The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 50

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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-grade Blacksmith’s Return — Episode 50
After the time on Floor 67 expired and Shin Tae-ho left the tower.
He devoted himself entirely to crafting items using the Qi Explosion technique during the month-long grace period.
But reality proved far more complicated than theory, since the method of detonation differed from what he’d envisioned.
His original plan was to create a detonation device and use it like a grenade.
However, unlike explosions that propelled fragmentation through force like gunpowder, this form of explosion simply erased everything—so grenades were impossible to make.
With this limitation, arrowheads like those he’d given the elves proved serviceable, but it wasn’t suited to modern firearms.
And as if there were restrictions on what the principle could be applied to, fusion with modern science caused collisions.
‘No matter how you call it an explosion, I’ll have to use it in the form of cold weapons.’
Though the limitation became clear, Shin Tae-ho felt no disappointment.
A technique called Qi Explosion that hadn’t existed in the past.
If he could only use such a technique, the penalties were more than worth accepting.
‘If it’s limited to cold weapons, then I’ll make cold weapons.’
After two full weeks of experimentation, Shin Tae-ho recognized the ceiling and shifted his design direction.
Another ten days absorbed in crafting.
When exactly one week remained of the grace period for attempting the highest floors.
At last, the weapon Shin Tae-ho had been crafting above all else was complete.
“Ryong?”
Yong-ryong, who had initially helped his crafting by spewing fire.
But once production passed the midway point, with nothing left to do, Yong-ryong watched Shin Tae-ho rise with eyes full of curiosity.
“It’s finished, Yong-ryong. Let’s do a field test.”
“Ryong-ryong~!”
Yong-ryong, who had been cooped up in the smithy ever since leaving the tower, let out a delighted cry.
Once outside, Shin Tae-ho deployed Qi Perception, scanning the surroundings.
‘No people, no cameras. I can verify it here.’
Shin Tae-ho raised his arm, aiming at a tree.
Fitted to his forearm was a bracer-type crossbow he’d just completed—a Dragon Fire-infused Rapid-fire Crossbow.
Before the test shot, Shin Tae-ho reviewed the crossbow’s information.
[Dragon Fire-infused Rapid-fire Crossbow]
-Grade: Hero-grade
-Description: A crossbow imbued with dragon fire during the crafting process.
Qi is consumed with each bolt fired, and power and range increase proportional to the Qi expended.
Bolts can be fired one at a time, but it has rapid-fire function, and can store a maximum of 100 bolts.
-Unique Effects: Self-Repair (LV.4), Lightness (LV.6), Rapid Fire (LV.6), Burn Effect (LV.6), Projectile Speed (LV.6), Noise Reduction (LV.7), Storage (LV.7), Durability (LV.7), Accuracy (LV.8)
A total of nine unique effects.
That was precisely what Shin Tae-ho had intended through Qi-forge Smithing.
No matter how skillfully a weapon was made, it was useless if the accuracy was abysmal.
Shin Tae-ho possessed the ability to compensate for his own inadequate marksmanship through unique effects.
‘I couldn’t add a unique ability, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll grant abilities to the bolts each time I make them anyway.’
Shin Tae-ho loaded a bolt.
Next, he pulled the trigger connected to his finger, and the bolt shot forward.
Thwick.
The sound of the crossbow firing the bolt was far quieter than a silenced pistol.
But the sound of the bolt, now traveling at high speed with increased power, striking home was the exact opposite of the quiet discharge.
Crack-boom-boom-!!
As the bolt struck, an explosion erupted and thick smoke billowed up.
Fortunately, it hadn’t hit anything flammable or particularly dangerous.
But where the bolt landed, the earth was carved out in a crater some five meters across.
Shin Tae-ho rushed to retrieve the fallen bolt and nodded at the verification of its power.
‘A bolt made from a single Intermediate-grade Qi Fragment packs this much force. More than sufficient—almost excessive.’
He’d accumulated tens of thousands of Intermediate-grade Qi Fragments from passing trials, now filling his inventory.
