The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 45

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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 Chapter 45
Park Je-hyeok’s conquest of the 66th floor transformed South Korea into a festival.
Across the entire world, only seven Challengers had successfully climbed to the 66th floor.
As the eighth to confidently add his name to that list, Park Je-hyeok was being called a Ranker by the people, despite not being the highest-floor Challenger.
The world’s response to Park Je-hyeok’s climb burned hot.
Some nations even made explicit demands for his immigration.
Yet that fervent atmosphere did not last long.
“South Korea’s Grace Period for the highest-floor update is now just three days away.”
“The highest floor humanity has reached currently stands at 68. Several nations that have already failed multiple times to update the highest floor are preparing for Gate occurrences ahead of time.”
“Korea must now climb the 67th floor. All eyes are on whether Mystery will succeed in this climb as well.”
When the Tower first appeared, the world was naturally ignorant of what it was.
A few aggressive nations rushed to climb without filling their Grace Period.
Others waited, curious about what would happen if they didn’t ascend the Tower.
As a result, though the Tower appeared simultaneously everywhere, each nation faced different highest floors.
Among them, the floor Korea needed to reach this time was the 67th.
It remained a mere single floor behind the current highest floor of 68.
“If Korea succeeds in climbing to the 67th floor this time, Mystery, the nation’s only Ranker, will secure the title of the seventh-ranked Ranker in the world.”
Excitement that the announcer tried to hide bled through in her voice.
Kim Jong-su, watching the news, shook his head.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day our country would speak of a world Ranker. Truly, it pays to live long.”
“Indeed.”
Shin Tae-ho stopped his hammering with a light reply and wiped the sweat from his brow.
By now evening had fallen, and all the other blacksmiths had left the forge.
Kim Jong-su examined the anvil Shin Tae-ho had been working on and marveled.
“Impressive. Is it finished?”
“The final stages. Once I polish it and clean the surface, it’s done.”
Shin Tae-ho inspected the third Throwing Hammer he was crafting.
He could feel that both the weight distribution and the shape were properly aligned.
As Shin Tae-ho began the polishing work, he suddenly remembered something he’d been overlooking.
“Kim Jong-su. You are my apprentice, are you not?”
“Of course! Teaching knows no age, after all. I follow you with complete sincerity!”
Though by appearance Kim Jong-su looked twice Shin Tae-ho’s age,
he answered without the slightest hesitation.
Satisfied by the sincerity evident in Kim Jong-su’s unhesitating response, Shin Tae-ho broached the main topic.
“Then I ask that if you ever see any items I’ve made being used somewhere by someone, you pretend not to notice.”
“You mean the works you’ve crafted? Ah, of course.”
A blacksmith’s skill elevated his reputation while simultaneously exposing him to danger.
Kim Jong-su, too, had been recruited into the Management Bureau because of his outstanding ability,
but because of that very fact, he was entangled with this forge and understood better than anyone the consequences.

“I promise. No matter where or by whom I see your works being used, I will never act as though I know anything about it!”
“Thank you.”
Shin Tae-ho bowed his head in gratitude.
It might seem overly cautious, but this was a promise he absolutely had to secure in advance for what lay ahead.
‘When I eventually act as Mystery, Kim Jong-su will recognize this hammer.’
If he didn’t secure this promise in advance, what if Kim Jong-su discovered unexpectedly that an item was made by Shin Tae-ho?
The moment something slipped out in conversation, Kim Jong-su might reveal Shin Tae-ho’s existence.
Though not yet complete, Shin Tae-ho placed the nearly finished hammer into his Inventory, tidied his workspace, and stood.
“Kim Jong-su, let’s call it a day here. And I won’t be at the forge for a while.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“I’ve been away from home for nearly a month now, and there are things I need to attend to.”
Though Shin Tae-ho’s home was in Seoul, the forge within the Management Bureau was located in Sejong City.
Since he couldn’t make this commute every time, Shin Tae-ho had been staying at a nearby hotel using Challenger benefits to cover his meals and lodging.
Kim Jong-su, accepting the explanation, nodded with evident reluctance.
“Of course. You have your own matters to attend to, Master.”
“There’s no need to be so disappointed. You’ll need time to digest what I’ve already taught you anyway. I’ll return before that’s complete.”
When people thought of refining, they typically thought of smelting iron.
