In the end, Lin Mo purchased this wolf bone sword at the discounted price of 30 gold coins.

Besides weapons, he also needed to acquire some protective gear.

A set of high-quality armor could play a significant role in combat. For example, during the previous encounter with the Bloodsea Gang members, because their captain wore iron armor, Lin Mo's available attack angles became much more limited, forcing him to only target the head and neck areas not covered by the armor.

Reduced attack options meant lower margin for error, making attacks easier to dodge while limiting available combat tactics—this significantly impacted battle effectiveness.

Conversely, having reliable protective gear meant increased error tolerance and access to more high-risk tactics that involved trading blows.

However, as Lin Mo had previously considered, heavy iron armor would affect his most crucial advantage—agility—which might not actually be beneficial.

Therefore, he preferred to choose leather armor that offered lower protection but was relatively lightweight.

Ordinary leather armor prices were far below those of iron armor.

A set of high-quality iron armor typically cost over 30 gold coins, while leather armor only required about 5 gold coins.

But if you sought higher quality pieces, this price relationship didn't necessarily hold true.

......

"Can't you make it any cheaper? Your price is downright robbery!"

Lin Mo frowned, attempting to negotiate with Edgar.

Edgar fumed with such anger that his beard seemed to bristle as he pointed at the leather armor before them and declared loudly: "This armor is made from black marsh crocodile hide! I spent 27 gold coins just acquiring that single piece of leather! During forging, I added materials worth another 6 gold coins! Is 40 gold really so unreasonable?"

He knew Lin Mo wasn't ignorant about quality goods, which made his bargaining even more frustrating.

Crafting such equipment took at least a full day's work. Making only 7 gold coins profit from an excellent-grade piece was already a remarkably fair price.

"Can't you go a bit lower? You already sold me the weapon so cheaply, what's one more piece of leather armor? How about 30 gold?"

Edgar tugged at his own beard, hardly believing what he was hearing.

His costs alone were 33 gold coins—selling at 30 would mean losing 3 gold coins of his own money?

Was this even human language?

"39 gold... 38 gold at most! Not a copper coin less!"

This kid really treated him like free labor?

"But I don't have that much money on me."

Lin Mo spread his hands, beginning to play the rogue. "You wouldn't want your investment to get wrecked by monsters just because he lacked proper protective gear, would you?"

Edgar's aggressive posture instantly deflated. He hemmed and hawed for a long moment, completely unable to find words to refute this.

Heaven bear witness—dwarves were known for their straightforward nature! Where would they develop the cunning to match wits in such verbal sparring?

"How much do you have then?"

Edgar looked at him with some suspicion.

"32 gold, 21 silver, and 88 copper coins. Not a single copper more."

He quoted the amount complete with exact change, making it sound utterly convincing.

Lin Mo spread his hands. "You need to trust your own judgment, Mr. Edgar! When I become a famous adventurer known throughout the continent, you'll achieve great fame too! The elders in the dwarf community will all learn about a younger dwarf named Edgar who once forged weapons for that great adventurer!"

Edgar's mouth twitched repeatedly, feeling the particular agony of knowing he was being deceived yet unable to refuse.

"With that silver tongue of yours, you'd definitely have a chance to become famous across the continent as a damned bard."

The dwarf shopkeeper grumbled in his deep, resonant voice. "32 gold, plus that weapon in your hand."

He pointed at the sword Lin Mo had acquired last time for 50 silver coins. He had some vague memory of this sword but hadn't paid it much attention initially. However, after witnessing Lin Mo's precise and sharp judgment regarding weapons, he couldn't help feeling curious about what made this particular blade special.

"No problem."

Lin Mo took out 32 gold coins and placed them neatly on the table together with the sword.

......

"Until next time, Mr. Edgar."

Moments later, watching Lin Mo waving farewell enthusiastically while the dwarf shopkeeper stood with a darkened expression, the three members of Bern's team felt somewhat confused.

Didn't he just go in to buy a weapon? Why was the shopkeeper unhappy even after completing the business?

Though curious, they didn't ask further questions. Every adventurer had their secrets, and after all, they were merely acquaintances—not members of the same team—so maintaining appropriate distance was necessary.

After leaving the forge, they walked together for a stretch before Bern finally seemed to reach a decision and asked: "Lin Mo, would you like to join our team?"

"Yeah, yeah! Join our team! Let's adventure together!"

Evan's eyes also lit up beside them. After several days of interaction, particularly through two life-and-death battles that had brought them closer, he naturally hoped this powerful adventurer would stay.

Lin Mo considered for a moment. Honestly, he had thought about this before.

After all, he was still a newcomer who didn't understand this world well enough. Joining their team with an experienced adventurer like Bern leading could help him quickly adapt to the adventurer's lifestyle.

But upon careful consideration, after obtaining decent weapons and armor, his next most important task wasn't making money but rather continuously killing monsters to grind proficiency and enhance his strength.

This contradicted most adventurers' money-focused objectives. Moreover, teaming up would mean fighting monsters together, which would actually reduce the number of creatures he could personally defeat.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I currently have no plans to join any team..."

So ultimately, Lin Mo still shook his head and declined the offer.

"I see."

Bern responded with a helpless bitter smile, not pressing the matter further.

"By the way, Uncle Bern, do you know any suitable inns for adventurers to stay at?"

Lin Mo remembered his previous embarrassing experience accidentally wandering into a special establishment. Although he now possessed the "Complete Guide to Roland Town Map" which should contain relevant information, he still felt that recommendations from veteran adventurers were more reliable.

"Inns? The Running Wolf Inn where we're staying is quite good. The owner is a retired veteran adventurer—security is guaranteed, prices are reasonable, and they offer discounts for long-term stays..."

"Sounds good."

Lin Mo nodded. "It's convenient being at the same inn—easier to contact each other if anything comes up. If there are suitable missions, we can collaborate again too."

"Great! No problem!"

Bern immediately agreed. After all, Miriam was still new, and Evan was too inexperienced—most of the time they couldn't provide much help and sometimes even became burdens. With just those two, he only dared accept scattered or simple one-star missions.

But adding Lin Mo changed everything. He held Lin Mo's capabilities in high regard. With him present, they could consider taking on medium or even higher difficulty one-star missions.

Even with mission rewards needing to be split, the final calculation would still show greater profits.