◎Mr. Bruce, I have two pieces of equipment that I need you to strengthen◎

Fortunately, there were still two croissants and a bottle of jam left in her backpack. Xia Li ate them quickly, and her endurance display recovered from 32 to 72, and she was finally out of danger.

Now I still have two pieces of equipment waiting to have their durability enhanced, Xia Li thought as she ran towards the coordinates of the blacksmith Bruce.

As one of the best NPC blacksmiths in the royal city, players kept coming and going in front of Bruce's blacksmith shop, but some of them were kicked out by Bruce after only half a minute.

"Get out! You arrogant guy, I won't increase your durability!" A male player was kicked out of the blacksmith shop, his face full of shock and confusion, obviously not understanding what he had done wrong.

Half a minute later, another female player was also kicked out.

"You rude fellows, if you dare to laugh at me again, I will smash your skulls with a hammer!"

After saying that, a short and stocky man staggered out of the store, holding an empty wine bottle in his hand.

This NPC is Bruce. Because of his short stature and ugly appearance, he is often ridiculed by others and players. Therefore, if anyone dares to make fun of his appearance in front of him, he will definitely kick the person away in anger!

There were originally a circle of players waiting to enhance their durability, but when they saw the warriors in front of them being scolded by Bruce, they calculated that it was not a good day to strike, so they all ran away in shame.

Not long after, the blacksmith shop, which was originally crowded with people, suddenly became deserted, with no players left at the door.

Except Xia Li.

Bruce raised his messy eyebrows and glared at her: "You! What are you still standing here for?!"

Xia Li smiled at him politely: "Mr. Bruce, I have two pieces of equipment that I need you to strengthen."

"Hmph! Strengthen, strengthen, strengthen again!" Bruce grumbled in dissatisfaction, turned around unsteadily, and waved at her as he walked into the house. "We're closed today, get out of here!"

It was impossible for her to leave. She was still hoping to strengthen her armor and magic ring quickly so that she could complete the mission.

Xia Li pretended not to hear his scolding, grinned, and followed him with a smile: "Mr. Bruce, I can offer a higher price than others. Will you really not consider it?"

Bruce frowned and glared at her, looking like he was in a bad mood today and you'd better not mess with me.

In fact, if it weren't for his exceptional blacksmithing skills, players would almost certainly avoid him if possible, just to avoid being scolded for no apparent reason every time they came. The key was that even after being scolded, they had to smile and pay, otherwise he would get angry and directly turn the player away, just like he did just now.

But even such an NPC with a bad temper and a changeable mood has his own weakness - that is money.

As long as the gold coins are given, he will take on the player's enhancement task no matter how bad his mood is.

Don’t ask Xia Li how she knew that, because if you ask, you’ll just shed tears of bitterness.

If she didn't have some savings in this life, she wouldn't have had the courage to say what she just said.

"Hmph, didn't you see I just sat down to rest? What an rude guy!" After glaring at her, Bruce walked straight back to the blacksmith shop and sat down on the worn and old sofa with an unhappy look on his face.

But even though he was unhappy, after a few drunken rants, he finally said, "I have the final say on the price."

"Of course." Xia Li was very respectful and sensible.

"Hmph, alright, take out your stuff and show it to me." Bruce groaned, then struggled to stand up from the deep sofa, walked to a rectangular table, and knocked on the tabletop, "Put it here."

Xia Li deftly took out the Night Skeleton Armor and the Skeleton Magic Ring.

Perhaps because he was drunk, Bruce glanced over and didn't see the ring on the table, and reached straight for his armor.

"Hiss... Not bad." Bruce, the experienced and best blacksmith in the royal city, felt out the materials used to make the armor with just a touch of his hands. "Miscellaneous ore, miscellaneous iron, miscellaneous steel, and black paulownia. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, the materials are average, but the proportions are pretty good."

Bruce drunkenly flipped through his armor a few more times before finally spotting a few small words engraved on the cuff: "To shoulder the great responsibility of the world... Forged. Yes, I'll remember that name!"

Every piece of equipment that passes through the hands of an equipment master will have his own name on it, and Cheng Tianxia is no exception. His name is engraved on the sleeve of this piece of armor.

Bruce, who had always been so arrogant, actually praised Cheng Tianxia. Xia Li's eyes rolled, and she suddenly thought of something, so she struck while the iron was hot: "Would you be interested in meeting this equipment engineer, Mr. Bruce?"

Bruce swayed a bit and asked, "Do you know anyone who can make armor?"

