Chapter 981: Chapter 488: Fulfilling the Commission
Before setting sail for the mission in Twin Canyon, Xia Nan had already paid a deposit of 1000 gold coins for the creation of [Abyssal Stream]. For a piece of Blue Rare Quality equipment, especially a full set with both an inner lining and outer armor, this is certainly far from sufficient.
Being part of the Blue Equipment, the reason Xia Nan previously only spent about 1000 gold in upgrading [Dark Scale Guard] at Barn’s "Rock Hammer" was because the main material of the arm shield—the scales from the Snake Cave Secret Realm—didn’t require him to spend extra money.
Later, when customizing the [Ash Fall] Straight Sword, due to the reason of "Yangli Iron Plating Powder," Xia Nan spent a full 3000 gold to obtain this weapon that matched his own [Embers Resonance] record as Half-Purple Equipment.
Currently, although [Abyssal Stream] is not comparable to [Ash Fall] in terms of Quality Level, the body materials from Shark Beast provided most of the materials needed for its creation.
However, at the same time, Celeane had already communicated with him before that while the Shark Beast’s bones are very resilient, their defense performance is slightly lacking. To ensure the quality of the finished product, additional special metal materials must be added to enhance the equipment’s hardness.
This means that while paying for labor, Xia Nan also needs to pay an additional cost for the main material.
Taking this as a premise, plus some scattered auxiliary material expenses.
With having already paid 1000 gold, the remaining balance Xia Nan needs to settle is 1500 gold.
This means that the total price of [Abyssal Stream] amounts to an astonishing 2500 gold.
Keep in mind, even with his unprecedented lucrative earnings from his last mission, the final review didn’t even reach 1700 gold, and couldn’t cover the creation and material costs of [Abyssal Stream].
It’s due to having substantial savings, lacking bad habits, and most of the money he earned has been saved aside from spending on food, drinks, and gear purchases, therefore avoiding the embarrassment of needing credit.
Currently, after deducting the 1500 gold balance for [Abyssal Stream], Xia Nan’s savings still remain at 412 gold, 6 silver, and 8 copper.
Though it has drastically dropped from close to 3000 gold during peak times, it’s still a significant sum from an ordinary resident’s perspective, ample enough for a stable life in town for years.
So, Xia Nan does not feel much anxiety.
Considering Lorin’s handling of the trophies, estimating in a few days, he should still receive about one to two hundred gold, thus feeling reassured.
For Xia Nan himself, his strength improvement speed far exceeded other adventurers, and within merely two years since transmigration, he had truly embarked on the path of being a professional. Meanwhile, the reason he could so rapidly achieve advancement, compared to adventurers of the same level, involved more frequent and higher quality battles.
To some extent, the quick pace at which his armor becomes obsolete is linked to this.
A single mission could earn over a thousand gold, and likewise, a piece of equipment would require a four-digit gold amount to be customized and purchased.
That’s what being an adventurer is like.
High earnings, quick spending.
Unlike those steady occupations, far from demons, living safely in towns, ordinary people are in a completely different world, even their perception of the value of gold coins and items has transformed.
Those Good Plate Chain Composite Armors on blacksmith shop shelves, in general households could even be passed down as family heirlooms, whereas for Xia Nan, they are replaceable items discarded in battles once losing defensive capability.
On the other hand, for most senior adventurers, having cultivated expertise in the adventure industry for years, earning tens or even hundreds of gold coins per mission, attempting to revert back to drawing fixed monthly wages, saving up to dine well or drink fine wine seems would require great determination.
When he first transmigrated to this world, Xia Nan contemplated settling down in a safe city to live an ordinary life.
But as he ventured further along the path of adventuring, with ever stronger ties to this world, his thoughts gradually shifted.
Since he possesses the golden finger of the attribute panel, having excellent innate abilities and reasonably good luck, he seemingly has no rationale to halt his progress.
And even if one day in the future, he feels weary of the endless tasks within the Association and wants to pause to rest for a while... he would need to first save up enough money to guarantee "Cream of Mushroom Soup freedom."
Banking the Crystal Card that Xia Nan handed over pleasantly, Celeane saw his contemplative expression and guessed he might be distressed over the total of 2500 gold coins—in reality, there certainly was a reason for this, so she spoke up to explain.
"Actually, the biggest share of these expenses is the special metal used as the main armor material..."
Xia Nan never skimps on equipment production, leaning towards paying fivefold or even tenfold amounts of gold for performance improvements, being purely a seeker of performance values.
Originally, when Celeane discussed the metallic materials for primary usage with him, she offered many plans, including cheap yet universally applicable ones, as well as those balancing price and quality effectively.
He didn’t choose any of them.
What Xia Nan opted for was the most expensive but also finest quality special metal:
