Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 04

========== REGRESSION OF THE TRANSCENDENT BLACKSMITH CHAPTER 4 ==========

Inside another dimension of the tower that only an administrator can enter.

Arimir observed everything happening in the Tutorial Tower from there.

“Arghhh! This is fucking bullshit! How am I supposed to clear this?!”

“I give up! I’m giving up! Get me out of here, quick!”

“The Management Bureau definitely said to go right here….”

The challengers’ behavior was mostly similar.

Either fearful or cautious.

Either coming with prior knowledge of the tower to clear it strategically, or recklessly charging in with bravado.

Yes, even with slight differences, the Awakened’s reactions didn’t stray far from this.

Except for one single kid.

“What on earth is that kid…?”

There were countless Awakened, but there was only one whom Arimir was keeping a close eye on.

There, Shin Tae-ho was hammering away diligently, making something as usual.

It felt a bit strange to call it “as usual,” but it was a quite appropriate expression.

Because Shin Tae-ho had been repeating that action for 6 months already.

Ttang! Ttang!

Chiiii-!!

Heating it in the fire, striking it with a hammer.

The shaped metal goes into the quenching barrel next to him, sending up smoke.

Although she didn’t know as much detail as a real blacksmith.

Arimir knew, at least simply, how a blacksmith made things.

Quenching is the process of quickly cooling metal that has finished being shaped by hammering by dipping it in water or oil.

This was the core step of heat treatment to increase the strength and hardness of the metal.

However, the Tutorial Tower didn’t provide food.

Therefore, he couldn’t get oil, nor even water to drink.

But Shin Tae-ho was quenching in a novel way that Arimir had never even imagined.

“Using the core’s coolant… your thinking is surprisingly flexible.”

Cores contained coolant to prevent collapse due to overheating.

But everything in the Tutorial Tower was a Normal-grade item.

Even if there was core coolant, there was only about a mouthful’s worth.

Shin Tae-ho had used that coolant for quenching instead of water or oil.

Collecting a few drops of coolant from a single Normal-grade core over a period of several weeks.

At the time, she thought it was an ignorant and useless action, but.

“To think he actually succeeded in making something. Should I call this impressive, or foolish…?”

Arimir sighed.

Shin Tae-ho’s persistence was amazing, but her thought that it would be a waste of effort hadn’t changed.

Anyway, this place was inside the Tutorial Tower.

It was a place only Awakened who hadn’t even received a class yet climbed.

“No matter how hard you try to make it, without a class, you wouldn’t even be able to make an Advanced-grade item. It’s a pity.”

Item grades were divided by a complex evaluation of many different factors.

That included materials, skills, techniques, and even the influence of a class.

But right now, Shin Tae-ho had none of those.

At most, just the blacksmithing skills he might have had before becoming an Awakened?

Yet, believing only in that, he had wasted his time like this for a whopping half a year.

“I want to stop him, but I can’t, so it’s quite frustrating.”

Arimir sighed.

The fortunate thing was that this wouldn’t go on forever.

Shin Tae-ho knew that one didn’t feel hunger or thirst in the Tutorial Tower.

But the truth was different.

“Half a year would be about 6 days in reality. If you don’t intend to starve to death, you should start the tutorial now.”

Arimir looked at Shin Tae-ho.

She could see his stomach sunken from starvation and his arms trembling.

Arimir clicked her tongue at that pitiful sight.

“I hope, for your sake, that it was worth all that effort. Child.”

Ggorureuk-

A sound demanding food rang out loudly from his stomach.

The hunger he had been feeling for some time now surged again.

But because it was a hunger he had been feeling all along, Shin Tae-ho continued his work as if nothing were wrong.

Moistening his throat with the coolant he had extracted from the core, Shin Tae-ho moved his arms without rest.

6 months since entering the Tutorial Tower.

Shin Tae-ho had been feeling extreme hunger since 1 month had passed.

The only thing that could fill his stomach, which could replace water, was the coolant.

His body, which had been burning fat for energy because he couldn’t eat anything, was so thin his ribs were protruding.

It felt like his overworked body was screaming, but.

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes, while hammering, flickered, reflecting the fire without wavering.

‘Almost done. Just a little more. Hang in there. I can endure this.’

Shin Tae-ho swung the hammer with trembling arms.

Although he had improved a lot now, Shin Tae-ho’s hammering was far too clumsy and unskilled compared to the past.

The regressed Shin Tae-ho had memories of being a blacksmith.

But that was just a memory.

The body of Shin Tae-ho, who had returned to the past, was in a state where the physique and abilities he had built up as a blacksmith for decades had disappeared.

A situation where his head remembered, but his body wouldn’t move as he wanted.

On top of that, because of the atrocious production environment, it took a whopping half a year to complete.

However, there were no regrets.

‘If I leave here, it won’t be easy to use materials like this to my heart’s content.’

Shin Tae-ho looked to his side.

Items that were destroyed while being used for production.

The number was so high that, literally, destroyed items were piled up like a mountain.

Thanks to that, although the quality was bad, he could use materials infinitely.

Click

The materials, which had finished the quenching process to increase strength and the tempering process to remove brittleness, began to be assembled.

The production that took 6 months was slowly nearing its end.

Finally finishing the work, Shin Tae-ho stepped back and looked at his completed work.

It was a full-body armor crafted to fit his body perfectly.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a class right now, so he couldn’t see the item information.

