Not showing his joy on his face.
"These things of yours... I could pick up a random stick by the roadside, and it would be more useful than them."
Levi looked at the pile of junk on the ground with a troubled expression.
William was momentarily unable to argue, just picking up a sword and swinging it a few times, saying, "Well, sir, you see they're at least somewhat useful, right?"
He was slightly surprised... not at William's thick skin, but that these few sword swings actually looked quite methodical. The man had some skill.
"You'll definitely find them useful."
"You're that certain?"
"It's a scrap dealer's intuition, sir." William smiled ingratiatingly.
Interesting. This world really did have some magical people.
Just like wizards.
It wasn't only those five wizards who possessed magical powers... there were capable and unusual people throughout the world.
William's eyes flickered as he saw a small ornament with an ancient design and exquisite craftsmanship appear out of thin air in Levi's hand.
This was the smallest item he could pick from the pile of jewelry.
"I don't have much cash on me. How about paying with this?"
Hiss...
William squinted and looked carefully. This thing felt like it had quite an extraordinary origin.
"You want to sell this to me, sir? Using it to exchange for this 'equipment' would certainly be enough."
William carefully took the ornament, glanced at it, and his pupils dilated slightly.
This wasn't just an ordinary craft item... it was an antique, and a very rare kind of antique at that.
Some important people would be very happy to pay money to acquire such rare old objects.
Not a loss. Although the item was small, there was still profit to be made.
Wait...
William suddenly stared at the small trinket in his palm for a long while.
This style?
If he wasn't mistaken...
Suddenly looking up, William gazed at Levi, feeling that this person had gained some special aura.
He had killed those things!
This was taken from those creatures!
Wights, and elite wights at that!
Hell, those things weren't something ordinary people could even touch.
And looking at this gentleman, he didn't seem poisoned or cursed, which meant that dealing with wights might not be difficult for him.
William's expression stiffened. Damn, he'd encountered someone not to be trifled with.
Not paying attention to William's subtle reactions, just from William's response, Levi knew the small trinket he'd produced should be quite valuable... at least enough to exchange for this mountain of 'equipment.'
He continued to demand, "Pack these things up for me."
Bundled miscellaneous items could count as just one item, which would save some space.
The suddenly somewhat dazed William nodded repeatedly and went to get rope to start categorizing and bundling the junk.
Much later, looking at a full row of "bundled junk" in his backpack, Levi nodded with satisfaction.
William wasn't curious about where the junk he'd just bundled had gone.
For someone who could kill wights... those magical constructs... having some miraculous means was quite normal.
After collecting all the needed items, Levi planned to take his leave directly and find a place to craft a blast furnace.
Crafting a blast furnace required one iron ingot, but he had no iron.
However, that was fine... he could first use a furnace to smelt some, then craft the blast furnace.
Using a furnace to smelt equipment had ridiculously high losses... throwing an iron sword in would only leave one iron nugget after smelting.
However, using a blast furnace could produce 1-2 iron ingots.
Originally, he had prepared to throw a pile of junk into the furnace and forcibly smelt out some iron, but who knew that collecting scrap could unlock the "blast furnace."
What was a pleasant surprise? This was a pleasant surprise.
As Levi was about to leave, William called out to him.
"Please wait a moment, sir."
William quickly stepped forward and pulled out a long, cloth-wrapped object from his waist.
"This is for you."
He took it, unwrapped the cloth, and immediately became interested upon seeing what was inside.
[Iron Dagger · Attack +3, Attack Speed +50%]
"Special Modifier: Sharpness, Attack Power +1."
[Unlocked Crafting Recipe: Dagger (Type)]
"How much?"
With good items available, Levi naturally planned to buy it directly.
"No charge."
"Oh?"
William said seriously, "I hope this can serve as a testament to our friendship."
"You want to be friends with me?" Levi said with amusement.
"Yes."
He didn't answer, just said, "This dagger is nice. I'll take it."
