The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 33

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

Chapter 33
033. Reunions All Around
“But I heard he made that golem too…… Is that even possible?”
“Looks like he learned Magical Engineering. Though my friend said it’s a dead-end job…… How did Geumson pull that off?”
“Wow…… So that’s Legendary Grade too? That’s insane, seriously.”
Envious and curious gazes converged on him from all sides.
Yet among them, other voices cut through with a different tenor.
“But what’s Godteu doing? The guy who broke his own pot and stole a 10 Million Won Dagger is just walking around like this in broad daylight.”
“Right? They said they pay for tips, didn’t they? Shouldn’t we just mark his coordinates now?”
“Godteu, aren’t you streaming right now? Someone tell him in chat. ‘Geumson touring on a golem at the entrance to Kratuum.'”
“Someone already posted it, but he’s blocking it like his life depends on it. Looks like Godteu’s scared.”
“He’s chickening out, he’s totally chickening out. Serves him right!”
Mockery-tinged laughter erupted from several corners.
Geumson heard their conversation but deliberately ignored it.
Right now, he needed to focus on nothing but the quest.
But there was no avoiding the weight of hundreds of eyes fixed on him.
A small spark of embarrassment kindled in his chest.
‘Inside the city…… I should probably get down and walk.’
Geumson quietly leaped from the Iron Walker’s back.
“Walker, come along.”
“……Walkerrr! Walker!”
Somehow, the moment Geumson dismounted, the Iron Walker drooped its head, looking dejected.
But it obediently trailed after him, blending into the city’s vibrant pulse.
Kratuum was, in a word, a blacksmith’s paradise.
The ring of hammers echoed ceaselessly through every corner of the streets, while heat and the scent of metal saturated the air.
Vendor stalls displayed weapons still steaming from the forge, and shop windows gleamed with rare minerals that caught the eye like precious gems.
‘It’s on a completely different level from Neman Village.’
Geumson’s eyes brightened.
His gaze lingered on one smithy.
There, an elderly dwarf was tempering a blade using a special furnace filled with molten lava.
‘Is that the Flame Tempering technique?’
An advanced forging skill that imparts flame properties to weapons by harnessing the heat of lava.
He’d heard of it by name, but never witnessed it firsthand—a technique unique to Repion.
In his previous life, he’d never had time to properly observe such techniques one by one.
Repion had suddenly invaded reality, after all.
‘So that’s how it could be applied like that.’
Geumson found himself stopping mid-step, gazing transfixed at the dwarf’s hammer work.
Simply watching a master craftsman at work like this seemed to offer him invaluable insight.
Then, in the adjacent shop, a player was proudly polishing what appeared to be a freshly crafted shield.
[Lava Turtle Shell Shield]
– Grade: Unique
– Effects:
1. Fire Resistance increased by 40%
2. 10% chance to counterattack with flame spines on hit
“This should at least pull my weight in a raid, right?”
The player openly displayed the item info as if showing it off, continuing to polish it.
But Geumson found himself unconsciously licking his lips at the sight.
‘If I broke down that lava turtle shell and used it as materials…… I could probably craft it into armor. Too bad.’
A shield was certainly a solid choice.
It was simply a matter of efficiency.
If he could, he’d buy the same materials and craft armor right away.
But as always, poverty held him back.
“Player info. Check my funds.”
[Funds: 325 Gold]
A sigh escaped him.
He’d defeated Godteu, slain trolls, and even received broadcast donations, yet in Repion his total was merely 325 Gold.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never properly earned money in Repion. This is just leftover from selling minerals.’
He’d always run forward with his eyes fixed on his goal.
Rather than thinking about selling items for profit, he’d focused solely on crafting better gear and growing stronger.
As a result, his equipment and skills far surpassed any player at his level, yet his pockets remained empty.
‘Should I convert the sponsorship money back to Gold? No, the fees are too steep. And I’ve got the capsule installment due next month too…….’
After taxes and fees, broadcast sponsorship donations lose nearly half their value.
Convert that back to Repion Gold?
The exchange rate was atrocious.
It was burning money through taxes and commissions.
‘But once the Moonlight Viper Sword auction ends…….’
Just had to hold on until then.
Once the auction was over, the cash shortage in Repion would ease a bit.
And if he completed the quest on top of that, he’d be able to play Repion comfortably for a while without worrying about funds.
Whether in reality or in Repion.
Money was always the problem.
Geumson set aside his regret and headed toward the alchemical materials shop.
Fortunately, the ‘Flame Salamander Fang’ and ‘Mithril Powder’ he needed weren’t particularly expensive items.
[Flame Salamander Fang purchased. -150 Gold]
[Mithril Powder purchased. -100 Gold]
[Special Glass Bottle purchased. -50 Gold]
“Twenty-five Gold…… left. Well, guess I should head back.”
Just as Geumson turned to leave after acquiring all his materials, a familiar silhouette caught the corner of his eye.
A shabby leather breastplate, an old spear with teeth missing in places.
And above all, that obsessive glint in his eyes—the kind that suggested a madman with a keen, piercing gaze.
‘What? That guy is……!’
Geumson’s heart dropped.
The lone spear master who had stood against tens of thousands of monsters at the last line of defense during the Age of Ruin.
The man who would later be called the Spear Ghost and rise to the ranks of humanity’s strongest.
It was Yeom Tae-hun, the Spear Ghost.
The man who had given Geumson information about Will Intuition and the Divine Whistle Scroll.
He stood before Geumson’s eyes in his fresh, novice form.
At the welcome sight of him, Geumson instinctively stepped forward, then stopped short.
‘But…… why is he here?’
Yeom Tae-hun should have become a student of ‘spear master Bark’ in Neman Village and left for the capital.
So why was he in Kratuum, the city of blacksmiths?
An ominous chill ran down Geumson’s spine.
‘Could it be…… something went wrong because of me? Because I got the skill first?’
* * *
At the same moment, in Tuban’s smithy in Neman Village.
Clang!
Bang!
Clang-clang!
Tuban’s hammer strikes had become far smoother, brimming with confidence.
Not long ago, that young master craftsman, Geumson, had swept through his smithy like a whirlwind.
Simply by observing his work process from the sidelines, Tuban had advanced a full level.
‘Imbuing one’s soul into the work…… I’m finally beginning to understand it.’
He no longer struck the metal mindlessly with brute force.
Just as Geumson had shown him, he read the grain of the steel, conversed with the flames, and poured his will into the end of the hammer.
Then a shadow stretched long across the smithy entrance.
Tuban continued his work without looking up, speaking casually.
“I’m not taking on outsiders for a while. Though if you need farm tools or the like, I can help with that.”
A man chuckled softly at Tuban’s words before speaking.
“Long time no see, Tuban. I could tell just from the sound—your skill has improved greatly.”
A voice with a depth that seemed to pierce through to the bone.
Tuban stopped his work and lifted his head with an expression of shock.
Standing at the smithy entrance was an old man with long white hair woven into braids.
Though dressed as an ordinary traveler, his gaze held the depth of a boundless ocean.
“M-Master Valerius!”
Tuban hurriedly bowed.
Valerius.
An old friend of his father’s, and one of the five most legendary blacksmiths on the entire continent.
He was one of Geumson’s greatest masters in his past life.
“What brings you to such a humble place…….”