But since he had made it himself, Shin Tae-ho could infer the grade to some extent.

‘I had no blacksmithing skills, and no manual dexterity, so the work was clumsy. Plus, the quality of the materials was Normal grade… so it’s probably around Rare grade.’

Grades divided into 8 levels, including Normal, Advanced, Rare, Special, etc.

Among them, Shin Tae-ho expected a Rare grade, one level higher than the Advanced grade Arimir had expected.

It was only a jump of two grades after spending 6 months, but Shin Tae-ho knew.

That a 2-grade difference in the tower was the difference between a tree branch and a handgun in reality.

Clank

Shin Tae-ho moved his starving body and put on the armor.

It fit his body perfectly.

Furthermore, it wasn’t made of solid iron plates, but made like connecting scales, so it was sturdy yet could move flexibly.

‘There’s no issue with the range of motion at the joints or where the armor bites. Breathing is also comfortable.’

Shin Tae-ho, who confirmed there were no poorly made parts while moving his body, was satisfied.

This much was enough to use without any shortcomings when climbing the tower later.

Shin Tae-ho lifted the hammer placed next to him.

It was a battle hammer made as a weapon to take along while making the armor.

A well-balanced center of gravity and a non-slip handle.

Shin Tae-ho nodded, confirming that there were no problems with the hammer either.

‘Preparation is complete.’

Shin Tae-ho stopped swinging and put the hammer on his shoulder.

Now it was truly time to climb the tutorial.

Shin Tae-ho, who took a deep breath to soothe his exhausted body, shouted into the air.

“I will start the tutorial.”

As Shin Tae-ho shouted, the system reacted immediately.

The pure white space changed in an instant, and a dark passage appeared.

[The tutorial begins.]

[1st Floor Clear Condition: Get through the traps and reach the other side.]

A bright light could be seen at the end of the dark passage.

Shin Tae-ho, knowing that was the destination, took a step forward.

Before he had taken even a few steps, a metallic sound was heard.

Pew-pew-pew-pyuk!

10 arrows fired from the installed traps flew toward Shin Tae-ho.

A vicious trap that made all Awakened cower in fear.

But Shin Tae-ho continued walking without stopping, without a shred of hesitation.

Titing!

Taeng-geureong!

The arrows flying at the armor couldn’t pierce it and fell limply to the floor.

When he passed the halfway point, over 30 arrows poured out at once, but.

Those many arrows couldn’t even leave a scratch on the armor.

When Shin Tae-ho reached the other side, a message window popped up.

[1st Floor cleared.]

[Clear grade is SSS.]

[The path to the 2nd floor opens.]

As the message appeared, the passage that had been blocked by a wall opened.

Climbing the stairs that unfolded inside, a wide cavern appeared.

In the middle of it, a single goblin standing alone was glaring at Shin Tae-ho, making a threatening sound.

[2nd Floor Clear Condition: Defeat the weakened goblin.]

Shin Tae-ho’s stride, which had been unhesitating, faltered for just a brief moment.

Shin Tae-ho recalled the past.

His past self, who had bravely chosen a sword and shield and challenged the tutorial.

‘Back then, I couldn’t defeat the goblin and failed the tutorial.’

The Shin Tae-ho of that time fought the goblin, risking his life.

But even so, he couldn’t beat the goblin and had his neck pierced by a spear.

If this hadn’t been a tutorial, he would have died in vain right then and there.

Of course, that was just a distant past now.

“Keraak!”

The excited goblin, with its eyes rolled back, thrust its spear toward Shin Tae-ho.

The iron spear aimed for the abdomen of Shin Tae-ho, who was lost in sentiment.

Taeng!

“…Kek?”

The goblin, having lost the spear from its hand, looked back and forth between its spear and Shin Tae-ho in bewilderment.

A surprise attack attempted at the perfect timing.

But even the goblin’s desperate attack couldn’t leave a scratch on Shin Tae-ho’s armor.

Shin Tae-ho, broken from his stray thoughts, looked down at the goblin.

“Good attempt.”

Shin Tae-ho swung the hammer he had been carrying on his shoulder.

Ppeong!

A sound like a balloon popping rang out.

The goblin’s body, having lost its head, fell to the floor belatedly.

Although he had taken down the goblin in a single blow, Shin Tae-ho was slightly frowning.

‘It is heavy, as expected.’

A high-density hammer increased in weight accordingly.

A hammer that was heavy even just to swing.

Furthermore, Shin Tae-ho was in a weakened state from starving for days, so it was even harder to swing.

But there were no complaints.

‘For blunt weapons like hammers, mass is attack power.’

Shin Tae-ho’s goal was to climb the Tutorial Tower to the very end.

He had to be at least capable of killing a goblin in one hit to challenge that goal.

If he could produce that much power, this level of weight was no problem at all.

[2nd Floor cleared.]

[Clear grade is SSS.]

[The path to the 3rd floor opens.]

Shin Tae-ho smiled with satisfaction as he obtained an SSS grade twice in a row.

Receiving a grade he had never seen in the past made it feel like strength was welling up in his body.

On top of that, inside the Tutorial Tower where the flow of time couldn’t even be known.

It felt like he was being rewarded for the time he spent making weapons and armor while enduring hunger and loneliness.

“Shall we go.”

Like a swordsman sheathing his sword, Shin Tae-ho shouldered his hammer.

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in Shin Tae-ho’s stride as he went up to the 3rd floor.

To be continued in the next chapter ▶