The Returned Genius Blacksmith has Awakened as an all-Master - Chapter 91

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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 91
091. Only One Person
Simply by “seeing” Astrid’s magical power, Geumson’s skill level rose.
It was no ordinary fluctuation of mana.
With each wave came dozens of intermingled attributes—an alien magical force so intricate that even Geumson could not easily decipher it.
Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump—
The strange pulses of mana accelerated further.
It grew so fast that something felt wrong.
But in that very instant.
Thump-thump—
With the final surge of mana, the Floating Island fell into silence.
An anxious hush.
“Master…….”
The moment Geumson could no longer hold back and began to call out to Astrid.
A storm of light—no, a tempest of pure mana erupted from Astrid’s body.
Crash—
The torrent of magical force cascaded outward.
And within that maelstrom, the message Geumson had been waiting for began to appear.
[Astrid’s Curse of Memory has been lifted.]
‘Done!’
Geumson’s fist clenched without his even realizing it.
In the same breath, a cascade of system messages followed.
[Frontier Quest: “The Defiant One” completed!]
[Hidden Skill Imprint Removal acquired!]
[Imprint Removal Lv.1][Hidden]
[Active Skill]
– Description: The ultimate technique—by carefully dismantling structure, selectively remove only unwanted imprints from a target.
– Effect: Erase one unwanted effect imprinted on the target and unlock one additional enchantment slot.
[Title: Reversal of the Hourglass]
[You have righted the inverted hourglass of the Archmage Astrid.]
[The system honors your sublime resolve and overwhelming prowess.]
[Effect 1. Proficiency gain for all class skills increases by an additional 100%.]
[Effect 2. Craft success rate increases by 20%.]
[Effect 3. [Resurrection]: When facing inescapable fate and death, once per day, restore 100% of max health.]
The messages glowed with crystal clarity.
The hidden skill Imprint Removal.
A simple description—the ability to erase imprinted effects from a target.
It was a powerful effect that granted the use of items cursed or burdened with fatal drawbacks.
Moreover, he need no longer fear failure in mana enchantment.
If it failed, he could simply erase the effect and try again.
Though only one opportunity, it was certainly enough to prove invaluable.
But there was yet another reward.
Reversal of the Hourglass—a title that eased occupational penalties and boosted critical success rates.
Particularly the Resurrection effect was akin to possessing a second life.
At first glance, the title effects and hidden skill seemed boundless in application.
Yet there was one message that truly captured Geumson’s attention.
The very first one.
[Astrid’s Curse of Memory has been lifted.]
‘A curse? Not an illness?’
Astrid had not been afflicted with disease—she had been cursed.
Which meant someone had cursed the Archmage Astrid.
So covertly that even Astrid herself had remained unaware.
‘Who would dare curse an Archmage…….’
Geumson’s brow furrowed deeply.
But the thought did not linger long.
The storm of mana pouring from Astrid began to subside, and a faint moan escaped her lips.
“Ah…….”
Forgotten memories flooded back into her mind.
The faces of those she had loved, moments of happiness.
And the memory of that time—when, unable to hold her scattering recollections together, she had chosen to abandon the city she had built with her own hands and sought refuge on the Floating Island.
Painful memories, sad memories, joyful memories.
They all swept past like scenes in a panorama.
Looking back now, every moment had been beautiful.
And between those memories, she glimpsed Geumson watching her with an anxious expression.
Astrid smiled at him and spoke.
“Geumson, the miracles you draw are so beautiful.”
Her voice carried the weightlessness of someone finally freed from long chains.
Geumson exhaled in relief at the sight of her.
But before he could savor that moment of Astrid’s recovered memories.
Woom-woom-woom-woom-woom—
Crash-crash-crash-crash!
An alarm pierced the air.
A sharp, urgent alarm shook the entire city of Aerthos.
A deafening roar tore across Aerthos’s sky as it flooded with crimson light. The city’s magical barrier shrieked, beginning to tear open with vast rifts.
* * *
“Wow, there really are a lot of them.”
Geumson had come down from Floating Island to Aerthos.
The city was now packed shoulder to shoulder with players who had come to hunt monsters.
“Wait? That’s Geumson!”
“Seriously? Hey, can you sign something for me? Whoa, you really do have a Golem?”
“You didn’t stream today, so I came in person! What’s that baby bird’s name?”
Many players recognized Geumson upon seeing him.
They approached him eagerly, their expressions bright with the joy of someone enjoying a festival.
Of course they were.
