Chapter 48 Satisfaction

[Avery Rose Combo]

[Heavy Dance Flash-Step Slash]

[Royal Cross]

[…]

Xia Nan stared at the combat technique books in his hands.

He stared hard.

So hard that it looked as though sheer determination might force some hidden secret to reveal itself from beneath the dust-covered bindings.

Nothing happened.

Xia Nan’s eyes twitched.

[Wait.]

[Where’s my cheat ability?]

[Come on. Do something!]

He focused.

Then focused harder.

Every scrap of his attention locked onto the books in his hands.

Still nothing.

The familiar translucent characters that had appeared so reliably in the past refused to show themselves.

After spending so many days in this world, Xia Nan had already more or less confirmed the limitations of his Attribute Panel.

It reacted to weapons and equipment.

It also reacted to changes in his own feats and attributes.

That seemed to be about it.

He already knew that.

But knowing it intellectually and actually standing in a general store with a pile of supposed combat techniques in front of him, hoping to use his cheat ability to pick out the real ones…

Only to get absolutely nothing…

That still hurt.

[Maybe these are all junk.]

Xia Nan searched for a comforting explanation.

[Maybe that’s why there are no attributes to display.]

The general store fell quiet.

Nearby, Kukunur had been very considerate.

He pretended to busy himself with his own work while secretly watching Xia Nan from the corner of his eye.

He watched for quite a while.

Eventually, hesitation appeared on his neatly groomed face.

Kukunur glanced toward the empty doorway.

No one nearby.

Good.

At least if he said the wrong thing, there would be fewer people around to hear him offend a customer.

The gnome took a moment to organize his words.

Then he spoke carefully.

“Sir, judging by your equipment, I assume you’re a respected adventurer.”

Xia Nan looked over.

Kukunur rubbed one of the buttons on his vest.

“I don’t mean any offense, but… you can probably tell from the price I quoted that the quality of these books is all over the place.”

“If you want to buy a few for reference, or just for entertainment, there’s no harm in that.”

He paused.

“But if you’re hoping to find a genuine combat technique in there, the kind that’s actually required as a prerequisite for becoming a class holder…”

Kukunur gave the box a doubtful look.

“Even incredible luck probably won’t be enough.”

After saying that, the gnome seemed worried he had been too blunt.

His fingers fidgeted with his vest button again.

“My main concern is that you might hurt yourself. A lot of the training methods in these books aren’t legitimate.”

“If you want, I can give you a few for free.”

“But please don’t actually practice them as though they’re real combat techniques.”

Xia Nan did not feel offended.

Not in the slightest.

If anything, Kukunur’s warning only confirmed what he had already learned.

A few days earlier, Wood and the half-elf had explained part of how combat techniques worked in this world.

The problem was simple.

There were countless so-called combat techniques circulating on the market.

And without a reliable way to distinguish real ones from fake ones, 99.99 percent of them were nothing more than traps that wasted an adventurer’s time and energy.

The cost of trial and error was brutal.

Choose the wrong book, and a few months could disappear.

Half a year, if you were especially unlucky.

Unless someone encountered a genuine opportunity or received guidance from a relevant class holder, expecting to master a real combat technique from a cheap manual bought at a roadside general store was basically a fantasy.

Xia Nan had asked Kukunur about the books for two reasons.

First, he wanted to test whether his cheat ability could identify them.

Second…

Well.

He had wanted to try his luck.

Now he had his answer.

Still, walking away without buying anything felt strangely wasteful.

Xia Nan crouched in front of the box and searched through it for a while.

Then he pulled out two books.

He pinched them by the spines and gave them a few hard shakes, sending dust flying from the covers.

“I’ll take these two. How much?”

Kukunur immediately waved his hands.

“No need, sir. Consider them complimentary.”

“It’s fine.”

Xia Nan had no interest in owing someone a favor over a few copper coins.

Nor did he feel like taking advantage of Kukunur’s generosity.

He stuffed the coins into the gnome’s hands and walked out of the store.

As for which two books he had chosen…

Countless novels from his previous life had taught Xia Nan one sacred principle of bargain hunting.

