Free Web NovelChapter 1276: Chapter 91: Display of Authority
"Speak, what brings you here."
Reed sat atop the forging furnace. He had originally resided in a pitch-black, sealed tomb, and Reincarnation Paradise was heaven to him, with infinite possibilities. More importantly, it had endless potential.
For this reason, when Reed met with Su Xiao, he only showed anger and none of the other negative emotions.
"To repair some equipment."
Su Xiao took out the King’s Honored Arm Armor, Dragon Slash, and other equipment. As for firearms like the Duke of Extinction, Reed was unable to repair such items. Repairing equipment isn’t as simple as throwing it into a furnace and hammering it a few times. If the Duke of Extinction got damaged, it was more reliable to have it repaired by the Mechanical Girl, whereas Reed, skilled in forging, excelled in handling bladed tools.
Reed took Dragon Slash from its scabbard and drew the long knife. Seeing the bright blade, Reed nodded. This knife had been meticulously maintained for a long time. His task was to inspect the edge for tiny, nearly invisible marks and repair them.
"A total of 75,800 Paradise coins."
Reed quoted a sky-high price. If repaired elsewhere, the cost would only be about 6,000 Paradise coins. Reed wasn’t trying to cheat Su Xiao—he was obsessed with forging to the point of being fanatical, believing that something should either not be done at all or be done to perfection.
Su Xiao didn’t trade Paradise coins with Reed but instead pulled out [Reed’s Medal]. Seeing Reed’s Medal, Brother Reed felt genuinely wronged, a sense of being sold out overwhelming him.
"You Hunters really are the ’favorites’ of Paradise."
Reed snorted out two jets of white air from his nose. Hearing him mention Hunters, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes.
"Relax. I’m not the kind of Contractor who knows nothing. I am now a Reincarnation Paradise-certified forger. If Hunters are the military, then I’m logistics. Forgers, Rulers, and Hunters are not mutually hostile."
Reed activated the S-level forge and began using its microscopic device to inspect the edge of Dragon Slash.
Su Xiao did not receive a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise, indicating what Reed said was indeed true. The other party had the right to know about matters related to Hunters, just as he knew about forgers.
"What happened in the past has passed. I’m a straightforward person, and I won’t thank you for sending me here. You should have already received your due rewards. From the current situation, we will need to work together long-term."
Reed made a mark on the edge of Dragon Slash, where there was an almost imperceptible nick. Although Su Xiao regularly maintained Dragon Slash, he wasn’t proficient in forging. As for the repair of the Divine Lingering Scabbard, the Divine Spirit Afterglow was just Dark Purple Equipment, and its repair ability was limited.
"Indeed, compared to being adversaries, collaboration is the wiser choice."
Su Xiao found a spot in the shop to sit down.
"It won’t be long before I can truly live again."
Reed laughed, a coarse and unpleasant sound. This guy wasn’t a good person. During his time in the World of Xiya, he once took away a king’s beloved queen and had an affair with her in the king’s royal palace. He had committed such outrageous acts many times, and the number of living beings he had killed was astonishing.
"You can use that medal to get free forging or repairs from me, but this one-sided exploitation doesn’t match long-term dealings."
Reed finally voiced what he wanted to say.
"I will sell rare metals and minerals at a 20% discount to you."
"60% discount."
"20% discount."
"30% discount."
...
After some bargaining, Su Xiao and Reed finally agreed on a 25% discount. This meant Reed could purchase rare metals, minerals, and forging materials from Su Xiao at a 25% discount.
It seemed like Su Xiao was at a loss, but that wasn’t the case. A single precise equipment repair could cost tens of thousands of Paradise coins. If Dragon Slash were repaired by those ordinary forgers, the degradation of its attack power, sharpness, and durability would become apparent and severe over time.
Reed, on the other hand, inspected Dragon Slash in micrometer units and repaired it based on its quality and overall structure.
In this calculation, Su Xiao wouldn’t lose Paradise coins; he just wouldn’t gain any advantage. Reed would never endure long-term exploitation. Initially exploiting some petty advantages would create an indelible enemy for Su Xiao in the future.
Reed didn’t need to enter the Derivative World, but Su Xiao did. If Reed chose to employ a large number of Contractors by offering benefits from forging, it wasn’t impossible to wear Su Xiao down. Of course, in dragging down Su Xiao, Reed would also pay a heavy price.
Su Xiao had to either give up on Reed, the forging master, and potentially future forging grandmaster or establish a long-term cooperative relationship with him. Clearly, the latter was far more visionary than the former.
Forging a single piece of Legendary Gear would already make most people jaw-drop with just the forger’s crafting fee, let alone the fact that Su Xiao didn’t believe that Legendary Level was the highest quality of equipment in Reincarnation Paradise. Future forging costs and equipment repair fees would only increase, and Reed’s utility would grow more significant.
"Then shall we wish for a pleasant future collaboration?"
Reed spoke without even looking up. He was a rogue, a perfect match for Su Xiao, who was also one. Rogues could more easily find common interests with one another.
The reason Su Xiao valued Reed was due to his forging skills and that exorbitantly priced S-level forging furnace. Reed, on the other hand, collaborated with Su Xiao because of Su Xiao’s identity as a Hunter, as well as the information channels and material acquisition sources he brought.
"With your forging skills, you can be a valued guest at any large adventure group."
"Do you think I would value myself under others?"
Reed sneered, not at Su Xiao, but at the contractors who wanted to recruit him.
"If you don’t want to be under others, first you need to connect with five Merchant Groups, with your forging skills. Black Sail Merchant Group, a bunch of black merchants who are unscrupulous in doing business with vast funds; Red Maple Commerce Association, a bunch of idiots but undeniably skilled, with extensive acquisition channels; Blue Chamber, very moderate, with stable trading channels... to be successful in Reincarnation Paradise and not under others, you need to have dealings with these five Merchant Groups at the very least."
What Su Xiao said made Reed stop his work.
"You have connection channels with these Merchant Groups?"
"Of course."
"Collaborating with you... seems to be a wise choice."
Reed continued to inspect Dragon Slash, checking ever more carefully, while Su Xiao provided Reed with contacts to these Merchant Groups, acting as a guarantor.
Six hours later, Su Xiao left Reed’s shop, turning a potential adversary into a long-term collaborator.
Su Xiao’s fingers ran along the edge of Dragon Slash, and the blade now shone brighter than ever.
With his strength enhanced and Reed settled, Su Xiao headed straight to the arena. He wanted to use the remaining time to battle his way to the top of the arena rankings. If he didn’t reach the top of the third-tier arena this time, there would never be such an opportunity.
Su Xiao wanted to verify if he had become the strongest in the third tier. In the first and second tiers, he hadn’t had the chance to claim the top spot in the arena—not because he didn’t want to, but because he simply couldn’t. A balanced development of four attributes had slowed his growth in the early stage.
Now, the advantages of developing all four attributes simultaneously were becoming apparent.
As Su Xiao walked toward the arena, his momentum grew sharper. However, after being in the arena for an hour, he leaned back on the sofa in the lounge, yawning.
He could only match against ten opponents. Those ranked below him couldn’t even match against him; his winning streak was just too high.
Of course, the top ten couldn’t avoid a fight, but when they received an arena match prompt, they could choose to delay the match for two hours. Clearly, the tenth rank Su Xiao was about to match against had chosen to delay for two hours, obviously intending to give Su Xiao a setback.
One can only imagine what Su Xiao would do after waiting a full two hours for the match.
