The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 9

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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 9
009. The First Masterpiece
[Tuban, overwhelmed by your skill and talent, transmits the secret technique passed down through his family line.]
[You acquire the hidden skill “Soul Forging”!]
A Crafting skill that Tuban had kept hidden in the Blacksmith Forge.
Upon reading the message about it, Geumsohn could only stand bewildered.
‘Soul Forging? I’ve never heard of such a skill before.’
In his past life, he had trained under Tuban for a long time.
Back then, he had simply acquired the additional Crafting skill.
That’s why he’d thought Tuban might pass on the Crafting skill.
But the skill Tuban brought forth was entirely different from what he’d expected—Soul Forging.
He’d never heard of a skill like Soul Forging from Tuban before.
“This is… a family secret I inherited from my father in my youth. I can no longer fully wield this power at my age, but perhaps you might be capable of it. With you, who speaks of the soul itself, it should be possible, shouldn’t it?”
Taken aback but listening to Tuban’s words, Geumsohn checked the skill’s details.
Before responding, he needed to confirm what kind of skill it was.
[Soul Forging Lv.1]
[Passive Skill]
– Description: The ultimate forging art that breathes the crafter’s soul into materials, transcending mere tools to create masterpieces.
[Effects]
1. When crafting, at low probability, a unique special ability called “Soul Imprint” bearing the crafter’s will is granted and binds to the item.
2. When crafting, the item’s latent potential erupts, raising the crafted item’s grade by one tier in a “Critical Success”—this probability increases by 10%.
3. Crafted items gain the potential to grow alongside the wearer, and especially when worn by the crafter themselves, growth speed and efficiency increase substantially.
Having examined the skill’s details, he now understood.
Why Tuban had so readily given him this secret technique of the family line.
‘Soul Forging was simply incompatible with Tuban in many ways.’
Soul Forging demanded precision over raw power.
It was a skill that required careful consideration of that day’s humidity, temperature, the condition of materials, and countless other factors.
It was unsuited to Tuban, who worked primarily through strength.
And moreover.
‘When used, there’s a low probability, but the item becomes bound to the crafter.’
Soul Imprint.
Grand as the name sounded, it simply meant the item became bound to the crafter themselves.
No other user could employ it; only the crafter could use it.
‘If Tuban, who runs the Blacksmith Forge, were to craft bound items… there would be no greater inconvenience.’
The effects granted by Soul Forging were quite satisfactory.
Not only did the finished product grow by one tier, but items that additionally grew alongside the wearer?
It was an utterly unexpected windfall.
Tuban seemed to have read Geumsohn’s expression as well.
“How is it? Are you pleased?”
“Of course. That you would give me something like this…”
“Enough of that. I only hope this technique doesn’t die with me. It’s simply a forgotten technique that has finally found its rightful master.”
Tuban’s face held something bittersweet.
It seemed tinged with reproach toward himself for not perfecting the family’s secret art.
Geumsohn felt he needed to show something to Tuban.
That Tuban’s choice had not been mistaken.
“May I use some of the refined materials and the forge?”
“Ha ha ha! You’re eager, aren’t you? So you mean to attempt crafting right away? Excellent! From now on, think of this place as your own home! Feel free to use everything in this Blacksmith Forge as you wish!”
Tuban appeared genuinely delighted.
Geumsohn gave Tuban a light bow of gratitude, then promptly made his way to the furnace to begin crafting the item he had envisioned.
“Let me make something proper this time.”
Geumsohn smiled knowingly.
He placed the Supreme Iron Ore he had just created back into the furnace.
What he would make now was something that could be called both the beginning and the end of every blacksmith’s journey.
A Hammer.
“You’re going to make a hammer?”
“Yes. I need a hammer that fits my hands.”
“Your first creation is a hammer… there’s real meaning to that choice. Excellent, truly excellent! Ha ha ha!”
Tuban laughed heartily.
A true blacksmith wielded a hammer of their own making.
But Tuban was soon struck with astonishment.
Because Geumsohn appeared to be proceeding with the work without using any skill whatsoever.
“Wait, you’re Geumsohn? Why aren’t you using Soul Forging?”
“No, sir. It’s not that I refuse to rely on Soul Forging—it’s that Crafting must ultimately rest on a blacksmith’s fundamental skill, mustn’t it?”
Tuban chuckled deeply. “Of course, of course. I was forgetting the basics. Refusing to depend on skills… how unlike a foreigner. You truly are a genuine blacksmith, Geumsohn.”
Naturally, if he used the Soul Forging skill, he could create high-grade hammers with ease.
But Geumsohn had no intention of doing so.
‘I’ll use the system, but never become bound by it. With my own hands, by my own will, I’ll forge something that transcends the system’s limits.’
The refining process was the same.
An interface for using Soul Forging appeared in a translucent window, but he only consulted it as reference.
Every piece of work came into being through Geumsohn’s fingertips alone.
“I’ll make it myself.”
At Geumsohn’s quiet declaration, Tuban’s lips curled upward slightly as he watched from the side, holding his breath.
A foreigner with a contrary streak—one who could use Soul Forging yet chose not to.
He rather liked that.
Actually, he liked it very much.
That’s how a blacksmith should be.
