Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 16

========== REGRESSION OF THE TRANSCENDENT BLACKSMITH CHAPTER 16 ==========

Elf.

A being that loves and cherishes nature, has pointed ears, and is counted among the long-lived species even among the various races of the Tower.

Such elves were divided into three categories based on their types and characteristics.

The elves that challengers had met until now were only two of those kinds: Dark Elves or Pure Elves.

However, what was in front of Shin Tae-ho right now was neither a Dark Elf nor a Pure Elf.

Pearl-colored skin, and hair that shimmered as if it had been melted down from emeralds.

Not just simple long ears, but ears with a high, sharp angle, and green eyes.

It was the rarest of the three types of elves.

‘World Tree Elf.’

An elf known to exist only through conversations with challengers who had high affinity with Dark Elves or Pure Elves.

Even in the past, there were only rumors that World Tree Elves existed.

There wasn’t a single challenger who had actually met a World Tree Elf in person.

And yet, such a World Tree Elf appeared on the 15th floor?

Since elves were beings one could originally only meet from the 20th floor onwards, Shin Tae-ho could not understand this situation.

“Are you a World Tree Elf? Why are you here?”

“That is my line. You are the one who came to where I am.”

The elf replied with coldly sunken eyes.

Realizing there was a misunderstanding, Shin Tae-ho quickly clarified.

“I was here to stop the monsters gathering in the forest. I didn’t come to harm the forest.”

“I know. I saw it.”

Just as those words implied, the World Tree Elf, while wary of Shin Tae-ho, did not show hostility.

“But it is strange. How did you find out where I was?”

“I just felt it. Didn’t you reveal your presence?”

“No. I had been hiding my presence from the very beginning.”

Shin Tae-ho tilted his head at the World Tree Elf’s answer.

However, he didn’t have to ponder for long to figure out the reason.

“Then I suppose it’s because of this.”

Shin Tae-ho slightly raised the Bedileem Qi contained within his circuit.

The World Tree Elf’s eyes widened upon feeling the Qi.

“That Qi…? That’s impossible. How do you possess our Qi?”

“I received it.”

The various races of the Tower were beings who did not know they belonged to the Tower.

It was clear they wouldn’t understand if he said he obtained it from Bedileem in the tutorial as it was.

Instead of wasting time on that meaningless task, Shin Tae-ho flexibly chose a white lie.

At the mention of receiving it, the elf’s eyes widened significantly.

“That’s impossible. A warrior, why would they give it to someone who isn’t of our kind?”

“I fought, won, and received it. I don’t know the opponent’s intentions either.”

The elf, blocked by words once again, fell silent.

After thinking for a moment, the elf opened their mouth again.

“Seeing as you are, you seem to be a strong warrior. Could I ask you for a favor?”

“A favor?”

When Shin Tae-ho asked back, the elf nodded.

“Yes. First, let me introduce myself. I am Yepiel, the guardian who protects the sacred World Tree.”

‘Suddenly?’

Shin Tae-ho frowned at the out-of-the-blue introduction.

However, Yepiel, unbothered, continued the explanation.

“However, because I could not properly counter the recent attack, the barrier protecting the World Tree has been damaged. I would like you to lend your strength to restore the barrier.”

As soon as the elf finished speaking, a message window popped up.

[A quest has been generated.]

[Help Request from the World Tree Guardian]

Description: Yepiel, who was protecting the World Tree, the home of the elves, could not cope with a sudden attack.

They are requesting your help to restore the damaged barrier.

Reward: Unknown

‘A quest, huh.’

It was already surprising enough to meet an elf, but to receive a quest that one could usually only get after building up trust and favor?

Hiding his inner surprise, Shin Tae-ho pondered.

‘To challenge the next floor, I should save even the little Qi I have, but…’

A quest is an opportunity that one cannot guarantee will be available again later.

Above all, Shin Tae-ho had not forgotten the advice he received from Arimir in the tutorial.

The advice to not be obsessed with climbing the Tower quickly, but to listen to and observe the stories of those he meets in the Tower.

Even the words that if he did so, he would be able to walk a path different from others.

