The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 62

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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 62
The Management Bureau, visited after a long absence, was in turmoil.
Employees scurried frantically with stacks of documents in hand.
Those who appeared to be high-ranking officials moved with brisk steps, their language sharp and crude.
When Shin Tae-ho spread his Energy Sensing lightly, their conversation reached his ears.
“We’ve been sending signals this whole time, so why on earth isn’t the Mystery showing up?!”
“What if ITRO actually marches in on us?”
“Insane. They even threatened us with a five-hundred-percent tariff!”
“God… I just want to go home… I want to quit….”
From Shin Tae-ho’s perspective, it was merely the successful destruction of a single tower.
Yet the fury of nations that had nearly lost an inexhaustible source of infinite resource extraction was immense.
Moreover, the Korean Management Bureau had certainly promised that the Mystery would climb the tower and then provide support to countries struggling with their Gates.
But the moment the tower climb ended, he had gone silent, ignoring their signals—leaving the Bureau staff anxious as well.
‘The ripple effect is larger than I thought.’
Shin Tae-ho, the very cause of this chaos, wore a bitter expression.
He had never intended to break his promise, of course.
But the situation now was different from what it had been then.
‘I no longer have the armor with the Distortion Pattern inscribed on it. I can’t step forward unless I craft at least some basic armor.’
“Tae-ho. Why do you look like that, ryong?”
As Shin Tae-ho, who was holding Yong-ryong-i, grew serious, Yong-ryong-i worried.
Shin Tae-ho stroked Yong-ryong-i’s head and laughed softly.
“I think I’m about to get busy again.”
“Why would you get busy, ryong? You said for sure we could rest easy for a whole year, ryong!”
Yong-ryong-i’s tail stiffened.
After taking human form through Transformation.
As the tower vanished and more time became available for leisurely rest at home, Yong-ryong-i could watch television to his heart’s content.
And he had already made promises to visit all sorts of pretty places—Amusement Parks and Theme Parks he’d seen on TV.
But now it seemed he might get busy again?
Sensing Yong-ryong-i’s worry, Shin Tae-ho quickly soothed him.
“Don’t worry. We’ll do all the promises we made together while we’re at it.”
“Really, ryong?”
“Of course, really.”
“Ryong-ryong~!”
Yong-ryong-i’s tail, now unburdened, wagged gently.
As he pondered happily where to go first, his tail swaying softly.
A person who had been running hurriedly collided with Shin Tae-ho and stumbled backward, landing hard on her rear.
“Oof! I’m so sorry!”
“You’re fine. Captain Lim Ah-young, are you all right?”
“Huh? How did you…? Oh! The Tamer I met last time! Hello!”
Lim Ah-young recognized Shin Tae-ho’s face and greeted him warmly.
Lim Ah-young grasped the hand Shin Tae-ho offered and rose.
“It’s been a while! How have you been?”
“I’ve been well. And I’m glad to see that Captain Lim looks healthy too.”
“That’s kind of you to say. But honestly, I’m a bit of a mess, aren’t I?”
Lim Ah-young laughed sheepishly and scratched her head.
It wasn’t embarrassment—it was that her hair, unwashed for three days, itched.
Shin Tae-ho, seeing Lim Ah-young’s deep dark circles that hung like a panda’s, struggled with how to respond.
“You do seem quite exhausted. Has something happened?”
“Ha. It’s because of the Mystery who’s turned the world upside down, what else.”
Lim Ah-young, her stress already reaching a boiling point, sighed out the situation like a complaint.
Each country was pressuring them hard to obtain information about the Mystery.
As a result, Korea’s relations with other nations were steadily deteriorating.
Bureau staff were working overtime for days trying to find the Mystery.
Having gone that far, Lim Ah-young’s frustration boiled over and she revealed her true feelings.
“As you might’ve seen on the news, I’ve actually met the Mystery. He was so arrogant and insufferable! But now he’s gone back on his promises and vanished! Is this how a mentally sound adult acts?!”
“There really is no one more insane than he is.”
Shin Tae-ho agreed with a troubled expression.
Yet even as he did, Lim Ah-young, whose anger hadn’t subsided, soon slumped.
