The Golden Hammer Awakens
The mana vibrated violently, shattering the accumulated residue clogging the mana roads.
“This is going to hurt.”
It turned out to be far easier to execute in reality than it had been to simulate in his mind.
Crack. Crunch. Crack.
The debris embedded in Kim Gyucheol’s arm was pulverized into fine powder. Yujun gathered it all to one side and expelled it from the body.
The path has opened.
With the mana roads now clean, Yujun began channeling his own mana, drawing out a brilliant blue light. He connected the light like a bridge along the cleared pathways.
But simply linking the densely interwoven mana roads with mana wasn’t enough to make them adhere.
They must be woven together.
“Huuuuhhhhhh.”
This process was both dangerous and incredibly difficult. Therefore, it had to be precise. Perfect. Not a single margin of error could be allowed.
Normally he would need an assistant, but that wasn’t possible right now. Which left only one option.
I’ll have to raise my stats further with Incubation… but there’s no helping it.
Yujun made his decision.
I’ll create my own support.
Consuming points to strengthen the Training Hint!
15P required!
Yujun reinforced the Training Hint.
Mana Backflow Risk Angle Adjustment: 25 degrees
Mana Tolerance Exceeded
Mana Discharge
With the reinforced Training Hint now active, Yujun moved without hesitation. The hint clearly illuminated the path he needed to take, assisting the parts that had previously relied solely on his senses. Thanks to it, his movements became far smoother.
Good thing I opened the path quickly.
In Awakened training, the quality of the Training Hint made an enormous difference.
Yujun wove the mana roads together using threads of mana pulled like silk.
Shaaak. Shaaak. Shaaak.
Suddenly, Kim Gyucheol felt an intense surge of pain.
“Ugh!”
“Are you alright?”
“This can’t be…”
It was impossible. Ever since his arm had been ruined, he had never once felt pain from it. Yet now, pain was blooming vividly.
It was connecting. A new power was taking root in his arm.
Sharak. Shararak.
A scorching heat spread through him.
Sweat poured down Yujun’s entire body as he focused with absolute immersion, restoring the mana circuits. Those circuits became mana roads. He connected them. He linked the long, intricate mana roads so the arm could move once more.
Now.
Kim Gyucheol’s mana circuits began to be reconstructed. Riding the momentum, Yujun increased his speed.
Sharak. Sharak.
If external mana lingered too long, it would stagnate. Stagnant mana placed a heavy burden on the body.
Before inflammation sets in.
He finished quickly.
Sharak!
Sharak. Sharak. Sharak.
Mana circuits were complex by nature. When those countless circuits gathered and interwove densely, they formed the mana roads. Even with the Training Hint’s assistance, it was no easy task.
Concentration skill proficiency has increased!
Yet thanks to the extreme focus required, his Concentration skill’s proficiency was skyrocketing.
Concentration skill proficiency has increased!
His eyes felt like they were on fire. But he couldn’t blink even for a split second. One mistake and everything would collapse.
Yet right as the unbearable pain threatened to force his eyes shut—
Concentration skill level has increased!
Concentration Lv.3 → Lv.4
Things once invisible are now visible.
Things once unbearable can now be endured.
Shaaaaaaaak—!
Red lightning began to crackle within Yujun’s eyes.
Concentration skill has been upgraded!
Concentration: Insight skill acquired.
The Concentration skill had branching paths, much like a skill tree. Insight was an enhanced version that allowed him to see far deeper into his target. Its defining feature was the red lightning now flickering in his eyes.
Crackle—!
Thanks to the upgraded Concentration, Yujun could endure without closing his eyes. And now he saw everything with even greater clarity.
At this rate…
He could connect them perfectly.
Sharak. Sharak. Sharak.
“Haa.”
Yujun let out a rough breath and finally withdrew his hand from Kim Gyucheol’s arm.
“Mr. Kim Gyucheol.”
At Yujun’s call, Kim Gyucheol slowly opened his eyes.
“It’s done.”
Twitch. Twitch.
Kim Gyucheol clenched his fist. The hand that had refused to move no matter how many times he had tried now responded naturally, effortlessly.
“It’s… moving.”
It had begun to move. The time that had been frozen for so long now surged forward with fierce momentum.
Shaaaaaaaak—.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak—!
In that instant, his body was enveloped in a brilliant golden light.
All his life, he had lived under constant denial.
That he had no talent.
That he didn’t belong in such a prestigious family.
Within the family, he had always been an outsider. He didn’t possess the dexterity of his older brothers, nor the powerful abilities of his father. He was terrible with a hammer, hopeless at tailoring, and mediocre at craftsmanship.
How could someone like him possibly be part of the Geumgang Kim Family?
Had he been born wrong?
Should he have been born somewhere else entirely?
But that wasn’t the case.
“It was there all along…”
He had possessed talent. It had simply been suppressed. The power was so overwhelmingly mighty that his body hadn’t been ready to accept it. That was why he had never been able to use it.
Shaaaaaaaak—.
The ability that had been sealed away finally opened its eyes.
Through Yujun’s meticulous effort, the perfectly restored mana circuits and mana roads allowed every ounce of that power to flood his entire body.
Golden mana wrapped around him.
Shaaaaak—.
The golden light that had enveloped him instantly settled into his hand.
Shaaaaaaaak—.
