The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 6

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

Episode 6
006. The God of Mining
A dull, sickening crack split the air.
The worn Pickaxe in Geumsohn’s hand drove straight through the Kobold’s skull.
Like a ripe watermelon bursting open, the monster’s head shattered into fragments in a spray of red, scattering into gray dust.
[Weak point strike successful.]
[Critical hit confirmed.]
[Kobold has perished.]
The instant he read the message, Geumsohn couldn’t help but grin.
‘A critical hit and down in one swing?’
One clean blow.
No matter how weak a Kobold was, Geumsohn was only Level 1.
Not the sort of monster you’d fell with a single strike.
But when Resolute Intuition combined with Geumsohn’s precise focus, the Kobold became exactly that—a one-hit kill.
And with that beginning, more Kobolds rushed him in succession.
Yet Geumsohn had no reason to fear creatures that died in one blow.
Shriek—shriek!
Whoosh—
Crack—
Whoosh— Crack—
Whoosh— Crack—
Whoosh— Crack—
.
.
.
The Kobolds barely managed to cry out before becoming gray dust, vanishing one after another.
The sound grew cleaner, crisper with each blow.
Then a new message appeared before his eyes.
[Achievement: Head Hunter]
[You are the first to eliminate exactly 10 monsters using headshots alone.]
[The system marvels at your relentless focus on the head.]
[Effect: On headshot attacks, final damage increases by an additional 10%.]
“Huh, didn’t see that coming.”
A faint smile crossed Geumsohn’s lips at the unexpected reward.
He wasn’t accustomed to this kind of prize.
In his previous life, he’d been far from a combat-focused player.
He could fight well enough, but he’d never quite had the skill for achievements of this caliber—a delicate middle ground.
In the later years of the Age of Ruin, he’d devoted himself far more to crafting equipment than to combat.
So combat-related achievements were unfamiliar territory to him.
Still, even thrilling messages like this didn’t slow his hand.
Whoosh— Crack—
Whoosh— Crack—
Whoosh— Crack—
.
.
.
He moved forward with the dispassionate efficiency of a farmer harvesting ripe fruit, methodically cleaving Kobold skulls.
Acquiring a combat achievement was fine, but it wasn’t why he’d come here.
[Level increased! Lv. 2]
[Level increased! Lv. 3]
.
.
.
[Level increased! Lv. 5]
Thanks to the Head Hunter bonus damage on headshots, hunting became effortless.
Grinding away mindlessly, mechanically, killing nothing but Kobolds, he’d already reached Level 5.
His level skyrocketed in what felt like an instant.
With each level gain came a warm energy flowing through his body, a sensation of power welling up.
A sensation he’d missed.
It had been far too long since he’d felt this rush of leveling up.
In the latter half of the Age of Ruin, as annihilation drew near, even leveling up had become a luxury.
But there was no time to linger in such feelings.
Geumsohn simply reviewed his status with detached precision.
[Player Information]
– Name: Geumsohn
– Level: 5
– Class: Outsider
– Title:
1. Narcissist
– Achievement:
1. Unshakeable Conviction
2. Head Hunter
– Skills Acquired:
1. Resolute Intuition [Hidden]
2. Mining
– Reputation: 50
Compared to his status at Level 5 in his previous life, this player information window was positively lavish.
Back then, it had contained only name, level, and class.
But things were different now.
Skills, titles, achievements, reputation—all of it.
He still couldn’t quite adjust to such a comprehensive player information window.
“Things have changed quite a bit.”
He’d only just begun playing, yet he’d already gained far more than in his previous life.
But that was all.
He couldn’t afford to be satisfied here.
Geumsohn glanced over the information and opened his detailed player stats.
He needed to organize the points he’d acquired from leveling up.
[Player Detail Stats]
[Base Stats]
– Strength: 11
– Agility: 11
– Stamina: 11
– Mana: 11
[Unlocked Stats]
– Luck: 16
[Remaining Stats: 20]
Twenty remaining stat points.
At Level 5, a normal player should have sixteen remaining stat points.
But the unlocked Luck stat had granted him four additional points.
On top of that came the reward bonus of +1 to all stats.
Compared to an ordinary Level 5 player, he was already nine stat points ahead.
Yet despite this remarkable progress, Geumsohn’s mind held only one thought: where to invest his remaining stats.
‘Where should I pour these points?’
Geumsohn considered for a moment.
But his deliberation was brief.
He invested everything into Strength.
[Investing all 20 Remaining Stats into Strength.]
[Strength: 11 → 31]
Crack—
With a short notification, he felt raw power flood through his entire body.
He could actually watch his muscles grow in real time, thickening visibly across his frame.
Compared to Tuban, he still looked frail, but it was unmistakably different from the Level 1 version of himself.
‘Still not enough. But it’ll improve gradually.’
He’d argued against Tuban’s words, but the man hadn’t been wrong.
Mining work was fundamentally demanding labor.
To perform it flawlessly, a certain level of Strength was essential.
That’s why he’d decided to invest all his remaining stat points into Strength.
After a brief rest, Geumsohn was ready.
He glanced at his updated stats without any particular emotion, then turned his body toward his next objective.
This was merely a side achievement—nothing more.
He couldn’t be satisfied with such a small gain.
Geumsohn’s true target wasn’t the Kobolds—it was what lay deeper.
Within the mine’s depths.
* * *
Geumsohn had leveled up to 5.
Now he didn’t even glance at the Kobolds.
They were merely obstacles cleared on the way into the mine.
Coming here wasn’t about hunting Kobolds anyway.
‘Is this about the right depth?’
Deep within the mine, at the Mining point favored by beginners, he surveyed his surroundings.
Several players were already there, grunting as they swung their pickaxes.
