The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 45

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

Chapter 45
045. The Alchemist’s Secret
‘Will Cha Yu-gyeong really log into Lepion?’
He remained uncertain, but he’d decided to be satisfied with the fact that he’d planted a seed for the future.
If she didn’t log in, there were plenty of ways to make her do so.
For now, he needed to focus on the goal right in front of him.
“Walker, status report?”
“Walker! Walker!”
At Geum Son’s call, Iron Walker responded with a resounding cry, the core in his chest glowing a brilliant blue.
The minute scratches left by successive battles had already been perfectly restored through his self-repair function.
“Good. Then let’s set out immediately. Paracelsus is still around, right?”
Geum Son clambered onto Iron Walker’s back, muttering to himself.
Paracelsus had set a time limit of three days.
He’d only spent a day or so in the real world, so time was getting a bit tight.
He felt uneasy wondering if that eccentric old man might have broken his word and vanished.
“Walker, as fast as you can!”
“Walker! Walker Walker!”
Iron Walker surged forward across Krathum’s wasteland with heavy strides, racing toward the blue cavern.
* * *
“Eh? Geum Son! You’re back already? There’s still a day left, isn’t there?”
Deep within the cavern, beneath the crystalline pillars, Paracelsus emerged.
Upon seeing Geum Son, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Did you give up? Tsk tsk, a shame, but what can be done. The Dragonblood Herb isn’t something so easy to…….”
“Here it is.”
Geum Son cut him off and withdrew a bundle of crimson, pulsing herbs from his inventory.
And these were no ordinary Dragonblood Herbs.
They were supreme-grade specimens, their medicinal potency maximized through Geum Son’s exceptional gathering skill.
“This……is this really Dragonblood Herb? And only supreme-grade at that?”
Paracelsus’s jaw dropped to the floor.
With trembling hands, he took one stem of Dragonblood Herb, sniffed it, and even nibbled a leaf to taste it.
“Impossible…… This purity, this magical essence…… It’s undoubtedly supreme-grade! And such a premium specimen, aged several centuries at least! How on earth did you…… and in such a short time?”
Paracelsus doubted his own eyes.
He himself had failed to gather them multiple times due to the Corrupted Earthworm.
Even if one managed to locate such premium specimens, harvesting them was extraordinarily difficult.
They were surrounded by lava, and the heat was nearly unbearable.
Yet this young blacksmith before him had adhered to the time limit.
In fact, three days had seemed unreasonably tight.
So he hadn’t held great expectations, and yet just two days.
In merely two days, he’d brought back mountains of Dragonblood Herb—the finest quality he’d ever seen in his entire life.
“The heat must have made harvesting difficult. Remarkable work. Ah! What about that strange worm?”
“Ah, that one? It seemed like it would interfere with the gathering, so I went ahead and dispatched it beforehand.”
“Of course, if it interferes you should dispatch it—— wait? D-dispatched? That enormous creature?”
Paracelsus was lost for words.
His mind was undergoing a complete reassessment of who Geum Son truly was.
He was certainly no mere foreigner with quick hands.
But independent of Paracelsus’s thoughts, system messages flooded into Geum Son’s view like a waterfall.
[Sudden Profession Quest: You have ‘perfectly’ completed your Master’s first task!]
[You’ve gathered the materials ahead of schedule, and at supreme-grade quality no less.]
[Paracelsus cannot hide his admiration for your abilities.]
[Paracelsus’s Favorability rises to ‘Maximum’.]
[You have acquired the Sub-profession: Alchemist.]
[Rewards have been significantly increased.]
[You acquire the Hidden Skill ‘Meridian Insight’!]
[As a token of gratitude, Paracelsus additionally presents you with ‘Fairy’s Tear’ and ‘Alchemist’s Secret Manual – Extraction Chapter’.]
‘Excellent!’
Geum Son silently exulted. He quickly checked the information for his newly acquired Hidden Skill.
[Meridian Insight Lv.1]
[Passive Skill]
– Description: You gain insight that pierces through the flow of Qi and magical essence running within all things.
[Effect]
1. The ‘meridians’ of mana flowing through a target’s internal structure are displayed as blue dotted lines.
2. The ‘nodes’ where mana flow is blocked or twisted are marked as blue dots.
3. Attacking nodes can disrupt skill casting or trigger mana runaway.
4. It can be used even outside combat, allowing you to detect latent mana in materials or analyze the structure of magical items.
‘This is… absolutely insane, isn’t it?’
He nearly let out a shout of exhilaration.
He only held back because Paracelsus was standing in front of him.
Meridian Insight.
This was definitely a set skill paired with Will Intuition.
The synergy with ‘Will Intuition’ alone made his pulse quicken at the mere thought of it.
‘Will Intuition shows physical weaknesses as red dots, Meridian Insight shows magical weaknesses as blue dots…. Is that the concept?’
Now Geum Son’s eyes could see both the physical and magical weak points of everything in the world simultaneously.
This meant far more than just an increase in combat ability.
