Sief continued to observe in silence, but with care and a certain difficulty, he moved his other arm toward the spear on his back, placing it on the table, crossing his arms nervously, and saying,
"I-I'll trade this spear for that weapon."
The blacksmith was slightly surprised by this statement and observed the spear, but mainly Sief's posture, which brought a slight smile to his face as he said,
"Do you know how negotiations work, kid?"
"O-Of course I do. This spear is completely metallic, right?" He puffed out his chest nervously and said, "I think it's worth quite a bit."
"Sure it is, but that's not how I do business." He held the spear with a slight smile, and again the whitish glow of his eyes flickered. "It's a well-made and polished spear, but still, I don't trade my items; I exchange them for coins. If you want to know the value of that beauty in your hands, it's 5 silver coins. This spear of yours is worth at most two, and I'm being generous."
Hearing the price of the product made Sief lose his posture and frown slightly, but he quickly pulled out his backpack and finally placed it on the table.
"Well, I know stone weapons shouldn't be worth much, but there are at least 20 pieces there, plus some items I took from the goblins. I don't know if they're worth the same as in my town. I was in a hurry, so I collected little." He put both hands on his waist with a lowered gaze and said, "So, if-"
"22 goblin daggers and 44 ears, plus several dragonborn teeth and scales." The blacksmith spoke, and Sief lifted his head, seeing that his eyes were still glowing as he stared at the backpack. "Stone is worth nothing, but this is goblin steel. It's inferior to our steel and iron, but it has other uses. Besides, the ears and teeth are used to make potions, as you should know. But the scales, they interest me, indeed."
He reached for the backpack, leaving Sief slightly surprised by this change in attitude, even a bit lighter compared to before. Soon, the scales were placed on the table, and he said,
"You did a good job cleaning, actually. Few people do such a clean job. Did you do all this with that dull dagger?" The blacksmith raised his head, looking at Sief, who was still slightly surprised and unsure how to respond, but soon he laughed in amusement, crossing his arms and saying, "Well, I'll be generous, but I still need to make my profit, kid. How about 2 silver coins for everything? What would be useful to me are just the scales, but for the effort you saved me, I'll buy it all."
"Really?" Sief's eyes sparkled slightly, but he quickly calculated and scratched his neck, saying, "But I'm still short one coin, and I still need the other dagger."
With Sief's comment, the two fell silent for a moment, but soon the blacksmith resumed observing the boy and said,
"You have a good amount of mana for your age, more than you should, actually." He lit the branch again and said, "Tell me, kid. Do you hunt alone?"
"Is that your unique ability talking?" Sief sighed, still frowning, but soon crossed his arms, saying, "I wonder how you developed it."
"I'm not just my unique ability, you rude boy." The blacksmith gave a slight smile. "There are certain things you inherit from your family; mine is the power of observation. Thanks to it, I can tell if a piece of equipment is good or not, combined with my blacksmithing skill that prevents me from being deceived. But with my unique ability..."
Again, his eye glowed, and a transparent white circle appeared as he continued,
"I can see the magical amount in an item or a person, as well as the distribution of mana in each area of the body, which allows me to see magical aptitudes and analyze more complexly to the point of even being able to copy. But I can also see chaotic flow; you've been fighting without rest, and your mana amount is too large for someone who explores territories with a team. But besides that..."
He looked at the boy's completely worn and practically ragged shirt.
"You look terrible; you'll never get a girlfriend like this."
During the explanation, Sief's eyes were wide open, but by the end, he frowned and sighed, saying,
"Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. But that doesn't solve my problem." He banged his forehead on the table and said, "Damn, with all this money, I could eat for like three months."
"That wouldn't last more than 15 days eating well, kid." He kept a slight smile, but soon returned to a serious tone and extinguished the flame on the branch in his mouth, which was almost gone due to the fire. "Another thing my ability allows me to understand is that this necklace on your chest will get you 4 more silver coins. If you give me those werewolf claws on your waist, I can make a claw weapon similar to the bracelet for you by tomorrow for half the price, and with the remaining coins, I'll give you a great dagger as a bonus."
Hearing that, Sief lifted his head and finally noticed the necklace around his neck, pulling it out to expose it and staring at it, remembering he had obtained it in the fight against the Shaman.
"And you'll still have some coins left to go to a friend's inn and have a meal there. It's enough." He blew the smoke upward, filling the ceiling, and soon it dispersed.
"This necklace... it's true... Edgar let me keep it. I didn't know it was worth so much, even more than a weapon." Sief took off the blue stone necklace and observed it curiously. "Does this ability of yours really let you analyze something to the point of copying? Can you understand what it does?"
