The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 30

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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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Chapter 30
030. Rare? Unique?
100,000 Gold.
In currency, that amounted to roughly ten million won.
It wasn’t a small sum, but considering the sword’s worth, the opening bid was actually quite reasonable.
The raw materials alone—the Viper’s Dagger used in its forging—fetched ten million won on their own.
This was barely more than the raw material price.
Still, Keumson wanted to gauge the market’s reaction.
He was curious to see what value the market would assign to his first piece created for sale.
[Registered at 100,000 Gold.]
[Cancellation is available until auction day.]
[Please note: cancellation fees will apply.]
The moment Keumson stepped back from the terminal after completing the registration.
A small notification window materialized before his eyes.
[Awaiting Auction House authorization.]
[Item appraisal commencing.]
As the greatsword was placed upon the appraisal platform, a faint luminescence emanated from it, beginning to scan the blade’s information.
The collector observing this process let out a low exclamation.
“Mmm… Moonlight Steel fused with Snake Venom Crystal, you say? To contain two opposing properties within a single blade—that’s no ordinary craftsmanship. Are those fine ripples the mark of the Fold-Forging Technique? You must have folded and hammered it hundreds of times at the very least.”
Without so much as touching Keumson’s sword directly, the collector Kalis had deduced both materials and forging method with precision.
True to his title as a collector, his eye for items was flawless.
And it seemed the Moonlight Viper Sword had captivated him entirely.
A message materialized to confirm it.
[“Collector” Kalis has been deeply impressed by your skill.]
[Collector Kalis’s favorability has risen to maximum.]
Kalis seemed taken with not only Keumson’s character but his craftsmanship as well.
Yet the receptionist’s expression remained unmoved as he stared at his monitor.
But in the next instant, his eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
[Scanning item information…]
[Grade unable to be read…]
[Re-examining…]
[Warning: Mana levels detected exceed measurable range]
[Estimated Grade: Legendary Grade]
“…W, what is this!”
A trembling voice escaped from the receptionist’s lips.
He bolted upright, his eyes darting back and forth between the greatsword on the appraisal platform and his monitor, blinking rapidly.
Then, after stammering for a moment, he managed only a single sentence.
“T, this is… wait, please wait just a moment! I’ll bring the Chief Appraiser at once!”
The receptionist scurried away in confusion.
At the commotion, several players in the vicinity turned to look with curiosity.
“What’s going on? Was that broadcast a scam?”
“I knew it from when he said he’d already made a Legendary Grade. Figures.”
“Hey, upload this live to Lepion Net! Caught you! Gotcha! Didn’t I say it smelled fishy?”
“Ah, really? That doesn’t seem to be the reaction…”
As attention converged not only from players but NPCs as well.
From behind the reception desk came a middle-aged dwarf with a magnificent mustache, walking with an air of arrogance.
It was Durin, the Chief Appraiser of the Kratum Auction House.
Durin gave the Moonlight Viper Sword a cursory glance, then scoffed and spoke.
“Hmph. It looks presentable enough on the surface, but the flow of mana is unstable and the durability is questionable. The combination of materials is crude beyond comparison.”
An unexpectedly harsh verdict.
And it continued.
“This is nothing but the result of a fool who doesn’t even understand the basics of smithing getting lucky. At best… Rare? No, even being generous, this is Unique Grade at most.”
Keumson could do nothing but be taken aback by Durin’s patent nonsense.
But Durin pressed on regardless.
“After deducting the appraisal fee and commission, you’d get about 50,000 Gold. How does that sound? An item like this cannot be brought to auction. Instead, we’ll purchase it from you at that price immediately. Fair enough?”
Durin, brazenly attempting to lowball him.
It seemed he’d assumed Keumson was a clueless outsider and was spouting whatever came to mind.
Just as Keumson began to narrow his brow and step forward.
“Running your mouth like that with such a loose tongue, are you.”
Someone had stepped forward ahead of Keumson.
It was Kalis.
Kalis said nothing in particular.
He simply
withdrew a small seal from his pocket and showed it.
“That, that is—!”
A golden seal emblazoned with the laurel wreath insignia.
It was a credential that only the royal family of Arcadia could possess.
“Tell your master, red-bearded Dusar, that Arcadia’s Third Laurel Leaf has come calling.”
The faces of Durin and the auction house branch manager who had rushed over turned ashen.
“That, that seal is—!”
The moment the branch manager saw the seal, he dropped flat on the floor, nearly striking his forehead as he bowed his head in deference.
Chief Appraiser Durin, who had been pointing at Keumson with mockery and swagger only moments before, did the same.
His legs trembled like aspen leaves, and his jaw chattered so violently he could barely produce a coherent sound.
“I, Arcadia’s Third Laurel Leaf—”
The golden seal bearing the laurel wreath insignia that Kalis held aloft.
