There’s nothing in this world that is taken for granted. If it weren’t for Gauss being able to gain its "favor," the team wouldn’t be able to enjoy these benefits.
"Hmm, it’s a small matter. Go ahead and advance without worry. Aaliyah and I will wait for you back in town. Be careful, and find us at the inn once your advancement is done."
Gauss waved his hand.
The strength of a comrade is the strength of the entire team, which is a good thing for everyone.
"Understood," Serdur nodded.
In the afternoon, they bid farewell to Serdur.
Gauss turned to Aaliyah, "Alright, now it’s just the two of us again. Let’s take this time to rest, stock up on supplies, and learn some spells. And let’s gather some intel on the Jade Forest while we’re at it."
"Sure," Aaliyah responded enthusiastically. "I’ve also used up quite a bit of my casting materials. It’s a good time to stock up on some specialties from Forest Crown Town; they have a wider variety of plants here than Gray Rock Town."
After splitting it, more than thirty gold coins per person were still heavy in their pockets, plus the ones left unspent from before. It was time to spend a wave, converting them into the actual supplies and tools needed.
Young adventurers don’t need to save money; gold is only valuable when spent on supplies, equipment, spells, skills, and knowledge.
They arrived at a blacksmith shop named "Tongue of Fire."
This blacksmith shop was recommended by Sorin before he left, and the owner was one of his kin.
As they pushed the door open, a wave of heat mixed with the scent of metal, coal, and leather greeted them.
The shop was more spacious than expected, and like most blacksmith shops, its walls were lined with various weapons and armor.
From simple farming tools and axes to longswords, scimitars, and chainmail for combat—all were available.
A shirtless dwarf blacksmith, muscles bulging, wearing a thick leather apron, had just completed a work and was dipping a glowing sword blank into a water trough.
The scorching sword blank entered the water with a hiss, raising a large cloud of steam.
He picked up a towel from his shoulder, wiped his sweat, and casually asked the two customers who had just entered, "What do you need?"
"I heard from Sorin that you can do weapon repairs here, right?"
"So...Sorin...oh, it’s you guys. He’s already mentioned you to me," the dwarf’s aloof expression changed at the mention of Sorin’s name. He set aside his tools and wiped his hands.
"Of course, I also take on some weapon repair commissions."
"You can call me Morik."
Perhaps because of the connection through a mutual acquaintance, his attitude noticeably softened.
Upon hearing this, Gauss took out the "Windrunner" acquired from the relic, Aaliyah’s golden dagger, and Serdur’s silver small round shield.
Even though he had used the Windrunner a few times, being buried for hundreds of years meant some maintenance work had to be entrusted to a professional.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Windrunner in such good condition," Dwarf Morik cradled the longsword, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "And this is Dawnlight and Thunderface, right? These were elite weapons popular hundreds of years ago."
"You came to the right person; I assure you, only I, Morik, in all of Forest Crown Town can handle this."
"By the way, did you explore an ancient relic?"
Morik almost immediately recognized the series of weapons and pinpointed their origin.
"Yes," Gauss nodded, not delving into details due to the privacy involved with Sorin and the others.
Morik didn’t mind.
He placed the three pieces of equipment side by side on the workbench, stroking his beard as he spoke.
"Since Sorin referred you, I’ll skip the small talk. The Windrunner, while in great condition, needs a comprehensive overhaul and sharpening to enhance its durability."
"The Dawnlight Dagger requires an energy infusion to awaken it anew..."
"The Thunderface Shield needs edge correction and structural reinforcement..."
After tapping lightly and repeatedly on the weapons for a long time, he offered a quote.
"For all three pieces, with materials and labor, it’ll be 12 gold coins. Come pick them up by the afternoon the day after tomorrow. I guarantee they’ll be as good as new, even better than they are now."
Gauss glanced at Aaliyah.
Then nodded in agreement.
The price may not seem cheap at first, but considering it’s for three weapons, the cost per piece is 4 gold coins.
All three are ancient relics and elite level weapons; prices for elite level weapons typically exceed dozens of gold coins. A major repair requires additional materials from the blacksmith’s side; spending about a tenth of the price seems reasonable.
One can’t expect the cost of repairing elite level weapons to be the same as ordinary iron weapons.
Moreover, these were crafted by dwarves. Even if Sorin is reluctant to admit it, the skills of gray dwarves and regular dwarves come from the same lineage.
These specialty weapons from hundreds of years ago can’t just be handled by a regular blacksmith; they need a dwarf’s expertise.
You cannot be careless with weapons and armor. Though he has already used the Windrunner, and it seemed fine, any minor flaws could become an issue later in battle, leading to irreparable losses.
Reliable weapons and shields are nothing short of a second life for adventurers.
All in all, it’s a fair price, though it’s unclear if Sorin’s connection influenced it.
"Deal, Master Morik. We’ll leave it to you." Gauss readily handed over the 12 gold coins.
His straightforwardness satisfied the dwarf blacksmith, who nodded appreciatively.
"Rest assured, both of you. Come back the evening after tomorrow to pick up your treasures."
Leaving the blacksmith shop,
the two continued to stroll around the nearby commercial street. They replenished essential adventuring supplies in a general store and an herbal shop, such as ropes, grappling hooks, and antidotes, as well as Aaliyah’s casting materials, which included some specific seeds and animal teeth.
Gauss also took the opportunity to purchase some adhesives.
They then moved to the second level of the Adventurer’s Guild to buy a few spells, concluding their shopping journey.
Aaliyah purchased the 1st-level Spell Demon Fire, a crowd-controlling and support spell, which emits a faint glow on affected creatures, revealing invisible enemies or making those in the dark more visible, aiding teammates in increasing attack accuracy.
Gauss bought the 2nd-level Spell Flame Blade.