The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 80

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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 80
“Shin Tae-ho has come!”
Yong-ryong-i flew in dragon form and shifted to human shape mid-air, tumbling toward Shin Tae-ho.
Shin Tae-ho caught her gently and brushed her hair.
“Have you been well, Yong-ryong-i?”
“I’ve been great! The movies and dramas you brought last time were so much fun to watch!”
Yong-ryong-i answered excitedly, her limbs bouncing.
Shin Tae-ho blinked in surprise.
“You watched them all? Even with the backup battery, it should’ve run out.”
“Every time the battery died, I charged it with the charger you left me!”
“Ah, right—I did leave the solar generator and the hydroelectric generator.”
Shin Tae-ho nodded, satisfied with the explanation.
After playing a little with the chattering Yong-ryong-i, Eldein, Kyder, and Epiel soon arrived at the hall.
“Hero! You’ve returned unharmed!”
“It’s been a while. Has anything happened here?”
“No! Sinterhone has been peaceful, and Yong-ryong-i has been living comfortably!”
“That’s a relief. Epiel—your alchemy has grown considerably, hasn’t it?”
“I’m making progress. I can craft most potions at the intermediate level now, but superior potions still have low success rates and take a long time.”
“That’s remarkable progress already. Has everyone eaten? I’m famished.”
“I’ll have everything prepared at once.”
At Shin Tae-ho’s words, Eldein dashed outside.
Soon enough, word came that dinner was ready, and they all moved to the dining hall.
Shin Tae-ho, who had eaten and drunk nothing while in Japan, savored his meal with gusto.
“I’ve always wondered—is there no food where you are? You always eat so eagerly when you come back.”
“There’s plenty of food, but I’ve had my reasons for not eating.”
“That’s right! There’s chocolate there too, and candy! Now that I think about it, it’s been forever since I had chocolate….”
The vegetables grown fresh by the elves themselves were large and vibrant, and the meat was pristine as well.
But Yong-ryong-i, who had tasted the sharp tang of chocolate and hamburgers, sometimes craved those stimulating flavors.
Shin Tae-ho patted her slumped shoulder.
“It won’t be long before my work is done—then I’ll let you eat all you want.”
“Shin Tae-ho, I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve said that.”
“The Time Flow Differential between here and there is why. By their calendar, I’ll finish everything in a week.”
Shin Tae-ho spoke with certainty, recalling his conversation with Tsukuyomi before coming to the hall.
“And this time, I’ll stay here for a long while.”
“Really?! Truly? Are you staying for about a year?”
“That’s right. I might even stay longer than that.”
“Yay! I’m so excited!”
Yong-ryong-i threw both arms up in joy.
The three elves brightened at the news that Shin Tae-ho would be staying longer.
“You’ve always only stayed about thirty days before leaving, which weighed on our hearts. But a year feels truly joyful.”
“Yong-ryong-i was always so lonely, saying she missed you. This is wonderful.”
“Really? I thought she was doing well.”
“I was doing well! But I missed Shin Tae-ho so much!”
‘When I think of it in terms of time, the years she’s spent here exceed the time we’ve spent together.’
One year here was roughly ten hours in the real world.
Considering the time Yong-ryong-i had spent clearing Gates in the United States and Japan, she had already lived with the elves for more than a decade.
‘It’s only natural she’d feel lonely. I had planned to start work immediately, but I should spend some time with Yong-ryong-i first.’
Shin Tae-ho, who had intended to begin work today, reconsidered his plans with a pang of regret.
While Yong-ryong-i chatted with the elves, Shin Tae-ho reviewed his Inventory.
Inside were eight Gate Clear Reward Boxes he’d accumulated from processing Gates.
‘I should open those. If good materials come out, that would be ideal.’
Remembering the time he’d gotten Aerosteel from a Superior Gate Clear Reward Chest, Shin Tae-ho swallowed his food.
* * *
After dining and catching up, Shin Tae-ho returned to his room in the hall.
When he took out the eight reward boxes from his Inventory, Yong-ryong-i’s eyes shone with excitement.
“There are so many boxes! Can I watch you open them?”
“Not yet. I’ll let you watch in a moment. First, I need to test something.”
