Goblin Dependency

With the effect of the two clauses in the "Proof of Diligence" that can greatly enhance training speed, 6000 Gold Coins is indeed a bargain.

Although Xia Nan doesn’t have this much Gold Coins at the moment, once he processes all the spoils and various odds and ends from this mission, he should be able to gather enough funds.

Thinking this in his heart, Aurie, who was sitting opposite, suddenly changed the subject.

"The ’Moon Tide Banquet’ is coming up soon, the banquet over by the Outer Sea. You should be attending with the Sword of Vengeance, right?"

Not knowing why the other party asked this, Xia Nan still nodded and replied:

"If nothing unexpected happens."

Upon hearing this, Aurie also did not explain further, as if it just randomly occurred to him and he casually asked.

Then suddenly returned to the original topic.

"The quality of these three pieces of equipment is quite good. If put in the auction house, the price could be higher."

"With a bit of luck and meeting a generous buyer, in total it could probably sell for around 6000 Gold Coins."

"So, since you’ve helped me so much, it saves you wasting more time and energy over a small difference in money."

"Today, let’s do a barter."

"One bracelet for these three pieces of equipment."

"What do you think?"

"Deal."

Hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful to the "Proof of Diligence", an equipment that can greatly enhance training efficiency.

Xia Nan replied decisively.

His keen perception ability allowed him to sense that the collector across from him might have other motives, through some details during the conversation.

But whether it was hoping to invest in him, or needing his help with something else,

as long as he could get the "Proof of Diligence" in his hands, everything else could be negotiated.

For such equipment that reaches an upper limit of Pink Epic level quality, he indeed feared any delay, and if possible, even getting it a few days or half a month earlier would be best.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Aurie Silver Heart’s mind was also quietly swirling with thoughts.

He was a collector, and although he often purchased various collectibles, he only bought things he was interested in.

He had no actual business in equipment recycling or sales.

While enchanted equipment is extremely valuable, if he wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t forcibly acquire it for the profit of several hundred Gold Coins from such transactions.

At present, among the three pieces of equipment Xia Nan brought along, the only one Aurie had some interest in was the casting tool shaped like a horn.

But now, he took the initiative to suggest trading the bracelet to Xia Nan.

There were reasons behind this.

One aspect was wanting to invest in a young adventurer who has shown enough potential, and another was for the upcoming "Moon Tide Banquet".

Aurie, being patient, naturally wouldn’t reveal his intentions at this early stage of building rapport.

Seeing Xia Nan nod in agreement to the trade, the Half Elf had a friendly smile at his lips.

With his palm facing up and fingers together, he gently gestured toward the bracelet on the table in front.

Xia Nan got up accordingly, moving to the side of the table.

He reached out to take the "Proof of Diligence" preserved on silk cloth.

Feeling the metal’s coolness against his fingertips, he studied the dark gray bracelet that had now changed ownership, silhouetted against the morning light outside the window.

The bracelet was pragmatically designed, woven from strands of gray iron thread, with an uncluttered main body and the "Shadow Dust" emblem hanging like a solidified water drop, swaying gently with movement.

The more he looked at it, the more it matched his aesthetic.

He fastened the clasp and it was now worn on his right wrist.

It seemed to have been specially designed during forging, as the "Proof of Diligence" felt far more secured on the wrist than other bracelets, which could easily fall off with larger movements.

The silvery-gray iron threads twisted in spirals, fitting tightly against his skin, with no sign of coming loose even with vigorous arm movements.

Only the "Shadow Dust" emblem suspended at the wrist’s bottom swung with a subtle metallic friction sound.

Xia Nan was very satisfied.

...

...

Ten days later.

In a certain forest area outside Suo Yu Bay.

In a spacious underground cavern.

"Drip."

It was the dense sound of viscous blood dripping onto the ground.

This ought to be one of the most common goblin nests on the Aifala Continent.

Yet at this moment, the air inside the cavern, which should have been filled with goblins’ noisy shrieks, was eerily silent, with no sound at all.

As for the reason...

The goblin corpses scattered across the ground possibly provided a clue.

Upon reflection, there wasn’t particularly anything special about it.

After all, throughout the Aifala Continent, many goblin nests have been cleared by adventurers and demons alike.

But the strange thing was.

The goblin bodies, displaying various manners of death, all shared an unusual similarity.

——Their heads were uniformly missing from their shoulders.

Replaced by a miniature structure about five feet high in the center of the cavern.

One by one, the heads were stacked neatly together.

The goblins’ facial muscles had frozen, maintaining the last expressions they had in their final moments, some with mouths agape in panicked screams, others with eyes rolling upwards in agony bearing a deathly white...

Like a carefully designed arrangement, each head’s face was neatly outward-facing, with cooling viscous blood mingled with mud to fill the gaps between heads, revealing pale bones interspersed between skull tops and jaws to stabilize the structure.

Xia Nan carefully held the Bear Goblin head he had just severed, much larger than other goblins from this nest’s leader.

Raising it high, he placed it gently atop the structure like the last piece of a stack of blocks.

Using wrist strength, he firmly inserted the bone spine into the mud saturated with blood, making slight adjustments to keep it balanced and prevent it from leaning.

Then he released his hands, stepping back a few steps.

From afar, he admired the structure created from goblin heads, a clear sense of accomplishment sprawled across his face.

Thanks to the enthusiastic assistance from many warm-hearted goblins, his architectural art skills improved rapidly during this time.

Though it’s still far from the large-scale chilling ceremony required for his occupation, small constructions like what’s in front were gradually becoming proficient.

Utilizing goblin bones as internal supports, augmented with mud from the cave and their blood, like cement between bricks in his past life, one could greatly enhance the stability and "aesthetic appeal" of the structure.

It also helped anchor the heads more securely, preventing collapse halfway through construction.

Even though he wasn’t an architecture major in his past life and didn’t have related knowledge, through many attempts, Xia Nan gradually grasped the difficulties involved.

Take the goblins themselves as an example.

Though this small structure looks quite well done now, any increase in scale would invariably multiply in complexity.

Goblin body strength is very limited.

Their thin, twig-like bones aren’t suitable as the support structure for large buildings, easily breaking or fracturing under slightly increased pressure.

The filling material made from a mud and blood mixture also lacks the compressive strength, wear resistance, and shrinkage qualities of cement.

Making the whole structure particularly fragile and prone to destruction.

This has been the focus of Xia Nan’s recent challenges.

Fortunately, due to the proliferation of goblins in this world, he never faced a shortage of experimental materials.

Whenever he had an idea, he could test it directly in the wild.

This period of immersion in architectural art also resulted in noticeably fewer goblin-related missions in the adventurer association, causing many low-level adventurers to grumble.

On the other hand, thanks to these friendly green-skinned neighbors, Xia Nan, now equipped with the "Proof of Diligence", was able to train intensively with their help, greatly enhancing his Battle Skill skill level.