“Damn it, this thing won’t break. Is it always this hard?”
“I have to hit it like thirty times just to get one iron ore fragment. This is pure grinding.”
“And iron ore fragments are boring enough… how is this even supposed to work? How am I supposed to collect five High-Grade Iron Ore? Do I really have to do this?”
It seemed other players besides Geumsohn had received quests from Tuban.
But none of them seemed to be having an easy time—frustration hung thick in the air.
Watching them, Geumsohn saw his former self reflected.
He’d been one of those complaining players once too.
‘It really is ridiculously hard to find decent ore.’
Tuban does grant the Mining skill.
But even with Mining, all you pull from hammering at the mine walls is low-grade iron ore.
Collecting High-Grade Iron Ore means practically camping here day after day.
And then there’s the penalty that set Geumsohn apart from the others.
First: a time limit.
Unlike other players, Geumsohn had a time constraint on his quest.
And then—
“Oh? You got the blacksmith quest too? But your pickaxe condition is…”
Players who saw the pickaxe in my hands visibly winced.
This was the second penalty.
The pickaxe itself was far more worn than the others’.
As if it might shatter at any moment.
The price of provoking Tuban.
Players began addressing him with pitying looks, each offering a word.
“That pickaxe won’t work, I’m telling you? Even a new one barely gets the job done—with that thing, you don’t have a prayer.”
“Hey, just give it up! It’s nothing but wasted time! Why not form a party and hunt Kobolds instead?”
“Ugh, forget it! I’m heading to another town to pick up a new quest! Crazy Tuban! I knew something was off when he was flexing his muscles! What’s the point of this garbage?! You should drop it too. Honestly, you’d be better off finding a different class.”
While some players worried for Geumsohn, others had begun abandoning their quests one by one.
But they all said the same thing to him.
Stop wasting your time and abandon the quest.
His pickaxe condition looked that hopeless.
But Geumsohn ignored them all.
Because he’d prepared for exactly this.
The Resolute Intuition he’d obtained from Bark.
He hadn’t gotten Resolute Intuition for combat.
It was the third effect of Resolute Intuition.
– Usable even in non-combat situations; allows perception of hidden value and flaws in the target.
That was it.
He’d specifically acquired Resolute Intuition from Bark for this effect.
And now, in this moment, that effect would shine.
‘Resolute Intuition!’
Geumsohn stood before a bare stretch of mine wall and activated the skill.
In an instant, his vision transformed.
The great stone face that had seemed plain and featureless before him.
Now, across its surface, countless crimson lines and points appeared.
As if he were seeing the veins and vital points of a living creature.
The flow of ore veins, their weakest points, and the dense concentration of the purest minerals—the “core points”—all laid bare at a glance.
Geumsohn traced the red lines and points marked by Resolute Intuition, then focused on the nearest one.
A spot that blazed especially bright and thick in red—toward it he drove his pickaxe with all his strength.
Crack-boom!
The sound was in an entirely different league from the “clink, clink” of the others beside him.
A clear, crisp crack.
It echoed throughout the entire Mine.
The rock wall—solid enough that an ordinary player would need to strike it dozens of times just to leave a scratch—crumbled away as though it were nothing.
And from within it, a chunk of ore blazed with light far more brilliant than common iron ore.
At that same moment, a message appeared.
[You have obtained High-Grade Iron Ore.]
A single strike.
With just one swing of the pickaxe, Geumsohn had extracted High-Grade Iron Ore.
The other players who witnessed Geumsohn’s feat stood speechless.
“That’s… insane….”
“What? What did he just do? Is that hacking?”
“How did the wall crumble in one hit? That pickaxe… is that a legendary item or something?”
“Is Tuban showing favoritism to players? Giving some amazing pickaxes and others these ordinary ones?”
“Maybe the older the pickaxe, the better it works? I should find an old one myself….”
The players who had urged Geumsohn to abandon the quest upon seeing his worn pickaxe.
With a single swing, they’d pivoted their stance faster than anyone.
But Geumsohn paid their reactions no mind whatsoever.
His hands trembling, he picked up the High-Grade Iron Ore.
‘It works! Resolute Intuition… it’s definitely a skill that makes me a god of Mining!’
Geumsohn cried out silently with exultation.
Even when a player acquired a skill, putting it to use fell entirely on them.
That was what set Lepieon apart from ordinary games.
Still, he couldn’t afford to simply celebrate.
He’d confirmed that Resolute Intuition worked as intended.
So his next task was clear.
To throw himself into Mining at once.
The quest had a time limit, so he had to hurry.
Crash—!
Crash—!
Targeting only the red points, he found the work required almost no effort, and his efficiency was beyond imagination.
[Your Mining skill proficiency increases.]
[You have obtained High-Grade Iron Ore.]
[You have obtained High-Grade Iron Ore.]
[Your Mining skill has reached Level 2.]
[Your Resolute Intuition skill proficiency increases.]
[You have obtained High-Grade Copper.]
[Your Resolute Intuition skill has reached Level 2.]
.
.
.
With each rise in skill level, the red points grew ever more vivid, and eventually they began to show different colors depending on the type of ore.
Iron gleamed red, copper shone yellow, and the rare Gemstone Ore scattered throughout blazed with an iridescent rainbow glow.
“Hahahaha! I am the god of Mining!”
Geumsohn’s gleeful cry now rang out across the Mine.
The other players could only watch his performance with eyes full of longing.

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