The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 81

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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-tier Blacksmith’s Return, Chapter 81
“—that’s what I heard. Is it true?”
“Well… yes, it is. Why?”
Epiel looked at Shin Tae-ho with a bewildered expression.
Her eyes gleamed so intensely that he could almost feel the heat radiating from her gaze.
“If that’s the case, then if I could just obtain Mandragora, I could make Natural Force Recovery Potions again—is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right…? It takes time, but it’s possible.”
“How much Mandragora was used to make enough potion for Yong-ryong-i to eat his fill?”
“About the length of a finger joint…? Wait, but why are you asking? Do you need Natural Force urgently or something?”
Epiel waved her hand, cutting off Shin Tae-ho before he could ask another question.
Only then did Shin Tae-ho realize how excited he’d become, and he calmed himself.
“Of course Natural Force is always needed. I didn’t even know you could make such a potion.”
“Well, you never mentioned it, so I didn’t feel the need to tell you either.”
“Then why did you give some to Yong-ryong-i?”
“Because he’s always suffering from Natural Force depletion, so I gave it to him as a gift. And the quantity was limited.”
‘If Yong-ryong-i ate his fill, how could the quantity be limited?’
Shin Tae-ho fixed Epiel with a suspicious gaze.
Unable to bear that heavy stare, Epiel fluttered her hands again.
“I, I’ll make some later and give it to you. But I really can’t make any now. I would need Mandragora, after all.”
Mandragora was counted among alchemy’s rarest materials.
Moreover, finding an intact Mandragora was exceptionally difficult.
Even Epiel, an elf of the World Tree, had only managed to find a Mandragora fragment the size of a single finger joint by sheer chance.
As Shin Tae-ho listened to her explanation, his expression turned serious once more. “If I brought you a Mandragora Seed, could you cultivate it properly?”
“A seed? What are you talking about? Mandragora itself is hard enough to obtain, let alone a Mandragora Seed—something you might only find once in a thousand chances, if at all?”
Epiel was flabbergasted at Shin Tae-ho’s question, as if he were asking the impossible before even taking the first step.
“I don’t know why you’re saying this, but Mandragora isn’t nearly as easy to find as you seem to think. Even I—gasp!”
Epiel had been explaining Mandragora’s rarity to Shin Tae-ho when she suddenly caught her breath in astonishment.
Trembling uncontrollably, Epiel pointed a quivering finger at what Shin Tae-ho was holding in his hand.
“T-t-Shin Tae-ho. That… that’s… surely…?”
“It’s a Mandragora Seed.”
Epiel covered her mouth with both hands.
Barely restraining a scream that threatened to burst forth, Epiel asked in a trembling voice, “H-how did you obtain it?”
“I received it through a fair trade. Now, back to my question: if you plant this, can you cultivate it well?”
“I’ll try! If you entrust it to me, I’ll make sure it grows beautifully!”
Epiel cried out as if the words themselves were a vow.
But Shin Tae-ho hadn’t forgotten his true purpose. “And once you’ve cultivated it and can make Natural Force Recovery Potions, will you provide me with as much as I want?”
“What? B-but that’s what your Highness likes best—”
Shin Tae-ho slowly closed his fist around the Mandragora Seed.
Epiel startled and shook her head vigorously.
“I’ll give it! Within what I can produce, I’ll give you whatever you ask for!”
“Good. I’m holding you to that promise.”
Satisfied at last, Shin Tae-ho handed the seed to Epiel.
Taking the seed with an exhilarated expression, Epiel only then noticed Yong-ryong-i watching her, and she flinched before suddenly dropping to her knees.
“I-I apologize, Yong-ryong-i! But without doing this…! I won’t be able to make the potion for you…!”
“Rong? What are you apologizing for?”
Yong-ryong-i tilted her head in confusion.
Shin Tae-ho sighed at the sight of Epiel’s emotional distress and shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s plant the seed. Where will you plant it?”
“Sniff… Mandragora has the characteristic of growing as if competing with the plants growing beside it. Besides, it prefers a place where light always shines. I have the optimal location in mind.”
Epiel began walking toward the place where she would plant the Mandragora Seed.
Following behind her, Shin Tae-ho nodded with a knowing expression.
“A place that meets all those conditions.”
Shin Tae-ho regarded the World Tree, which had already grown from the size of an apple tree to that of a willow, and acknowledged it.
Moreover, the area around the World Tree had no plants to compete with it or block out the sunlight, so the light poured down brilliantly.
