Chapter 34: Auxiliary Materials

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Auxiliary Materials

Thirty? That was quite a lot.

Lorin had assumed the man would boast about being descended from some Legendary Blacksmith who had hand-forged countless Legendary Weapons. It turned out there were quite a few blacksmiths capable of this.

He wondered if that number included Dwarfs. Even though those guys could get drunk and spend all night crying into their beards, they were undoubtedly experts at forging.

"Then what supplementary materials do we need to prepare?"

Lorin wasn’t sure if the blacksmith actually had the skills, but even if the item was ruined, it wouldn’t be a huge loss for them.

After all, the hammer had been a gift from Nathan. Losing something they got for free wouldn’t hurt too much, and the Dragon Blood Stone probably wasn’t worth the crafting fee anyway.

Horton scratched his chin and pulled out a piece of parchment from who-knew-where. As he wrote, he mumbled like he was reciting from memory,

"Let me think carefully... Three stalks of Fire Oil Grass, preferably with the juices already extracted.

"A packet of Silver Powder. It doesn’t need to be too much, just enough to provide stability.

"A palm-sized Sulfur Crystal; again, not too much.

"Quenching Oil. I have this here, so you don’t need to look for it; I’ll include it in the labor fee.

"If you could also find some refined gold, even just scraps, that would be even better."

Lorin took the parchment and examined it closely. He hadn’t expected Horton, despite his rough appearance, to have such neat handwriting.

Silver Powder was everywhere; it could be bought at any general store, and if worst came to worst, he could just scrape some off a few Silver Coins.

But what in the world was a Sulfur Crystal? He had only heard of sulfur. As for Fire Oil Grass and refined gold, he had never even heard of them.

He voiced his doubts one by one.

Horton carefully handed the Dragon Blood Stone back to him and explained with great patience,

"The juice of the Fire Oil Grass can release the Power of the Dragon Blood Stone. There are other materials that can do the same, such as the tail gland of a Fire Salamander or a Fire Beetle Shell, or you could even bring a bottle of Dragon Blood.

"However, Fire Oil Grass is obviously the most economical choice, isn’t it?"

Dragon Blood... Lorin’s mouth twitched.

"Sulfur Crystals are a byproduct of sulfur mines. They aren’t hard to find, nor are they particularly expensive. It’s just that I can’t possibly store something like that here—it’s too dangerous.

"As for refined gold, I know where you might find some. You can ask at the chamber of commerce. Many merchants pass through here, so you might be able to buy it from them. If you only need a few scraps, it’ll cost about ten Gold Coins."

"There’s a chamber of commerce here?" Lorin said. "Oh, right..."

Lorin suddenly remembered the eighty-gold bounty he had seen when he took his first quest; it seemed to have mentioned a chamber of commerce.

But if just a few scraps were worth ten Gold Coins, it was probably some Rare material. He wondered if the hammer Pip forged would be able to break past the Rare grade.

He still didn’t know what grade came after Rare. However, since rolling a six on the Dice of Destiny only yielded a Rare item, he figured he would have to wait until he had two dice to find out.

A thousand Exploration Experience points. He didn’t know when he would finally have the luxury to afford that.

"But where is the chamber of commerce here?" he asked in confusion.

A chamber of commerce clearly wouldn’t be a small-scale organization, but the only large buildings in Shallow Beach Town, aside from Hiv’s Adventurer’s Tavern, was the Government Affairs Hall.

Hiv probably didn’t have the time to take on a side job, so did that mean the Government Affairs Hall was where the chamber of commerce was located?

He recalled that palace-like building.

Horton quickly confirmed his guess.

"The Shallow Beach Town Chamber of Commerce is in the Government Affairs Hall, and Mr. Nathan is its president. You can go ask him, if he’s willing to see you," he said.

"Alright. Then how much are these things worth?"

Lorin placed the bag of loot on the counter.

"Let me see."

Horton deftly untied the bundle and sifted through the items one by one.

"An Iron Broadsword. The materials are decent, but the forging is too rough. It can only be used as a blank. Five Gold Coins.

"Two iron-tipped Short Spears. Together, they’re one Gold Coin and ten Silver Coins.

"Where did you get all this random junk? TSK TSK TSK. I’ll give you ten Silver Coins for the rest. That makes it seven Gold Coins in total!"

Lorin rubbed his head as if he had a migraine.

Even after selling everything and adding his savings, it wouldn’t be enough for the labor fee. He still had to repair his sword and alter the Leather Armor. An Adventurer really made money fast, but spent it just as quickly.

They also had to gather the Enchanting Materials for the Dragon Blood Stone, which would be an even bigger expense.

"How much will it cost to repair this Shield?" He unstrapped the Dragon Scale Round Shield from his back.

"You really have a lot of good stuff," Horton said in surprise.

"Just lucky, just lucky..."

"Let me see. A shield made of Kobold scales. This must belong to that Dragon Shield Guard. It won’t be hard to repair. Five Gold Coins, and it’ll take about a week. Got anything else?"

"No, that’s it."

"Here’s your two extra Gold Coins."

Lorin took the Gold Coins Horton handed him, then pulled out one Gold Coin and ten Silver Coins from his bag and gave them to Pip.

The two then went to see Old Mo, the tailor. They sold two sets of retired Leather Armor and took the opportunity to have Pip’s newly acquired Stone Scale Armor altered.

However, second-hand goods weren’t worth much. Lorin only received six Silver Coins for them.

He now had a total of twenty-two Gold Coins, thirteen Silver Coins, and six copper coins left. Compared to when he had first crossed over into this world, this sum was practically a fortune.

But when he thought about all the upcoming expenses, he felt incredibly poor again. Even the sunlight today suddenly seemed glaringly harsh.

"Once our gear is sorted out, we’ll have to go see what work is available."

Lorin rubbed his eyes and continued, "Pip, go to the apothecary and ask Tom. He buys herbs all year round, so he might have Fire Oil Grass. While you’re at it, see if any of the other supplementary materials on the list can be bought there directly.

"If not, don’t worry about it. We’ll regroup at the tavern and ask Hiv."

The short fellow nodded. "Okay, Pip will go right away."

Lorin, meanwhile, returned to the Government Affairs Hall to visit Mr. Nathan. Thanks to his previous experience, he managed to see the mayor without any trouble.

Nathan was still wearing an exquisite robe, though this time it was Blue. When he saw Lorin, he was looking down at a document, appearing to be in a bad mood.

"The items you’re asking about... none of them are very common," Nathan said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I do have Sulfur Crystals here, and a palm-sized piece isn’t worth much. I’ll have Joel take you to the storehouse to get it later. Consider it a gift from me."

Joel was the Guard Captain.

"As for Fire Oil Grass," Nathan continued, "it has a relatively low yield, though its extracted juices can be stored for quite some time. I can keep an eye out for it on your behalf. The same goes for the Fire Salamander tail gland and the Fire Beetle Shell; they need to be specially ordered.

"But forget about refined gold. That material is far too precious. It rarely ever circulates on the open market."

Lorin nodded. He appreciated Nathan’s generosity, but unwilling to accept a reward without merit, he braced himself and asked for the price anyway. He also took the opportunity to politely express his concern. "You seem to be in a bad mood. Did something happen?"

Nathan paused for a moment before replying with a bitter smile.

"Lately, some beast has been attacking passing ships on the Black Water River. Many merchant caravans have suffered massive losses. More than a dozen merchants have either gone bankrupt or lost their lives.

"This has severely impacted the chamber of commerce. Many people have been forced to travel by land, but that takes several times longer."