Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 149 Wood Carving
Previously, when he first received the snake scales from Xia Nan and suggested that she make them into an arm shield.

Barn had already judged the extraordinary nature of this material based on his many years of forging experience.

During the subsequent simple processing, the toughness and hardness of the snake scales themselves were further discovered.

He could even deduce that, in addition to physical defense, the scales themselves likely possessed some form of magical resistance.

However, due to the short processing time and the fact that the ownership of the snake scales was not in their own hands, they were unable to conduct a complete and comprehensive test.

To some extent, if he hadn't actually worked with the so-called "dragon scales" and understood the texture and characteristics of this material, he wouldn't have been able to do so.

Barn even suspected that the scale might have been plucked from a mature dragon by Xia Nan.

In short, in his view, the best approach is to use black scales as the main material, supplemented with metal bone materials of the same or slightly lower grade, combined with his own forging skills.

Leaving aside epic artifacts, it's quite easy to get a decent piece of magic equipment.

However, Xia Nan had not yet obtained a professional level at that time, and was short of money. He did not have enough financial resources to pay the high bills, so there was no follow-up.

They simply used the hardness of the scales to make a makeshift arm shield to "make do".

Now, it seems there's a turning point.

"You mean, use this bone as a supplementary material for the scales to upgrade the arm shield into a magical equipment?"

Xia Nan looked at Barn, who was carefully examining the bone club in front of him, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

I learned from the other party that the magical equipment was very expensive to make. I thought I would need to save up money for a while before the snake scales could perform their intended function.

Unexpectedly, things have taken a turn for the better.

“It’s just an idea yet.” Barn ran his hands over the surface of the bone rod inch by inch, carefully feeling its texture. “The specifics will depend on how well it fits the scales and how it performs during forging.”

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious. He put down the bone club in his hand and looked at Xia Nan.

"You need to be mentally prepared for failure first."

"After all, the materials themselves have not undergone detailed testing, and all sorts of strange little changes will always occur during forging."

"If it is later discovered that the scales and bones are not compatible, then I suggest that you stop making them. Forcibly fusing two unsuitable materials together will not only compromise the stability of the equipment, but will also significantly reduce its defensive strength."

"On the contrary, it was a waste of two precious materials."

"So..." Xia Nan's gaze swept over the pale, shimmering surface of the bone club, "we need to prepare a second plan?"

Barn nodded, and without keeping Xia Nan in suspense, directly explained his thoughts.

"Aside from what was mentioned before, using bone as an auxiliary material for the arm shield."

"I can offer you three solutions right now."

Three calloused fingers were held up in front of Xia Nan.

"The first and simplest option is to put it aside for now."

"If you're sure the scales don't fit the bone, and you don't want to just throw it away, you might as well leave it alone and find a safe place to store the bone."

"We'll handle it ourselves once we find a skilled craftsman or the right materials."

Well... he wasn't really in a hurry to convert materials into combat power.

If there's no suitable way to handle it, perhaps you could consider depositing it in the bank first and dealing with it later?
Xia Nan nodded: "And then?"

“The second one.” Barn lowered a finger, his deep voice echoing among the metalware on the surrounding shelves. “Sell it to me.”

"I won't take advantage of you. I can hire a professional appraiser to value this bone, and I'll pay for the appraisal."

"In most cases, materials that can be made into magical equipment are not cheap, so you can rest assured about that."

Upon hearing this, Xia Nan nodded inwardly.

The other party's suggestion coincided with my own thoughts before I came.

Instead of going through all that fancy stuff, it's more practical to simply cash in and turn those useless bone sticks into bank deposits.

After all, in theory, as long as you have enough gold coins, you can easily get anything, whether it's the Serpent Scale Arm Shield or any other magical equipment.

Of course, that's what I was thinking.

Whether or not it will be sold depends on the offer from the other party.

He did not respond immediately, but gestured for Barn to continue.

"As for the last one..."

At this point, Barn, who had been quite serious and stern, suddenly showed a kind smile on his face.

Reaching up and touching the back of his head, he explained with a smile:
"Actually, I was just short of some materials for a piece of equipment I recently crafted, and I was even thinking of posting a bounty on it at the guild."

“I just checked it, and the material of your bone perfectly meets my requirements.”

