Chapter 29：Murloc Shallow

The middle-aged Blacksmith's eyes lit up. 

In fact, low grade Equipment was unprofitable for Blacksmiths. Why? For starters, it required a lengthy period to forge and secondly, the price was low and materials were common. The Guard Set, for example, only profited him 1 Gold for each set. With the salaries of Blacksmiths and Blacksmith Apprentices factored in, he earned at the very most, 300 Gold from this sale. 

However, if a set of high grade Equipment was sold, the ensemble alone could give him a clean 300 Gold profit. 

Hence, the middle-aged Blacksmith was beside himself with joy over Gryan's statement. He immediately asked, "About that, Gryan, what kind of Equipment do you have in mind? How about a Stormwind City Royal Chevalier Set? It's on sale for 1000 Gold Coins but you can have it for 800!"

Gryan's high head hung low. With a stiffened smile, he swung his arm. "No no. It looks nice but it's not practical! You think I'm going to some ceremony? I'm going to war! Give me something practical!"

The middle-aged Blacksmith muttered to himself before complying. He then turned to retrieve a box from the warehouse. The Blacksmith placed it onto the desk and said with a heavy heart, "You have it hard in Westfall. This set... 800 Gold, take it!"

"What sh*tty Equipment is worth my eight hundred Gold..." Gryan wiped away the dust and pulled it open. He swallowed his words before he could finish. He stared blankly inside the box.

Taken aback, Sean used Appraisal Sight on the Equipment inside the box but could not pick up anything. The set was at least Blue Rare Equipment! 

After a moment, Gryan began mumbling to himself, "Lightforge! This is Lightforge Armor!"

Hearing these words, Sean took a deep breath in. 

So the Equipment in this box was Lightforge Armor!

There were sets specific to every class. These sets were able to perfectly capture the unique characteristics of individual classes, enhancing the respective class' abilities perfectly. The Mage's Arcanist Regalia, the Priest's Oracle Ensembles, and the Rogue's Bloodfang Armor were great examples. 

Due to the high compatibility of these sets with their respective classes, they were widely acknowledged and pursued by High Rank Classes. Lightforge Armor was one of them. 

This was the first set for Paladins that was created. Divided into eight parts, the set included shoulder plates, a breastplate, a helm, leg plates, combat boots, gauntlets, a belt, and bracers. It shone with a dazzling golden light. 

This complete Blue Rare Quality set was top notch Equipment. Each article was a rare work of art. The complete set was definitely not valued at eight hundred Gold. 

Yet, the middle-aged Blacksmith only wanted eight hundred Gold. 

The old Blacksmith was looking down as he added in a whimpering voice. "Think of it as a gift for the citizens of Westfall. You know, I once lived in Westfall. I worked together with Moonbrook's old Blacksmith and drank wine with the miners in the Deadmines. I left tracks in every farm and personally forged many farming tools..."

Alas, this was all in the past. 

Westfall in its current state was chaotic. The masses lived in dire poverty with bandits on a rampage. 

Gryan Stoutmantle was an important stabilizing force in Westfall. A symbol of hope. 

Old Gryan bent over to pick up the Lightforge Armor, a rare pious look on his face. He was a believer in the Light and a just Paladin, after all. How could he possibly suppress excitement over seeing an entire set that was exclusively for Paladins?

"You'll need a hammer or longsword. "The middle-aged Blacksmith continued, "Which would you prefer?"

Old Gryan caressed the Lightforge Armor and muttered, "Longsword, I'd prefer a longsword." 

'

The middle-aged Blacksmith retrieved a two-handed sword from the warehouse before handing it to Old Gryan. "Truesilver Champion, made from truesilver and mithril. Inlaid with Star Rubies and forged with Breath of Wind. You'll be protected by a Holy Shield when using it."

It was another piece of Blue Equipment. Although it was not top notch, it was still amongst the finest of the fine. The value of this Truesilver Champion was probably higher than Sean's Arcane Saint's Staff. 

Hot with emotions, Old Gryan put down the Lightforge Armor and accepted the Truesilver Champion with both hands. He carefully stroked the sword with fondness. Nevertheless, his expression changed after a while. Glaring at the middle-aged Blacksmith, he asked warily, "This two-handed sword is sh*t, you're not going to raise the price too high, right?"

The middle-aged Blacksmith. "..."

Sean. "..."

Blacksmith Apprentices. "..." 

Sean never discovered the price of the two-handed sword because he left the scene before negotiations started between Gryan and the middle-aged Blacksmith. He simply could not take Gryan Stoutmantle's shamelessness anymore. 

Due to this experience, Sean acquired an understanding of the value of superior Equipment. He smiled bitterly at the thought of his Dalaran Apprentice's Robe and Kobold Shaman's Staff.

These two pieces of White Common Equipment were not worth much... 

Sean then looked for Old Saldean to ask about the price of Leather and Stone. He was rendered speechless. The price of Leather and Stone were way past Sean's expectation, especially Leather. It was a lot more than he could afford! 

"In short, I should look for better stuff! The Gate of Spacetime, here I come!"

It was a vast beach with sand so fine and soft, the glare from the sun bounced off it. It was a rather brilliant scene. Sand Crawlers raised their sharp claws as they crossed vertically. Multicolored Murlocs formed small groups of threes and fours, keeping a distance from each other. 

Murloc Raiders, Murloc Tidehunters, Bluegill Warriors, Grimscale Oracles, Coldlight Oracles, Murloc Tidecallers, Coldlight Seers, Murloc Warleaders... 

Fine, at least there were not any Murlocs as powerful as the Murloc Warleaders in sight. 

This was a Dungeon called Murloc Shallow. The condition to clear it was unknown but there was 3 hours on the clock. The spatial redundancy was a 2 meter diameter circle on the ground. There was neither a Beginner's Crate nor any advantages. 

Sean stood at the high end of the shore, using Appraisal Sight on everything he could see. 

[Murloc Tidehunter, Combat Level 3.]

[Murloc Raider, Combat Level 3.]

[Bluegill Warrior, Combat Level 3.]

[Grimscale Oracle, Combat Level 3.]

[Coldlight Oracle, Combat Level 4.]

[Murloc Tidecaller, Combat Level 3.]

[Coldlight Seer, Combat Level 5.]

...

The rule of the food chain was, the larger the population, the lower it was placed on the food chain, excluding humans, of course. The Murloc population may be large but their average Combat Level, as a whole, was fairly low. 

Although the Murlocs listed above ranged between Combat Level 3 to 5, these were battle classes of the Murlocs that had equal footing to the Warriors, Mages, and Paladins of the Humans. In fact, the majority of regular Murlocs were similar to regular Humans, scoring Level 1 in Combat Level. 

Only a handful exceeded Combat Level 3.