The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 66

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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 Returnee Blacksmith of Transcendent Rank — Chapter 66
Shin Tae-ho stopped tapping the calculator he’d been working with.
The time he’d waited in the Hall of Heroes for the Leaf to recharge was one hour.
Excluding the one second spent stopping the stopwatch, that equaled roughly four seconds in reality.
Reversing the calculation….
‘So if ten hours pass in the real world, a full year goes by in the realm where the elves are.’
The gap in temporal flow was larger than he’d anticipated, and Shin Tae-ho stroked his chin thoughtfully.
At this rate, if he went even a single day without using the Leaf while handling other matters, Yong-ryong-i would be left in the Hall for more than two years.
‘Two whole years. I wonder if Yong-ryong-i will be all right spending that long with the elves?’
The cooldown time before he could use the Leaf again was one hour.
In that span alone, more than thirty-seven days would pass in the elves’ world.
In other words, even if he returned immediately, Yong-ryong-i would have felt separated from him for thirty-seven days.
As Shin Tae-ho anxiously waited for the cooldown to expire,
a message window finally appeared telling him the Leaf was ready to use again.
The moment he saw the notification, Shin Tae-ho rubbed the Leaf without hesitation.
As expected, time had passed in the Hall he’d arrived at—the elves were sweeping the floor.
“Gasp? Y-you, your majesty?!”
“Yes. How long has it been since I left this place?”
“Y-yes? Uh, it hasn’t been long at all. You were here thirty-seven days ago, I remember….”
“I see. I’d like to see Yong-ryong-i. Can you take me where he is?”
“O-of course!”
The elf set down his cleaning tools and hurried to guide Shin Tae-ho.
The place the elf led him to was just outside Sinterhone.
As they climbed a short way up behind what had now become the Kingdom of Sinterhone, a branch of the World Tree came into view—noticeably larger than before.
“The Divine Beast Yong-ryong-i is over there.”
“Thank you for guiding me. I’ll make my own way from here.”
“N-no, let me come along—”
Before the elf could finish, Shin Tae-ho was already moving.
He ran with qi gathered around his feet, and the distance shrank in real time.
Soon, as he drew near the branch, Shin Tae-ho spotted Yong-ryong-i and Epiel standing beside him.
“Dragon~ World Tree water tastes so good, dragon!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Divine Beast Yong-ryong-i, for bringing down that sweet Holy Water.”
“Is that so, dragon? But wait—isn’t this the special water Epiel made to give to the World Tree, dragon?”
“That hardly matters. The World Tree cares far more about who gives it, and the heart behind the gift.”
“I’m giving it with a good heart, dragon!”
“…Well, I suppose that’s fortunate.”
Hearing their conversation, Shin Tae-ho felt relieved.
Contrary to his worries, Yong-ryong-i seemed to be getting along well with the elves.
Then, the watering can in Yong-ryong-i’s paws stilled as his ears pricked up and his head whipped around.
“Dragon?! Shin Tae-ho! Shin Tae-ho is here, dragon!”
The moment he spotted Shin Tae-ho, Yong-ryong-i set down the watering can and bolted toward him.
At full speed, Yong-ryong-i crashed into Shin Tae-ho with an embrace.
“Dragon! Shin Tae-ho! You came back so fast, dragon! Did you finish all your work, dragon?!”
“I did. Have you been doing well?”
“Of course, dragon! I’ve been taking care of Epiel and the World Tree, and I’ve explored around Sinterhone with the elves, dragon!”
Yong-ryong-i explained excitedly.
Epiel, arriving a moment later, looked surprised to see Shin Tae-ho.
“You came back so quickly? Did you finish everything you needed to do?”
“No. I haven’t even started yet. I just came back to check how much time had passed.”
Shin Tae-ho answered, stroking Yong-ryong-i’s head.
As he petted the dragon’s head, Epiel flinched, watching Yong-ryong-i clearly enjoying the touch.
“The Divine Beast… allows you to touch him.”
“What do you mean? Did someone try to touch Yong-ryong-i?”
“…No. It’s nothing.”
Epiel changed the subject.
He couldn’t bring himself to admit that he’d merely asked if he could so much as touch Yong-ryong-i’s tail, and had been flatly refused—
nearly getting bitten in the process, which was too embarrassing to mention.