Shin Tae-ho examined the eight reward boxes.
Of the eight, two—one from Japan and one from the United States—were Superior grade.
The remaining six were only Intermediate grade, either because the Gates had been small or because Shin Tae-ho had entered them late.
‘The chests are sufficient—now I need to check what they contain.’
Shin Tae-ho gazed at the Fusion Tesseract sitting in one corner of his Inventory.
Since his experience had grown from using Aerosteel and Literium, materials of high rarity, the Fusion Tesseract had expanded enough to accommodate the chests inside.
‘What I need isn’t a vast quantity of items, but a handful of truly useful materials. To achieve that, raising the chest’s grade is far more advantageous.’
Shin Tae-ho placed two Superior Gate Clear Reward Chests inside.
Two cubes the size of a Rubik’s cube fit snugly, barely squeezing through.
[Item detected.]
[Proceed with fusion?]
“Yes.”
As Shin Tae-ho answered, the fusion began.
The Tesseract emitted a brilliant light and vibrated—Yong-ryong-i leaned in with rapt attention.
The duration and intensity of the vibration seemed to vary depending on the grade and type of items being fused; the Tesseract trembled powerfully for quite some time as the fusion proceeded.
[Fusion complete.]
Finally, as the fusion finished, Shin Tae-ho opened the Tesseract.
Taking a short, tension-filled breath, he stared intently at the chest.
[Ultimate Gate Clear Reward Chest]
-Description: A reward chest whose grade has been elevated by merging two Superior Gate Clear Reward Chests.
Though the chest’s grade improved through fusion, the number of rewards decreased by three.
‘As I thought—fusion isn’t unconditionally advantageous.’
It was the first time he’d experienced a reduction in item count from fusion.
Yet Shin Tae-ho was unsurprised; he’d already anticipated that fusion wouldn’t be purely beneficial.
Above all, since reward chests didn’t yield predetermined items, he’d steeled himself to accept whatever variable outcomes might arise.
Shin Tae-ho withdrew the chest from the Tesseract and handed it to Yong-ryong-i.
“You can open it now, Yong-ryong-i.”
“Yay! I’ll open it!”
Excited, Yong-ryong-i tilted his head and slowly opened the chest.
As the chest opened completely, a message window appeared before Shin Tae-ho’s eyes.
Despite the number of rewards, only a single message window materialized.
But upon reading its contents, Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened in astonishment—his entire frame went rigid.
[Acquired 50kg of Gravium from the chest. Item transferred to Inventory.]
The chest had yielded only one reward.
Yet for Shin Tae-ho at this moment, it was the most precious and necessary thing imaginable.
Gravium is a metal whose weight can be increased or decreased through the application of Qi.
If one possessed sufficient Qi, the range was such that these 50 kilograms could be made as light as 5 grams or as heavy as several tons.
“Brother? The chest disappeared! It opened but nothing came out!”
The chest crumbled like sand—Yong-ryong-i gasped in surprise.
Overwhelmed with elation, Shin Tae-ho pulled Yong-ryong-i into a tight embrace.
“No, Yong-ryong-i. You did wonderfully. Thank you so much for choosing exactly what I needed.”
“Ryo-ong?”
Held without understanding why, Yong-ryong-i looked bewildered.
Yet as he saw Shin Tae-ho’s rare display of joy, Yong-ryong-i too wagged his tail and hugged him back, laughing with delight.
“I don’t know what it is, but if Shin Tae-ho’s happy, that’s all that matters!”
“You haven’t seen it yet. Let me show you.”
Shin Tae-ho withdrew the Gravium from his Inventory.
It was not pure black, but rather a dark, ink-colored metal with a faint, subtle sheen to it.
Yet unlike Shin Tae-ho, Yong-ryong-i’s eyes narrowed upon seeing the Gravium.
“What is this! Another hunk of steel!”
“It’s called Gravium. Through Qi, you can make it lighter or heavier. Watch.”
Shin Tae-ho infused the Gravium with Qi, making it light.
With a light tap of his hand, the Gravium shifted with the ease of an empty box.
“Brother?! It really did get lighter?!”
“Of course. Here, catch.”
Shin Tae-ho tossed a piece of Gravium roughly the size of Yong-ryong-i’s body to him.