‘I should do it.’

Feeling that now was the time, Shin Tae-ho finished his short deliberation and accepted.

“Understood. I will help.”

[You have accepted the quest.]

As Shin Tae-ho answered, the message window changed.

Perhaps worried that he might refuse, Yepiel’s stiff face relaxed.

“Follow me.”

Yepiel ran ahead, moving across the trees.

When he felt like they had been running for about an hour.

Yepiel, who had gone ahead, was waiting for Shin Tae-ho on a tree.

Yepiel pointed a finger in one direction.

“My request is to deal with that together.”

‘That?’

Wondering what on earth they wanted him to deal with, Shin Tae-ho looked at the place pointed out and was shocked.

In the place Yepiel pointed to, there were monsters that, like elves, one shouldn’t be meeting on the 15th floor.

‘A Stone Skin Ogre? Isn’t that a guy that only appears on the 50th floor?’

A Stone Skin Ogre is a monster whose skin is as hard as stone, just like its name.

It was a tricky monster to deal with, as ordinary blades couldn’t even scratch it, and it had high magic resistance.

And it was certainly not a monster that a challenger at the level of climbing the 15th floor could handle.

Seeing Shin Tae-ho’s expression, Yepiel nodded as if they understood.

“I dealt with the others, but I couldn’t possibly handle that one alone.”

While Shin Tae-ho was fighting, Yepiel hadn’t been idle either.

As proof, there were plenty of Ogres lying dead around the Stone Skin Ogre, seemingly having followed it.

Furthermore, seeing arrows stuck all over the Stone Skin Ogre’s body, it was clear they had fought, but the attacks hadn’t worked.

Shin Tae-ho, looking at the Ogre as if it were absurd, sighed.

“Wait.”

Shin Tae-ho tapped his helmet.

Yong-ryong-i, who had been sleeping out of exhaustion, opened their eyes groggily at the sound and yawned.

“Ryong-humm…?”

“Yong-ryong-i. It’s going to shake a bit. Don’t come out this time, stay inside.”

“Ryong…?”

Not knowing what the situation was, but because it was Shin Tae-ho speaking, Yong-ryong-i nodded for now.

Having finished warning Yong-ryong-i, Shin Tae-ho picked up his hammer.

“Let’s go.”

At Shin Tae-ho’s signal, Yepiel nocked an arrow to their bow.

Shin Tae-ho, cloaked in Bedileem Qi, crouched low and dashed, striking the back of the Ogre’s head.

Kwang!

“Ku-heok?”

The Ogre, which had been busy doing something, scratched its head and turned around.

Shin Tae-ho frowned at the back of its head, which didn’t even have a scratch.

‘As expected, at my current level, I can’t deal any damage. In that case.’

Qi flowing from his circuit wrapped around the hammer.

The hammer, overlaid with Destructive Strike, aimed for the Ogre’s arm.

Only then, the Ogre, realizing Shin Tae-ho was an enemy, swung its arm as if it were pathetic.

It was an action taken with the calculation that getting hit by something like that wouldn’t cause any damage.

Kwang!!

The Ogre’s rock-like arm and Shin Tae-ho’s hammer collided.

Due to the immense brute force, Shin Tae-ho’s hammer slipped from his hand.

A situation where the Ogre could ravage the defenseless Shin Tae-ho if it attacked right then.

However, instead of attacking, the Ogre grabbed the arm hit by the hammer and let out a shriek.

“Kwoooar!”

Yepiel’s eyes widened.

They had thought the attack failed.

But the Ogre’s rock-like skin was cracking apart as if armor had shattered.

Shin Tae-ho, who had backed away to retrieve his hammer, shouted.

“Shoot!”

At Shin Tae-ho’s instruction, Yepiel, who had come to their senses, aimed for the spot where the skin had peeled off.

The arrow, shot while trailing a long tail of light like a flash, embedded deeply into the wound.

Pu-hwak!

“Kwa-ack!”

The Ogre shrieked.

In the meantime, Shin Tae-ho, having retrieved his hammer, used Destructive Strike again.

Chest, leg, neck.

