The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 40

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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 40
040. Welcome Faces
Clang—!
Crash-bang—!
Crash-crash-clang—! Clang—!
Geumsohn began wielding the pickaxe with the measured cadence and rhythm of a master craftsman striking an anvil.
The sound that rang out created a steady, percussion-like vibration that reverberated through the entire cave.
Throb-throb-throb-throb-throb—
The presence that felt that vibration.
It began to writhe in the darkness.
* * *
But before it could reach Geumsohn, there were others who reacted first.
“Insane…… how is that even possible?”
Nachal and the other Asura Guild members watched Geumsohn’s mining with bated breath, unable to hide their shock.
“At that speed…… one hundred of our guild’s specialist miners could mine in a month what he’d extract in a single day, wouldn’t they?”
“Call them specialist miners, not slaves. In any case, this bastard…… isn’t ordinary. That pickaxe—is it a legendary-grade item?”
“No, the pickaxe isn’t the issue. Look at his movements. Not a single wasted swing. He’s targeting only the weak points of the ore vein with perfect precision. That’s a skill. A hidden skill we don’t know about, definitely.”
“And the golem standing beside him is no joke either. We’d have a rough time if we had to face it.”
Nachal’s eyes gleamed.
This mysterious blacksmith, Geumsohn.
He went beyond merely crafting legendary-grade weapons—his ability to procure materials defied all conventional understanding.
“Let’s show ourselves now. Keep the smoke effect steady. Don’t forget from this moment on—we are the Yeokcheon Guild.”
Nachal emerged from the darkness with a sinister smile.
Following him, the guild members surrounded Geumsohn like cunning serpents.
On their armor’s chest plates, the emblem of the Yeokcheon Guild was crudely affixed.
These figures exuded the reek of plunderers.
Their appearance cast a heavy shadow over the air in the cave.
“Hey there, blacksmith. Got a moment to talk?”
Nachal spoke in an intentionally arrogant and condescending tone.
Geumsohn, who had been absorbed in his mining, slowly turned his head.
His face was expressionless, but his eyes had turned cold as ice.
‘So they’ve come.’
Geumsohn had already sensed their presence.
And he saw through their identity at a glance.
‘Yeokcheon Guild? That’s laughable. Those crudely forged Yeokcheon armor facsimiles, and that telltale red serpent tattoo peeking out from beneath the breastplate—they’re unmistakably Asura Guild dogs.’
Their attempt at disguise was painfully transparent.
But they could not fool the eyes of the blacksmith Geumsohn.
All the more so, for in his previous life, Geumsohn had been entangled with countless guilds.
In particular, Choi Jin-ung, the master of the Asura Guild, was a comrade with whom he shared life and death through the latter half of the Age of Ruin.
His ruthless and relentless strategies had been instrumental in humanity’s survival.
Choi Jin-ung—creating chaos and profiting from within it.
Geumsohn knew his methods all too well.
He had even had a hand in sowing that chaos himself, after all.
Thinking of Choi Jin-ung’s strategies now, he felt a strange, almost wistful warmth—like seeing the familiar habits of an old friend after a long absence.
‘But…… will that work on me?’
Geumsohn felt himself on the verge of laughter at the welcome familiarity.
There was no real ill will.
This was simply a time when everyone was scrambling for survival in their own way.
Besides, the Choi Jin-ung of the Age of Ruin.
The one who had despised monsters more than anyone.
And so his vicious strategies were always directed at monsters—which was no concern of his.
‘The Asura Guild’s target isn’t the Moonlight Serpent Sword, is it. Their real aim is probably just to sow discord between me and the Yeokcheon Guild? A transparent move. Still a bit clumsy, Choi Jin-ung.’
Simply by facing his opponent, he had already assessed the entire situation.
Because he knew Choi Jin-ung’s nature too well, he had grasped it in an instant.
“What is it?”
Geumsohn asked nonchalantly, feigning ignorance.
Nachal concluded that Geumsohn was cowed by their show of force.
He proceeded to his main point with an air of arrogance.
“Our Yeokcheon Guild has taken considerable interest in that ‘Moonlight Serpent Sword’ you crafted. We’re too impatient to wait for an auction, so how about we trade right here? The price…… three hundred thousand Gold. Quite generous, don’t you think?”
His tone was as though he were bestowing some great favor.
Geumsohn let out a silent scoff.
‘Surprisingly reasonable pricing, actually.’
Three hundred thousand Gold—roughly thirty million won in hard currency.
Not a sum that satisfied him, but on the man’s own logic, if he weighed Yeokcheon’s goodwill, the deal was worth considering.
If he cared about looking good to the Yeokcheon Guild, that is.
But Geumsohn had no such intention.
Rather, both Yeokcheon and their true masters—the Asura Guild—ought to be the ones desperate to impress him.
