Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 226 The Yewwood Staff and the Soaked Sponge
Rockhammer Blacksmith Shop, as one of the most reputable blacksmith shops in Riverdale, may not offer particularly affordable prices for equipment recycling.

However, due to its good reputation and the channels that the shop owner, Barn, had accumulated over the years, it had formed deep relationships with a considerable number of adventurers.

This made them willing to sell their spoils to this straightforward dwarf even if they earned a few less gold coins.

Over the years, I have encountered countless adventurers and recovered equipment for an untold number of guests.

Even though he had no intention of studying this in depth, his extremely rich experience passively allowed Barn to gradually learn to judge the mission objectives, whether the journey was going smoothly, and the types of enemies by looking at the spoils obtained by adventurers.

Scratches, dents, minor wear and tear, chips, cracks, severe damage, melting, freezing, acid corrosion, and even the adventurer's expression and equipment condition when selling loot can all help him deduce what happened on his adventure.

Right now, Xia Nan first took out two standard short daggers from the Underdark, commonly found among wanderers, and then pulled out a precious enchanted stone spear that was most likely produced by the sea and had a unique effect.

Adding to this the broken yew staff, it's hard not to suspect that the other party had a conflict with an entire adventurer party during their adventure.

Considering that the person standing in front of him was Xia Nan himself, and not some other adventurer who came to trade with a decapitation sword or a wooden sword.

The armor was severely damaged, but there were no obvious signs of injury.

The outcome of the conflict between the two sides was predictable.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to the area below the counter, where he glanced at the plate chainmail armor with its surface bearing menacing claw marks, awaiting repair.

Barn had some guesses in his mind, but he was also very professional and didn't ask any more questions.

He silently accepted the staff offered to him and examined it carefully.

"The texture is fine and smooth, the surface is dark and yellowish-brown, with small scars in some places, and the growth rings are not very obvious. The quality is average."

“But it is indeed yew wood, there’s no mistake.” He tapped the cane lightly with his knuckles, the sound dull.

Although he is called a "blacksmith", as a professional blacksmith capable of crafting magical equipment, Barn also has considerable knowledge of other materials besides metal ironware, though he is not as proficient in them.

"The wood itself isn't tough enough." Short, stubby fingers, like radishes, rubbed the broken end of the staff. "And the material wasn't chosen well. If it's subjected to even a little force, or if it's dropped, it'll break very easily."

"The craftsmanship is also very... simple and unpretentious."

"There is no metal reinforcement, no rune patterns, and not even much polishing. It's just a random tree branch that's been rounded and polished a bit, and it looks about the same as this one."

"This must have come from a newly initiated, not-so-wealthy mage apprentice, or a novice craftsman whose skills are not yet proficient?"

"If you want to recycle it..."

"Huh? Wait..."

From Xia Nan's perspective, Barn, after receiving the staff, was just like before, flipping through the equipment while muttering his own judgment to himself.

Even if you don't know much about this area and can't understand the technical terms that occasionally pop out from the other person's mouth, you can tell from their appearance that they have a deep understanding of the equipment they brought out.

After hearing Barn's analysis of the yew wood staff, Xia Nan had already given up hope that it could be sold for a lot of money.

Although it was a weapon used by a spellcaster, it had been broken by the Owl Bear and was only of ordinary quality, so it was probably not worth much.

But what I didn't expect was.

The examination was almost over, and Barn had even made a forward motion with his arm, intending to return the yew staff to Xia Nan.

At the last moment, it was as if they had suddenly discovered something.

His hands suddenly paused, and he pulled the wooden staff back.

His head lolled closer, his wide, coin-sized eyes almost touching the surface of the staff, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, and the words he spoke becoming increasingly indistinct.

The time spent on the yew staff was even more than that spent on the dagger and the stone spear combined.

Even after placing the staff back on the table, he remained silent with a furrowed brow and a thoughtful expression.

Two or three minutes passed before he suddenly looked up again and slowly asked:
"If you could tell me about this staff, could you please tell me its origin?"