Though they had no rarity and sold for far cheaper prices than other items when exchanged for money.
By converting them to bolts through the Qi Explosion technique, he could put them to far better use than selling them for cash.
“Ryong-ong!”
Yong-ryong, startled by the bolt’s power, darted back and forth through the crater as if rippling across the ground.
When Shin Tae-ho adjusted one side, the crossbow, which had been spread wide like a crescent, folded and compressed into a thin form.
“That’s it, Yong-ryong. Now I just need to make enough bolts.”
“Ryong, ryong! Ryong-ryong-ryong!”
Yong-ryong circled around Shin Tae-ho as if to say he’d endured hardship, brushing against his body.
Contentedly stroking Yong-ryong from head to tail, Shin Tae-ho surveyed the surroundings.
“…I should restore this place first.”
A crater roughly five meters across and just under two meters deep.
Looking as though a tiny asteroid had crashed down, Shin Tae-ho scratched his head at the sight.
* * *
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The day Korea’s tower record needed updating arrived, and news outlets flooded their coverage with tower-related stories.
But unlike before, when people had paid attention only to their own nations’ towers, Korea’s tower climb had become a worldwide issue.
⌜One day, emerging as mysteriously as his name suggests after successfully climbing Floor 67 and becoming a World Ranker, Mystery. Can Mystery truly succeed in climbing Floor 68 this time?⌟
⌜While Mystery’s progress has been shocking, it doesn’t seem likely to be easy. After all, Floor 68 is a level even other World Rankers have failed to climb, isn’t it?⌟
⌜And they failed despite receiving national support.⌟
⌜No matter how remarkable Mystery is, climbing Floor 68 in one go is deemed impossible by most experts.⌟
“Tch. Spouting obvious nonsense. How would they know anything? They’ve never even climbed a tower.”
Victor, nursing a glass of liquor in the five-star hotel suite he’d purchased, sneered at the people being interviewed.
Victor was America’s World Ranker.
As America’s sole World Ranker, Victor enjoyed lavish national support.
Gifted from the start, Victor had climbed all the way to Floor 65 through that support, progressing smoothly.
He’d failed twice on Floors 66 and 67, but eventually succeeded in climbing Floor 67.
That was a result achieved not merely through generous support, but through Victor’s own effort as well.
Yet even Victor found himself unable to attempt Floor 68 even now.
“That’s not a trial meant to be overcome. It’s telling you: you’ve struggled hard so far, now go to hell and kiss a demon’s ass.”
A battlefield scattered with the corpses of slaughtered elves.
Unlike before, goblins that wielded Qi attacked in swarms like ants.
And there were commanders directing them, handling Qi far more skillfully, and hobgoblins in numbers matching the goblins themselves.
“On top of it all, those cursed creatures made sure you couldn’t escape anywhere.”
Floor 68 began with both mind and body driven to the edge of a precipice.
Victor, having spent all his Surrender Rights there, felt broken inside despite his outward appearance.
“I’d rather just wait for the Gate to generate and seal it shut. Floor 68 is absolutely, absolutely impossible to climb.”
Victor muttered to himself as though trying to convince his own heart, then downed harsh liquor straight.
He’d always been a heavy drinker, but since becoming an Awakener and gaining a stronger body, he needed to drink this much to feel any buzz at all.
“Why should you be any different? Mystery.”
Victor stared at the silhouette of Mystery appearing on the television.
Footage captured by chance before entering the Gate.
But it revealed nothing about Mystery.
Whatever magic had been employed, each viewer perceived Mystery’s build, height, and gender completely differently.
Even World Rankers were no exception.
To Victor’s eyes, Mystery appeared as a man standing over two meters tall with an exceptionally trained physique.
The time Mystery was estimated to have entered the Gate appeared in a corner of the news.
That time had already stretched past ten hours.
“Come out already. Mystery.”
Victor hurled the seventeenth empty bottle and belched.
It was the result of drinking without restraint as anxiety about Floor 68 took hold.
As the alcohol rose to his head, Victor began to doze in front of the news.
