Chapter 76: Locknock Stone House

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Locknock Stone House

He reached out and pinched Bruce’s jowls, squishing his doggy face into a ball.

"You little rascal, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking! You don’t want to see the Four Seas Currency. You want that big pile of milky Little Sweeties that Annis fed you in the carriage!"

With his mouth pinched, Bruce let out a whimper, but his tail couldn’t help but wag rapidly, his eyes filled with longing for the milky Little Sweeties.

"Get to work!" Hesia let go and patted the dog’s head in annoyance. "You shit-yellow dogs are the most cunning! Now, go!"

"Hesia, didn’t you say I was brownish-white before?"

"That’s not important, Bruce."

Seeing it was still a bit reluctant, Hesia had no choice but to play his trump card:

"After we sell the Crystal Core, I’ll take you back to that Beastmen and the Lute place. I’ll get you a Clefthoof rib, with the meat and bone."

The moment Bruce heard this, his eyes lit up, and his previous longing for the Little Sweeties was instantly forgotten.

He turned into a flash of brownish-white lightning and plunged deep into Copper Nail Lane.

...

After sending off Bruce, his "scout"...

Hesia browsed around for a bit and found a decent-looking armor shop. He spent 23 Silver Scales on a well-made piece of Multi-Layered Cloth Armor.

This type of armor, made of multiple layers of thick cloth sewn together, already offered decent cushioning and defense against slashes from swords and knives.

More importantly, even if this layer of armor was pierced, he still had his own [Thick Hide] Trait as a second line of defense.

With Cloth Armor on the outside and Thick Hide on the inside, Hesia felt a great sense of security.

After buying his gear, he waited at the designated street corner for about half an hour before seeing Bruce running back excitedly. Clearly, his doggy brain had found an answer.

Led by Bruce, the man and his dog arrived at the entrance of a rather unremarkable shop.

Number 43 Copper Nail Lane, Rocknock Stone House.

There was no flashy sign, nor any enthusiastic shills—only a few Adventurers in worn Leather Armor, all hurrying on their way.

"Bruce, are you sure? This place looks even more dilapidated than the Copper Horn Awakening House. You didn’t just smell meat stewing in their backyard, did you?"

"No mistake. This is the place."

Bruce felt his professional abilities were being questioned and immediately lifted his head to retort.

"First, many of the Adventurers going in and out of here reek of blood and dust."

"Second, I went in and listened for a while. It seems they specialize in buying that stone of yours. The owner quotes prices quickly, other people don’t really haggle, and deals are closed fast."

"Third, and most importantly! The owner fed me a piece of jerky. I think he’s a good person."

Hesia automatically filtered out the third reason—judging people’s character based on food was so typically Bruce.

However, the first two points were indeed well-founded and logical, especially the detail about "deals being closed fast."

It meant both buyers and sellers knew what they were doing when it came to pricing.

’But this level of observation, this ability to summarize... can a dog really possess that?’

’It seems like ever since Bruce started understanding human speech, he’s been getting smarter and smarter.’

’Is it because of the Trait’s effect? Or was he naturally intelligent, and just needed the language barrier to be broken?’

He even felt that if Bruce kept evolving like this, he might actually end up enrolling in the Magic Academy.

"Bruce, your doggy brain is getting smarter and smarter. Are you trying to get into grad school?"

"What’s ’grad school’?" Bruce’s tongue lolled to the side, his eyes full of a desire for food. "Can I just have roasted beef ribs instead?"

’Uh... right.’ Hesia finally understood. ’In the end, what really drives this guy’s brain is his craving for food.’

...

The interior of the Rocknock Stone House wasn’t large; it was even a bit cramped.

But just as Bruce had "scouted," this shop was truly different—it was a store specializing in all kinds of Magic Ores and Crystal Cores.

Unlike other general stores, there was no miscellaneous Leather Armor or chipped daggers here.

