"This works too?"
Looking at the sudden reputation increase notification that popped up, Levi leaned back tactically.
It could only be said that dwarves were truly dwarves... even drinking could increase reputation this much.
But this also gave him more ideas.
Reputation increases didn't necessarily require constant killing.
Just as he was thinking this, Levi felt his vision gradually beginning to drift upward.
Not good, this was bad... the aftereffects were kicking in!
He checked his status bar.
[Drunk: 5h34min]
"Ah, I think I need to go upstairs and put down my luggage first."
"Please go ahead, sir, but do watch your head... this place might be a bit low for you..."
Thud!
A collision sound came from the stairway.
"Sir?"
"I'm fine!" Levi shouted and immediately returned to his room.
He pulled out milk and chugged it.
Phew...
The drunk status was instantly removed.
He hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming here... the sudden incident had just disrupted his rhythm.
But at least he didn't have to pay for the inn himself now. That young dwarf had promised to cover his expenses.
After sobering up, Levi didn't linger and went straight out toward the market.
The market was quite busy at the moment. As that polite dwarf on the road had said, their merchant caravan had just returned with plenty of fresh goods, and everyone was taking advantage of this time to shop.
Among the dwarves, he was quite conspicuous, but fortunately no one bothered him since his reputation was [Friendly].
Walking along, several smithies by the roadside soon caught his attention.
"Fine swords and armor!"
Levi walked over and glanced at this shop's wares.
[Dwarven Steel Sword] Attack +7.
A random roadside shop was selling swords that were on the same level as diamond swords?
"Interested in weapons? Then you've come to the right place... I have nothing but good stuff here."
"Indeed good stuff." Levi nodded, though he didn't need any.
None were better than his own sword.
After looking at weapons, he turned to the armor, touching here and there, then tapping it with his fingers.
Finally, the smith owner couldn't stand it anymore.
"No need to look, human. That armor is made for dwarves... you can't fit into it. If you want some, I can custom-make it for you, though it might take quite a while."
"No need, I'm just looking."
He was slightly frustrated. He'd looked at swords and touched armor.
Why hadn't any crafting recipes unlocked yet?
Levi began recalling his experience unlocking new recipes in Rivendell.
Right, it was seeing Rivendell's forge that unlocked them.
So for dwarven recipes, he'd need to see dwarven-specific forging facilities to unlock them?
"Decided what to buy?"
"There's nothing here I want."
He shook his head and asked, "Do you have diamonds or obsidian?"
The dwarven smith looked at Levi strangely.
"Do I look like I'd have those? Those things can't be used to make weapons or tools. I suggest you ask the miners who spend time underground... maybe they have some collections."
"Or you could check with that fellow over there... he sells jewelry."
The smith kindly pointed him in a direction.
"Thanks."
Bypassing the busy merchant caravan, Levi came to a relatively quiet building and asked the same question again.
"Obsidian? What's that good for? Don't have any. But I do have some diamonds... what kind do you want? Rings, necklaces, or bracelets?"
"I want a whole piece."
The jeweler examined Levi carefully.
As they say, you can't judge a book by its cover. This human gentleman... oh, his clothing material was indeed quite good, probably luxury-level among humans. He didn't seem short of money.
"How large do you want it?"
"This big." Levi gestured according to the diamond size shown in his crafting table.
Though he was gesturing with his hands, he was actually quite nervous inside, unsure if the money he had would be enough to buy the diamond he wanted.
The jeweler's eyes widened as he looked at the size Levi indicated.
Hiss...
"Customer, for this size, if you want a whole piece, it might be difficult to obtain. But if small fragments are acceptable, I could gather diamonds of equivalent volume."
Small fragments...
Levi hesitated briefly, then agreed. "That works too. I can try it."
Though he didn't know what Levi meant by "try it," the dwarven jeweler still went into his warehouse, rummaged around, and finally pulled out a pile of fragments.
"See if this works."
[Recipe Unlocked: Diamond Dust]
A pile of diamond dust could be crafted into one whole large diamond.
"It works. How much?"
The jeweler named a price.
Levi glanced at the silver coins in his backpack and felt these trolls were really quite poor.
"I didn't bring that much. Can I trade other gems for it?"
"That's fine too, as long as those gems are actually worth that price."
Hearing this, he pulled out his last few gems... all picked from wights.
The wights were still providing their residual value.
"These gems are of good quality. They can be exchanged for 1.2 times their volume in diamonds... Do you have more? These aren't enough to cover everything."
"I'll make up the rest with silver coins."
Levi looked pained.
Back to square one overnight.
But finally, he had it.
[Achievement Unlocked: Diamonds!]
Back at the inn, as the achievement notification appeared, a brilliant blue diamond materialized on the crafting table.
Most of his silver coins plus three small gems had gotten him a fist-sized diamond, with one small fragment left over after crafting.
Nearly exhausting his entire fortune for just one diamond.
He needed another one, but could no longer afford it.
Levi was somewhat troubled.
Suddenly, he remembered what the dwarven jeweler had said.
Such a large whole diamond was very rare, very precious.
He had said something like that, right?
Levi weighed the heavy large diamond in his hand.
Honestly, this crafted diamond was beautiful... crystal clear with obviously superior quality.
After thinking, he went downstairs to ask the owner who was the wealthiest in this area.
A moment later, at another dwarf's residence.
"Exquisite!"
A dwarf noticeably fatter than the other dwarves he'd seen outside shouted loudly.
"Here, here, take it all... my silver coins, gold, everything can be yours, as long as you're willing to give it to me!"
A large, beautiful, and hard diamond of superior quality... for a wealthy dwarf with a natural love for shiny things, the attraction was simply too great.
"I don't need gold or silver. I want diamonds... lots of diamonds, whether fragments or whole pieces."
"Stay here, don't leave. Wait for me."
The dwarf hurried out with all his family's wealth.
He waited a long time... almost until the next meal... and Levi was beginning to wonder if he'd return today when the wealthy dwarf finally struggled in carrying a small chest that made clinking sounds.
"Look at these... is this enough?"
"I can guarantee that all the diamonds mined and sold in this region are here. You won't be able to buy more in the short term."
Levi opened the chest and looked inside.
These diamond fragments were probably enough to craft five diamonds.
This guy was really collecting with dedication.
"Enough. Here you go."
[Achievement Unlocked: Have a Diamond!]
This was a pleasant transaction.
Levi traded one diamond for enough diamond dust to make five diamonds, while the dwarf traded some fragments of passable quality meant for wholesale export for one superior-quality large diamond.
Both were very satisfied.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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