The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 87

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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 87
“Pipi?! What’s wrong?!”
Choi Yu-hwa flinched at the sound of Pipi crying from above.
Even if she’d wanted to understand the situation, Pipi had climbed too high for her to see what was happening.
As Choi Yu-hwa stood there, helpless and anxious,
a familiar voice called out from behind her fluttering form.
“Tamer Choi Yu-hwa?”
“Huh? Tamer Shin Tae-ho?!”
Choi Yu-hwa’s face lit up with recognition.
She rushed to him in a single breath and grasped his hand firmly.
“Wow, it’s been such a long time! Have you been doing well?
“Yes. So you’ve entered the tower right away? It might have been easier to wait and gather information first before ascending.”
“The Guild members asked me to come up with them, so I just went in. Hehe.”
“I see. Then the bird crying up there must be Pipi.”
“Oh, right! Pi-Pipi seems to be in trouble! I’ve never heard them scream like that before!”
Choi Yu-hwa’s worry for Pipi was so acute that her eyes glistened with tears.
But Shin Tae-ho shook his head with an unruffled expression.
“It’s all right. Pipi isn’t being attacked—well, I can’t say that with absolute certainty, but they won’t be hurt.”
“What? Being attacked but not hurt?”
Choi Yu-hwa was bewildered by the contradictory statement.
At that moment, Yong-ryong-i descended like a swooping bird and landed on the ground.
In one fluid motion, Yong-ryong-i transformed into human form, cradling the now-unconscious Pipi in their arms, foam flecking from the creature’s mouth.
“Yong! It’s Pipi! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”
“Oh, Yong-ryong! Long time no see! You’ve gotten even cuter and prettier!”
“Yong! This is the person who travels with Pipi. It’s been a while!”
Yong-ryong-i returned the greeting to Choi Yu-hwa.
Now that she’d seen Yong-ryong-i, Choi Yu-hwa understood Shin Tae-ho’s cryptic words and exhaled in relief.
“So it was Yong-ryong-i. Thank goodness.”
“You mentioned you tried to enter together. Have you met your companions?”
Choi Yu-hwa shook her head.
“No. I was alone when I woke up. So I asked Pipi to scout the area.”
“I see. Then would you travel with me?”
“Really? Is that okay?”
Choi Yu-hwa’s expression brightened.
As a Tamer, it was dangerous for Choi Yu-hwa to move alone until Pipi woke up.
She’d secretly hoped Shin Tae-ho would suggest this, and his offer put her mind at ease.
“Of course.”
“Well, then I’ll take you up on that~. Yong-ryong, can I have Pipi back?”
“What?! No way! We just reunited, so I’m holding Pipi!”
When Choi Yu-hwa reached out her hands, Yong-ryong-i twisted away and hid Pipi behind their back.
Choi Yu-hwa was taken aback by Yong-ryong-i’s behavior, which resembled that of a child refusing to part with a cherished toy.
“But… they’re foaming at the mouth right now…”
“Pipi isn’t hurt! They’ll wake up in a bit!”
“Yong-ryong-i. Don’t sulk. Give Pipi back.”
Though his tone was ordinary, the command form—which he rarely used—made Yong-ryong-i flinch.
Yong-ryong-i glanced sideways at Shin Tae-ho, then pushed out their lower lip.
“Yong-ryong-i can take them along!”
“Yong-ryong-i, you—”
“Wait, just a moment, Shin Tae-ho! It’s fine—let Yong-ryong-i carry them.”
Sensing the mood growing heavy, Choi Yu-hwa intervened.
At her unexpected support, Yong-ryong-i’s eyes brightened, and Choi Yu-hwa elaborated.
“Yong-ryong-i and Pipi are close, so it’s fine. And since they’re sleeping now, it’s convenient for Yong-ryong-i to carry them anyway.”
‘Is that what he likes?’
They’d just been screaming and foaming at the mouth before collapsing, or so it seemed.
