid ice in an instant.
He stowed both Throwing Hammers in his Inventory and moved to pulverize the frozen monsters.
The ice-locked beasts shattered even more easily along with the frozen ground.
“Yong Ryong-i—angle your flames to keep those frozen ones from melting. Be careful not to catch any in the blast.”
“Ryoooong!”
Darting through the air with swimming motions, Yong Ryong-i chirped back reassuringly.
Having heard the reply, Shin Tae-ho moved to press his assault once more.
Then a signal rang out from the sky—one he hadn’t heard until now.
Beep-beep-beep—!!
It was the sound of the Arrowhead Signal he’d crafted to receive battlefield reports.
He’d designed three distinct signals.
The first warned of surprise attacks from behind.
The second indicated the direction in which enemies were retreating.
And the third—the final signal—was one he’d only set to sound once, a call he’d hear but a single time.
“They’ve come.”
Shin Tae-ho lifted his gaze toward the sky.
Guardians with arrows nocked were rushing toward where Epiel stood.
“Ready your aim!”
At the Guardian Commander’s cry, the Guardians drew their bowstrings taut.
As frost-laden energy crackled along the drawn bows, the Guardian Commander shouted again.
“Aid the great warrior and Divine Beast sent by the World Tree!”
“Hm?”
The Guardian Commander’s cry—something one might hear in Sinterhorne—left Shin Tae-ho bewildered.
But the greatly roused Guardians echoed their commander’s words as they released their bowstrings.
“For the World Tree!”
“Aid the great warrior and Divine Beast!”
Arrows laden with energy fell like rain.
The monsters, who until moments before had faced only Shin Tae-ho and Yong Ryong-i, panicked at the Guardians’ sudden intervention and their formation crumbled.
The appearance of the Guardians, who already felt dread before Shin Tae-ho, was more than enough to break the monsters’ spirits entirely.
Watching the monsters scatter in all directions and the Guardians pursue them, Shin Tae-ho lowered his hammer.
‘We’ve come this far—no need to exhaust myself running them down now.’
Shin Tae-ho turned to call for Yong Ryong-i, who was eagerly giving chase to the monsters.
But before he could call out, a message window materialized before his eyes.
[Quest completed.]
[Since the reward remains undetermined, you may request fair compensation from the entity that issued this Quest.]
[You achieved victory while commanding a battlefield overwhelmingly stacked against you.]
[The Trait of War Smith awakens.]
“A Trait?”
Following Energy Forging, the arrival of a new Trait delighted Shin Tae-ho.
Energy Forging alone had been an enormous boon to any crafting he would undertake going forward.
Now, gaining a second Trait, anticipation swelled within him unbidden.
As he waited with a quickening pulse, the second Trait soon revealed itself.
[The War Smith Trait, Blessing of the Battlefield, has been unlocked.]
[The War Smith who stood boldly at the fore facing enemies, who never ceased wielding his hammer even in the midst of battle, became to his allies a blessing of victory itself.]
[All allies within the Blessing of the Battlefield’s area of effect, including the caster, receive increased maximum health and Circuit capacity for the duration of the battle.]
[All enemies within the Blessing of the Battlefield’s area of effect receive reduced defense, reduced energy resistance, and reduced weapon durability.]
[Activation conditions: 1. Total number of allies including the caster is 100 or more.
2. Regardless of ally count, total number of enemies is 500 or more.]
[Once cast, Blessing of the Battlefield persists until the caster achieves victory or deliberately ends it.]
Having read through the second Trait, Blessing of the Battlefield, Shin Tae-ho stared blankly at the message window.
He’d hoped for something remarkable, but seeing the actual details made it even more formidable than expected.
‘War Smith. Literally a Class Trait designed for war itself.’
While Shin Tae-ho stood motionless, processing this,
Epiel descended from the roots and came rushing toward him.
“Shin Tae-ho! Are you alright? Why are you standing still? Do you need a healing agent?”
“…Yes. If you have any, I’d like something to enhance mental capacity, or perhaps something for calming mind and body.”
“Ah, understood.”
Epiel quickly opened her bag and selected potions to hand to Shin Tae-ho.
“Don’t drink them all at once. If you’re careless, the effects could cancel each other out or turn to poison. I’ll give them to you in order, so take them as I hand them over.”
“Understood.”
Shin Tae-ho took the potions in the order Epiel provided them.
