The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 23

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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 23
023. There Is No Bad Stat in This World
“Fifty remaining stat points. I’m investing them all in Luck.”
[You have invested all 50 remaining stat points into Luck.]
[Luck: 22 → 72]
The moment the stat allocation completed, there was no visible change.
But Geumsohn could feel it.
This was the perfect moment to breathe life into the golem’s heart.
Click—
The instant he installed the Ancient Heart into the golem, system messages cascaded down like a waterfall.
[A miracle occurs in the crafting process due to the influence of your Luck stat!]
[The ‘Soul Forging’ skill maximizes, and ‘Soul Engraving’ manifests with 100% certainty!]
[‘Right Hand of the Sun’ surges uncontrollably, and the ‘Flame of Fire’ takes root in the golem’s heart!]
[You have achieved a Great Success!]
[Due to the effect of your ‘Luck’ stat, the probability of Great Success increases, resulting in a Transcendent Great Success!]
[The crafted golem’s rank rises by two grades!]
[Achievement: Creator of the First Ego Golem]
[The system trembles before your indomitable will, your outlandish imagination, and the fortune you have cultivated with your own hands!]
[Effect 1. All stats increase permanently by 10!]
[Effect 2. Renown increases by 250.]
[Effect 3. You have acquired the exclusive skill ‘Crafter’s Resonance’.]
.
.
.
[A faint ‘Ego’ has taken root in the golem.]
‘Luck… it’s an insane stat.’
Geumsohn’s awe was short-lived.
The words “exclusive skill” made him pause.
A skill only he could use—one that only an extreme minority among rankers possessed.
[Crafter’s Resonance Lv. 1]
[Passive Skill]
– Description: You become spiritually connected with any being bearing an ‘Ego’ that you have crafted, allowing you to share understanding that transcends language.
– Effects:
1. [Emotion Sharing]: You can faintly sense the emotions of your Ego Golem.
2. [Will Transmission]: You can convey complex commands and subtle nuances through thought alone.
3. [Potential Bloom Acceleration]: As your resonance with the Ego Golem deepens, the speed of the golem’s ‘Companion Growth’ accelerates.
Whiiiiiir—!
The moment he finished reading, the golem’s entire body began to vibrate violently.
Blue mana burst from its core and spread throughout its frame.
The three-meter-tall steel giant slowly lowered its head to gaze at Geumsohn, its creator, then knelt on one knee before him.
“Ma… ster. Command… command….”
But he could not answer.
Geumsohn’s trembling heart was settling as he reviewed the information of his first golem.
[Steel Giant Bearing the Heart of the Sun]
– Grade: Ancient (Lv. 1)
– Creator: Geumsohn
– Status: Bound
– Attack Power: 500–700
– Defense Power: 1,500
– Effects:
1. [Crafting Assistance]: Provides work support and increases crafting speed by 100%.
2. [Expanded Inventory]: Five times the capacity of a basic inventory.
3. [Auto-Looting System]: Automatically collects dropped items in the surrounding area.
4. [Flame of Fire]: When using flamethrower attacks, there is a 20% chance to add holy attribute damage.
5. [Will of Steel]: Automatically enters defense mode if its master is in danger.
6. [Ego-Companion Growth]: Grows alongside the creator and awakens new abilities.
– Description: The magnum opus and alter ego of the blacksmith Geumsohn, forged with all his soul and fortune.
A steel giant transcending a mere mechanical golem, bearing an Ego within.
“An… Ancient… grade?”
Geumsohn questioned his own eyes.
He’d hoped for Unique at best, maybe Legendary if fortune smiled—but the result was Ancient Grade.
It was the outcome of an all-in gamble on the Luck Stat.
[New Blueprint completed.]
[You may now name the Golem.]
[Would you like to assign a new name?]
Geumsohn grinned widely and made his declaration.
A fitting name for the companion who would labor alongside him through grueling days and cross countless thresholds of danger.
“You’ll be a Worker…… yes, Iron Worker.”
The Golem tilted its head for a moment, as if considering.
Then it turned toward its creator and responded in a low, resonant voice.
“Wor, ker! Worker!”
The joy radiating from Iron Worker, now bearing its name, seemed to flow back into Geumsohn as well.
‘Crafter’s Resonance’—Geumsohn must possess that skill, after all.
It had to be.
『”MK-19. Damaged quite severely……”
The Magitech Engineer shared the system message without even turning his head.
It was a record of the final battle.
[Emergency Rescue Request: Denied]
[Master Command: Priority Execution]
.
.
.
[Allied Forces: Annihilated]
[Survivors: 0]
[MK-19 ‘Iron Bastion’ Destroyed]
[Cause: Failed to Secure Tactical Flexibility]
The Magitech Engineer regarded the system message with bitter irony.
