Can a Frankenstein's monster be an adventurer?

Chapter 112 Itinerant Vendor Stall

Luo Lan and her group followed the dirt road in the village to the entrance.

The wooden watchtower at the village entrance remained unchanged, its shadow stretched long and thin by the morning light. Dew condensed on the wooden planks, where Willard, who hadn't slept all night, stood guard.

However, besides the lookout tower, what is even more eye-catching is a stall set up on the open ground next to the village entrance.

The rune steam engine, which was badly damaged a day ago, has been repaired by Griff to the point that it is barely presentable.

This goblin merchant used his carriage as a shelf, with the rear of the wide carriage laid flat and filled with various wooden crates of different heights.

Each wooden crate was filled with different goods, a variety of items rarely seen in remote villages.

It was still early, and the thin mist had not yet dissipated.

But at the entrance of this desolate and remote gray rock village, some early-rising villagers had already gathered.

They gathered around the carriage, buying needles, thread, spices, or durable hard bread from the goblin merchant—items rarely seen in small villages.

Because of Emily's previous "prank" misunderstanding, many villagers' fruits and vegetables were planted in the oasis by her.

As a result, many villagers gathered in front of the stall, asking Griff to buy vegetables and fruits from other places that could not be grown in their small village, in order to prepare for the coming cold night moon.

An old woman wearing a faded headscarf was struggling with two onions.

She held the onion to her nose, examining it from all angles, poking the tip with her finger: "These onions are already sprouting and you're still selling them for two copper coins each? Why don't you just rob the Holy Kingdom's treasury?"

Griff stood on the steam engine's footboard, goggles pushed up to his forehead, his short, green hands gesturing in the air: "The ones that sprout are the sweetest. These were grown in the Hearthstone Greenhouse with nutrient solution, transported from Ironforge. The rune battery for the steam engine alone cost more than two copper coins."

As he spoke, Griff bent down and pulled out a larger onion from the bottom of the box, its skin a shiny purple: "This one is three copper coins for you, and both together are five copper coins for you."

The old woman tucked two onions into her apron and took out five copper coins from her waist and slapped them into Griff's palm.

A middle-aged man next door, carrying a hoe, picked up two bundles of dried spices and a new iron sickle, weighing them in his hand.

While busy collecting money and giving change, Griff muttered to the middle-aged man, "The steel for the sickle is made of Hearthstone Grey Iron, guaranteed to be durable—"

Oli and Rom, master and apprentice, walked through the crowded shoppers and headed straight for the observation deck.

Rom wanted Ollie to go and hand over the patrol duties around the village to Willard.

Luo Lan squeezed into the crowd and headed straight for the goblin merchant's stall.

The villagers who were queuing up instinctively made way for the heavily armored knight as he approached.

Luo Lan walked straight to the wooden crate and got straight to the point: "Griff, bring me 20 bottles of potent energy potions."

Among a group of villagers haggling over prices for agricultural products and daily necessities, Luo Lan suddenly made a rather "generous" purchase request.

Standing atop the cargo crate, even as he was busy counting a few loose copper coins with his fingers, Griff instinctively raised his voice in response, automatically quoting the price: "Potentual Energy Potion, 3 silver coins per bottle, 60 silver coins for twenty bottles, no bargaining."

Without saying a word, Luo Lan reached into his pocket, took out a gold coin that gleamed with a golden luster, and handed it over.

Griff slowly raised his head, first seeing the gold coins, then the orange-glowing rune node on Roland's chest, and finally his gaze swept over the magical circulation paths flowing along the seams of the entire suit of armor.

"Wait, are you that tin can guy from yesterday?"

The goblin stretched its short, thick neck forward, its yellowish eyes darting around Luo Lan.

Upon closer inspection, Griff discovered even more things that seemed amiss.

The knight's gauntlet that Luo Lan was holding at this moment was now in a tight and fitting shape, perfectly aligned, a far cry from the loose armor he wore yesterday.

Griff's shrill voice rose eight octaves, his tone filled with undisguised shock: "Your armor—you finished repairing the [Transformation] rune? And integrated it into your armor? Without buying [Essence of Magic], how did you do that?"

The goblin's green face twitched, seemingly unable to believe that this guy, who yesterday seemed completely clueless about runes, was now wearing a set of extremely high-quality enchanted armor that required exceptional magical skill to complete.

Luo Lan had no obligation to explain the underlying principles to the goblin. He simply stood in front of his stall and casually remarked, "Who knows? There's always a solution, isn't there?"

A look of disbelief flashed across Griff's green face as he stared intently at Roran's runic armor, his lips pursed: "Tch, what are you pretending for? It's just an enchanted armor. Any professional goblin rune technician could make one—"

What Griff didn't say next was that the threshold for this so-called "professional goblin rune technician" was extremely high, and it obviously couldn't include himself—a low-level itinerant merchant who could only make a living by reselling supplies in remote areas.

Griff himself bought the T-800 combat golems from other goblin rune technicians; otherwise, he wouldn't have only chosen to repair the runes on the car and the wooden crate, but ignored the broken T-800 parts.

"They're just some low-level runes—"

Griff muttered under his breath, his gaze lingering reluctantly on Roland's shimmering armor for half a second before quickly looking away.

Luo Lan looked at the stubborn goblin and casually tossed a gold coin in her hand.

So, are you still going to do business?

"Yes! What goblin won't take a business that's offered to them?"

Griff straightened up abruptly, his earlier embarrassment gone.

He deftly took the gold coin from Luo Lan's hand, brought it to his mouth, and tapped it forcefully against his neat set of teeth.

After confirming that the hardness was correct, he casually stuffed the gold coin into his bulging pouch.

Griff's fingers rummaged quickly in his pouch, deftly counting out forty silver coins to give to Luo Lan in change.

He then pointed to a large, dark brown wooden crate piled at the rear of the steam-powered rune carriage.

"That box is full of alchemical potions. Just take twenty bottles of potent energy potions. Don't take any more, you know our Goblin Merchant Guild's mark."

Luo Lan nodded in agreement and accepted the silver coins as change.

He turned and walked toward the dark brown cargo box, then opened the lid.

Inside, the various alchemical potion bottles were neatly arranged and divided into compartments according to type.

From a pile of glass bottles lined with hay, he counted out two thousand bottles filled with a concentrated green alchemical liquid, taking them out one by one and putting one into his storage space each time.

Just as Roland finished shopping, Rom at the lookout tower temporarily entrusted Olli to Villard for simple patrol and guard duties.

The veteran, wearing his worn-out leather armor, walked steadily to Luo Lan.

Rom's gaze drifted to the gray, misty depths of the canyon to the west of the village, his voice deep and resonant: "Supplies ready? Let's go."

After leading Rom and Emily out of the village, Rom turned to face a weed-covered gravel path to the west of the village and said briefly, "Follow me."

Led by Rom, Emily and Roland followed closely behind.

The three of them headed west towards the abandoned mine in the gray rock canyon.