Gearing Up

He kept his delight from showing.

"Everything you've got here is less useful than a stick I could pick up off the roadside."

Li Wei looked at the pile of junk on the ground, looking troubled.

William had no way to defend himself for the moment. He merely picked up a sword and swung it a few times. "Come on, sir. These things are useful in some way or another, right?"

Li Wei was slightly surprised. It was not William's thick skin that surprised him, but the fact that his swordplay actually seemed fairly methodical. The man did have some skill.

"You'll definitely find a use for them."

"You're that sure?"

"It's a Scrap Merchant's intuition, sir." William smiled ingratiatingly.

Interesting. This world really did have some remarkable people.

Just like wizards.

The five wizards were not the only ones who possessed extraordinary power. There were still capable individuals with unusual talents scattered across the world.

William's vision blurred, and he saw a small piece of jewelry appear out of thin air in Li Wei's hand. It had an antique design and exquisite workmanship.

It was the smallest item Li Wei had been able to pick from that pile of jewelry.

"I didn't bring much cash with me. How about using this as payment?"

Hiss—

William narrowed his eyes and inspected it closely. This thing seemed to have quite an extraordinary origin.

"You want to sell this to me, sir? It's certainly enough to exchange for this 'equipment.'"

William carefully accepted the piece of jewelry. After one look, his pupils widened slightly.

This was not merely an ordinary craft item. It was an antique—one of the kind that was extremely difficult to unearth.

Some important figures would be more than willing to pay for such a rare old relic.

He would not lose out. Although it was a little small, there was still profit to be made.

Wait...

William suddenly stared at the little object in his palm for quite a while.

This style?

If he was not mistaken—

William abruptly looked up at Li Wei, feeling that the man now carried a peculiar air about him.

He had killed one of those things!!

He had taken this from one of them!

—A Barrow-wight, and an elite among Barrow-wights at that!

Damn it. That was not something an ordinary person could even handle.

And this gentleman did not look poisoned or cursed in any way. That meant dealing with a Barrow-wight might not have been difficult for him.

William's expression stiffened slightly. Damn, he had run into someone he could not afford to provoke.

Li Wei paid no attention to William's little reactions. But from William's response, he knew that the trinket he had taken out was probably worth something—certainly enough to trade for that mountain of "equipment."

He continued, "Pack all of this up for me."

Bundled miscellaneous items could count as just one item, which would save him some space.

William, who had suddenly become somewhat dazed, nodded repeatedly and went to fetch some rope, beginning to sort and tie up the junk.

A long while later, Li Wei looked at the neat row of "bundled junk" in his backpack and nodded in satisfaction.

William was not curious about where the junk he had just bundled had gone.

For someone capable of killing a sorcerous creation like a Barrow-wight, was it not perfectly normal to have a few magical methods?

After putting away everything he needed, Li Wei planned to take his leave and find somewhere to synthesize the Anti-Smelter.

Synthesizing the Anti-Smelter required an Iron Ingot, but he had no iron.

That was fine, though. He could first smelt some using the furnace, then synthesize the Anti-Smelter.

Using the furnace to smelt equipment caused absurd losses. Tossing in an Iron Sword would leave behind only a single Iron Pellet once it finished smelting.

The Anti-Smelter, however, could produce one to two Iron Ingots.

Li Wei had originally been prepared to toss a huge pile of junk into the furnace and forcibly smelt out a few pieces of iron. Who would have thought that buying junk would unlock the "Anti-Smelter"?

What was a surprise? This was a surprise.

Just as Li Wei was about to leave, William called out to stop him.

"Please wait, sir."

William hurried forward and pulled a long, cloth-wrapped object from his waist.

"This is for you."

Li Wei took it, unwrapped the cloth strips, and immediately grew interested when he saw what was inside.

Iron Dagger · Attack +3, Attack Speed +50%

"Special Trait: Sharpness, Attack +1."

Unlocked crafting recipe: Dagger (Category)

"How much?"

With something this good, Li Wei naturally intended to buy it outright.

"It's free."

"Oh?"

William said seriously, "I hope it can serve as a token of our friendship."

"You want to be friends with me?" Li Wei asked teasingly.

"Yes."

