Paying Out of Pocket

In the end, Lin Mo bought the Wolfbone Sword at the discounted price of 30 Gold Coins.

Besides a weapon, he also needed to buy some armor.

A good set of armor could play a huge role in battle. For example, when he had fought the Blood Sea Gang earlier, their captain had been wearing Iron Armor, greatly limiting Lin Mo's possible attack zones. He could only target the neck and head, which were not covered by the armor.

A smaller attack area meant less room for error, making attacks easier to dodge and reducing the number of tactics available. It had an enormous impact on combat.

Conversely, having reliable armor meant a greater margin for error and allowed for more high-risk, damage-for-damage fighting styles.

However, just as Lin Mo had thought before, heavy Iron Armor would affect Agility, his most important attribute at the moment, and might not necessarily be a good thing.

Therefore, it would be best for him to choose Leather Armor with lower protection but greater mobility.

Ordinary Leather Armor was far cheaper than Iron Armor.

A good set of Iron Armor generally cost more than 30 Gold Coins, while Leather Armor only cost around 5 Gold Coins.

But if the quality was raised further, that might not be the case.

"Can't you make it any cheaper? Your price is way too steep, isn't it?"

Lin Mo frowned as he tried to reason with Edgar.

Edgar was so angry that his beard bristled. Pointing at the Leather Armor before him, he shouted, "This Leather Armor is made from Black Marsh Crocodile hide! Just buying that hide cost me 27 Gold Coins, and I used another 6 Gold Coins' worth of materials during forging. Is selling it to you for 40 Gold Coins really excessive?"

He knew Lin Mo was no amateur, which was precisely why he was even angrier.

Forging such a piece of equipment took at least an entire day. Making only 7 Gold Coins in labor fees from an Excellent Grade item was already an incredibly fair price.

"Make it a little cheaper. You sold me the weapon so cheaply already, so what's one more piece of Leather Armor? How about 30 Gold Coins?"

Edgar tugged at his beard, barely able to believe his ears.

His costs alone had come to 33 Gold Coins. Was he supposed to lose 3 Gold Coins selling it?

Did that even sound like something a human would say?

"39 Gold Coins... 38 at the absolute most. I can't go any lower!"

This brat really thought he was free labor?

"But I don't have that much money on me."

Lin Mo spread his hands and began shamelessly playing the rogue. "You wouldn't want the person you invested in to get killed by monsters just because he didn't have suitable armor, would you?"

Edgar's imposing manner immediately wilted. He hemmed and hawed for a long time but could not think of anything to say in rebuttal.

Heavens have mercy, Dwarves had always been straightforward by nature. Where were they supposed to find the guile to argue and haggle with him?

"How much do you have?"

Edgar eyed him suspiciously.

"32 Gold Coins, 21 Silver Coins, and 88 copper coins. Not one copper coin more."

The amount was remarkably precise, and he reported it with complete seriousness.

Lin Mo spread his hands. "You should trust your own judgment, Mr. Edgar. Once I become an adventurer renowned across the entire continent, you'll become famous too! The elders of the Dwarf race will all know that a junior named Edgar once forged weapons for that great adventurer!"

Edgar's mouth twitched repeatedly. He felt as though he knew perfectly well that he was being conned, yet could not refuse.

"With that silver tongue of yours, you really could become a damned bard and make a name for yourself across the continent."

The Dwarf proprietor muttered in a muffled voice, "32 Gold Coins, plus the weapon in your hand."

He pointed at the sword Lin Mo had picked up for 50 Silver Coins last time. He had some vague recollection of the sword and had not thought much of it then, but after learning of Lin Mo's precise and discerning eye for weapons, he could not help growing curious. He wanted to see what was so special about it.

"No problem."

Lin Mo took out 32 Gold Coins and placed them neatly on the table together with the sword.

"See you next time, Mr. Edgar."

A moment later, Bern's group of three watched Lin Mo warmly wave goodbye while the Dwarf proprietor wore a dark expression. For a while, they could not make heads or tails of it.

Hadn't he gone in to buy a weapon? Why had the deal been made while the owner was still unhappy?

Though they were curious, they did not ask. Every adventurer had their own secrets. They only knew each other and were not members of the same party, so they still needed to maintain a proper sense of distance.

After leaving the forge and walking together for a while, Bern finally seemed to make up his mind and asked, "Lin Mo, would you like to join our party?"

"Yes, yes, join us! Let's go adventuring together!"

Evan's eyes also lit up. After spending several days together, especially after fighting side by side through two life-or-death situations, he naturally hoped this powerful adventurer could stay.

Lin Mo considered it for a moment. To be honest, he had thought about it before.

He was still a newcomer, after all, and did not know enough about this world. Joining their party and following an experienced adventurer like Bern would help him quickly become familiar with an adventurer's life.

But after thinking it through, once he had acquired decent weapons and armor, his most important task would no longer be making money. It would be constantly killing monsters to grind proficiency and improve his strength.

That conflicted with the money-making goals of most adventurers. Besides, if they formed a party and fought monsters together, he would have fewer monsters to grind.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I have no plans to join any party for the time being..."

So in the end, Lin Mo still shook his head and declined the invitation.

"I see."

Bern gave a helpless smile and did not press the matter.

"By the way, Uncle Bern, do you know of any inns suitable for adventurers?"

Lin Mo recalled the awkward situation of accidentally entering a special establishment last time. Although he now had the Roland Town Map Strategy Guide, which contained relevant information, he still felt an old adventurer's advice was more reliable.

"An inn? The Howling Wolf Inn where we're staying is quite good. The owner is a retired old adventurer, so security is guaranteed, and the price is reasonable. There are even discounts for long-term stays..."

"Sounds good."

Lin Mo nodded. "It'll be convenient to stay at the same inn if we need to get in touch. If there are suitable jobs, we can work together again."

"Sure, no problem!"

Bern immediately agreed. Miriam was still a newcomer, and Evan was still too inexperienced. Most of the time, they could not be much help and sometimes even became a burden. With the two of them, he only dared take scattered or simple one-star jobs.

But with Lin Mo, it was different. He highly approved of Lin Mo's strength. With him around, they could consider taking on moderately difficult, or even somewhat challenging, one-star jobs.

Even if they had to split the rewards, they would still earn more in the end.