Diamond!

"How could this work too?"

Watching the reputation increase notification suddenly pop up, Li Wei leaned back strategically.

All he could say was that dwarves truly were dwarves—even drinking could raise so much reputation.

Still, this gave Li Wei more ideas.

Increasing reputation did not necessarily mean he had to kill, kill, kill.

As he pondered this, Li Wei felt his vision gradually drifting upward.

Oh no, this was bad—the alcohol was starting to hit him!

He checked the Status Bar.

Drunk: 5h34min

"Ah, I think I need to go upstairs and put down my luggage first."

"Please do, sir. But do watch your head—this place may be a little low for you..."

Thud!

A collision sounded from the stairs.

"Sir?"

"I'm fine!" Li Wei shouted, immediately returning to his room.

He took out some milk and gulped it down.

Phew—

The drunk status was instantly removed.

Li Wei had not forgotten why he had come here. The sudden turn of events had simply thrown off his rhythm.

Still, at least he would not have to pay for the inn himself. That young dwarf had promised to cover his expenses.

After sobering up, Li Wei did not linger. He headed straight out toward the market.

There were quite a few people in the market at the moment. Just as the polite dwarf he had met on the road had said, their caravan had just returned with plenty of fresh goods, and everyone was taking the opportunity to shop.

Among the dwarves, Li Wei was indeed rather conspicuous. Fortunately, no one came to bother him, since his reputation was Friendly.

As he walked, several blacksmith shops by the roadside quickly caught Li Wei's attention.

"Fine swords, and armor too!"

Li Wei walked over and glanced at the goods in the shop.

Dwarven steel sword Attack +7.

A sword sold at some random roadside shop was actually a fine weapon on the same level as a Diamond Sword?

"Interested in weapons? Then you've come to the right place. Everything I have here is top-quality."

"They really are good goods." Li Wei nodded, though he did not need any of them.

None were as good as his own sword.

After looking over the weapons, Li Wei turned to the armor, feeling it here and there before tapping it twice with his fingers.

Finally, the blacksmith shop owner could not stand it anymore.

"No need to look anymore, human. That armor was made for dwarves—you won't be able to wear it. If you want some, I can make a custom set for you, but it may take a while."

"No need. I'm just looking."

Li Wei felt a little frustrated. He had looked at the swords and touched the armor.

Why had he still not unlocked any crafting recipes?

Li Wei began recalling how he had unlocked new recipes in Rivendell.

Right, he had unlocked them after seeing Rivendell's forging station.

So did that mean he had to see a dwarven-exclusive forging facility to unlock dwarven recipes?

"Have you decided what you want to buy?"

"There's nothing here that I want."

Li Wei shook his head and asked, "Do you have diamonds, or obsidian?"

The dwarven blacksmith gave Li Wei a strange look.

"Do I look like I have that stuff here? Those things can't be used to make weapons or tools. I suggest asking the miners who spend all their time underground. Maybe they have some in their collections."

"Or you could ask that guy over there. He sells jewelry."

The blacksmith kindly pointed Li Wei in a direction.

"Thank you."

After weaving around the lively caravan, Li Wei arrived before a comparatively quiet building and asked the same question again.

"Obsidian? What use is that stuff? No, I don't have any. But I do have some diamonds. What kind do you want? A ring, a necklace, or a bracelet?"

"I want a whole one."

The jeweler gave Li Wei a careful once-over.

As the saying went, you couldn't judge a person by appearances. This human gentleman—oh, the material of his clothes really was quite good. They were probably considered luxury goods even among humans. He didn't look like someone short on money.

"How large do you want it?"

"This large." As Li Wei spoke, he gestured with his hands according to the size of the diamond displayed in the Synthesis Table.

Though he gestured confidently, he was actually a little uncertain inside. He truly wasn't sure whether the money on him would be enough to buy the diamond he wanted.

The jeweler's eyes widened as he stared at the size Li Wei indicated.

Hiss—

"Customer, a whole diamond of that size may be rather difficult to come by. But if you're willing to accept small fragments, I can put together an equivalent volume of diamonds."