That's right, the equipment produced by the equipment master is basically put on sale in the trading center, and players can buy it through the system without meeting the equipment master, so Bruce never thought that she would know Cheng Tianxia.

Xia Li thought there was something interesting going on, so she raised the corner of her mouth and said with a smile, "Yes, he is my friend."

Bruce licked his lips, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes, but the next second he returned to his fierce look: "Humph, since he's your friend, why don't you introduce him to me! Can't you see I'm busy all day long? You really don't know any etiquette."

Done.

Xia Li looked at him with a smile, ready to tell Cheng Tianxia the good news later.

"What are you laughing at! You don't know how to sympathize with me, didn't you say you had two pieces of equipment? Why is there only one piece of armor?" Bruce glanced at the table and still didn't find the ring.

Xia Li had no choice but to pick up the ring, put it in front of his eyes, and shook it: "Here."

Suddenly, Bruce's expression changed, and his short, thick hand snatched the ring from Xia Li's hand: "Where did you get this thing?!"

"Valichiro." Xia Li was a little surprised by his reaction, but still answered truthfully. She just didn't know if Bruce had heard of this person.

"What the hell?" As she expected, Bruce had no idea who this person was.

Xia Li told him the whole story: "Fifty years ago, a human named Valikiro stole the Skeleton Mage's magic ring. To prevent the world from finding him and taking his treasure, Valikiro hid in an abandoned dungeon. After being infected by the foul air underground, Valikiro became an undead. The Queen was worried that he would one day escape the dungeon and endanger the people, so she sent warriors to kill him and retrieve the Skeleton Mage Ring."

"So you are the warrior?" Bruce snorted and glanced at her again. The expression on his face clearly said, "How can a weakling like you defeat the undead?"

But Xia Li didn't care. She was already used to the looks from people around her. She just nodded and said, "Yes, it's me."

"Then I'll take the ring!" Upon hearing that the ring had finally passed into her hands, Bruce immediately took the ring and hid it tightly behind his back.

Xia Li:? In broad daylight, an NPC actually robbed her in the street?

She was about to speak, but Bruce spoke faster than she could: "You are not allowed to use this thing! From now on, you are not allowed to use it!"

Bruce may have a quick temper, but he's never been one to do things without knowing why. Xia Li vaguely sensed something was wrong and narrowed her eyes, staring at his red face, which was nervous and a little frightened. "This thing, is it dangerous?"

Bruce's muscles stiffened and he stopped talking.

It seems that she was right. How could the magic weapon made by the famous Skeleton Mage be ordinary equipment?

Not only did it have excellent attributes and powerful attacks, but more importantly, Xia Li had always remembered that this magic ring had the [Upgradeable] attribute. Although she hadn't yet found a way to upgrade the ring, looking at the entire miracle, apart from this ring, there was no other upgradeable equipment.

If that's the case, if it's true as Bruce shows, that the Skeleton Ring is dangerous and can't be placed in the hands of players, then wouldn't it be dangerous if it's in his hands?

Xia Li's eyes glared, and she used her height advantage to push Bruce back into a corner. Her expression turned serious, "How can you prove that the things are safe with you?"

Bruce had a bad temper and usually was the one to threaten others, but today, he was actually questioned by a little guy. His anger suddenly rushed from his feet to his head, and he blurted out without thinking: "Damn you, don't you see who I am, Bruce? How dare you look down on me! Humph, do you know what my relationship with the Skeleton Mage is? How dare you question me!"

After saying this, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have let something slip. Bruce's eyes widened and he was in panic, wondering how the hell he had let this slip.

Xia Li looked down at him condescendingly, a smile on her lips as she said, "Tell me, what is your relationship with the Skeleton Mage?"

"No... no, we have nothing to do with each other!" Bruce shook his head desperately.

However, the faster he shook, the more he showed his guilty conscience.

Xia Li refused to listen to him and continued to trap him in the corner, threatening him with her eyes.

Just at this moment, a few players passed by on the street and cast curious glances at them.

"What are you looking at? If you keep looking at me, I'll punish you!"

Bruce yelled at those people. The players probably knew that they couldn't offend this powerful blacksmith, so they pretended not to see anything and ran away blindly.

"Damn it, I told you it's okay!" Being cornered by a female human was a profound humiliation for Bruce. He wanted to escape, but he was too timid to confront her head-on.

After a few minutes of eye contact, Bruce admitted that he had finally lost.

-over-