On the wall behind the counter, various Crystal Cores, Magic Ores, and Gemstones of unknown purpose were neatly displayed in meticulously crafted wooden cubbies, shimmering with a captivating luster under the light of the Magic Lamps.

Placing these valuables out of customers’ reach was clearly a measure to prevent any light-fingered mischief.

The owner of the shop was a Dwarf named Locknock.

He was just under a meter tall and was standing on a special high stool behind the counter, one almost as long as the counter itself, allowing him to be at eye level with customers of average height.

"One Secondary Agate," said the Adventurer in front of him.

"Five Golden Shields," Locknock stated the price, his voice crisp.

The transaction was completed quickly. The customer paid and left.

"Next."

Hesia took a step forward.

"Alright, young man, what kind of stone are you looking for?"

Hesia didn’t know how to judge a Dwarf’s age, but the owner before him had almost no wrinkles on his face, and the brown curly hair on his head was quite thick. He didn’t look particularly old.

He handed over the dark red Crystal Core. "Hello, sir. I was hoping you could take a look at this. Do you buy Crystal Cores here?"

"Of course. One moment." Locknock nodded, skillfully removing the monocle from his nose. He wiped it carefully with a piece of chamois leather, then pushed forward a wooden tray lined with dark velvet. "Just place it on there. Let me have a look."

Hesia placed the Crystal Core on the tray.

Locknock first glanced at it from a distance, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly. He seemed to have recognized its type instantly, but he didn’t speak right away.

Then, he picked up a magnifying glass, moved closer, and examined it carefully from all sides. He then gently touched its surface with his finger, feeling the flow of energy within.

A moment later, he put down the magnifying glass, looked up, and said to Hesia in a confident tone, "A Crystal Core from a Thorny Wild Boar. The effect is [Berserk]."

’He really is a professional! He identified the type and effect with just one look.’

’[Berserk]? Isn’t that the same effect as the [Frenzied Snake Lizard] Crystal Core from the Land Bird’s Travel Bag, the one worth fifty Golden Shields?’

Seeming to notice the novice-like confusion on Hesia’s face, Locknock offered a rare explanation. "Crystal Core Enchantments are mainly divided into two categories: one is special skills unique to that specific Demon, and the other is more common passive buffs. [Berserk] belongs to the second category. While not top-tier, it’s easy to trigger and widely applicable. All in all, it’s pretty useful."

Hesia nodded and blurted out his most pressing question, "Excuse me, what’s your buyback price?"

Locknock pondered for a moment, seemingly making a quick calculation in his head, then quoted a price. "The quality of this Crystal Core is above average. Its Magic Power is full, and it has no flaws. I can give you 12 Golden Shields."

Golden Shields!

That was more than double the price quoted by that crooked merchant from before!

A wave of fear washed over Hesia in hindsight.

That shop was located right at the entrance to the lane, in such a conspicuous spot. It was clearly set up to rip off novice Adventurers like him who were here for the first time and didn’t know the market rates.

If Bruce hadn’t gained the ability to speak thanks to the Trait and warned him in advance, Hesia felt he would have, one hundred percent, been fooled by that 5 Golden Shield offer just like everyone else.

He could just imagine how that black-hearted bastard would have laughed at his ignorance behind his back if he had agreed.

Damn crooked merchants!

Seeing the change in Hesia’s expression, Locknock assumed he was dissatisfied with the price and added, "The demand for this kind of Crystal Core mainly comes from Warriors and some Barbarian Professionals. As you know, those guys tend to spend any extra money they have on drinking and armor repairs, so their purchasing power is limited. After I buy it, process and polish it, I can sell it for 13 to 14 Golden Shields at most. The profit margin is very thin."

"Of course, if you feel my price isn’t fair, you’re welcome to check with the other shops in Copper Nail Lane and compare."

After saying this, he was already preparing to signal the next customer to step forward.

This take-it-or-leave-it attitude actually made Hesia feel more at ease.

"No problem! 12 Golden Shields it is!"

The deal was closed quickly.

Hesia placed the 12 heavy Golden Shields into his Money Bag.