I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

He glared at the large pile of dark red scales on the platform and the menacing shield, then looked up at Xia Lin: "Kid, you raided the kobolds' lair and stole their ancestral shield too?"

"More or less," Xia Lin said succinctly.

"I encountered a group of kobolds that are quite troublesome, including two leaders. Their scales seem to be of decent quality."

This shield was used by one of their leader-level kobolds. Do you think the scales on it could be removed and reused?

Without him saying a word, Xinda had already moved to the front of the table, his stubby fingers rummaging through the scales in the bag, muttering to himself, "Hmm... these ordinary ones are loose in texture, full of impurities, garbage... Hey? These two are pretty good!"

He picked out a few scales that were darker in color, with a metallic sheen and fine texture. "Their hardness and toughness are a level higher, and they even have a slight elemental resistance. Are these from the leader?"

"Yes, those two." Xia Lin confirmed.

"With these main materials, plus the usable dragon scales on this shield, that's enough." Sinda patted the scale shield.

"As for the ordinary stuff," he glanced disdainfully at the remaining scale material in the bag, "mixing it in would only lower the standard and ruin my craft."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Xia Lin readily agreed, leaving professional matters to professionals.

"And what about the rest..."

"Trying to calculate the labor cost?" Sinda saw through his thoughts at a glance, and curled her lip. "You little rascal, you even calculate a few silver coins so clearly."

Xia Lin said helplessly: "You know that in the adventure business, equipment repair, potion supply, and tool purchase are all expensive."

If I don't plan ahead, I'm afraid I won't be able to afford the money for the next equipment repair.

"Alright, alright, stop complaining to me about being poor." Xinda waved her hand, interrupting his lamentation.

"Leave the shield, come back in two days. Oh, right," he seemed to remember something, turned around and rummaged through a pile of equipment waiting to be repaired in the corner, pulling out a familiar object.

Xia Lin looked over and saw that it was the broken spear he had brought earlier, now the spearhead had been re-polished and was gleaming with a cold light.

"This thing will be fixed soon. I just took some materials from some of my recent black market goods, it was a quick thing to do."

Don't go on any missions for the next couple of days; we'll take them all together later.

I'll make sure you get a sturdy shield and a short spear that can pierce through tough skin, so you'll get beaten up less often in the future.

Xia Lin was overjoyed; this was an unexpected gain!

In terms of defense, there's an upgraded shield, and for mid-range attacks, there's [Precision Throw] combined with a repaired spear, which definitely boosts combat power.

Woody, the raven on his shoulder: "This dwarf blacksmith is actually a pretty nice guy."

"Thank you very much, Master Sindar!" he said sincerely.

"What's the use of just saying thank you?" Sinda scoffed. "If you know what's good for you, next time bring a barrel of the finest golden barley beer, so strong it could intoxicate even a dwarf! That's what real thanks are for..."

Before he could finish speaking, he looked up and found the worktable empty, with only the brass bell on the lintel still swaying gently.

"They run faster than a rabbit being chased by kobolds! They run away the moment they hear they have to pay!"

The dwarf blacksmith paused for two seconds, then puffed out his beard, glared, and roared at the empty doorway.

After shouting, he couldn't help but grin, shake his head, and turn around to swing the heavy forging hammer.

"clang--!"

The blazing sparks danced merrily once more in the blacksmith's shop, accompanied by the rhythmic clanging of the hammers.

Having successfully slipped out of the blacksmith's shop and evaded paying, Xia Lin walked along the town streets as evening grew cooler.

Sindar, the dwarf blacksmith, may be a bit stubborn and short-tempered, but his craftsmanship is truly exceptional.

The veteran's longsword in my hand, now transformed, is proof of that.

With this shield upgrade and the repair of Jimmy's broken spear, the dwarf will probably be tinkering around the hearth for a long time, and might even have to rummage through his "treasure trove" for some usable scraps.

Simply saying thank you verbally doesn't seem like enough.

He hefted the money pouch at his waist, listening to the soft clinking of the gold coins inside.

There are approximately thirty-one units remaining in total.

Although it's not much, and the subsequent payments for shield repairs and broken spears will have to come from here, the cost of a bottle of wine should still be manageable.

It's all about social etiquette and interpersonal relationships.

If you really anger the dwarves, and they quit one day, where will you find a blacksmith master with such reliable skills and fair prices again?

"Woody," Charlin asked the raven on her shoulder, tilting her head, "what kind of alcohol do dwarves usually like to drink?"

Woody was preening the feathers under his wings with his beak, and without looking up, he said, "Just don't give them fruit wine or mead."

Dwarfs have rough tongues and love strong drinks.

It is said that because their altitude is too low, their ancestors could not pick the fruit from the trees, so they never developed a tradition of making fruit wine and were not used to the sweet taste.

Xia Lin remained silent.

That's a pretty dwarf-like reason. Okay, let's play to their tastes.

"Then it'll be Golden Wheat Bar. Tomorrow I'll go to the Dwarf Tavern and ask the owner if they have any good quality, strong Golden Wheat liquor to buy," he thought to himself.

It's getting late, and the tavern is at its busiest time, so it's not a good time to buy drinks.

Anyway, there shouldn't be any urgent tasks in the next couple of days, so it's not too late to go tomorrow morning.

Having made up her mind, Xia Lin returned to the Adventurers' Inn.

The familiar doorway, the familiar dim lighting, and the faint aroma of jasmine wafting from the kitchen, as if trying out new dishes.

He went straight upstairs to his small room, locked the door, and brought up the attribute panel that only he could see.

A glance swept across the basic attribute panel; the numbers for Strength, Agility, and Constitution remained unchanged.

This is also the norm; the attribute bonuses from the affixes usually appear all at once when the item is acquired or upgraded.

His attention was quickly drawn to the glossary section.

The halo color of one of the entries seems to be a bit deeper than before.

[Interspecies Reproduction (Green) lv3 (max)]

Status: The current entry has reached its quality cap and cannot be leveled up further through regular experience.

By merging with entries of quality no higher than one's own, one can attempt to break through the upper limit and upgrade to a higher quality.

effect:

Charisma +1, Strength +1

Favorability and Affinity: Slightly increases affinity and favorability (effect varies depending on race and individual differences).

A special attack that has a natural affinity with elves.

Breeding expert: You can reproduce with any female creature.

Positive feedback brush: After enjoying the food and sincerely expressing your appreciation, there is a small chance to increase the other person's goodwill and you may receive a small discount or extra benefits from the restaurant.

Xia Lin's lips twitched as he looked at the newly appeared "positive review brush" effect.

What is this?

Is this just an official complaint and consolation prize for "brushing orders" on Jasmine's platform every day?

Because I farmed too much, this upgrade didn't give me any stats at all, only this one life skill?