Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 322 [Emberfall]

"I wouldn't have asked if I had known..."

Xia Nan walked down the street, her expression as calm and undisturbed as ever.

His torn shirt stained with blood, his well-made arm shield and leg armor, the sword hilt hanging from his back, and the refined aura he exuded all contributed to his striking appearance.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was a seasoned adventurer with formidable strength who had just returned from a mission.

The cold, aura emanating from him caused passersby on the road to quicken their pace and part to make way for him, even without any extra movements or expressions.

His eyes were deep and dark, and his wispy hair swayed like shadows, covering his forehead.

No one knew what this cold and dangerous young man with black hair was thinking at this moment.

Xia Nan felt as if her heart was bleeding.

His physical abilities, far exceeding those of professionals, and his exceptional perception allowed him to recall the moment he swung the knife with unparalleled clarity, as if replaying a video.

The sharp blade, gleaming with a cold light and carrying a bursting, ochre-red force field, sliced ​​open the wound on the armored monster's chest.

Wherever the lightsaber went, the tightly packed fibrous muscle bundles and diaphragms offered no resistance and were easily severed.

The force field energy penetrated deep inside, crushing the monster's organs.

Xia Nan could even recall the slight hesitation his longsword felt when it entered the armored monster's body, and the more brittle and tender sensation when its gills burst open compared to its muscular form.

That was the sound of gold coins that should have been in hand vanishing into nothingness in an instant.

After traveling through time, he felt the weighty significance of "knowledge" for the first time.

If he had known beforehand that the feathered gills were worth so much money, he would definitely have chosen a more agile approach to fight the heavily injured and weakened Armored Monster, minimizing damage to its internal organs.

If he had known beforehand that the feathered gills were worth so much money, he would have swung his sword a little lower to avoid that crucial spot.

If you...

At this point, there's no point in feeling regretful anymore.

Xia Nan decided to double the time he used to urgently study various knowledge of this world during his rest time in town, in addition to his daily training, from the recent 1.5 hours to 3 hours.

They also increased the proportion of time spent learning about the body structure of various monsters and high-value materials.

The continent of Aifara is vast and boundless, and the number of monsters living on it is countless.

Even the most experienced adventurers wouldn't dare say they fully understand the material value of every single monster.

For Xia Nan, this was undoubtedly a long process with no end in sight.

Even after several years of such training, incidents like the Armored Monster with Feathered Gills may still occur frequently.

But he is not the type to give up just because the chances of success are too slim.

Whether to take action or not, whether to do something or not, are completely different in nature.

Currently, all the materials collected during this mission have been processed at the "Grass Cauldron." The Thorn Demon-related items sold for 60 gold, while the Armored Monster's nerve fibers, some carapace, and eyeballs would fetch even higher prices. Edwina helped Xia Nan round it up to exactly 100 gold.

Adding these together, the total gain is 160 gold.

"If we could have brought back that feather gill, we could have earned an extra three hundred gold coins, which would have made up for the shortfall in the longsword reforging."

There are lingering memories in my heart.

Xia Nan shook her head slightly, no longer thinking about it.

After processing all the materials, he still had some loot left.

He planned to take the weapons from the little devil and the bearded demon to the Rockhammer blacksmith shop, to inspect the reforged longsword and see if he could sell them for a good price.

……

I've walked this familiar road countless times.

When Xia Nan arrived at Rock Hammer Blacksmith Shop carrying the bundle containing the devil's weapon, the tall and muscular figure was, as always, standing behind the counter, intently wiping and maintaining the metal parts in his hands with gauze.

I greeted him from afar, and the other person looked up in response.

As he responded, his gaze swept over Xia Nan's shirt, which was unprotected by armor, and then glanced at the hilt of the sword that remained on his back.

The blacksmith, renowned in River Valley, wore a familiar, even somewhat relieved smile.

"I remember you just bought that plate chainmail armor not long ago, right?"

“It’s only been a few days.” Xia Nan nodded slightly. “I haven’t even opened the maintenance tools you gave me back then.”

"That longsword that you said was for temporary use, I remember telling you to take good care of it, and that I could buy it back at a high price after your new sword is forged, right?"

