The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 84

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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 84
084. You’re just giving me this?
“It’s fine. Think of it as settling a debt to Panteria. My only concern is… whether they might look for some pretext to complain later.”
– A pretext? What kind of pretext?
“Oh, you know—that it wasn’t actually Ancient Grade, or the effect is insufficient, that sort of thing.”
Her counterpart came from the birthplace of lawsuits.
She could manufacture reasons to pick a fight out of thin air.
He’d been worried about that, but instead Cha Yu-gyeong spoke in an indignant voice.
– Let them try. When they do, I’ll show them what the Future Group is made of. But if they want to deal with us again, they won’t be stupid enough to pull that sort of stunt.
“You think so?”
– Of course! We’re handing over an Ancient Grade item for just 1.3 billion—if I’d known this was coming, I should have added another zero!
Cha Yu-gyeong ground her teeth.
She seemed to regret the deal more than Geumson did.
Still, she broached the next topic with some difficulty.
– Just… don’t pay attention to the opinions of some people at Repinet. We’ll handle it discreetly on our end.
“Repinet?”
– Ah, that’s… Right now there’s a lot of talk at Repinet calling you a traitor to the nation. They’re saying we shouldn’t be handing over Ancient Grade items to Panteria like this….
Geumson gave a bitter smile at her worried message.
This was precisely why he’d never joined Repinet in the first place.
‘Still, I should take a look sometime. There might be information I don’t know about.’
He was planning to look in once public opinion quieted down.
There might be information about Lepion that he didn’t know—or had forgotten.
Geumson ended his conversation with Cha Yu-gyeong.
Geumson checked his system messages.
.
.
.
[Your ‘Gathering’ skill has reached Lv.10 [MAX].]
[Your ‘Extraction’ skill has reached Lv.10 [MAX].]
[Your ‘Mana Control’ skill has reached Lv.10 [MAX].]
[Your ‘Elemental Affinity’ skill has reached Lv.10 [MAX].]
Looking at the recorded messages, the corners of Geumson’s mouth turned up.
Through gathering herbs and crafting Supreme Universal Potions, he’d hit his limits without even noticing.
‘It’s good being in an environment where I can actually train like this.’
Astrid’s cabin was the ideal place for cultivation.
He could train without worrying about materials.
But if there was something that weighed on him—
[The patient has not been completely healed.]
[Supreme Universal Potion cannot restore damaged bodies.]
[Alleviating the patient’s suffering.]
.
.
.
So many patients on Buyou Island.
Among them were those for whom even his potion didn’t work.
He regretted not being able to help them.
‘If I could make an Elixir, I could have cured them all.’
The ultimate potion that healed all ailments and could even resurrect the dead—the Elixir.
It was one of the most needed things in this age of ruin, yet an item of bittersweet longing that no one had ever been able to craft.
‘If I could make that… things would change drastically this time.’
Geumson set a new goal.
Then he felt a gentle warmth at his back.
Astrid had drawn near without his notice, draping a thin blanket over his shoulders.
“Don’t strain yourself so, Geumson. You don’t need to carry all the burdens of the world on your shoulders. That’s… something even the mightiest of beings couldn’t do, isn’t it?”
Whether she knew what weighed on his heart or not, Astrid seemed to be offering him comfort.
Geumson nodded quietly.
Astrid gazed down at him with pity in her eyes.
Yet her own expression was somehow shadowed.
Her gaze was not fixed on Geumson, but on the distant Airthos Mainland beyond.
“Master, is there something troubling you?”
Geumson followed her gaze and asked.
Astrid hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth with a deep sigh.
“The flow of the city… it’s wrong. There’s something different, deeply ominous and alien in the air. And the surroundings of the city are restless too.”
At her words, Geumson’s brow furrowed.
Moiran’s scheme of destruction.
The memory of his first arrival in Airthos surfaced.
‘Could it be… that Moiran hasn’t given up yet?’
Moiran came to mind, and Geumson could not remain idle.
He had to act.
“I’ll go check it out!”
The moment he spoke, a message appeared before Geumson’s eyes.
It was a quest from Astrid.
[Sudden Hidden Quest: Twisted Causality]
– Description: The Archmage Astrid is concerned about the source of the ominous energy enveloping Airthos. Investigate various parts of the city and uncover the cause of this anomaly. Report your findings to Astrid.