Kim Gyucheol, now possessing a radiant golden hand, clenched his fist tightly.
This was the true awakening of his ability—Geumgang Hand.
“Congratulations,” Yujun said with a bright smile. “I had no idea you possessed such a magnificent ability.”
Awakened Kim Gyucheol has been trained!
Training Score: 10 / 10
Perfect training achieved!
Points acquired!
150P obtained.
This had been the most difficult task since he had obtained the Awakened Training System.
I suppose this counts as rehabilitation training.
Even though he had grown far stronger than during Yu Jena’s training and acquired multiple new skills, this session had been significantly more exhausting. Still, he couldn’t help but smile at the system alert.
One hundred and fifty points.
It was far higher than what he had earned with Yu Jena.
“Thank you… Thank you so much.”
Kim Gyucheol bowed deeply, barely holding back the tears welling in his eyes.
Had he ever been praised like this before?
No. Never.
“Thank you… for acknowledging me.”
At some point, he had stopped receiving any form of recognition. That was why Yujun’s words struck him so deeply.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak—!
Everything that had oppressed him vanished. With the restraints gone, a hammer appeared in his hand.
Oh.
It seemed to be a special trait of the Geumgang Hand.
Shaaaaaaaak—.
His ability wasn’t limited to simply improving dexterity. The golden hand allowed him to create anything on the spot.
“…!”
Shaaaaak—.
Following the hammer, something new unfolded. It was a portable smithy.
“The Geumgang Smithy…”
It was the very ability once possessed by the first head of the Geumgang Kim Family. And now, in this moment, Kim Gyucheol had inherited it.
That’s a different ability from the Geumgang Hand.
Due to perfect training, Awakened Kim Gyucheol’s skill has bloomed.
Geumgang Smithy skill has awakened!
So that’s the skill that was supposed to come from touching the Geumgang Furnace.
The power that had originally been meant to grant him the ability to summon the Geumgang Smithy had instead worsened his condition because his body couldn’t endure it. But now that Yujun had reconstructed his mana roads to withstand that power, the skill had finally bloomed.
Kim Gyucheol stepped into the smithy that had appeared before him as if in a trance.
Whoosh—!
The furnace blazed to life. An anvil and workbench greeted him warmly, and the storage was filled with golden materials.
Kim Gyucheol picked up a material and placed it into the furnace.
Whoosh—!
As if he had always known how, he retrieved another material and set it on the anvil.
Clang!
He struck it with the hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He was making something.
“This,” Kim Gyucheol said, looking at Yujun, “is the fastest way I can repay you.”
Clang! Clang!
He hammered the material taken from the Geumgang Furnace again and again. He cooled the blazing material and struck it once more, repeating the process with incredible delicacy and strength.
Impressive.
Yujun was genuinely surprised. He had heard that Kim Gyucheol lacked both dexterity and talent and had never been properly acknowledged by the Geumgang Kim Family. Yet those hands moved with masterful precision.
His bloodline must have been blocked.
The reason he had believed himself to lack dexterity was likely because his body had been restricted whenever he tried to handle mana properly.
So attempting to use his hands properly triggered the restrictions.
For the first time in his life, Kim Gyucheol was experiencing his true, innate craftsmanship.
I’m looking forward to this.
He was creating something for Yujun. With that level of skill, it was sure to be extraordinary.
Clang!
His hammering gradually grew faster. At first his hands hesitated with awkwardness, but as time passed, his strikes became increasingly refined. All unnecessary movements vanished, leaving only perfect, flawless hammerwork.
Clang!
What he eventually created after countless strikes was a long staff. It was exactly the same length and thickness as the training staff Yujun carried. The finest materials had been combined with Kim Gyucheol’s signature simple yet elegant design.
Yujun couldn’t take his eyes off the sleek, refined staff.
Outstanding.
The craftsmanship far exceeded his expectations. The design, in particular, was perfect.
To think he had this much sense.
It seemed the blood of the Geumgang Kim Family truly ran in his veins.
“Teacher.”
His eyes were filled with tears. Every time the hammer fell, more tears flowed.
This was something he had only ever imagined. That his hand would heal. That he would be able to create again. That one day he might craft things like the other members of his family.
“My dream has come true.”
He had thought he had given up on everything, but in truth, he had never wanted to abandon his hands or his craft. And now it had been realized.
As he hammered, the realization struck him clearly: right now, his dexterity surpassed that of any blacksmith in the Geumgang Kim Family.
Of course, he still had room to grow. He could feel the slight clumsiness in his technique. If he made another, it would turn out even better. But he was no longer weak enough to give up halfway like before.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Kim Gyucheol held out the staff to Yujun.
“And congratulations. You passed the trainer exam and obtained your A-Class license. This gift carries many meanings. I would be grateful if you would accept it.”
This staff was his way of repaying the man who had earned an A-Class trainer license—Kang Yujun.
“I won’t refuse.”
Yujun accepted the staff.
“…!”
Concentration skill has been activated!
The Concentration skill pierced straight through the staff Kim Gyucheol had created.
This is insane.
Yujun was stunned.
This isn’t an ordinary artifact…
He could see its rank—visible only to him.
◈ An SS-grade training staff crafted by Kim Gyucheol
◈ Perfectly tailored for Kang Yujun’s use
◈ Contains the essence of the Geumgang Kim Family’s bloodline