Chapter 124 The Story of the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield

The Fire Rabbit Forging House hung up a "Closed for Business" sign.

It wasn’t long before this caused a small stir on the Gedelock forums.

[Nostalgia Fan: NO! The Fire Rabbit Forging House closed down. My youth is over.]

[Big Resentment Seed: Really? I just saved up a bunch of materials and was planning to go to the Fire Rabbit Forging House for Enhancement.]

[Unnamed User (Noob): Isn’t the Fire Rabbit Forging House just a shop in Balkan City that sells beginner gear? Why would veterans go out of their way to visit that place?]

[Nostalgia Fan: It’s the youth of the day-one players!]

[Golden G: There’s a really powerful reclusive Blacksmith expert there. He apprenticed under a Dwarf, and if you get his acknowledgment, you can earn the title of Dwarf Forger. Back then, everyone didn’t know that the Blacksmith class was locked behind a world quest.]

[Golden G: Later on, people simply couldn’t figure out the unlock conditions for that world quest, so they gradually gave up looking. On top of that, the steep price required to enhance gear wasn’t something new players could afford, so the hype died down.]

[Marika’s Dog: Isn’t it because this Master only has a 0.01% chance of being awake (lol)? The odds are even lower than encountering Lady Marika.]

[Stamp Collector: Oh, I’ve seen that old man. I thought he was a statue at first. He slept for an entire day without moving a muscle. I even took a selfie with him.]

[Nostalgia Fan: Fire Rabbit Hade, just like the Blacksmith class, is a tear of the era. He hasn’t faded from the Memory of veteran players, mostly thanks to Hade having double the success rate of other Blacksmiths.]

[Unnamed User (Noob): That high!]

[Nostalgia Fan: He’s a Dwarf’s apprentice, what did you expect?]

[Unnamed User (Noob): Damn it. If I had known, I would have camped there all day with my materials.]

[Nostalgia Fan: Give up. Even if Fire Rabbit Hade is awake, it still depends on his mood.]

[Liver Saver: Sigh, if Fire Rabbit Hade were willing to move his little hands and hammer away a bit more, I’d be willing to challenge my physical limits.]

...

"That bird isn’t here today?"

The old man at the fruit stand suddenly struck up a conversation with the passing Blaze. At this moment, only Blaze and the old man, who had yet to close up his fruit stand, remained on the street.

"Bird? Oh, you mean the chicken. She went to deliver a reply," Blaze said, coming to a halt.

It was approaching dusk. Most Foreigners were currently replenishing their world-saving energy in their own world, so he didn’t need to hide as carefully. He could leisurely squat down and chat with this One-Eyed old man.

Merushi wrote him a letter every day, happily showing off her practice progress. Although her tone was cheerful, Blaze noticed that she was always standing alone on the massive stage, looking somewhat lonely.

Blaze wouldn’t bring it up on his own. He could tell that Merushi was standing on that stage of her own free will. Therefore, all he would do was reply immediately upon receiving Merushi’s letters to encourage her.

The opening of the Epidaurus Theater was in twenty days. By then, the crusade against the Lion should be over, and he would be able to sit peacefully below the stage and enjoy the performance.

"Is that so? You made her your Messenger," the old man at the fruit stand chuckled, leisurely packing up his harvest for the day—15 Copper Coins. "Oh, my pitiful fourth daughter~"

"How many years have we known each other? Aren’t all nine of your daughters living perfectly well in other countries?" Blaze didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He took out a Gold Coin and handed it to the old man.

The old man unceremoniously snatched the Gold Coin from Blaze’s hand. As he dropped it into his coin pouch, he grumbled faintly, "You know full well that this old man has nine daughters. Don’t I endure the hardship of selling fruit just to save up travel expenses to visit my daughters scattered across the world?

"I had almost saved enough, but who knows which brat gave three Foreigners those priceless Ancient Bronze Coins? It caused this old man to not only lose all his savings but fall deep into debt.

"I’ve sold reasonably priced fruit for over a decade. Not only was I forced to offer a discount, but the 100 Gold Coins I painstakingly saved up are all gone. Now, I still owe Balkan City 1,499,900 Gold Coins."

Because Foreigners would randomly find a shop to sell expensive Monster materials, every shop kept a large reserve fund on hand. Three Ancient Bronze Coins had completely drained the fruit stand’s reserve fund. Under normal circumstances, he only needed to hand over the Ancient Bronze Coins to resolve it.

However, based on Blaze’s understanding of this old man, he had definitely pocketed the items, waiting to sell them when the Foreigners started offering high bounties.

"1,500,020 Gold Coins. How about I introduce my fourth daughter to you? Not to brag, but she looks just like me—a man’s dream."

"Minus the debt, you’re selling off your own daughter for a mere 120 Gold Coins?"

"To be exact, she goes to the person who helps me save up 120 Gold Coins. But now, it’s 1,500,020 Gold Coins."

Blaze rolled his eyes. Unwilling to entertain this disrespectful old geezer any further, he stood up to leave, but the old man suddenly asked a very strange question.

"Tell me, which is stronger: the strongest spear or the strongest Shield?"

"The Shield, I suppose. A spear might miss, but as long as a Shield is big enough, it can block all attacks." Blaze was rather pragmatic, opting for the one guaranteed to be useful.

"Then what if that spear, once thrown, is guaranteed to pierce the heart?" the old fruit seller continued asking, seemingly determined to force the two concepts into a head-on collision.

"The Shield," Blaze answered without hesitation. "The strongest Shield will definitely cause the Destruction of the strongest spear’s tip. Then, that spear will absolutely be incapable of Piercing the second shield—my body.

"As long as the person I want to protect doesn’t die by that spear, it’s a victory for both the Shield and me.

"Besides, once that spear is thrown, it’s gone."

The old man froze, then lowered his head and began to laugh, his hunched body trembling.

"Sacrifice, is it? The correct answer. It really is that simple of an answer."

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way. I’m very busy."

Blaze had just gotten up when the old man unhurriedly reached out and grabbed him.

"Opportunities like this are rare, so do this old man a favor. Let’s set the reward for this favor at... 1,500,020 Gold Coins. How about it?"

"Speak."

Blaze rolled his eyes but still patiently waited for the old man to continue. After all, he had only come here to look for Master Hade, and he had nothing pressing to do next anyway.

"I wish to add a new type of fruit to my merchandise. But regrettably, that fruit grows within a Goblin Tribe. An old, feeble man like myself surely cannot retrieve it. Therefore, oh traveler of great Kindness, could you seek out these fruits for this old man who toils for the livelihood of his nine daughters?"

Not only was the phrasing as formulaic as a script copied from someone else, but it was completely devoid of emotion, delivered in a monotonous, robotic reading.

However, Blaze didn’t mind accepting it and taking a little detour.

After confirming the location of the Goblin Tribe with the old man, Blaze walked in the direction of the setting Sun. The old fruit seller sat in the gradually encroaching darkness, watching the youth who chased after the Sun.

In that One-Eyed gaze, what he saw was sometimes a young, ambitious Lion, and other times a handsome, mysterious Silver Wolf.

"An invulnerable Lion, and a wolf.

"It’s simply destined, Blaze."