Chapter 94: The Shattered Shield

If a weapon forged from rainbow adamantine fell into the hands of those who knew how to use it, it would be a real killer. With only a trace of mana needed to control it, one could easily switch among the various magical attributes. This unpredictable way of attacking was enough to give any opponent a headache.

“I’m willing to give you 100 gold coins because I pity you. Open your eyes and see for yourself. Which weapon in my shop is not better than your sword? How much more do you want to sell such a lousy sword for? 1,000 gold coins, 2,000 gold coins?” Perhaps he felt that this man was affecting his business, but the fat boss looked up impatiently from his account book. “Anyway, I will only give you 100 gold coins. If you want to sell it, you can sell it. If you don’t want to sell it, you can go away. Don’t block me from doing business.”

The young man opened his mouth and tried to defend himself, but when the words had come to his mouth, he said nothing. In the end, he wrapped his sword in the cloth silently and carried it on his back, then turned to walk out of the Gilded Rose.

“Wait.” Just as he walked to the door, the mage who had not spoken called out to him. “How many gold coins are you going to sell this double-edged sword for?”

“Would you like to buy?” This sentence, like a light in the darkness, suddenly brightened the dull eyes of the young man. “1,000 gold coins… Oh no, no. 800 gold coins. If you give me 800 gold coins, it’s yours.”

“800?” Lin Li looked surprised.

For Lin Li, this shock was quite normal. Who could imagine that a sword forged with rainbow adamantine and possessing five magical attributes cost only 800 gold coins?

But for the desperate young man, this hesitation meant something else. He thought the mage found it too expensive. There was some hesitation on his tanned face, but at last he clenched his teeth and offered a new price. “600 gold coins. Mr Mage, 600 gold coins and you can have it.”

Lin Li hadn’t said a word yet, but the price had dropped twice in a row. He immediately understood everything.

This young man must have needed cash badly; if not, he wouldn’t be in a hurry to sell the item off.

To be honest, Lin Li never thought he was was someone with a heart of gold. If it was in the past, he would probably have made use of the opportunity and accept an offer at a low price for the double-edged sword. “A person who does not take take advantage of a bargain is a bastard.” That was what Gerian, that old fellow, said…

However, since he had made a windfall from the Arcane Magic Potion auction, this fellow had shown some significant restraint. This was probably what was meant by “establishing a character after making a fortune”. It wasn’t worth taking advantage of others for such a small amount of money…

Lin Li did not give a counteroffer, but asked, “You need money badly?”

“Yes, Mr Mage. My father is sick and we need money to buy the medicine.” The young man recognized a glimmer of hope from the mage’s words and a beam of joy appeared on his tanned face in spite of himself.

“How much do you need?”

“Around 1,000 gold coins…”

“How is 600 gold coins enough?”

“I can sell my house, it should be enough after adding them together.” The voice of the young man was getting lower and lower, and at the end, it was actually a little bit hoarse.

“Forget it, don’t sell the house.” Lin Li nodded and pulled out a purse from his pocket, which Gerian gave him for petty cash. It contained exactly 1,000 gold coins. “I’ll lend you 1,000 gold coins; the double-edged sword will be used as a collateral for the time being. When you have earned enough money, you can come to the Guild of Magic to redeem it.”

“Really?” The young man looked up abruptly; his tanned face was full of surprise. “You’re willing to lend money to me?”

“It’s fine by me anyway. If you don’t pay back the money, this double-edged sword will belong to me. I won’t lose out; and, I’m not afraid to tell you the truth: this double-edged sword is worth more than 1,000 gold coins. Only those guys who have something wrong with their brains will offer a ridiculous price like 100 gold coins.”

“Thank you, Mr Mage.” The young man’s face was full of astonishment. He took the purse from the other party with trembling hands. At this moment, he realized that he was not dreaming. He seemed to relax as he held the heavy purse in his hands. I have the money to buy the medicine, there’s hope for Father…

“Mr Mage, what do you mean?” The fat boss, who had been buried in his accounting, could not help but lift his head when he heard Lin Li’s words, and there was a somewhat discontented look on his chubby face. “It’s your personal business that you’re willing to help him, but what does it have to do with my vision? Do you really think this broken sword is better than the weapons in my shop? Stop joking…”

Lin Li chuckled. “You don’t believe it?”

“Of course I don’t.” There was some arrogance on the fat boss’ face. “I’ve been working in Gilded Rose for 20 years. I dare not say it about other things, but my eyes can never be wrong. Outside of the Adventurer’s Guild, there are tons of scrap metal like this, and they are all for the lowest level of adventurers.

“I think there’s one thing you haven’t figured out. You’re just a mage, not a blacksmith—not to mention an owner of a weapons store. When it comes to magic, you may be 100 times better than me, but when it comes to weapon appraisal…” There was some sarcasm in the fat boss’ smile. “I may be 100 times better than you even if I close my eyes and use my nose to sniff. Don’t think that a mage can do everything. I might have sold more weapons than you’ve ever seen them. Do you think you have the right to tell me that?”

“How about we just make a bet?” Lin Li really did not want to badger with him about his vision. For a man who could sell winter iron as ordinary iron, such a thing like vision was too profound.

“Bet?” The fat boss swallowed his saliva. He slightly wavered.

“You’re afraid?” After spending so much time with Gerian, Lin Li did not learn anything much, except that his mouth had become more vicious.

“Who said I’m afraid!?”

“Very well, let’s bet on whether the weapon in your store is better or the sword used by this low-level adventurer is better.” With little effort, Lin Li took the double-edged sword from the young man’s hand.