“I’m afraid not. That greatsword is already listed for auction. If you want it badly enough, you’re welcome to bid.”
Geumsohn’s refusal was absolute.
In that instant, the false smile vanished from Nachal’s face.
His eyes narrowed to serpent slits.
“Listen here, friend. You’d do well to hear us out while we’re still being polite. Do you understand what it means to refuse an offer from the Yeokcheon Guild? This is deep in a deserted mine—and you’re alone, aren’t you? That hunk of scrap metal beside you—think it can really protect you?”
Before Nachal’s words had even finished, the Asura Guild members drew their weapons in unison and closed in on Geumsohn, step by step.
Open hostility.
To such hostility, Geumsohn simply responded in kind.
“Walker.”
At Geumsohn’s quiet summons, Iron Walker shifted his massive frame and moved to block his master’s path.
The core in his chest blazed with blue light as he entered combat stance.
“Heh. Resisting, are we? Putting your faith in that pathetic scrap—how pitiful.”
Nachal’s smile turned blood-cold.
He was savoring this.
For Nachal, seizing by force was always preferable to any fair bargain.
It was more exhilarating that way, and far more efficient.
“Fine, then. Let strength decide this. And I won’t just take your sword and your life—I’ll take everything you have! Those minerals too, they’re ours now! Don’t forget you’re facing the Yeokcheon Guild!”
At Nachal’s heated declaration, the guild members seemed ready to move in for the kill.
Tense silence hung thick over the mine.
Geumsohn adjusted his grip on his hammer.
Combat appeared unavoidable.
But then, in that very moment—
GRRRRRUMBLE—!
The entire cavern shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
Dirt and stones cascaded down from the ceiling in thick showers.
“What—what is this? An earthquake?”
While the Asura Guild members faltered and stumbled back in panic, the ground beneath their feet split open like the jaws of some colossal beast.
ROOOAAAAARRR—!
And from that gaping maw—
Something massive burst upward, trailing a reek so foul it seemed to corrode the very air.
SCREEEEECH—!
The thing that tore through the earth was nothing short of overwhelming.
Dozens of meters in length, its diameter thicker than Iron Walker’s torso—a colossal earthworm.
But this was no ordinary worm.
Its entire body was caked in a sickly green slime that, whenever it dripped to the ground, hissed and burned through the stone while releasing nauseating fumes.
Where its mouth should have been sat something better left unnamed—hundreds of razor teeth arranged in concentric circles.
And at the center blazed a single crimson eye, glowing with ravenous hunger.
[Master of the Corrupted Mine—Corrupted Earthworm Lv.65]
SCREEEEEE—!
The roar that erupted from the worm was no mere sound.
It was a sonic assault that shook the entire cavern, a devastating mental attack.
[Corrupted Earthworm uses Roar of Terror.]
[Holy Power clears your mind.]
[You resist the Status Ailment Confusion.]
[Holy Power clears your mind.]
[You resist the Status Ailment Fear.]
Thanks to his unlocked Holy Power stat, Geumsohn remained untouched by the creature’s mental assault.
The Asura Guild, unfortunately, could not say the same.
“Aaaagh!”
“M-my ears—! Everything’s spinning!”
“H-help! I can’t breathe! It’s so dark!”
Several Asura members who’d taken the roar head-on clutched their ears and shrieked, their voices shrill with agony.
Their eyes swam with terror and delirium.
“What—what is that thing?!”
“A Corrupted Earthworm! Hell, why now of all times!”
Nachal’s shock mirrored Geumsohn’s perfectly.
He scrambled to assess the situation, but the worm offered no such luxury.
It drove its massive head down toward the nearest Asura Guild member.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
Crack—!
Before the guild member could even scream, he was sucked into the creature’s gaping maw.
Crunch—
Crush—crunch—
Splinter—crack—
The sickening sound of bone and flesh pulverizing echoed through the cave.
The other guild members’ faces drained of all color.
“Insane… in one bite?”
“R-run! We can’t fight this thing! It’s beyond us!”
The guild members, their will to fight utterly shattered, scattered in panicked flight.
But the worm had no intention of letting them go.
Caustic green slime erupted from its body in all directions.
Ssssshhhhh—!
“Argh! M-my armor is melting!”
“Help me! It won’t come off! I-it won’t come off!”
“Potions, even potions won’t… no, it’s not working!”
The armor of those struck by the slime dissolved in seconds, the caustic liquid searing into their flesh.
Thrashing helplessly, they liquefied into gelatinous sludge and were absorbed into the ground.
Geumsohn watched the elite of the Asura Guild crumble.
In his hand appeared a premium-grade Acid Neutralizer.
“Walker, get ready.”
“Waah-waah-waah! Walker! Waaaa-ker!”
The Iron Walker seemed positively thrilled.
Seeing the sheer size of the Corrupted Earthworm, it appeared to have found itself a proper opponent at last.

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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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