The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 88

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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 Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return — Chapter 88
“Shin Tae-ho, I’m afraid they don’t seem very welcoming. What should we do…?”
Choi Yu-hwa, catching her breath, whispered the words to Shin Tae-ho.
The mountain was so impossibly high that it had taken two full days just to climb it.
During that time, without proper meals and barely able to sleep, Choi Yu-hwa’s condition had deteriorated to its worst.
They’d barely made it to near the summit and found the hidden-looking entrance, only to be turned away at the gate.
If they were told to go back down empty-handed, she wasn’t sure she could hold back her tears.
Yet despite Choi Yu-hwa’s wavering voice, Shin Tae-ho remained unperturbed.
“It will be fine. They are non-human races like elves, so we should be able to communicate. Besides, they are only wary—they haven’t attacked us yet.”
‘Non-human races are a problem in their own way, though…’
Choi Yu-hwa recalled the hardships she had endured at the First Tower.
Those elves with their infuriatingly stubborn pride but almost no combat ability, and Eldein, their leader.
Days of being refused when she asked them to fight alongside her, and receiving no acknowledgment even when she saved them.
As the memories surfaced, Choi Yu-hwa’s hands involuntarily clenched into fists.
Clang!
The moment she closed her fists, the Dwarves holding weapons shifted into combat stance.
“Don’t move! One more trick and I’ll sever your head from your shoulders!”
“Please, calm yourselves. We have not come to fight.”
Shin Tae-ho raised both hands in the air.
Startled, Choi Yu-hwa quickly followed his lead, raising her own hands to show she had no intention of combat.
Yet the Dwarves’ suspicion did not easily fade.
“How can we trust that? How did you even reach this place? What is your purpose?”
“As you can see, we climbed. Our purpose is to help you.”
“What, what did you say?”
The Dwarves holding weapons exchanged puzzled glances and turned their eyes to one particular Dwarf.
The Dwarf who had been observing Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa gave a small nod.
Upon receiving the signal, the Dwarves quietly lowered their weapons.
“Since one possessed of an honest and upright spirit speaks such words, we will not doubt his intention. However, this is the business of us Dwarves. It is not a matter for outsiders.”
“Uh, is it perhaps that monsters are attacking and the situation is dangerous?”
Choi Yu-hwa asked carefully.
She was thinking back to how the elves at the First Tower had been attacked by monsters, wondering if perhaps a similar crisis was unfolding here.
But the Dwarves’ response was quite different from the elves’ grave tone.
“Fighting monsters is simply part of our way. If we called that dangerous, we would have been extinct long ago.”
“I, I suppose that’s true…”
Choi Yu-hwa’s shoulders drooped at their blunt and resolute reply.
“What do we do, Shin Tae-ho? It seems like there is something we need to accomplish here, but without any Trial message appearing this time, I don’t know what to do…”
At the First Tower, a message window had appeared the moment they entered, telling them the nature of the Trial.
But the Second Tower seemed to have malfunctioned—there was no guidance telling them what to do or where to go.
As Choi Yu-hwa began to worry that they might leave with nothing to show for it,
Shin Tae-ho, who had been lost in thought, raised his hand.
“You said earlier that this was not a matter for us. But I must respectfully disagree. This is our affair as well.”
“And why is that?”
Unable to grasp what he was getting at, the Dwarves tensed.
But Shin Tae-ho continued speaking calmly.
“Because we are Dwarves who live in another place.”
“…What?”
“Pardon?”
“Ryeong?”
Everyone except Shin Tae-ho stared at him with bewildered eyes.
Pipi, who had been sleeping in Yong-ryong-i’s arms, even lifted her head in surprise.
Anger rose across the face of the Dwarf who had been at a loss for words.
“By my beard! I’ll pluck each whisker from my face! Are you mocking us right now?!”
“Not at all. If you would grant me the opportunity, I can explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it! I tried to let you go peacefully, but it seems that won’t work! I’m going to put your thick skull on the anvil—”
“Enough. Wait.”
The Dwarf who had observed Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa and nodded to his companion stepped forward.
Among the Dwarves with their thick beards and aged appearance, this one stood out with a particularly long beard and weathered look.
“Speak. I will listen. But know this—if you speak nonsense or lie, we will not send you away unharmed.”
“I am prepared for that.”
“W-wait, Shin Tae-ho! What are you planning to do?!”
Choi Yu-hwa, who had received no warning whatsoever, floundered in panic.
Shin Tae-ho turned to her and began speaking with a grave expression.
“I can persuade them. Please trust me and wait.”
‘No matter how I think about it, there’s no way he can persuade them!’
Choi Yu-hwa swallowed her words, her face on the verge of tears.
Shin Tae-ho turned his head back and continued, his expression still solemn.
“The Dwarves live mostly in mountain ranges, and you are the rightful masters of this mountain. Is that not so?”
“…That’s true.”
At words that showed far more knowledge of their way of life than expected, the grim expression on the Dwarf Captain’s face shifted subtly.
Shin Tae-ho pressed forward without losing momentum.
“Moreover, with so many enemies around yet so few in number, you devote yourselves to developing powerful weapons that allow the few to strike with tremendous force, do you not?”
“…That’s right.”
“How in the world does he know that?”
“Anyone with a mind could reason that much. Wait and see.”
As some of the younger Dwarves wavered, an older Dwarf steadied them.
Shin Tae-ho asked again.
“Furthermore, the Dwarves honor and revere their ancestral spirits. Is this not true?”