"A suspected spellcaster under the Druid class." The investigation quest has been completed and submitted. As long as the information about Mint doesn't involve [Tears of Spring Breath], there's nothing wrong with saying it. "She is also a beastman."

"Druid...orc..."

Barn crossed his thick arms over his chest, his muscles bulging, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper, as if he were deep in thought.

Finally, he stared at the staff for a long time, as if confirming something, before finally telling Xia Nan about his discovery.

"I'm very sorry, but you may need to find an expert with the relevant appraisal capabilities to determine the actual condition of this staff."

"It looks simple and natural on the outside, and it is the same on the inside. From any perspective, it should be a common and ordinary broken staff."

"I believe I am not mistaken about this."

"But strangely, compared to those common ordinary equipment, or even enchanted weapons with special effects, this yew staff gives people a deep and viscous feeling."

"This may sound a bit abstract, and you may not be able to feel it, but for us craftsmen who have handled countless types of equipment, this feeling is very clear."

"If I had to describe it, it's like a hard sponge that's soaked in water. It feels like ordinary wood, but if you can feel the 'moisture' condensed on its surface and carefully feel the 'dampness,' you'll discover its difference."

Barn's words piqued Xia Nan's curiosity, and she couldn't help but pick up the staff on the counter and concentrate on sensing it.

Surprisingly, perhaps it was his extraordinary perception that took effect without anyone noticing, but after Barn said that, the staff, which had never shown any abnormality before, actually seemed to have undergone some kind of change.

It's definitely not just psychological.

Even though he didn't have as much experience with equipment as his opponent, and there were differences in his perception of specific details, he could still faintly and clearly sense that invisible substance, like gas or liquid, solidified on the surface of the staff.

"What's this?"

Xia Nan couldn't help but ask.

"You can touch it!?"

Seeing that he seemed to genuinely sense the difference between the staff and ordinary equipment, Barn showed a surprised expression, paused for a moment, and then replied:

"I can't say for sure, but I've seen the same thing twice."

"The first time was when I was still honing my skills in the clan, before I came to River Valley Town. In one of the materials provided in a round of the clan's forging competition, there was an iron ingot stained with crimson blood."

"To be on the safe side, I didn't choose to use it to forge equipment for the competition. As a result, the iron ingot was chosen by another blacksmith whose skills were about the same as mine. Well... he didn't make it to the next round."

"The second time was three years ago, from an adventurer who had already left the town, a delicate dagger used for rituals—which was eventually bought by a wealthy collector from Newme."

“I remember it very well because that deal earned me nearly three hundred gold coins.”

"And it must be noted that the bloodstained iron ingot, the ritual dagger, and this broken staff give me a similar feeling, but they are also distinctly different in the details."

As he gently rubbed his fingertips against the surface of the staff, the cool, hard feel of the wood seemed to cause the invisible aura surrounding it to condense and adhere with each touch. While processing the information Barn had given him, Xia Nan felt a pang of regret.

Perhaps the yew wood staff was completely broken, or perhaps it never had the nature of being an "equipment".

This made it impossible for Xia Nan to view its attribute panel, no matter how much he concentrated—he had already tried many times before coming here.

This is why Xia Nan brought him to the blacksmith shop.

He hoped Barn could offer some help, at least to let him know if it was worth anything, or how much it was worth.

Now that the other party has given us this advice, things have become more complicated.

It would be better to be more straightforward; it's just a completely damaged ordinary staff, so we can just sell it to him.

The market is stuck in this limbo; I'm afraid of losing a lot of money if I sell it, but keeping it is pointless.

Instead, it made me even more conflicted.

"We can't possibly spend money to buy another Appraisal scroll, can we?"

If the test results are unsatisfactory, then he will have really lost a lot of money on this adventure.

In response, Barn once again offered his advice.

"Since you plan to consign the stone spear to the Adventurers' Guild, you might as well take this yew staff with you as well."

"I remember that the association would provide relatively inexpensive appraisal services for professional adventurers who were qualified to go to the second floor—of course, it often required an appointment in advance and waiting in line for a while."

“The professional appraisers hired by those associations may not be spellcasters, nor do they know ‘appraisal magic,’ but their eyesight is absolutely trustworthy.”

