Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

As John descended the narrow stairs, a bright and open space suddenly appeared before him.

The underground space was quite large, appearing to be over 100 square meters in area. The entire room was supported by only four pillars in the middle, and the walls were piled with all sorts of strange items, which looked to be materials from various magical beasts, but they were scattered and there were no particularly large items. However, there was one thing that surprised Little John: a whole wild boar's head hanging on the wall. This boar's head was red and about the size of a cow's head. Judging from its appearance, it had been processed and showed no signs of decay.

The entire space was filled with a strange smell, not exactly foul, but just unpleasant. Little John naturally reached out to cover his nose, but his action was noticed by the old man Martial, who turned around. "Are you disgusted by the smell here? You should know that this is the smell of the essence extracted from top-grade magical beast blood. Ordinary people can't smell it so easily."

"Hmm," John mumbled a reply. He didn't know what blood essence was, but Mary had mentioned the vampire count to him when it came to blood. The count didn't have much of a smell; if he had to say he did, it would probably be the smell of alcohol. "This is your, uh, studio?"

"A studio?" Martial pondered the word, then shook his head. "Don't use vulgar terms to describe this place. This space is my creative home, the cradle where magical artifacts are born."

He casually picked up an iron gauntlet from the side. "See this? A gauntlet inlaid with monster bones. If the opponent attacks you with a sword, you can use the gauntlet to block it. The beast bone will explode, and the flying bone spikes will quickly pierce into the enemy's body."

"Uh, those exploding bone spikes might blow me up too," Little John said, pursing his lips. "And what if I wear the arm guards backwards? Won't they explode after I bump into them?"

Old man Martial stared wide-eyed at little John by the stairs, and just as the other man was feeling uncomfortable, he suddenly said, "Your suggestion is very important. I want to improve the arm guards and write 'This side faces the enemy' on them."

John's lips twitched. He had just wondered if his teasing remarks had offended the other man. If the old man had pointed the arm guard at him, would it have been too late to run? To his surprise, the old man had actually considered his suggestion. John couldn't help but smile wryly and then looked at Sophia beside him.

"He can be a bit crazy most of the time, but he becomes much more normal when it comes to making magical items," Sophia said with a shrug.

"I think he's gotten even crazier," John muttered to himself.

"Now, generous boss, can you tell me where your magical materials are?" Martial tossed the arm guards he was holding onto the table with a clatter, a casual movement that even startled Little John.

"Ah, things," Little John looked at the arm guard, and after confirming that it hadn't exploded at all, he continued somewhat awkwardly, "The things are in the warehouse in the dock area. A complete set of intermediate-level magical beast bones, fish bones, and a complete set of primary-level magical beast skin, a chameleon's."

As he spoke, he took out a white bone fragment from the leather bag at his back and handed it to the old man.

"Wait, what's this?" Martial exclaimed as soon as he saw what the other person was holding.

"I managed to get a small piece of that giant fish's bone with great difficulty, you can take a look..." Little John explained.

But he was immediately interrupted by the old man's shout, "What have you done? You actually damaged that set of bones! Who gave you the courage to pry off this treasure with such a clumsy kitchen knife?"

"Uh, I didn't use a kitchen knife, no, wait," John immediately retorted, "I only took this piece to have someone check the material. I can't just drag anyone to the warehouse to look at it, can I?"

Old Martial, hearing the other's rebuttal, knew it made sense, but he still angrily snatched the bone fragment, turned his back, and completely ignored the somewhat puzzled little John.

"That's just how he is," Sophia said, shrugging as she walked over to John. "The first time I asked him to fix something for me, he yelled at me too."

"So, what about you?"

"Me?" Sofia raised her right hand and patted the flesh on her arm. "I gave him a good beating."

"The money?"

"You still have to pay." Sophia smiled.

"The bone is of very good quality, it's excellent material. What do you want to make?" Martial turned around, looked up at John across from him, and casually stuffed the bone fragment into his pocket.

John glanced at the other man's pockets, then shook his head. After all, this was the "slums," and he could understand the man's actions. "I want to make a set of armor, bone armor."

"You're wearing this?" Martial looked John up and down, a hint of delight in his voice.

"It's not me, it's my friend. He's three meters tall and very strong." Little John gestured to Cao Cao's physique, trying to give the old man a basic idea.

"Three meters?" Martial's expression turned ashen when he saw John's actions.

"What's wrong with him?" Little John turned to Sophia and asked.

"Oh, if he's three meters tall, there's not much he can do to cut back on the materials." Sophia ignored the two of them and instead picked up various items from the table and examined them.

"Don't touch it, that dagger took me five days to make." Martial said hurriedly when he saw Sophia's movements, but he was too late. Sophia picked up the dagger, and after just a few swings, a wisp of yellow smoke drifted out.

"It stinks!" Sophia slammed the dagger onto the table. "What did you put in it?"

"The odor gland extract of a skunk, a low-level magical beast," Marshall said with a regretful expression. "Originally, when fighting against an opponent, if the dagger was blocked, the user could directly release this odor with the dagger, and the enemy would feel intense discomfort."

John frowned as he looked at the old man. He thought for a moment and decided not to say anything, but he felt that since they were fighting with daggers, wouldn't releasing the stench affect him as well? And if they were going to use daggers, shouldn't they be made sharper and more convenient?

Thinking of this, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a black dagger, then handed it over, saying, "Take a look at this dagger."