Thanks to Epiel’s superior alchemical skill, his minor wounds closed swiftly and his body felt remarkably lighter.
When he then received and drank the mental potions, his previously restless mind calmed completely.
As he drank, Shin Tae-ho’s expression grew regretful—an uncommon sight.
‘What a shame. If I could just put these in my Inventory, I’d truly take them with me.’
The only items obtainable in the Tower were those gained as rewards for completing Trials or Quests.
Potions like these and natural minerals could not be carried outside the Tower.
Had it been possible, Shin Tae-ho would have long since stripped Sinterhorne bare of every sort of material.
“How do you feel? Better?”
“Yes. So the Guardians came after all. Did they say anything to you?”
“Fortunately not. It’s thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me?”
Confused, Shin Tae-ho had Epiel explain the situation as it had unfolded.
At first, she’d been scolded for dangerously attacking the monsters without his permission or prior agreement.
But when Shin Tae-ho displayed such formidable combat ability, actually pushing the monsters back, the Guardians watching the battle began to grow excited one by one.
Then, when he charged the Circuit with the World Tree’s energy using a Core, the Guardian Commander, sensing the World Tree’s natural power, demanded an explanation from Epiel.
“Remember that you’re called a hero in Sinterhorne. I adjusted the story a bit when I explained it to them.”
“…So that’s why they called me the Great Warrior.”
Shin Tae-ho nodded as he absorbed the explanation.
He felt a kind of pride—she’d handled the situation better than he’d worried she might.
Shin Tae-ho watched the Guardians hunting monsters with renewed confidence.
“But are you really all right? I mean, in the end, I doubted you, and I humiliated you in front of all the Guardians.”
“Me? I’m fine. Not every Guardian dislikes me or sees me as strange. They’re genuinely devoted to the World Tree.”
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened slightly at Epiel’s answer.
Hearing her words, the worry he’d buried deep within stirred, just a little.
“Not all of them are like that….”
“Shin Tae-ho?”
Seeing him lost in thought, turning her words over in his mind, Epiel called to him with a note of puzzlement.
Shin Tae-ho shook his head, quickly returning from his reverie.
“It’s nothing.”
“If you’re tired, would you like me to give you a stamina tonic?”
“I wouldn’t refuse if you offered. But there’s still something I need to do.”
Shin Tae-ho turned his attention to a message window he hadn’t yet closed.
There was a message from the World Tree, the one who had given him this Quest.
[An unknown entity expresses its gratitude to you.]
[In return, it wishes to give you what it can and asks what you desire.]
At the World Tree’s question, Shin Tae-ho fell silent for a moment.
His first instinct was to ask for rare ores and materials.
But thinking long-term.
And considering Epiel’s advice from the Gate, what he needed from the World Tree was clear.
“I want World Tree Leaves—or the means to obtain them—so I can visit you anytime in the future. As many as possible.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Epiel’s eyes widened.
From her perspective, Shin Tae-ho had suddenly started speaking to himself, which could only seem strange.
Instead of answering, Shin Tae-ho turned and checked his Inventory, a satisfied smile crossing his face inside his helmet.
His Inventory now held 999 World Tree Leaves—the maximum stack size for a single item.
‘That’s enough.’
He’d cleared the monsters through the Quest and obtained the Leaves that would let him return to the World Tree anytime.
Having accomplished everything he’d set out to do, Shin Tae-ho prepared to leave.
“Yong Ryong-i. Before we go, absorb as much Qi as you want. You’re a Divine Beast now, so the Guardians won’t be able to say anything.”
“Roar!”
With Shin Tae-ho’s permission, Yong Ryong-i opened his mouth and drew in Qi with all his strength.
Unlike when he’d been holding back, an enormous amount of Qi rushed into his maw under his control.
The movement of Qi stirred the air, became wind, then became a gale.
A startled Epiel shielded her face with both arms.
But Shin Tae-ho’s voice cut through the howling wind.
“Right, I forgot to mention this. Epiel. What’s missing from the Silver Treasure you’re making is Moonlight Blood. Remember that.”
“What—what? Moonlight Blood?! Shin Tae-ho, how did you even—”
Before Epiel could finish her shout.
The gale that had formed around Shin Tae-ho faded and ceased.
And where the gale had been.
There was no one—as if everything had been nothing but a dream from the start.
To be continued ▶
Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith
Author
Bong In Haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiry Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violation of these terms may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram eagerly awaits 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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