Read Online The Bathrobe Knight by Charles Dean, Joshua Swayne - Free Book Online

and the richest Blacksmith you’ll find will be the third shop on your left. Can’t miss it: it’s got the big pillar of smoke behind it.”
                  “Thank you for the help. Have a good day!” Even though it was an NPC and Darwin knew it was an NPC, he just couldn’t help but treat it like a person. The AI in the game was so creepily accurate that he couldn’t tell the difference between the NPC’s behavior and a person’s.
                  As he passed through the gates, the Guard called out to him one more time, making Darwin worry. “Sir!”
                  “Yes? Did I forget to do something?”
                  “No, it’s just . . . thank you!”
                  “Umm . . . no problem? Have a good day.” Thank you? If metal was so in demand that the Guards would thank him for just bringing his Axes to sell here, then he was definitely going to make a killing. But how did food work? I know it’s a game, but my stomach is killing me, and I’m so thirsty. Where is iced tea when you need it.
                  The town was utterly lacking in style to Darwin. The shops seemed to bleed into one another so well that just walking down the road one might confuse himself with a hotdog that had lost its way in a very large hallway--the shops were just two continuous walls and not a series of individual stores. The Blacksmith shop itself was even hard to spot, regardless of what the Guard had said. If it wasn’t for the tell-tale sign with an anvil hanging above the door, he might have missed it and gone into the fourth or fifth shop on the row.
                  “Greetings!” a burly, beer-gutted man with a beard that hung from chin to belly button said as soon as he opened the door. The man didn’t even bother looking up as he said it and just went back to working on whatever it was he was fashioning behind the desk where he stood. The entire shop was filled with tall stands that blocked his vision, each holding a series of weapons which were mostly made out of wood. With all the Staves, Bows and Arrows, one might not recognize the fact it was a Blacksmith’s shop and not a Carpenter’s.
                  “Hey,” Darwin said, paying beer-gut the same indifferent respect he received. He was about to ask him to buy the Axes, when he realized he not only didn’t know what a good price was for the Axes, but he didn’t even know what currency was worth in this new gamer world. “How much is a Double-Bladed Iron Axe worth?”
                  “A passable one would be worth about 2 Gold Coins and 50 Silver Pieces. Iron is shorter than my patience though, boy, so if you want me to make you one, it’ll be 6 Gold Coins,” the grumpy man said, pausing what he was doing for only a second to scratch the top of his bald head.  
                  “Could I sell one?”
    Beard belly put down whatever it was he was holding and looked up at him with squinted eyes.
                  “I’ll take a look at it, but you won’t get more than 2 Gold Coins.”
                  “Fine, but how long will it take you to look at about eight hundred?” As soon as he mentioned the number he had, a clatter came from behind one of the weapon walls.
                  “Did you say you had eight hundred?” a timid female voice called out from behind the wall. “You think you could sell fifty to my Guild instead of the old man. We’ll pay you the 2 Gold and 50 Silver Pieces they are actually worth.”
                  “I don’t see why not.” Money is money, after all, and I need to get some badly and buy a burger.
Elaine has requested to trade with you. Would you like to Accept or Reject the trade invitation?
                  Accept. When he accepted the trade request a window popped up with an Items and Gold section on both sides. Add fifty