Although Grimm's auction house was a branch similar to Whitestar's, the decor and layout could not be more different.
As soon as he walked into the auction house, Lin Feng saw a well-dressed man and woman bow at him with a smile.
He had long since heard that auction houses in major cities made exemplary customer service their priority. Now he could witness that with his own eyes.
After that, however, Lin Feng took a walk around the auction house only to be stunned by what he saw.
He had to admit that Grimm's trade center had an extensive collection.
Upon walking around, he realized that they had almost everything he could think of on sale. However, there was one thing he could barely believe.
The ore in the trade center was worth three times more than market value.
"What on earth…"
Lin Feng was somewhat frustrated as he cast his eye onto a piece of black iron ore.
That would be worth several dozen gold pieces in Whitestar's trading center, but here at Grimm, it had quadrupled in price to two hundred gold pieces.
The other Grade-3 and Grade-4 types of rare ore were the same. It was almost enough to make him despair.
"What's happening here…?
"Is ore sold by a monopoly here in a major city…?"
Lin Feng just stood there alone, too afraid to even move now. He had thought that he could use what savings he had from selling off a Grade-3 weapon in Whitestar to buy some rare materials here.
Now, it seemed that he barely even had enough to buy a Grade-3 piece of ore.
He stood there on the spot, frozen in dejection for a while until a familiar voice woke him from his daze.
"Hmm?
"Master Lin Feng?"
Lin Feng blinked and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a man with neat clothes and slightly curly hair waving at him from a distance.
"Andera?"
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and approached the man with pleasant surprise.
After Andera hurried away with his Grade-4 Magical Sword that day, they had not met each other since. Lin Feng did not expect to see him here today at this strange trade center.
It was quite a coincidence.
Andera was ecstatic to see Lin Feng, striding up to the latter and clasping his hands tightly.
"Master Andera! It's been such a long time, I quite missed you!"
Lin Feng glanced at a badge on Andera's chest. It seemed to be made of corundum, sparkling with a sun logo and what seemed to be three stars engraved onto it.
Andera saw that Lin Feng was looking at the badge curiously, so he said with a laugh,
"This is the badge I got after receiving my Grade-3 blacksmith license in Grimm."
He gave Lin Feng a somewhat confused look.
"Why are you here at the trade center, Master Lin Feng? And the ore section, at that? Wait, are you planning to buy ore here?"
Without waiting for Lin Feng to reply, Andera burst out laughing and pulled Lin Feng out of the building.
"It seems to me you don't really know the rules here in Grimm, so let me tell you everything, Master Lin Feng."
With that, he pointed at the trade center and chuckled.
"Because that trade center has a long-term contract with the Smiths' Association, the ore prices there are ridiculously high. If you want to buy ore at Grimm, you can just register at the Smiths' Association.
"As long as you complete the commissions the Association gives you, you can get a certain amount of smithing points. Once you have any points, you can just redeem your ore for free."
Thanks to Andera's explanation, Lin Feng gradually began to understand.
"So you're saying that this Smiths' Association has ties with the trade center, Mercenaries' Association, and even the defense corps everywhere?"
After briefly introducing the various facilities to Lin Feng, Andera continued,
"That's right. The Smiths' Association will give their smiths commissions and then send the products to all those parties.
"It's also their way of ensuring that the frontline soldiers will always have a complete set of equipment."
Lin Feng nodded.
He was always thinking about the soldiers fighting against the demonic beasts on the frontlines. When he heard that the Smiths' Association would send completed items to the warfront as military equipment, he felt his heart stir.
"Haha, I bet you're tempted too, right? Master Lin Feng."
Lin Feng had to admit, the Smiths' Association's strategy was one after his own heart.
"In that case, I'm headed to the Smiths' Association now too. Come on, Master Lin Feng, let's get you registered!"
Why not? Lin Feng nodded and headed straight down to the end of the busy street with Andera.
Along the way, they walked past the Mercenaries' Guild, and Andera pursed his lips.
"The mercenaries in Grimm are a messy bunch. Some are heroes who do all they can to cull the beasts, but there are also plenty of lowlifes who do despicable things for money.
"That's why, Master Lin Feng, if the Association gives you a commission for the mercenaries, you might want to think twice before accepting it."
After some hesitation, Andera continued softly,
"That's one of our unspoken rules, among us smiths."
Lin Feng nodded without a word. He knew very well that there would always be people like those in any era, people who could do anything for their own profit.
If a blacksmith really did receive a commission to make weapons for them, the smith would naturally try to avoid it if at all possible.
The two of them took their time walking through the streets. By the time they reached the Smiths' Association with its carved hammer logo, twenty minutes had passed.
Andera looked up proudly at the corundum sun logo above the Smiths' Association's door and then turned to Lin Feng with a smile.
"The Smiths' Association. This is where every blacksmith belongs.
"Apparently, it was single-handedly founded by that legendary blacksmith a hundred years ago. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this our holy site."
Lin Feng took a deep breath as well.
Andera was right. Almost every smith had the utmost respect for that title, that of a legendary smith.
Lin Feng was naturally no exception.
"Come on, Master Lin Feng… By the way, what grade do you want to register as?"
Andera stopped in his step. He actually could not decide what grade Lin Feng was as a blacksmith.
Grade-3? Or Grade-4?
Lin Feng just smiled at him.
"Grade-3 for now. If I want to try making Grade-4 equipment, it'll take me far more effort than I can imagine."
Enough said. Andera immediately led the way, and soon he had walked Lin Feng to the Smiths' Association's appraisal counter.
The Smiths' Association's appraisal process was surprisingly simple. All you had to do was refine a piece of meteor metal on the spot, and one of the higher-grade smiths would be able to discern your grade based on your skill and aura alone.
With Lin Feng's abilities, it went without saying that he earned the Smiths' Association's recognition without breaking a sweat.