Chapter 91: A Show of Force
“Go ahead, tell me why you’re here.”
Rider sat atop his forging furnace. He had originally lived in a pitch-black, sealed tomb. For him, Reincarnation Paradise was practically heaven, and more importantly, it held infinite possibilities.
Because of this, when Rider met Su Xiao, he only showed anger, not resentment or other emotions.
“Repair some equipment.”
Su Xiao took out the King’s Sovereign Arm Guard, Dragon-Slaying Flash, and other equipment. As for firearms like the Duke of Annihilation, Rider couldn’t repair those. Repairing equipment wasn’t as simple as tossing it into a furnace and hammering it a few times. If the Duke of Annihilation was damaged, it would be more reliable to find the Mechanical Sister for repairs. For blades, however, Rider, who excelled in forging, was clearly superior.
Rider took the sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash. Drawing the longsword, he saw the gleaming blade and nodded. This sword had clearly been meticulously maintained over a long period. What he needed to do was inspect the minuscule, almost negligible marks on the edge and repair them.
“That’ll be 75,800 Paradise Coins in total.”
Rider directly quoted an exorbitant price. If repaired elsewhere, the cost would be around 6,000 Paradise Coins at most. Rider wasn’t trying to rip off Su Xiao; he had an almost obsessive pursuit of forging. In his mind, either don’t do it, or do it to perfection.
Su Xiao didn’t trade Paradise Coins to Rider. Instead, he pulled out the [Rider’s Medal]. Seeing the Rider’s Medal, Rider’s entire demeanor soured. A feeling of being sold out surged within him.
“You Hunters really are the ‘darling sons’ of Paradise.”
Two streams of white air shot from Rider’s nostrils. Hearing him mention Hunters, Su Xiao’s eyes narrowed.
“Relax, I’m not some Contractor who knows nothing. I’m now a certified Forger of Reincarnation Paradise. If Hunters are the military arm, then I’m the logistics. Forgers, Arbiters, and Hunters aren’t hostile to each other.”
Rider activated the S-Rank Furnace and began using the microscopic device on it to examine the edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Su Xiao didn’t receive any notification from Reincarnation Paradise, meaning what Rider said was indeed true. He had the right to know about Hunter-related matters, just as Su Xiao knew what a Forger was.
“The past is the past. I’m a rough man. I won’t thank you for sending me here. You should have already received your due reward. Judging by the current situation, we’ll be cooperating long-term.”
Rider made a mark on the edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash. There was a nearly invisible nick there. Although Su Xiao regularly maintained Dragon-Slaying Flash, he wasn’t proficient in forging. As for repairing the Divine Afterglow scabbard, Divine Afterglow was only a Dark Purple equipment with limited repair capabilities.
“Indeed. Compared to being hostile, cooperation is the wisest choice.”
Su Xiao found a spot in the shop and sat down.
“It won’t be long before I can truly come back to life.”
Rider chuckled, his laughter harsh and grating. This guy wasn’t a good person. In the Shia World, he had once stolen the beloved queen of a certain king and had his way with her right in the royal palace. He had done all sorts of unscrupulous things, and the number of beings he had killed was staggering.
“You can use that medal to come to me for free forging or repairs. This kind of one-sided exploitation isn’t suitable for long-term dealings.”
Rider finally said what he wanted to say.
“I’ll sell the rare metals and ores I obtain to you at 20% off market price.”
“40% off.”
“20% off.”
“30% off.”
…
After some bargaining, Su Xiao and Rider finally settled on a 25% discount. That meant Rider could purchase rare metals, ores, and forging materials from Su Xiao at a 25% discount with priority.
It seemed like Su Xiao was losing out, but that wasn’t the case. A precise equipment repair cost tens of thousands of Paradise Coins. Having an ordinary blacksmith repair Dragon-Slaying Flash might not show any difference in the short term, but over time, its attack power, sharpness, and durability would all decrease, and the problem would worsen.