The scene fell into the eyes of the young man and he was immediately flabbergasted.

He was the one who’d brought out the double-edged sword, so he naturally knew better than others how heavy this seemingly ordinary weapon was. When Lin Li reached out to him, he was still a little stunned. He had no idea that the seemingly weak mage could pick up such a heavy weapon.

How could he have thought that the man standing in front of him was a total monster?

As a blacksmith guru, Lin Li’s body was much stronger than it looked. Even if he had not received any training now, he had at least the physical qualities of a level-three or four warrior. If this fellow were to receive a good training, even though it was impossible for him to be versed in both magic and martial arts, he could at least be at the strength of level-five or six warrior.

Picking up a heavy double-edged sword was just as easy as having a meal to him.

“Bring out the best shield in the store.”

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“Alright.” This fat man was not afraid of death, either. Hearing Lin Li’s words, his temper acted up and he went straight up to the second floor.

When the fat boss went up to the second floor, the young man felt a little uneasy. The Gilded Rose was the best equipment store in Jarrosus. What if the fat boss really brought out some powerful shield and made the kind mage lose the bet?

And then he saw something that struck him dumb with astonishment.

The kind-hearted mage held the sword in both hands and waved it twice in the air, and at once the sound of a heavy crack filled the air…

Was there anything more bizarre in the world than a seemingly delicate mage hacking the air with a heavy double-edged sword that was almost half as tall as a man? The young man rubbed his eyes hard; he thought he had to be mistaken.

After chopping several times in succession, Lin Li finally stopped without blushing or gasping, and praised satisfactorily, “Good, good. It’s a really good sword.” Then, he asked curiously, “Oh yes, what’s your name?”

“Mr Mage. I am Sean, Sean Poliro.” Hearing the question from the mage who helped him, the young man respectfully reported his name.

“Sean, is it…” Lin Li was going to continue the conversation with him when he heard noise coming from upstairs. Then, he saw the fat boss coming down with a Tower Shield.

Lin Li couldn’t help feeling exasperated. This guy was smart enough to bring a Tower Shield down.

The attack mode of a double-edged sword was chopping, and the Tower Shield was undoubtedly the most effective defense against said chopping. There was also an indistinct magical wave on the Tower Shield, which seemed to be another magic equipment processed by inscription.

But it didn’t matter; under the rainbow adamantine, everything was ephemeral…

Lin Li was so confident in the rainbow adamantine forged double-edged sword. It was not a weapon that ordinary magic equipment could resist.

“Mr Mage, what do you want to bet on?” The fat boss was not a Smithing Master; he was covered in sweat, having dragged the hefty Tower Shield down from the second floor. But when he spoke, his voice was full of confidence. He had bought this shield at a high price from an adventurer. To improve its defense, he specially hired a mage to lay down mageweath on it.

He had tried many times these few days; every weapon in the store had been tested, but no matter how sharp the weapon was, as long as the chopping was done on the shield, it would never leave a trace. The fat boss definitely did not believe that the seemingly broken double-edged sword could be more powerful than the weapons in his store.

The bet was so interesting that even the two sweaty blacksmith apprentices beside the furnace could not help but put down their hammers and peer quietly into the doorway. Their strange behavior naturally attracted more passers-by. From time to time, people stopped outside the Gilded Rose and looked into the store with curious eyes.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of people surrounded the Gilded Rose, turning the deserted armor and weapons store into a bustling market.

“Let’s bet 1,000 gold coins.”

“Sure! I’d like to see if this broken sword is really that impressive.”

“Move away, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you…” After putting the shield in place, Lin Li kindly asked, “By the way, would it cause you any trouble if the shield is broken?”

“No…” The fat boss swallowed his saliva again. The mage’s eyes had made him uncomfortable…

“Then that’s great!”

When the word “great” was uttered, the heavy double-edged sword was already held high.

Then Lin Li’s mana entered the blade of the sword, and in an instant there was a glimmer of a halo flowing on the double-edged sword.

With this trace of mana, the rainbow adamantine weapon immediately became foreign; a dense chill was radiating from the blade. Where did the previous dullness go? The halo passing through the sword blade was like autumn waters, smearing a shining track in the air…

The violent strike was like a flash of lightning.

And then, both of them heard a crisp splitting sound.

The air suddenly quieted down in the Gilded Rose…

Whether it was Sean or the fat boss, both were paralyzed with shock almost at the same time.

Sean had no idea that the kind-hearted mage could deliver such a ferocious strike with the sword.

The fat boss was completely dumbstruck by the sword ray. He had gotten a clear look of what happened in that instant. There was a gush of brilliant light on the originally dull double-edged sword the moment it came down. He had been working in the Gilded Rose for 20 years; how could he not recognize the unique brilliance of a high-level magic weapon?

It was equally quiet outside the Gilded Rose.

Almost all the onlookers, including the two blacksmith apprentices, were looking nervously at the Tower Shield. At this moment, not even a breathing sound could be heard.

After that sword of lighting, even time seemed to have stopped.

There was no change in the Gilded Rose. Lin Li held his sword in both hands, and the heavy Tower Shield remained intact.

“Hahaha… I’ve said it before. How could such a lousy sword split the best shield in my store!” The surrounding silence was astonishing, and the laughter of the fat boss spread far and wide.

“Crack…”

The sound was particularly harsh among the sound of the fat boss’ laughter.

Then, everyone saw a crack that was beginning to spread on the seemingly intact shield…

With the crisp sound, the fat boss seemed to be strangled at his throat suddenly and the smile on his face froze.