Chapter 55 - 53: Cross Light Crossbow

Chapter 55: Chapter 53: Cross Light Crossbow

"Hahaha, I was just kidding about not giving you anything."

"You may not have fought in the battles, but you’ve contributed a lot these past three days, so you deserve a share."

"How about this? I’ll give you 5 Silver Coins this time."

Two minutes later, Lu Wei handed 5 Silver Coins to a grateful Bai Ya. He never imagined he could use the same trick twice in five minutes.

’Seems my past life’s knowledge is still way ahead of its time here.’

"Alright, let’s split up for now."

"I’m going to the weapon shop to buy a Weapon. Furen, didn’t you say you wanted to buy Leg Armor? You can take Bai Ya with you."

"As for dinner, everyone’s on their own."

After they divided the loot, there were still about two or three hours until sunset.

Lu Wei was desperate to increase his Power, so he planned to buy a proper Weapon first.

Furen’s Tessares Steel Longsword couldn’t be upgraded anytime soon, and Bai Ya couldn’t use any weapons other than a Dagger at the moment, so the two of them prepared to upgrade their Armor.

’Work without pay... those are the perfect teammates.’

Watching the two of them leave, Lu Wei sighed with feeling before walking out of the alley and striding quickly toward the weapon shop he remembered having the best value.

According to his plan, he was going to buy a one-handed Short Sword as his Primary Weapon this time.

If the price was right, he could also get a Crossbow.

After all, that thing didn’t require as much long-term practice as a bow and arrow. It was a "quick-to-learn" ranged attack method that could greatly compensate for his squad’s weakness in that area.

His budget for these two weapons was 3 gold and 4 silver in total.

Besides the 2 gold and 9 silver he had just received, he also had the 5 Silver Coins from yesterday’s earnings at the Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store.

And don’t ask why those 5 Silver Coins weren’t shared with Furen and Bai Ya.

’Sure, "separate accounts," but that just means the money the grocery store makes is all mine!’

Lu Wei was, after all, a man who kept his business and private matters strictly separate.

When Furen and Bai Ya were acting as "teammates," they could certainly get a share of the loot.

But if they were "employees"...

A cut of the profits? A salary?

Sorry, not happening.

Have you ever seen a Crafty Merchant who didn’t exploit their employees?

...

...

[Cross Light Crossbow]

[Species: Weapon]

[Level: Ordinary]

[Value: 7 silver 20 copper]

[Introduction: A classic Crossbow with a body made of Purple Fir Wood and a string of Cow Tendon. It is an ideal Weapon for ambushes and assassinations.]

[Note: The bow is an art, requiring Talent and hard practice. The Crossbow is the answer—you just need to pull the trigger.]

Half an hour later, inside the weapon shop, Lu Wei had already picked out a One-Handed Crossbow.

The asking price was 8 Silver Coins, and it came with ten Crossbow Arrows with Metal Arrowheads. Its effective killing range was 100 feet, which was just over 30 meters.

In the eyes of some conservative Knights or Elf Rangers, the Crossbow was a "dishonorable" Weapon because it violated the Knightly Spirit of "equal parts Power and skill."

But Lu Wei couldn’t care less about that. To him, any weapon that could kill an enemy was a good weapon.

Even if it was just a frozen fish.

’Still, I have to say, the prices for ranged weapons are pretty ridiculous.’

’A brand-new set of Leather Armor is only two silver coins, and a Longsword is only 5 to 7 Silver Coins.’

’And yet this Crossbow made of wood can sell for 8 Silver Coins.’

’No wonder I haven’t seen many people using them.’

As this was his biggest purchase to date, Lu Wei examined the Light Crossbow in his hands with extreme care.

After confirming it was "fresh from the factory," he finally turned to the short old man beside him.

"Grandpa Fenris, can you make it a little cheaper?"

"You little rascal."

The stooped old man, whose eyebrows were nearly all gone, clearly recognized Lu Wei and shook his head helplessly.

"7 silver and 80 copper. That’s the lowest I can go, and only out of respect for your father."

"By the way, I haven’t seen him in a long time. Did he go to Kalin Port to restock again?"

"Er..."

Lu Wei froze for a second, then, overjoyed, he immediately put on a grief-stricken expression. "Grandpa Fenris, my father... he’s passed away."

"What? Passed away?"

The old man’s eyes widened. "When did this happen? How come I didn’t know?"

"It was ten days ago. An obituary was posted on the bulletin board at the Town Hall. Didn’t you see it?"

"I haven’t been out in so long... Sigh, he was such a good man. May the gods grant him Rest."

"Thank you."

Lu Wei bowed slightly. "With your blessing, I’m sure my father can sleep peacefully."

"Sigh, let’s hope so."

Fenris shook his head with a look of regret, then suddenly noticed that although Lu Wei’s expression was pained, his eyes kept darting toward the Light Crossbow on the table.

"Er... How about this? If you really want to buy this Crossbow, just give me 7 Silver Coins."

"Okay! Deal!"

...

...

"Grandpa Fenris, so, do you have any better One-handed Swords here?"

A few minutes later, Lu Wei placed the last One-handed Sword back on the shelf and looked back at the short old man behind him.

The old man, in turn, was staring at him with a strange expression, getting the feeling that he’d been tricked.

"Nope."

After a moment, Fenris muttered, looking at him sideways, "That one’s the best I’ve got."

"Alright then."

Scratching his head, Lu Wei hesitated.

In his view, it was more "economical" to buy the best Weapon from the start rather than frequently replacing it.

So, his requirement for this future Primary Weapon was that he could "use it all the way to his Profession advancement."

And to meet that requirement, he felt the forging material had to be Tessares Steel, just like Furen’s Longsword.

Or, it had to be a [High Level] item with affixes.

But from the looks of it, he probably couldn’t buy a Weapon of that Level in Heitai Town.

After all, [High Level] Weapons were already rarer than [High Level] Armor, and the pool became even smaller when you were specifically looking for a One-handed Sword.

But Lu Wei didn’t want to use a two-handed weapon like a Longsword, which had a high Power requirement and wasn’t very flexible.

’So... should I just make do with something for now?’

’An Ordinary one is good enough for now, anyway. I can always replace it later.’

He glanced again at the silver One-handed Sword on the rack. Lu Wei wasn’t too obsessed with getting it "perfect in one go," and was just about to ask for the price.

Just then, however, Fenris suddenly said:

"If you want to buy something better, you could try your luck at the Black Market."

’Hey, that’s right.’

’The Black Market might be all secondhand goods, but they have a large inventory. There’s a chance I could find something that meets my requirements.’

’Plus, I might even find a hidden gem.’

’I’m going to be in town for a few more days anyway. If I can’t find anything, I can always just come back here and grab whatever at the last minute.’

Reminded by the old man, Lu Wei finally remembered the Black Market and stopped hesitating.

"Okay, I’ll go check out the Black Market tomorrow then."

"By the way, Grandpa Fenris, did you know? Before my father passed away, he was always talking about you. He said you were the kindest, most benevolent weapon merchant in town."

"So... could you give me a few more Crossbow Arrows?"

"Really? Thank you! Well, I’ll be going then... eh?"

"This crossbow holster looks pretty nice, too..."