His friendship wasn't that cheap.
At most, he might lend a small helping hand in the future for the sake of this guy helping him unlock a recipe.
William wasn't offended; he just smiled.
A scrap-dealing merchant could be without money, but they absolutely had to have good judgment.
Even if he couldn't befriend such a person, getting acquainted was still good.
He didn't stay in Bree much longer.
Returning to the inn and stocking up on a large amount of food, Levi continued eastward.
Wearing ordinary cloth clothes with no visible weapons for self-defense, he walked out the eastern gate.
The moment he left the gate, several bearded, slovenly men gathered in an alley by the gate.
The men exchanged glances, all understanding what would happen next.
A fat sheep.
Slap.
A hand landed on one man's shoulder.
The man wasn't startled, just turned to look at the person in the shadows. "William? What, you want to join in too?"
"No, I'm just here to tell you... you'd better not make a move on him. He's not an ordinary character."
The men looked thoughtful.
As old scoundrels who had survived this long, they all had their own ways of staying alive.
The men dispersed and went home.
Scrap dealers were never welcome characters.
They were shady.
...
Leaving Bree, finding a place with few people around, Levi took out his crafting table and furnace, patiently smelting garbage, accumulating nine iron nuggets to craft one iron ingot.
Then, he crafted a blast furnace.
Throwing in charcoal and junk, he continued smelting.
When the first piece of junk armor directly yielded three iron ingots, he knew he wouldn't be too short of iron going forward.
He made three more blast furnaces.
By the time he finished smelting all the bundles of junk in his backpack, half a day had passed.
Levi looked at the 13 iron blocks in his backpack with satisfaction.
He immediately made a set of iron armor, a set of iron tools, plus a wooden shield.
Then he looked at the newly unlocked dagger-type recipe... one wooden stick plus one iron ingot could craft an iron dagger.
The new dagger still had three attack points and +50% attack speed, just without the sharpness modifier.
But that was no big deal.
If he had a chance to make an enchanting table later, wouldn't Sharpness V be even better?
He just didn't know if enchantments and special modifiers could stack. If they could, he'd have to study what these modifiers were all about...
Putting on the iron set, Levi felt like he had a tiny bit more burden on his body, but it had no effect on his movement or speed.
[Achievement Unlocked: "Geared Up"]
The iron set's appearance gave just one impression... white, silver-white, and smooth. Unlike the blocky appearance in the game, the materialized iron armor looked much more beautiful and protective.
The iron sword in his hand was the same mold as the stone and wooden swords... looking slender, sturdy, and sharp.
With a large wooden shield in his left hand.
Full of security.
Though he wouldn't need to wear it normally to avoid scaring people. When not in use, he'd store it in his backpack. When needed, it was convenient anyway... equipment crafted from the crafting table could be equipped instantly, no need to worry about not having enough time.
After making all preparations and clearing up traces of his activities here, Levi continued on his journey.
One day later.
Leaving the Forsaken Inn, the last settlement on the edge of the wilderness, and walking a bit further, standing at Bree's border, he looked out with mixed emotions.
From here on, ahead lay nothing but wilderness... a long stretch where he probably wouldn't see people.
Except for some characters with ill intentions.
"Come out."
Levi called out.
No movement.
He was slightly irritated.
The gazes were too obvious.
As early as when he went to buy things from William, he'd noticed someone watching him.
He'd thought it was just some local thugs or scoundrels who were curious about outsiders and took a few extra looks, so he hadn't paid much attention. But all the way to the Forsaken Inn, that feeling of being watched hadn't disappeared.
Following him this far wasn't just curiosity anymore.
Indeed, wealth shouldn't be displayed.
Because they were still in Bree territory... within this human settlement... they hadn't made their move.
Similarly, Levi couldn't easily make his move either.
Now, having left the border, no rules could reach here anymore.
It was about time.
Rustle.
The bushes stirred.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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