138: You don’t even want it for free?

Chapter 138: Don't Even Want It for Free?

"What is this, a quest-guiding NPC?" Lu Ran asked curiously.

"Probably," Liu Xinxin wasn't sure either.

The Dwarf girl in front of them.

Although she carried a large hammer, its quality was clearly poor, covered in rust.

Its size, however, was exaggerated, almost exceeding the Dwarf girl's own body.

The clothes she wore were also coarse rags, without even basic armor.

Seeing that the Dwarf girl was still waiting.

Lu Ran said, "We're looking for the Dwarf King, do you know where he is?"

"Of course, in the Dwarf Kingdom, how could a Dwarf not know where the Dwarf King's Giant Stone Fortress is?" the Dwarf girl muttered, looking at Lu Ran strangely.

Cough, cough...

Lu Ran awkwardly scratched his head.

It was true.

It was like a Human not knowing which main city was the Imperial Capital.

"Then lead the way, we need to see the Dwarf King," Lu Ran nodded and said.

"I can, but... leading the way costs money," the Dwarf girl looked at Lu Ran cautiously, seemingly worried about losing such a client due to the fee.

After all.

Dwarves themselves didn't need much help.

Foreigners rarely came to Blackstone City.

And Humans were seen for the first time.

"No problem with the fee, how much?" Lu Ran asked casually.

He had originally thought that this seemingly poor Dwarf girl would charge a lot.

But unexpectedly.

The Dwarf girl just cautiously said, "Is one hundred gold coins okay? If... if it's too expensive, it can be a little less..."

Towards the end, her voice became softer and softer.

Huh?

Lu Ran was a bit bewildered.

This was too cheap!

As a Professional, even a low-level Professional, the gold coins from casually farming trash white equipment or wild monsters would be more than a hundred.

"One hundred gold coins is fine, lead the way," Lu Ran directly pulled out one hundred gold coins and paid first.

The girl was surprised, but then joyfully put the money away.

She said, "Okay, my name is Annie, let's go to my house first."

This...

To be honest, Lu Ran didn't want to waste time.

He wanted to go directly to see the Dwarf King.

Annie seemed to see through Lu Ran's thoughts and explained, "The Dwarf King hasn't returned yet. According to his usual schedule, he'll probably be back in the evening. I'll take you to see him then, don't worry, there won't be any extra charge."

So that was it.

So the Dwarf King wasn't here right now.

Since that was the case, Lu Ran had nothing to refuse, and nodded, "Alright then, let's go to your house first."

Annie's home was in a secluded corner, downstream of the main city's inner river, at a bend under a large bridge, dark and damp.

The area wasn't large either.

Lu Ran and the others felt a bit cramped inside.

The furnishings in the room were also very simple; besides the daily pots and pans, there was only a wooden bed, not even a stool to sit on.

"My home... my home doesn't have much furniture, because I'm usually alone, so I don't need it, and... I didn't buy any," Annie said awkwardly.

Lu Ran and the others didn't mind, casually sitting against the wall to rest for a while.

With nothing to do.

Lu Ran asked curiously, "You should be a Dwarf Warrior, right? Where's your equipment?"

Annie shook her head, "I haven't saved enough money yet."

Meaning she couldn't afford it.

This was even stranger.

Lu Ran wondered, "Aren't you Dwarves good at crafting equipment? Can't you craft it yourself?"

Annie immediately shook her head again.

She said, "The Dwarf's crafting skill requires reliance on the eternal fire, which we don't have right now."

The eternal fire again! That was what was in Lu Ran's quest name!

It seemed.

After the Datafication World, the impact on the Dwarf was huge.

As Hill Dwarves, they were forced to leave the underground world.

They also lost the eternal fire, which prevented the Dwarf's forging talent, on which they relied for survival, from being utilized.

This not only restricted the Dwarf's own development but also suppressed the growth rate of a large number of Dwarves.

Soon, it was almost evening.

"It's almost time, shall we go out for a walk?" Lu Ran suggested.

The space here was damp, dark, and cramped. Although Lu Ran didn't have claustrophobia, he wasn't comfortable staying there.

And it was his first time in the Dwarf main city; sitting idly felt a bit wasteful.

It would be better to look around and gain some experience.

"Okay," Annie nodded, picked up her big hammer, and led the way out of the room.

Outside the door was the inner river, and above them was the bridge arch.

Annie led the way without any specific destination, taking Lu Ran and the others on a stroll.

She occasionally introduced the surrounding facilities and street names to Lu Ran and the others, but the names were very complicated and hard to remember, so Lu Ran didn't pay much attention.

When passing by an equipment shop.

Annie's eyes instantly lit up.

But she didn't linger and quickly walked past.

Lu Ran became curious again: "If the Dwarf can't forge, where do these pieces of equipment in the equipment shop come from?"

"They are left over from the Old World. The price is much higher than in the Old World. If you want to buy them, you need to save money for a long time," Annie explained.

This was understandable.

Now that the Dwarf couldn't forge equipment, what was left from the Old World was one less piece bought, and prices several times higher were light!

Liu Xinxin felt Annie was truly pitiful.

So she looked at the equipment shop owner, pointed to a large hammer inlaid with fire crystals on the wall, and asked, "How much is this one?"

The equipment shop owner was a Bearded Man, also short in stature, and was curiously looking at Lu Ran and the others.

Upon hearing this, he immediately said, "One thousand three hundred gold coins."

Very cheap, only over a thousand gold coins.

But considering Annie's ecstatic reaction to earning a hundred earlier, it was estimated that in the Dwarf, the purchasing power of gold coins was much higher than in the Human world!

"Annie, do you like this one? I'll pay for it, it's a gift for you," Lu Ran also became interested and called out to Annie.

This amount of money was truly insignificant to Lu Ran.

But Lu Ran had a good impression of this Dwarf girl, Annie.

But he didn't expect.

Annie decisively shook her head.

She said, "No."

It didn't sound like a fake refusal, but a genuine one.

Lu Ran was even more surprised; he had originally thought Annie would be ecstatic.

Annie seemed to have seen Lu Ran's confusion.

She mused, "In the Dwarf, I was born poor, destined to suffer many hardships. In my life, no one has ever been so good to me, nor has anyone given me such great help. I am very grateful to you, but the Dwarf will not accept favors from others for no reason. Thank you, I will save enough money to buy equipment."

After speaking, she grinned at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran felt a pang in his heart.

He didn't insist further.

And at this moment, on the main street ahead, a sudden commotion broke out.

Lu Ran and the others subconsciously looked over, but saw nothing.

But Annie beside him excitedly shouted, "The Dwarf King is back!"

Oh?

Lu Ran's eyes lit up; that meant the quest was about to begin!

He hurriedly followed Annie to the main street. Although there were many people here, the advantage was that Lu Ran's vision was still clear even from behind the crowd.

He could see a group of Dwarf Warriors riding large horned rams, slowly entering the city.

The leading Dwarf was much taller, holding a war hammer that flashed with lightning arcs, and his mount, the large horned ram, was also much larger.

Annie introduced, "The one leading is our Dwarf's King, Baron Giant Stone!"