“But now things are genuinely dangerous… If we don’t get results soon, ITRO will come directly….”
The Mystery’s existence was far more important to Korea than to colonize it.
What if ITRO came and insisted on checking every single domestic Awakener one by one?
When that happened, there was no question the situation would spiral beyond repair.
‘Things have gotten worse than I thought. I need to move faster than planned….’
While Shin Tae-ho was turning this over in his mind with growing unease,
Lim Ah-young, who had been pouring out words, glanced around the space.
“But where’s Yong-ryong-i? Isn’t he usually right there around your neck? I don’t see him.”
“Right here.”
“Yes? Where… oh my, hello?”
Lim Ah-young spotted Yong-ryong-i at Shin Tae-ho’s feet and offered a greeting.
Seeing the white hair gleaming with natural color in a rich, varied spectrum, she wondered why she hadn’t noticed him sooner.
“Is he your younger brother? He’s so adorable!”
“No. This is Yong-ryong-i.”
“What? Yong-ryong-i?”
Lim Ah-young’s eyes widened in confusion at the unexpected reply.
Then details she’d missed in her fatigue came into focus.
The horns perched atop his head.
And the thick yet supple tail extending from his lower back.
Watching the bright, crystalline eyes, Lim Ah-young’s mouth slowly fell open.
“W-wait, could it be? You really mean this child is Yong-ryong-i?!”
“Yeah, I’m Yong-ryong-i, ryong.”
Finding the drawn-out questioning tiresome, Yong-ryong-i answered for himself.
Lim Ah-young froze, her mouth and eyes wide, as if she’d turned to stone.
Then, moments later—
“Kyaaaaaaa—!!”
“Whoa! Wh-what?!”
“Did it finally happen?! Is ITRO here?!”
Passersby who’d been hurrying along startled and stumbled in confusion.
After that, Lim Ah-young’s high-decibel shriek echoed relentlessly.
“So cute—!!”
“…?”
“What…?”
The staff member who’d been shielding his face with both arms blinked in surprise.
The others’ reactions varied slightly but ran much the same course.
Sensing the bewilderment giving way to a belated wave of anger rippling through the room, Shin Tae-ho grabbed Lim Ah-young’s arm.
“Chief Lim, we need to leave. Now.”
“What? Why?! And what happened to Yong-ryong-i anyway? He’s so adorable! How does he end up like this even as a human—”
Shin Tae-ho seized Lim Ah-young’s arm—she’d lost all composure, mesmerized by Yong-ryong-i’s appearance—and ran.
Yong-ryong-i, meanwhile, bounded up and clung to Shin Tae-ho’s back.
Behind the three as they fled,
the people who’d been knocked over and startled caught up to what was happening and shouted in anger as they gave chase.
* * *
Having escaped the Management Bureau by keeping pace with Lim Ah-young, Shin Tae-ho surveyed his surroundings.
There didn’t seem to be any staff members pursuing them in a rage—perhaps they were simply too busy.
Shin Tae-ho exhaled with relief and turned back to Lim Ah-young.
Lim Ah-young stood mesmerized, gazing at Yong-ryong-i with her mouth hanging open.
“How is this possible? How can he be so cute! So Yong-ryong-i can talk now, right?”
“…Yeah, I can, ryong.”
“Kyaa! He said ‘can, ryong’! Oh, he’s too precious!”
“Chief Lim, Yong-ryong-i appears to be in a foul mood.”
The reason Shin Tae-ho had named him Yong-ryong-i was simple.
When he was happy, he’d chirp “ryong,” but when he was displeased, he’d chirp “yong.”
But right now, Yong-ryong-i’s words were ending in “yong.”
At Shin Tae-ho’s remark that Yong-ryong-i seemed upset, Lim Ah-young jumped back half a step.
“No, no, Yong-ryong-i. I’m not trying to scare you~. It’s just that you’re so incredibly adorable~.”
“You’re not scary, yong. But something feels wrong, yong.”
“…Yong-ryong-i.”
Shin Tae-ho cut him off with a helpless look.
