The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 92

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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 Blacksmith’s Return, Chapter 92
Unlike the outside, the mine was humid, and the heat had nowhere to escape given the confined space on all sides, leaving the air thick and oppressive.
Shin Tae-ho grew concerned watching Choi Yu-hwa’s condition.
“Choi Yu-hwa. Are you all right? If it’s difficult, you don’t have to push yourself.”
“I’m, fine. I thought I should, get closer to the, Dwarves too. Ugh!”
The strange mixture of earth and sweat caught in his throat, and Choi Yu-hwa squeezed his eyes shut.
Just then, Yong-ryong-i, who had followed Shin Tae-ho inside without thinking, came to an abrupt halt with a look of shock on his face.
“S-Shin Tae-ho. I’m gonna play outside, okay? Call me when you’re done!”
“Outside? If you go far away, I’ll worry. Why don’t you come with us?”
“No way! The, outside is better!”
Yong-ryong-i shook his head vigorously in protest.
Shin Tae-ho grew puzzled at the sight of Yong-ryong-i’s face, glistening with sweat.
“All right, I understand. With someone like you, I’m sure you won’t get hurt anywhere. But always stay aware of your surroundings.”
“Got it! I’m going!”
Yong-ryong-i scampered outside.
For a moment, Choi Yu-hwa watched his retreating form with what looked like envy, then gave a start and shook his head.
‘Get it together, Choi Yu-hwa! You struggled to earn the elves’ trust at the first tower. This time, you absolutely must gain the Dwarves’ confidence!’
Choi Yu-hwa followed Shin Tae-ho deeper into the mine.
Following the light affixed to the ceiling, they pressed forward until the distant sound of metal striking metal reached their ears.
Clang! Clang!
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The sound of minerals being mined and ore being dumped into carts echoed through the mine.
At the tremendous din, Choi Yu-hwa instinctively covered his ears and winced.
“Huh? Who the hell are you?! Why’d you come in here?!”
“What’s going on?! Did more orcs show up?!”
“No! The boss hired these guys to keep the orcs out!”
“Then what are they doing down here?!”
“That’s what I was trying to figure out, you idiot!”
The Dwarves, their ears ringing, shouted over one another.
Shin Tae-ho approached the Dwarves and spoke in a low but resonant voice.
“We’ve come to help with the mining.”
“What?! You came to steal what we’ve mined?!”
“No. Not to steal. To, help with, mining.”
Shin Tae-ho spoke again, his neck tensed.
His words were low in pitch, yet boomed as if he were speaking through a loudspeaker.
As Shin Tae-ho’s voice reverberated through the mine, the Dwarves, who had been mining ceaselessly, stopped in their tracks.
“Huh? What’s that? Did that bastard just use his spirit?”
“That’s ridiculous! There’s no way some beardless punk could use spirit!”
“But didn’t you see it?! That low voice got incredibly loud!”
‘The elves called it Natural Force. So the Dwarves call their energy spirit, do they?’
Shin Tae-ho filed away the information he’d gleaned from their exchange and glanced at Choi Yu-hwa.
Choi Yu-hwa, evidently thinking the same thing, gave a small nod and signaled his agreement.
“Whether you use spirit or not isn’t the point. You. Why do you want to help with the mining?”
Shin Tae-ho recalled the conversation from the Dwarf Village they’d reached after climbing the mountain.
Back then, he’d said he wanted to help without any particular reason, but the Dwarf chief had insisted on fair compensation for the assistance.
‘A race that never forgets a favor and always repays it. That’s what I said.’
In other words, the Dwarves were a people who believed in clear give-and-take.
Goodwill without conditions only aroused suspicion.
It was the Dwarf way to seek transactions where both sides got what they wanted—a fair trade.
“Given how you’ve put it, I’ll be honest with you. In truth, I’d like to receive some of the mined ore as compensation.”
“You want the ore?”
The Dwarves’ expressions darkened.
As the strange atmosphere hung heavy and Choi Yu-hwa fidgeted nervously.
