Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 08

========== REGRESSION OF THE TRANSCENDENT BLACKSMITH CHAPTER 8 ==========

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes narrowed.

The reason he climbed the Tutorial Tower to the very end, even though he didn’t have to.

It was partly out of his own greed, but the biggest reason was to obtain a combat-related class by climbing the tower.

But to think he got the same Blacksmith class as before, even though he was the first to conquer the tutorial?

However, when he looked closely at the class name, he saw something he hadn’t noticed before.

‘Wait. A blacksmith is a blacksmith, but what is a War Smith?’

The class Shin Tae-ho had received previously was Smith.

Literally, a being who hammers metal to create items.

But what he received now was War Smith, with the modifier ‘War’ added to the front.

Since the value of a class changes completely with just one word, this difference was not something to be easily overlooked.

‘Don’t tell me… is it a Special Class?’

Special Class.

Literally, a class that is much rarer than a general class and has special acquisition conditions.

Like the name suggests, Special Classes had special skills or hidden potential abilities.

Feeling a glimmer of hope, Shin Tae-ho pulled up the class details.

[War Smith]

Origin: A class that starts with the champion of Vulcastos, the god of all blacksmiths.

Only one being, the greatest master of war and master of craft of the era, could inherit this honorable class.

The War Smith, who instantly crafts, repairs, and destroys weapons in the middle of the battlefield, was the ruler of war and the key to victory.

Rarity: Unique

“The rarity is Unique?”

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened as he read the origin.

He felt something unusual about it being something only a master of war and a master of craft could possess.

But he never imagined the rarity would be the Unique grade, which only one being per era could possess.

‘Unique grade is the top-tier class even among Special Classes. War Smith is one of them?’

Shin Tae-ho’s heart pounded violently, as if it were being hammered.

The reason Shin Tae-ho tried to get a class other than Blacksmith.

It was because a class with combat abilities is indispensable for climbing the tower.

Other than that, obtaining a different class would mean accepting the loss of his familiar and skilled abilities.

But to think he could obtain combat abilities while maintaining the Blacksmith class, which he had reached the pinnacle of?

‘I secretly hoped a Knight class would appear. This doesn’t even compare to a Knight.’

To think it’s a Unique class that belongs in the high-end tier even among Special Classes.

It was so unimaginable that he even doubted if this was real.

A message window popped up in front of Shin Tae-ho, whose head was heating up with joy.

[Class assignment complete.]

[You can now use the information window and inventory abilities.]

[The weapons and armor used in the tutorial have been moved to your inventory for storage.]

“Done.”

After reading the message, Shin Tae-ho immediately opened his inventory.

Inside the inventory, the armor and hammer he had made in the tutorial were stored just as they were.

‘Back then, I didn’t have a class, so I couldn’t even see the item information.’

Shin Tae-ho took the armor and hammer out of the inventory.

The weapons he had poured his heart and soul into making for 6 months appeared before Shin Tae-ho in reality, beyond the tutorial.

Shin Tae-ho picked up the hammer.

As Shin Tae-ho looked at it, the hammer revealed its item information.

[Hammer that Transcended Limits]

-Grade: Elite

-Description: A hammer made from parts of Normal-grade items in the tutorial.

It transcended the limits of its grade through the creator’s ability and ceaseless hammering.

Through long periods of polishing and tempering, its durability and attack power increased dramatically.

-Unique Effects: ⌜Self-Repair (LV.2)⌟, ⌜Durability Enhancement (LV.3)⌟, ⌜Lightweight (LV.2)⌟, ⌜Ignore Defense (LV.2)⌟

-Unique Ability: ⌜Destructive Strike⌟

“What the hell is this?”

Shin Tae-ho was rarely flustered.

An item’s grade was measured by various factors such as materials, crafting skills, and the creator’s will.

But with Normal-grade materials, the best you could make was a Rare-grade item.

Even though Shin Tae-ho didn’t know it, Arimir had judged the limit of what could be made with Normal items to be High-grade.

But to think it was Elite grade.

That was just one step lower than the Hero grade, which was given as a reward for conquering the tutorial.

‘No wonder nothing except the Knight’s armor could withstand three hits. The grade turned out better than I thought.’

Now he understood why the tutorial monsters were particularly weak.

After checking the item information, Shin Tae-ho approached the armor next.

The armor, made by mixing various materials, had a strange feeling due to the mixed colors.

As he stared at the armor, the armor’s item information popped up just like before.

[Armor that Transcended Limits]

-Grade: Elite

-Description: Full-body armor made from Normal-grade items in the tutorial.

It transcended the limits of its grade through the creator’s ability and ceaseless hammering.

It was tempered in special cooling water for a long time, dramatically increasing its flexibility and defense.

-Unique Effects: ⌜Elasticity (LV.2)⌟, ⌜Physical Defense (LV.3)⌟, ⌜Ability Defense (LV.3)⌟, ⌜Lightweight (LV.3)⌟

-Unique Ability: ⌜Steel Heartbeat⌟

Shin Tae-ho nodded.

The armor was also Elite grade, just like the hammer.

The unique effects and unique abilities were also balanced just as well as the hammer’s.

‘With this, I have enough to climb the tower right away.’

Shin Tae-ho put the hammer and armor back into his inventory.

Weapons are important, but there was something he had to do immediately after obtaining the class.

