The only way for a blacksmith to become proficient was to practice hammering strike by strike. It took a lot of time.
“Level 2 Blacksmith?” Qian Jin laughed. If the only requirement for a Level 2 Blacksmith was to forge [Level 2 Refined Iron], then he could be considered a blacksmith. However, if a Level 2 Blacksmith was required to forge weapons and items, then he would be worse than even blacksmith apprentices.
“What are you laughing at?”
The two people from Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop frowned. The other person beside the person holding the badge was also from Lucas’s Blacksmith Shop. Qian Jin’s laughter had a sense of ridicule in it, but his self-ridicule was interpreted differently in the other people’s minds. The two people from Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop thought that Qian Jin was laughing at them.
Qian Jin felt the unfriendly tone of these two people, but he shrugged his shoulder. He didn’t really care. To Qian Jin, he wasn’t working at the Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop, so he didn’t have to take their behavior seriously. He didn’t mind fighting them if they were upset. He was confident in his fighting skills; he felt like he could kick their asses.
“Francis, what happened?” Qian Jin glanced around as he got out of this blacksmith’s hug. “Why are there so many people today?” he asked.
Francis looked at Franklin and coughed as he pointed at one of the men from Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop. “This is the owner of Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop, a Level 2 Blacksmith, Lucas.”
Qian Jin took another look at this man. Lucas’ eyes were small, but slim, and his nose wasn’t pointy at all. With his yellow mustache, a proud and prideful expression covered his slightly darker face. He stood straight and tall, and he looked like he was someone in power.
“Also, this is Madeline, a Level 1 Blacksmith from Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop.”
Compared to Lucas who was a bit arrogant, Madeline was a bit more respectful. His thin body leaned forward as he slightly bowed. [Level 2 Refined Iron] was a rare item in the eyes of a Level 1 Blacksmith.
After introducing the two blacksmiths, Francis turned around and pointed the adventurers. “These people are from Fire Adventurer Team, and this is their captain, Wilfrid.”
Wilfrid, who was standing in the crowd, was wearing leather armor like his teammates. He was muscular, and looked very valiant. He put his hands together with his three-inch-wide sword and saluted to Qian Jin in a warrior’s manner as he smiled. He didn’t want to offend the potential Level 2 Blacksmith in this remote Oakland City.
Qian Jin nodded and didn’t try to memorize the name of this team. There were too many adventurer teams named Fire, Ice and such. He looked over Wilfrid and his eyes landed onto a female swordswoman. With a similar three-inch-wide sword hanging around her waist, a red leather armor protected the vital spots on her body, and it highlighted her beautiful figure. Her dark blue hair was tied behind her head, and she had cute long lashes on her blue eyes. Overall, she looked very glamorous.
As soon as Qian Jin saw her face, his heart shook. “They don’t look similar, but why does she remind me of her? Is it because of the way they move and act?”
The female warrior felt Qian Jin’s bold stare, and she was a bit curious. However, she didn’t show it; she just smiled and nodded to acknowledge Qian Jin.
“What happened is that…” Francis said quietly, “the guys from the Fire Adventurer Team ran into some problems at Sunset Mountain, and their weapons were all damaged to various degrees. However, they couldn’t leave here and they need to enter the mountains again…”
Qian Jin nodded. Although it was only his second day here, he knew that things like weapons could get worn and torn during battles and adventuring. It was common for adventurers and warriors to fix their existing weapons or buy new ones.
“Because of this adventure, they don’t have much money left.” Francis opened his palms. “Therefore, they have to use what they obtained from the last adventure to pay for the service.”
Exchanges were common in Oakland City. Often, adventurers didn’t have enough money on them, so they had to exchange items with stores and shops. Shopkeepers were happy to engage in these kinds of exchanges. Every time an exchange occurred, the shopkeeper would lower the value of the adventurer’s items. Therefore, the shopkeeper would make a greater profit compared to the value of the items he or she sold. Most of the time, shopkeepers would make money on trades like these since they could sell the items that they got from adventurers to the passing caravans.
Wilfrid nodded and continued where Francis left off. “We know that we will probably lose a bit on this trade, but we have considered it. Since we have to re-enter Sunset Mountain, we are ready to take the hit. But…”
Wilfrid stopped talking and looked at Lucas with his teammates who had difficult expressions on their faces. Qian Jin knew what was going on now.
The best blacksmith shop in the city wasn’t Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop, but rather Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop. Wilfrid wanted the best weapons his team could get, so he naturally went to Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop. However, it seemed that Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop was very cheap as they greatly reduced the value of the team’s item, so they wanted to seek other options.
“What are you guys trying to trade?” Qian Jin peeked at the female warrior in the red leather armor.
Wilfrid reached into his leather bag and slowly took out something after some searching. He said quietly in dismay, “An energy stone…”
Energy stone! Qian Jin shivered. He rushed two steps forward and looked at the stone in Wilfrid’s hand closely. The stone was light grey. Qian Jin slowly raised his hand and touched the grey stone.
It was a special kind of stone that contained energy. This was the fastest way for a warrior to advance. With an energy stone, a warrior could absorb the energy inside of it and make the energy his or her own after some energy assimilation.
In a Warrior Energy Concentration Array, the most important items were Energy Stones, aside from the mysterious array. Without energy stones, the array wouldn’t be able to concentrate energy and allow warriors to advance levels.
If someone had an energy stone and brought it into the Warrior Energy Concentration Array, that person would get more out of the array compared to someone who didn’t have it. The person would be able to advance more quickly in a shorter period of time, and his or her foundation would be more solid and secure.
Qian Jin also remembered that energy stones could also be used as a material in the forging process. Weapons, armor and items at the end of the forging process would be better quality!
Qian Jin didn’t expect to see an energy stone here, and he didn’t expect to see a warrior selling it! The value of an energy stone to a warrior was paramount!
Strands of energies were rotating and swirling in the stone, and Qian Jin could clearly feel the energy inside of it. His eyebrow rose as he asked Wilfrid, “It seems like this is a Level 4 Energy Stone, right?”
Wilfrid looked at Qian Jin in surprise. He didn’t expect this young warrior to have such sensitivity and knowledge. A few seconds after placing his hand on the energy stone, this young warrior already knew that this wasn’t a lower quality Level 1 or 2 Energy Stone, but rather a rare Level 4 Energy Stone.