The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 90

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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 90
090. I Will Fix It
[You forge your own destiny.]
[The system commends your choice to refuse the guaranteed reward and walk the thorny path.]
[You reject the quest on your own terms and compose a new one.]
[Pioneer Quest: The One Who Refuses]
– Objective: Craft an ‘Elixir’ capable of stopping the hourglass of the Archmage Astrid.
Since this is a quest you have pioneered yourself, every step depends entirely on your knowledge, skill, and will.
– Success Condition: Astrid’s survival and memory preservation
– Reward: ???
– Failure: Loss of Mage profession and complete amnesia of all related skills.
A question-mark reward. Impossible difficulty.
And if he failed, he would lose everything connected to magic.
It was as good as saying the system would strip away all that Astrid had given him.
‘Is this a threat?’
For all the system’s praise, the quest felt anything but commendatory.
It felt like it was urging him to refuse.
But Geumson accepted the quest.
He had no intention of backing away.
He hadn’t rejected Astrid’s previous quest with half measures or false resolve.
Geumson made his way to Astrid’s cottage in silence.
The alchemical tools waited there.
Before them, Geumson clenched his teeth.
‘I have to fix this. No matter what.’
Geumson was a blacksmith.
He had chosen to become an Allmaster.
To restore the shattered sky, to mend humanity’s broken future.
To return what was broken to its original state.
That was the work a blacksmith like himself was meant to do.
Without hesitation, Geumson opened the system window.
What he needed now was information and materials.
‘Artisan’s Workshop.’
[Hidden System ‘Artisan’s Workshop’ Lv.2]
[Reputation Shop]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 6,000]
Six thousand points.
Enough to purchase a perfect counter-item to the Lich King.
There had to be something.
Materials that could stop Astrid’s fading memory.
Better yet, materials that could restore what she had lost.
Geumson searched the ‘Materials’ category without hesitation.
He entered every keyword related to memory, spirit, and recovery.
Dozens of lists appeared and vanished in succession.
Then one item seized his attention.
[Imperfect Young Leaf of the World Tree]
– Grade: Legendary
– Description: A World Tree that grows only in the deepest reaches of ancient forests, where time itself has ceased to flow. It possesses the unique property of absorbing and preserving all memories from its surroundings.
‘If only there were a complete leaf of the World Tree….’
[Purchasing ‘Imperfect Young Leaf of the World Tree’. -6,000P]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 0]
The Reputation Points he had accumulated so carefully fell to zero.
Yet Geumson felt no regret.
Reputation Points could be earned again; Astrid could not be compared to them.
“Master, please wait just a little longer.”
On the workbench, Geumson laid out the ‘Imperfect Young Leaf of the World Tree’ he had just purchased, the ‘Fairy’s Tear’ he had obtained from Paracelsus.
And various medicinal herbs beside them.
‘Let me begin.’
Geumson first concentrated every sense he possessed to grasp the true nature of the materials.
‘Determination’s Intuition, Meridian Insight!’
[‘Determination’s Intuition’ analyzes the physical structure of the target.]
[Meridian Insight analyzes the flow of mana dwelling within the target.]
Geumson’s vision began to reveal the delicate veins of the young leaf and the infinitesimal currents of mana dwelling in each speck of dust.
Tens of billions of tangled mana flows and a physically complex structure woven with impossible intricacy.
Even as a young leaf, a leaf of the World Tree remained a leaf of the World Tree.
‘I’m supposed to… separate and recombine this?’
It was work that an ordinary alchemist wouldn’t dare attempt.
But Geumson possessed the potion recipe Astrid had provided, and the Extraction skill Paracelsus had left behind.
‘Extraction!’
[Extraction [MAX] skill is activated.]
[Through the effect of Possessed Dexterity, the extraction process becomes extraordinarily precise.]
[Influenced by precision stats, even more refined hand movements are realized.]
.
.
.
Messages continued to bloom before him.
But Geumson could not spare attention for them.
Only his hands moved with such speed they became invisible.
He separated the fibers of memory from the young leaf, strand by strand.
Astrid, watching from the side, found her lips parting slightly without her knowing.
The isolated essence material, the moment it exposed itself to the open air, violently recoiled and emanated an unstable radiance.
‘Mana Control, Elemental Affinity!’
[Mana Control [MAX] suppresses the unstable mana.]
[Elemental Affinity [MAX] induces harmony in the chaotic essence.]
The fibers of memory stabilized according to Geumson’s will.
Yet it still wasn’t enough.
As it was, it remained merely a tangled mass of fragmented memory.
Something critical was missing—something to ‘heal’ and ‘restore’ the memory itself.
‘Right Hand of the Sun.’
