Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 58 O. Henry's Demand

Watching the young dwarf scurry into the blacksmith's shop, Wayne couldn't help but secretly congratulate himself on his good luck.

I never expected that just by randomly picking a seemingly honest-looking dwarf, I would find someone with connections who was also willing to do things for me. That's really rare.

Instead of standing there waiting for the result, he walked over with great interest to the other two dwarves who were still busy and began to observe their blacksmithing process carefully.

In fact, learning forging techniques had been part of his plan long ago, except that the cost of repairing equipment was too high and good blacksmiths were hard to find.

The most important reason is that Wayne believes that with the support of the system's power, regardless of his talent, as long as he learns forging techniques, one day he will become the world's most powerful blacksmith and create advanced equipment that far surpasses that of other craftsmen.

Of course, this process may take a long time and require a great deal of his energy, but the long lifespan of a Witcher makes his various expectations possible.

About ten minutes later, Wayne saw the young dwarf who had run into the blacksmith's shop walk out with a clear handprint on his face, looking nonchalant and grinning.

He walked up to Wayne, laughed, and said:

"Witcher, you're really lucky. My uncle asked me to take you to see him."

"By the way, my name is Andrew. Don't forget to buy me a drink when you get out. I'm going to the Kingfisher Tavern. I heard their spirits are especially authentic."

Wayne smiled and nodded, saying:

"Of course, Andrew, my name is Wayne, and I will not forget this promise."

He didn't care about the small amount of money. If Andrew was a person worth befriending, he would often treat this honest dwarf to drinks in the future.

Perhaps the task of learning forging techniques will fall to him.

The blacksmith shop was quite large. In addition to the furnace and anvil at the entrance, there was a huge warehouse, a coal storage shed, and the living area for the dwarven blacksmiths in the courtyard.

Following Andrew, they passed through two courtyards before finally arriving at the residence of O. Henry.

As soon as Wayne entered the yard, he heard a gruff voice shouting:

"Andrew, get back to work! You've already owed me two months' wages for gambling. If you slack off again, I'll even ban you from drinking."

Wayne looked in the direction of the sound and saw a bald dwarf, less than 1.5 meters tall but with muscles that looked like they were cast in steel, sitting on a stone stool in front of the house. The wrinkles on his face were quite obvious, and his snow-white beard was tied into three braids. He was smoking a pipe and impatiently looking Wayne up and down.

Upon hearing the curse, the equally robust Andrew, like a rabbit encountering a big bad wolf, winked at Wayne to remind him not to forget to treat him, and then dashed out.

Master blacksmith O. Henry glanced at his nephew's retreating figure, snorted, and then asked Wayne bluntly:

"A half-elf witcher? This is the first time I've ever seen one."

"What school of witcher are you?"

Wayne hesitated for a second, then said truthfully:

"I come from the Wolf School, Master O. Henry."

The dwarven blacksmith master, biting his pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, recalled for two seconds, and then said with a sigh:

"Never heard of it, but thirty years ago, I met a witcher from the Griffin School who commissioned me to forge a master-level suit of armor."

"It took him half a year just to gather all the materials."

"That master-level armor not only requires a high level of skill from the craftsmen, but also requires a specific temperature for the furnace."

"Therefore, I had to spend a lot of money to upgrade the furnace to meet the requirements of that armor."

"When I finally finished that armor, I couldn't help but burst into tears. It was the piece of work I was most satisfied with when I was young."

At this point, O. Henry looked at Wayne and asked:

"So, Witcher, what kind of equipment do you want to forge? Have the blueprints been prepared?"

Wayne nodded, then pulled the blueprint Geralt had copied from his pocket, handed it to the strong dwarf blacksmith, and said:

"The blueprints are here, Master O. Henry. If you would like, my companion also has a finished piece for you to admire."

The dwarven blacksmith master took the blueprints, snorted dismissively, and after looking at them for about half a minute, said:

"To tell you the truth, that human merchant has no standing with me, and I have no connection with you either."

"However, considering that you are a half-elf and a witcher, I can give you two choices."

"The first option is for you to prepare the materials and pay 500 orens yourself, and I can help you complete this master-level silver sword."

"However, the meteorite iron, anti-magic metal, and moon dust required by this blueprint are all very rare materials. They are not available in ordinary blacksmith shops. You can try your luck in the market to see if you can buy them."

"As for the second option, as long as you get me one thing, I can prepare these materials for you, and you won't even need to pay for the labor."

"Of course, this item is also quite rare. I tried many connections, but I couldn't find a way to buy it."

"East of the East, the fine wine from Toussaint, East of the East."

"If you can get me a bottle of this fine wine, I'll do it for you for free."

Upon hearing these two options, Wayne couldn't help but frown. He didn't know much about either the materials for forging the sword or the East of Toussaint, and he didn't dare to say which option was easier.

So, after carefully considering his words, he compromised and said:

"Master, whether I choose the first option or the second option, you still need to complete this work."

"Why don't you start forging now, while I go and collect the materials and the East of the East?"

"No matter which one I complete, you won't lose out when it's cash on delivery."

Master O. Henry thought about it and agreed that it was indeed true, so he snorted and said:

"Alright, you clever brat."

The dwarf licked his lips and added:

"I actually prefer you to choose the second option. When you get Dongzhidong, I can treat you to a drink too."

Wayne smiled and nodded. He actually preferred the second option as well. Being able to build a good relationship with a dwarven blacksmith master would be a good thing for him, and even for the entire school of witchers.

Master O. Henry was a rather straightforward man. After agreeing on the terms with Wayne, he kicked him out of the blacksmith shop without any further pleasantries.

In order to fulfill the blacksmith's request, Wayne did not want to stay any longer. After leaving the blacksmith's shop, he immediately went to find the person with the widest network of connections he knew, the wealthy businessman Revaden.

As a merchant from the south, he naturally had more channels than northern merchants to obtain Toussaint's fine wines, from the east to the east.

Wayne was lucky; Rewardon's house wasn't finished yet, so he was resting in the tavern today.

Even after learning that Wayne had visited him, the fat businessman still received him with great enthusiasm.

However, this time, since he needed a favor, Wayne paid the bill in advance and even ordered an expensive bottle of red wine, which Rewarden did not refuse.

After the food and drinks were served, the two chatted while drinking. Before Wayne could bring up the topic of Dong Zhi Dong, Rewaden took the initiative to ask:

"Has Master O. Henry granted your request, Wayne?"

Wayne didn't beat around the bush and recounted what had happened that morning, while sincerely asking:

"Mr. Rewaden, do you have a channel to purchase East of the East? Or do you have a channel to purchase meteorite iron, lunar dust, and anti-magic metal?"

Upon hearing this, Revaden considered for a few seconds, then shook his head with some regret and said:

"Sorry, Wayne, I deal in large-scale raw material transactions. Rare forging materials are not within my network."

He hesitated for a few seconds and then said:

"However, if you want to buy a bottle of Dongzhidong, I can help you."

"But I estimate that it will take at least two months from when I send out this message to when it is specially shipped from Toussaint."

"And the cost should be 10-20% higher than the market price. If you can accept that, I can help you."

(Thanks to the generous donor 20170705140550369 for the donation.)

(End of this chapter)