The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 122

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 122
122. From the Beginning
“Y-you brute! You have no sense of honor! Is this how you treat a merchant come to do business!”
The Half-Eared Goblin squawked indignantly now, harping on about the transaction.
But Geumson’s eyes remained steady.
His killing intent toward the goblin had not wavered.
Having lived through the age of ruin, he knew all too well the vile dealings these creatures had perpetrated.
If the Gate disruption had failed, he would have killed the thing for real.
Better to eliminate one of them here than regret it later.
It was a cold calculation, but Geumson was willing to accept even the loss of Lepiun’s refugees if it came to that.
That was the mindset he carried into preparing for the age of ruin.
‘Fortunately… things worked out well.’
The worst catastrophe had not come to pass.
There was no need for Lepiun’s NPCs to be sacrificed.
Geumson had successfully prevented the Gate’s manifestation, just as he’d foreseen.
His understanding of Lepiun’s Gates was gradually deepening.
Yet none of these complex thoughts showed on his face.
He simply spoke to the goblin with utter indifference.
“So how much is it.”
Geumson’s voice grew colder still.
The hollow power gathered at the end of his hammer pricked the goblin’s skin like needles.
The goblin sensed it at once.
This human was serious.
If he refused, this man would truly crush his skull.
Money meant nothing. Goods meant nothing.
He had to live first.
Survival instinct trumped a merchant’s pride.
“Fine, fine! I’ll do it! I’ll give it! What’s the problem!”
“It looks like I’m being robbed. But I’m conducting a legitimate transaction, yes? I even paid a price.”
“A measly one Gold… damn you!”
“Just as you said—value is relative.”
Geumson threw the goblin’s own words back at him.
The goblin’s face crumpled, and he began loosening his bundle.
Then he started madly extracting provisions from within.
Bread, meat, fruit, waterskins… even sweets and snacks.
In moments, the ground was piled high with foodstuffs.
An enormous quantity of provisions—far more than any bundle should hold.
As the heap grew, Geumson finally looked satisfied and spoke.
“The transaction… is concluded. A rational exchange, wouldn’t you say. Nothing is worth more than your life, is it.”
Only then did Geumson lower his hammer.
A sigh of relief escaped him.
He knew it would be pointless to kill the goblin and try to loot the bundle.
People from the age of ruin had already tried.
That bundle was an extra-dimensional pouch connected to the goblin’s mana.
If the owner died or lost consciousness, everything inside would vanish into the gaps between dimensions.
That’s why he’d had to force the thing to empty it willingly.
Using the form of a “transaction.”
He’d needed to make the creature understand and surrender its goods of its own accord.
“Damn it! This deal bled me dry! This whole venture’s a complete loss! I can’t stomach this sort of business, truly!”
The goblin grumbled and cursed.
He snatched up the now-empty bundle and reached out to open another Gate.
This time, Geumson didn’t stop him.
Crack—
The space tore open, and the goblin stepped toward it.
Certain now that escape was within reach, the Half-Eared Goblin’s spirit surged back to life.
He bared his sharp teeth and spoke.
“I won’t forget today’s humiliation! I swear vengeance upon you! Hammer-wielder! When you need me most, that’s when you’ll see my face again!”
A hollow laugh escaped Geumson.
The goblin departed spouting final-boss dramatics, half an ear twitching.
And Geumson spoke to that retreating creature.
“Hey, Half-Eared.”
At Geumson’s voice, the goblin flinched and darted straight into the Gate.
Fearing another attempt to take something from him, he’d hurried inside preemptively.
Through the Gate that was closing by degrees.
Geumson held up the flute in his hand toward the goblin on the other side.
It was the Goblin Merchant Company Flute he’d bought from the Reputation Shop.
“See you again soon?”
Geumson’s smile was bright and carefree.
But to the goblin, that smile looked far more terrifying than any demon’s grin.
As long as this flute existed, he could be summoned back at any moment.
And each time, he could face blackmail like this again.
“Kyaaah! Wait, wait, never mind! Cancel! Cancel! I’m sorry! I was talking nonsense! Don’t call me again! Never ever! You devil of a man!”
The Gate closed and the commotion subsided.
A chaotic transaction site.
But the outcome was undeniable.
The pile of provisions heaped on the floor was proof of it.
A successful trade.
A perfectly rational transaction that satisfied both parties.
“Ha, haha…… it’s…… settled, isn’t it?”
Baek Jin-ju murmured in disbelief, her expression dazed.
She gripped the Shield in her hands firmly.
She hadn’t lost it.
She’d saved the people and kept her precious belongings intact.
Ma Jin-chul picked up the Blueprints from the floor with a sigh of relief.
“Wow…… you had a plan all along? Extorting that vicious goblin like that. I was certain I’d have to hand over my Blueprints…….”