The question seemed natural enough, but it wasn’t particularly important, so Shin Tae-ho nodded.
“All right. Yong-ryong-i, take good care of Pipi. Hold them securely so you don’t drop them.”
“Understood!”
Yong-ryong-i answered vigorously and wrapped Pipi in a tighter embrace.
The foam leaking from Pipi’s mouth seemed to increase somehow, but Shin Tae-ho deliberately averted his gaze.
“Um, by the way, do you know which way we should go? Like I said, I just entered the tower, so I’m not sure about the layout.”
“I’m not entirely sure myself, but Yong-ryong-i said he heard something strange from inside the mountain. So we’re planning to go up and check it out.”
“Ryong?”
Yong-ryong-i tilted his head at words that didn’t match his own memory.
But Choi Yu-hwa, who hadn’t noticed Yong-ryong-i’s reaction, clapped her hands in delight.
“Wow, that’s perfect! Yong-ryong-i is amazing!”
“Yeah! I’m amazing!”
Yong-ryong-i, pleased by the praise regardless of what it meant, puffed out his chest.
Choi Yu-hwa, unable to resist the adorable sight, reached over and stroked his head.
Shin Tae-ho watched her intently.
‘I’ve only heard about how Tamers fight in battle, never actually seen it. This is a good chance to observe their methods.’
Until now, Shin Tae-ho had climbed the towers by his own strength alone.
But the second tower was different—ascending with a hundred others meant he needed to rise not as a Mystery, but as a Tamer.
Moreover, with the Management Bureau of each nation and ITRO keeping close watch, it was increasingly difficult for him to conduct public activities as a Mystery.
If he was thinking of the future at all, he needed to build a reputation as a Tamer starting now.
“Um, wait? Shin Tae-ho, there’s no path here!”
Choi Yu-hwa, who had arrived at the foot of the mountain breathless from the walk, looked alarmed.
Just as she said, the mountainside had no gentle slope—only a steep cliff face carved sharply into the rock.
Shin Tae-ho glanced around and nodded.
“I see. We’ll have to climb this cliff.”
“Climb the cliff?”
“Yes. It will be somewhat difficult, but you should manage. We can use our energy, after all.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that!”
Choi Yu-hwa waved her hand as Shin Tae-ho reassured her, misunderstanding her hesitation.
“There were huge roots all over the first tower, remember? Climbing those gave me so much confidence for cliff scaling! I’ve even taken up Climbing as a hobby lately!”
“I see. That’s a healthy pastime.”
Shin Tae-ho withdrew climbing tools from his Inventory along with the rope he’d prepared beforehand.
Choi Yu-hwa’s eyes widened at the unexpected equipment.
“Wow. You prepared all of this? Just in case something went wrong?”
“Just as you mentioned, the roots in the first tower were so high. I brought these along to be safe.”
Shin Tae-ho began assembling the equipment with practiced efficiency.
With Choi Yu-hwa helping from the side—she knew how to use the tools from her Climbing hobby—the preparation finished quickly.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes! Yong-ryong, take good care of Pipi!”
“Got it! Don’t you worry!”
After hearing Yong-ryong-i’s reply, Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa wrapped their bodies in energy and began their ascent.
* * *
Deep within the stone mountain that soared as if touching the sky.
The furnace, glowing red-hot, cast a warm crimson light across the underground space where the sun never reached.
By rights, the chamber deep inside the mountain should have been filled with cold that had nowhere to escape.
Yet the heat radiating from the furnace warmed that space so thoroughly that instead of being cold, it was hot as a steam sauna—sweat would bead on the skin.
Clang! Clang!
A steady metallic sound echoed through the underground chamber.
The source was the striking of a hammer.
Despite the tremendous noise, the one wielding the hammer was small.
By human standards, it was barely the size of a child who had just graduated elementary school.
Yet despite the short stature, the frame was compact and densely muscled.