Avoid anything with an absurdly flashy name.

Also avoid anything suspiciously thick.

Therefore, he had ignored the manuals with grandiose titles and the ones thicker than half a knuckle.

Instead, he chose the two thinnest, plainest, most straightforward books in the box.

[Forward Thrust]

[Block and Rising Slash]

Simple.

Practical.

At least in theory.

Xia Nan stacked the two manuals together and shoved them casually into his backpack.

Then he looked down the crowded, noisy street.

[Next…]

His eyes narrowed slightly.

[Time for the smithy.]

…

…

Rockhammer was one of the most highly regarded premium smithies in Rivervale Town.

It had even earned a recommendation in the Adventurer’s Handbook.

Naturally, business was good.

When Xia Nan arrived with his backpack, Barn Steelbeard was already serving another customer.

The customer was an honest-looking middle-aged man dressed in plain clothing.

He held a long two-handed spear in both hands and was studying it carefully from end to end.

His eyes traveled from the butt of the shaft all the way to the spearhead.

Every so often, he gave it a few experimental swings, testing the balance, weight, and feel.

Then came the bargaining.

The man spoke with Barn for a while before finally reaching into his purse with a visibly pained expression.

Four gold coins.

Then several loose silver and copper coins.

He counted every one before handing them over with both hands.

The pain on his face was real.

So was the happiness.

The moment the transaction was complete and the spear officially belonged to him, his expression brightened despite himself.

Clearly, he loved the weapon.

When he passed Xia Nan on the way out, he even gave him a slightly embarrassed nod, as though apologizing for making him wait.

Xia Nan returned the gesture.

Then he dismissed the man from his thoughts and approached Barn.

“Hm?”

Barn recognized him at a glance.

The smith claimed to have dwarven blood, but his height made that claim difficult to reconcile with common sense.

He stood a full head taller than a bugbear and had the build to match.

Still, it was not Xia Nan himself that drew Barn’s attention first.

It was his armor.

Barn looked over the bloodstained, torn leather armor and raised his brows.

“This last quest of yours was pretty dangerous.”

There was obvious meaning in his voice.

After all, Barn had personally sold him that leather armor not long ago.

Fine quality.

Ten gold.

Now it looked like it had been chewed up and spat out by the forest.

Of course Barn cared.

“It was.”

Xia Nan did not offer any details.

He simply smiled.

“I ran into a difficult opponent. Good thing I bought your armor. Otherwise, I might not have made it back.”

Barn froze for half a second.

Then the smithy erupted with booming laughter.

“Hahaha! That’s good!”

Clearly, Xia Nan had scratched exactly the right itch.

Barn looked genuinely delighted.

Then he pointed at the ruined armor.

“It’s useless now anyway. Take it off.”

Xia Nan paused.

Barn grinned.

“I’ll give you three silver for it.”

Three silver?

Xia Nan looked down at himself.

With the condition this armor was in, even a roadside general store would probably refuse to touch it.

Yet Rockhammer, a smithy famous for expensive premium goods, was offering to buy it back?

Unexpected.

But Xia Nan was not about to refuse free money.

He removed the armor and handed it over.

To be fair, the armor had earned every coin of its original 10-gold price.

The basilisk had smashed through it and ruined it in one hit.

But the armor had still absorbed part of the impact.

That mattered.

If Xia Nan had tried to save money and bought some cheap, poorly made leather instead…

He might not have survived long enough for the half-elf and the others to arrive.

The basilisk could have rammed him to death on the spot.

Three silver coins entered his purse.

Barn Steelbeard grinned as he carried the ruined armor behind the counter, his reddish-brown beard braids swinging against his chest.

For a blacksmith with real pride in his craft, selling expensive equipment was gratifying.

High prices proved that people respected his skill.

But this?

This was different.

Seeing a piece of equipment return from a real battle, ruined beyond repair but having successfully protected its owner…

That meant more.

The armor had fulfilled its purpose.

Its owner was standing safely in front of him.

For Barn, that satisfaction was worth far more than selling something for hundreds or even thousands of gold.