But as Awakened Ones, Shin Tae-ho and Kim Jong-su’s refining extended far beyond that scope.
If Shin Tae-ho intended to refine the Liternium or Aerosteel he possessed,
the refining methods he’d known thus far would become completely useless—the direction and process would differ entirely.
‘Besides, refinement requires Class Experience too. Right now, Jong-su isn’t at a stage where he needs to learn more—he needs to accumulate experience.’
Kim Jong-su’s face brightened slightly at Shin Tae-ho’s explanation.
“Understood. I’ll master what I’ve learned while I wait for you to return, and I’ll take care of the work I’ve been putting off.”
“Good.”
After shaking hands with Kim Jong-su, Shin Tae-ho headed back to the hotel to gather his things.
A month ago, he hadn’t expected to stay this long, so he’d packed light—his luggage was minimal.
‘Three days left. I need to finish the hammer and climb to the 67th floor within that time.’
Shin Tae-ho withdrew the hammer and examined it.
He hadn’t inscribed it or applied the finishing oil yet—no point doing that in front of Kim Jong-su.
‘The inscription won’t be loud, so I can do it at home. And accounting for the risk of failure, I’ll start climbing a day early.’
“Yong~.”
For the first time in a while, Shin Tae-ho released Yong-nyong-i from concealment.
Whether from maintaining stealth for so long or some other reason, Yong-nyong-i’s experience had apparently increased enough that movement no longer broke the concealment.
“You must’ve been uncomfortable all this time. You did well.”
“Meow-roong~.”
Yong-nyong-i shook her head as if to say it wasn’t a big deal.
Maintaining stealth was a bit suffocating, like wearing a mask, but not so uncomfortable as to be called hardship.
Shin Tae-ho stroked Yong-nyong-i’s head and pulled his packed suitcase out of the hotel.
* * *
Two days later.
Shin Tae-ho finished his preparations a day ahead of schedule and entered the tower.
[You have entered Floor 67 of the South Korea Tower.]
A message window appeared—one he felt he hadn’t seen in a long time.
The entrance was near the elf settlement Synterhon, as always.
But the atmosphere had changed considerably from before.
‘What is this….’
Shin Tae-ho looked around.
The World Tree’s roots, which had been verdant up through the 66th floor, had withered.
And with roots damaged in many places, it was clear there had been considerable combat.
Shin Tae-ho recalled the information about the 67th floor he’d heard before returning.
-From the 67th floor onward, things change dramatically. The number of monsters skyrockets and they’re far stronger. And the elf village was destroyed—there were barely any elves left alive.
‘Is this what that was talking about?’
Shin Tae-ho’s expression darkened.
Honestly, the elves hadn’t been much help at first.
But as he climbed the tower, inscribing their weapons.
And fighting alongside them, he’d come to see that their combat ability, though slow, was unmistakably growing.
Especially Eldain and Kider, who bore a lord’s sense of duty, showed even steeper growth.
So all of them died?
“Krrk-krrk-krrk!”
A familiar cry echoed.
The difference was that the sound came from all directions at once, not from a single point.
Forest Goblins had gathered and were crawling out from between the damaged World Tree roots like ants.
Then, the contents of the 67th floor’s trial belatedly appeared before Shin Tae-ho’s eyes.
[67th Floor Trial: Monsters that bred and multiplied while hiding in the forest for a long time have led tamed beasts and surged into the woods.]
[The elf village has already been attacked, and the elves’ fate is unknown.]
[Gather the remaining elves and defend the forest from the monsters flooding in.]
[Clear Condition: Defeat all enemies before the forest is 70% or more destroyed.]
[Time Limit: 120 hours]
[The trial begins.]
“Krrr-krrr-!!”
“Krrk-shriek!”
The moment Shin Tae-ho confirmed the trial conditions, the Forest Goblins attacked.
A shower of spears, thicker than rain, flew at him.
According to the strategy he’d heard before returning, this was the moment to duck into nearby tree roots and evade.
But Shin Tae-ho felt no need to.
Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting-!!
The arrows bounced off his armor and fell to the ground in a cascade.
In the meantime, their technology had advanced—the arrowheads were sharper and thicker, and faint Ki adhered to the attacks.
But the defense of the armor encased in Ki received from the World Tree far surpassed what they could muster.