“Why, I stopped by because your father’s memorial day draws near. But you… you’ve changed. You’ve broken down the walls you kept around yourself.”
Valerius’s gaze settled on the hammer in Tuban’s hands and the work upon the anvil.
It seemed he grasped Tuban’s state at once from that alone.
“Could it be… you’ve begun to learn the family’s secret art?”
The question hung heavy with expectation.
Color rose to Tuban’s face at the words.
He simply shook his head and smiled ruefully.
“No, sir. I have no right to such a thing.”
“No right? If Tuseon’s own son claims he has no right, then who in this world does?”
“My father always said: a single sword takes one life, but a well-made hoe feeds hundreds. Our family’s Soul Forging was meant to be used in service of life, not death. Yet my hands are too coarse and rough—far too crude to contain the delicate essence a soul demands.”
Tuban looked down at his own stone-like forearms.
But unlike before, there was no reluctance in his eyes.
Only a clear smile.
Only an unburden contentment.
“So I passed the art to one more suited to it.”
“What? That art… you passed it on? You know better than anyone what that technique means?”
Valerius’s brows twitched faintly.
The gaze that had seemed deep as an ocean of plenty grew sharp and cutting, as if a storm were bearing down.
Yet Tuban stood unmoved before such intensity, speaking with quiet pride.
“Yes, I know full well. That is precisely why I passed it on—to a foreigner, no, to a young master of the forge named Geumson.”
“Geumson? Geumson, you say…”
Valerius began to repeat the name.
As though he meant never to forget it.

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