The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 98

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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 98
“Crack! A dwarf emerges!”
“The fool. Throw the spears! Kill this one!”
An orc commander barked orders, and the spear-wielders turned their weapons on Orum.
Sinews rippling beneath bulging arms, they hurled their spears toward him with brutal force.
But Orum made no move to raise his hammer in defense.
He did not scramble away in panic either.
Ting! Ping! Ping-ping-ping!
“Crack?!”
The spears bounced off his armor uselessly, and the orcs’ eyes widened in shock.
Not even a scratch marked where the shafts had struck.
“Ignorant fools. Look at you, prancing about with weapons above your station. Pathetic.”
Qi swirled around Orum’s body.
In dwarf-speak, he had wreathed his soul about his frame—and with a mighty thrust of his legs, he shot forward like an arrow.
The orcs swung their massive clubs, each as large as Orum himself, but he met them head-on with his own hammer.
Crunch-crack!
“Crack?! My, my club—!”
The orc’s jaw fell slack as his crumpled, broken weapon hung from his grip.
But Orum’s descending hammer flattened more than just the club this time—it crushed the orc’s face into a pulp.
Splat!
“Ugh!”
Bianca, watching from the cave entrance, clapped her hands over her ears.
The Unique Effect on Orum’s hammer—Shock Amplification (Level 9)—sent a shockwave across the thirty meters to where she stood, inside the cave.
Her inner ear trembled, and she staggered against the stone wall in alarm.
“How is he so strong? And what is that fighting style? He’s slow, but he hits everything—?”
Realizing Orum was no ordinary foe, the orcs relied on their numbers, swarming him with wave after wave of bodies.
Yet Orum dodged their strikes with minimal movement, never ceasing his hammer’s relentless swing.
When he spotted a cluster of orcs packed tightly together, he suddenly raised his hammer high.
Grrrr-
“Cr… ack?”
The hammer head swelled to the size of a building, and the orcs’ minds simply froze.
As if mocking them, the enlarged hammer fell like thunder from Orum’s grip.
Shin Tae-ho’s eyes narrowed as he counted five impacts in a single blow.
‘He expanded the hammer’s surface with Enlargement (Level 6), swung it with speed using Lightness (Level 9), and struck the same spot five times with Multi-Strike (Level 3).’
So many Unique Effects cascading together, each amplifying the last, creating a synergy that felt overwhelming.
As Orum lifted his hammer, all that remained were orc corpses—unidentifiable fragments.
And a massive crater where the hammer had struck.
The orcs hesitated, having lost nearly fifty of their own in an instant.
“Impossibly fast. Impossibly strong…!”
“How—how can one dwarf be so powerful?! This is wrong!”
“Don’t block it! Run! It’s monstrously heavy! Shields shatter!”
The orcs fled from Orum, evading combat entirely.
The reasoning was simple: stay beyond the hammer’s reach, stay safe.
But Orum had anticipated even this, and with a scoff he turned to address the party at the cave entrance.
“All of you. Cover your ears and close your eyes tightly.”
“What? What are you—?”
“Just do as he says. He wouldn’t joke about something like this.”
Shin Tae-ho spoke to the bewildered Choi Yu-hwa, cradling Yong-ryong-i in his arms as he obeyed Orum’s instruction.
Once Shin Tae-ho moved, Choi Yu-hwa followed suit at once, and Bianca reluctantly did the same.
Confirming the three were ready, Orum immediately enlarged his hammer again.
More than double the size of a house this time—and the orcs’ faces drained of all color.
“Fall back! Fall back, now—!”
Boom-boom-boom-crash!
Orum’s hammer descended again.
This time three impacts detonated in sequence, and the shockwave expanded proportionally with the hammer’s size.
The massive shockwave amplified and layered upon itself, liquefying the internal organs of every orc caught in its path.
“Ugh—gag—!”
“Craaaagh!”
The orcs caught in the blast coughed blood and collapsed.
Though they had covered their ears, shut their eyes, and braced themselves against the shock while wreathing their bodies in Qi—
Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa also struggled against the shock, their insides roiling uncontrollably.
