Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 254
"Now it's all or nothing."
The combination-type skill was something anyone could use.
And with the right formula, any materials could be synthesized into something new.
Honestly, Su-ho would’ve loved to use Nam Hae-won’s synthesis ability, but he hadn’t prepared that far ahead.
"Next time I meet Hae-won, I’ll definitely have to get a proper synthesis done."
Su-ho quickly threw the gathered fragments into the combination jar.
[You have placed Steel Bar Fragment from the Howling Furnace into the Combination Jar.]
[You have placed Steel Bar Fragment from the Howling Furnace into the Combination Jar.]
With the materials inserted, Su-ho immediately activated the jar.
[Combination in progress...]
[Combination successful.]
[You have obtained Steel Bar Fragment from the Howling Furnace (B).]
The system notification popped up.
Success.
Unlike usual, the message felt dull and unimpressive.
Which made sense—until now, every combination Su-ho had performed resulted in at least S-grade outcomes.
"Yeah, this is the normal kind of result."
Still, it was unsettling to see the product share the same name as the base materials.
Despite the slight unease, it was a success nonetheless—so he checked the details.
Steel Bar Fragment from the Howling Furnace
Su-ho felt a small thrill surge through him.
"Yes, this is it."
The item effect had increased—from 1% to 1.5%.
Just a 0.5% bump, sure. But that wasn’t the important part.
The real takeaway was that the stat had increased at all.
That was the core strategy behind passing this trial.
"No time to waste."
Time wasn’t infinite.
To be precise—his stamina wasn’t infinite.
Su-ho replaced the item in the socket with the new 1.5% version and resumed gathering more fragments.
Clang, clang, clang!—Crack!
Clang, clang, clang!—Crack!
...
[Quadrant Harvest activated.]
[Quadrant Harvest activated.]
...
He moved nonstop.
The weak points, which initially started as isolated spots, gradually spread wider and wider.
He glanced toward the Magmanums and the Flame Demon just in case, but unfortunately, the Blacksmith’s Eye didn’t work on them.
"If only I could harvest from those guys—I bet the materials would be amazing."
As soon as he gathered enough fragments, Su-ho tossed them into the jar and tried combining again.
He didn’t have a proper recipe for the steel bars, so all he could do was trial-and-error his way through combinations.
Still, the results turned out better than expected.
Then again, he wasn’t aiming to produce some god-tier item—just combining similar-grade materials.
Maybe that’s why.
After several trials, Su-ho finally uncovered a reliable formula for the steel bar fragments.
"Combining items with identical options produces higher stats faster."
Failures were rare.
It was all B-grade materials, after all.
He repeated the gathering and combining process dozens of times.
Then, just as he was starting to hammer ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) for a new batch—
Clang!
[The Blacksmith’s Unleashed Hammer reacts to your strikes.]
[Second seal is partially released.]
[A quest has been generated.]
The hammer's second seal had been released.
"Ah, right. The requirement for the second seal was that."
The first condition for releasing the second seal of the hammer: strike 100 times.
Apparently, he’d hit that mark while gathering materials without realizing it.
Su-ho immediately checked the new quest.
The Blacksmith’s Second Teaching
"Overlapping materials and hammering them...?"
The glowing red fragment briefly flashed yellow before returning to the familiar steel hue.
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