Chapter 49 Selection

Xianan was somewhat surprised by the craftsman's reaction.

Given the "battle-hardened" appearance of the leather armor he was wearing, let alone being bought back at a discount, even a roadside junk shop wouldn't spare it a second glance.

He had expected it to be treated as mere scrap, never imagining it would actually fetch a price at "Iron Hammer," a smithy always renowned for high-end boutique goods.

Naturally, he wouldn't refuse.

He immediately stripped it off and handed it to Bain before him.

Come to think of it, this leather armor certainly lived up to its steep price of 10 gold coins.

Faced with the charge of the basilisk, although its defense was breached and it was smashed to pieces on the spot, it undoubtedly helped Xianan cushion a significant amount of damage.

Had his past self been stingy and bought one of those shoddy, cheap knockoffs, he probably wouldn't have lasted until the half-elf and her companions provided backup; he would have been smashed to death by the basilisk outright.

Three silver coins safely tucked into his pouch.

With his brownish-red braided beard swaying down to his chest, Barne Steelbeard grinned broadly and placed the leather armor behind the counter.

Out of the corner of his eye, an iron-gray cold gleam flashed past.

He couldn't help but look up, glancing at the executioner's greatsword strapped to Xianan's back, and asked tentatively:

"This sword... how is it?"

Regarding this, Xianan didn't beat around the bush at all and said straight out:

"Very good. It's sharp yet sturdy and durable, much better than the weapon I used before."

As he spoke, he observed the other man's expression, carefully phrasing his words to avoid exposing his golden finger while vaguely hinting:

"I don't know if it's because gray steel was mixed into it, but I even feel like this sword is a bit tougher than other weapons."

"If you still remember the details from the forging process, you might just be able to research a pretty decent boutique piece."

Hearing this, Barne's deep and hearty laughter rang out once more inside the smithy.

His hand, broad as a cattail-leaf fan, slapped Xianan's shoulder hard.

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

Clearly, he completely missed the hint Xianan was dropping.

"Our smithy only makes boutique goods! Equipment whose quality details cannot be verified is impossible to mass-produce."

"Besides, even if I really did accidentally forge a fairly decent piece of work," Barne's eyes glazed over slightly, seeming to recall the scene when he forged the executioner's greatsword, "that was just a low-probability fluke. It can't be replicated."

Things having reached this point, Xianan didn't know what else to say.

He nodded.

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

"I need you to help me customize a scabbard. Price is negotiable."

Barne took it with both hands, his gaze scanning the blade, though he didn't ask why someone would specifically want a custom scabbard for a wooden sword.

As he turned it over and examined it, he muttered to himself:

"Hmm... Dark brown wooden material, the toughness doesn't seem like ordinary wood. Is it iron oak from the Evelius region? Or bird cherry from the shores of Emerald Lake? No, the color shouldn't be that dark..."

With that, he retrieved measuring tools from the cabinet behind the front desk and asked without lifting his head:

"Any specific requirements?"

Xianan pondered carefully for a moment.

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

The scabbard itself, as a tool for storing a weapon, might not seem to carry much weight in battle.

However, a suitable scabbard is extremely important to an adventurer.

Aside from the universally recognized functions of protecting the blade, preventing rust, and resisting moisture, it can also, to a certain extent, affect an adventurer's drawing speed and help maintain the center of gravity during daily activities and combat.

Xianan had heard a few drunkards in the tavern boasting that high-tier professionals blessed with astonishing wealth would even spend a small fortune hiring professional spellcasters to enchant their scabbards, granting them properties like automatic maintenance and accelerated drawing speeds.

Of course, that was still far too distant for him right now; there was no need to think about all that.

Barne came from a dwarven clan, and his craftsmanship was among the absolute best in the entire River Valley Town.

In about ten minutes or so, he had measured all the various dimensions.

Handing the wooden sword back to Xianan, he said in a deep voice:

"Although the style of the blade is a bit unusual, just making a scabbard isn't too difficult."

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

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

"10 gold."

"Deal."

Xianan nodded.

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

Trying to save money here would be equivalent to gambling with his own life.

Slinging the wooden sword back onto his back, Xianan turned his gaze to the various sets of armor displayed on the racks nearby.

With the customization of the [Green Pine] scabbard settled, his next task was to purchase a new set of armor for himself.

Feeling the heavy weight of the coin pouch at his waist, he silently hardened his resolve, fully prepared to bleed a fortune.

His previous battle with the basilisk, coupled with the extremely high-pressure environment of the Hazy Forest, had made him realize profoundly:

If he wanted to survive mission after mission safely and for the long haul as an adventurer,

his fault tolerance rate simply had to be raised!

High offense and low defense might be a viable choice for professionals with sufficiently high "damage-dealing" capabilities.

But for a low-tier adventurer who hadn't even mastered a few basic combat techniques, excessively sacrificing defensive capability just to boost offensive power was undoubtedly a trap that would drastically increase the probability of death.

Therefore, Xianan intended to purchase a set of armor that wouldn't noticeably impair his agility while still possessing a certain level of defensive strength.

He had already made up his mind about this long before he first came to "Iron Hammer" and bought that 10-gold-coin leather armor.

His gaze swept past the "light armor," which was light enough but lacked defense, and bypassed the "heavy armor," which offered formidable defense but limited mobility.

It landed right in the middle of the shelves.

"Chain shirt," medium armor, consisting of iron rings made of metal meticulously and neatly interwoven into leather fabric, covered on the outside with a layer of flexible cloth for decoration.

"Scale mail," medium armor, also using leather as a backing, with fish-scale-like metal plates overlapping and arranged over one another, complete with two greaves.

Both were priced at 50 gold coins.

The former offered stronger defensive performance against slashing attacks, was relatively simpler to maintain, and made less noise when moving, but its weight distribution was uneven, requiring sufficient muscle strength to support it, and it offered poor defense against bludgeoning damage;

while the latter possessed better puncture resistance, performed decently against bow and spear weapons, and had a larger coverage area, but came with higher maintenance costs and was noticeably heavier overall.

Clearly, although both sets of armor cost the same, they each had their own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

If Xianan wanted to choose the set that suited him best, he still had to weigh his own specific circumstances and proceed from a practical standpoint.