Chapter 114: Old Zhou the Blacksmith

"All right, it's a deal." The male player paused, then said decisively.

Lu Kuan grinned and stood up. "Good, let's go. Follow me to the bank to withdraw the money."

The three of them left the kitchen one after another. The girl with the ponytail was at the back; as she left, she glared viciously at the Elven Mage, made a face at him, and then scurried out with a rhythmic tapping of her boots.

The Elven Mage felt utterly frustrated. To think that in the middle of the night, in some obscure little tavern, he could actually be sniped like this!

But he had no choice. Before he left, his guild had set an upper price limit of 800 gold coins, and the Elven Mage himself felt that this price was already quite sincere...

That guy, Old Deer, was truly detestable!

After thinking it over, the Elven Mage decided to send a message to Moonlit Meteor, explaining the situation.

Looking at the message from his subordinate, Moonlit Meteor's first reaction was that he had been conned by Old Deer again. Moonlit Meteor knew that Old Deer's sharp eye for value and his keen sense for the game were every bit as impressive as his combat skills.

However, after carefully examining the screenshot of the hammer's stats twice, Moonlit Meteor couldn't see what was so special about the weapon. It seemed quite average in every respect.

If the hammer's special effect were to increase the success rate for crafting all types of armor, or simply double the success rate, it would definitely be a treasure, and Moonlit Meteor would have gone to negotiate the trade in person.

Unable to make heads or tails of it, Moonlit Meteor decided not to waste any more time on it. It was just a piece of ordinary purple-tier equipment.

...

In front of the Molten Fortress bank.

Lu Kuan withdrew the money and completed the transaction with the young couple right at the entrance.

Watching the glittering gold coins flow into his inventory, accompanied by the crisp "clinking" sound, the numbers representing his gold balance climbed higher and higher. Expressions of excitement appeared on the couple's faces.

This was thirty thousand in cash!

Seeing their reaction, Lu Kuan smiled, fully understanding how they felt.

"Master, can I ask you a question?" the girl with the ponytail asked curiously.

Lu Kuan checked the time and laughed, "Go ahead, what is it?"

The girl nudged her boyfriend, who looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.

"It's a bit presumptuous to ask, but everyone I know is a casual player, and no one can give us any advice... I just wanted to ask, if one specializes in only one life skill, like fishing or tailoring, is it possible to make at least a little bit of money?"

Both of them looked nervous and apprehensive. Lu Kuan felt as if he were seeing himself when he first started the game—everything in the game was so fresh, and he wanted to make something of himself, but felt mostly lost.

"Of course you can, but you'll need to put in more effort and energy than others. Besides, no matter where you are, money is never easy to come by," Lu Kuan said with a smile.

Lu Kuan's words gave them peace of mind. Since a high-level player like him acknowledged it, their future path would feel much more secure.

"Thank you so much!" the two thanked Lu Kuan sincerely.

Lu Kuan waved his hand, signaling it was nothing. He watched them leave and, as he walked back toward the tavern, sent a message to Heaven's Darkest Hour.

Before he even returned to the Golden Wheel, the reply came, and it was a direct request for a voice call.

"What good stuff do you have?" Heaven's Darkest Hour asked urgently.

If Lu Kuan called something "good stuff," it certainly wasn't ordinary. Heaven's Darkest Hour felt he knew Lu Kuan well enough to know that if it were just a common item, the kid would have thrown it on the auction house without a word.

"We can't explain it clearly like this, let's talk in person. I'm in the kitchen of the Golden Wheel. Oh, and bring your guild's chief blacksmith along," Lu Kuan said directly.

After ending the call, Lu Kuan went to the kitchen to continue practicing his cooking skill.

Lu Kuan had already practiced for a while over the past few days. After spending another hour, he finally raised his skill level to 2. He took out the recipe, tapped it with one hand, and successfully learned the "Devastatingly Spicy Chili Sauce."

In his bag, Lu Kuan had already prepared five sets—a total of one hundred portions—of Char-grilled Slippery-skin Crab, along with the ingredients for the chili sauce.

After preparing a portion of chili sauce and adding it to the ordinary food, the description of the Char-grilled Slippery-skin Crab changed immediately: the hit rate bonus increased from 1% to 1.5%, and the duration was doubled.

"Good... this is good!"

Lu Kuan beamed with joy. If he put this on the auction house and set a customer-friendly price, a large number of players would definitely buy it. With small profits and quick turnover, it would be another stable source of income.

Next, Lu Kuan devoted himself to making the chili sauce. It could both make money and quickly level up his cooking skill—a win-win.

Before long, the sound of leather boots hitting the floor—"thump, thump, thump"—echoed from the kitchen hallway.

"My goodness, you really have the leisure for this," Heaven's Darkest Hour walked in quickly with a Knight player. Seeing Lu Kuan buried in practicing his cooking, he couldn't help but tease.

Lu Kuan chuckled. Since he had just used up his materials, he greeted them, "Let's go. First, go get the materials from the guild bank, and then we'll head to the blacksmith shop."

Seeing Lu Kuan's decisive manner, Heaven's Darkest Hour became even more curious. Feeling impatient, he hurried to catch up and asked, "What on earth is it? Just let me take a look first."

Seeing Heaven's Darkest Hour's eager expression, Lu Kuan laughed and decided not to torture him any longer. He took out the Black Iron Hammer and handed it over.

Heaven's Darkest Hour inspected the hammer intensely. His face showed surprise, but then, as if realizing something, he handed it to the Knight behind him.

"It's definitely a good item, but..." Heaven's Darkest Hour hesitated.

Lu Kuan understood exactly what he was thinking and smiled, "But it's not as good as you imagined, right?"

Heaven's Darkest Hour laughed heartily and said directly, "You and I are both veterans of this game, so let's not beat around the bush. I thought that if something made you exclaim with such excitement, it would definitely be of a higher caliber than this."

"Haha! What if I told you this hammer is worth 5,000 gold coins?" Lu Kuan said calmly.

Heaven's Darkest Hour and the Knight were both stunned, and they exchanged a look.

"Old Zhou, what do you think? It's fine, don't worry about Old Deer; he's not an outsider," Heaven's Darkest Hour said, gesturing to the Knight.

The Knight, known as Old Zhou, appeared to be around forty years old. According to Heaven's Darkest Hour, he was the blacksmith the guild was heavily investing in, and his forging skill had already reached level 4 at 86%.

Old Zhou was currently examining the Black Iron Hammer with delight. Upon hearing this, he hesitated slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Life skill tools are quite rare, so there aren't many to use as a reference. But based on the practicality of this hammer... at most, it would be 800 to 900 gold coins."

Heaven's Darkest Hour nodded; this price was consistent with the market. Anything higher would clearly be an overvaluation.

Lu Kuan smiled slightly, "That price is fine, but I have a way to make it worth 5,000! Boss, if you trust me, bring your materials and come with me to the blacksmith shop to see for yourself."