Chapter 49: Selection

Xia Nan was somewhat surprised by the craftsman's reaction.

Given the "battle-worn" appearance of his leather armor, let alone selling it for a depreciated price, even a roadside general store wouldn't have spared it a second glance.

He had assumed it could only be treated as scrap, never imagining it would fetch a price at "Rockhammer," an establishment renowned for its high-end boutique goods.

Naturally, he could not refuse.

He immediately took it off and handed it to Barn, who stood before him.

Come to think of it, this leather armor did not live up to its 10-gold price tag.

When facing the charge of the Petrified Lizard, although its defense was instantly breached and it was smashed to pieces, there was no doubt that it had helped mitigate a significant amount of damage for Xia Nan.

If his former self had been cheap and bought some shoddy, low-quality goods, he likely wouldn't have even lived long enough to receive support from the half-elves before being crushed to death by the lizard.

Three silver coins were pocketed.

Barn Steelbeard swayed his reddish-brown braided beard that hung down to his chest, grinning as he took the leather armor behind the counter.

Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of iron-gray light flickered past.

He couldn't help but look up, glancing at the Decapitation Longsword behind Xia Nan, and asked tentatively

"That sword... how is it?"

To this, Xia Nan did not shy away, stating frankly

"It's excellent. It is sharp yet durable, much better than the weapon I used previously."

As he spoke, he observed the other man's expression, subtly hinting at the truth to avoid exposing his "golden finger" as much as possible

"I don't know if it's because of the inclusion of gray steel, but I even feel this sword is more resilient than other weapons."

"If you remember the details of the forging process, you might be able to research and produce a decent product from it."

Upon hearing this, Barn's deep and straightforward laughter rang out in the blacksmith shop once again.

A hand as large as a fan slapped Xia Nan's shoulder heavily.

"Hahaha, you're too kind! But you must still be careful not to let this weapon cause you trouble in battle."

Clearly, he did not understand the implication in Xia Nan's words.

"Our blacksmith shop only makes masterpieces! Equipment where the quality details cannot be certain is impossible to mass-produce."

"Moreover, even if I did accidentally create a decent piece..." Barn's eyes drifted slightly, seemingly recalling the scene of forging the Decapitation Longsword, "that would only be an unexpected, low-probability event. It cannot be replicated."

Since things had come to this, Xia Nan found it difficult to say more.

He nodded.

He drew the [Green Pine] wooden sword from his back and handed it to the man.

"I need you to customize a scabbard for me. We can discuss the price."

Barn took it with both hands, his gaze scanning the blade, yet he did not ask why someone would specifically want a custom scabbard for a wooden sword.

He simply flipped through it while muttering to himself

"Hmm... a dark brown wooden material. The toughness doesn't seem like ordinary wood. Is it Iron Oak from the Ivelius region? Or Sparrow Willow from the banks of Emerald Lake? No, that's not right, the color shouldn't be this dark..."

As he spoke, he took out measuring tools from the storage cabinet behind the counter and asked without looking up

"Do you have any specific requirements?"

Xia Nan thought carefully for a moment.

"Make it durable, don't make the color too conspicuous, and keep the design simple and low-profile."

A scabbard itself, as a tool for storing a weapon, might not have much presence during combat.

However, for an adventurer, a proper scabbard is extremely important.

Beyond the commonly known functions of protecting the blade and preventing rust and moisture, it can, to a certain extent, affect an adventurer's drawing speed and maintain their center of gravity during daily activities and combat.

Xia Nan had heard several drunks boasting in the tavern that high-level professionals with staggering wealth would even pay large sums to hire professional casters to enchant their scabbards, giving them effects like automatic maintenance or accelerated drawing speeds.

Of course, that was still too far off for his current situation, so he didn't need to overthink it.

Barn came from a dwarven clan, and his professional skill was among the best in all of Valley Town.

In about ten minutes, he had finished measuring all the data.

He handed the wooden sword back to Xia Nan and said in a heavy voice

"Although the style of the blade is a bit unusual, it won't be difficult to make just a scabbard."

"I plan to use rock carbon steel. The color will be similar to the blade so it won't be too conspicuous, and its moisture resistance is quite good, making it suitable for this kind of wooden weapon."

"You can come pick it up in three days. For labor and materials... you know, custom work is a bit more expensive."

"10 gold."

"Deal."

Xia Nan nodded.

It was the same price as his previous leather armor and was a necessary expense.

Saving money in this regard was essentially gambling with his own life.

Placing the wooden sword back on his back, Xia Nan's gaze turned toward the various types of armor displayed on the side racks.

Having completed the custom order for the [Green Pine] scabbard, his next step was to purchase a new set of armor for himself.

Feeling the heavy weight of the coin pouch at his waist, he made a silent resolution, prepared for a significant expenditure.

The previous battle with the Petrified Lizard and the extreme high-pressure environment of the Misty Forest had made him realize deeply

If he wanted to survive long-term and safely through successive missions as an adventurer, his margin for error had to be increased!

High attack and low defense might be a choice for those professionals with sufficiently high "lethality."

But for low-level adventurers who hadn't even mastered a few basic combat skills, sacrificing defense excessively to increase combat power was undoubtedly a trap that would significantly increase the probability of death.

Therefore, Xia Nan intended to purchase a set of armor that would not significantly affect his agility while still providing a certain level of defensive strength.

He had made this decision long before his first visit to "Rockhammer" to buy that 10-gold leather armor.

His gaze bypassed the "Light Armor," which was light enough but lacked defense, and passed through the "Heavy Armor," which offered strong defense but limited agility.

He arrived at the middle of the shelves.

"Chainmail," medium armor, consisting of metal rings finely and neatly interlaced within leather fabric, covered by a layer of flexible cloth for decoration.

"Scale Mail," medium armor, also using leather as a base, with fish-scale-like metal plates overlapping one another, accompanied by two leg guards.

Both were priced at 50 gold.

The former offered stronger defense against slashing attacks, was relatively simple to maintain, and made less noise when moving, but its weight distribution was uneven, requiring sufficient muscle strength to support it, and it had poor defense against blunt force damage.

The latter possessed better piercing resistance, performing well against arrows and spears, and offered wide coverage, but it had higher maintenance costs and was significantly heavier overall.

Clearly, although the two sets of armor were the same price, they each had their own advantages and disadvantages.

To choose the set that best suited him, Xia Nan would have to combine his specific circumstances and act based on practical needs.