Every time an opportunity arose, he struck with Destructive Strike, and the number of places for Yepiel to attack increased accordingly.

As the battle dragged on, arrows were stuck all over the Stone Skin Ogre wherever its skin was broken.

‘Good. Unlike what it looks like, it seems to be taking damage.’

Compared to the huge size of the Ogre, Yepiel’s arrows looked like toothpicks.

But this was inside the Tower.

External wounds were not necessarily proportional to the power.

In fact, the Stone Skin Ogre was noticeably slowing down and focusing on defense, as if the damage had accumulated.

‘Let’s end this with this.’

Sensing the end was near, Shin Tae-ho rushed at the Ogre.

Even while exhausted, the Ogre swung an attack toward Shin Tae-ho with terrifying brute force.

But Shin Tae-ho, having easily dodged the powerful but slowed attack, got behind the Ogre.

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes caught the numerous arrows half-embedded in the nape of its neck.

“Goodbye.”

Puck-!!

Shin Tae-ho, having leaped up, struck the area where arrows were embedded with his hammer.

The arrows hit by the hammer pierced through the Ogre’s muscles and bones like nails being driven in, embedding deeply.

The focus disappeared from the Stone Skin Ogre’s eyes.

Kung!!

The ground shook as the tree-sized Stone Skin Ogre collapsed.

Shin Tae-ho, confirming it was completely dead, caught his ragged breath and examined his hammer.

Although he had used Destructive Strike, which ignores defense with a certain probability.

The head of the hammer that had been pounding the hard Stone Skin Ogre was more than half broken and shattered.

‘I couldn’t coat it with Qi while using the skill. The hammer can’t withstand it.’

Shin Tae-ho’s gaze sank.

As it had self-repair, the hammer head would gradually recover over time.

But the problem was the hammer, which lacked durability for an Elite-grade weapon because it was made with Normal-grade item materials.

‘I need to get a new weapon before reaching the 50th floor.’

Yepiel, who had jumped down from the tree, landed next to Shin Tae-ho.

Looking at the broken hammer following his gaze, a sense of apology appeared in Yepiel’s eyes.

“Thank you for your help. Thanks to you, I was able to defeat that. Your weapon is…”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

Shin Tae-ho opened his inventory and put the hammer away.

Now that the battle was over, there was no need to carry around a broken hammer.

“But my Qi is completely depleted. Is there a place here where I can replenish Qi?”

Bedileem’s Qi, which hadn’t been that much to begin with, had been completely drained while fighting the Stone Skin Ogre.

“Qi? Ah. You mean natural energy. Natural energy… natural energy…”

Yepiel muttered while glancing at Shin Tae-ho.

Shin Tae-ho frowned at Yepiel’s behavior of glancing sideways without answering the question.

“You’re hesitating for a long time. Is there, or is there not? You just need to say that.”

“…Yes. If it’s you, who helped to the point of breaking a weapon that is like life to a warrior, you are qualified.”

Yepiel, who had been worrying while talking to themselves, nodded as if they had made up their mind.

Yepiel, passing by the dead Stone Skin Ogre, moved their arms and moved their mouth without rest.

Shin Tae-ho, who was about to call out to Yepiel at the sudden behavior, closed his mouth.

An incredibly dense Qi poured out from inside a circular space that suddenly floated in front of Yepiel.

‘Why is the concentration of Qi this dense? And that is…’

A space visible beyond the border condensed with Qi.

A tree of unrealistic size was situated there.

“I cannot keep it open for long. Come in.”

Yepiel, who had entered inside beyond the mirror-like circular space, called Shin Tae-ho.

At Yepiel’s call, Shin Tae-ho walked forward without hesitation.

There was no need to hesitate.

Through the conversation they had shared so far, Shin Tae-ho could also tell what that was.

The home of the elves, which only a few challengers who had built trust with elves could hear about.

But a place that was passed down like a legend even to the elves themselves, as even the elves didn’t know where it was or how to get there.

‘Forest of the World Tree.’

Shin Tae-ho’s eyes, looking at the World Tree, trembled thinly with excitement.

To be continued in the next chapter ▶