Chapter 22: Grey Sword

Faced with Barn’s goodwill, Xia Nan did not refuse. After all, currently he had not yet made a decision, so looking around a bit more was also good.

“Rest assured, although they are all second-hand goods, since I dare to bring them out to sell, the quality is definitely qualified, durable!”

His thick and coarse voice echoed inside the shop as Barn patted his chest to guarantee.

At this moment, situated before Xia Nan were many weapons with aged appearances. They did not have their own exclusive display shelves, but were simply piled together, clearly not receiving much importance from the shop owner.

However, through the metallic luster exuding from the surfaces of those weapons, along with the cold gleam that occasionally flashed as his line of sight shifted, it could at least be seen that Barn’s words were not false. They were undoubtedly second-hand goods, but they were all maintained quite well.

Xia Nan squatted down, very patiently pulling them out one by one from the weapon pile, placing them before his eyes to scrutinize carefully, while at the same time asking:

“Do those high-level adventurers also use this kind of weapon? I don’t mean this type of second-hand goods, but that kind of white-tier… uh, non-magical items, you know.”

Regarding this, Barn stroked his beard and said with a coarse voice:

“A lot of times, adventurers who have ‘just fledged’ like you all—no offense intended—always have many illusions regarding those veterans who possess professional levels.”

“But actually, they are also human; they need to spend money to eat, they will turn against each other and become bitter enemies over the ownership of a single piece of loot, and they will also save up over half a year of income for a house in an excellent location.”

“Magical items definitely have a higher probability of appearing in the hands of high-level professionals, but those wealthy enough to be covered in them from head to toe are still a tiny minority.”

“Then what about our shop?” Xia Nan’s tone was flat, as if merely striking up a conversation casually while picking and choosing weapons. “Do we also have those legendary magical equipments for sale?”

Barn did not respond, only offering a mysterious smile.

Having obtained the critical information, Xia Nan no longer wasted time, patting the dust stained on his hands, and slowly rose. Facts proved that second-hand goods were indeed just second-hand goods; he had flipped through them once, and there was completely no suitable choice.

His net worth of over a hundred gold coins, saying it was much was not much, but buying a brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-factory white-tier weapon was roughly sufficient. If possible, naturally it would be…

Hum—

Out of the corner of his eye, a smear of grey luster quietly flashed past.

Xia Nan’s line of sight subconsciously looked over along with it.

In just a brief few breaths, pausing, staring, knitting his brows, and returning to calm once more. The semi-transparent panel before him also faded and vanished following the dispersion of his attention.

…

【Sturdy Beheading Longsword】

Category: Two-handed Sword
Grade: Common (White)
Effect: Durability +50%, Beheading Damage +5%
Description:

An excellent piece of work produced from the “Rock Hammer” blacksmith shop. A tiny accident during forging seems to have caused a certain peculiar change to occur to this longsword.

Remark:

“One, two, three… wait, how many times did I hit it with the hammer just now?”

——”Rock Hammer” · Steelbeard Clan 492nd Forging Competition 105th Place · Barn Steelbeard

…

This was a two-handed longsword buried in the shadows.

The hilt length was about nine inches; the spiral-shaped metallic texture and protruding rivets not only enhanced the friction between the palm and the sword hilt when holding the sword, but also endowed it with a certain tactile feel when gripped.

The steel-cast crossguard did not extend very long toward both sides, neatly shrinking almost just slightly exceeding the sword blade by half a finger width, appearing exceptionally succinct.

The sword body was roughly four feet long, three fingers wide, with a thin blade, smooth lines, and sharp edges. A minimalist and clean style was carried through from beginning to end; the surface of the sword blade did not have a shred of pattern, only occasionally flashing a sharp, cold gleam as decoration.

Different from the other weapons within the shop, this longsword was an extremely bizarre iron-grey, as if a layer of thin mist was draped over the sword body, making it far less conspicuous than other sword blades looked.

On the surface Xia Nan did not exhibit a shred of undulation, yet in his heart, wind and waves were already surging wildly. He feigned casualness, opening his mouth without showing his emotions:

“Why is the color of this sword a bit strange? Is it a defective product?”

Hearing this, Barn unexpectedly revealed a slightly embarrassed expression, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Heheh, the other day I originally thought about forging a two-handed sword out, but I got a bit distracted when sharpening the edge…”

!

No, I just said it at random, turned out it really is being sold as a defective product!?

Xia Nan pursed his lips, forcibly keeping the expression on his face stiff.

Beside him Barn did not notice his reaction, only continuing to mutter:

“Sigh, it’s a pity for these dozen or so pounds of grey steel though, it was even mailed to me by a cousin in the clan, saying it’s a new pit opened over at Flameforge Peak for me to try out, when he asks about it later I won’t even know how to account for it.”

“Oh?” Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, catching the other party’s conversation starter. “This sword looks like only its color is a bit weird, where is the flaw?”

Barn still did not perceive his faintly fluctuating tone, merely immersed in the emotion of regret. Stepping forward two paces, he took down the two-handed sword, pointed at the sword body and said:

“Normally speaking, equipment forged out using grey steel ought to be a light grey like quicklime; look, is this sword’s color a bit darker?”

“This is because when I was casting the blade, I got distracted and hammered it a few extra times, directly causing the entire process afterward to be dragged down.”

As he spoke, Barn even revealed an expression of regret and sighing.

“Don’t look at how on the surface it has no difference from other weapons except for the color, in reality, there might be a problem somewhere on the sword body, and it might not necessarily break suddenly during combat, this cannot be tested out.”

“You also know, the equipment produced by our ‘Rock Hammer’ has always been renowned for being tough and durable.”

“For this kind of piece where because of a mistake in the forging process, the quality cannot be precisely controlled, I naturally will not sell it as a regular commodity.”

“We cannot lose our reputation because of coveting these few dozen gold of profit, everyone was told this by the clan before coming out.”

At this moment, Xia Nan finally felt the convenience of his cheat code once again. Information asymmetry!

Barn’s mistake during the forging process made him unable to guarantee the quality of the longsword, worrying that potential problems might cause the reputation of “Rock Hammer” to suffer damage. But Xia Nan, who possessed the status panel, clearly knew.

The other party’s tiny mistake, far from lowering the quality of the longsword, instead made the sword body even more sturdy and durable, and even added a few other traits.

Must take it! He said secretly in his heart.

Presently, since the other party had already explained clearly the reason for treating the longsword as a flawed item, Xia Nan also no longer concealed it, coming straight to the point:

“I want this sword, how much?”

“Did I not explain clearly just now?” Barn froze for a moment, then asked in astonishment, “A problem occurred when forging this sword, the quality is not certain.”

“I think it suits me very well, just this one!”

Seeing Xia Nan’s firm attitude, Barn also stopped speaking, just looking at him like this for a few seconds. Subsequently, he could only say helplessly:

“Then let’s agree beforehand, when a problem occurs later on don’t come looking for me, and when outside don’t say this sword was bought from me either, understand my meaning?”

“Of course!” Xia Nan nodded and said sincerely, “The sword was picked up by me in a goblin cave.”

“35 gold, cost price.”
(End of Chapter)