Chapter 21: Weapons

"Rockhammer," one of the most renowned blacksmith shops in Valley Town.

The armor and weapons crafted here were famed for their durability and toughness, earning a solid reputation among the town’s lower-tier adventurers.

Rumor even had it that professional adventurers from the guild’s second floor often commissioned custom gear at Rockhammer.

This only served to boost the shop’s thriving business.

Today, preparing for an upcoming mission with reference to the Adventurer’s Handbook, Shanan finally met the owner of this blacksmith forge.

Barn Steelbeard—

A name steeped in dwarven tradition.

His massive, sinewy muscles resembled forged steel, and his long reddish-brown braided beard nearly reached his chest, perfectly fitting the conventional image of a dwarf.

Yet at two meters and thirty centimeters tall, standing half a head taller than a bear goblin, he hardly seemed to possess the dwarven blood he claimed.

“More like one of those barbarians from the ice plains,” Shanan mused silently, watching the burly figure inside the shop.

Still, he stepped inside without hesitation.

Surprisingly, though Barn proudly bore the Steelbeard clan lineage, his demeanor was unlike the rough, brash dwarves one might expect.

Instead, he came across as a friendly, ordinary shopkeeper. When Shanan showed interest in purchasing, Barn eagerly began his introductions.

“This chainmail is among the lightest of the heavy armors. The iron rings effectively block slashing damage from swords and axes.”

“This set of mail armor offers better protection than chainmail, but naturally, it costs several dozen gold coins more.”

As Barn detailed each item, Shanan’s gaze swept across the display racks.

Then he paused.

“This set…”

Before him lay a full suit of armor composed of tough iron plates and metal clasps, covering from head to toe.

Iron gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a helmet with a built-in faceplate, and thick, resilient leather padding beneath. The cold sheen of metal plates intertwined with belts and clasps gave the impression of an armored fortress in motion.

If he could don this super-heavy armor, even standing amid a horde of goblins, letting their tiny wooden clubs pummel him for hours, not a single hair would fall.

But in exchange for such formidable defense came an unbearable weight for an ordinary person.

With his current physical condition… even walking properly would be a challenge.

“This full plate armor is forged from premium steel, every piece hammered and tempered by my own hands,” Barn proudly explained. “Its defense speaks for itself—you can tell with just one glance.”

“If you buy the whole set, we at Rockhammer offer three free maintenance services.”

“1,500 gold coins, no credit.”

The price immediately dashed Shanan’s hopes.

Clearly, this gear was beyond his means. It was wiser to be practical for now.

Fortunately, Rockhammer offered a wide variety of equipment. After browsing and listening to Barn’s brief introduction, Shanan formed a rough idea.

Armor styles generally fell into three categories:

Light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor.

Heavy armor was overly burdensome and would drastically impair Shanan’s agility, incompatible with his current combat style.

So he ruled it out.

Medium armor was appealing — it balanced weight and protection well, with strong versatility.

But perhaps because of this, it was the most expensive category on average.

Even the cheapest chainmail shirt cost a hefty 50 gold coins, far exceeding Shanan’s budget.

After some deliberation, he spent 10 gold coins on a special leather armor set custom-made by Barn.

This armor boasted exceptional flexibility and was extremely lightweight. The leather had been hardened through soaking in boiling oil.

And coming from the renowned Rockhammer forge, its quality was superb.

Its overall performance surpassed the worn secondhand gear Shanan had no idea where he had acquired by several degrees.

With the armor issue settled, next came…

“A shield?” Shanan hesitated, then waved his hand toward Barn. “No, thanks. I’m not skilled with one.”

In reality, fighting was not like in the games, where simply raising a shield could effortlessly block attacks, and timely button presses could trigger a “block counter.”

Especially in the complex, fog-laden forest environment, without proper shield techniques, even the sturdiest shield was no better than holding a wooden board.

What Shanan needed most was to find a weapon suited to him.

Fortunately, as the owner of Rockhammer, Barn specialized in forging weapons.

“Flails, light hammers, poleaxes…”

Walls were nearly covered with an assortment of melee weapons, some light and some heavy.

“Long-handled swords, single-edged blades, ideal for open-field combat.”

“Spiked maces, excellent for piercing armor. A single blow may leave the armor intact but the enemy underneath won’t last.”

“…”

Following Barn’s descriptions, Shanan’s eyes scanned the weapons.

His thoughts gradually crystallized.

First, the weapon itself couldn’t be too light.

He wasn’t an agile assassin like Elki; the two short daggers on his person were merely for emergencies.

With highly flexible light leather armor and the freedom of not needing a shield, he preferred weapons wielded with both hands.

The single-handed sword he had before was sharp enough, but having one hand unoccupied felt awkward in battle; the heavy double-handed axe Gagu used was powerful but sometimes cumbersome.

Second, the weapon type had to complement the skill Whirlwind Slash.

Thanks to the previous owner’s efforts and attribute enhancements, this skill had reached level 5 max, integrating seamlessly into his movements.

Not only did the small daggers work well, even a hoe swung in the field could easily unleash Whirlwind Slash in Shanan’s hands.

But now that he had options, he naturally wanted the most suitable weapon.

Just as Shanan was lost in thought over his weapon choice, Barn—who had been watching him closely while explaining—seemed to misunderstand something.

He broke into a hearty laugh and pulled a bewildered Shanan to the side.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone starts as a novice.”

“No gold? That’s fine. While we don’t offer credit, we do have some relatively inexpensive items.”

“Take a look—anything you like?”