Clinging to a last shred of hope, Barn pressed on.

"I wasn't very lucky. This mission was a bit dangerous, and I wasn't paying attention for a moment..." Xia Nan shrugged helplessly.

Although this situation has happened many times before, and the other party should be used to it, this time not only the armor was destroyed, but the longsword was also ruined.

Worried that Barn might overthink things, Xia Nan carefully chose her words and added:
"Don't worry, it's not a quality issue. It's purely because the intensity of the battle was too high, coupled with some unexpected emergencies."

He said the same thing more than once.

Barn certainly understood what Xia Nan was trying to say.

But as a craftsman who left his clan and came to the dangerous front lines to open a blacksmith shop, he was responsible and had a pursuit of forging.

Despite the fact that the youth armor had such a high failure rate, requiring replacement almost every mission, he couldn't help but feel disheartened.

There are faint signs that his "Daoist heart is broken".

Therefore, recently, after completing the armor forged by Barn, he even added several extra steps to test its strength and toughness, just to minimize the possibility of overlooking defective products.

Although he didn't say it, the plate chain composite armor he sold to Xia Nan that day was a special product that he had prepared in advance, which had undergone extremely detailed testing and inspection, and even had some parts reinforced.

As a result, the rate of obsolescence was even faster than before.

Even the specially made two-handed longsword was rendered useless.

"Did you bring back their remains? Could I take a look?" Barn asked earnestly. "I don't mean anything by it, I just want to know where things went wrong so I can make improvements later."

His mind involuntarily recalled the plate chainmail armor that had melted into a heavy pile of scrap metal and fallen to the ground after being struck by the demonic spellcaster's lightning bolt during the battle, and the two-handed longsword in its [Echoes] state, pitted and cratered from the embers, only good for opening crab claws.

Xia Nan was speechless for a moment.

After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly in a relatively sincere tone:
"They were all quite damaged and there was no possibility of recovery. In addition, I needed to bring back a lot of loot and materials for this mission, so I didn't bring them back."

Upon hearing this, Barn's gaze subconsciously swept over the bundle Xia Nan was carrying.

Sighed:

"Let's talk about it next time then."

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man with a braided beard changed his expression from slightly melancholy and helplessness to obvious excitement.

He put the ironware back under the counter, tossed the gauze into the scrap heap, and turned to walk quickly into the inner room.
"Your decapitation sword has been reforged."

"A great success! You'll be absolutely satisfied!" "Come with me!"

Filled with intense anticipation, Xia Nan quickly followed.

The furnishings in the blacksmith's shop were basically the same as before, except that the thick wooden table that used to be piled with blueprints and various measuring and forging tools had been completely cleaned up.

There was only a long, rectangular oak box on the table.

Barn stopped at the doorway and did not move forward.

With his arms crossed over his chest and his head slightly raised, he gestured to Xia Nan with a somewhat smug expression, indicating that he should go up and open it himself.

"They even put on quite a sense of ceremony."

He muttered to himself, but he wasn't offended at all; in fact, he was even starting to look forward to it.

Speaking of which, the three thousand gold coins spent to reforge the longsword, roughly converted into purchasing power, would probably be enough to buy a property in a first-tier city in my previous life.

It's normal to make the acceptance ceremony a bit more solemn.

Stepping forward and standing by the table, Xia Nan took a deep breath.

Then, with both hands extended forward, he gently lifted the lid of the wooden box.

hum-

His dark eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light that disappeared in an instant.

What came into view was a long, straight sword that was entirely gray and black.

The blade has a clean, diamond-shaped cross-section, tapering evenly from the guard to the tip in one continuous motion. The blade lines on both sides are as straight as a ruler, like two deep, dark lines that have a sharp edge. Only when the sunlight from outside the window shines on them does the hidden sharpness become apparent.
The handle is modified from the staff of the [Ember Instructor's Staff], which comes from an exotic secret realm. It has the same color scheme, and the dense and tough dark wood extends down like the blade of a sword. The surface has been polished and processed. The simple style without any extra decorations can be vaguely seen through the wood grain. The friction is enhanced by processing the natural dense grain of the material.
Both are made of the same material as the blade. The gray-black guard extends smoothly to both sides, protruding only slightly to facilitate cutting with a rope. There are no extra branches, and the style is neat and efficient.