"Especially with these strange things, they definitely have much more experience with them than I do."

Appraiser? Is that even a concept?

Why didn't Jasmine tell me this before?
Xia Nan couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

Of course, he didn't ask directly.

After thanking Barn again, Shanan put the staff back into his backpack.

It's clear that he was much more careful when he took it out of there earlier.

After spending some more time at the Rockhammer blacksmith shop, discussing with Barn matters regarding the upgrade of the Serpent Scale Arm Shield, [they] left.

Xia Nan bid farewell to the blacksmith shop and headed back towards the association.

Walking along the bustling streets, my gaze swept over the various adventurers in front of me.

Xia Nan was making plans in his mind.

The [Bone-Binding Iron Legs] I ordered from Barn cost me a full 500 gold.

This was even after he had provided the main materials and received a discount on labor and auxiliary material costs from the other party.

While upgrading the Serpent Scale Arm Shield still doesn't require the main material, the Dark Serpent Scales from the Eastern Secret Realm are of much higher quality than the bone club used to make leg armor.

Correspondingly, the equipment made from it will definitely be several levels higher, and it might even be the first piece of purple equipment in your life.

In addition, there are other miscellaneous expenses.

500 gold is definitely not enough!
Right now, Xia Nan has all his assets.

Subtract the 45 gold needed for armor repair, add the 53 gold for the Viris poison and the Eye Demon materials, the 37 gold for the two daggers, the loose gold coins found on the corpses of Cash and Viris, and his bank deposits.

The total is 554 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze, and 9 points.

—The rewards for the previous Newm City advancement mission were raised by one level after Jasmine appealed to the association. They were distributed a month ago and Xia Nan divided them into 30 gold coins and 5 points.

The remaining 4 points came from the beast clearing missions I took with the Seathorn Squad over the past month and a half.

These commissions are the lowest level on the second-floor task board, and the rewards are split with teammates after completion, so they accumulate more resources more slowly.

Once Xia Nan starts adventuring in solo mode, his efficiency should be much higher.

I estimate that it will take about half a year to accumulate enough for a normal quality combat skill.

You need to prepare funds to buy the "Remove Curse" spell scroll, and also plan for upgrading the [Serpent Scale Arm Shield].

"Where should I get these gold coins?"

Thinking about ways to make money, Xia Nan returned to the Adventurers' Guild once again.

It was already evening, and Jasmine, who was in charge of reception, seemed to be nearing the end of her shift.

Sitting behind the counter, he was no longer listless as he was during the day. He sat quite upright, but he also revealed a palpable sense of impatience.

As the light outside gradually dimmed, the frequency of glancing at the clock on the wall next to him increased, as he eagerly awaited the end of the workday.

It was precisely because of his frequent glances towards the gate that Xia Nan was noticed by the association as soon as he entered.

"Mr. Xia Nan, I have already put your quest on the quest wall for you, which is to find a caster who has the ability to remove curses."

"The results of the investigation into the beastmen are still under review and confirmation. You will need to wait three days. I..."

Seeing the short-haired girl rush out from behind the counter to greet him, Xia Nan waved to her.

"That's not why."

He bounced the [Tidal Lure Rod] wrapped in the cotton cloth given to him by Barn behind him and asked Jasmine:
"I heard that the association can consign equipment?"

Upon hearing this, Jasmine paused for a moment, then suddenly glanced nervously around as if she were doing something wrong. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she deliberately lowered her voice:
"Yes, sir, but for equipment of average quality, I would actually recommend that you sell it to the blacksmith or general store in town."

"After all, the fees there are much cheaper than those at the association, and it's faster and doesn't have as many annoying procedures."

Xia Nan simply stared at the other person in silence, without saying a word.

Upon seeing this reaction, Jasmine suddenly realized that what he needed to consign was not the "ordinary equipment" she had mentioned.

Knowing that there were many people and eyes in the lobby, he didn't say anything, but instead turned to the side and led Xia Nan directly to the stairwell.

"It's on the second floor, Mr. Xia Nan."

"I will show you the way."

(End of this chapter)