"I forged this sword back when I was honing my smithing skills. I used plenty of material, and the small amount of meteorite powder I added made the blade extremely tough. It won't fall behind even at level forty or fifty. Add new materials later, and you can strengthen it even further. A truly exceptional weapon!" Elhart pitched the door-sized greatsword to Chuan Wenwu with all his might.
Chuan Wenwu countered, "If it's that good, why hasn't it sold? I bet nobody can even use this thing. Boss, just taking it down looked like a real struggle for you!"
"Ahahaha... no need to say the quiet part out loud, young man. Leave me some room to do business! But I wasn't lying. This sword would be perfect for Bruce! Look how big, strong, and imposing he is! Give him an ordinary longsword, and wouldn't he look ridiculous, like he was fighting with a toothpick? Beast-type demi-humans like Bruce are naturally incredibly strong. Heavy, simple weapons like this are exactly what they need! With enough strength, even a brick can fly!"
"Bruce, give it a try."
Rather than answering, Chuan Wenwu called Bruce over to try it out. If it really suited him, he certainly wouldn't turn it down.
"Woof... okay..."
Bruce instinctively let out a woof before belatedly remembering that he could speak "human" now. A little embarrassed, he hurriedly took the door-sized greatsword from the shopkeeper.
Bruce's strength growth really was impressive. The shopkeeper had barely managed to take the greatsword off the wall with both arms, yet Bruce lifted it effortlessly with one.
He stepped into the open space in the middle of the shop and carefully swung the blade a few times. Then he tried it with his other hand before finally gripping it with both hands and delivering a full-force slash-the solid weight transmitted through his palms gave him a comforting sense of security.
"It's... a good weapon..."
Bruce stroked the blade somewhat reluctantly, but still set the greatsword back on the counter without hesitation.
"It really is pretty good. Boss, what's this sword called? We'll take it."
"Haha, you've got a good eye, young man! This sword is one of the finest pieces I've got tucked away in this shop. It's called the [Black Rock Heavy Iron Sword]. But since nobody could use it, it's been sitting here for ages. Since Bruce can wield it, I'll do you a favor and sell it at cost. Let's call it twelve gold coins." Elhart grinned and rubbed his hands together, somehow looking rather obsequious...
"Twelve... boss... I don't want it..." Bruce was far from stupid. He naturally understood how high that price was and immediately tried to refuse.
"Twelve gold? That expensive? Can't you go any lower? Those other swords I looked at were only a few hundred silver coins," Chuan Wenwu asked with a frown.
Elhart shook his head and pulled a pained face. "Young man, that's already the cost price. I really can't go any lower! Those swords you saw earlier were only suitable for novice adventurers, after all. A few dozen to a hundred silver coins is perfectly normal for them. But for a high-level weapon like this, the materials alone cost a fortune. Have a little sympathy for me, won't you? This sword hasn't sold in all these years. At least help me recover my costs!"
"Phew..." Chuan Wenwu let out a long sigh and said sincerely, "Trading weapons really is a profitable business... all right, boss, I'll take this sword. But do you throw in any extra services?"
"Of course!"
Elhart was delighted. He could finally sell this thing that had been gathering dust for ages. Keeping his deep voice restrained, he replied, "Since you're willing to buy this sword, young man, I'll throw in a matching scabbard free of charge and give the blade a blood-resistant coating. I'll also maintain and upgrade it for free three times afterward. Of course, you'll still need to supply the materials yourselves."
"That sounds pretty good. All right, I'll buy it. Take the money out of the pouch."
With a pang of regret, Chuan Wenwu took another coin pouch out of his shield. It contained everything he had left.
During his week of living in the wild and grinding levels, he had gathered monster materials and searched for herbs to make potions. Even with the convenient help of the Shield of the Hero, and despite how quickly he earned money, his total funds only amounted to a little over twenty gold coins.
Spending half of it in one go really hurt!
But now that the payment was settled, the sword naturally belonged to them. Chuan Wenwu hoisted it up and tossed it to Bruce. "Take it. Make sure you put it to good use killing monsters!"
"Boss!!" Bruce's voice shook.
"Hahaha, you already call me boss, so what else is there to say? Go have fun with it!"
Laughing, Chuan Wenwu patted Bruce on the back, then stepped back a few paces to look him over. Naked except for an apron, with the greatsword strapped to his back in its scabbard, Bruce looked downright shabby and almost destitute. Chuan Wenwu frowned and turned to ask the shopkeeper:
"Boss, do you have any armor that would fit Bruce? Get him something cool to wear. Look how scruffy he is! Anyone who didn't know better would think he couldn't even afford clothes while working for me!"
"That's easy enough. Have a look at this, young man."
Having finally cleared out stock that had gone unsold for years, Elhart was in an excellent mood. He returned to the counter, took a slightly yellowed sheet of parchment from underneath it, and said to Chuan Wenwu:
"What do you think of this piece of equipment? Bruce is so large that I definitely don't have any armor in the shop that fits him. It'll have to be custom-made. And this armor's style would suit him perfectly!"
At that, both Chuan Wenwu and Bruce leaned over to look-the sheet was packed with dense characters neither of them could understand. The only thing they could make sense of was probably the drawing of the finished armor.
Chuan Wenwu was, after all, an outsider who had been summoned here. He could understand this world's language entirely thanks to the Shield of the Hero's built-in translation function. As for words written on paper, he didn't understand a single thing.
Naturally, the same went for Bruce.
"I can't read this, boss. How about you just explain it to me?" Rather than pretending to understand, he pushed it straight back to Elhart.
There was nothing shameful about being illiterate. Now that he knew his shortcomings, he could find a chance to learn later. He could teach Bruce, that illiterate dog, to read along with him.
"Well, this is a blueprint recording the forging method for a piece called [Barbarian Armor]. As long as you bring me the materials listed here, I can make a set of Barbarian Armor tailored to Bruce."
"How are its stats?"
"As far as stats go, it should be roughly on par with fine-quality equipment at level twenty or thirty, I suppose? But you can strengthen it later by adding better bones and hides, so it's very good value. And the style suits Bruce perfectly, too. You can probably tell that much from the name, right?"
"True. Then let's have a set of Barbarian Armor made for Bruce. What materials do you need?"
"Just some copper and iron, along with a little rabbit hide, Porcupine Monster hide, and Bichu Bichu feathers. As for the labor fee, you're such a valued customer that talking about labor fees would be treating you like a stranger... as long as you supply the materials, I'll only charge you a hundred and fifty silver coins."
"After all that, you're still charging me?"
Speechless, Chuan Wenwu rummaged through his shield's storage space. "But as it happens, boss, I still have some of those monster materials you mentioned... as for copper and iron, I refuse to believe a weapons shop this big doesn't have any in stock. Just throw those in for me."
"Ah, young man, you really are... all right, all right. We're friends, after all, aren't we?"
"About how long will it take?"
"You'll have to give me at least a day or two, won't you?"
"All right, then. I'll come back in two days."
Chuan Wenwu counted his remaining funds. He only had a little over nine hundred silver coins left.
"I wonder if that'll be enough..." he murmured to himself.
Before you continue