It seems I’ve chosen the right master for this skill.
Geumsohn said nothing more and picked up the Hammer resting beside the forge.
Then, drawing upon memories of his past life, he summoned forth every sensation honed through countless trials.
He closed his eyes.
The ambient noise faded away.
Only Geumsohn remained—the sound of his own heartbeat.
The heat radiating from the forge.
And the faint tremor of the steel upon the anvil.
When his eyes opened again, his gaze had transformed entirely.
The foreigner Geumsohn was gone.
Only a blacksmith remained.
A blacksmith who had endured countless trials, now preparing for his work.
Clang!
The first strike.
A pure, crystalline note rang through the Blacksmith Forge.
It was only the beginning.
Clang!
Ding-dang!
Clang!
Geumsohn’s hammering was no mere striking.
The rotation of shoulders and hips, the movement of his feet.
Even the drawing and releasing of breath—everything harmonized perfectly, driving power through the hammer’s head.
What he had begun was the technique of folding and forging steel.
Fold the metal and strike it.
Fold it again and strike once more.
An ancient art, perfected through endless repetition to push strength to its absolute limits.
Clang!
Clang!
Ding-dang! Clang!
Time began to flow.
One hour.
Two hours…….
The sun set and the moon rose.
Tuban tried to close his eyes for a moment, but the unceasing sound of the hammer would not permit it.
As if entranced, he could only watch Geumsohn’s work unfold, his mind helpless.
Ten hours…….
Eleven hours…….
Geumsohn’s entire body was drenched with sweat, his arm muscles swollen as though they might burst.
Had he not invested all his Stat points into Strength, he would have reached his physical limits regardless of his will.
Such grueling, exhausting work it was.
Yet Geumsohn’s gaze never wavered for a moment.
And at last, as dawn broke once more.
Ssshhhhh-
The instant the hammer plunged into the cooling water.
The hammer in Geumsohn’s grip radiated a mysterious aura unlike anything it had possessed before.
Across the steel’s surface—folded and tempered hundreds upon thousands of times—a pattern had bloomed like rippling water.
Like the scales of a living, breathing dragon.
The moment he saw those patterns, he knew.
‘Success.’
As if answering his thought, the system message began to materialize.
[You have obtained the Title: ‘The First Heretic’.]
[You were the first to craft Damascus Steel and an item entirely by hand, without the system’s aid—through your own skill alone.]
[The system trembles at your determination and craftsmanship.]
[Effect 1. All stats permanently increase by 5.]
[Effect 2. Precision Stat is now unlocked, and you receive a +20 bonus.]
Before the hammer’s details could even appear, the system’s praise came pouring down.
Praise—honestly, it caught him off guard.
‘I thought I’d be lucky if I didn’t get penalized.’
It was unexpected.
He’d essentially defied the system.
He’d deliberately eschewed a skill the system recognized and proceeded with the work anyway.
Yet the system was praising him for it.
So much so that it granted him a new Title.
‘All stats plus five, and… Precision? The Precision Stat just unlocked?’
In his previous life, Precision Stat was the one he’d invested in most carefully.
It stood to reason that as Precision Stat climbed, the quality of crafted items rose accordingly.
That’s why he’d poured his heart into it, only managing to unlock it in the mid-200s levels.
And yet, scarcely after starting the game, Luck had opened, and now Precision had followed.
[Player Details]
[Base Stats]
– Strength: 36
– Agility: 16
– Stamina: 16
– Mana: 16
[Unlocked Stats]
– Luck: 21
– Precision: 25
[Remaining Stat Points: 0]
He quickly opened his details to verify.
Indeed, Precision had already been applied.
Now, every level-up would grant him six stat points total.
A two-point-per-level advantage over others would compound into an insurmountable gap as time went on.
‘Was unlocking stats ever this easy? That shouldn’t be possible…’
In his previous life, even top-ranked players unlocked only one or two new stats.
Yet Geumsohn had already unlocked two.
And at level five, no less.
But there was little time to savor that joy fully.
The information about the hammer he’d crafted with such care began to materialize.
[A Masterpiece infused with the blacksmith’s very soul.]
[The effect of ‘One Who Astonished the Blacksmith’ is applied.]
[The effect of Soul Forging is applied.]
[You have achieved a Critical Success!]
[The rank of the crafted item is elevated by one tier.]
“What—Geumsohn, what exactly did you make?”
“A hammer. You were watching from the side, so—”
“That’s not what I mean! Merciful heavens. I must have misjudged you entirely, completely misjudged you.”
Tuban reached out with trembling hands to pick up the hammer Geumsohn had forged.
He examined it this way and that.
Then he simply sighed, offering only a single remark.
“Didn’t you come to me wanting to become a blacksmith?”
“Yes, I… suppose I did.”
“But your skill surpasses mine! So why ask my permission? Now I’m the one who feels ashamed.”
Tuban’s expression seemed strangely hollow.
And for good reason.
Item information about the Hammer.
The moment Tuban read it, he understood his own feelings.
[Grade: Legend (Lv.50 Restricted)]
“I… a Legend…?”
In this small rural village Blacksmith Forge, and from the hands of a novice blacksmith who had scarcely reached level five, a Legend-grade item had been forged.

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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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