“Is that so. All right then. Yong-ryong-i, were you comfortable staying here? It’s been long—didn’t you get bored?”
“Dragon? It wasn’t long at all, dragon! I got to sleep deeply after a long time, and playing while watering the World Tree makes time fly by so fast, dragon!”
“Right. Shin Tae-ho. Why didn’t you tell me that the Divine Beast sleeps for days at a time without waking? I was so startled.”
“What? Yong-ryong-i slept for days?”
Shin Tae-ho’s surprise was plain at Epiel’s words.
Epiel shrugged and explained.
“That’s right. So far, he’s fallen asleep three times, and each time he sleeps about five days straight. Of course, since he’s a Divine Beast, his sleep cycle is different — that’s not a problem. I was startled at first because you didn’t tell me.”
Shin Tae-ho recalled what he’d just heard from Epiel.
Yong-ryong-i had certainly said he’d slept well for the first time in ages.
“Yong-ryong. You were awake every day when you were with me, weren’t you? Back then — you weren’t already fully rested when you woke up?”
“Ryong? No, ryong. I just woke up because Shin Tae-ho woke up, ryong. So whenever I was hiding in Shin Tae-ho’s neck, I was only getting cat naps, ryong.”
Yong-ryong-i explained carefully, each word precise.
Learning something he hadn’t known about himself, Shin Tae-ho felt as though his head had been struck by a hammer.
‘Then… all this time, he was tired but stayed with me anyway? And that’s why, even though he ate so well, his body never grew properly?’
Though Shin Tae-ho hadn’t said it aloud, there was one thing that had struck him as odd.
It was that Yong-ryong-i’s body hadn’t grown despite the passage of time.
True, he hadn’t been born long ago either.
But normally all living creatures grew visibly from day to day when young, then slowed their growth later.
‘Which means… perhaps Yong-ryong-i actually prefers being here.’
As his worries unraveled one by one, Shin Tae-ho’s expression softened with them.
While Shin Tae-ho stroked Yong-ryong-i and talked with him for the first time in ages,
Epiel, who had been watching with obvious envy, asked a question.
“By the way. Have you met with Eldein and Kyder? That Cloak you mentioned before you left — it should be finished by now.”
‘Of course. Only an hour passed there, but thirty-seven days have gone by here.’
Shin Tae-ho nodded in silent agreement.
“I haven’t gone yet. I was thinking of heading there now, but I’m not sure where to go. Can you show me the way?”
“Of course.”
“Ryong! Let’s go meet Eldein and Kyder, ryong!”
Yong-ryong-i, gripping Shin Tae-ho’s hand, cried out excitedly.
Seizing the moment, Epiel reached out with her hand toward Yong-ryong-i’s other side, but the tail he swung struck her hand and sent it bouncing away.
* * *
Cheongju International Airport—the closest international airport to Sejong City, where the Management Bureau was located.
The airport thrummed with an unexpected crowd.
Director Oh Jin-hyuk sighed as he surveyed the noisy masses.
“How did they find out? I’m certain we kept it confidential.”
“We definitely sent out a company-wide memo marking it as classified… I’m sorry…”
“Hmm. No, it’s not your fault, Im. The leak might not have come from us.”
Oh Jin-hyuk, having sighed, gazed at the crowd gathered to one side of the airport.
There, the people of ITRO—the International Top Response Organization—had assembled.
Originally, the only one scheduled to attend today was Victor Bennett, an American Ranker whom Mystery was meant to support.
But when word spread, the ITRO member nations, eager to confirm the existence of Mystery themselves, had each sent mandatory attendance notices.
And somehow, journalists and independent broadcast streamers had swarmed the place like ants.
“This is going to be a mess from the start.”
“Yes… We can only hope Mystery understands the situation…”
Im A-young agreed anxiously.
For some reason, Mystery was a Challenger who despised the exposure of his information.
No matter how much he’d promised to help, there was no way he’d welcome meeting under such circumstances.
“Mystery is worrying enough. We can’t have those Rankers doing anything reckless.”
Oh Jin-hyuk muttered, casting sidelong glances at the ITRO Rankers.
His concern was not nervousness without cause.
In reality, the Rankers had pursued him all this time without so much as obtaining a scrap of information, let alone meeting him.
