Chapter 695

[ The System has also decided to fully acknowledge your talent for the Blacksmith Style. ]

[ As a result, your ‘Blacksmith Style’ has gained sufficient qualifications to advance to a higher realm. ]

[ The Liberated Hammer of the Great Smith resonates with you. ]

[ The Liberated Necklace of the Great Smith resonates with you. ]

System notifications slowly appeared one after another.

Su-ho quietly stared at them.

The notifications he saw this time were different from the previous ones.

It seemed to be because, unlike the other succession styles, the Blacksmith Style was not based on the concept of forms.

At that moment, the hammer and necklace Su-ho possessed slipped out on their own and began scattering a golden radiance.

[ The legacies of the Great Smith fully acknowledge your qualifications. ]

[ The legacies of the Great Smith begin to become one with you. ]

[ Item information is being changed. ]

[ Skill information is being changed. ]

[ The Blacksmith Style is being reconstructed. ]

The legacies scattering that radiance soon seeped into Su-ho.

It was warm.

The sensation, like warm water flowing through him, soon heated his body pleasantly.

[ The secret art of the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City is fully passed down to you. ]

[ You completely absorb the Flame of the Golden Blacksmith. ]

[ You completely master the Path of the Smith. ]

[ You have mastered ‘Blacksmith Style Ultimate Art - Smith's Eye(SS)’. ]

[ You have mastered ‘Blacksmith Style Ultimate Art - Art of Dismantling(SS)’. ]

[ You have mastered ‘Blacksmith Style Ultimate Art - Art of Assembly(SS)’. ]

[ You have mastered ‘Blacksmith Style Ultimate Art - Art of Synthesis(SS)’. ]

[ For accomplishing a supreme achievement, the System gifts you 30 bonus stats. ]

At last, he had completed the full succession of the Blacksmith Style.

It felt strange.

Somehow, it was different from the other succession styles he had learned until now.

At that moment, Cheon Geum-jang, who had watched until the very end, spoke with a deepened gaze.

"You've worked hard."

"Not at all. What did I even do? It's all thanks to you, Elder."

"Hoho, how could that be? You accomplished it because you possessed the qualifications. Then, as the final step, summon the hammer."

"The hammer?"

Out of habit, Su-ho thought of his inventory.

Then his thoughts abruptly stopped.

Come to think of it, hadn't the hammer been absorbed into me just now?

When Su-ho stared blankly at Cheon Geum-jang, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City smiled as though looking at a child.

"Picture it in your mind. What I gave you was merely a medium."

So it was about imagination.

He was used to that sort of thing.

When he pictured the hammer he had been using until just moments ago, it naturally appeared in his hand.

Cheon Geum-jang summoned something similar as well.

"Do you know why the hammer disappeared at the very end?"

"I'm not sure."

"Because to someone who wields the Blacksmith Style, things like hammers and anvils have no meaning whatsoever. In other words, there's no reason it absolutely has to be a hammer."

"You mean what's important is the Blacksmith Style itself."

"That's right. You have become one even with the blacksmith's flame and furnace. So even without a hammer, you should be able to manifest the Blacksmith Style through anything."

"Anything......."

So this too was a world of images.

Understanding what he meant, Su-ho nodded.

"I understand. I'll keep that in mind and train hard. But then why did you show me that elongated hammer at the beginning?"

The two-handed hammer that had looked like a long sledgehammer.

At Su-ho's question, Cheon Geum-jang laughed.

"I was just putting on a show to play a little prank."

"A prank?"

"I didn't know you were that good at Go."

"Ah."

An actual hammer was unnecessary when using the Blacksmith Style.

Even so, the reason Cheon Geum-jang had deliberately shown him that long hammer at the beginning was simply to tease Su-ho.

That way, Su-ho would think he had to make the hammer he had been shown his goal and pour his effort into reaching it.

Su-ho laughed at his mischievous prank as well.

"That's a little much."

"Then you should've just let me win back then."

"But it was still a match. How could I [N O V E L I G H T] do that?"

"That's true too. This is everything I have to teach you. Is there anything else you're curious about?"

"If there's nothing more for you to teach me, then I don't have anything either."

"Good. You'll come to understand the rest in time."

"Thank you for everything."

"As do I."

Cheon Geum-jang slowly lowered his head, then raised it again with a smile.

"Take care of yourself."

"I'll do my best."

Soon, Su-ho's vision went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, astonishingly, Jack was there watching a drama.

- When'd you get here?

Jack asked listlessly when Su-ho appeared without so much as a sound.

He didn't seem particularly surprised.

Beside him, Pi Seong-yeol was diligently working on dismantling items.

"Hmm."

Such a quick and quiet farewell.

It was unexpected, but Su-ho thought that too was very much like Cheon Geum-jang.

"Just now."

- The job?

"It went well."

- That's good. Need any help?

"No, I'm good."

- Okaaay~.

Jack replied without taking his eyes off the TV.

Su-ho likewise went over to a nearby sofa, sat down, and began checking what he had obtained.

[ Smith's Eye ]

Grade : SS# An eye possessed only by a successor of the Blacksmith Style who has comprehended its ultimate art.