Small fragments...

Li Wei hesitated briefly before agreeing. "That works. I can try it."

Though he had no idea what Li Wei meant by "try it," the Dwarf jeweler still went into the storeroom. After rummaging around for a while, he finally scraped together a pile of tiny fragments.

"See if these will do."

Unlocked Recipe: Diamond Shards

A pile of Diamond Shards could be synthesized into one large diamond.

"They'll do. How much?"

The jeweler named a price.

Li Wei glanced at the silver coins in his backpack and felt that those Trolls were truly poor.

"I didn't bring that much. Can I trade other gemstones for them?"

"That's fine, as long as those gemstones are actually worth that price."

Hearing that, Li Wei took out the last few gemstones on him, all of which he had pried from the Barrow-wight.

The Barrow-wight was still giving off its last bit of value.

"These gemstones are good quality. They can be exchanged for diamonds equal to 1.2 times their volume... Do you have any more? These aren't enough to cover the whole amount."

"I'll make up the rest with silver coins."

Li Wei looked pained.

Back to square one overnight.

But he had finally gotten it.

Achievement Unlocked: Diamond!

Back at the inn, as the achievement notification appeared, an azure diamond materialized on the Crafting Table.

More than half the silver coins on him, plus three small gemstones, had been traded for a diamond about the size of a fist. After synthesizing it, one small fragment remained.

He had nearly emptied his entire fortune for this single diamond.

He still needed one more, but he could no longer afford it.

Li Wei was troubled.

Then, he suddenly remembered what that Dwarf jeweler had said.

A whole diamond this large was difficult to obtain and extremely rare.

That was what he had said, wasn't it?

Li Wei weighed the hefty diamond in his hand.

Honestly, this synthesized diamond was beautiful—crystal-clear, with obviously excellent quality at a glance.

After thinking it over, Li Wei went downstairs and asked the innkeeper who was the richest person in the area.

A short while later, at another Dwarf's residence.

"Supreme quality!!!"

The Dwarf, who was noticeably a full size fatter than the other Dwarves Li Wei had seen outside, shouted.

"Take it, take it, take all of it! My silver coins, my gold—I can give you all of them, as long as you're willing to hand it over to me!"

A diamond that was large, beautiful, and hard, not to mention of superior quality, was simply too irresistible to a wealthy Dwarf with an innate love for glittering things.

"I don't want gold or silver. I want diamonds—a lot of diamonds. Fragments or whole pieces, I want them all."

"Stay here. Don't go anywhere. Wait for me."

The Dwarf hurried out, carrying all of his family's wealth with him.

Li Wei waited for a long time. It was nearly time for his next meal, and he had begun wondering whether the man would even return today when the wealthy Dwarf finally burst into the room, struggling to carry a small chest that rattled loudly from within.

"Look at these. Are they enough?"

"I can guarantee that every diamond mined in this area and brought out for sale is here. You won't be able to buy any more for quite some time."

Li Wei opened the box and took a look.

These Diamond Shards were probably enough to synthesize five diamonds.

This guy really had been collecting them diligently.

"Enough. Here you go."

Achievement obtained: Here Are Your Diamonds!

This was a pleasant transaction.

Li Wei traded one diamond for enough Diamond Shards to make five diamonds, while the Dwarf traded some fragmented diamonds of merely passable quality, meant for wholesale export, for a large diamond of superior quality.

Both of them were very satisfied.

Thanks to Brother Gui for the two monthly tickets, thanks to Big Loss QAQ for one monthly ticket, thanks to Night in the Shadows for one monthly ticket, thanks to Plum Fragrance for Ten Thousand Miles for one monthly ticket, thanks to the Dying Cicada for two monthly tickets, thanks to reader 20180601075039179 for two monthly tickets, thanks to reader 20221101210034670 for two monthly tickets, thanks to Night Without Light, Light Without Darkness for one monthly ticket, thanks to Eat Rice Change Right for one monthly ticket. Thank you for your support!