Shin Tae-ho, his mind working quickly, elaborated.
“Yes. As payment for holding back the orcs, when I return to the village, I’ll be able to borrow the Blacksmith Workshop. But the problem is, I have no materials to actually work with.”
“He said he’d lend you the Blacksmith Workshop? The chief did?”
The Dwarves were taken aback.
For Dwarves, blacksmiths by birth, lending out the Blacksmith Workshop carried special weight.
It meant welcoming Shin Tae-ho as a guest and recognizing him as a trustworthy party.
‘He must have seen something through his spirit.’
The dwarves nodded, recalling their captain’s meticulous and exacting nature.
The captain was a trusted leader chosen by dwarves who prided themselves on independence and strong self-respect, regardless of personal closeness.
A dwarf closed his eyes and stroked his beard, then drove his pickaxe into the ground with a sharp *Clang*.
“Very well! In return, you’ll receive only five percent of the ore you mine. Do you accept?”
[A quest has been generated.]
[Help the Dwarves Mine]
Description: The dwarves have been persuaded and have agreed to allow you to assist them in mining.
Reward: Five percent of the ore you excavate.
‘Good enough.’
Shin Tae-ho suppressed the faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you. I’ll do my best to help and not disappoint you.”
“I don’t need flowery words. If you want to take home more, you’ll have to work hard for it.”
The dwarf picked up a pickaxe and handed it to Shin Tae-ho and Choi Yu-hwa.
Choi Yu-hwa, startled by the sudden quest notification, accepted the pickaxe almost reflexively.
“Huh? Ah? W-we’re starting now?”
“Do you have time to waste? We start right away!”
The dwarf chided them and returned to mining ore.
The moment Shin Tae-ho began mining as well, Choi Yu-hwa awkwardly followed suit.
‘A dwarf mine. What could we be digging up here?’
Shin Tae-ho felt a thrill as he worked energetically.
Though it was possible they were just mining ordinary iron ore, the odds of that were low—this was inside a tower, after all.
After mining for some time.
Finally, a piece of ore appeared in the spot Shin Tae-ho was excavating, its color distinctly different from the surrounding rock.
Excited, Shin Tae-ho accelerated his swings, and soon a chunk of ore roughly the size of a smartphone emerged.
Shin Tae-ho picked up the ore and immediately appraised it.
‘Towernium.’
Towernium was a metal equivalent to the iron ore most commonly used in reality.
Items crafted from Towernium absorbed energy better than those made from real-world metals and reduced energy loss.
It wasn’t as rare as Literium.
But Shin Tae-ho felt genuine joy at excavating the materials himself.
‘This is just the beginning. Five percent of this won’t be much. I need to mine hard and accumulate as much as I can.’
Shin Tae-ho swung his pickaxe at the wall again with fresh vigor.
Choi Yu-hwa, who had been resting from exhaustion, looked at him with surprised eyes.
‘Why is he working so hard? He just finished fighting orcs—he must be fatigued too.’
As if answering Choi Yu-hwa’s unspoken question, the nearby dwarves’ conversation drifted over.
“Huh. I thought he’d take it easy with just five percent. But he’s quite passionate about it.”
“Hmm. I can feel genuine determination in him.”
‘Ah, I see!’
Shin Tae-ho, having ascended the first tower, had surely learned the necessity of cooperation with other races within the tower.
So even while tired, it was clear he was determined to help the dwarves properly.
But after all the effort to persuade these picky dwarves and finally get permission to mine, half-hearted effort would only backfire.
It would be worse than not helping at all—wasted toil and wasted goodwill both.
‘I need to focus! I have to work hard too!’
Choi Yu-hwa steadied his breathing and resumed mining.
With a clear purpose in mind, the work felt considerably less draining than before.
After considerable time had passed.
The dwarves all stopped swinging their pickaxes in unison.
“That’s enough! We’re done for today!”
“Huff, huff. I-if it’s because of me, don’t worry! I can, I can keep going!”
