The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 18

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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 18
018. Public Bounty
“The bastard called ‘Geumson’ who killed me yesterday—well, anyway! I’m going to track him down and get my revenge. But he’s nowhere near Neman Village. He must have leveled past 10 and moved to another region.”
└ Oh, that sounds plausible.
└ Yeah, with two Legendary Items in his pocket, there’s no way he’s still in the starter zone.
└ So how do we find him now? Repion’s map is ridiculously huge. There are like 48 kingdoms alone? This is gonna suck.
Even the viewers who’d been mocking PK Godteu were beginning to focus on what he said.
And just as the viewer count reached its peak.
He took a breath, then pulled out his trump card.
“So, this is PK Godteu! I’m issuing a Public Bounty!”
The chat exploded.
└ Wow, he’s insane. A Public Bounty lmao
└ How much is the bounty?
└ This is gonna be hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
He thrust his fingers upward toward the camera, cranking up the energy.
“Anyone who tips me off about Geumson’s current location gets 10,000 Gold—equivalent to 1 million won in cash! And anyone who marks his exact coordinates gets 100,000 Gold!”
PK Godteu’s gamble.
Times like this called for going big.
He instinctively knew that the bigger the ante, the greater the payoff when revenge succeeded.
And his instinct proved dead accurate.
The broadcast descended into pure pandemonium.
└ Wow, that’s 10 million won?
└ I’m hunting for Geumson full-time starting today.
└ Geumson bro I’m sorry… where are you? I’ll keep it just between us!
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ look at godteu’s scale bro.
└ That’s right! This is the real PK Godteu! This is why I watch your streams!
.
.
.
Even viewers who’d been rooting for Geumson transformed into hunters, eyes blazing with fervor.
Watching the narrative flip and the chat turn, PK Godteu allowed himself a satisfied smile.
Most of the viewers were Repion players themselves.
These days, Repion’s login count was setting all-time records day after day.
Players from every age and gender were logging in.
In such circumstances, every single Repion user had become a potential hunter.
Geumson would have nowhere left to hide.
“Hey, Geumson! Unless you want to quit Repion, bring back the gear I dropped and kneel down to apologize, yeah? Or else I’ll keep Player Killing you until you’re level 1. Got it?”
PK Godteu’s provocation continued.
In truth, PK Godteu had nothing to lose.
The items he’d lost were worth over 10 million won.
If he managed to retrieve them, that alone would cover the bounty.
And Geumson’s apology would be the cherry on top.
If things played out according to his script, PK Godteu’s stock in the gaming broadcast scene would skyrocket.
It was a move with genuine potential.
A perfect reversal, a masterstroke that flipped the entire situation.
Only problem was—his opponent was Geumson.
* * *
While the Repion Net and PK Godteu’s broadcast were burning hot.
Geumson remained completely oblivious to any of it.
Geumson, who’d already lived through apocalypse.
He had no leisure to browse the Repion Net casually.
He needed all his focus just to explore the Ancient Cogwheel Dungeon.
‘Is this really the Ancient Cogwheel Dungeon?’
Darkness lifted, revealing a damp cavern.
The scale was far too vast to simply call it the basement of a Magitech Engineer’s building.
A dungeon was like a transition into another space.
But Geumson showed no alarm.
He’d experienced this hundreds of times already.
Still, the cavern’s appearance was unfamiliar even to Geumson, who’d explored countless dungeons.
Mysterious pipes and wiring snaked across the walls and ceiling like serpents, while rusted gears and broken machinery lay scattered across the floor thick enough to kick up at every step.
The air itself was thick with a distinctive odor—a blend of metal and oil mingling with an unknown vapor rising from the floor.
Creak—thud.
Creak—thud.
Geumson had barely advanced a few steps.
Yet from the darkness came an unsettling mechanical sound.
The moment Geumson tightened his grip on the Hammer in response to that noise.
He knew what it was.
[Scrap Collector Golem Lv.22]
[Cogwheel Sentinel Lv.23]
Compared to the troll he’d encountered in the Forest Keeper’s lair before, these were lower-leveled.
But these were not living creatures—they were machines forged from cold steel.
Ancient golems that felt no pain, knew no fear, and obeyed only their commands with perfect precision.
‘This… is hardly a quest designed with success in mind.’
The golems he had to face were around level twenty.
Meanwhile, players capable of entering this place were restricted to level ten or below.
And not just one—two of them.
It was a hopeless situation; even dying and respawning wouldn’t grant him victory.
The only silver lining, as Rabi had said, was if he managed to evade them skillfully enough to find any opening at all.
But even that seemed far from guaranteed.
Screeeech—!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The ancient golems, having already spotted Geumson, came charging forward.