‘It’s the same when crafting. If I can identify both physical flaws in materials and the flow of mana at the same time….’
The failure rate of finished pieces would approach zero, and the quality of completed items could be pushed to their absolute limit.
On top of that, there were two more unexpected rewards.
[Fairy’s Tear]
– Description: A teardrop shed by a fairy of pure heart, personally refined by Paracelsus
– Effects:
1. Universal catalyst or stabilizer for alchemy
2. Excels at neutralizing toxic substances or stabilizing unstable mana.
[Alchemist’s Secret Manual – Extraction Chapter]
[Active Skill]
– Description: A portion of the secret manual in which a legendary alchemist compiled all his knowledge. It contains profound principles for understanding and reconstructing the essence of matter.
[Effects]
1. Extracts the target’s core properties (e.g., flame, cold, deadly poison, etc.) in ‘essence’ form.
2. Extraction success rate varies depending on skill level and the target item’s grade.
Meridian Insight was already an enormous gain, but this Alchemist’s Secret Manual was no less impressive.
‘Extract in essence form? That means I can use the extracted essence to imbue other items or create potions with it…. This is crazy….’
As Geum Son examined the rewards with a dumbfounded expression, Paracelsus smiled and spoke.
He seemed pleased with Geum Son’s reaction.
“What do you think? Useful?”
“More than useful…… truly remarkable. But if this is the Extraction Chapter, there must be others as well?”
“That’s why I like your quick wit, you little…… er, ahem! Just joking. Of course there are more chapters after this.”
Paracelsus seemed hesitant about something.
With a somewhat apologetic expression, he spoke to Geum Son.
“Well, the thing is, I’m in a situation where I must wander about here and there, so I’m not in a position to teach you directly. So I was thinking…… how would this be?”
Paracelsus was offering an alternative of sorts.
“I’ll give you assignments. Gather rare materials hidden throughout the world for me. In return, I’ll pass on my secret manuals to you, one by one. What do you say?”
It seemed he was troubled by having urged Geum Son to become an alchemist without being able to teach him properly.
But Geum Son was actually pleased.
Geum Son too was bound to wander. There was no way he would refuse Paracelsus’s proposal.
The moment Geum Son nodded, Paracelsus immediately began packing his bag.
Seeing his haste, Geum Son asked a question.
“But why are you in such a hurry? You only gave me three days to gather the Dragonblood Herb.”
At Geum Son’s question, Paracelsus’s expression shifted to one of realization.
He cleared his throat and deflected the subject.
“Ahem! Well, you see, a man of my stature has a packed schedule. There’s a very important transaction coming up at the Krathum Auction House soon.”
“A transaction, you say?”
“You don’t need to know about it.”
Paracelsus seemed reluctant to say more, but his face was filled with worry.
Geum Son caught his expression and pressed further.
“Is something troubling you? Your expression isn’t good.”
Paracelsus hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
“Sigh… there’s nothing you could help with even if I told you, but…… have you ever heard of the ‘Serpent of Lunar Eclipse’?”
Serpent of Lunar Eclipse.
The moment those words reached his ears.
Crunch—
Geum Son’s teeth ground together.
Of course he knew.
The Serpent of Lunar Eclipse—a calamity that emerged suddenly during the Age of Destruction, swallowed Jeju Island whole, and erased it from the map.
There was no forgetting that creature.
It was beyond confrontation.
South Korea lost Jeju Island, but could not strike back at the Serpent of Lunar Eclipse.
With no method and no means to face it, even revenge remained impossible.
Its first appearance became the signal flare for the first calamity.
Not only the media, but every nation in the world turned their attention to it.
[- Breaking news! The entire Jeju Island has been engulfed by a massive shadow of unknown origin! All communications with the island have been severed, and all ships and aircraft bound for it have disappeared! Within Jeju Island, there remain those who have not yet evacuated…….]
That day when absolute darkness consumed the island entirely.
What satellite imagery captured was the form of a colossal serpent.
Six hundred and seventy thousand missing.
Six hundred and seventy thousand innocent citizens vanished.
Classified as missing, not deceased.
No one knew what had become of Jeju Island.
“Hmm? Why does your face look like that?”
Without realizing it, Geum Son’s fists clenched tight.
Even the pain of his nails biting into his palm went unfelt.
He could only ask Paracelsus.
“Do you… know of it?”
“Know of it? Of course! How could one not know of such a massive serpent, large enough to encircle a fortress and have room to spare?”
“A fortress… you say?”
The scale was different.
The Serpent of Lunar Eclipse that Geum Son knew was a calamity capable of devouring Jeju Island in a single bite.
Yet Paracelsus spoke of it as something that could encircle a fortress.
Fitting Paracelsus’s account together with his own past memories, every puzzle piece fell into place.

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