“Nonsense. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Choi Yu-hwa responded with burning enthusiasm, but the dwarf clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Shin Tae-ho stepped up beside the bewildered Choi Yu-hwa, wiping sweat from his brow as he explained.
“If we dig any deeper, the mine could collapse. We need to do support work on the ceiling and walls first before continuing.”
“Oh? I-I see?”
“The lad speaks true. By the way, you. The way you mined, and the basic knowledge you showed—have you done this before?”
“No. I’ve just picked up bits and pieces because I found it interesting.”
Shin Tae-ho denied it, but the dwarves’ gazes upon him had grown noticeably warmer than before.
“I’ve been watching. You’ve impressed me. You said you wanted to mine ore to craft items yourself. I respect that determination, so I’m raising your share to ten percent of what you excavate.”
“Truly?”
“Of course. Any ore shines brightest in the hands of one who understands its value. You seem to have that ability.”
The dwarf extended a thick, large hand outward.
“My name is Taturum. I handle the role of extracting minerals and delivering materials, and I’m also the chief of the miners.”
“I’m Shin Tae-ho. And this is Choi Yu-hwa.”
“W-well, pleased to meet you!”
Choi Yu-hwa hurried forward and clasped the dwarf’s hand.
He didn’t feel the same blacksmith’s touch from Choi Yu-hwa that he did from the dwarves.
Yet he came readily forward, acted with easy enthusiasm, and his willingness to help came through clearly enough.
“Right. Here’s your share. Check it over.”
“We accept it gratefully. It was calculated by none other than Taturum, the chief miner of the Dwarf Race himself, so it must be correct.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Straightforward, I like that! If you ever want to extract more minerals, come by anytime.”
“Thank you so much.”
Taturum led the dwarves and left the Mine first.
Choi Yu-hwa turned to Shin Tae-ho, his face smudged with soot.
“Phew. That was really tough. I’m going to recover my energy and then leave the tower. What do you plan to do?”
“I’m going to recover my energy as well. Though Bianca has probably already done so, so I’m not sure if there’s anything left.”
“Oh! Now that you mention it, that’s right!”
Shin Tae-ho’s words jolted Choi Yu-hwa back to awareness, and he headed outside.
Fortunately, whether Bianca had deliberately left it or not, he sensed through Energy Sensing that an appropriate amount remained.
“Phew, what a relief! This much should be enough to fill at least half.”
“I didn’t use much energy in this battle, so it’s fine.”
“What? But—”
“Instead, please help me a lot on the next floor.”
Shin Tae-ho added words to convince the hesitant Choi Yu-hwa.
Choi Yu-hwa, who had been pondering with a serious expression, nodded with renewed determination.
“Understood! Then this time I’ll recharge first, and I’ll defer to you on the next floor!”
“You don’t have to, but let’s do it that way.”
Once they’d settled it, Choi Yu-hwa began recovering his energy with Pipi in tow.
Yong-ryong-i, sensing that Shin Tae-ho had emerged, came running.
“Ryu! All done, ryu?”
“Yeah, all done. What were you up to, Yong-ryong-i?”
“I was looking around to see what’s here, ryu! Oh! And I ate some energy too, ryu!”
“Good work. You eat whenever you can.”
Shin Tae-ho smiled and stroked Yong-ryong-i’s head.
As Shin Tae-ho, holding Yong-ryong-i, drew out a World Tree Leaf from his Inventory, Yong-ryong-i tilted his head.
“Ryu? Are we going to Sinterhone, ryu?”
“Not sure. First I want to check if it works.”
Shin Tae-ho rubbed the leaf.
Normally, the Hall of Heroes should have appeared instantly.
Instead, a message window appeared.
[This space is not connected.]
[The World Tree Leaf cannot be used until you move to a connected space.]
‘I tried it just in case. As I suspected.’
Having read the message, Shin Tae-ho gave a bitter smile at the realization that he’d lost the use of one of his cards.
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Bong Injihaesu
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Gerae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
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※ Pentagram welcomes 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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