Li Wei did not answer. He merely said, "This dagger is pretty good. I'll take it."

His friendship was not that cheap.

At most, since this guy had helped him unlock a trait, Li Wei might lend him a hand with some small matter if the opportunity arose.

William was not annoyed and merely smiled.

A Scrap Merchant could be short on money, but never lacking in discernment.

Even if someone like this could not be befriended, it was still worthwhile to make his acquaintance.

Li Wei did not linger in Buri for long.

After returning to the inn and stocking up on a large amount of food, Li Wei continued east.

Dressed in ordinary cloth and seemingly carrying no weapon for protection, Li Wei simply walked out through the eastern gate.

The moment he left the gate, several burly, bearded, disheveled men gathered in the alley beside it.

They exchanged glances, each of them fully understanding what came next.

A fat sheep.

Slap.

A hand landed on one of their shoulders.

The burly man did not panic. He merely turned to look at the figure in the shadows. "William? What, are you joining us too?"

"No. I'm only here to tell you that you'd better not make a move on him. He's no ordinary person."

The men fell into thought.

As old scoundrels who had survived this long, they each had their own way of staying alive.

They dispersed and went home.

Scrap Merchants had never been welcome figures.

Their dealings were always shady.

After leaving Buri and finding a place with hardly any people around, Li Wei took out the Crafting Table and furnace. He patiently burned the junk, saving up nine Iron Pellets before crafting an Iron Ingot.

Then, he crafted an Anti-Smelter.

He tossed in charcoal and junk, then kept burning.

When the first piece of ruined armor smelted directly into three Iron Ingots, Li Wei knew he would not be short on iron anytime soon.

He made three more Anti-Smelters.

By the time he had burned through all the bundles of junk in his backpack, nearly half a day had passed.

Li Wei looked at the thirteen Iron Blocks in his backpack with satisfaction.

He immediately crafted an Iron Armor set, a set of iron tools, and a wooden shield.

Then he looked at the newly unlocked dagger recipes. One stick and one Iron Ingot could be crafted into an Iron Dagger.

The new dagger still had three attack power and +50% attack speed, but it no longer had the Sharpness trait.

Still, that was no big deal.

Once he had the chance to make an Enchanting Table, wouldn't Sharpness V be even better?

He just did not know whether enchantments and special traits could stack. If they could, he would need to study exactly how traits worked...

After putting on the Iron Armor Set, Li Wei only felt a slight extra burden on his body, but it had no effect whatsoever on his movements or speed.

Achievement unlocked: Fully Equipped.

The Iron Armor Set gave off only one impression: white—silvery white, and smooth. Unlike the blocky appearance in the game, the manifested iron armor looked far more attractive and far more protective.

The Iron Sword in his hand, meanwhile, was cast from the same mold as the stone and wooden swords. It looked slender, sturdy, and sharp.

He also took up a large wooden shield in his left hand.

He felt completely secure.

But he wouldn't wear it normally, lest he scare people. He could store it in his backpack when not in use, and put it on conveniently when needed. In any case, equipment crafted from the Crafting Table could be equipped instantly, so there was no need to worry about being too late.

After making all his preparations and clearing away any traces of his presence, Li Wei continued on his journey.

One day later.

After leaving the Forgotten Inn, the last settlement at the edge of the wilderness, Li Wei traveled on for some distance. Standing at the border of Bree-land, he looked out into the distance with mixed emotions.

From here onward, nothing but wilderness lay ahead. He probably wouldn't see another person for a long time.

Except for certain people with ill intentions.

"Come out."

Li Wei called out.

There was no response.

Li Wei was growing a little irritated.

The stares were far too obvious.

He had noticed someone watching him as early as when he went to buy things from William.

At first, he had assumed they were merely local thugs or ruffians curious about an outsider and taking a few extra looks, so he hadn't paid much attention. But all the way to the Forgotten Inn, that feeling of being watched had never disappeared.

After following him this far, it was no longer mere curiosity.

Sure enough, one should never flaunt one's wealth.

Since they had still been within Bree-land, a human settlement, they had not dared to make a move.

Likewise, Li Wei had found it inconvenient to act as well.

Now that they were beyond the border, no rules could reach this place anymore.

It was time.

Rustle.

The bushes stirred.