And now they stood on edge, tense with anticipation at the prospect of finally encountering Mystery, who had ignored their warnings and climbed the Tower as he pleased.
Of course, preparations had been made for this situation.
On the opposite side from where ITRO had gathered—where the president sat.
There stood Korea’s Rankers: Park Soo-hyuk and Cha I-hyun, Lee Ye-seul and Han Ji-hyun, who had all participated in Gate subjugation.
And above all, the Ranker who had risen from failure and successfully climbed past the 66th floor to reach the 67th.
Seeing Park Je-hyuk standing with his spear in hand steadied Oh Jin-hyuk’s nerves.
‘It feels like war could break out at any moment.’
Oh Jin-hyuk’s throat had gone dry with tension; he swallowed.
Only ten minutes remained until the time Mystery had been summoned.
Until then, Bianca stood with her jaw clenched and veins standing taut on her forehead, her gaze fixed toward where the Korean president sat.
“If you disappoint me again, I promise you this: the Republic of Korea may lose its president today.”
“That’s funny. Do you actually have that kind of power?”
The Chinese Ranker Wang Xiaomei chuckled softly and needled Bianca.
But Bianca, who would normally have rushed forward eagerly, leveled a cold gaze instead.
“Your words sound off, Wang Xiaomei. Why? Do you think you can’t manage it?”
“Of course not. I don’t know about the rest, but that Challenger there—Park Je-hyuk—he’s not someone to be trifled with.”
Wang Xiaomei glanced sideways at Park Je-hyuk.
Back when Mystery’s Tower had drawn ITRO together.
Surprisingly, Park Je-hyuk hadn’t crumbled even under her pressure.
And considering how he’d looked after the others as well, she couldn’t even be confident of an easy victory over him.
At Wang Xiaomei’s words, Bianca—who had remained serious all along—burst into laughter.
“What? You’re saying that just because he withstood your half-hearted pressure back then? Your standards for assessment are pathetically low.”
“Oh? You’re confident? Want to see whether my standards are pathetic, or whether you’re about to become pathetic?”
Wang Xiaomei drew her energy upward, glaring at Bianca.
Detecting the auras of both, the Korean Rankers responded immediately, moving to shield the president while taking offensive stances.
At that moment, the Secretary-General of ITRO and a British Ranker.
Marcus Langford waved his hand to reassure the Korean Rankers.
“Mind your actions. You’re not thinking of fighting here, are you?”
“There’s nothing stopping us. If this Mystery fellow is below standard, we’re prepared to crush him.”
Bianca spoke provocatively, her eyes narrowed.
It was clearly a problematic statement, but Marcus did not respond.
Though he said nothing, not a single ITRO Ranker present harbored any lack of hostility toward Mystery.
It was a fact everyone knew—they’d gathered here to gauge Mystery’s power and true identity.
But regardless of the truth, Marcus had to fulfill his role as ITRO’s Secretary-General.
“That would be a clear violation of international law.”
“Why are you like this? Talking as if you’re not involved? You, who were crying out for Mystery to appear, Mr. Langford?”
At Bianca’s provocation, tendons stood out on Marcus’s forehead.
For someone who aspired to the image of a perfect gentleman, that day’s conduct was a terrible shame.
“You… say something like that one more time, and….”
As Marcus grew furious and began to stammer in agitation.
Tsukuyomi, who had been sipping tea and observing the situation with a look of disdain, suddenly flinched and turned his head.
As if sensing what Tsukuyomi felt, Mikhail opened his narrowed eyes and gazed sharply at a single point.
Whoosh—
The sound of an aircraft flying in the distance reached their ears.
But before even a few seconds had passed.
Between ITRO and the Korean Rankers, a presence that hadn’t existed mere moments before stood on the ground.
“Huh?! What, what is that?!”
People who belatedly perceived that presence gasped in surprise.
Into the silence that fell as no one spoke.
Im A-young, her body trembling with tension, walked forward mechanically and greeted the figure.
“Oh, it’s been a long time. Mystery.”
Mystery, who had manifested in an instant, gazed silently at Im A-young’s face without responding to her greeting.
Continued in the next episode ▶
Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith
Author
Seal Release
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
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※ Pentagram awaits the precious manuscripts of our authors.

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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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