He could have forced his eyes open, but to escape the anxiety, he decided to surrender to the drowsiness.
How much time had passed?
Victor, buried in a sofa softer than any bed and lost in sleep, jolted awake at the roar of cheers breaking through the television.
“What?”
Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Victor frowned and checked the screen.
There, in bold letters: ‘Mystery of Korea Successfully Climbs Floor 68.’
Victor smirked as if he’d known all along.
“Hmph. Well, I figured. How did he manage in one—wait, what? What did it say?!”
Victor, alarmed, checked the space next to the screen where a “10” had been written.
The number that had read “10” until he fell asleep had now changed to “21”.
Victor stared at the television with a blank expression.
His phone continued to ring with calls from the US Management Bureau, but he didn’t notice.
Victor’s ears caught only the words of the interview being transmitted through the television.
And behind it, the frenzied cheers of Korean citizens caught in rapture.
⌜Korea’s Mystery has succeeded in climbing Floor 68, now becoming the sole World Ranker!⌟
⌜Unbelievable! From a nation in the East, a country the size of Kentucky! Floor 68, which no one else could climb, has been conquered!⌟
* * *
Shin Tae-ho, who had cleared Floor 68 in twenty-one hours on his first attempt and became the sole World Ranker of the present age.
But Shin Tae-ho’s expression was far from bright.
‘This is trouble. The Qi consumption is far greater than I anticipated.’
Shin Tae-ho furrowed his brow and looked around.
The ground was sunken in places, and corpses of monsters and beasts overflowed from the cavities.
Floor 68 was indeed a grim difficulty that even World Rankers couldn’t break through.
Goblins that wielded Qi far more skillfully than what he’d seen on Floor 67.
They’d likewise mastered the use of Qi.
And Hobgoblins—armed with Goblin technology and riding beasts to move freely—were pure terror incarnate.
Shin Tae-ho sighed as he surveyed his armor, nearly half shattered.
No matter how hard he tried to evade, it was impossible to dodge all the attacks from Qi Explosion weapons pouring down from every direction.
‘If I hadn’t prepared for this, it would’ve been truly dangerous.’
Shin Tae-ho tapped lightly on the crossbow affixed to his forearm.
Without the crossbow, his Qi would certainly have been depleted long ago.
And this was the reason his expression was so dark.
‘Even if I absorb all the Qi in this place, it’s nowhere near enough to climb the next floor.’
Shin Tae-ho looked at Yong-ryong, who seemed dejected at not being able to feast on Qi.
Ever since the World Tree’s Qi had been cut off, it had been a long time since Yong-ryong had been satisfied with Qi.
On top of that, the World Tree’s Qi stored in the Cores he’d been giving to Yong-ryong bit by bit was nearly depleted.
‘I need to get the World Tree’s Qi.’
Going to Floor 69 as things were now was far too dangerous.
Of course, using Arimirr’s Qi from the Core could be another option.
But…
‘I’ve grown tremendously strong, or so I thought. Yet I still don’t have the confidence to handle this Qi.’
Simply perceiving Arimirr’s Qi with Qi Perception left him feeling dizzied and made his skin crawl.
Shin Tae-ho withdrew his hand from the Core and shook his head.
‘Using this Qi might be even more dangerous than going straight to Floor 69. I should save it only for the last resort.’
Confirming that Yong-ryong had coiled around his neck, Shin Tae-ho tore a World Tree Leaf.
As he’d relocated all the elves, one of the three remaining leaves tore and he felt his body shift.
‘Two left now.’
Shin Tae-ho felt himself entering the World Tree Barrier and was startled as he looked around.
The World Tree’s Qi, which had been too faint to perceive before, was now dimly sensible.
“Ryong~!”
Yong-ryong drank in the Qi joyfully.
But in that instant.
From the enormous roots of the World Tree, an immense volume of water poured forth like a tidal wave, gathering together into a pillar.
“What thief dares cross the barrier and set foot here—!!”
A colossal column of water, moving as if alive, bellowed with a resonant voice.
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Unleashed
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violation of these terms may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram is waiting for 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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