The Sorcerer Knight's Double Confusion

Chapter 24: Both Sides Confused

The blacksmith Frel had been feeling rather troubled lately.

Recently, many travelers from afar had arrived in the city. They were generous buyers, never haggled, and would purchase large quantities of items whenever they visited his shop. Occasionally, they would even bring rare goods to sell, proving much easier to fool than those adventurers whose sharp edges had been worn smooth by society.

The only downside was their somewhat peculiar behavior. However, considering they were adventurers who spent their days out in the wild, it was understandable that their minds might be a little… off.

Logically, these newcomers should have a high demand for weapons. Yet, when Frel saw travelers carrying weapons bearing his mark, he couldn't recall them ever patronizing his shop.

As his peers cast envious glances his way—the kind that said, "Look at that kid making money; it hurts me more than losing money myself"—Frel felt utterly dejected.

Those weapons weren't sold by him at all!

"Could it be that guy?"

Frel thought of the Man in Black who had knocked on his door late one night a few days ago.

After completing a task, the Man in Black had exchanged a large pile of ores and gold coins for many weapons from him. At the time, Frel had been delighted, thinking business was booming. Now, it seemed he had lost a fortune.

"Middlemen are the worst!"

Frel cursed angrily. However, when he saw a traveler, whose attire was clearly different from the city's inhabitants, approaching him, he immediately put on a different face.

"Sir, what can I get for you? My shop is a century-old establishment, and the quality of the equipment I forge is second to none within a hundred-mile radius. No one dares claim to be first."

However, the traveler didn't reply immediately. Instead, he sized Frel up from head to toe and muttered softly, "Is this the blacksmith Little Black recommended? He doesn't even have a level; he's just an ordinary person. Is this a smokescreen to lull us into a false sense of security? Could there be a more mysterious existence within this blacksmith shop? Do we need a secret code to trigger it?"

"Sir? Sir?"

Frel waved his large, finely-furred hand in front of the traveler's eyes.

"Ah, sorry, I was spacing out," the traveler said, coming back to himself. "Do you have any weapons for sale? My sword got damaged during a fight, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to get a better one. Wait, never mind. I probably won't be able to afford a higher-level piece before the game closes. How about you just repair this sword?"

"Certainly, no problem," Frel replied enthusiastically, pulling out his hammer. "Please let me see your sword."

The traveler took out his sword and handed it to the blacksmith.

Frel took the sword but hesitated to raise his hammer. Instead, he stared at his own mark on the hilt for a long time in silence.

He slowly opened his mouth and asked, "Guest, may I ask you something?"

"Huh? Sure, what is it?"

"Where did you buy this sword?"

"From Little Black."

"Little Black?"

The traveler scratched his head. "I don't know his name, but he likes to wear all black, so I call him Little Black."

Frel asked eagerly, "Does he have any distinguishing features?"

"Features?"

Faced with Frel's question, the traveler became serious.

His player's intuition told him that this Frel was definitely not as simple as he appeared.

Little Black had been so kind; there had to be something suspicious about it.

"He's very handsome, wears all black, and he's a mage. Also... he's always accompanied by a very beautiful young knight."

It was him, indeed!

Frel gritted his teeth and asked, "Did he tell you how to find my shop?"

The traveler nodded and said sternly, "That's right, it was all his guidance!"

After stocking up from me, he doesn't share the profits and makes me handle customer service?

Frel took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

Today was the Truth Society's Sabbath, and the gathering point for this region was in Leibu City. He would definitely have a chance to settle accounts with Linton!

"It was all your guidance, you brat. You'd better hide in a corner. Wait, 'guidance'?"

Frel's expression became unpredictable.

If it were anyone else, they might not question such an answer. However, the teachings of the Truth Society stated that it was the "True Lord who guides your path."

To confirm, Frel asked the traveler again, "Please tell me... when you say 'guidance,' do you mean directions, or...?"

"It's more than just directions," the traveler replied. "When we wanted to level up, Little Black guided us to explore various hidden secret realms; when we wanted to learn skills, Little Black would prepare all sorts of skill books; he even prepared all the necessary materials. In our eyes, Little Black is an omnipotent being. He's like the brightest light illuminating our path of exploration. And for this kind of all-encompassing experience, we don't even have to pay anything. Although his ultimate goal might be grand, and he might even become our enemy in the future, at least for now, we need him."

"You don't have to pay?"

"We do! But the help he provides us is far less than the benefits we receive. In fact, we see it as him symbolically collecting information fees. So, when we turn in quests, we always pay a little extra to repay him."

When Frel heard that Little Black was like a light shining on their path, he was already numb.

This black-hearted merchant dared to profit in the name of the True Lord!

Frel didn't even feel that "bold" was a sufficient word to describe Linton.

His actions were beyond mere description.

"I must report this immediately!"

Since Frel could be used as a transit point to collect Offering Gold, it represented a not-too-low position within the Truth Society. And the higher the rank of ordinary members in the Truth Society, the more loyal their faith.

Therefore, this act of profiting in the name of God undoubtedly struck a nerve with this fanatical believer.

This wasn't just touching a bottom line; it was like playing background music and rave dancing around the bottom line!

"Sorry, we're closed."

Frel couldn't bother with business anymore. He slammed the door shut, turned, and ran towards today's gathering point, leaving the thoughtful traveler behind.

"Little Black really does have some connection to this blacksmith, huh? Did I reveal some secret information in my conversation with him? But I didn't say anything! And this blacksmith..."

"As expected, the big boss is the big boss. He's as if he knew what actions I would take and what words I would say, transmitting information without me, the person involved, knowing anything."

After thinking for a long time, the traveler couldn't pull a single complete thread from his tangled thoughts.

"Forget it, the beta test is almost over anyway. I'll investigate it again during the public release."

"Speaking of which, I helped him out so much, wouldn't it be unreasonable if he didn't reward me with a legendary weapon? Weapon, weapon..."

"Wait a minute! Did that blacksmith steal my sword?!"

"Come back here!!!"

At the entrance to the gathering point, Linton was preparing to put on the "borrowed" cultist robes for Iris so that she could sneak in with him.

As soon as he put them on, an enraged Frel appeared before him.

"You brat! You dare to profit in the name of the True Lord!!"

The Necromancer and the Puppet Knight were stunned simultaneously. They exchanged glances, their faces blank with confusion.

Thanks to the 100 Qidian coins reward from the great "Xi Guang Xuan Yu Yi Wang Xi", thank you very much! or2!