– Advance Rewards:
1. Awareness of Vigilance
2. Astrid’s Brooch
– Rewards:
1. Astrid’s Special Skill: Mana Inscription Art
2. ???
– Penalty for Failure:
1. Collapse of Airthos
Geumson accepted the quest.
There was a question mark in the rewards.
A mystery reward.
This signified that extreme difficulty was expected.
‘Why is this…?’
It was simply a task to find out what had changed in the city.
Yet Astrid’s worry seemed considerable.
“Be careful. My instincts are not good. Just in case, take this with you. It should help you prepare for danger.”
[You have obtained Astrid’s Brooch.]
[You can prove your status as Astrid’s disciple.]
[You have obtained the hidden skill ‘Awareness of Vigilance’!]
The advance reward was a hidden skill, no less.
Moreover, it seemed to be of the same category as Gyeol’s Intuition and Maek’s Insight.
[Awareness of Vigilance Lv.1]
[Passive Skill]
– Description: Detect all hostile intentions and danger elements within a certain range around you and mark them on the system map.
– Effects:
1. Automatically recognize threat elements in your surroundings and mark them on the system map.
2. Locate even concealed targets and automatically mark them on the system map.
3. Consume Mana to search a wider range.
4. Usable even outside combat situations, enabling detection of potential threats.
‘She’s just giving this away?’
A quest expected to be so difficult that it warranted a hidden skill as an advance reward.
But there was no turning back now.
The public reward.
Mana Inscription Art.
The reason he’d taken up magic.
To inscribe special runes on crafting equipment.
And this wasn’t just any Mana Inscription Art—it was Astrid’s special skill.
He couldn’t refuse this.
Flash—flash—flash!
Successive bursts of light cascaded as camera flashes erupted.
A press conference hall crowded with dozens of reporters.
A single man sat at the center of the podium.
Kang Mujin.
Kang Mujin, master of the Yeokcheon Guild, sat before them.
“Mujin! First, congratulations on successfully slaying the Nightmare King—a world first! Could you perhaps briefly describe the rewards you obtained from this subjugation?”
A reporter from a gaming-focused channel posed the question sharply.
It was the part everyone was curious about.
Kang Mujin grasped the microphone with an unhurried smile.
“First, my sincere thanks. However, regarding the specific details of the reward, guild policy prevents me from disclosing them. But I can say this much with certainty: through this reward, the Yeokcheon Guild has secured a foundation to advance to the next level.”
A seasoned answer.
The journalists looked disappointed, but quickly unleashed another barrage of questions.
Time was running short.
“What does the phrase ‘Reverse Scheme succeeded’ that appeared in the World Message mean? Was it just a simple message?”
“The Reverse Scheme is rather forceful language…… but as everyone would expect, it means the Yeokcheon Guild has acquired territory.”
“Territory, you say…….”
“For now it’s merely wasteland requiring development. But if the Yeokcheon Guild develops it…… wouldn’t it transform?”
Kang Mujin laughed with quiet confidence.
It seemed he had already sketched out a development plan for the acquired territory in his mind.
As the hall stirred once more, a journalist carefully raised her hand.
“Recently, there’s been heated debate in the community about the player Geumson, the creator of the Moonlight Viper Sword. What do you think, Kang Mujin?”
“Specifically, what are you referring to?”
“Well…… you know, those extreme comments calling him a traitor to the nation.”
Kang Mujin let out a short breath.
He began to speak with his face somewhat furrowed.
“That’s disappointing, I must say. Calling Master Geumson a traitor…….”
Unlike his adept handling of previous questions, Kang Mujin’s response now carried an emotional edge.
The journalist seemed to tense at his tone.
But when Kang Mujin adjusted the microphone, all attention snapped back to his words.
“Do you know what I realized while conducting this Nightmare King extermination?”
“Well, I’m not sure I…….”
“After using the Moonlight Viper Sword firsthand, I understood how extraordinary Master Geumson’s skill is, and that items in Lepion aren’t determined by specifications alone.”
Kang Mujin had once relied solely on item specifications.
It was precisely what Geumson had worried about.
But Kang Mujin’s perspective seemed to have shifted considerably through this Nightmare King subjugation.
“Preparing custom equipment tailored to the target you must defeat—that too is a skill in Lepion. In that sense, Master Geumson is indispensable talent, not just for our Yeokcheon Guild, but for Korea itself.”

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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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