Chapter 430 Sale Concluded

Celianne and Barn focused on different aspects of their respective crafts.

That much was clear from their shop names alone.

[Pearl Spun Yarn] and [Rockhammer].

The former was a tailor shop that catered primarily to the wealthy merchants, nobles, and veteran adventurers of Barracuda Bay's White Cliff District, with custom commissions as its core business.

The latter was a blacksmith shop whose inventory ranged from entry-level leather armor around ten gold pieces to heavy full plate worth over a thousand. Anyone in Rivervale Town with specific equipment needs and a willingness to spend could find something suitable there, though the shop also took on a small number of high-end custom orders.

The half-elf leaned toward textiles and tailoring, while the half-dwarf specialized in smelting and forging.

Naturally, despite their different paths, both were master artisans skilled in crafting enchanted gear, so their expertise overlapped in certain areas.

Vast crafting experience and sharp eyes allowed them to pinpoint the strengths and flaws of any piece of equipment with precision.

That was why, even though [Purgatory Pulse] was ruined beyond any hope of restoration, Celianne could still read its remains.

Through its wreckage, he picked out the excellent forging techniques left behind by another master smith from the inland regions—the pride and joy of Barn of Rockhammer.

His gaze lingered on the armor, prompting him to ask where it came from.

When he learned from Xia Nan that it was forged at Rockhammer, a look of realization washed over his light blue face.

Separated by such a great distance, the two craftsmen had naturally never met.

Yet in a sense, they were old acquaintances who knew each other by reputation, and Barn was surely no stranger to the name [Pearl Spun Yarn].

After all, adventurers were a mobile bunch.

For veteran teams with sufficient strength, long-distance travel for commissions was standard practice.

Only greenhorns who had yet to gain a single Class Level stayed cooped up in town, hunting around nearby Goblin lairs.

Any request of higher difficulty required venturing deep into the Misty Forest or traveling to other regions entirely.

With both Rivervale Town and Barracuda Bay serving as major adventuring hubs housing Association branches, high-level Class Holders moved between them constantly.

Under those circumstances, whenever gear broke along the way and needed repair or replacement, both artisans frequently handled each other's work.

Over time, the distinct signatures of their respective crafts became clear to both of them.

Even so...

Celianne stared down at [Purgatory Pulse] resting on the counter, his deep green eyes filled with a complex expression.

The forging techniques used on this damaged armor were exceptionally intricate. In several places, multiple hammering methods had been layered directly on top of one another.

That was hardly standard practice.

For enchanted armor of this tier, crafting was like making a cake that was already nearly finished. Once the inner sponge and cream were set, adding a light garnish of fruit on top was enough to put it in the display case.

The base material set a hard upper limit; no matter how you sliced it, the inside tasted the same.

Yet on this piece, where a simple fruit garnish would have sufficed, the smith had gone out of his way to throw on a layer of nuts, then piled strawberries, watermelons, and mangoes into the cream all at once.

He had lavished his time and effort on it without the slightest restraint.

Along the edges of the armor, Celianne even spotted advanced forging techniques usually reserved for high-tier enchanted gear.

Restricted by the quality of the metal, all that extra blood and sweat might have squeezed out a mere one percent increase in overall defensive strength—an utterly thankless expenditure of effort.

To put it bluntly, most blacksmiths wouldn't forge gear for their own children with that level of devotion.

"What is your relationship... with Barn?"

A tinge of suspicion crossed his light blue face. The half-elf couldn't help scanning the black-haired youth up and down, looking for any trace of dwarven blood in his features.

"I'm a regular, and we're on pretty good terms. Why?" Xia Nan answered, picking up on his odd behavior.

"My apologies, I meant no offense," the half-elf said quickly, realizing the question was rather abrupt. An apologetic look settled over his face. "It's just that many of the forging techniques on your armor are... well, extraordinary."

Hearing that, Xia Nan understood what he was driving at.

It made sense.

Barn had mentioned before that the high rate at which Xia Nan ruined his armor had dealt a blow to his pride as a craftsman.