“Blech! That crazy dwarf! If you’re going to do something like that, at least give proper warning—ack!”
Bianca retched and glared at Orum.
But Orum, busy confirming each fallen orc with a finishing blow, didn’t hear her curses.
Shin Tae-ho, settling his own queasy stomach with effort, watched Orum’s combat method with astonished eyes.
‘He created a shockwave to launch a wide-area attack. And yet—the user himself takes no damage. Orum stands perfectly fine even in the center of that blast.’
The moment that thought landed, Shin Tae-ho felt a flicker of doubt.
‘If he possesses this much power… why did he need to bring us here at all?’
Shin Tae-ho’s question answered itself soon enough.
Orum, in the midst of smashing the heads of fallen orcs one by one, suddenly stiffened and whirled around.
Shin Tae-ho’s gaze followed the abrupt movement.
Three dwarves—Orum’s own kind—stood where he was looking.
“I felt the vibration of a hammer strike and thought perhaps Zetaum had come. I never imagined a rat would slip in.”
“Traitors…!”
Orum’s eyes blazed with fury.
The rage was so intense that his beard visibly trembled.
At the word “traitors,” the faces of the dwarves above darkened.
“Traitors? You’re the rigid fundamentalist who refuses change!”
“Silence! You threw away tradition chasing results, and now you dare dip your hands into shortcuts and forbidden arts—where do you get the nerve to speak!”
“Ha! Listen to this youngster, his mouth worn ragged as an anvil used for a hundred years!”
“You sung the song of principles, yet where did you sell your respect for elders?”
“Why, you—!”
“Enough. Since you’ve brought the hammer, I’ll overlook such discourtesy.”
“Don’t come any closer!”
As the dwarves advanced with weapons drawn, Orum retreated hesitantly, step by step.
Bianca, who had been collecting herself and watching the situation, cried out in frustration.
“What are you doing?! Why are you listening to that nonsense! You called them traitors! So knock them down with that hammer like you did the orcs!”
“What?! What kind of lunatic orders a dwarf to strike down his own kind with a hammer passed down through generations in service to the dwarves!”
The Traitor Dwarf shouted back in fury at Bianca’s words.
Bianca, startled, turned to look at Orum.
The Orum who had been arguing heatedly with the traitor’s words now said nothing, his lips only pressed in a thin line.
Choi Yu-hwa asked in alarm.
“Is that… is that true? You really can’t attack them with that hammer?”
“…It’s true.”
Orum acknowledged it with bitter reluctance.
‘So that was it.’
Shin Tae-ho, listening to the exchange, now understood why the Chief Dwarf had sent him along with Orum.
And why, possessing such a hammer, none of the village dwarves could come to investigate the Karnikhs.
The Traitor Dwarf smirked at Orum’s distressed expression.
“Good. At least you cling to some shred of pride. You have no escape. Hand over the hammer and we’ll let you walk free.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
Shin Tae-ho stepped forward and blocked Orum’s path, cutting off any retreat.
The Traitor Dwarves grew hostile at what seemed like pouring ash into nearly-cooked rice.
“Who are you? You dare meddle in dwarven affairs? You want to die?”
“Don’t make threats you can’t follow through on.”
“Can’t follow through? Ha. Let’s see if you can—”
Shin Tae-ho fired his crossbow, cutting off the Traitor Dwarf’s words.
The bolt struck beside the speaking dwarf and exploded, scattering small stones in all directions.
The startled Traitor Dwarf’s ears caught Shin Tae-ho’s voice.
“Just because Orum can’t attack you doesn’t mean we can’t. Three against three—shall we try?”
“You insolent bastard!”
“We can summon the orcs! If they swarm again, can you handle it!”
“There’s nothing we can’t handle. Orum should be able to deal with the orcs.”
“…!”
The Traitor Dwarves’ mouths snapped shut at Shin Tae-ho’s counterattack.
Shin Tae-ho’s dark eyes met theirs directly.