“If the bone rod and arm shield are indeed incompatible, perhaps you could consider selling me a portion of the bone as payment for labor.”

"I can make you a piece of armor from the remaining parts, the kind that's enchanted, and I'll give you a pretty good discount on the overall cost."

After saying that, Xia Nan's heart stirred.

Given the difficulty in developing [Gravity Control], [Fang Hunt], [Whirlwind Slash], and [Gravity Etching] are all offensive combat techniques.

Even with good mobility, it's impossible to guarantee that you can evade all attacks.

The physical damage reduction probability of 【Copper Bones and Iron Body】 is only 0.5%, which is basically impossible to trigger in normal combat.

Compared to other aspects, "defense capability" is undoubtedly his weakness.

His aggressive and ferocious fighting style makes it even more necessary for him to use armor to increase his margin for error.

This is why Xia Nan never skimps on gold coins when it comes to equipment.

Even if it's just a minor scratch, it's sent to a blacksmith for repairs; if it affects the defensive capabilities, it's sold off and replaced with a new one.

A piece of armor with excellent defensive capabilities can make up for his weaknesses and greatly enhance his combat power.

If this bone club could actually be crafted into enchanted armor, that would be wonderful.

Of course, this is all on the premise that the price is right.

As for Xia Nan's vaguely mentioned concerns, Barn just laughed twice, indicating that there was no need to worry.

Although it is a legitimate magical equipment, the main materials were provided by Xia Nan himself, so there was no need to spend extra money.

The majority of the labor costs were offset by the bone clubs he sold to Barn.

In the end, all Xia Nan had to pay was some auxiliary materials and a small portion of the reduced labor costs.

The overall price was even discounted.

"It should only cost around 300 to 500 gold, but the exact amount depends on the specific circumstances."

500 gold...?

Looking at Barn's expression, which seemed to suggest that he was thinking of Barn's best interests and had saved him a lot of money.

Xia Nan's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

I feel like my hard-earned savings are about to be hit by an unprecedented wave of massive spending.

Even before giving anything, there is already a bleeding pain in my heart.

Barn has a good reputation and many professional customers who know he won't try to cheat them on prices.

He had already learned about the high price of magical equipment through various channels.

I know the other party's quote is indeed discounted.

After careful consideration, he had already formed a preliminary idea.

All three of Barn's proposed solutions were based on the premise that the scales and bones did not fit together.

If the two materials are compatible and can be combined to form an upgraded arm shield, then there's no need to say more.

If the compatibility isn't high... then we'll discuss it further.

After exchanging a few more words with Barn, they left the Serpent Scale Arm Shield at the blacksmith shop for compatibility testing and would retrieve it in a few days.

Xia Nan then turned and left the blacksmith's shop, wearing the chainmail shirt he had just bought for 50 gold.

The equipment-related matters have been resolved.

Next, I need to go to the general store.

……

……

Fairy Wind. In just a few months, this general store, renowned in town for the owner's exceptional appraisal skills, remained largely unchanged.

It still looks spacious and bright, with a simple yet thoughtful layout.

The shop owner, Farilo, gradually recovered from the previous theft and was no longer anxious and depressed. He regained his usual seriousness and composure.

Xia Nan remembered hearing other adventurers mention in the tavern that what was stolen was an ancestral item from Farillo's family. Although he didn't know the specific style and value, judging from the other party's uneasy appearance at the time, it was obviously very important to him.

It seems someone later provided a clue, saying they saw a man in black emerge from Fairy Wind and flee the town overnight.

Farrillo even increased the reward for this.

Unfortunately, no one has been able to provide any further clues until now.

Xia Nan shook his head.

Since it had nothing to do with him, he listened to it as just gossip to satisfy his curiosity, without being truly interested.

Without thinking further, I stepped into the shop.

Unexpectedly, a vaguely familiar figure came into view.

It was the same middle-aged adventurer who had tried to scam Barn at the "Rockhammer" blacksmith shop.

I remember being bumped into by him on the way out, but he seemed to recognize me through the decapitation sword and didn't dare to harass me.

I thought they were just passersby I'd never see again, but I never expected to run into them here.

With a slight frown, Xia Nan saw that the other person was standing behind the shelf carefully selecting goods and did not seem to be looking for trouble, so he also looked away and walked towards the shop owner.

"Boom."

