After reading the system prompt, Xu Feng breathed out a sigh of relief.
The Merit Coins from the village was something on his to-do list, but its prerequisites were cancerous to unlock.
Never did he expect his speedrun of eradicating those insurgent remnants to come in handy.
'The insurgents were finished so quickly that even Thorin's impression of me changed.' Amused, Xu Feng really wanted to thank Melvin. Unfortunately, Melvin was now a goner— literally and figuratively.
A second later, Xu Feng opened the special shop that appeared in his system feature which was exclusively available in Willowbrook Village, his expression quickly darkened.
'That damn crooked…' He twitched his mouth and realized why Thorin easily let him go.
The shop was indeed Fiona's special tool, but the price was determined by Thorin and each one of them cost a whopping 1,000 Willowbrook Merit Coins or above.
In other words, the 500 Willowbrook Merit Coins he just earned were like pennies.
And he recalled vividly that his current fund could at least help him purchase a lot of things.
This meant that Thorin purposely listed the price as such to extort him and essentially made him repay back the Convergence weapon commission in a roundabout way.
While Xu Feng discovered the shrewdness, he heard a menacing laughter coming from inside.
"Hahaha, I want to see who will dare to short-change my daughter's craft ever again," Thorin announced loudly, clearly wanting Xu Feng to hear his words.
Putting up a smile on his face, Xu Feng shall remember this debt. The fact that Fiona didn't mind at all but his father had the nerve to pull such a stunt.
If Xu Feng doesn't let Thorin pay for his action, then he shall have his name called backward from now on.
'Just you wait, Thorin. The classic 30 years on the east side of the river, 30 years on the west side of the river, would be the proverb used just for you!' Xu Feng sneered inwardly.
A second later, he composed himself and entered the Blacksmith.
"What are you still doing here?" Thorin asked coolly. "My daughter isn't here, and I don't know when she will return."
"Hmm, I'm not here for her." Xu Feng mused and stared at him.
"I'm just here to remind you kindly that the village is treating me like a hero, and I shall grieve in front of them once I leave. Things such as how I'm being extorted and bullied by you. I wondered what the villagers would think of you by then." He continued, flashing a cold grin.
Thorin felt a sudden chill, his body shuddering briefly.
"Is that a threat?" He raised an eyebrow and questioned.
"A threat?" Shocked, Xu Feng gasped and shook his head. "How is it a threat when I'm just informing you of my upcoming actions? I would say it's more like a notice rather than a threat. A threat is only used when two sides are enemies, and we can't possibly be an enemy, right?"
A moment of silence occurred before Thorin placed his hammer down. He held a solemn expression and gazed at Xu Feng.
"Speak, what do you want?"
"I just want to purchase something, but the price is way too high. That's all I'm asking for— a reasonable price where we both win."
"Hmph, the room is over there!" Thorin snorted coldly and pointed at a room. "You better not try to steal because I can sense everything. And at that point, let's see how the hero becomes known as a thief overnight."
After saying so, Thorin picked up his hammer and resumed his crafting, pretending Xu Feng was an invisible person. It wasn't much of a surprise for the reaction considering he had just been blatantly blackmailed into caving in.
Of course, Xu Feng had zero sense of sympathy or empathy for Thorin's situation.
Who told Thorin to make a move on him? He started everything and was merely reaping what he sowed.
"Let's see if I can stock up any goodies." Xu Feng exclaimed in joy and happily skipped toward the room, purposely rubbing it on Thorin's face.
Infuriated, Thorin gnashed his teeth and started hammering with greater force.
Unfortunately, the force was so powerful that it broke the heated metal into pieces.
"Damn it!" Thorin stomped the ground in frustration. There goes his half an hour of work turning into waste!
As if his pain wasn't enough, Thorin heard Xu Feng's hearty laugh echoing from the room— a sense of deja vu hitting him hard. Previously, Thorin was the one laughing at Xu Feng's plight, but the tables had quickly turned and it was him being laughed at.
"How did my daughter encounter such an unruly bastard!" Thorin clicked his tongue and resumed crafting to pacify his agitated emotion.
Meanwhile, Xu Feng also promptly stopped his teasing. There was always a limit to retaliation and going above that limit wouldn't do him well.
Having enjoyed his mini-revenge, Xu Feng resumed glancing around the room and even opened the exclusive shop interface. A satisfied expression then appeared on his face as the price was now at a reasonable value.
There were many accessories that could be equipped for his current equipment, but his eyes were focused on something else.
The items that caught his attention were Frost Grenades, Smoke Grenades, and Phantom Grappling Hook.
Frost Grenades could be used to damage and slow his enemies down, whereas Smoke Grenades could provide great coverage for him to advance or retreat. As for Phantom Grappling Hook, it was a necessity to ensure he could traverse through any difficult terrain.
Each Frost Grenade costs 15 Merit Coins, Smoke Grenades costs 10 Merit Coins, and Phantom Grappling Hook costs 100 Merit Coins.
Based on the cost and his current Merit Coins, Xu Feng quickly made up his mind. "Alright, it's decided."
Aside from the Phantom Grappling Hook, he would purchase an additional 20 Frost Grenades and 10 Smoke Grenades, effectively rounding the total to 500 Merit Coins.