The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 51

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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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Episode 51
051. Krathum in Chaos
– Achievements:
1. Unwavering Conviction
2. Head Hunter
3. The One Who Astounded the Blacksmith
4. Troll Slayer
5. Golem Dismantling Specialist
6. Restorer of the Ancient Heart
7. Destructive Crafter
8. First Ego Golem Creator
9. Mine Destroyer
10. Overcome Level Difference
– Active Skills:
1. Resolute Intuition [Hidden] Lv.7
2. Mining 10 [MAX]
3. Smelting 10 [MAX]
4. Soul Forging [Hidden] Lv.3
5. Inspired Handiwork [Hidden] Lv.6
6. Minor Regeneration Lv.5
7. Solar Strike [Hidden] Lv.3
8. Blue Index Lv.1
9. Golem Modification Evolution [Hidden] Lv.1
10. Crafter’s Resonance [Unique] Lv.2
11. Gathering Lv.4
12. Vein Insight [Hidden] Lv.1
13. Extraction Lv.1
– Hidden System
1. Artisan’s Workshop Lv.1
Geumson at level 31.
A list that defied belief for someone supposedly at level 31.
Beyond anything his past self could have imagined.
Yet even this failed to satisfy him.
It was time to push forward once more.
“Walker! Get the work station ready!”
“Walker! Wa-a-a-alker!”
At Geumson’s call, Iron Walker rose from the corner of the smithy where he had been silently keeping watch, his massive frame lumbering closer.
His blue core glowed brightly with anticipation.
The first Ancient Grade material project shared with his master.
Iron Walker seemed to sense its significance instinctively.
“We’ll disassemble the existing hammer and re-smelt it with the Void Iron Ore. For the remaining materials…… I’ll use these.”
Without hesitation, Geumson opened the Artisan’s Workshop system.
Before his eyes unfolded a secret shop accessible only to him.
[Reputation Shop]
[Material Inventory]
– Pure Silver Ingot: 300P
– Mithril Alloy Ingot: 500P
– Ghost Mushroom Spore: 350P
– Tough Wyvern Hide: 850P
.
.
.
Using the Reputation Shop’s search function, Geumson selected two materials he knew well.
Familiar items he had used most often in the past.
[Purchasing Starlight Sand. -1,000P]
[Purchasing Deep Sea Steel Ingot. -1,100P]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 0]
Starlight Sand was a catalyst that maximized magical conductivity in metals, while Deep Sea Steel possessed the stability to maintain its form under any heat or pressure.
An optimal combination for handling the unstable Void Iron Ore.
‘If I had more Reputation Points, I could use better materials…… but this will have to do.’
What stung most was having to spend Reputation Points to buy the Deep Sea Steel Ingot.
If he went directly to the Shadow Archipelago, he could gather enough of it.
But there was no help for it—he needed it now.
‘I’ll have to start saving up Reputation Points.’
Setting aside his regret, Geumson lit the furnace.
Whoooosh—!
Dushar’s specially crafted magma furnace roared to life, spewing flames.
Geumson began to disassemble the Forgotten Craftsman’s First Hammer—an extension of himself.
The head and handle separated, revealing the Magical Core that dwelt within.
As if honoring the time they’d spent together, the core blazed with one final, brilliant light.
The air in the smithy grew hot.
* * *
It wasn’t only Dushar’s Smithy that grew hot.
The air over Krathum burned hotter than it ever had.
The entire city seemed to churn like a vast furnace.
Members of the Yeokcheon Guild, the Asura Guild, and the Future Group—along with nobles from various nations within Lepion—had begun to arrive one by one.
The auction of the Moonlight Viper Sword was nearly upon them.
“Still haven’t found any trace of Geumson?”
Park Sang-su, the sub-guildmaster of the Yeokcheon Guild, slammed the table irritably.
Before him stood the guild’s head of intelligence, sweat beading on his brow.
“My apologies, sir. We’ve combed through all of Krathum, but it’s as if he’s vanished into the earth itself—no trace anywhere. Access to Dushar’s personal smithy is strictly controlled against outsiders, so….”
“I don’t want excuses. So we have no choice but to wait until the auction?”
Park Sang-su clicked his tongue.
Their target was Geumson.
Before the bidding began, they would make contact with him alone, seize the Moonlight Viper Sword before any other faction could interfere.
But it seemed that plan had failed.
They’d have no choice but to participate in the auction.
“What about the Asura Guild and the Future Group?”
“They’re also searching for Geumson, just as we are. The Future Group in particular…they seem to know something.”
“What do you mean?”
Park Sang-su’s brow furrowed deeply at the report.
“Apparently, Cha Yu-gyeong, the team leader of the Future Group, let this slip to one of our informants: that Geumson’s whereabouts are being managed by the Future Group itself.”
“That arrogant woman…!”
Park Sang-su’s face twisted with fury.
Anxiety gnawed at him—the possibility that the Future Group had already made contact with Geumson.