“…It is.”
“What, is he really a Dwarf?”
“How does he know that? That’s not something you could understand just by observing from outside!”
The murmuring among the Dwarves grew louder.
Sensing the momentum shifting to his favor, Shin Tae-ho poured forth his words.
“And have you not, from ancient times, cherished your beards? Do you not refuse to forget favors or grievances, repaying them without fail, and do you not possess the legacy of records passed down through generations?”
“…You…!”
The eyes of the Dwarf who appeared to be the captain widened dramatically.
But the final words he spoke shook not only the captain but every Dwarf present to their very core.
“And last of all—are you not currently at war with a corrupt and twisted kinsman in the north, one who has embraced a perverse ideology?”
“A, a Dwarf! That one is a Dwarf!”
“It can’t be! How could someone who looks so different possess such history…!”
“Silence! All of you, hold your tongues!!”
As even the younger Dwarves and adults alike fell into confusion and the noise grew louder, the Dwarf Captain roared.
The Dwarf Captain stared hard at Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa in turn, his beard trembling slightly.
‘He speaks no falsehood. The woman’s emotions are different from the man’s—her surprise and bewilderment are greater, but she shows no anxiety about the truth being exposed.’
The Dwarves who had polished their craft to mastery could breathe their own souls into objects.
Should they not stop there but continue accumulating experience, skill, and knowledge,
Then at some point, they could reach a state where they perceived not only their own soul but that of others as well.
Of course, not all Dwarves could reach such a state.
But the Dwarf Captain standing before Shin Tae-ho was among the rare few who had attained that height.
The Dwarf Captain regarded Shin Tae-ho intently for a long moment.
Yet Shin Tae-ho met that gaze with calm assurance, as though he had nothing to hide.
In the end, it was the Dwarf Captain who spoke first.
“…Hah. I see. There is no falsehood in your words.”
“Of course not.”
“Good. I believe you. But I am curious. You, who are so similar to us—indeed, you could say identical—what race are you?”
“Our race is human. But it is only we, South Korea, who carry such a history.”
“South Korea. I shall remember it.”
The Dwarf Captain repeated the words “South Korea” to himself.
At the captain’s signal, the Dwarves who had been standing uncertainly with weapons lowered their arms.
“Then I ask again. What is your purpose in coming here?”
“That is also as I said. To help the Dwarves.”
“You speak as though we are in need of help?”
The Dwarf Captain looked Shin Tae-ho over with a feigned air of anger.
But Shin Tae-ho answered without words, meeting his gaze steadily.
At the unwavering light in those eyes, the Dwarf Captain sighed once more and spoke.
“Blast it. It’s unlike me to do such things—my beard roots are prickling at this. Yes, you’re right. We are indeed in need of help.”
“Could you tell me what it is? If it’s possible, I wish to be of service.”
“It makes no sense. You want to help us without asking for anything in return? Shouldn’t you speak first of what you desire?”
The other Dwarves nodded at the captain’s words.
In all the world, if you receive something, you must also give something.
Words of unconditional help without any terms only bred greater suspicion.
‘Uh… we’re just trying to pass the trial and move to the next level. Is it okay to talk about the tower?’
Choi Yu-hwa hesitated over whether she should say this.
But Shin Tae-ho answered the Dwarf’s question without a moment’s pause.
“Then I’ll be frank with you. If we help with what you need, we’d appreciate it if you’d craft something for us.”
“Wait… Shin Tae-ho?”
Choi Yu-hwa lost her bearings at Shin Tae-ho’s straightforward words.
The Dwarf Captain snorted as if he’d expected as much.
“I refuse. You call yourselves Dwarves, then ask Dwarves for objects as payment? That’s absurd.”
“I see. Then would it be acceptable to change the compensation to use of the Blacksmith Workshop?”
“…What?”
At the question of whether they could use the Blacksmith Workshop, not only the Dwarf Captain’s eyes changed, but those of the other Dwarves as well.
The mood shifted violently in an instant, and Choi Yu-hwa gave up hope.
‘This won’t work. Let’s just leave quietly. Yeah. It’s a shame we came this far, but there’s nothing we can do.’
“You. Speaking as if you actually know about crafting.”
“I may be lacking, but I’m not ignorant.”
“Kek, kekuk. Kehahaha! Uahahaha!”
The Dwarf Captain laughed heartily.
The other Dwarves followed their captain, bursting into laughter.
Just as Choi Yu-hwa had finished preparing to descend again, looking downcast.
The Dwarf Captain, who had been laughing all this time, stopped and his eyes gleamed with light.
“Excellent! I like this very much! I’ll gladly permit it!”
“What? What what?”
Choi Yu-hwa, who had been connecting the Harness and Rope, froze with a bewildered expression as the situation developed strangely.
In that moment, a message window appeared before both Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa.
[You have successfully found and persuaded the Dwarves.]
[You can now receive a Trial through the Dwarves.]
[You have been awarded 50 Points for discovering the Dwarves for the first time.]
[You have been awarded 350 Points for successfully persuading the Dwarves for the first time.]
[Your current Points total is 400.]
“Wow, woooow!”
After reading the message window, Choi Yu-hwa cheered and looked at Shin Tae-ho.
The Dwarves, unaware of the situation, stared as if witnessing something strange.
Shin Tae-ho, who had read the same message window, smiled silently and nodded.
Continued in the next chapter ▶
The Return of the Master Blacksmith Transcendent
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
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram is waiting for your precious manuscripts.

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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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