To the players, it was merely an incomprehensible seal.
But to the NPCs.
To the residents of Lepion, they could not help but recognize it at once.
The meaning was unmistakable.
The eyes of the players who had been observing the situation with interest widened in astonishment.
“What’s going on? Why are the NPCs reacting like that?”
“Did he just become a noble or something?”
“That appraiser bastard was being rude as hell earlier, and now he’s met his match. Serves him right!”
“But why is that nobleman taking the goldsmith’s side? Do they know each other?”
The players could not hide their excitement at the sudden reversal unfolding before them.
Their eyes now fixed on Keumson and Kalis, and the two NPCs prostrate on the floor.
For players intoxicated by dopamine, there was no spectacle more captivating than this.
“Have you forgotten my request? Or shall we verify the authenticity of this seal right here and now?”
“No, no, not at all! I shall fetch him at once!”
The branch manager hurried away, practically crawling toward the back of the auction house.
Left alone, Durin was now on the verge of fainting.
Thump-thump-thump—
Not long after, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from within the auction house.
A dwarf emerged, striding forward with a colossal frame that rivaled an Iron Walker, his blazing red beard grown down to his chin, every inch of him burning with intensity.
A stature that defied all notion of what a dwarf should be.
His eyes burned like forge-fire, and an aura of untouchable mastery emanated from his entire being.
[Master of Kratum, Red-Bearded Dusar, Lv.350]
‘I never thought I’d see Dusar in person. The sight of him is truly extraordinary.’
Keumson observed his counterpart with silent admiration.
Dwarves, by their racial nature, possessed an innate gift for the craft of blacksmithing.
That such a dwarf served as the supreme administrator of this massive city’s auction house meant his skill was beyond comprehension.
Moreover, Dusar was an NPC Keumson had never encountered even in his previous life.
He was a figure so exclusive that he revealed himself to scarcely any player.
The moment Dusar caught sight of Kalis, he knelt on one knee and paid his respects.
“You have traveled far, Third Laurel Leaf of Arcadia. This humble Dusar offers his salutation.”
His voice was deep and resonant.
Only then did Kalis relax his rigid expression, and he extended his hand toward Dusar in a gesture of dismissal.
“It has been long, Dusar. Please, rise. I did not come to receive such ceremony from you.”
Kalis first bowed respectfully.
“First, I must apologize for the disturbance caused in this sacred space under your stewardship. Yet this young man’s conduct was so egregious that I simply could not refrain from intervening.”
Kalis gestured with his chin toward Durin, who lay prostrate on the floor.
As Dusar’s gaze turned toward him, Durin’s body convulsed as if seized by spasms.
“Look at this sword.”
Kalis held out Keumson’s Moonlight Viper Sword toward Dusar.
“Your chief appraiser examined this blade and declared it Rare Grade at best, perhaps Unique Grade if generously assessed. He then compounded this insult by claiming the material composition was shoddy and the maker’s fundamentals were wretched—and afterward deceived this young craftsman by offering fifty thousand gold after deducting appraisal and commission fees. Is that not so?”
Kalis recounted Durin’s words with measured calm.
Yet beneath them ran a current of cold fury.
“Now then, Red-Bearded Dusar. You who represent the smiths of Kratum, the City of Craftsmen—tell me yourself. Does this blade appear to be nothing more than a cheap and worthless sword in your eyes?”
Without a word, Dusar took the greatsword in hand.
His rough, callused fingers traced gently along the blade.
At first, his expression had been composed, but the longer he examined the greatsword, the more it began to contort.
“To fuse Moonlight Steel and Snake Venom Crystal so flawlessly…… The opposing essences of two conflicting affinities do not collide—instead, they amplify each other’s power! That alone is extraordinary…….”
Dusar appraised the Moonlight Viper Sword with methodical precision.
And with each moment that passed, the cold sweat streaming from Durin seemed to pool on the floor beneath him.
Yet Dusar’s appraisal was far from over.
“This wavy pattern…… the Dragon Scale Pattern. Only those who have reached the pinnacle of the Fold-Forging Technique may inscribe it. It requires at least thousands of foldings and hittings to produce such marks.”
His gaze lingered on the serpent-scale pattern etched into the blade.
His breathing began to grow increasingly ragged.
“A mastery that perfectly comprehends the essence of materials and draws forth their potential to the absolute limit. And yet…… what did you call it? Rare, Unique?”
Dusar fell silent.
His hand trembled as he gripped the sword.
It was not mere admiration.
A towering fury, at the fact that a masterpiece had been insulted, was barely being held in check.
“The measurement device itself points to a grade beyond that…….”
Dusar examined even the monitor used for the appraisal.
His gaze shifted slowly, very slowly, toward Durin, who kept his head bowed against the floor.

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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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