# When used, allows the target to be viewed from a smith's perspective.

# Reveals all of the target's components, including its central point.

# The effects of Smith's Eye apply to all targets.

[ Art of Dismantling ]

Grade : SS# An Art of Dismantling usable only by a successor of the Blacksmith Style who has comprehended its ultimate art.

# When used, allows all components of the target to be dismantled in fine detail.

# The effects of Art of Dismantling apply to all targets.

[ Art of Assembly ]

Grade : SS# An Art of Assembly usable only by a successor of the Blacksmith Style who has comprehended its ultimate art.

# When used, materials obtained through Art of Dismantling can be newly configured through Art of Assembly.

# The effects of Art of Assembly apply to all targets.

[ Art of Synthesis ]

Grade : SS# An Art of Synthesis usable only by a successor of the Blacksmith Style who has comprehended its ultimate art.

# When used, materials obtained through Art of Dismantling can be synthesized into new materials.

# The effects of Art of Synthesis apply to all targets.

Simple descriptions.

But the options they possessed were anything but simple.

'I can use these powers without a hammer now, right?'

Since he was already at it, he decided to test them.

Su-ho picked up one of the pieces of equipment that had been transported nearby for Pi Seong-yeol and checked its information.

[ Neshville's Cursed Sword ]

Grade : A# A sword discovered in the cursed city of Neshville.

# When used, inflicts an intermediate-grade curse effect on the opponent.

# Holding the sword for a long time causes the sword to erode the wielder's mind.

A typical cursed item.

Now he intended to use it as a guinea pig to test the Blacksmith Style ultimate arts he had obtained.

First, Smith's Eye.

[ Smith's Eye activates. ]

Smith's Eye manifested in accordance with his will.

His pupils turned golden, and soon the sword began to appear from a smith's perspective.

The corners of Su-ho's mouth lifted.

The old Smith's Eye had done little more than reveal weak points that were good places to strike.

But the newly reconstructed Smith's Eye divided the sword into all sorts of colors, as though stains had spread across it.

'Gold, black, and red.'

There were four types of coloration visible on the cursed sword.

There was one golden point, one black point, and one red point, while the rest was covered in a pale gray haze.

The gray probably represented the basic elements that made up the sword.

Things like iron.

'One of those three must be the central point.'

There was a high chance it was the gold one.

Cheon Geum-jang had said the central point was the most important thing.

'Then the black and red ones must each be separate options.'

He would find out by checking them directly.

Su-ho naturally opened his hand.

He started to imagine the hammer and summon it into his grip, then stopped.

'He said it was like a world of images.'

Cheon Geum-jang had said that a hammer was no longer necessary for using the Blacksmith Style.

And yet, at the beginning, he had deliberately shown Su-ho a two-handed hammer and even demonstrated dismantling an object in a single blow.

'Which means I can do it too.'

Holding the sword, Su-ho raised his fist.

Then he swung his fist down like a hammer and struck the sword.

At that moment.

PAAANG!!

With a satisfying sound, cracks spread across the entire cursed sword.

Of course, these were not ordinary cracks created in the process of destruction.

They were cracks caused by the process of Art of Dismantling.

'Looks like doing it in one hit is still too much for me.'

But he had gotten the feel for it.

He then swung his fist-hammer down once more as though hammering.

PAAAAANG!

[ Art of Dismantling activates. ]

Along with the brief notification, the cursed sword collapsed into countless fragments with a clatter, just as the Black Iron Shield had before.

A satisfied smile appeared on Su-ho's face.

At that moment, Jack, whose attention had been caught by the loud noise, walked over and glanced at what he was doing.

- What're you doing?

"I'm dismantling a sword."

- That's a pretty interesting method.

"I can dismantle things at the level of individual options now."

- Individual options?

At that question, Su-ho picked up a golden fragment and checked its information.

[ Central Point of Neshville's Cursed Sword ]

Grade : A# The central point of a sword discovered in the cursed city of Neshville.

# Without the central point, no matter how many material fragments there are, it cannot be restored to its original form.

# However, if the central point is present, its appearance and configured options will change depending on the material fragments used to construct it.

# The Central Point of Neshville's Cursed Sword can only be filled with material fragments harvested through the Blacksmith Style's Art of Dismantling, and requires the Blacksmith Style's Art of Assembly.

# The minimum assembly requirement is 30 material fragments excluding the central point, while the maximum configuration requirement is 120.

# Current number of assembled material fragments 0/120.

As expected, the golden one really was the central point.

Next, he checked the red and black fragments.

[ Fragment of Neshville's Cursed Sword ]

Grade : A# A fragment of a sword discovered in the cursed city of Neshville.

# Inflicts an intermediate-grade curse effect on the opponent.

[ Fragment of Neshville's Cursed Sword ]

# A fragment of a sword discovered in the cursed city of Neshville.

# Causes a mental erosion effect on the holder.

Brief descriptions.

But they made things perfectly clear.

And he understood.

The difference between red and black.

'Black represents options that harm the user.'

At that moment, Su-ho spotted the other cursed items nearby, and a good idea occurred to him.

He immediately picked up another cursed item.

Then he began separating out the black fragments one after another.