Fine pebbles, separated by a soft cloth bag, fell gently onto the table with a dull thud.

"Could you please help me with this identification?"

"Okay, please wait a moment, sir."

Farrillo took the bag, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses sweeping across Xia Nan's face, his tone aloof yet polite, typical of a service industry worker.

They clearly did not recognize the customer who had visited several times before.

This is quite normal.

Every day, we receive countless adventurers. Not to mention their names, even memorizing every single face is an extremely difficult task.

Unlike Rockhammer Blacksmith Shop, which he frequented due to its high equipment replacement rate, Xia Nan did not have any special performance in Fairy Wind.

He was just an ordinary customer who had visited a few times.

Of course, if he can help the shop owner find the lost family heirloom, he might really be remembered for a lifetime.

His professional skills remain unchanged.

Squinting, he examined them closely, pinching each of the shiny little stones one by one.

Within a minute or two, Farrillo gave his offer:

"Tiger's Eye stones, two for a total of 20 gold, market price."

"One blue quartz stone and one turquoise stone, that's 42 gold coins for you."

"Hmm, this onyx is of good quality and a decent size, 47 gold."

"In total, it's... 109 gold."

"How about it?"

Carefully placing the black and white opaque gemstone between his fingers back into his cloth bag, Farrillo raised his head and looked at Xia Nan in front of the counter.

"How about 120 gold?"

"115?"

"make a deal."

The potential for huge expenses from the Rockhammer Blacksmith Shop prompted Xia Nan to tentatively try to negotiate the price.

However, he was not good at this kind of thing, and the price offered by the other party was reasonable. After one round of negotiation, he stopped wasting words and nodded in agreement.

His net worth instantly soared to over 800,000 gold.

Unconsciously, I regained my confidence.

Not in a hurry to leave, he casually glanced at the store shelves while there was still time.

"Insect-repellent resin sachet - 9 silver, 8 copper"

"Shimmering Moss Powder - 5 Silver 6 Copper"

"Wolverine Oil Ointment - 3 Gold, 7 Silver"

"..."

His gaze suddenly stopped.

On the lower left side of the shelf, near the center, was a statue about the size of a palm.

To be honest, the statue's appearance is not remarkable, far from being easily recognizable on a shelf piled high with countless miscellaneous goods.

It was covered in dust and had no coloring, looking just like a small stone that could be found anywhere by the roadside.

But don't know why.

It's like a drop of oil stuck in clear water.

When Xia Nan's gaze swept over...
Before even their brains realized it, while they were still thinking about whether or not to buy something, their gaze had already instinctively stopped on the statue.

A strange feeling suddenly arose in my heart.

Take two steps closer and observe carefully.

"Huh? Not a stone?"

The statue's dull, bluish-gray color led him to believe it was carved from cheap stone.

Only after getting closer did I notice the fine, fingerprint-like textures on its surface.

It must be some kind of wood with a special color.

As for the specific content of the carvings...

It appears to be a bipedal deer, or perhaps a sheep?

It wasn't that Xia Nan lacked common sense in recognizing animals, but rather that the lines on the wooden statue were too blurry, barely outlining a general shape.

If he hadn't confirmed the material of the wood, he would have thought that what he was looking at was not a "statue" hand-carved by intelligent beings, but a stone that had been naturally formed by the erosion of wind and rain over countless years.

It was like a subtle feeling that made him unconsciously stop looking at the countless odds and ends of the market.

While Xia Nan was wondering about the form of the "statue," his mind was already unwittingly drawn to it, falling into an invisible vortex.

The field of vision was instantly widened.

Go deeper, sink deeper.

Those fine, ring-like lines, like strands of hair fluttering in the wind, meander upwards from the tips of the synapses, extending all the way to the dark, still depths of the soul…

hum-

I was suddenly interrupted!
Excessive concentration caused the semi-transparent characters to appear before one's eyes.

Xia Nan suddenly shivered, and his previously unfocused and dazed eyes regained their luster.

Consciousness returns to reality.

Before me was a familiar, stable, and incredibly reliable attribute panel.

……

[Sheep and Deer Portrait]

Type: Statue

grade:/
Introduction:

Like the rings of a tree and the tides, you wouldn't want to know the secrets hidden in those folds.

Remarks:

"Ef'tisuuHai'lot'vhuVurahkia"

(End of this chapter)