Arthur stepped up to the wide slab of wood and began unloading his loot alongside John.

A pair of ivory tusks, two small serpent scales, a large boar hide, and two large black spears filled up the counter in the blink of an eye.

The dwarf’s eyes gleamed as he leaned forward, his gaze moving across the pile.

His right hand reached out and he ran a calloused fingertip along the curve of each tusk, as if testing their density. Then, he pressed that same finger lightly into the hide and tugged it upward by the edge, before dropping it when the bristles refused to give out. Finally, he tapped once against each serpent scale, his knuckle making a hollow ring on its surface.

"Hmm, not bad." His mouth twitched as if considering whether the haul was impressive or merely decent.

Then, he began testing the spears. He picked up one of them, tested its weight in both hands, and gave the haft a sharp shake.

Arthur could tell the dwarf was being even more meticulous about this batch compared to the first time around.

Finally, his beard shifted as he nodded and said,

"These’ll fetch you fifty base stones apiece."

Arthur blinked, his mind taking a moment to register the number he’d just heard. Fifty? That was already a third more than the thirty-five elemental stones he’d gotten for the fang-tipped spearhead off a level 4 goblin. His gaze moved to John, whose eyes seemed to have gone wide as well.

The dwarf must have noticed their surprise, because he grinned, showing off his two rows of pristine white teeth. He lifted one of the spears, tilting it toward the forge-light and continued,

"Different stock and better craft will always bring more value. These spears come from level 5 Goblin Spear-Guards, so they’ll naturally fetch a better price."

He set the spear back down with a soft clatter and moved on, as he began assessing the rest of the loot Arthur and John had brought.

"The Iron Boar tusks are decent. They’ll fetch you sixty base stones each. The serpent scales are also not bad. I’ll give you seventy-eight stones apiece. As for the boar hide... now this is pretty good."

Finally, the dwarf paused for a moment when he reached the Iron Boar’s hide. His eyes lingered on it for a moment as if contemplating something before he looked at Arthur and John and continued,

"I’ll give you a hundred and ten stones for this."

John’s head jerked back at those words, looking almost comical if not for the genuine disbelief in his voice.

"So much? For a boar hide?"

Arthur was just as taken aback, staring at the smith. The hide of a single boar was actually worth a hundred and ten stones?

The dwarf didn’t even blink.

"Aye. Tusks are the most common thing those boars leave behind. But hides... now that’s a rare drop. You don’t see one often. Still a common material, mind you, but it’s worth a good deal more."

His smile deepened as he pointed at the serpent scales and continued,

"And don’t think you’ve struck gold here. This is nothing. Now, if you brought me something like the gallbladder of a Rock Serpent... that’d fetch you a real price."

Arthur didn’t say anything. He simply filed in the dwarf’s words.

So there were rare drops, like a [Rock Serpent’s] gallbladder, and it seemed like even the common beasts had them.

Then what about the [Skillbooks]? Were they also rare drops?

"They have to be..." Arthur thought to himself before he turned his gaze back to the blacksmith.

The dwarf leaned back, dusting his hands together and continued,

"If you want to sell everything, I can give you four hundred and eighty-six base stones. What d’ya think?"

Arthur turned to John, who was already rubbing his hands with excitement.

When neither of them objected, the dwarf took out a small pouch and tipped it out onto an empty stretch of the counter, emptying it out, before plucking out fourteen stones and slipping them back in.

Arthur and John split everything down the middle. Two hundred forty-three stones each.

Added to the two hundred and thirty-five Arthur already had, plus the hundred or so he’d taken from one of the hunters who’d ambushed them on the mountain, his total was now well over 500 elemental stones. In fact, it was closer to 600.

When the counter was clear, Arthur thought for a moment before he brought out the last piece he’d kept hidden. The [Deadshot] skillbook.

The dwarf’s demeanor changed instantly. His eyes sharpened, and he reached forward with surprising gentleness, taking the book in his hands before Arthur even had time to say anything. He turned it slowly, like a man handling something extremely fragile.

It was only after a few moments that he turned his gaze back to Arthur and John and muttered,

"I’ll be damned. You brats actually found a skillbook."

John leaned forward, a grin splitting his face. "So what’s it worth? Can you appraise it for us?"

The dwarf shook his head, placing the book back in Arthur’s hands with surprising delicacy as he answered,

"It’s not my field, so I can’t give you an accurate estimate, but I can tell you this. A skillbook should easily fetch you a thousand base stones, at the very least. ...Even more, if you’re lucky. If you want to know more, you’ll probably have to visit the Golden Oak."

"Golden Oak?" Arthur asked.

The dwarf nodded and jabbed a thick finger behind him, pointing toward the city center.

"It’s the only auction house in the city. Believe me, you can’t miss it even if you want to."