The three-meter-tall Scrap Collector Golem lunged with its sharp rake-like arms raised, while the Cogwheel Sentinel fired gears at high speed from its chest.
For a normal player, the game would already be over here.
They might be staring at a “[You have died.]” message.
Anyone would panic faced with such bizarre, unpredictable attacks.
But to Geumson’s eyes, everything was crystal clear.
‘Resolute Intuition!’
Vivid red points materialized across the golems’ bodies.
The Mana Core, the Power Pipes, even the head where the central processor was located—all of it.
Every weak point laid bare before Geumson’s gaze.
“This might actually be worth trying.”
Geumson wore a thin smile as he hurled himself at the Cogwheel Sentinel.
He slipped past the fired gears with ease, closing the distance in an instant.
Then he swung the Hammer in his hand.
Whoosh!
Crack!
The Hammer struck true, smashing the red point marked on the Cogwheel Sentinel’s head.
[Weak Point Strike successful.]
[Critical hit confirmed.]
[Cogwheel Sentinel destroyed.]
Geumson’s Strength stat had already reached fifty-seven with item effects included.
He was completely different from an ordinary level-ten player.
Add to that the Head Hunter effect and the overwhelming attack power of the Legendary Items, and the Cogwheel Sentinel stood no chance against a single blow.
The Sentinel’s head caved in.
Sparks flew as it toppled.
Without missing a beat, Geumson spun his body and targeted the shoulder joint of the Scrap Collector Golem descending on him from behind.
Crunch!
The joint shattered, the arm tore free, and the golem staggered, losing its balance.
Geumson seized the opening and drove the Hammer downward once more toward the golem’s Power Pipe.
Crack!
Hissssss!
The pipe crumpled and vented blue steam, and the golem collapsed in defeat.
In mere seconds, Geumson had reduced two golems to scrap metal.
‘Far easier to handle than the troll.’
Unlike the troll, which moved erratically by animal instinct, the golems followed precise patterns.
Once you understood their weak points and movements, they were actually simpler to fight.
Their precision of manufacture was the source of their weakness.
Even the slightest misalignment could bring their functions to a halt.
‘But something’s odd. A golem’s core should have Self-Repair… is this model not equipped with it?’
As long as the core remains intact, a Golem can theoretically undergo infinite self-repair.
That’s what makes Golems truly terrifying.
But this model doesn’t seem to follow that rule.
Even waiting to see if they might recover, the Golems show no signs of healing.
Instead, a message appeared.
.
.
.
[Level Restriction has been temporarily lifted.]
[You gain an additional 100% Experience Points.]
[Level increased! Lv. 11]
“This is… easier than I thought?”
The system seemed to have classified this dungeon as something other than a beginner zone.
Thanks to that, the level restriction had been removed.
Moreover, experience points were doubled compared to the outside world.
The Ancient Cogwheel Dungeon was essentially an experience event.
A smile bloomed across Geumson’s face.
A radiant one at that.
“Might as well make the most of an experience event!”
Contrary to Rabi’s expectations, Geumson began clearing the dungeon with bold aggression.
And at a remarkably swift pace.
Hammer in hand, Geumson pushed deeper into the dungeon.
Countless Golems rushed at him with every step he took, but the results remained much the same.
One swing of the hammer shattered joints.
Crack!
Two swings destroyed the power core.
Boom—
Three swings crushed the head.
Crunch!
Splinter—!
The Golems crumpled like puppets with cut strings.
He’d lost count of how many Golems he’d destroyed.
He destroyed whatever rushed at him, and charged ahead to destroy those that hadn’t.
Ancient Golems burst apart in rapid succession wherever he looked.
Then a message suddenly appeared.
[Achievement: Golem Dismantling Specialist]
[You have destroyed exactly 100 Golems using only Weak Point Strikes.]
[The system marvels at your precise and merciless method of destruction.]
[Effect: All damage dealt to mechanical-type monsters increases by 20%.]
‘Dismantling specialist?’
Geumson wore a wry smile as he regarded the achievement he’d just earned.
There was something ironic about a magitech engineer—one who should be building and crafting Golems—earning the title of ‘Golem Dismantling Specialist.’
‘Is it because I’m using a hammer?’
The hammer was a weapon most other players would never use.
Players typically favored swords, spears, or bows.
Failing that, they wielded staves for casting spells.
But Geumson wielded a hammer.
He could understand why the system recognized him as a ‘Golem Dismantling Specialist.’
Yet despite that regret, the effect was deeply satisfying.
Twenty percent increased damage to mechanical-type monsters.
It did nothing but further strengthen Geumson’s dungeon conquest.

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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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