Rockhammer was one of the most famous smithies in Rivervale Town.
Its armor and weapons were known for one thing above all else: they were tough, durable, and built to last. Among the town’s low-level adventurers, the shop had an excellent reputation.
There were even rumors that some of the professional adventurers who frequented the second floor of the Adventurers’ Association occasionally came to Rockhammer to commission custom equipment.
Naturally, business was booming.
Today, while following the Adventurer’s Handbook and preparing for his upcoming quest, Xia Nan finally met the smithy’s owner.
Barn Steelbeard.
A thoroughly dwarven name.
The man had enormous muscles knotted like forged steel and a reddish-brown braided beard that nearly reached his chest. In those respects, he matched the traditional image of a dwarf perfectly.
His height, however, was another matter.
At two meters thirty, he stood half a head taller than even a bugbear.
That did not exactly match his claim that he merely had “dwarf blood” running through his veins.
[He looks more like one of those barbarians from the ice fields.]
Xia Nan silently sized up the hulking figure inside the shop.
Without slowing, he walked straight in.
To his surprise, although Barn, the owner of Rockhammer Smithy, proudly claimed descent from the Steelbeard Clan, his personality was nothing like the rough, reckless dwarf Xia Nan had imagined.
If anything, he behaved more like an ordinary, enthusiastic shopkeeper.
The moment Xia Nan showed any interest in buying something, Barn immediately launched into an explanation.
“Ring mail is one of the lightest forms of heavy armor. Those iron rings do a good job against slashing attacks from swords and axes.”
“This chain mail isn’t bad either. Better protection than ring mail, but it’ll cost you more than a dozen extra gold.”
Barn’s thick voice followed him as Xia Nan scanned the display racks.
Then his gaze stopped.
“This set…”
Standing before him was a complete suit of full-body armor built from thick iron plates and metal buckles.
Iron gauntlets. Heavy leather boots. A slotted helmet with its own visor. Thick, durable cowhide padding underneath. Cold metal plates secured together by interwoven belts and buckles.
At first glance, the whole thing looked less like armor and more like a mobile fortress.
If Xia Nan could wear something that heavy, he could probably stand in the middle of a goblin mob and let them beat him with their little wooden clubs for two straight hours without losing a single hair.
Unfortunately, the same thick metal plates that gave the armor such absurd protection also gave it an equally absurd weight.
An ordinary person would have trouble bearing it at all.
With Xia Nan’s current physical abilities…
Forget fighting. Walking normally might already be a problem.
“Full plate armor. Top-quality steel,” Barn said proudly from beside him. “Every plate was hammered and tempered by me personally.”
“As for the defense, I don’t need to explain much. One look should tell you enough.”
“If you buy the full set, Rockhammer also includes three free maintenance sessions.”
He paused.
“Fifteen hundred gold. No credit.”
Xia Nan immediately stopped considering it.
Right.
Definitely not for him.
At least not now.
He needed to be practical.
Fortunately, Rockhammer carried a wide range of equipment. After walking around the shop with Barn and listening to his explanations, Xia Nan gradually formed a clearer idea of what he wanted.
Armor came in many different styles, but most of it could be divided into three broad categories:
Light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor.
Heavy armor was too cumbersome. It would drastically reduce Xia Nan’s agility, which did not suit his current fighting style.
So that was out.
Medium armor was much more appealing. Its weight fell between light and heavy armor, giving it solid defense without sacrificing too much flexibility.
It was versatile.
Unfortunately, perhaps because of that very versatility, medium armor also had the highest average price of the three categories.
Even the cheapest option, a chain shirt, cost a full fifty gold.
That was far beyond Xia Nan’s budget.
After struggling with the decision for a while, he finally spent ten gold on a set of leather armor specially made by Barn’s shop.
Leather armor was extremely light and offered excellent freedom of movement. Its main material was leather hardened by soaking it in boiling oil.
And since it came from the famous Rockhammer Smithy, the workmanship was excellent.
In every respect, it was several times better than the secondhand set his predecessor had picked up from who knew where.
With the armor settled, next came…
“A shield?” Xia Nan paused, then waved Barn off. “Better not. I don’t really know how to use one.”
The real world was nothing like a game.
You could not simply raise a shield and expect it to block every attack, then press the right button at the right moment and magically perform some perfect counter.
Especially not in a place like the Misty Forest.
The terrain there was complicated enough already. If someone had never properly learned how to fight with a shield, then even the sturdiest shield in the world would be little more than a door panel in their hands.
What Xia Nan needed most right now was a weapon that suited him.
Fortunately, as the owner of Rockhammer Smithy, weapons happened to be Barn’s specialty.
“Flails, light hammers, poleaxes…”
An entire wall was packed with melee weapons of every shape and weight.
“A glaive. Single-edged. Best used in open ground.”
“A flanged mace. Great against armor. One good swing and the armor might look fine, but the person inside won’t.”
“…”
Xia Nan’s gaze moved from weapon to weapon as Barn introduced them.
The answer in his mind slowly took shape.
First, the weapon could not be too light.
He did not fight like an assassin such as Elki. The two short daggers on his body were only there for emergencies.
His new leather armor was light and flexible, and without a shield occupying one hand, he had plenty of room to work with.
That made a two-handed weapon especially appealing.
His predecessor’s one-handed sword had been sharp enough, but the unused hand often felt awkward in a fight.
Gagu’s two-handed axe, on the other hand, had tremendous power behind it, but it could also feel clumsy in actual combat.
Second, the weapon had to work well with Spinning Slash.
Thanks to his predecessor’s years of effort and the help of the attribute panel, Spinning Slash had already reached Level 5, the maximum level.
The movement was practically carved into his body.
At this point, Xia Nan could perform Spinning Slash with more than just a short dagger. Give him a hoe from the fields and he could probably still execute the skill without much trouble.
But since he had a choice, why settle?
He naturally wanted a weapon that could bring out the skill’s full potential.
So…
While Xia Nan stood there considering his options, Barn, who had been explaining the weapons while quietly observing him, seemed to misunderstand his hesitation.
The burly smith suddenly laughed and dragged the bewildered Xia Nan toward another corner of the shop.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone starts as a novice.”
“If you’re short on gold, that’s fine too. We don’t offer credit, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have cheaper goods.”
Barn gestured ahead.
“Take a look. See if anything catches your eye.”