This set of [Purgatory Pulse] had been his statement piece. He had made virtually no profit on it and had even covered part of the material costs out of pocket, all to defend his reputation.

As it turned out, the armor's quality had proven itself. It had held up through back-to-back battles against two formidable foes—the crystal cleric and the Shark Beast. Among all the sets Xia Nan had worn, its performance was easily "T0" tier.

He was thoroughly satisfied with it.

As for Barn...

Xia Nan wouldn't be heading back to Rivervale Town until after the Lunar Tide Banquet ended in three months at the earliest, and the journey itself would take another fifty days or so.

So long as Xia Nan kept quiet, no matter how many sets of armor he burned through in the meantime, to that half-dwarf who was built bigger than a Bugbear, his meticulously forged [Purgatory Pulse] had lasted all that time.

That ought to help salvage the man's self-esteem.

"Well, enough off-topic chatter," Celianne said, clearing his throat as he steered the conversation back on track.

"Under normal circumstances, I don't accept scrapped equipment for scrap recycling."

"However, the craftsmanship on your armor is truly rare. I'd like to keep it to study, which might help me refine my own forging techniques."

"Hmm... how does 175 gold sound?"

The half-elf's offer was remarkably generous.

[Purgatory Pulse] was completely ruined; it didn't even qualify as second-hand gear.

Xia Nan had simply hoped to trade the infernal steel in its base structure for a bit of room-and-board cash.

175 gold pieces was what a standard white-tier item with a few modest stat lines usually went for, so he had every reason to be pleased.

As for whether selling it here might somehow disadvantage Barn back in Rivervale Town, there was no need to worry about that.

If a smith's techniques could be stolen just by examining a finished product with the naked eye, blacksmith apprenticeships would be obsolete, and grandmaster smiths would never dare pour their true craft into their creations.

Higher-level techniques required precise heating and specific hammering methods refined over decades of grueling practice; even if someone understood the theory, replicating it without that foundation was impossible.

Celianne was merely looking to grasp the principles by analogy, not copy the techniques outright.

With the price meeting his expectations, Xia Nan closed the deal without haggling.

[Purgatory Pulse] was taken care of.

Next were the [Azure Wave Blade], the [Practice Staff], the [Fish Bone Conch] staff, and the pair of swords and wooden bow taken from Nick and Leda.

Celianne possessed a sharp eye.

Though he couldn't see exact stat lines or celebrity notes at a glance like Xia Nan could with his Attribute Panel, a brief inspection was enough for him to identify the [Azure Wave Blade] as the highest-quality item in the bundle.

Even before Xia Nan said a word, the half-elf had already deduced the curved blade's special properties.

The fleshy gills on either side of his neck fluttered slightly as he lifted the weapon and held it near a fish bladder on the counter.

Dense moisture in the surrounding air caused the blade's surface to shimmer with a faint green light—"When the wielder is wet, stamina recovery speed increases by an additional 20%."

A look of genuine interest crossed Celianne's face.

Yet to Xia Nan's surprise, after examining it for a moment, the half-elf reluctantly placed the curved blade back on the counter and pushed it back toward him.

His voice was calm and earnest. "The quality of this curved blade is exceptional. While I haven't tested its full effects, it almost certainly suits the environment of the Southern Archipelagos perfectly."

"If you wish to sell it to me, I'd gladly buy it, and reselling it would net me a handsome profit."

"However, considering we've already reached an agreement regarding those Shark Beast materials and are likely to become long-term partners, I must be honest with you."

"If you want to maximize your profit, you'd be better off listing this blade with the Association and letting local buyers bid on it."

"Rest assured, it will not lack interested buyers."

Celianne was a businessman, but building a successful establishment in a place like Barracuda Bay while maintaining an immaculate reputation among adventurers required both genuine craftsmanship and fair dealing.

The black-haired adventurer before him might look young, but his actual strength was formidable.