Rider was different. He observed Dragon-Slaying Flash at the micron level and repaired it based on its quality and overall structure.
Calculated this way, Su Xiao wouldn’t lose Paradise Coins; he just wouldn’t gain an advantage. Someone like Rider would never tolerate long-term exploitation. Squeezing out petty gains early on would only create an enemy Su Xiao couldn’t eliminate in the future.
Rider didn’t have to enter derivative worlds, but Su Xiao did. If Rider used forging as a benefit to hire a large number of Contractors, it wasn’t impossible to drag Su Xiao down. Of course, dragging Su Xiao down would also cost Rider an unbearable price.
Su Xiao could either give up on Rider, a master forger who might become a Grandmaster in the future, or reach a long-term, cooperative relationship with him. Clearly, the latter was far more farsighted than the former.
Forging a single Legendary equipment cost a staggering amount just in the blacksmith’s labor fees, enough to shock most people. Moreover, Su Xiao didn’t believe Legendary equipment was the highest quality in Reincarnation Paradise. Future forging costs and equipment repair fees would only get higher, and Rider’s role would only grow more important.
“Then, here’s to a pleasant cooperation in the future?”
Rider spoke without looking up. He was a villain. Coincidentally, so was Su Xiao. It was easier for villains to find common interests.
Su Xiao valued Rider because of his forging skills and his terrifyingly expensive S-Rank Forging Furnace. Rider cooperated with Su Xiao because of Su Xiao’s identity as a Hunter, as well as the information channels and material acquisition routes Su Xiao provided.
“With your forging level, you could easily become a guest of honor in some large adventure group.”
“You think I’d be willing to serve under someone?”
Rider sneered. He wasn’t sneering at Su Xiao, but at those Contractors who tried to recruit him.
“If you don’t want to serve under anyone, with your forging skills, you first need to get to know five merchant guilds: the Black Sail Merchant Guild, a bunch of black marketeers who stop at nothing in business with massive funds; the Red Maple Merchant Guild, a bunch of idiots, but undeniably, they have a wide network for acquiring items; the Blue Merchant Guild, standard and stable with reliable trade channels… If you want to thrive in Reincarnation Paradise without serving under anyone, you at least need to have dealings with these five guilds.”
Su Xiao’s words made Rider pause his work.
“Do you have connections to all these guilds?”
“Of course.”
“Cooperating with you… seems like a very wise choice.”
Rider continued inspecting Dragon-Slaying Flash, this time even more carefully. Su Xiao then provided Rider with the contact channels for those merchant guilds, acting as his guarantor.
Six hours later, Su Xiao left Rider’s shop. Their relationship had shifted from potential hostility to long-term cooperation.
Su Xiao’s fingers traced the blade of Dragon-Slaying Flash. The blade was noticeably brighter than before.
His strength enhancement was complete, and Rider’s matters were settled. Su Xiao headed straight for the Arena. He intended to push his Arena ranking to first place within the remaining stay time. If he couldn’t reach first place in the Third Rank Arena this time, he would never have another chance.
Su Xiao wanted to verify something—whether he had become the strongest within the Third Rank. During the First and Second Ranks, Su Xiao never had the chance to reach the top of the Arena. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he simply couldn’t. He had developed all four attributes evenly, which made his early growth somewhat slow.
Now, the benefits of developing all four attributes simultaneously were becoming apparent.
As Su Xiao walked toward the Arena, his aura grew sharper. But an hour after entering the Arena, he leaned back on the sofa in the rest area and yawned.
He could only match against TM ten people. Those ranked below him couldn’t even match with him because his win streak was too high.
The top ten naturally couldn’t refuse to fight, but upon receiving the Arena’s match notification, they could choose to delay the match by two hours. Clearly, the tenth-ranked opponent Su Xiao was about to face chose the two-hour delay. The message was obvious: they wanted to give Su Xiao a show of force.
One could imagine what Su Xiao, having waited a full two hours, would do when the match finally began.