Epiel pressed her palms together toward the World Tree as if in prayer.
Having closed her eyes as if communing with the World Tree, Epiel opened them again and relaxed.
“The World Tree has granted permission to plant the seed.”

“Well then, I just need to nurture it now. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“I’m not sure. I know the method, but there’s no precedent in elf history of anyone cultivating a Mandragora Seed.”
‘I wonder if this is really a good idea.’
Shin Tae-ho regarded Epiel with doubtful eyes before shaking his head.
After all, he didn’t know much about plants himself.
Moreover, he couldn’t imagine himself accomplishing what an elf—a being who loved and understood nature better than any other—could not.
“If you need anything to nurture it, just tell me. I’ll handle it if it’s something I can acquire or make.”
“I will. By the way, Yong-ryong-i. You’re not staying at the World Tree today—you’re leaving right away?”
“Shin Tae-ho came, so I’m gonna play with Shin Tae-ho~.”
“I see….”
Epiel’s shoulders sagged.
Whether it was her imagination or not, even the branches of the World Tree seemed to droop more than they had before.
Shin Tae-ho sighed as he watched Epiel’s reaction.
“Let’s play here for a bit, Yong-ryong-i. I’m curious how you’ve been doing lately.”
“Dragon? You’ll play with the World Tree too?”
“Yeah. Let’s play.”
“Yay! Great~!”
Yong-ryong-i immediately transformed back into her dragon form.
But rather than flying, she hovered quietly in front of Shin Tae-ho.
“Yong-ryong-i, what’s wrong?”
“Dragon! Dragon-dragon~!”
“You want me to ride you?”
“Dragon, dragon!”
Though Yong-ryong-i had certainly grown, Shin Tae-ho hadn’t considered riding on her, and he was taken aback.
Epiel, who had been planting the Mandragora Seed, rushed over in alarm.
“Wait, Yong-ryong-i! What are you saying?! Letting Shin Tae-ho ride on your back!”
“Why are you so shocked?”
Though Shin Tae-ho himself was startled, he was irritated by Epiel’s reaction, which exceeded his own alarm.
But Epiel’s eyes had already rolled back.
“Shin Tae-ho, you have to refuse yourself! Riding on the back of a sacred dragon! What kind of irreverent behavior is that!”
‘Why would riding on Yong-ryong-i’s back be disrespectful?’
As Shin Tae-ho stood speechless, bewildered by the absurdity,
Yong-ryong-i furrowed her brow and scolded Epiel.
“Dragon! Dragon-dragon!”
“Wait, Yong-ryong-i…?!”
At Yong-ryong-i’s cry, Epiel collapsed again with a dazed expression.
As Epiel’s condition seemed to worsen by the moment, Shin Tae-ho hurriedly climbed onto Yong-ryong-i’s back.
“Let’s go quickly, Yong-ryong-i. Tell me if I’m too heavy.”
“Dragon-dragon~!”
Yong-ryong-i chirped in reassurance and soared into the sky.
Rising to a height where Sinterhone spread out below him, Shin Tae-ho gasped in wonder.
‘I knew Yong-ryong-i was fast, but riding her is far quicker than I expected.’
Just then, a cloak Shin Tae-ho had made quite some time ago came to mind—one he’d never actually used because he’d had no occasion for it.
“Yong-ryong-i. Wait a moment.”
“Dragon?”
Shin Tae-ho retrieved the cloak from his Inventory, draped it around himself, then leaped from Yong-ryong-i’s neck.
His body, which should have plummeted straight down, descended instead in a smooth, gentle glide, as if riding an escalator.
“Dragon-oh?!”
Yong-ryong-i shrieked in surprise and circled around Shin Tae-ho.
Delighted to be flying together in the sky, Yong-ryong-i rolled her body and rippled through the air.
‘Good. Everything’s working.’
Shin Tae-ho examined the fluttering cloak before him.
[Elf’s Wind Trajectory Cloak]
-Grade: Epic
Description: A cloak woven with alchemy by one of Sinterhone’s most renowned weavers.
Made from threads of Aerosteel and Literium, it allows the wearer to glide in any circumstance and return to them.
-Unique Effects: ⌜Self-Repair (LV.2)⌟, ⌜Physical Defense (LV.4)⌟, ⌜Elemental Resistance (LV.3)⌟
-Unique Abilities: ⌜Vertical Ascent⌟, ⌜Wind’s Blessing⌟
“Excellent.”
