The past was built upon collecting unique characteristics.

Morian braved the sweltering heat and walked deeper into a cubicle in the workshop.

The interior is slightly smaller than the exterior, but the air is still stuffy. On the only wooden table in the room, there are many design drawings scattered haphazardly, with measuring and drawing tools such as rulers piled up next to it.

Walking behind the worktable, old Walker moved a sturdy wooden stool over, sat down, and asked directly:

"What item do you need to forge? Do you have a general idea in mind?"

Morian nodded slightly, having anticipated this.

"I want to create a weapon made of spiritual materials, focusing on flexibility and sharpness, preferably a short knife type that is easy to carry."

"This is a preliminary design drawing I had someone make based on my ideas." As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded sheet of paper and unfolded it on the table.

The lines on the drawing weren't particularly refined, and were even somewhat stiff, but they were enough to clearly show the design of a short knife about fifteen inches long, with the basic dimensions noted on it.

Walker's gaze swept over the rather unrefined blueprint on the table, and his gray eyebrows furrowed tightly, making no attempt to hide his disdain.

"This can be called a design drawing? It looks more like Mr. Stone's kid's scribbles next door, a complete mess!"

"These designs need to be completely scrapped and started from scratch." Walker kept shaking his head as he looked at the drawings, pointing to the short knife on the blueprints. "Different spiritual materials have vastly different properties, and the design must revolve around the materials."

Leaving aside the processing costs of other auxiliary materials, the starting price for crafting a weapon primarily made of spiritual materials is 1,500 gold pounds as a basic labor cost.

After explaining, he crossed his arms, gave a disgruntled "humph," and asked in a very realistic tone:

"Give me a rough estimate of your budget so I can see if you're just wasting my time."

£1,500?

Morian quickly calculated all his assets. He had spent nearly three hundred pounds on the extraordinary party, and with his previous savings and the fifty pounds Ronan had paid out, he now had about thirteen hundred pounds at his disposal.

That's still two hundred pounds short, and that's just the basic labor cost; auxiliary materials and other expenses can be included.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously scratched his face and said embarrassedly:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Walker, I only have about 1,300 pounds available at the moment."

"If the calculation, including material costs and other expenses, is within three hundred pounds, I think it's acceptable," Morian quickly added.

"Three hundred pounds? That's more suitable for ordinary blacksmiths with decent skills." Walker scoffed, reaching out to help refold the blueprints, clearly having lost interest in the deal. "Young man, you've come to the wrong place."

This price is indeed a bit of a stretch for the creation of an extraordinary weapon. As Earl White mentioned in his letter, the other party's skill is superb, but the price is also very high.

The current funding gap is quite large. If we are considering ways to raise money quickly, perhaps we could take a few bottles of "recovery potions" and try to find that mysterious "Mr. Y" from the last extraordinary gathering?

But that also means establishing a direct trading channel with the other party. Is it really necessary to get the drug into the market so quickly?

Faced with the exorbitant price, Morian couldn't think of a better solution for the time being and could only nod with slight disappointment.

"Alright, I'm sorry to have bothered you, I'll take my leave now."

After saying hello, he put the storage box he had just taken out back into his pocket and turned to leave the stuffy workshop.

Old Walker quietly observed the polite young man before him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the wooden storage box, a hint of curiosity finally surfacing in the depths of his discerning eyes.

Just as Morian was about to reach the door, a hoarse but slightly softened sigh came from behind him.

"etc."

Morian stopped in his tracks upon hearing the sound and turned around, puzzled.

"Take the contents of the box out. Let me see what materials you brought."

Hearing these words of persuasion, even he, as slow as he was, finally understood.

There seems to be a turning point in the forging matter? Has the old gentleman finally relented?!

Morian quickly returned to his workbench, took out the unassuming storage box, placed it on the table, and then carefully opened the lid.

Inside the wooden box, the crystal with its dreamlike, flowing, seven-colored luster lay quietly, still emitting a soft glow even in such a dim environment.

Walker had only glanced at it casually, but his gaze was instantly drawn to it, and all his previous indifference was replaced by focused attention.

The "divine craftsman" did not rashly touch it with his hands. Instead, he quickly took out a monocle from the drawer, put it on his right eye, and carefully examined the spiritual material in front of him.

"Hmm... the seven-colored rainbow crystal is very well preserved in its activity, with almost no impurities." Walker was so engrossed in looking at it that he muttered to himself involuntarily.

After a moment, he slowly lowered the monocular and gave a professional analysis and evaluation:

"It is indeed a very good spiritual material, especially suitable for energy conduction and compatibility absorption, which means that weapons forged from it are very likely to retain this quality and have considerable potential."

"As expected of a professional..." Morian thought to himself.

With just the naked eye and simple tools, one can so accurately determine the value of this crystal and even pronounce the name displayed on the gold finger.

In a brief silence, Walker stared at the seven-colored crystal, the design of the rudimentary sketch resurfacing in his mind, seemingly hesitating whether to take on the job.

As a holder of the "divine craftsmanship" destiny, when faced with spiritual materials of excellent quality, the urge to forge an extraordinary work by hand has almost become an instinct.

However, the compensation was indeed somewhat insufficient...

"You want to use this crystal to forge a short sword according to the design in that blueprint?"

"Yes, that's the general idea, but the specific design might require adjustments from an expert like you," Morian replied sincerely, handing over complete control to the other party.

Walker didn't speak, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, but ultimately he waved his hand.

"Alright! Alright! For the sake of this material, I can make an exception and adjust the price for you."

"The basic labor cost will be reduced to one thousand gold pounds, and the cost of auxiliary materials will be reduced appropriately according to the actual expenses, depending on the situation."

"My condition is that the forging process must follow my design steps exactly. If you can accept that, then it's a deal," he emphasized slowly.

One thousand gold pounds? That's a significant reduction from the initial quote, and there's also a discount on material costs. This is definitely a rare opportunity.

"No problem, I completely agree to the price." Morian nodded without hesitation and accepted it readily.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Walker."