The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 64

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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 64
Architect.
Rare even among Special Classes, their numbers had not exceeded a hundred even in the distant future.
Though Architects did not craft items directly, the class shared surprising similarities with blacksmithing.
The first commonality was that, in their early emergence, they drew little attention and were severely undervalued.
The second was that as time progressed, they rose to become indispensable to Tower Climbing.
‘And eventually, I too will need the Architect’s abilities.’
The Architect’s power was to build systems into items.
These systems grew more sophisticated over time, assisting Awakeners in wielding items far beyond their own capacity.
And because of these systems, even Awakeners who never climbed the Tower could become meaningful forces through their use.
What’s more, since Lee Yong-jun was Korea’s sole Architect, he was in some ways valued even more highly than Shin Tae-ho, who bore the title of Transcendent-Grade Blacksmith.
Of course, that was a future that had not yet come to pass.
“Please! Just reconsider once more!”
“I said no. Think about it rationally—how can I provide items to strengthen an ability I don’t even understand? Stop talking nonsense and get out!”
“Believe in me! If I can just use my ability properly, I’m certain….”
Lee Yong-jun’s confident voice grew quieter.
Words were one thing, but that was only possibility.
Without ever having properly used his ability and produced tangible results, he couldn’t help but feel uncertain.
Yet the reason Lee Yong-jun persisted in asking Kim Jong-soo was rooted in his ability’s nature.
‘Even practicing with Advanced-Grade items no longer yields meaningful Experience Points. I need higher-tier items.’
The problem was money.
He needed items to accumulate Experience Points through practice, but these items were prohibitively expensive.
As the grade climbed, prices skyrocketed beyond what any individual could afford.
“Even something hastily made would do! Even a failed attempt…!”
“Hello, Lee Yong-jun. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Shin Tae-ho cut into the conversation, stepping forward.
Lee Yong-jun, who had been pleading with Kim Jong-soo, startled and bowed his head.
“Ah, hello. I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“I’m Shin Tae-ho, an apprentice under Kim Jong-soo.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Kim Jong-soo’s eyes widened in surprise.
Caught off guard, he was about to instinctively call Shin Tae-ho by his title when—
Shin Tae-ho’s calm, piercing gaze silenced him.
“I’ve heard much about you from my teacher. What you need is an item to develop your ability, correct?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
“Then the higher the grade of the item, the more attempts you can make, and the more steadily you’d accumulate Experience Points?”
“W-well, yes! How could you possibly know that?”
Lee Yong-jun was startled that Shin Tae-ho could perceive what he hadn’t even told Kim Jong-soo—the part his shame had kept him from voicing.
Shin Tae-ho spoke as if it were obvious.
“Because my teacher told me. His eye for craftsmanship far surpasses what the world knows.”
“Well, of course! As expected of Blacksmith Kim Jong-soo…!”
“What? Me? No, I mean….”
Kim Jong-soo stammered at this unexpected praise.
But when Shin Tae-ho gave him a subtle hint, Kim Jong-soo caught his meaning and quickly composed himself.
“…Of course it is. You’ve pestered me enough times. That much should be obvious.”
“Then… I ask this of you with all humility! Please, help me! If you do, whenever you have need, I will aid you with all my strength and heart!”
Lee Yong-jun dropped to his knees.
As Kim Jong-soo frowned, ready to refuse—
Shin Tae-ho spoke first once more.
“My teacher was waiting for those very words. He worried that helping without reciprocal commitment would diminish the value and weight of his aid.”
‘Me?’
Kim Jong-soo stared at Shin Tae-ho with wide eyes.
When Shin Tae-ho hinted again, Kim Jong-soo’s lips quivered slightly as he nodded.
“Right… that’s it. Without sincerity, there is no achievement. I wanted to see such genuine resolve in you.”
“Such profound wisdom…!”
Lee Yong-jun gasped, his face lighting with sudden understanding.
He realized that had Kim Jong-soo simply agreed on the spot, he would never have desired it with such earnestness.
Now deeply moved, Lee Yong-jun performed a full bow to Kim Jong-soo.
“I truly… have learned a great lesson! I won’t let you down!”
Shin Tae-ho added, “My teacher is preparing an item for you. Take a number, and return in eight days.”
“Yes! Here is my business card! I look forward to working with you, and you as well!”
Lee Yong-jun used the momentum of rising from his bow to spring to his feet, then quickly pressed the card into both of Kim Jong-soo’s hands with a respectful flourish.
Before Kim Jong-soo could even open his mouth.
Lee Yong-jun moved like the wind, turning back repeatedly with waves of greeting as he receded into the distance.
Kim Jong-soo stared blankly after him, bewildered, then turned to Shin Tae-ho with a baffled expression.
“Th-that was… what exactly just happened?”
“I apologize for acting without consultation. But it was necessary.”
Shin Tae-ho bowed his head respectfully.
However unannounced his actions had been, the moment his respected master lowered his head, Kim Jong-soo stiffened in surprise.
“No, no, that’s not it! If my master deemed it necessary, then it must be right. Though… does that mean I’ll need to manufacture items for him on a regular basis…?”
Kim Jong-soo was the master blacksmith of the Management Bureau.
As the only craftsman in all of South Korea to hold that title, his days were already consumed with relentless work.
And ever since he’d taken Shin Tae-ho as his master, he’d been carving out time to practice alongside his duties.
To ask him to also forge items for Lee Yong-jun seemed almost cruel.
But Shin Tae-ho shook his head in answer.
“The items for Lee Yong-jun will be my responsibility. I agreed to this arrangement with exactly that intention.”
Shin Tae-ho understood perfectly well how pressed for time Kim Jong-soo was.