Pure solar flame blossomed from Geumson’s right hand, gently enfolding the extracted memory fibers.
Within that warmth, a sacred force unfolded the fibers of memory with tender grace, beginning to infuse them with new vitality.
[Through the effect of Right Hand of the Sun, sacred power is infused.]
[The potion being crafted begins to take on the properties of ‘healing’ and ‘restoration’.]
The memory fibers gradually transformed into a clear amber hue, shifting into liquid form.
Yet Geumson was not satisfied.
“Soul Forging.”
With his other hand, Geumson struck a heated ingot of Moonlight Steel relentlessly with the Void Hammer.
Clang—thud—
Clang-clang-clang!
[Soul Forging skill is activated.]
[An enchantment slot has been created in the vial being crafted.]
A small vial, completed in an instant.
Geumson carefully poured the potion into it.
Now only the final step remained.
“Mana Engraving!”
The crowning touch that bound all of these processes together and maximized the potion’s efficacy.
Astrid’s magic.
Magic that draws miracles into being.
And now it began to manifest at Geumson’s fingertips.
Blue mana gathered at the tips of Geumson’s fingers.
He began tracing complex yet beautiful characters upon the empty air.
An ancient engraving symbolizing perfect circulation.
It began to be inscribed upon the vial.
The characters made of mana settled into the Moonlight Steel vial Geumson had forged.
The moment the mana was engraved, messages began to cascade forth.
[Mana Engraving is activated.]
[Through the title effect of Heir of the Stars, the engraving’s power is amplified.]
[The Memory Circulation effect is permanently granted to the crafted potion.]
[A grand success has been achieved!]
[Due to the influence of Luck stat, a transcendent grand success occurs!]
[The rank of the crafted item is raised by two grades!]
[This is alchemy beyond common sense! The system records your creation process.]
[You have successfully crafted the Elixir of Remembrance!]
.
.
.
[Determination’s Intuition has reached Lv.9.]
[Soul Forging has reached Lv.7.]
[The recipe for the crafted Elixir is recorded in the Blue Index.]
[Blue Index has reached Lv.3.]
Alchemy, magic, and the craft of the blacksmith—every technique at Geumson’s disposal.
A single potion had been completed that drew upon them all.
Notifications flooded his vision, dizzying in their cascade.
Even Geumson was startled, though he paid them little mind.
What mattered now was verifying the potion’s effects.
[Elixir of Remembrance]
– Grade: Ancient
– Crafter: Geumson
– Effect: Perfectly restores damaged or lost memories, and releases all curses and constraints imposed upon the mind. However, sudden depletion of Mana may cause severe side effects.
※Warning: Success rate is below 50%. Failure results in immediate death.
Geumson examined the Elixir’s description.
His eyes began to tremble.
He had created something that transcended the bounds of ordinary potions—an Elixir of Ancient grade.
Ancient grade, no less.
Yet he could not rejoice in this alone.
‘A success rate below 50%… and if it fails, I die?’
The effect itself was certain.
Exactly the effect he desired.
Yet this was an Elixir with a success rate below 50% and dangerous side effects besides.
This could not be called a proper Elixir.
‘A failure… perhaps.’
Geumson clenched his jaw.
He could not offer such a dangerous Elixir to his teacher, Astrid.
But then.
“So this is your miracle,” Astrid murmured.
Without warning, she had taken the Elixir of Remembrance from Geumson’s hands.
Astrid’s eyes gleamed with blue light.
Just as Geumson had discerned the Elixir’s properties, it seemed Astrid had grasped them all as well.
“The medicine will taste bitter, I suppose.”
“Wait, please! Master! The success rate—”
“It matters not. You made this for me. What difference should it make?”
Astrid seemed indifferent to the matter of success rate.
If anything, the very possibility of death appealed to her all the more.
She could not choose death on her own.
The Mana that had elevated Astrid to an Archmage.
It refused her even the choice of her own ending.
But the Elixir that Geumson had crafted—
With it, even Astrid might achieve a gentle close to her story.
“Even if it fails, Geumson, do not grieve. It was what I wished for. The fault is not yours.”
To the end, she offered him comfort.
She drained the potion he had made in a single gulp.
Gulp—
No hesitation in her act.
The moment the Elixir of Remembrance passed down Astrid’s throat—
Her entire form was engulfed in violent blue radiance.
Thump—
Concentric rings of Mana rippled outward from Astrid’s center.
Thump—
Thump—
Like a heartbeat, the Mana pulses she generated.
Watching through Meridian Insight alone left Geumson breathless.
And simultaneously, a message flickered into view.
[Meridian Insight skill has reached Lv.6.]

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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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