Adventure EXP: -2798
Favonius Swordsmanship - Royal Lv.1 (2/100)
Favonius Swordsmanship - Royal Lv.8 (0/800)
The swordsmanship learned from Eula suddenly became a skill second only to "Favonius Hunter's Archery" in terms of level.
Nolan's swordsmanship felt like it had undergone countless trials, with various related techniques and knowledge appearing in his mind, becoming part of his memory, and even his body's instinct.
As Nolan subtly comprehended and digested the sword art, the short journey from the crafting bench to Wagner's Smithy had already ended.
Inside the blacksmith shop, Wagner was not forging weapons or anything else; he was sitting on a chair with his back against it, his gaze slightly tilted towards the ceiling, as if he was tired and taking a break.
The apprentice blacksmith, Schultz, was still tending to the furnace.
"Yo, Mr. Wagner, it's been a few days, can't do without me?" Nolan joked as he greeted him.
Wagner's gaze slanted down, glanced at the visitor, then turned back and said, "So it's you, boy. Even though I can forge iron, I can't turn my body into iron. People need rest."
"Hehe, is this the experience Mr. Wagner summarized from working? Indeed, it makes sense," Nolan complimented with a smile.
"Hmm, how about it? Are those fire-quenched arrows working well?" Wagner sat up properly from his reclining posture and looked at Nolan as he asked.
"I can only say that, as expected of Mondstadt's renowned master blacksmith, Mr. Wagner's fire-quenched arrows have helped me a lot in adventures. As you can see, I've come to stock up again."
Nolan spread his hands, displaying a helpless expression as if adventures would fail without those Arrows.
Although he had decent swordsmanship now, it was still necessary to have some arrow reserves, as the ability for ranged attacks should not be lacking.
It could be said that in situations where a longsword could be used, fewer arrows would be used, after all, each Fire-Imbued arrow shot out was a round and shiny mora.
"Hahaha, just for that boy, I'm willing to give you a 100 Mora discount per fire-quenched Arrow."
Mr. Wagner laughed loudly twice, then regretfully said:
"But unfortunately, the fire-quenched Arrows are sold out. And no adventurer seems to have completed the Blacksmith Shop commission at Adventurers Guild's for Pyro ore either."
So, you talk big but can't back it up, huh? Nolan looked at him slightly speechless.
"Since that's the case, then there's no choice. Give me 30 Armor-Piercing Arrows then. Do these get a 100 Mora discount each too?"
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Nolan sighed, then said smilingly.
"You brat, thinking real nice there." Wagner glanced at Nolan, then instructed Schultz by the furnace, "Go bring him 30 Armor-Piercing Arrows."
Armor-Piercing Arrows cost 600 Mora each. With a 100 Mora discount, his profit would be completely gone, not even covering labor costs.
"Yes, Master Wagner." Schultz nodded in understanding.
"Mn."
While waiting, Wagner thought for a moment and said to Nolan again,
"By the way, young adventurer brat, I've just forged a batch of 'Enhancement Ore' for enhancing weapons. Want to buy some and try?"
"Enhancing weapons?" Nolan pondered slightly.
Enhancing weapons in hand could lead to obvious personal strength improvements, it just cost a bit, since the 'Enhancement Ore' required Mora to buy, and Mora was also needed as a medium when enhancing weapons.
"How much are you selling them for?" Nolan asked.
"400 for Common Ore, 2,000 for Fine Ore, and 10,000 for Mystic Ore. That's the market price, and I won't charge you a single extra Mora," Wagner said, tapping his chest with his robust right arm.
Then he continued:
"Three pieces of 'Mystic Enhancement Ore' plus little over 2,000 Mora can enhance your Dull Blade to its current limit."
Wagner pointed to the single-handed sword hanging at Nolan's waist.
"All you need to do is find a few suitable Ascension materials during your adventures, and you can perform the first Ascension. By then, it will be much stronger than its current 'blank slate' state!"
"Alright, let's give it a try then."
Nolan pulled out the Dull Blade from its wooden scabbard at his waist and handed it to Wagner, indicating he needed help enhancing it.
After all, Nolan had no experience enhancing weapons, he didn't know how it differed from the game.
"Hahaha, you brat have never enhanced a weapon before, right? It's simple, I'll give you the 'Mystic Enhancement Ore', you try it yourself."
Wagner laughed twice, then directly took three newly forged pieces of 'Mystic Enhancement Ore' and passed them to Nolan.
The ore looked like smooth pink crystals, cool to the touch but otherwise unremarkable.
"Place them on the Sword, then add in Mora," Wagner explained.
Nolan followed the instructions, laying the Dull Blade flat on Wagner's forging table and arranging the three pink crystals over the even blade. But there was no reaction.
He took out two 1000-Mora coins and let them fall between the "Mystic Enhancement Ore" and the Dull Blade.
Something mystical happened. The Mora emitted a golden glow, enveloping them before slowly fusing together.
"Still lacking a bit, not enough Mora, add five more small ones." Wagner reminded.
"Got it!"
Nolan added five more 100-Mora coins. The golden glow grew slightly stronger. Before long, a brand new Blunt Sword, Enhanced to the brink of its first ascension, was completed.
Holding it in his hand, Nolan found the scratches on the blade from hacking apart the rubble piles in the secret realm were gone, as if reforged anew.
The Dull Blade was no longer the same as before; it was now a Dull Blade +20.
What Wagner referred to as the first ascension was akin to enhancing a weapon to level twenty in the game.
"How is it? Not bad, right? Now it's much stronger than a non-enhanced two-star weapon," Wagner said with a smile.
"Though, three Mystic Ore, 30,000 Mora, isn't that almost enough to buy a 2-star one-handed sword?" Nolan suddenly thought to say.
"The cheapest 2-star single-hand sword is 50,000 Mora. Your current Dull Blade is stronger than a 2-star!"
Wagner said this as Schultz returned with the Armor-Piercing Arrows.
"That makes sense. Although high-star weapons are strong, enhancing them also costs more. The Dull Blade is good enough for now."
Nolan nodded lightly, then stored away the 30 Piercing Arrows and paid the full amount before leaving the smithy.
Including the Mora spent as medium during weapon enhancement, he had used over 51,000 this time. Since he didn't buy any Fire-Inbued Arrows, it wasn't too heavy of an expense.
When Nolan walked back to Val Berry Street, he discovered the sky had already darkened, with the vague outline of stars visible.
Thinking of hurrying back to put down and organize the many things on him, he turned into a dimly lit alley with tidy greenery on one side.
Suddenly, he saw a pair of icy-blue fluffy ears emerge from the green bushes.
(End of Chapter)