‘I need to create a Qi Circuit.’

Qi Circuit.

As the name suggests, it was an indispensable ability for handling Qi, the transcendental energy that can only be obtained in the tower.

And Qi is the power that becomes the source of strength for Awakened individuals.

A mage’s mana, a warrior’s aura, and a priest’s divine power all originated from this Qi.

‘To create a Qi Circuit, I have to enter the tower.’

Since Qi can only be obtained in the tower, most Awakened individuals would obtain a class and then go to the tower to create a circuit.

However, instead of entering the tower, Shin Tae-ho took out the item he had put in his inventory.

‘But I don’t need to do that.’

What Shin Tae-ho took out into his hand was a core.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary core, but a Transcendental-grade core, one filled with Arimir’s Qi.

Shin Tae-ho focused his mind on the core in his hand.

As he obtained the class, he began to feel Arimir’s Qi, which he hadn’t been able to feel before.

Shin Tae-ho flinched as he felt Arimir’s Qi fully for the first time.

‘As expected of an administrator. It’s even more immense than I thought.’

Arimir’s Qi inside the core was a sun.

It was no exaggeration; the condensed power and the massive size of the Qi were worthy of being called a sun.

Shin Tae-ho searched his memories to find the power most similar to this.

‘Arcanus. That Dragon Lord’s breath would be the only thing comparable.’

An immense mass of Qi.

I guarantee that even if one could use only a tiny amount of this Qi, it would be enough to cause an explosion comparable to a nuclear bomb.

Cold sweat ran down Shin Tae-ho’s forehead.

But contrary to sweating from tension, the corners of Shin Tae-ho’s mouth were curled up higher than ever.

‘If I create a Qi Circuit with this…’

The Qi Circuit’s vessel size and strength were greatly influenced by what kind of Qi one received when first creating the circuit.

In other words, creating a Qi Circuit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But it was obvious that taking in this much Qi into his body would come with corresponding pain.

The contemplation was deep, but not long.

‘It’s a first and last chance. I can’t give this up and run away.’

Shin Tae-ho sat cross-legged.

After holding the core with both hands and resting it on his knees, he focused all his nerves on Arimir’s Qi.

At first, nothing happened.

But as time passed, changes occurred little by little.

S-seuk

The Qi contained in the core flowed out following Shin Tae-ho’s will.

It was a very slow movement, but Shin Tae-ho did not rush.

Just like a seeker practicing, or a blacksmith hammering heated iron.

Shin Tae-ho constantly repeated attempts and failures to move the Qi.

How much time had passed like that?

At some moment, while he was so immersed that he couldn’t even perceive the passage of time, he kept trying.

Padeudeudeuk!

“…!!!”

Finally, Arimir’s Qi crossed the core and dug into his palms.

Shin Tae-ho gritted his teeth at the pain of being struck by lightning and burning alive.

‘I can’t make a sound! The Qi will scatter! I have to endure until it’s over!’

Blood flowed from his lips.

It was because he had bitten his tongue to overcome the pain that felt like he would lose consciousness at any moment.

In the meantime, Arimir’s lava-like Qi continued to flow into his body.

‘Endure. I can endure it.’

Shin Tae-ho repeated to himself as if casting a self-suggestion.

His brain screamed at him to stop immediately due to the overwhelming pain.

But Shin Tae-ho, holding onto his consciousness with transcendental mental strength, continued to accept it into his body.

However, contrary to his will, the body does not become stronger just by willpower.

His body, unable to withstand Arimir’s Qi, began to slowly break down.

While Shin Tae-ho was just enduring the pain with mental strength, unaware of that fact.

For some reason, Shin Tae-ho’s body, which had been collapsing, began to recover again.

‘What is this? The pain is decreasing. No, rather, strength is returning to my body. Has my body adapted to the pain?’

Shin Tae-ho wondered as the pain lessened.

That thought was true, but the cause was different from his guess.

Tsureureureuk-

The reason Shin Tae-ho’s body did not collapse but instead began to recover.

It was thanks to the core’s cooling water that he had drunk instead of meals the entire time he was in the tutorial.

The cooling water he had drunk for 6 months was being digested and piled up in his body.

Accordingly, Shin Tae-ho’s body had changed to be significantly stronger against the internal heat caused by Qi.

And as a result.

Shin Tae-ho was accepting Arimir’s Qi not only into his circuit but into his entire body.

Of course, Shin Tae-ho did not know or expect this fact.

Ttududuk, ttuduk!

Padeudeudeu-!

As the Qi permeated, his bones were realigned, and his muscles repeated damage and regeneration.

The blood circulating in his body became clean, and the main circuits of his brain were significantly strengthened.

It felt like his body was floating, and his thoughts were expanding as if the universe was unfolding in his head.

[Qi Circuit has been created.]

Shin Tae-ho, who had been in a trance, snapped back to reality at the message window that appeared before his eyes.

Behind the message that appeared earlier, other message windows popped up one after another.

[You have accepted Qi that far exceeds your limits.]

[Your body has evolved while accepting powerful Qi.]

[You have obtained the ‘Rebirth’ achievement!]

[You have acquired Qi Circuit (Lv.7).]

“Rebirth? That Rebirth that only a few among Warrior class Awakened have achieved? And the Qi Circuit level is 7?”

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes widened as large as lanterns as he looked at the message window.

To be continued in the next chapter ▶