Each time the hammer-wielding arm swung, thick veins and muscles rippled along it.
Whoosh!
As the glowing-red metal plunged into oil, the flames leapt up as if coming alive.
It would have been entirely reasonable to flinch and pull back from such a sight.
Yet the small, powerfully built figure showed no fear of the flames—its expression remained fixed and unwavering as it stared at the metal.
“Huuuh—”
A deep breath escaped from lips set within a rough beard.
This was no ordinary sigh.
Shhhhhh—
As an invisible breath flowed into the metal as if it were alive, the metal’s color shifted subtly.
The blacksmith, capturing that moment with eyes gleaming in the firelight, widened its gaze and resumed hammering.
Thud! Thud!
The strikes came now with far greater force than before.
Sparks scattered dangerously in all directions, yet the blacksmith never took its eyes from the metal.
Or rather, to be precise, it was a matter of observing one’s own soul—something only dwarves could breathe into metal and perceive.
The metal gradually took shape.
Just as the metal was transforming according to his intention, excitement flickering across the dwarf’s face.
Suddenly, with a sharp crack, the metal shattered like glass.
“Blast these whiskers!”
The dwarf who had been absorbed in his hammering brought the hammer down against the anvil in frustration.
At the sound, the door burst open and five dwarves rushed in.
“What happened, Orum! Did you succeed?!”
“It must have succeeded! We all felt your soul pouring out!”
The dwarves looked at Orum with hopeful eyes.
But the moment they saw Orum with his face buried in his hands and the shattered metal scattered around him, they fell silent.
“You… you failed?”
“…Yes. I failed! I failed, I tell you!!”
Orum set down his hammer and struck the anvil with his fist.
The expressions of the watching dwarves hardened like stone.
“…Oh, our ancestors. Why must this be….”
“If even Orum fails, the Elder really will pulverize our bones with his hammer!”
“Orum! There’s still time, isn’t there! Try again!”
The dwarves tried to comfort him.
But Orum, without lifting his head, shook it firmly.
“There’s no material left. I can’t continue—there’s no material.”
“What? You’ve used all of it already?!”
“Yes, all of it! Do you think I’ve been wrestling with this one piece all this time for nothing?!”
His nerves frayed from the failed forging, Orum snapped sharply, his irritation cutting through the air.
The dwarves’ words caught in their throats at his outburst.
Over the Blacksmith Workshop fell a despair greater than the mountains of their homeland.
The furnace still burned, its flames crackling meaninglessly.
Then, from outside, came the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward them.
“Emergency! Emergency! Everyone get out!”
“What’s happening?! Has another one descended?!”
“Not a traitor! A completely unknown race has appeared!! No time to explain—grab something heavy like an anvil and run, hurry!!”
At the shout from outside, the dwarves quickly armed themselves and bolted out.
They raced through the winding passages like an ant colony and arrived at the entrance to their territory, breathing hard.
It seemed a true crisis had come—the few adult dwarves they had gathered together, their eyes full of wariness, stared out toward the exterior.
Curiosity stirring in him, Orum pushed through the crowd and moved forward.
Barely making it to the third row from the front, Orum’s eyes widened.
“What… what is that?”
What he’d heard was true.
Standing before them now was neither a traitor nor a monster.
Facing a race he’d never seen in his life, Orum’s eyes swept over them.
Choi Yu-hwa, exhausted from climbing an impossibly high mountain.
Pipi, who had awakened from unconsciousness only to realize she was cradled in Yong-ryong-i’s arms, and promptly fainted again.
Yong-ryong-i, holding the unconscious Pipi tenderly.
And finally, standing confidently at their forefront.
When Orum saw Shin Tae-ho standing there, locking eyes with him across the confrontation with the dwarves, he shivered quietly.
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong Eun-haejae
Publisher
Kim Suk-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violations will result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram awaits the author’s 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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