Moreover, he could anticipate what tier of item Lee Yong-jun would need.
‘At this stage, a Rare or Special Class item should suffice.’
To avoid drawing unwanted attention by gifting something of too high a rank, Shin Tae-ho set his target conservatively.
In truth, Lee Yong-jun would have been more than satisfied with an Advanced-rank item, but there was no way Shin Tae-ho could know that.
‘If I work without the Qi-imbuement Forging technique and just make it straightforwardly, I should be able to hit Rare rank. Even if something goes wrong and it comes out Advanced, that’s fine.’
Shin Tae-ho checked his remaining time.
It would be tight, but if he moved with focus, the schedule was entirely manageable within what time remained.
“Then shall we start with some ramen?”
To work efficiently through the remaining hours, he needed to fill his stomach first.
* * *
Time flew.
In the meantime, Shin Tae-ho succeeded in processing Aerosteel into thread form.
He worked without pause and had already forged enough items for Lee Yong-jun.
Since he was deliberately lowering the rank of Lee Yong-jun’s items, the crafting went even faster.
Kim Jong-soo, who shared the workshop with Shin Tae-ho and inspected the finished pieces, dropped his jaw.
‘He made all this “roughly”…?’
The items Shin Tae-ho had made were Rare rank at baseline.
A few had even been made so casually that they came out Advanced rank.
Knowing that people would line up to buy items of that quality, it seemed almost absurd.
‘Just who is my master…!’
As Kim Jong-soo gazed at Shin Tae-ho in admiration.
Shin Tae-ho had just finished his work and was inspecting the final item.
‘Good. That’s done.’
Examining the Armor he’d completed, Shin Tae-ho felt satisfied.
Despite the rush, the Armor forged in a proper workshop was superior to what he’d made during the tutorial.
Though it had been crafted hastily and lacked any special properties.
It could deflect ordinary attacks and serve its purpose of concealing his identity.
‘The real problem is this.’
Shin Tae-ho turned his gaze.
There lay the Aerosteel thread—processed into thread form just like the Linetium.
While he could use it as-is without issue, Shin Tae-ho harbored a certain curiosity.
‘What if I combined the two threads?’
Linetium, which always returns to him.
Aerosteel, called by that name, capable of enabling both propulsion and gliding in flight.
If he could fuse the two threads and merge their properties, nothing could be more ideal.
‘Let me try.’
Shin Tae-ho looked to his Inventory.
There lay the Fusion Tesseract, which he’d used only once before—when testing the combination of potions.
Shin Tae-ho withdrew the Fusion Tesseract and placed both threads inside.
The fit was snug, but it was possible.
Gulp.
Shin Tae-ho swallowed.
The odds were low, but if somehow the two threads combined in a way that degraded their properties, it would be a catastrophic loss.
But if the abilities combined, there was no better outcome imaginable.
It was a gamble of sorts, yet Shin Tae-ho, true blacksmith that he was, possessed curiosity and fighting spirit in equal measure.
[Item detected.]
[Proceed with Fusion Tesseract?]
“…Yes.”
The moment Shin Tae-ho gave his consent, the Fusion Tesseract activated.
A brilliant light spilled from within, and the Fusion Tesseract trembled gently.
After a moment.
A message window materialized before Shin Tae-ho’s tense face.
[Fusion complete.]
Shin Tae-ho opened the Tesseract with careful deliberation.
The two threads of the spool had merged into one.
Shin Tae-ho examined the thread closely.
Despite combining two spools, the thread’s volume had increased beyond what he’d put in.
One plus one had become three.
‘That much is good. Now comes the crucial part—the properties.’
Shin Tae-ho drew a deep breath and checked the item information with mounting tension.
[Unidentified Thread]
-Description: A spool of thread extracted from metal by a master blacksmith.
The rigid, metallic sensation has vanished, replaced by greater flexibility. Defense and Qi resistance have both strengthened considerably.
It possesses the characteristics of both Linetium and Aerosteel simultaneously.
Never before seen in the world, the substance itself has yet to be named.
“Magnificent.”
Shin Tae-ho smiled.
What had been a gamble had yielded far better results than anticipated.
Shin Tae-ho unwound a portion of the thread and felt its texture.
Even at its finest, the spool had retained the sensation of wire.
But now, merged, that feeling was gone entirely—it felt almost like polyester.
‘All that remains is one final step. I need only go to the Factory I’ve already found and have this thread woven.’
Shin Tae-ho rose from his seat.
Yong-ryong-i, who had been watching videos on his phone with apparent boredom, lit up.
“Master? Where are we going?”
“Yes. The preparations are nearly complete now. Let’s head home.”
“Wow! Going home!”
“Master, are you leaving?”
Kim Jong-soo, aware that Shin Tae-ho had matters to attend to, posed the question.
Shin Tae-ho, holding Yong-ryong-i’s hand, nodded.
“Yes. I won’t be able to visit for some time.”
“Then as you instructed, I’ll continue practicing the lessons you taught me while regularly giving your creations to Lee Yong-jun!”
“Thank you. I’m grateful for your dedication.”
Shin Tae-ho smiled with satisfaction.
Since he had already gone over the necessary precautions regarding the items for Lee Yong-jun, there was nothing to worry about.
Shin Tae-ho exchanged farewells with Kim Jong-soo and stepped outside the Blacksmith Workshop.
Kim Jong-soo, who had followed him to the exit, froze in surprise.
“W-wait… Master?”
In the span of a single blink.
Neither Shin Tae-ho nor Yong-ryong-i could be seen anywhere on the open, sprawling grounds.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Breaker
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026

G720:N+A327-20260227067
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※ 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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