Compared to the previous decapitation sword, this straight sword is significantly darker in color.

If it was a slightly shiny metallic gray color before recasting.

Right now, it looks more like the dark gray of dusk as the sun sets and the sky becomes hazy.

The length has been shortened, from the original four feet to less than three feet now, somewhere between a two-handed longsword and a one-handed sword; the width has also been slightly reduced, about three fingers close together.

The straight sword lay quietly in the wooden box, yet it inexplicably gave people a profound sense of highly condensed power, like a solid shadow folded from the night sky, long and silent, forming a unique aesthetic of cold efficiency.

Xia Nan extended his right hand and gently grasped the sword hilt.

A unique warmth and coolness, characteristic of wood, emanates from the palm of your hand, accompanied by the swirling, curving grain of the wooden handle.

Just as he gripped the handle tightly, before he could exert any force, Xia Nan suddenly felt a wisp of scorching heat, almost like an illusion, surge from his fingertips and seep into his body.

The embers of [Echoes] seemed to be touched and began to circulate slightly.

As if possessing some kind of spirituality, sensing the embers within Xia Nan's body, the straight sword, which had been lying quietly in the box, suddenly trembled slightly, and a light humming sound burst forth in the air.

Xia Nan vaguely felt that there was an invisible connection between him and the straight sword.

While secretly amazed, I had some vague guesses.

Clench your fists and exert force with your arms.

The buzzing sound was fleeting, and a line of black light flashed through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the straight sword had been taken out of the wooden box by Xia Nan.

The material is significantly denser, and although its length and width have decreased compared to before recasting, its weight has increased by almost half.

Even with Xia Nan's current physical condition, it felt heavy and substantial in his hand.

Just what he wanted!
As a melee weapon that requires force to be used in combat, lightness is certainly an advantage. However, if it is too light, it will not feel solid when swung, giving people a feeling of emptiness that is light and powerless.

The weight of the straight sword is just right right now. It's not too light to affect combat effectiveness, nor is it so heavy that it requires a lot of effort to use. It's in a range where it can fluctuate freely, which is just right.

While Xia Nan felt extremely comfortable and at ease, he was not particularly surprised.

As the client, he was deeply involved in the entire process of reforging the longsword.

It can be described as tailor-made.

Barn consulted Barn on everything, from the weight of the finished product to the length of the blade, the shape of the guard, and even the texture of the hilt.

Xia Nan clearly remembers that, in order to find the most comfortable weapon weight for himself, the dwarf craftsman even made five special sample swords and spent three whole days with him simulating various situations and recording a large amount of data before finally finding the most suitable weight for him.

The result of their painstaking efforts was the straight sword itself, which offered Xia Nan an unprecedented and unparalleled wonderful feel.

It's as if even the palm lines blend seamlessly with the wood grain on the sword hilt.

Although it was his first time holding a sword, it gave him a familiar feeling as if they had been through countless battles together.

With a slight expansion of his muscles, he exerted force, and the dark gray blade gently sliced ​​through the air.

That subtle, effortless feeling made the straight sword seem like an extension of his arm at that moment.

Wielding a sword is as simple as eating and drinking, almost like a natural instinct.

Xia Nan carefully examined the sword, focusing his attention on its blade.

Then, semi-transparent characters slowly emerged from the void.

……

【Ember】

Type: Straight sword

Tier: Rare (Blue) / Epic (Purple)

effect:

1.+100% durability;

2. +15% decapitation damage;

3. +5% slash damage;

4. +10% Special Damage (Mind);

5. +33% damage against ghost-type creatures;

6. [Molten Reshaping]: The embers flowing through the blade will automatically restore the blade's durability and slightly increase the ember damage.

7. While in the Ember state, enemies killed with this sword will have their cooldown time of [Ember Echo] reduced to a certain extent;

Introduction:

A relic from the dead world, a extinguished ember, you know how to use it, right?

Remarks:

"Burn... consider it the very act of 'existence' itself..."

(End of this chapter)