The Shark Beast materials on the counter—from a creature with a Challenge Rating of at least 3—and the gear stripped from other adventurers were proof enough.

Even from a strictly commercial standpoint, the two custom pieces ordered from the Shark Beast materials, combined with the potential for future business, made it well worth extending a goodwill gesture now.

Meeting the half-elf's gaze, Xia Nan sensed the sincerity behind his words; this was no polite refusal.

He gave a subtle nod of appreciation and stowed the curved blade back into his pack.

"As for these two staffs and the other two pieces..." Celianne paused, hesitating slightly.

After a moment's thought, he decided to be direct.

"Looking around, you can tell that [Pearl Spun Yarn] primarily deals in high-end apparel and custom enchanted gear. When it comes to buying back used equipment... unless it's on par with that curved blade, we rarely take it."

He made his point clear enough.

Put simply, he didn't buy anything below green quality.

In fact, he normally didn't handle second-hand trade-ins at all.

"However..." Celianne shifted his stance mid-sentence.

His long fingers reached past the materials on the counter, closing around the shaft of the [Fish Bone Conch] staff and lifting it into the light.

Squinting against the sunlight streaming through the doorway, he scrutinized the weapon closely.

The [Fish Bone Conch] looked entirely different from the [Practice Staff] beside it.

The latter featured a clean, efficient design reminiscent of mass-produced goods—unremarkable, but free of obvious defects, serving its namesake purpose for novice spellcasters practicing their craft.

The former, while also a white-tier item, possessed a far cruder, more brutal aesthetic. Its shaft was ground from the deep-sea bone of an unknown fish, carved with wave patterns to improve grip, and topped with an entire light-purple conch shell set directly into the tip.

The overall piece radiated a exotic, oceanic quality.

Seeing the half-elf inspect it with such keen interest, Xia Nan considered his options. Given how candid Celianne had been, keeping its origins secret felt wrong.

Even knowing the half-elf harbored a deep hatred for Sahuagin, Xia Nan spoke up to clarify where the weapon came from.

"I took that staff off a Sahuagin Priest."

"I know," Celianne replied. At the mention of the Sea Elves' sworn enemies, an unreserved look of disgust surfaced on his face.

"Only a crude, barbaric race would ruin such precious materials by slapping them together so carelessly."

"It's a desecration of the ocean and of natural magic. Any spellcaster with true aspirations in the arcane arts would be disgraced to use such rubbish; it would only tarnish a promising future."

His voice dripped with disdain.

Given that the Attribute Panel listed no negative side effects for the [Fish Bone Conch], his harsh judgment clearly stemmed from his deep-seated hatred and contempt for the Sahuagin.

"Still, just as master hunters mount the heads of their grandest prey on their walls..."

"The thought of this Sahuagin staff circulating among the spellcasters of Barracuda Bay makes my stomach turn."

"295 gold. I'll purchase it from you as a 'collectible.'"

"Deal."

Xia Nan didn't care what the half-elf did with the staff once the transaction was complete.

It was merely loot claimed from a slain monster, and turning it into a tidy sum of gold was the best outcome he could hope for.

For a second-hand white-tier item, even accounting for the higher base value of staffs compared to other weapons, a price near 300 gold pieces was far above the market average.

Clearly, the merchant's hatred for the Sahuagin outweighed his valuation of coin.

With that, Xia Nan had accomplished most of what he set out to do at [Pearl Spun Yarn].

He had a preliminary plan in place for the Shark Beast materials. Though taking measurements and inspecting prototype designs would take time, it was a solid start.

Most of his extra gear had destinations as well: he would take Celianne's advice and list the [Azure Wave Blade] alongside the [Practice Staff] at the Association, while selling Nick and Leda's twin swords and wooden bow to a local general store.

Between [Purgatory Pulse] and the [Fish Bone Conch], his sales to Celianne totaled 470 gold pieces, instantly boosting his net worth into four digits.

Even so, considering the upcoming crafting fees for his two custom enchanted pieces, he suspected it still wouldn't be quite enough.