Her feelings hurt by Yong-ryong-i’s words, Lim Ah-young frantically rummaged through her clothes.
Fortunately, a single piece of chocolate she’d kept in her inner pocket for when her blood sugar dropped appeared.
“Hey, Yong-ryong-i! Want some chocolate?”
“Chocolate?”
“Yes! This stuff is incredibly sweet and delicious!”
Lim Ah-young explained desperately.
When Yong-ryong-i looked at Shin Tae-ho as if he couldn’t believe it, Shin Tae-ho nodded.
“…Give it here.”
Yong-ryong-i carefully licked the chocolate he’d been handed.
“…Meow?!”
Yong-ryong-i’s eyes widened in surprise.
The rich, sweet taste of chocolate—something he’d never experienced before, having eaten only meat until now.
It was one of the most shocking moments in Yong-ryong-i’s entire life.
“It’s delicious! This chocolate stuff—I’m eating it for the first time and it’s so delicious!”
“Oh! Wait just a moment, Yong-ryong-i! I’m going to bring so much more chocolate right now!”
Lim Ah-young, her face alight with joy, dashed toward her desk to fetch a heap of chocolate.
But her happiness ended that very instant.
“Section Chief Lim—! What have you been doing this whole time and where?!”
“C-Chief?! Just a moment! I’ll get back to my desk right away!”
“What nonsense is that! Come with me this instant! Now!”
“No! Please! Yong-ryong-i—!”
“…Let’s go, Yong-ryong-i.”
“Meow? I want more chocolate!”
“We’ll buy some outside. Every variety they have, all of them.”
“Meow?! You promise?!”
“Yes. I promise.”
At the prospect of eating chocolate by variety, Yong-ryong-i’s face brightened with happiness.
Shin Tae-ho, cradling Yong-ryong-i in his arms, exhaled quietly.
‘I need to settle this problem before starting the work.’
Shin Tae-ho turned from the path leading to the Blacksmith Workshop and walked toward a secluded corner of the Management Bureau.
* * *
Inside an unused building in the Management Bureau—once used for Self-Awakening examinations, now abandoned.
Oh Jin-hyeok stood there, waiting in case Mystery might arrive, and let out a heavy sigh.
‘He didn’t come today either. Is there really nothing I can do?’
Within the Management Bureau, he held the highest rank and authority.
But on a national scale—let alone global—there was precious little Director Oh Jin-hyeok could actually accomplish.
Until now, as director, he’d held back external pressure to protect Mystery.
But now even that was reaching its limits.
The only reason he’d managed to buy time this long was his trust in Mystery.
And the respect and reverence for someone who’d risked his life to climb the tower.
With steps so weighted they barely moved, Oh Jin-hyeok walked out of the building.
As he walked with a troubled expression and reached for the door handle, he stopped short, noticing something.
‘A letter?’
A letter—one that certainly hadn’t been there when he’d entered—was attached to the door handle.
Startled, Oh Jin-hyeok hastily unfolded the letter.
The text was typed and printed, not handwritten.
Yet the content was unmistakably from Mystery.
The message was simple.
“I sustained injuries during the climb and could not come.”
“In ten days, at ten in the morning, I will return to keep my promise.”
“…Damn it. How could I have missed something so obvious?!”
People called him Mystery and treated him like a monster, but Oh Jin-hyeok, who’d met him directly, knew the truth.
Mystery was simply a person wearing armor.
And anyone attempting to climb the seventieth floor—a floor no one had ever conquered—could naturally sustain injuries.
Oh Jin-hyeok crumpled the letter unconsciously at his own oversight, then suddenly came to his senses and smoothed it out again.
This was the only lifeline that could save Korea from falling off the cliff.
Oh Jin-hyeok steadied his racing heart with a deep breath and immediately pulled out his smartphone to make a call.
His contact must have been waiting, for the signal didn’t take long.
“Mr. President. Mystery has arrived.”
From the other end of the receiver—without speaker phone—a voice so loud that the smartphone trembled came through.
Continued in next episode ▶
The Return of the Transcendent-Grade Blacksmith
Author
Bong In-hae-je
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publications
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
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※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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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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