Thunk-!
The thrown hammer streaked through the air, slamming into the cluster of goblins and scattering frost in its wake.
The same cold that had frozen them solid up through the 66th floor, stopping their movements dead.
But now, struck by that same frost, the goblins flinched from the impact yet remained unfrozen.
“Cold Resistance?”
Shin Tae-ho, watching the goblins shudder and stumble backward, realized the reason and stared in surprise.
The armor the goblins wore—crude though it was—had been specialized with Cold Resistance.
No, that wasn’t all it was limited to.
‘Fire Resistance too. As if they made it specifically to counter me.’
Resistance to both flame and ice.
And armor worn by goblins who had obsessed only over weapons.
It looked like it had evolved into a form precisely calibrated to match Shin Tae-ho’s fighting style.
“Keh-hoo!”
At the cry of what appeared to be the goblin captain, one of them hurled itself forward with a spear in hand.
The spear blade, weighted by impact and falling acceleration both, scraped across the armor with a sound that made skin crawl.
“Kerarakk!”
“Kerererek!”
The goblins shrieked with excitement at their first successful strike.
Shin Tae-ho, observing the attack, looked down at the scratches on his arm with widened eyes.
‘I had weakened my power to gauge their force, and they’ve already scarred the armor. These creatures—they’ve definitely grown.’
“Kirerek!”
While Shin Tae-ho was still processing the shock.
The goblin captain, convinced they had landed a successful blow, bellowed with confidence.
The goblins who had been hesitant until now, their morale surging, hurled themselves forward at Shin Tae-ho with spears leveled.
“Kerararak!”
“They’re eager,” Shin Tae-ho said softly.
“Dragon?”
Yong-nyong-i, coiled around Shin Tae-ho’s neck, let out a sharp cry with narrowed eyes.
It was a question—a plea to attack the goblins—but Shin Tae-ho shook his head.
“Not yet. If I need your help, I’ll ask, Yong-nyong-i.”
“Ryong!”
As Shin Tae-ho exchanged those brief words with the dragon.
The goblins that had leaped down from roots as tall as a high-rise were closing in.
But instead of dodging, Shin Tae-ho reached into his Inventory and drew out another hammer.
His eyes swept rapidly across the new hammer’s item information.
[Storm Throwing Hammer Forged in Dragon Fire]
-Grade: Legendary
-Description: A hammer forged in dragon fire.
Crafted from Liternium, it can be summoned by the user’s will.
Merely swinging it generates powerful wind to strike enemies.
-Characteristics: Embedded with a low-grade Wind Rune.
-Unique Effects: ⌜Self-Restoration (Lv.4)⌟, ⌜Weight Control (Lv.6)⌟, ⌜Purification (Lv.4)⌟, ⌜Wind Generation (Lv.6)⌟, ⌜Natural Attribute Negation (Lv.Max)⌟
-Unique Ability: ⌜Tempest (Rune Effect)⌟
Unlike his other throwing hammers, this one had been crafted with proper time and care while training Kim Jong-su.
Its grade was nothing short of Legendary.
But the Storm Throwing Hammer, unlike his other throwing hammers, possessed only a single unique ability.
Of course, that was intentional design on Shin Tae-ho’s part, not a failure.
‘Instead of granting new unique abilities through Ki-Based Forging, I maximized the rune effect and shaped it into one ability: Tempest.’
Shin Tae-ho drew his arm back behind his shoulder, gathering power, his eyes gleaming.
“Let’s see what this can do.”
The distance to the spear-wielding goblins had shrunk to less than three meters.
Shin Tae-ho threw the Storm Throwing Hammer like a shot put.
Whoooosh-!!
“Ki, kirekkk?!”
“Kieeek-!”
The falling goblin was thrust upward into the sky.
Powerful wind converged and formed a vortex.
The Storm Throwing Hammer, riding the spiral winds it had created, battered the goblin trapped within without mercy.
Crack! Bang! Thud!
Whirrrrrr-!
As the goblin’s screams diminished, the amount of blood raining down from the sky only increased.
“Performance is solid.”
Shin Tae-ho, who had taken shelter under a broad leaf beforehand, descended to the ground and nodded as he watched blood flow like a river.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Transcendent-Rank Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Release
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law and is prohibited from unauthorized reproduction or duplication. Violations may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram 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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