Yong-ryong-i’s eyes went wide as he caught it.
“It really is light! Just like a box!”
“Right. I can also make it heavier with Qi instead. Set it down for a moment?”
As Yong-ryong-i set the box down, Shin Tae-ho used his Qi to make the Gravium heavy.
When he asked Yong-ryong-i to push it, the Gravium didn’t budge—utterly unlike before.
“I-it’s real! It’s incredibly heavy!”
“Isn’t it amazing? Now I’m going to forge a hammer from this.”
“Yong-ryong-i?!”
Yong-ryong-i, who had been happily striking the Gravium with her tail, startled at the sudden summons.
Just when she thought she’d finally get to play together, now it was work again?!
“No way, this isn’t fun! Not fun at all!”
Yong-ryong-i immediately kicked the Gravium away as if dismissing it entirely.
Shin Tae-ho, catching on to the sudden shift in her mood, was quick to reassure her.
“That doesn’t mean we’ll be working through the night like before. We have plenty of time, so let’s take breaks and play while we work.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Unlike the elves, a year was not a short span of time for Shin Tae-ho.
In fact, spacing out the work with proper rest was more efficient than exhausting himself entirely in the pursuit of crafting the hammer.
Shin Tae-ho watched Yong-ryong-i’s delight with warmth, then pushed himself to his feet.
“Has the World Tree grown much? Is Yong-ryong-i hungry because there isn’t enough Qi?”
“The World Tree has grown a lot! But it still can’t make much Qi, so I’m still a bit hungry.”
Yong-ryong-i rubbed her belly with her paws.
The hunger of Qi was an entirely different matter from physical hunger.
As if he’d anticipated this, Shin Tae-ho withdrew a core from his Inventory.
“Then let’s fill that belly. I’ve gathered plenty of Qi while working outside.”
“Really?! Lots of Qi?!”
“Of course. Come here and hold my hand.”
Yong-ryong-i waddled over and grasped Shin Tae-ho’s right hand in both of hers.
Shin Tae-ho, holding the core in his left hand, drew the Qi upward and channeled it into Yong-ryong-i.
Yong-ryong-i received the Qi with her eyes closed, savoring it, and gasped in wonder.
“Wow! So much Qi! And it feels like what I ate in the tower!”
“It should. The Accumulated Qi Core itself came from the tower.”
Even as he spoke, Shin Tae-ho continued feeding her the Qi.
Like drawing on a straw, Yong-ryong-i sucked the Qi through his hand, and soon seemed satisfied, releasing her grip.
“Ahhhh! So full! It’s been so long since I’ve eaten my fill!”
Yong-ryong-i flopped onto her back and patted her belly contentedly.
In the meantime, Shin Tae-ho checked the core, calculating how much Qi she’d consumed.
‘About half of the Accumulated Qi Core I brought from Korea. It seems the only way to keep Yong-ryong-i properly fed is to climb the tower.’
Shin Tae-ho, who possessed Alprem’s Ring, could recover a certain amount of Qi on his own.
Being able to replenish Qi from nothing was an extraordinary feat.
The problem was that the amount was so negligible it was practically nonexistent.
“Ahhhh~. This feels so good~. The first time I’ve eaten my fill like this was when Epiel gave me the Natural Force Recovery Potion five years ago~.”
“Right. That’s good… Wait. Yong-ryong-i. What did you just say?”
Shin Tae-ho, who had been listening to her murmurs without paying much attention, suddenly froze.
Yong-ryong-i, her belly swollen like a water balloon, tilted her head in confusion.
“What? What do you mean?”
“A Natural Force Recovery Potion? Epiel gave you something like that?”
“Yes! I ate it five years ago!”
“If something like that exists, you could use it to fill up on Qi. Why doesn’t she give it to you now?”
“She said there weren’t enough materials. It needs a huge amount of rare ingredients, and right now the rarest one of them all is missing.”
“The rarest ingredient? What is it?”
Shin Tae-ho asked, and Yong-ryong-i searched her memory hard.
Soon, she clapped her paws and spoke the name of the ingredient.
“I remember! She said it was a plant called Mandragora!”
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Grade Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Sealing Release
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiry Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This electronic book is a work protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violation 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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