The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 16

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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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Episode 16
016. Are You an Outsider?
[You have successfully crafted a Gear Walking Golem.]
[Due to the effect of Possessed Craftsmanship, basic stats increase by 20%.]
[Due to the effect of Right Hand of the Sun, the Flame of the Sun manifests, and the Power of the Sun has been infused.]
[You have achieved a critical success!]
[The Gear Walking Golem’s Rank has risen by one grade!]
[Gear Walking Golem with Sunlight]
– Rank: Unique
– Crafter: Geumson
– Status: Normal
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Whirrrr—!
The completed gear figure in Geumson’s hands began to move with fluid grace.
It was impossible to imagine this had been built from the crude components Rabi had supplied.
The Gear Walking Golem displayed movement far more stable and refined than anyone had anticipated.
The golem walked with measured precision through the workshop, then stopped before Rabi and offered a respectful bow.
“Impossible. This golem outperforms the blueprint itself—surely magical power has been embedded in it? To think you built that thing from rotting parts!”
Klak continued to marvel aloud, yet his assessment of the golem’s condition seemed remarkably precise.
The Gear Walking Golem that Geumson had crafted, infused with the Power of the Sun.
A Unique-rank golem had been created, one grade higher than what the blueprint had called for.
“Not bad, is it?”
“Not bad? This is extraordinary! Anyone can see that—”
“Klak, be quiet.”
Rabi, too, doubted his own eyes.
Yet having watched Geumson craft according to the blueprints, he could not deny what he had witnessed.
And beyond that.
‘That power woven in at the end… what is it?’
A force even Rabi could not comprehend.
The power embedded in the core defied even his interpretation.
But he did not ask Geumson about it.
It likely pertained to the craftsman’s personal secrets.
Rabi would not commit the rudeness of inquiring into such things.
He simply pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and, for the first time, looked directly at Geumson as he spoke.
“Blacksmith. Or… Geumson, was it?”
“Yes, Geumson. Will that golem suffice?”
“Suffice? Kyahahaha! Of course it will! I’m thrilled!”
Rabi called Geumson’s name for the first time, answering with a radiant smile.
Messages began to appear in response.
[Sudden Quest: You have completed Rabi’s First Trial!]
[You have acquired the Magitech Specialist Sub-occupation.]
[You have acquired the Basic Magitech Skill: Blue Index.]
[You have acquired the Advanced Magitech Tool Set.]
[Rabi’s Favorability has risen to Maximum.]
[Blue Index Lv. 1]
Description: Stores the blueprints of acquired designs or items you have crafted once. The blueprint’s grade is determined by the completion quality of the creation.
– Stored Blueprint.
1. Gear Walking Golem with Sunlight [Unique]
Geumson examined the skill.
Since this was his first Magitech skill, he found it fascinating.
‘The grade is determined by how it turns out the first time? And moreover…’
The moment he recalled the stored blueprint—Gear Walking Golem with Sunlight—it materialized before his eyes.
It seemed it would prove invaluable for future crafting.
As Geumson examined his newly acquired skill, Rabi approached and spoke in a hushed tone.
“Geumson, you… you’re from outside, aren’t you? I heard Outsiders are fond of dungeons. Is that really true?”
“Dungeons?”
“Well, not actual dungeons—more like a place where you can undergo a special kind of trial. Interested?”
At Rabi’s words, Klak reacted with a startled gasp before Geumson could.
“Rabi, sir! That won’t do! That place is only open to true disciples! An Outsider cannot…….”
“Klak, did I tell you to be quiet a minute ago or didn’t I? Are my words funny to you? Is what I’m saying amusing?”
Rabi and Klak bickered at the mention of the dungeon.
Separate from that, an intriguing message appeared in response to Rabi’s words.
A very intriguing message indeed.
[Rabi marvels at your remarkable ability and proposes a special test.]
[A Sudden Chain Quest has been activated.]
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“Klak! Open the dungeon! Hurry! Let’s give our next-generation ace a look at the place!”
Rabi called out cheerfully, before he’d even finished reading the message.
Klak hesitated at those words but still pulled the lever installed inside the building.
Click—
The entire structure began to tremble.
Rumble—
The building itself started to vibrate and shift.
Ancient dust drifted down from the ceiling with a soft swoosh, and soon the floor split open in half, revealing stairs descending into the basement below.
“Ta-da! How’s that? Pretty impressive, right?”
Stairs had suddenly materialized in the building.
At the entrance of those stairs, intricate runes and gear symbols were carved.
Rabi stepped forward as if to show off.
