Chapter 132: Golden Weapons
Stepping into this street block, a wave of heat hit her face, and the air was mixed with the aura of charcoal fire and iron filings.
The shops on both sides of the street were all hanging various weapons and armor, curved sabers, broadswords, great axes, spears, chainmail, plate armor, helmets, shields, almost everything one could think of.
There were no crude iron weapons here; the lowest were steel weapons forged by apprentices.
Due to the difficulty of material collection, prices in the Shadow World were generally higher than on the surface. A steel weapon sold for 40 silver coins on the surface would cost about 80 silver coins here, while slightly better steel weapons would cost 1 gold coin.
If it was a weapon made of hundred-refined fine steel, the price would be around 4-6 gold coins, and the black steel weapons that Xilutiya had heard about before were priced above 12 gold coins here, more than twice that of the surface.
However, the black steel weapons here were clearly of higher quality than those forged by blacksmiths on the surface, so even spending double the price was not too much of a loss.
As for the golden weapons that Agrun mentioned, their price was around 50 gold coins, generally only senior Second Order students had the strength to possess them.
50 gold coins was absolutely a huge sum for ordinary students; it would probably take 3 years to save up, and that was considering the dangers in the woodland and the association’s not-low treatment.
Normal First Order students, like those First Order patrol cavalry, only earned about 10 gold coins a year; after advancing to Second Order, it would increase a lot, to about 30 gold coins per year. This level of treatment and subsidy was far from enough for improving strength and studying, so students relied on various side hustles to earn income.
Gardeners would sell the high-grade fruit they grew themselves, combat professions would venture into dangerous and harsh lands in the Shadow World for exploration, seeking legacies and prey there, and other life professions also had their own development paths.
Previously, Xilutiya had spent 50 gold coins on buying seeds, and now she had 150 gold coins left. If she used them to custom-make a weapon for Agrun, it would cost at least 60 gold coins at minimum; if using golden for something better, it would probably take 100 gold coins to satisfy.
Sure enough, free things are the most expensive. After understanding the situation, Xilutiya complained.
Fortunately, Agrun had said at the time that mailing it to him within a year would be fine, so there was no need to be particularly urgent now.
“Hey, little maiden, are you here to buy a weapon too? Take a look at this small short sword of mine; it’s very suitable for your light and agile style.” A blacksmith uncle called out to the maiden watching in front of the shop.
Xilutiya looked at the black steel short sword in his hand, then drew her own carried short sword to compare.
“Oh, so you already have one prepared. But let me take a look.” He took the short sword from Xilutiya’s hand, his rough fingers stroking it, and a bit of ‘Golden Steam’ nature aura emerged on him.
“This should be a very ancient crafting method. You probably obtained it during an adventure in some foreign place, because a long time ago, there wasn’t much understanding of black steel’s properties, and the black steel refined at that time was unstable, causing it to slowly react with other materials after being forged in, leading to a decline in the overall strength of the weapon.”
“Now, black steel forged in the past few hundred years won’t have this issue.”
“Although the material has flaws, the blacksmith who forged this short sword must have been very professional at the time; whether it’s the lines, center of gravity, or hand feel, it’s all very good.” He praised it and returned the short sword to Xilutiya.
Seeing how professional he was, the maiden also became interested.
“If I want to forge a saber, one for a light and flexible combat style, what material would be the best?”
“The best? That would definitely be legendary materials, but at your current stage, using golden to forge it would be the best choice.”
Black steel’s properties are relatively heavy and sturdy, making it a good choice for shields, armor, hammers, axes, greatswords, but if you want a light and flexible style, golden’s sharpness and lightness far surpass black steel. Additionally, golden has a certain anti-magic effect, able to cut through barriers constructed by supernatural power, which is also very effective against those thick-skinned monsters.
“How much is the price of golden?” the maiden continued to ask.
“The price of one golden ingot is about 20-30 gold coins. To forge a golden weapon, if it’s a short sword, dagger, or spear, one is enough, since the good stuff only needs to be used on the blade.”
“If it’s a wider or longer sword, axe, it might take two golden ingots to achieve a good effect.”
“If you really pursue the extreme, meaning the entire weapon is made of golden, that would greatly increase the anti-magic ability, but the forging cost would more than triple.”
“My friend entrusted me to custom-order a golden gleam long saber for him…” Xilutiya told him the situation and asked this blacksmith uncle to help analyze.
“If I took this job, the material cost would be about 50 gold coins, and the processing fee can be cheaper, just 10 gold coins, which should basically meet your friend’s requirements.”
“But if you want to make it perfect, like for your own use, spending about 100 gold coins, I would give you the most handy tool, doubling your combat power out of thin air.” He grinned as he introduced.
“100 gold coins, huh, that’s quite expensive.” The maiden was a bit reluctant to spend the money; after all, there would be many places needing it for developing the valley farm later, and she couldn’t invest all her liquid funds at once right now.
“I probably can’t afford to buy one recently, but you mentioned golden ingots just now; where do the golden ingots here come from?”
“Of course, they’re purchased from the ‘Four Seasons Alliance.’ The famous gardeners in the city are basically in their organization. After their cultivated ‘golden wheat’ matures, it can be refined to obtain golden.”
“Oh, right, you’re a gardener too, right? Hehe.”
“If you join the ‘Four Seasons Alliance,’ you could probably get golden at an internal discount price, about 30% cheaper than on the market, saving a lot of money.”
“What if I want to cultivate ‘golden wheat’?” Xilutiya thought of this.
“This… at your current level, you probably can’t. I heard that the golden wheat at White Stone Fortress is tended by Third Order gardeners.” He politely told the maiden.
Third Order, probably around the same level as Madam Fran. Xilutiya recalled past life memories; she still had a long way to go to catch up to Madam Fran.
“I understand, thank you. I haven’t asked your name yet. If I come next time, I can just find you to help with forging.”
“Haha, I’m Oken Graymountain, with a small portion of gray stone giant bloodline. When you come to this street in the future, just ask for ‘Graymountain Stove’; that’s my shop name.”
“Alright, thank you for telling me, Mister Oken.” Xilutiya waved goodbye and left the shop.
Although she didn’t buy a weapon or place an order, she had learned the general price and uses of golden.
This time, she should also buy some ‘golden wheat’ seeds. Even if she couldn’t grow suitable golden wheat, she could see what she was still lacking, as a direction for progress.