"As I said, I can also analyze magical items, and this is one, although a weak one." He held the necklace, and his eyes continued to glow until he blinked, and the glow disappeared. "This can absorb mana from the wearer so that it can be used as a backup reserve. It might save you once or twice, but it's a mage's item. I can sell this for 10 silver coins, but of course, for you, I only pay 4."
The blacksmith gave a little smile, but Sief smiled excitedly in response and nodded, saying,
"Deal. I want my weapons soon."
With that response, the blacksmith raised his eyebrows slightly, but Sief kept the same smile until his mind cleared, and he said,
"Oh!" He placed both hands on the table. "Can't it be done today? I need to leave the territory today to have time to reach the central city-"
However, before he could finish, the blacksmith spun the spear handle and quickly brought it down, striking Sief's head, who recoiled and groaned.
"Damn, what was that?"
"I'm already giving you a good discount, so don't rush my work." He smiled. "It'll be ready tomorrow unless you want to stick with that dagger that can't even cut bread."
Although the blow was light, Sief still groaned in pain, but when he touched his head, he widened his eyes and turned to the blacksmith, who kept smiling.
'I couldn't dodge?' Sief scratched his head and concluded, 'No, I didn't even see it coming; I just saw the spin, and before I could react, I was hit... was I off guard?'
"I've given you enough of my time, kid, so hurry up." He grabbed a pouch of coins from his counter and placed 10 copper coins on the table. "This here is your change, but you're not getting anything else from here, now go to the inn across the street. By morning, your equipment will be ready. Hurry up."
"10 coins, huh?... what a waste, it should be enough for three or four meals if I cook." He picked up the coins from the table and stared at them for a few seconds, soon clutching them and saying, "Tell me, why do you help me so much? If you're this generous with every adventurer that passes by, you'll end up bankrupt."
With this question, the blacksmith crossed his arms, returning to a smile and finally saying,
"You don't know how to just say thank you, do you, big-mouthed kid?" He kept the smile on his face. "I was a solo adventurer, and among us, there are only idiots and the determined. You seem battered and haven't rested in a while, so you're either a huge idiot or have something you need that makes you do this. So maybe it's just a whim of mine."
He picked up the spear and placed it in the corner of the wall, along with a larger sack in which he stored the obtained items, already placing the necklace on display.
"But part of an adventurer's job is to rest. If you're having a bad day, a mistake could cost you your life. Just like your body, you can't evolve your mana without rest." He extended his hand to receive the claws and finally said, "So rest so that you can reach your goal faster. It's not like monsters aren't our enemies. I'm just doing a favor for an ally and a kid who caught my attention. Maybe you're lucky to have met me."
"Lucky, huh?" Sief sighed, taking the claws out of the holes he had made and sighing with a smile. "Thank you... I will... rest."
"You'd better. After all, there's nothing for you to do in this territory."
The claws were handed over to the blacksmith, and Sief paused for a moment before turning, still in the midst of a sigh, when he suddenly felt something pushing him. When he looked, he saw that the handle of the spear was nudging him toward the exit, while the blacksmith, still smiling, watched him closely. Sief frowned, practically being expelled from the forge, and found himself once again in the center of the marketplace.
Looking across the street, he already spotted an inn where a red-haired woman was coming out, carrying a table on her shoulders.
Sief approached, waving, but before the woman could notice him, she set the table down, emitting a metallic sound as it moved slightly. Finally, another clank was heard, making Sief look at the table's legs, noticing something metallic embedded in the ground.
"Oh, you want a room, don't you? Shouldn't you be with a group?"
It was the woman speaking with a slight smile. As he got closer, Sief noticed that she was wearing long clothes and was wiping her hands on her green dress.
"Yes... a room..." Sief approached the table, confused, and touched it, but frowned when he realized he couldn't move it. However, his attention was once again drawn to the woman. "How do you know I want a... did that man already talk to you?"
"Who? My husband?" She continued with a slight smile and placed her hand on her waist while leaning on the table. "He always takes a few extra coins here and there, leaving only 10 copper coins as change for each adventurer. Curiously, we're the only inn that charges this price and is so close... It's hard to find a man who collaborates so much with his father-in-law's business."
The woman spoke with a sharp smile that was almost contagious, but Sief frowned and sighed, saying:
"That bald old man..."
"He's not bald..." The woman continued with a slight smile on her face as she turned towards the inn, saying, "Better not try to move that table; you'll end up hurting yourself. Come on, I'll gladly serve you the meal that those 10 coins pay for."