Ma Jin-chul shook his head in wonder.
He couldn’t fathom how Geumson had prevented the goblin’s escape.
The viewers watching the broadcast felt the same way.
└ [BadCharacter]: Wow…… look at his nerve lol. Never thought I’d feel sorry for a goblin.
└ [NegotiationGod]: Negotiation (physical). True negotiation starts with overwhelming force!
└ [MiracleOfOneGold]: Got a full buffet for just 1 Gold lol. The value is insane. This is the creative economy itself~~
└ [GoblinMom]: See you again? lol That’s pure evil. But how did he stop him from escaping?
└ [FluteMaster]: Isn’t that merchant goblin kinda dangerous? If Geumson hadn’t been here, we’d lose all our items raw!!
└ [StrongestMerchant]: When you meet a goblin…… you pick up a Hammer…… taking notes…….
.
.
.
As the situation stabilized, the broadcast’s chat seemed to recover its humor.
Moreover, reading some of the messages, viewers were beginning to grasp the goblin’s danger.
That he wasn’t something to laugh at carelessly.
‘Not bad. Teaching them one by one like this is working well.’
It was good he hadn’t ended the broadcast.
Simply raising awareness of the goblins’ tendency to push unreasonable transactions had been enough.
That they don’t approach with good intentions.
That they coerce unfairness under the guise of fair trade.
For now they’d laugh and move on, but when the Age of Ruin came and the moment of decision arrived, viewers would remember this scene.
That was sufficient.
“Well then, I’ll wrap up the broadcast here! See you next time!”
Viewers erupted in excitement at Geumson’s announcement to end the stream.
But from here on, there would be nothing the audience wanted to see.
Just the tedious scene of distributing provisions to the refugees would unfold.
Which is why Geumson boldly ended the broadcast.
Then he spoke to the refugees in Lepiun.
“Come now, let’s have a meal, shall we? You must all be hungry.”
The refugees cheered and surged toward the pile of provisions.
Children bit into bread and laughed, while adults shared meat and encouraged one another.
To the shelter that had been like hell, peace and stability returned, if only for a moment.
Geumson watched the scene with quiet satisfaction for a time, then withdrew into the background.
He made his way to a secluded corner.
There, ever since earlier, someone sat quietly sucking on Candy.
There was a small girl watching all of this unfold.
She had been mesmerized by the sparks that flew from Geumson’s hammer strikes.
The sweet little thing who had brazenly approached and pestered him to make something for her.
Unlike the other children, she hadn’t rushed toward the food—she merely gazed at Geumson with a bright, innocent smile.
Geumson walked over to the child and collapsed beside her.
Now that his tension had broken, exhaustion crashed over him like a wave.
“Whew. Thank you for… waiting for me.”
Geumson exhaled a long breath, as though taking a moment to rest.
When he spoke, the girl rolled the candy in her mouth and smiled.
It was an innocent, radiant smile—the kind that could melt anyone’s heart.
“Mister! Are you all done? Will you play with me now?”
She looked at him with expectant eyes, as though she had been waiting for him alone.
Geumson stared at those eyes for a moment.
Then, after long deliberation, he finally spoke.
“If that’s what you want…. But let me ask you something first.”
Geumson paused and took a careful breath, as if steeling himself.
His hand naturally tightened around the handle of his hammer.
“Why are you doing all this?”
In that instant.
The child’s eyes turned red.
Her innocent smile twisted grotesquely, her mouth stretching from corner to ear.
“Huh? It’s fun, isn’t it? When did you stop thinking so? Huh?”
Still a child’s voice, innocent and pure.
But the tone was something else entirely.
At the same moment, system messages flooded Geumson’s vision like a torrent.
[The Narcissist title activates.]
[A self consumed by narcissism refuses the intervention of others.]
[Holy Power clarifies the mind.]
[The Obsidian Resistance Helmet’s effect, Steel Will, activates.]
[Resistance to mental status conditions amplifies to the extreme.]
[Kronos’s Successor Dragon-Scale Cuirass’s effect, Will of the Ancient King, activates.]
[The pride of the ancient giant king refuses subjugation.]
[The Dark attribute shared with the phantom Elementia consumes the mental attack.]
.
.
.
[Resists the status condition Domination.]
[Resistance successful.]
An attempt at mental domination that Geumson never perceived.
The mental defenses Geumson had carefully built layer upon layer bore fruit.
He had repelled the witch’s Witchcraft.
“Tiiiii—!”
At the same instant, Walker convulsed awake as if from a seizure.
Walker’s feathers bristled in alarm.
But the being before his eyes.
She simply continued, as though disappointed.
“How strange? Why isn’t it working? It should work even on a foreigner…?”
She muttered as if unable to comprehend.
The architect of this nightmare that had consumed Prelia.
The Witch of the West, Elmarie.
She had been there all along.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————