Because Cha Yu-gyeong was not someone who spoke carelessly.
“What are the Asura dogs up to?”
“They’re moving quietly, as usual. They seem to be circling around our guild and the Future Group, trying to extract information, but nothing particularly noteworthy so far….”
It was at that moment.
Outside the inn’s window, a company of shadows draped in pitch-black robes slipped silently past.
Their movements were as covert and precise as midnight fog.
“Those bastards…!”
Park Sang-su’s eyes narrowed.
The Viper Squad—the assassination specialists of the Asura Guild.
“Where the hell are they headed? Get a tail on them immediately!”
The Yeokcheon Guild sprang into frantic motion.
Their movements were quickly detected by the other factions.
It was the members of the Future Group who caught on.
And Cha Yu-gyeong, who had already entered the ranks of Lepion.
“Yeokcheon and Asura… still moving like amateurs, I see.”
Cha Yu-gyeong had already made contact with Geumson.
A peculiar look of superiority gleamed in her eyes.
The expression of a victor who had already claimed the prize.
For a time, the three factions waged their war of intelligence.
But as the appointed hour drew near, they all vanished from Krathum’s streets.
As the time for the auction approached, every one of them rushed to the Auction House.
Ding-ding-ding—
The bell that announced the start of the auction.
When that bell rang, a dwarf stepped out and seized the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen! And all of you who know the soul of steel! Welcome to Krathum’s finest auction!”
The dwarf auctioneer climbed onto the platform, and Garin, known as “the Heavy-Handed,” called out in a ringing voice.
His carefully groomed platinum beard and glittering gem-studded vest testified to his command of the room’s prestige.
“This evening, we have assembled many treasures to set your hearts racing, but I must inform you in advance that the item everyone awaits will make its appearance last of all. Now then, shall we begin with the first lot?”
The first item was a Flame Lizard’s Heart.
A Unique Grade material that pulsed with crimson light, it was a precious substance used in crafting flame-attribute weapons and armor.
“Opening bid: fifty thousand gold!”
Before Garin had even finished speaking, the broad-shouldered man in the front row shot his hand up.
It was Park Sang-su, vice-guildmaster of the Yeokcheon Guild.
“One hundred thousand.”
One hundred thousand gold—equivalent to ten million won in cash.
Park Sang-su called out the sum as if it were nothing.
His voice carried an arrogance that forbade any competition from the rest of the room.
At this bold bid, doubling the opening price, the auction house stirred with murmurs.
Park Sang-su smiled with satisfaction, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
It was as though he were announcing, ‘This is the class of Yeokcheon.’
But that smile did not last long.
From a shadowed corner, a sinister voice drifted out softly.
“One hundred and ten thousand.”
It was Nachel, the action captain of the Asura Guild.
Masked and present under Choi Jin-woong’s orders, he sat there solely to provoke the Yeokcheon Guild’s displeasure.
His bid, raising the price by a mere ten thousand gold, was a transparent provocation.
Park Sang-su’s brow twitched.
“Two hundred and fifty thousand.”
“Two hundred and sixty thousand.”
“Three hundred thousand!”
“Three hundred and ten thousand.”
“Ooh! Then I’ll say three hundred and fifty thousand!”
“Ay, three hundred and fifty thousand—isn’t that pushing it a bit? I think I’ll bow out here.”
Each time Park Sang-su raised the price significantly, Nachel would follow with an annoying increment of only ten thousand gold.
In the end, Park Sang-su claimed the Flame Lizard’s Heart at three hundred and fifty thousand gold—a full one hundred and fifty thousand above the going rate.
He clicked his tongue in frustration, but he could not afford to appear defeated by the Asura rabble.
From the VIP box, Cha Yu-gyeong of Future Group watched the entire spectacle with raised lips, looking amused.
Kim Min-jun, standing beside her, asked cautiously.
“Team Lead, do you mean we won’t be participating?”
Despite being only level one, Cha Yu-gyeong had come to the auction.
She cared nothing for character progression, but to honor her promise with Geumson, she had created a character and stood here at level one.
She had postponed even the training from level one to ten in the beginner’s village, seeking out the Auction House in Krathum first.
“There’s no need to involve ourselves in such an emotional war of attrition. It’s enough simply to read their hands. Yeokcheon wants to display their strength, while Asura wants to shake the table.”
“Asura…… Isn’t it obviously a cheap trick?”
“It is, but…… even knowing that, Yeokcheon has no choice but to bite. There are far too many eyes watching, aren’t there?”
Just as Cha Yu-gyeong said—they had no choice but to take the bait.
Many players, and countless NPCs participating in the auction, were watching.
If Asura openly provoked them and Yeokcheon backed down, it would look shameful.
Yeokcheon, backed by HS Group.
If they were seen cowering away after losing tens of millions of won, what then?
It would only harm their corporate image in the end.
“The auction house must be delighted.”

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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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