The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 49

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

Chapter 49
049. Pure Flame Essence
[World Message]
[Player Golden Hand has obtained ‘Void Iron Ore’!]
“Void Iron Ore? Never heard of it. What’s the significance?”
Kane asked flatly.
But Megan, as if anticipating his reaction, calmly displayed the next piece of information on screen.
It was detailed specifications for the Void Iron Ore — intelligence that Panther’s information team had gathered through every available means immediately after the World Message appeared.
.
.
.
3. [Anti-Magic Field]: Depending on the grade of the item crafted from it, generates a unique field that weakens magical effects within a certain radius of the surroundings.
A suffocating silence fell over the conference room.
Every guild member’s gaze was fixed on a single sentence on the screen as if nailed there.
‘Absorbs all magical power and twists it away! Weakens magical effects!’
Kane’s mouth slowly opened.
His eyes trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake.
In eyes that had been filled with despair and anger, the flames of greed and hope began to blaze.
“That’s it…….”
His voice was barely a whisper, yet it thundered through the ears of everyone in the conference room.
“That’s it! The only key to breaking the Lich King’s absolute magical defense!”
Kane sprang from his seat.
He was no longer angry.
Like a beast spotting its prey, a cold and razor-sharp aura radiating from his entire frame.
“Megan.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
“Immediately scrape together every scrap of information on this player called ‘Golden Hand.’ Personality, play style, guild affiliation, relationships, wants, dislikes — don’t miss a single detail.”
“Understood.”
“Finance team, prepare to mobilize all guild reserves…… No, wait.”
Kane fell silent in thought.
Then, as if changing his mind, he spoke again.
“Just call him in with a decent offer and hand over some cash. He’ll sell it eagerly enough. What could he possibly do with it anyway? He can’t even smelt it, can he?”
Kane was supremely confident.
Even if it were an Ancient Grade ore, he was certain no player currently had the means to work with it.
‘Only a massive guild like ours would have a way to process Ancient Grade minerals…… Golden Hand? That’s amusing. What could a lone individual possibly do?’
In other words, to this fellow Golden Hand, the Void Iron Ore would be a useless possession.
A fine item, certainly, but one he couldn’t actually use — an awkward, half-valuable thing.
So there was no need to waste unnecessary funds.
‘Korea? There’s nothing remarkable there except Kang Mujin…… This should actually turn out easier than expected.’
Kane was confident in his assessment.
Only Panther could process Ancient Grade minerals.
They alone possessed such capability.
“Golden Hand, is it…… A name as loud as the title itself. How pretentious.”
A smile of victory settled on Kane’s lips.
As if he had already claimed the Void Iron Ore for himself.
* * *
“Wh—where did you obtain this?”
“I discovered it while investigating a tunnel dug by a Corrupted Earthworm. Do you…… happen to know what it is?”
“You found this in the Lava Zone? Good heavens!”
The collector Kalis.
He hadn’t batted an eye at the appearance of the Void Iron Ore.
But at the object Golden Hand had offered with a request for appraisal —
A ‘mysterious egg’ — his pupils trembled sharply.
Golden Hand spoke up when the atmosphere of their gathering had reached its height, as if the thought had suddenly occurred to him.
“I’ve heard you have considerable expertise in appraisals, Kalis. I have something among my possessions whose nature I cannot determine. Would you be willing to take a look?”
Kalis’s eyes brightened with interest.
Golden Hand was himself a master craftsman of considerable skill.
Surely he would have appraised most things himself or at least recognized them readily.
For such a master to possess something whose identity eluded him —
It was more than enough to pique the curiosity of a collector like himself.
“Show me, then. There are few things on this continent that escape the eye of Kalis.”
Golden Hand retrieved it from his inventory as though he’d been waiting for this moment, setting it carefully on the table.
It was the mysterious egg he’d discovered deep in the Lava Zone of the Ashen Fang Mine—glowing red as a ruby.
The instant the egg touched the table, the temperature inside the Smithy seemed to rise, ever so slightly.
Heat radiated from it in steady waves, accompanied by a faint but stubborn vitality.
“What is this…?”
Dusar tilted his head first, puzzled.
He turned the egg over in his hands and sniffed it, but he couldn’t place what it was.
“It seems alive, certainly…but an egg with this kind of aura? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Not a dragon’s egg. Not a griffon’s. What on earth is it?”