Shin Tae-ho smiled with satisfaction as he reviewed the information.
Never did I imagine that elves—and not even blacksmiths, at that—could craft something with both a Unique Effect and a Unique Ability.
It was evidence of how much care and sincerity the elves had poured into making this cloak.
The moment Shin Tae-ho’s feet touched ground, Yong-ryong-i transformed into human form and rushed toward him.
“Ryong! How did you just do that?! I didn’t feel any Natural Force at all!”
“It’s the cloak’s ability. No matter how high you fall from, you can glide down safely.”
As Shin Tae-ho showed off the cloak, Yong-ryong-i’s eyes sparkled.
“I want to try it too! I want to come down slowly!”
“But you can already fly, can’t you?”
“It’ll feel different than flying! I want to try!”
“All right. Go ahead.”
“Whoooee!”
Yong-ryong-i transformed back into a dragon, clamped the cloak in her jaws, and soared skyward.
Once the dragon had climbed high enough and stilled her wings, her massive body glided down slowly, buoyed by nothing but the cloak’s power.
Shin Tae-ho smiled as he watched Yong-ryong-i descend with delighted laughter.
‘The cloak’s ability is confirmed, and the Aerosteel is coming along. Now I just need to forge the hammer.’
After crafting three Throwing Hammers, he had two kilograms of Literium remaining.
Fifty kilograms of Gravium, obtained thanks to Tesarex and Yong-ryong-i.
With these materials, a hammer far more powerful than anything he’d made before would surely come into being.
‘First, I’ll play with Yong-ryong-i until she’s satisfied. Then I’ll begin the real work.’
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes blazed with fierce determination as he glanced at the rune carefully stored in his Inventory.
* * *
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of hammering rang through the workshop.
It had been ten months since Shin Tae-ho arrived in Sinterhone.
In that time, playing with Yong-ryong-i while steadily refining his Ki-forging technique through countless hammer strikes had borne fruit.
The Combat Hammer stood on the verge of completion.
Whoosh!
Using a Lowest-tier Fire Rune embedded in one of the Throwing Hammers to heat the hammer head, Shin Tae-ho delicately carved the final patterns with a chisel.
The higher the grade of the pattern, the larger it became and the more complex its composition—making this moment the most demanding work of all.
At last, as the final pattern work ended, Shin Tae-ho wiped the sweat from his brow.
Gazing at the hammer now carved with three Intermediate-tier Patterns, Shin Tae-ho nodded in satisfaction.
‘For now, Intermediate-tier is my limit, so I’ll stop here. But once I acquire higher-grade patterns, I can erase these and carve new ones.’
From all his time engraving patterns on the elves’ weapons and gaining experience, Shin Tae-ho could now inscribe a wider variety of patterns than before.
The other Throwing Hammers already each bore an Intermediate-tier Attribute Enhancement rune.
The Combat Hammer he was currently forging carried an Intermediate-tier Attribute Enhancement, an Intermediate-tier Acceleration pattern, and a special Intermediate-tier Wave pattern.
After polishing the surface and applying oil to prevent rust, Shin Tae-ho opened the window and called out to Yong-ryong-i.
“Yong-ryong-i. Can you come here for a moment?”
“Coming right now!”
Yong-ryong-i, who had been playing outside, flew over in an instant.
Shin Tae-ho held out the hammer for the final stage of work.
“Breathe some fire on it for me.”
“Ryong? Ryong-ryong!”
Yong-ryong-i, transformed into dragon form, opened her jaws and breathed flame.
Though the fire spread through the workshop and enveloped Shin Tae-ho himself, he felt no concern.
Yong-ryong-i’s fire, selective as it was, targeted only the hammer, pouring heat into it alone.
The Combat Hammer, drinking in the dragon’s flame, blazed a brilliant crimson.
As the hammer slowly cooled and entered the tempering phase, Shin Tae-ho reached into his Inventory.
When his hand emerged, he held a rune whose size bore no comparison to the Lowest-tier runes.
Yong-ryong-i, back in human form,’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
“Wow! Are you using that one?!”
“Yes. I’ve been saving it for this hammer.”
The rune he’d obtained along with a Mandragora Seed in exchange for providing Park Je-hyuk with a weapon.
Shin Tae-ho brought the Supreme-tier Lightning Rune in his right hand down hard against the glowing crimson hammer head.
Continued in next chapter ▶
The Transcendent-tier Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong In Haejae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Pentagram Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Published
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are strictly prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram Publishing welcomes 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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