For players, death in Lepion was merely a minor penalty to endure.
But Geumson noticed something else—the faces of the others around him.
The residents of Lepion who made this place their home, the NPCs.
Fear flickered across their faces.
It was a face he knew too well.
The face Seoul had worn when the capital of South Korea crumbled.
And the face it had worn each time a shelter collapsed.
Those were faces he’d grown sick of seeing.
‘I never thought I’d see that look in Lepion…’
Geumson clenched his teeth.
Old trauma threatened to surface.
But before the memories could resurface, he turned his attention elsewhere.
A familiar name had caught his ear from those engaged in a quarrel.
“This is an order from Lady Astrid! How dare an outsider presume to step forward!”
“That’s exactly why we’re asking to meet with this Astrid you speak of, isn’t it? Or at the very least, let us meet with the Tower Master!”
“An outsider meet Lady Astrid? And the Tower Master besides? Impudent fools. Stop your prattling and simply follow our commands.”
Two people stood locked in dispute.
This was more than a simple quarrel between an NPC and a player.
One of those arguing was a player.
That player was Kang Mujin.
“Players fight differently than you seem to understand. Why can’t you grasp that!”
“Hmph, I understand that foolish attribute of yours well enough—the one where you laugh in the face of death.”
“It’s not just that. Skill deployment, logistics, our entire rhythm of combat is different!”
The one Kang Mujin faced with such frustration.
He was no pushover himself.
Behind him stood hundreds of robed figures arrayed in ranks.
The Mage Unit.
They appeared to be the Mage Unit dispatched from Aerthos’s Magic Tower.
‘Is this about command authority?’
It seemed a dispute over command had erupted between Kang Mujin and the Mage Unit’s leader.
Ordinarily, this was not a matter in which Geumson would meddle.
But the mention of Astrid’s name was too much to ignore.
“Whose order did you say?”
At Geumson’s appearance, Kang Mujin’s eyes widened.
He recognized Geumson.
But the Mage Unit’s leader did not even turn his head.
To him, whether there was one foreigner or two made no difference.
Insignificant creatures.
“They all keep meddling. This is exactly why we need command authority! There’s no order or hierarchy…….”
Then it happened.
His gaze, still forming words, fell upon the brooch pinned to Geumson’s chest.
A small brooch carved with the emblem of a star.
The moment he saw that mark, the mage’s face drained of all color.
“That brooch…… You, a foreigner—no, you…… how do you possess that……?”
His trembling finger pointed toward Geumson.
His voice had abandoned him entirely.
The unit commander’s lips quivered uncontrollably.
Yet regardless of his bearing——
Thump.
As if a tide were surging in, dozens of mages knelt as one, dropping to a single knee.
The entire Mage Unit, which moments before had reigned with arrogance——
Bowed their heads to a single person.
One person alone.
Toward Geumson.
And in unison, they cried out:
“We greet the Star’s Successor.”
Geumson was the one caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
He had never anticipated such a reaction from the Aerthos mages.
‘I’ve never even heard of this from Ha-rin……..’
In his previous life, Ha-rin had been Astrid’s disciple.
Yet he had never heard her speak of such a thing.
And Geumson, who had never encountered any such episode related to Ha-rin even during those days on the Lepion Net, found himself thoroughly bewildered.
“W—what the hell are you all doing! Get up! Get up! You’re kneeling to a foreigner over something not even confirmed yet! Come on, get up! Now!”
The commander of the Mage Unit, his neck flushed crimson, bellowed with all his might.
But the mages remained motionless.
Their behavior began to draw the attention of the surrounding players.
“What’s going on? What does Star’s Successor even mean?”
“Is this an event? Geumson is the Star’s Successor? Wasn’t he a blacksmith?”
“Oh, is his second class a mage?”
“If he’s a mage, he’s a mage…… but why are the Aerthos mages acting like this?”
The players seemed bewildered.
Yet those quick-witted enough were already broadcasting this moment to the Lepion Net.
The situation in Aerthos, streaming simultaneously from multiple angles, sent the Lepion Net into turmoil once more.
Of course, at the center of it all, Kang Mujin—who had intuited Geumson—merely wore a subtle smile.
As though his eyes had never deceived him.
As though he had seen this coming all along, Kang Mujin straightened his chest and lifted the corners of his mouth higher.
“That arrogant bastard…… is smiling?”
Seeing his expression——
The commander appeared to have lost all reason.
Every eye in Aerthos seemed to be upon him.

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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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