Chapter 21: Weapons

“Rock Hammer,” one of the most famous blacksmith shops in Rivervale.

The armor and weapons produced here were renowned for being tough and durable, making the shop quite well-known among the low-tier adventurers in town. There were even rumors that even the professional adventurers from the second floor of the association frequently had custom equipment made at “Rock Hammer.” This naturally made the blacksmith shop’s business increasingly bustling.

Today, Xia Nan—who was preparing for his upcoming mission by referencing the Adventurer’s Handbook—finally met the owner of this blacksmith shop.

Barn Steelbeard.

It was a name with distinct dwarven characteristics. His massive, knotted muscles that stacked like iron, along with a reddish-brown braided beard that hung nearly to his chest, also fit the traditional perception of a dwarf. However, standing at two meters three—half a head taller than even a bugbear—it didn’t look like the “dwarven” lineage he claimed ran through his veins.

“He looks much more like one of those barbarians from the ice plains,” Xia Nan thought to himself as he gazed at the sturdy figure in the shop. He didn’t stop his feet, however, walking straight inside.

Unexpectedly, despite taking pride in possessing the bloodline of the “Steelbeard Clan,” Barn, the owner of the Rock Hammer blacksmith shop, did not have the coarse and reckless personality one might expect from a dwarf. Instead, he was like an ordinary, enthusiastic shopkeeper. When Xia Nan expressed an interest in making a purchase, Barn proactively began introducing items to him.

“This kind of ring mail is considered the lightest among heavy armors. The iron rings on it can effectively block slashing damage from swords and axes.”

“This suit of chainmail is also quite good. Its defensive capability is a bit higher than ring mail, but similarly, its price is more expensive by over a dozen gold coins.”

With Barn’s meticulous explanations echoing beside his ear, Xia Nan’s gaze swept across the display racks.

He paused.

“This set…”

What entered his sight was an entire set of full-body coverage armor constructed from hard iron plates and metal buckles. Iron gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a hollowed-out helmet with its own visor, and thick, tough cowhide padding underneath. These were paired with metal plates that exuded a cold hue under the interlacing straps and buckles. At a single glance, it actually gave off the illusion of a mobile fortress.

If he could put on this suit of ultra-heavy armor, even if he stood in a pile of goblins and let them beat him with their little wooden clubs for two hours, he probably wouldn’t lose a single strand of hair. But by the same token, while the thick and heavy metal plates endowed the armor with rigid defensive power, they also brought an exaggerated weight that was difficult for an ordinary person to bear. With his current physical attributes… normal walking would likely be a problem.

“Full plate armor, selected from fine, high-quality steel. Every single metal piece was personally forged and tempered by me,” Barn introduced timely from the side, brimming with pride. “The defensive power naturally goes without saying; you can tell with just a glance.”

“If you buy the full set, ‘Rock Hammer’ will throw in three free maintenance sessions.”

“1,500 gold, no credit accepted.”

Hearing the price, Xia Nan instantly dismissed the notion. Clearly, this kind of equipment was not something he could consider. For now, he needed to be more pragmatic.

Fortunately, “Rock Hammer” possessed a complete variety of various equipments within the shop. After walking a lap with Barn and listening to his brief introductions, Xia Nan roughly had an idea in mind.

There were many styles of armor, but they were broadly divided into three types: light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor. Heavy armor was far too ponderous and would drastically affect Xia Nan’s agility, which didn’t fit his current combat style. Therefore, he wouldn’t consider it for the time being.

Medium armor was quite good. Its weight was somewhere between heavy armor and light armor, offering high versatility, and its defensive performance was considerably decent. But perhaps precisely because of this, it carried the highest average price among the three types of armor. Even the cheapest “chain shirt” among them required a full 50 gold coins. This was completely beyond Xia Nan’s budget.

In the end, after a bout of tangled deliberation, he spent 10 gold to buy a suit of specially made leather armor from Barn’s shop. This category of armor possessed ultra-high flexibility and extremely light weight, with leather that had become harder from being soaked in boiling oil serving as its primary material. Furthermore, originating from the renowned blacksmith shop “Rock Hammer,” its quality was excellent. Its comprehensive performance was several times stronger than the second-hand gear his predecessor had scavenged from who-knows-where.

With the armor issue resolved, next up was…

“A shield?” Xia Nan froze for a moment, then waved his hand to Barn before him. “I think I’ll pass on that; I don’t really know how to use one.”

The real world wasn’t like a game where raising a shield at random could easily block an enemy’s attack, or where pressing a button at just the right moment could execute a so-called “parry and counterattack.” Especially in the complex environment of the Misty Forest, if you hadn’t mastered the shield-wielding techniques associated with it, then no matter how hard the shield was, it would actually be no different from holding a door plank in your hands.

What Xia Nan needed most right now was to find a weapon that suited him. Fortunately, as the master of the “Rock Hammer” blacksmith shop, weapons happened to be the equipment category Barn was best at forging.

“Flails, light hammers, halberds…” Various cold weapons, either nimble or heavy, hung across almost an entire wall.

“A glaive, single-edged, suitable for use when fighting in open areas.”

“An iron flanged mace, a armor-breaking tool. One strike down and the armor might be perfectly fine, but the person underneath will be gone.”

“…”

Xia Nan’s gaze swept past these weapons one by one following Barn’s introductions. The ideas in his heart gradually became clear.

First, the weapon itself couldn’t be too light. He didn’t share the agile combat style of an assassin like Erki; the two short daggers on his person were only meant for emergencies. The highly flexible, thin leather armor combined with the operating space liberated by not carrying a shield made him prefer a weapon that could be held with both hands.

Like his predecessor’s one-handed sword, it was sharp enough, but the hand left empty during combat felt a bit awkward. Gagu’s two-handed axe was immensely powerful, but using it in practice could sometimes appear unwieldy.

Second, the weapon type must compatible with 【Whirlwind Slash】. Although this trump card had been raised to its maximum level of LV5 thanks to his predecessor’s hard work and the support of the status panel—nearly merging into one with him like a daily movement—Xia Nan could easily unleash 【Whirlwind Slash】 with anything from a short dagger to a hoe swung in the fields. But since he had a choice, he naturally wanted to find the most suitable one.

So, he would choose…

Just as Xia Nan fell into deep thought over the choice of weapon, Barn, who had been studying him while explaining from the side, seemed to misunderstand something.

He immediately burst into a hearty laugh and pulled a completely bewildered Xia Nan to the side.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about; who didn’t start out as a novice?”

“It’s fine if you don’t have enough gold coins. Although our shop doesn’t accept credit, it’s not like we don’t have relatively cheaper goods.”

“Take a look, see if there’s anything you like?”
(End of Chapter)