Wolfbone Sword

"Welcome, customers. What can I do for you?"

Edgar was as warm and hospitable as ever. The moment they entered the shop, he came up to greet them.

"I want to buy an Iron Thornwood Bow."

With a clear goal in mind, Miriam did not waste words and got straight to the point.

"Of course. They're at the counter over here. Please take a look and see which one you like."

Miriam looked at the row of bows on the rack and found it a little hard to decide.

Never mind that she was only a newcomer—even an experienced Ranger might not necessarily be able to pick out the best Iron Thornwood Bow from a row of bows with roughly the same craftsmanship.

Lin Mo glanced over them. Edgar's craftsmanship was as inconsistent as ever, but of course he was not going to point out the flaws in his own goods, and the prices were all more or less the same. If they chose badly, they might end up taking a loss.

"How about... this one?"

Evan looked at a bow with a brighter sheen, picked it up, and tried it out, but he could not really tell anything from it.

"I'd recommend this one more..."

Lin Mo pointed to the bow beside it. Compared with the others, this bow had the best overall attributes and no obvious flaws.

Miriam glanced at Evan, then at Lin Mo, her brows knitting slightly.

"Choose this one."

Bern also pointed at the bow Lin Mo had mentioned. Although he could not tell which of these bows was the best, it was not hard to tell that the one Evan had chosen was the worst.

"You have a good eye, customer..."

Edgar looked at Lin Mo in some surprise. If he had not forged them himself, even he might have had trouble picking out the best one.

"You flatter me."

Lin Mo waved a hand. "I'd like to buy a light one-handed sword, plus a set of leather armor."

"The rack for one-handed swords is over there."

Lin Mo glanced in the direction he pointed. He had looked at those swords last time, and there were indeed some decent ones, but...

"Do you have anything better?"

If it had been the previous Lin Mo, a one-handed sword priced at three or four gold would already have been quite satisfying, even a little extravagant.

But now, having just earned a large sum, he was not short on money, so naturally he wanted a better weapon.

"Haha!"

Edgar let out a hearty laugh. "Please come with me, customer."

As he spoke, he called out to the shop assistant, then led Lin Mo toward the back.

The moment the curtain was lifted, a wave of scorching heat rushed at them.

Lin Mo followed behind the young Dwarf and looked to both sides of the path.

Many weapons and suits of armor hung on the walls. Their quality was about the same as those sold outside, so they were probably stock.

Edgar stopped in front of a black iron door. Not far from this door was his forge.

He took out a key and opened the door, and Lin Mo followed him into the small secret room.

"Everything here is a work I'm proud of."

Edgar patted his chest and stood tall. "Every single piece is an absolute masterpiece. Take a look and see if there's anything you like, customer."

Lin Mo looked at the delicately arranged rack in front of him. There were only a little over twenty weapons on it, among them five one-handed swords.

He casually looked at one of them.

Flawless Trial Sword

Weapon Type: One-handed Sword

Grade: Common (White)

Attributes: Durability +50%, Hardness +30%, Sharpness +20%

Hidden Attribute: Hardness I: Chance of breakage upon collision -10%

Edgar had indeed not been bragging. The quality of this sword was on a completely different level from those sold outside, far surpassing the ordinary goods in Old Rell's shop.

Of course, whether an experienced old smith like Old Rell had even better weapons hidden away was another matter entirely.

"How much is this sword?"

"Five gold, thirty silver. No bargaining, I'm afraid."

Lin Mo nodded. The price was fairly reasonable.

But there was no rush to decide. He continued looking at the remaining swords.

Every sword was of very good quality, roughly on par with the first, until he reached the last one.

Lin Mo's expression did not change, but inwardly, he was utterly shocked.

Wolfbone Sword

Weapon type: One-handed sword

Grade: Excellent (Green)

Attributes: Durability +30%, sturdiness +10%, sharpness +10%

Hidden attribute: Bleeding I: Wound bleeding rate +10%

Equipment enhancement: Wolf Soul: Strength +1 when using attack skills

This was actually a green Excellent-grade sword!

This was Lin Mo's first time seeing green equipment. Not only did it have a hidden attribute, it even had an enhancement effect.

Strength +1 when using attack skills meant that when Lin Mo used a skill like Slash, his strength would temporarily increase by 1 point.

With his current base strength of 5 points, that skill could unleash the power of 6 points of strength!

This sword—he was buying it!

Lin Mo kept his expression calm and asked as if casually, "What's the price of this sword? Same as the others?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Edgar shook his head. "Customer, you're a smart man, and you've got a sharp eye. How about we speak frankly?"

All right. Treating a Dwarf blacksmith—and the very smith who had forged this weapon—as a fool really had been too wishful.

Lin Mo nodded in response.

"This sword was forged with the hardest spine bone of an elite-level monster, the Bloodthirsty Wolf, as its main material, paired with fine steel. Fight with this sword in hand, and you can receive the blessing of the lingering soul of the Bloodthirsty Wolf within the blade, increasing your strength... Its value should be clear to you."

"So how much?"

Edgar slowly raised three fingers. "Discount price: 30 gold!"

"At that price, I could buy a full set of iron armor, couldn't I?"

Lin Mo curled his lip.

"Does the customer think this sword is worth less than a set of iron armor?"

Edgar picked up the sword from the shelf. "The cost of this sword alone was nearly 28 gold. Normally, it would be perfectly reasonable for this sword to sell for 35 or even 40 gold. If you went to the second floor of the Association, a similar weapon might even sell for over 50 gold!"

Indeed, though he could not admit it right now, a sword like this was fully worth as much as, or even more than, a set of iron armor.

"Then why sell it to me so cheaply?"

"This is an investment..."

Edgar said with a smile, "You should know as well that for a young blacksmith like me, the most important thing is making a name for myself."

Once he had a reputation, more adventurers would come to his shop, and only then could he expand, or even open a shop in Rania City or somewhere bigger.

"I'll give you a preferential price. If you become a famous adventurer in the future, I'll do some promotion within reasonable limits."

"And what if I stay a rookie forever? Wouldn't you take a loss?"

"Business always has losses and gains. It's no big deal. Besides..."

He tilted his head up and met Lin Mo's gaze. "For a Dwarf, an eye that can judge the quality of weapons so precisely and so quickly is an extraordinary ability. I believe that someone who understands his own weapon won't remain a marsh frog in the mire forever."

Lin Mo smiled faintly, took the initiative to extend his hand, and bumped fists with him.

"Deal!"