Equipment Discussions

"How could you possibly be short on money when you keep running into elite monsters?" Zhang Ruofeng replied coolly. Kalisejiang was briefly at a loss for words. The black-haired man had already found his weak spot, leaving him no choice but to accept Zhang Ruofeng's price.

"I knew I should've just left you..." Zhang Ruofeng heard Kalisejiang mutter under his breath and fixed him with a displeased stare. Kalisejiang quickly changed his tune. "Ahaha, I'm such a good person that you could call me the nicest guy in history. How could I ever leave you behind? My conscience would torment me day and night." Zhang Ruofeng was completely speechless at his shameless antics. He could only crouch down and examine the equipment Kalisejiang had casually laid out on the cloth. Most of it was cheaper than gear made by other craftsmen, which puzzled him.

"Hey, Kali...sejiang, right? Why is your equipment so much cheaper than everyone else's?" Zhang Ruofeng asked, voicing his confusion. Kalisejiang's work looked perfectly fine. Zhang Ruofeng looked over the daggers and long swords scattered on the ground, along with the leather armor, bracers, and other pieces, but couldn't find anything wrong with them.

"Well, that's a long story." Kalisejiang's expression turned troubled for a moment. "Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the equipment. People just don't like the stuff I make. My gear tends to bring bad luck. And if you're not used to saying my full name, just call me Jiang. I'm nineteen. You're probably a little older than me, right?"

"Sure, I'll call you Jiang," Zhang Ruofeng replied casually. As someone who'd grown up in an ordinary town back home, he wasn't used to saying such long names in conversation.

"But you should be fine, right? Your Main God even knows about a low-level member of my Familia like me. Flower Blooming on a Midsummer Night, right?" Zhang Ruofeng realized Jiang really never read the room. That was probably why he so often got on people's nerves. Zhang Ruofeng didn't particularly mind the name, even though it sounded like a curse, and Xin Mu seemed to like it. "Everyone in your Familia has a lot of potential, so I guess they'll be fine with armor that supposedly makes monsters more likely to target the wearer."

"It does that?" Zhang Ruofeng asked curiously. Equipment descriptions in this world were often sparse. Take leather armor, for example: he'd never seen anyone buy a set with any special effects. At most, it would be thicker, have iron plates at key points, or be lined with padding. High-level craftsmen's work seemed to differ noticeably in durability and weight, but no one had ever seen equipment that came with skills or magic.

"No, it doesn't. It's not a magic sword." Zhang Ruofeng had heard of the magic swords Jiang mentioned. They were high-grade weapons that only the few craftsmen with the talent to make them could forge. Though they were called weapons, they weren't meant to clash head-on with monsters. Instead, they used the magic sealed inside them to damage enemies, and broke after a few uses. Strictly speaking, they were consumables. "You've seen my magic, too. When I went into the Dungeon with members of my Familia, three of my four companions were killed by monsters. My magic drew those monsters to them, even though I never used it." Jiang shrugged helplessly. Zhang Ruofeng understood. Even if Jiang hadn't said so, neither his skill nor his magic could be anything simple. Not many people in this world knew each other's abilities as well as he and Xin Mu did. Besides, he wasn't even completely sure how his own Boiling Dragon Blood worked. Why wouldn't other people worry about the risks of teaming up with Jiang? Adventurers died so often that you couldn't count them all on two hands. It was only natural that low-level adventurers would be even more anxious.

"Then I'll take these two cowhide breastplates and this pair of thick cowhide bracers." Zhang Ruofeng checked the price, then handed Jiang 1,000 Faris.

"You, you, you..." Even Kalisejiang looked a little upset. "That's what I'd charge if you bought the materials and I made them for you for free."

"Exactly. Didn't I pay you for the materials?" Zhang Ruofeng kept a straight face, as if what he'd done were the most obvious thing in the world and beyond question. "At least I didn't actually pay you only half. You should be grateful."

"Fine, fine, fine." Jiang had no way to argue, so he slumped into his chair. But when he thought about how long it had been since his shop had sold anything, he decided it was nice to finally make a sale. Besides, he didn't usually wear this equipment himself.

"By the way, since you're a craftsman, could you take a look at my equipment? You've seen the red arm guard I wear. There's something I wanted to ask you about." Once Zhang Ruofeng saw that Jiang had accepted the payment, he quietly put away the extra 1,000 Faris he'd been about to take out and continued chatting with him. "And can you make arm guards? Something similar in style to mine would be fine. I've seen some shops selling them, but most are made of rough copper."

"Even if you want an iron arm guard, I'd have to get a mold, prepare and smelt the materials, forge it, and finish the edges. That'd take about four days, and it'd cost five..." Though he was one of the best low-level adventurers in his Familia, Jiang had a reputation for attracting monsters and getting his companions killed. His life in the Familia wasn't easy. If an experienced level... senior hadn't looked out for him, he'd have had a hard time even setting up a stall here.

"That's fine." Zhang Ruofeng was willing to accept the estimate. He and Xin Mu had already picked out a set of eight Refined Iron Daggers for 5,500 Faris, so with the two of them holding more than 20,000 Faris, filling out their essential equipment was the top priority.

"Then I'll leave it to you. How should I get in touch with you?" Zhang Ruofeng asked. Jiang mysteriously handed him an iron plaque. "This was supposed to be my business card for clients once I made a name for myself. But, sadly, I can only give it to a poor low-level adventurer like you... Ow!" Before he could finish, Zhang Ruofeng rapped him on the head.

"Ah, I'll leave it to you, then." Zhang Ruofeng figured talking to this clown would shave several years off his life.