When even Dusar shook his head, Kalis’s expression grew graver still.
He produced a monocle from his coat and fitted it to his eye, leaning closer to the egg.
His pupils narrowed as he began to read the delicate threads of mana flowing across its surface and the throb of life pulsing within.
[‘Collector’ Kalis activates the Appraisal Eye skill.]
As time passed, his expression shifted to one of shock.
The ease in his smile vanished, and beads of cold sweat formed on his brow.
“No, this can’t be…! This pattern…the resonance of this mana…! Surely not!”
Kalis shot to his feet.
He looked back and forth between the egg and Golden Hand, his voice trembling as he cried out.
“Where did you get this? This is…this is the Fantastical Elementia that appears only in legends! The egg of the Wujiji—the mythical creature that devours endless Attributes and evolves!”
His cry seemed to silence all sound within the Smithy.
Dusar nearly dropped the cup in his hand, while Golden Hand could only stare in bewilderment.
‘Wujiji? What in the world is that?’
He’d never heard the name in his previous life either.
But judging from Kalis’s reaction alone, he could surmise that this egg was something beyond imagination.
Before anything else, Kalis was the Third Prince of the Arcadia Kingdom.
There were scarcely any rare treasures he had yet to witness.
He who hadn’t so much as blinked upon seeing the Void Iron Ore.
And yet he was showing genuine excitement.
But Kalis’s excitement soon gave way to a deep sigh.
“But I fear it’s too late.”
He clicked his tongue in regret and removed the monocle.
“The egg’s condition is dire. The core has been damaged by external trauma, and its life force has been nearly drained. Petrification is already taking hold. As it stands, it will turn to stone completely within days—nothing but an empty husk.”
[‘Collector’ Kalis’s Appraisal Result]
[Fantastical Elementia Egg (Damaged)]
– Grade: Mythic Grade (Unmeasurable)
– Status: Petrification in Progress (Life Force 3%)
– Description: The egg of the legendary divine beast Wujiji, which absorbs all Attributes and claims them as its own. Severe damage renders hatching virtually impossible. Left as is, it will devolve into an ordinary mana stone.
‘M-Mythic Grade? Is that for real?’
A Mythic Grade item.
Though ‘egg’ was a special case, Golden Hand had never seen a Mythic Grade item before.
In his previous life, the highest grade he’d handled was Ancient Grade.
He’d heard of those who possessed Mythic Grade items, but never seen one with his own eyes until now.
Yet what Kalis and the system message told him was devastating news.
He stood before a Mythic Grade item for the first time in his existence, and it was beyond his reach—fruit hanging just out of reach.
Disappointment flickered across Golden Hand’s face.
Then Kalis seemed to remember something and spoke cautiously.
“There is…not entirely without hope, at least.”
“There is a way?”
“Theory, merely. I must stress the chances of success are minimal.”
“What is it?”
The Collector paused, gathering his thoughts.
Then he began to speak.
“If you were to infuse it directly with Pure Flame Essence, it might absorb that Attribute and hatch. The Wujiji—that Fantastical Elementia—would devour it.”
Golden Hand fell into deep contemplation at Kalis’s words.
Specifically, about what this ‘Pure Flame Essence’ might entail.
But Kalis’s thought trailed off.
It seemed even he wasn’t entirely certain what ‘Pure Flame Essence’ truly was.
“Difficult, no? A being with such power couldn’t exist in this world. Even dragon’s breath is a mixture of countless tangled Attributes. Practically speaking, it’s impossible.”
Kalis had snuffed out the last ember of hope.
He hesitated briefly before beginning to offer a proposal as a Collector.
“Since the thing is hopeless anyway, why not hand it over to me? I’ll pay you fairly. After all, it would serve as clear proof of the very existence of the Fantastical Elementia—and such proof carries considerable value.”
A rational collector’s proposition.
Yet to Golden Hand’s ears, the man’s words rang entirely differently.
‘Pure Flame Essence…?’
Golden Hand’s heart began to race once more.
A single possibility flickered through his mind.
He looked down at his own right hand.
The hand blessed by the divine, now cradling the power of the sun.
The source of all creation, the apex of destruction.
[Title: Solar Right Hand]
[Effect 1. Solar Flame: All items you craft have a low chance of being imbued with ‘Solar Power.’ (grants Flame and Holy Attributes)]
‘Solar Flame—a force purer and mightier than any fire in the world. Perhaps…’
Golden Hand shook his head firmly in response to Kalis’s offer.
Even if the Fantastical Elementia Egg shattered in the attempt, it was worth trying.
“No, I cannot sell it. There’s something I wish to test first.”
His eyes blazed not with resignation, but with the fire of a new challenge.

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