Chapter 176: Inquiries

"Do you have better weapons here? If you have good stuff, I’ll buy it right away."

Seeing that the merchant in front of him had weapons that held no appeal, Wang Zhifan directly took out the money pouch from his pants pocket and tossed it in his hand, indicating that he had money and was a quality customer.

What he didn’t expect was that the middle-aged white merchant in bright striped long clothes immediately had a subtle change in expression upon seeing him do this. The merchant looked at his money pouch for a couple of seconds and then said:

"Friend, bringing out only this amount won’t get you better weapons than what I have now. You’ll need to put down at least fifty gold coins as a deposit and pay three hundred gold coins or a High-level Demon Core after I return from Frost Harbor with my goods."

"Frost Harbor? Demon Core?"

Wang Zhifan instantly learned some new information and began to subtly inquire about related matters with this man, until the merchant noticed he had no intention to purchase and started ignoring him, prompting Wang Zhifan’s departure.

Armed with some new intel, Wang Zhifan proceeded to bother a few more vendors in this camp market, such as an old woman selling magic potions and an old man selling trinkets. He felt that despite being small, this market was quite comprehensive, but the items were only at the Fine Layer level, leaving him uninterested in purchasing.

"This camp seems merely a low-end NPC gathering spot. To find better equipment, I’ll probably need to head to that Rogge Town or even beyond to Frost Harbor."

After exploring so much, Wang Zhifan decided to leave soon, but first opted to wander around this camp one more time before setting off.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at a corner within this sizable camp, supported by a wooden shed housing a rather simple blacksmith shop. Inside, an extremely muscular white-bearded old man was tirelessly swinging a large iron hammer at a greatsword on an anvil, each strike accompanied by a shower of sparks.

Ordinarily, such a regular blacksmith shop wouldn’t capture Wang Zhifan’s attention, but his exceptionally high Spirit attribute gifted him an exceptional perception that indicated the muscular old blacksmith was far more than just a tough old man. His body concealed life force and extraordinary energy beyond an average person’s level, indicating that the old blacksmith absolutely was not a normal character, or hadn’t always been!

"This old man should be the kind of existence the merchant mentioned, like a practitioner. Him quietly smithing here might mean he’s some hidden NPC..."

After deducing that this muscular old white man might not be a mere mortal, Wang Zhifan quickly approached him, initiating inquiries in a similar manner.

"Hello! I’m looking for the finest weapon you can forge. Can you tell me what quality you can produce? Are there any samples I can view?"

Speaking thus, having learned from previous mistakes, Wang Zhifan had already consolidated his coins into one pouch, tossing the heavy pouch in his hand to show he was indeed a potential customer.

"Young man, I have no samples here. Whatever you desire, I’ll forge it for you. As for the price, however much gold you give me is the kind of equipment I’ll make for you."

The muscular old man’s glance was just slightly lifted as Wang Zhifan came to ask, then he nonchalantly returned his focus to his task, responding with casual remarks.

"Gold is not a problem."

Wang Zhifan replied in the same casual tone, and then drew out a weapon he used to wield, the Wolf-Slaying Blade. As for his current weapon, the Thunder Dragon Fury, he had tucked it away upon entering the camp due to its eye-catching nature which hampered his stealthy identity.

"I want to forge a weapon better than this long blade. Can you do it?"

Handing the Wolf-Slaying Blade before the old blacksmith’s gaze, Wang Zhifan asked.

This act of displaying an actual item immediately caught the muscular old blacksmith’s attention. He first casually glanced at the Wolf-Slaying Blade, but then his expression grew increasingly serious as he stared at the long blade for several seconds, finally speaking slowly:

"Young man, this weapon of yours is already excellent. Are you still not satisfied? If you want to forge a mightier weapon, money alone won’t suffice. You’ll need to gather the highest-grade crafting materials yourself; only when materials are complete can I possibly assist you."

Upon hearing the old man’s mention of methods for forging weapons above rare-grade, Wang Zhifan became intrigued, and immediately asked:

"May I ask what specific crafting materials are required?"

"Hehe..."

With his gaze returned from Wang Zhifan’s Wolf-Slaying Blade to the anvil, the white-bearded muscular old blacksmith chuckled twice before pausing for two seconds to respond:

"It must be the supreme kind of materials like mithril, dark gold, elemental stones, and demon cores... Young man, finding even one of these materials is very difficult; collecting them all is more like a dream. Better abandon that thought early... The weapon in your hand is already of very high quality."

The white-bearded muscular old blacksmith directly advised Wang Zhifan to give up on such impractical ideas.

"Perhaps... but thank you nonetheless."

After this brief exchange, Wang Zhifan assessed that rare-grade equipment in this world equates to very high quality, and even higher-tier exceptional-grade gear likely exists, albeit in extremely limited numbers.

Finishing, he prepared to turn and leave this place, venturing beneath the ground to distance himself from the camp.

But at that moment, a slim figure, with most of their face covered and only their eyes exposed, appeared twenty meters behind him.

This person’s appearance was abrupt, as if they had suddenly sprung from afar. Dressed in black, they walked briskly, heading directly to the muscular old blacksmith’s stall. First casting two cold glances at Wang Zhifan, their gaze barely pausing at the Wolf-Slaying Blade in Wang Zhifan’s hand, then turning to inquire with the old man in the shop.

"I want to have the finest dagger forged. How much will it cost?"

The black-clad, masked person emitted a voice that didn’t sound strange to Wang Zhifan.

"Three hundred gold coins."

The old man in the shop raised his head to scrutinize this oddly dressed person and then replied.

"How many days until it’s ready?"

The masked figure continued to ask.

"At least three days."

The muscular blacksmith responded immediately.

"Alright, here’s one hundred coins as a deposit. I’ll come back in three days."

Once finished speaking, the slender masked man tossed a heavy pouch onto the old man’s stall and quickly vanished into thin air.