But Klak’s face had gone ashen.
“Hey, Klak. Cheer up, yeah?”
“I……I understand Geumson’s incredibly skilled, but still—he’s an Outsider, isn’t he?”
“So what if he’s an Outsider?”
“Well, if word gets out that we’ve opened this secret dungeon to an Outsider……I’ll face consequences! And besides, this place…….”
Klak had good reason to look so grim.
It seemed this place was strictly kept secret from Outsiders.
That’s why Geumson had no knowledge of anything related to it.
This was the first time an Outsider had ever been shown the Workshop’s dungeon.
Even in his past life, and until now, it seemed Geumson was the first.
But Rabi cut off Klak’s grumbling and spoke.
“Klak, what are you even worried about?”
“Sir?”
“You’ve already fallen out of favor with those old fools and been pushed to the backwoods of Neman Village anyway, haven’t you? Is there anywhere further down you could be demoted?”
Rabi teased him with these words.
Klak said nothing in response, only sighing and dropping his head.
Geumson had thought Klak was quite skilled, but clearly there was some story behind his situation.
Rabi tapped Klak’s shoulder and spoke.
“Don’t worry. If you get reprimanded over this and expelled from the Magitech Academy Association, I’ll take you on as my personal secretary.”
“Um, would that actually benefit me? That doesn’t sound comforting at all…….”
“I’m Rabi, got it? You forget who I am?”
Geumson listened quietly to their back-and-forth.
Yet his eyes never left the stairs.
‘The patterns carved into the stair entrance……those are Ancient Runes? Why would those be carved here?’
Rune characters carved into the entrance of the stairs.
Geumson recognized those runes.
The same runes he’d seen in ancient dungeons he’d barely entered back when he’d reached level 300 in his past life.
And here they were, carved into this place.
‘It seems……this building was constructed to conceal this dungeon?’
The runes bore a style older than the building itself.
It appeared the magitech scholar’s workshop had been established here precisely to hide this dungeon.
Perhaps even Neman Village itself had been founded when this dungeon was discovered.
“Hm? I thought you only had skill, but you’ve got a keen eye too? Are you really an Outsider?”
Rabi spoke to Geumson as he observed him.
Geumson seemed to have recognized the runes, examining them this way and that with evident fascination.
Even so, Rabi continued his explanation of the dungeon.
“This is the Gear Dungeon. It’s one of the trial grounds passed down through generations in our Magitech School. You might say it’s where the Essence of Magitech lies dormant.”
“Where the Essence of Magitech lies dormant?”
“That’s right. Dormant within this place are ancient golems created by the Magitech School. Your trial is to navigate past them and destroy the ‘Heart of Antiquity’ deep within the dungeon. What do you think? Simple enough?”
The moment the explanation finished, a message bloomed in his mind.
It was the detailed message of a Sudden Chain Quest.
[Sudden Chain Quest: Echo of the Gears]
– Objective: Conquer the Gear Dungeon, where ancient Magitech technology sleeps, and destroy the ‘Heart of Antiquity’—the source of its power.
– Entry Requirement: Level 10 or below
– Success Condition: Destroy the Heart of Antiquity
– Reward: ???
Geumson read through the message.
At the sight of that final ‘???’ for the reward, he released a thin breath.
‘This wasn’t a quest designed for success.’
Quests sometimes came patterned this way.
Quests with unknown rewards.
Most such quests weren’t designed to be cleared.
Diabolical difficulty.
Quests issued on the premise of failure.
Most players rejected quests like these.
There was no gain in accepting a quest you couldn’t clear anyway.
Wasted time, lost experience, consumed resources.
It was only a loss.
But.
“All right. Let’s give it a try.”
He didn’t hesitate.
A dungeon carved with Ancient Runes.
An unreleased dungeon hidden deep within Neman Village, a beginner settlement.
There was no way he could avoid stepping inside.
Moreover, simply opening this place had already cost Rabi and Klak dearly.
In such circumstances, there was no way for Geumson, as the one concerned, to back out.
“Excellent, excellent! Now that’s what I call a next-generation ace! I’m thoroughly impressed!”
Rabi grinned with a suspicious gleam, clearly pleased by Geumson’s resolve.
Yet he seemed to offer some leeway, warning about the dungeon as well.
“Though you don’t necessarily need to clear the dungeon. This time, the aim is simply to show you around. Understand? You with me?”
“Show me around?”
“Yes, for a next-generation ace… a sort of field trip, you might say. Simply witnessing the ancient golems within should prove invaluable to your growth.”

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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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