Chapter 48: Gratification

【Aifuerli Meigui Lianji】

【Chongwu Shunbu Zhan】

【Royal Cross】

【...】

Xia Nan stared at the combat technique book in his hand, his wide eyes seemingly trying to find something special on the dust-covered covers.

"No way, where's my golden finger?"

"Do something!"

He focused all his attention.

But those familiar translucent characters did not appear before his eyes as they had in the past.

Having transmigrated to this world for so many days, even though he had basically confirmed that his "Attribute Panel" golden finger only worked on changes in weapons, equipment, and his own specialized attributes,

when he actually came to the general store with the idea of picking up a bargain, trying to use the golden finger to find a few usable combat techniques, and came up empty-handed,

he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Maybe it's because these are all fakes, so I can't see their attributes?"

With a hint of consolation, Xia Nan muttered to himself.

The air in the general store fell into silence.

On the side, Kukunuer, who had been very considerately pretending to be busy with his own affairs while actually observing Xia Nan for a long time out of the corner of his eye,

showed a hint of hesitation on his neatly groomed face.

His emerald-green eyes glanced at the empty doorway of the general store, and seeing that there was no one around, he figured what he was about to say shouldn't offend the black-haired youth before him.

Only then did he organize his words in his mind and speak slowly:

"Customer, judging by your attire, you must be a respected adventurer."

"No offense intended, but... looking at the price I gave, you should be able to guess that the quality of these cheap goods is indeed mixed."

"If you're just taking them back for reference or as a pastime, you can buy as many as you want."

"But if you really want to find those 'Combat Techniques' that are prerequisites for professionals, even with the best luck, it's truly difficult."

As he spoke, he seemed to feel he had been too blunt.

The gnome Kukunuer touched the buttons on his vest with a hint of trepidation and added:

"I'm mainly worried about you getting hurt; after all, many of the training methods in these combat technique books aren't very standard."

"If you don't mind, I can give you a few for free, but please, by all means, do not practice them as if they were real 'Combat Techniques'."

Xia Nan naturally didn't feel any strange emotions regarding the shopkeeper's reminder.

He just smiled and shook his head at the other party, declining while indicating he was fine.

A few days ago, he had already learned some knowledge about "Combat Techniques" in this world from Wood and the half-elves.

Without being able to accurately distinguish their authenticity, ninety-nine point nine nine percent of the so-called "Combat Techniques" circulating on the market were traps that wasted an adventurer's time and energy for nothing.

The cost of trial and error was too high.

One careless mistake and months or half a year of time would be wasted.

If there were no other encounters, or the help of relevant professionals, wanting to master a formal combat technique based solely on a skill book bought from a roadside general store was undoubtedly a fantasy.

The reason Xia Nan asked Kukunuer for the price was partly to test if the golden finger could work, and partly because he wanted to try his luck.

Now, he had his answer.

But leaving without buying even one seemed a bit of a pity.

After thinking about it, Xia Nan squatted down and picked two combat technique books from the cardboard box.

He held the spines and shook them in the air, dusting off the dirt.

"I'll take these two, how much?"

"No need, customer, consider them a gift."

"It's fine."

He didn't intend to owe such favors, nor did he want to take advantage of these few copper coins.

Xia Nan stuffed the copper coins into Kukunuer's arms and walked straight out of the general store.

The experience of protagonists picking up bargains in the countless novels he had read in his previous life made him instinctively avoid those combat technique books with flashy names and thicknesses exceeding half a finger joint.

He chose the two thinnest ones that looked the most concise and clear:

【Frontal Thrust】 and 【Block and Upward Slash】.

He stuffed them casually into his backpack.

Xia Nan looked at the bustling, noisy street ahead and pondered:

"Hmm, next..."

"Time to go to the blacksmith shop."

"Rock Hammer," as a well-regarded boutique blacksmith shop in River Valley Town that even made it into the 【Adventurer's Handbook】, naturally couldn't be short of business.

When Xia Nan arrived at the entrance with his backpack, the shop owner, "Ba'en Gangxu," was entertaining a middle-aged man with an honest face and simple attire.

He saw him holding a two-handed long-handled spear, carefully inspecting it from the end of the grip to the spearhead at the very top.

From time to time, he would swing it a couple of times, seemingly feeling whether the weight and balance were suitable.

After haggling with Ba'en for a few words, he counted out four gold coins and some loose silver and copper coins from his money bag with a pained expression, holding them out to the other party with both hands.

Of course, from the look of slight joy mixed with the pain on his face after completing the transaction, one could tell that this honest-looking middle-aged man was very satisfied with the long-handled spear in his hand.

When passing Xia Nan, he even nodded apologetically, seemingly sorry for delaying his time.

Treating him as just a passerby, Xia Nan nodded back, stopped paying attention, and walked straight toward the "Rock Hammer" owner, Ba'en.

"Eh?"

With just one glance, this burly man, who claimed to have dwarven blood but was a head taller than a Bugbear, recognized Xia Nan.

However, compared to the changes that had occurred in the other party, his focus was a bit different.

"Your mission this time was quite dangerous!"

Ba'en looked at the tattered leather armor Xia Nan was wearing, which was still stained with blood, and sighed pointedly.

After all, he had personally sold the leather armor to the other party not long ago; how could he not care about a piece of fine-quality gear at a 10-gold price turning into its current state?

"I did run into a tough guy, and it's thanks to your leather armor, otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back."

Xia Nan didn't reveal specific information, just laughed it off and praised him.

As if this sentence had hit the right spot, Ba'en's hearty laughter immediately echoed through the blacksmith shop.

"Hahaha, that's good!"

"It's probably unwearable now, take it off, I'll give you 3 silver coins for it!"

His expression was filled with gratification and a sense of accomplishment.

As a blacksmith with aspirations, having the equipment he forged sell for a high price might prove others' recognition of his craftsmanship.

But what moved him most was feedback like this, verified in actual combat by the buyer.

Even if the equipment he had carefully forged had become a piece of scrap metal, as long as it had fulfilled its mission and allowed its owner to stand safely before him,

it made Ba'en happier than selling goods for hundreds or even thousands of gold.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 49 =====