When Henwell makes his request, Newwood casually pulls several large crates out of thin air.
He opens them up, revealing stacks of various weapons and gear inside.
Digging through the pile, Newwood says, âThis Shadowfiend Warblade is pretty impressiveïŒbut I canât give it to you. That thingâs from Sage City and has caused the deaths of many high-level mages. Anyone carrying it gets hunted down.â
âThis is a Paladinâs warhammer, a weapon for Radiant Burst-level masters. You canât use it either, or the Holy Spirit Church will come after you. I stole this one with a lot of effort. They probably donât even know their sacred relicâs missing!â
âI remember you use a longsword. Check this out. Itâs called the Blood Dragon Holy Sword. Itâs slain dragons! But you canât have it either; itâs cursed with a powerful hex that causes infertility.â
âThis armor here is ancientâover 300 years old. It was commissioned by the High Tower Elf Prince and forged by the Redstone DwarvesâŠâ
Newwoodâs collection is truly vast, each piece radiating extraordinary energy. Henwell canât help but drool over them.
But sadly, none of these can be handed over to Henwell.
The reason is simple, theyâre all stolen goods.
Either Newwood âarchaeologicallyâ acquired them, got them for free, or theyâre spoils from his violent escapades.
In short, these are all hot items.
After sorting through everything, thereâs nothing suitable for Henwell.
Henwell scratches his head. âHow about you just give me some high-grade metal, and Iâll craft my own gear?â
Newwood snaps his fingers excitedly. âExactly! I can make you a full set of weapons and armor!â
Henwell eyes him skeptically. âYou can craft weapons and gear?â
Newwood stands up, puffing up with pride. âWhatâs that look? Who do you think youâre doubting? Iâve got plenty of skills! Iâve traveled the world for years, learning wherever I go! Want me to tell you about twenty-three ways to cook steak while Iâm at it?â
Henwell decides not to argue with this madman and pulls out his broken gear.
He wants Newwood to craft a new set equipment after it.
When Newwood spots the Dawn Greatsword, he picks it up and examines it closely. âHey! Where did you get this longsword?â
Henwell freezes for a moment, then it hits him.
The counterweight on the Dawn Greatsword looks strikingly similar to the arm tattoo Newwood showed him earlier that day.
So Henwell decides to tell Newwood about Kavize.
Newwood strokes his chin thoughtfully. âWait, do you have a colleague here? How come I didnât sense anyone? Are we not from the same department? That doesnât add up. Where did he get an Azure Groupâs clean-slate weapon?â
Henwell cautiously asks, âIs Kavize not dead? Is he like us? Why didnât I notice anything unusual about him back then?â
Newwood shakes his head gently. âNot necessarily. Maybe he inherited that weapon from somewhere else and then passed it on to you.â
But then Newwood dismisses that idea. âNo, Iâve seen how you fight. Your combat style and techniques resemble those from our department. Thatâs not something you just inherit casually! If Kavize taught you, where did he learn it from?â
After a momentâs thought, Newwood continues, âCan you give me a portrait of him?â
Henwell nods. âSure, Iâll draw it tomorrow.â
Newwood says, âLeave this to me. Iâll look into it later. But for now, letâs focus on crafting your weapons and gear. Got any secluded spots?â
Henwell stands up. âLetâs go! Iâll take you to my personal forge. You should change into something else to blend in.â
Newwood waves him off. âDonât worry. No one sees me except you.â
Henwell leads Newwood to his workshop. Newwood is curious, touching and inspecting everything.
Finally, he squats beside a crate in a small compartment.
Newwood fiddles with a palm-sized rectangular block. âI thought you werenât into gunpowder! Turns out youâve already got some!â
Henwell warns, âBe careful! This stuffâs almost as powerful as black powder!â
Newwoodâs eyes light up. âThereâs even stronger stuff?â
Henwell hesitates a moment. âYeah, I developed a high-intensity explosive, but itâs unstable.â
Newwood waves it off casually. âNo problem! Iâll stash it in my storage spaceâsuper stable! Just give me some, not too much, a hundred or eighty tons will do. Iâve been itching to experiment with the art of explosions!â
Henwellâs been meaning to ask, âWhatâs your storage space? One of those legendary storage devices?â
Newwood scoffs, âNo way! Thatâs an ability for our department members. You wonât get your hands on it! Now hurry up and bring me that gunpowder!â
Watching Newwood rub his hands together excitedly, Henwell rolls his eyes. âI donât keep that kind of gunpowder in stock. If you want, I can make some for you soon, but forget about a hundred or eighty tons! The most I can give you is one ton, thatâs enough to level a big fortress!â
Newwood protests, âThat wonât do! You donât realize how huge the Holy Spirit Church headquarters is! Youâve gotta give me more! At least enough to blow up a whole complex. Donât worry, I wonât let you take a loss! Iâll craft a full set of gear for you thatâll last all the way to Glory Knight rank!â
Henwell holds out his palm. âThen make me fifty sets of Iron Knight-level weapons and armor, and Iâll give you five tons of high explosives.â
âNo way! Iâm not your laborer! Donât expect me to work for you! The most Iâll make is five sets.â
âTen tons for one hundred sets.â
âNope, I just be here a month! Twenty sets max!â
âEighty sets!â
âMaking weapons and armor isnât like molding clay. Thereâs no way I can crank out eighty sets in such a short time! Forty sets at most!â
âSixty sets! Iâll teach you how to make this high explosive yourself, plus throw in a set of tools!â
âDeal!â
At dawn, Henwell already feels a twinge of regret.
Newwood casually pulls out dozens of gear sets from his storage space.
Grabbing a file, he starts scraping off the golden sun emblem stamped on the armor.
Then, thoughtfully, he brands each piece with the name âHenwell.â
Henwell canât help but complain, âYou already have these ready-made! Why are you still haggling with me?â
Newwood throws his head back. âThose are treasures I painstakingly âzero-cost acquiredâ! Do you know how hard it was to steal these from the Blazing Sun Dynasty? I worked as a security guard for two whole years! Only then did I get the chance to sneak in and grab these. Do you have any idea how valuable this stuff is?â
Henwell eyes him suspiciously. âSo You have ready-made weapons and armor that suit me, do you?â
Newwood tosses a few metal ingots his way. âNonsense! I said Iâd make your gear by handâand I will!â
With that, he pulls out a top-tier warhammer and starts pounding awayâŠ