“My order was to hold the position. And this thing executed it perfectly. Our mage squadron sent a rescue request as they retreated—but this stupid hunk of metal decided that holding the position took priority and ignored it. Perfectly obedient. Which is why it’s perfectly idiotic, nothing but a calculating machine.”
“It simply followed orders…… didn’t it?”
“Exactly. That’s the problem. It didn’t ‘understand’ my command—it just ‘obeyed’ it.”
The Magitech Engineer kicked at the shattered core, voice hardening.
“If…… if there had been an Ego Golem, things would’ve been different. That one would’ve grasped the true meaning of my order. It would’ve understood that the real goal of ‘hold the position’ was ‘ensure our troops survive.’ It would’ve called out to me.”
The Magitech Engineer mimicked the Golem’s voice, speaking in a low, mechanical tone.
“‘Master! Abandoning positional defense! Securing our mage corps’ survival has higher tactical value!’ Damn it, an Ego Golem would’ve made a ‘judgment,’ not just a calculation. It would’ve disobeyed my order if necessary to achieve the best outcome!”
“……A weapon that thinks for itself.”
“A weapon? If an Ego Golem existed, it wouldn’t be just a weapon—no, never mind.”
The Magitech Engineer bit his lip and trailed off.
Blood leaked faintly from his wounded lip, yet regret compelled him to add one final words.
“That single blueprint I glimpsed in Lepion back then…… it still haunts me. One scrap of paper that could’ve altered humanity’s fate……. I should never have let it slip away…….”』
– Excerpt from a conversation with a certain Magitech Engineer during the Age of Destruction –
As Geumsohn gazed upon the completed Iron Worker, the memory of those distant days flashed across his mind.
‘Could this…… be different?’
He couldn’t be certain yet.
This wasn’t an Ego Golem made from the blueprint that Magitech Engineer had seen.
It was entirely Geumsohn’s own creation, an original Ego Golem in its own right.
Moreover, this was a Companion Growth-type Ego Golem, developing in tandem with its master, Geumsohn.
In other words, Iron Worker’s potential for growth remained unknown.
Besides, Geumsohn had never seen the Ego Golem of Lepion with his own eyes.
He’d only heard of it.
So there was no way yet to know which Golem would prove superior.
Only Rabi, a resident of Lepion who would know about Ego Golems, might provide that answer.
Her reaction had been distinctly different.
Markedly different from Clark’s response, which was mere astonishment at Geumsohn’s skill.
“Clark? Clark! I didn’t mishear that just now, did I? That, that Golem just spoke, right? Tell me I’m right?”
Rabi kept her eyes locked on the Golem Geumsohn had created, questioning Clark urgently.
But Clark didn’t answer.
Clark too seemed too busy staring slack-jawed at Geumsohn’s Golem to respond.
“Clark! Is that what I think it is?!”
“Y-yes…… huh? Oh, yes! I, I th…… ink? That… m-maybe…… right?”
Clark seemed entirely bewildered.
An unexpected visitor clearing the Gear Dungeon wasn’t enough—now he’d created a golem.
Simply crafting a three-meter golem would have been remarkable on its own.
But the one standing before them wasn’t just any craftsman.
He was a stranger—someone who hadn’t undergone rigorous Magitech training since childhood, no formal apprenticeship at all.
Yet this stranger seemed unsatisfied with merely creating a golem.
He’d imbued it with an Ego.
The Ego appeared faint still, but its presence itself was the critical fact.
Clark couldn’t believe it, even seeing it with his own eyes.
“Rabi, Branch Director… is such a thing even possible? What is this stranger?”
Rabi herself was counted among the brightest talents of the Magitech Academy.
But she found herself unable to answer Clark’s question easily.
The sight unfolding before her surpassed her understanding by leagues.
‘Ego-related techniques are treated as military secrets of the highest classification by each kingdom… There’s no way this stranger would know such things. How is this even possible?’
Rabi was no stranger to Ego-related techniques herself.
Her position and clearance within the kingdom gave her access to classified knowledge.
But for a stranger to actually craft one was an entirely different matter.
“Clark, start packing our things.”
“Pardon? All of a sudden… why?”
“A next-generation ace has just appeared—no, a super ace. We can’t just sit here and watch. I need to report this to headquarters immediately. This is beyond my authority to handle alone.”
Rabi clearly intended to report the information about this stranger who could create Ego Golems to her superiors.
Directly, in person.
“Geumsohn, imagine if another kingdom snatches him away. Just the thought of it makes me sick.”
“But he’s a stranger—is it even possible?”
“We have to try. Besides… it’s been forever since a Legitimate Successor emerged. The old guard’s reaction should be interesting to see.”
The stranger was free.
Much like Geumsohn himself.
Though he was in the Airlock Kingdom now, there was no telling where he’d go given time.
So one had to move first.

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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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