“The only reason I haven’t put this through your skull is because, as I said, this is a matter between dwarves. But if you try to threaten us any further…”
The crossbow at Shin Tae-ho’s arm made a sharp metallic click.
His words trailed off, but the intent behind them rang clear.
The Traitor Dwarves glanced down at where the bolt had exploded.
If something like that embedded itself in his head without a helmet on in all that rush.
Even for people as skilled as them, there was no avoiding a cracked skull.
“…Hmph. Interesting. What’s your name, you bastard?”
“Shin Tae-ho, sir.”
“Shin Tae-ho. I’ll remember that name.”
The Traitor Dwarves who had been glaring hard at Shin Tae-ho turned on their heels.
Shin Tae-ho, who had quickly retrieved Orum, made his way back to where Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa were waiting.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“Huh? Isn’t it all over?”
“They can bring Orcs here. Since we’ve achieved our purpose, there’s no need to fight any longer.”
“…That’s true. My magic wouldn’t be suited for this place anyway. Fine. Let’s go immediately.”
“Yes! Pipi!”
“Squeak!”
Pipi burst forth from Choi Yu-hwa’s arms, flying ahead to scout the path back.
While keeping watch over Orum, who hadn’t yet recovered from the shock.
Shin Tae-ho and his party began running along the same route they had entered.
* * *
Fortunately, they encountered no Orcs on the return journey.
They had already dealt with all the Orcs they’d met on the way in.
The Orcs sent later by the Traitor Dwarves couldn’t catch up with Shin Tae-ho’s group, who were intent on a swift retreat.
Once back at Dwarf Village, Shin Tae-ho immediately reported everything that had happened.
The Chief Dwarf listened to the report in silence, but surprisingly said nothing remarkable to the party.
“I see. You’ve worked hard. And you even found the place where Karnikhs is, as promised. This has been a great help.”
[You have passed the Trial of the 3rd Floor.]
[You are awarded points for passing the Trial.]
[Your reward for passing has been distributed.]
[Reward contents: 1,750 Middle-grade Qi Fragments, 1,000 Lower Essence Fragments,]
[The reward contents may vary depending on your Contribution.]
‘Is the reward this good because of the outcome? The compensation is excellent this time.’
Shin Tae-ho was amazed as he checked the message window.
Judging from Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa’s expressions, both had received a generous reward as well—their eyes were wide with wonder.
As the two checked their message windows, the Chief Dwarf continued speaking.
“I’ll recover all the items that were loaned out. Normally I should collect compensation for damages, but this time I’ll let it slide given all the trouble you’ve gone through.”
“Gasp! There was compensation for damages too?”
“You want compensation on top of all that hard work? That seems a bit petty.”
Choi Yu-hwa and Bianca, who had been excited when borrowing the items and had never thought about compensation, were taken aback.
The Chief Dwarf rose once he had finished saying what needed to be said.
“You’ve all worked hard. I’ll hear the details from Orum, so take some rest.”
“But doesn’t it feel like his tone has changed somehow?”
“It feels like his favor has gone up? But why isn’t it showing in the message window?”
As Bianca and Choi Yu-hwa whispered to each other.
Shin Tae-ho raised his hand to draw the Chief Dwarf’s attention.
“You said Shin Tae-ho. Do you have something else to say?”
“Yes. If it’s possible, I’d like to mine materials from the Mine again this time.”
“Hm? You’ve just returned from Komuto and you’re already talking about mining?”
Not only the Chief Dwarf but other dwarves and even Choi Yu-hwa and Bianca stared at Shin Tae-ho in surprise.
But soon the Chief Dwarf smiled and nodded.
“That’s good spirit. I grant it. No—I’ll officially give you a Mining Permit, so use it as you like.”
“Thank you so much.”
Shin Tae-ho was overjoyed to receive not just permission but an actual Mining Permit.
Leaving Bianca to ask for her own permit only to be turned down.
Shin Tae-ho entered the inner chamber under the guidance of a dwarf to receive the Mining Permit.
To be continued ▶
The Transcendent Master Smith’s Return
Author
Bong In Hae-jae
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violation of these terms may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram eagerly awaits 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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