Old man Martial reached out and took the dagger, then held it up to his eyes to examine it closely, muttering to himself, "A beast's claw. It's so long, it must have belonged to a huge creature. The workmanship is very rough. What kind of garbage is this hilt? It's completely unsuitable for gripping. There are no engraved runes or inlays on the claws. What a waste..."

John stood there listening as the old man belittled the slightly curved dagger to the point of being almost worthless. Finally, somewhat unwillingly, he reached out and took back the dagger that the old man had handed him with a hint of disdain, then tucked it back into his waistband. "It is indeed the claw of a magical beast. It was from a huge Terrorclaw Bear."

"What a waste," Martial said, shaking his head somewhat unwillingly.

"Let's talk about the materials," Sophia said, walking over with a strange ring that was bigger than a fist. "I've seen that fish skeleton; it's huge. I think with your skills, old man, you should be able to finish making it."

"Don't touch that earring," old man Martial shouted.

"Earrings?" Sophia raised an eyebrow at the object in her hand. "This thing is bigger than a fist. Who would wear it on their ears? It's more like a choker."

"There's no such thing as a collar that powerful," Martial muttered, then said to John, "I need to see the materials first before I can decide whether to accept the production request. For a craftsman, only by personally touching the materials can he truly understand the soul residing within them."

"A soul?" Little John paused, glancing down at the dagger at his waist. "Are there human souls among these things?"

"Don't listen to the old man's nonsense. If magical artifacts have souls inside, then they're evil." Sophia put down the "earring" she was holding. "He was just describing how a craftsman feels when he sees the materials."

"You don't understand," Martial waved his hand, "Every material has a lonely soul inside it, and it needs me to sculpt it, polish it, and unleash its potential."

"Hmm," Little John hummed a few times, annoyed. He wasn't very confident about this crazy old man, but since Sophia had introduced him, he couldn't say anything. So he took out a small piece of paper from his pocket. "The warehouse address is here. I'll be at the warehouse this afternoon. You can come directly to me then."

"Why not go now?" Martial said immediately, somewhat angrily.

"Because we need to have lunch," Sofia said, then waved her hand. "We've finished talking, let's go, this weird smell is really unpleasant."

She was a druid, and the smell emanating from the substance extracted from her blood naturally made Sophia uncomfortable.

However, she stopped at the foot of the stairs, took out a gold coin from her pocket, and placed it on the table with a "thud." "Old man, the same amount as before, flatbread and meat soup, no less, no discounts, you know that."

"Yes, yes, yes." Martial behind him nodded hurriedly, seemingly having some bad memories from the past.

John, meanwhile, stared intently at the gold coin on the workbench. Its golden color shone brightly in the underground space, illuminated by the flickering flames from the nearby lamps.

"Smack!" Another gold coin was slapped onto the table. Little John withdrew his hand, smiled at Sophia who had already stepped onto the stairs and was now looking back at him, and said, "I have a big appetite too."

Sophia stared at Little John for two seconds, then muttered, "Big it is, let him stuff himself."

After saying that, he walked up the stairs without looking back.

"Same amount as hers, no less flatbread and broth," Little John said to old Martial with a smile, his face so radiant it resembled a blooming "carnivorous flower."

"I understand, I understand," Martial nodded quickly.

Seeing that the other party had agreed, John smiled and walked up the stairs. "It's been a long time since I've been a harvester. I miss it a little."

Seeing the two of them leave, Martial immediately strode over, reached out and wiped the two gold coins away from the table. "Perfect timing, I can have meat soup flatbread for lunch."

…………

"What do you want to ask?" Sophia, who was walking ahead, covered her mouth with her hand and yawned, looking a little sleepy again.

"It's nothing," John shrugged.

The two walked silently through the workers' quarters of Torch City. Children kept trying to run over, but when they saw the two, they remembered what had happened earlier and retreated.

"I wandered here when I was little. I was an orphan, a little beggar." Sofia walked slowly, skipping over a filthy puddle. "When I was very young, my mother died in a shipwreck, and later my father was attacked by pirates at sea. After that, I was homeless."

"I'm sorry," John said apologetically upon hearing what the other person said.

"It's nothing, it's all in the past. Fortunately, after wandering for a while, I was taken in by the church. I was raised there and became a druid, starting to work for the church." Sophia's gaze swept over the dilapidated mud houses around her. "After that, I earned a lot of gold coins from the church, so I would sometimes come here to buy some food for the children."

"I've always wondered why you're called Sofia Earth."

"Every orphan or beggar adopted by the Church of Earth and Life has their name chosen from either Earth or Life." Sophia smiled. "Later, I met Martial and actually went to him to repair equipment, and every time I asked him to buy food for the children."

"Then why didn't you let me give them coins before?" Little John asked curiously.

"These kids can't keep their money; some bastards will rob them, but they can't take away the food they've eaten." Sophia turned her head, a slightly smug smile appearing on her lips.

John, on the other hand, reached out and gave a thumbs up.

"When the Baron was still alive, things were starting to get better here, and people began to take care of these children. It's just a pity," Sophia said, her expression turning somewhat dejected. "Those damned noble officials are back. They not only framed the Melo family, but they also exploited them even more. When the Baron was still alive, he strictly forbade officials and merchants from exploiting these dockworkers."

"The Mello family? You mean that wanted criminal Charles Mello with a 30 gold coin bounty?" Little John asked with a smile, but he immediately stopped smiling because he saw a beastly look in Sophia's face, like a lion, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Sorry, I was just joking."

"I know," Sophia sighed, "you're different from those adventurers and bounty hunters."

After saying that, she continued walking on her own. A few seconds later, without turning her head, she said:

"I want two pieces of spicy grilled fish."