When Henwell makes his request, Newwood casually pulls several rge crates out of thin air.

  He opens them up, revealing stacks of various weapons and gear inside.

  Digging through the pile, Newwood says, “This Shadowfiend Warbde is pretty impressive，but I can’t give it to you. That thing’s from Sage City and has caused the deaths of many high-level mages. Anyone carrying it gets hunted down.”

  “This is a Padin’s warhammer, a weapon for Radiant Burst-level masters. You can’t use it either, or the Holy Spirit Church will come after you. I stole this one with a lot of effort. They probably don’t even know their sacred relic’s missing!”

  “I remember you use a longsword. Check this out. It’s called the Blood Dragon Holy Sword. It’s sin dragons! But you can’t have it either; it’s cursed with a powerful hex that causes infertility.”

  “This armor here is ancient—over 300 years old. It was commissioned by the High Tower Elf Prince and forged by the Redstone Dwarves…”

  Newwood’s collection is truly vast, each piece radiating extraordinary energy. Henwell can’t help but drool over them.

  But sadly, none of these can be handed over to Henwell.

  The reason is simple, they’re all stolen goods.

  Either Newwood ‘archaeologically’ acquired them, got them for free, or they’re spoils from his violent escapades.

  In short, these are all hot items.

  After sorting through everything, there’s nothing suitable for Henwell.

  Henwell scratches his head. “How about you just give me some high-grade metal, and I’ll craft my own gear?”

  Newwood snaps his fingers excitedly. “Exactly! I can make you a full set of weapons and armor!”

  Henwell eyes him skeptically. “You can craft weapons and gear?”

  Newwood stands up, puffing up with pride. “What’s that look? Who do you think you’re doubting? I’ve got plenty of skills! I’ve traveled the world for years, learning wherever I go! Want me to tell you about twenty-three ways to cook steak while I’m at it?”

  Henwell decides not to argue with this madman and pulls out his broken gear.

  He wants Newwood to craft a new set equipment after it.

  When Newwood spots the Dawn Greatsword, he picks it up and examines it closely. “Hey! Where did you get this longsword?”

  Henwell freezes for a moment, then it hits him.

  The counterweight on the Dawn Greatsword looks strikingly simir to the arm tattoo Newwood showed him earlier that day.

  So Henwell decides to tell Newwood about Kavize.

  Newwood strokes his chin thoughtfully. “Wait, do you have a colleague here? How come I didn’t sense anyone? Are we not from the same department? That doesn’t add up. Where did he get an Azure Group’s clean-ste weapon?”

  Henwell cautiously asks, “Is Kavize not dead? Is he like us? Why didn’t I notice anything unusual about him back then?”

  Newwood shakes his head gently. “Not necessarily. Maybe he inherited that weapon from somewhere else and then passed it on to you.”

  But then Newwood dismisses that idea. “No, I’ve seen how you fight. Your combat style and techniques resemble those from our department. That’s not something you just inherit casually! If Kavize taught you, where did he learn it from?”

  After a moment’s thought, Newwood continues, “Can you give me a portrait of him?”

  Henwell nods. “Sure, I’ll draw it tomorrow.”

  Newwood says, “Leave this to me. I’ll look into it ter. But for now, let’s focus on crafting your weapons and gear. Got any secluded spots?”

  Henwell stands up. “Let’s go! I’ll take you to my personal forge. You should change into something else to blend in.”

  Newwood waves him off. “Don’t worry. No one sees me except you.”

  Henwell leads Newwood to his workshop. Newwood is curious, touching and inspecting everything.

  Finally, he squats beside a crate in a small compartment.

  Newwood fiddles with a palm-sized rectangur block. “I thought you weren’t into gunpowder! Turns out you’ve already got some!”

  Henwell warns, “Be careful! This stuff’s almost as powerful as bck powder!”

  Newwood’s eyes light up. “There’s even stronger stuff?”

  Henwell hesitates a moment. “Yeah, I developed a high-intensity explosive, but it’s unstable.”

  Newwood waves it off casually. “No problem! I’ll stash it in my storage space—super stable! Just give me some, not too much, a hundred or eighty tons will do. I’ve been itching to experiment with the art of explosions!”

  Henwell’s been meaning to ask, “What’s your storage space? One of those legendary storage devices?”

  Newwood scoffs, “No way! That’s an ability for our department members. You won’t get your hands on it! Now hurry up and bring me that gunpowder!”

  Watching Newwood rub his hands together excitedly, Henwell rolls his eyes. “I don’t keep that kind of gunpowder in stock. If you want, I can make some for you soon, but forget about a hundred or eighty tons! The most I can give you is one ton, that’s enough to level a big fortress!”

  Newwood protests, “That won’t do! You don’t realize how huge the Holy Spirit Church headquarters is! You’ve gotta give me more! At least enough to blow up a whole complex. Don’t worry, I won’t let you take a loss! I’ll craft a full set of gear for you that’ll st all the way to Glory Knight rank!”

  Henwell holds out his palm. “Then make me fifty sets of Iron Knight-level weapons and armor, and I’ll give you five tons of high explosives.”

  “No way! I’m not your borer! Don’t expect me to work for you! The most I’ll make is five sets.”

  “Ten tons for one hundred sets.”

  “Nope, I just be here a month! Twenty sets max!”

  “Eighty sets!”

  “Making weapons and armor isn’t like molding cy. There’s no way I can crank out eighty sets in such a short time! Forty sets at most!”

  “Sixty sets! I’ll teach you how to make this high explosive yourself, plus throw in a set of tools!”

  “Deal!”

  At dawn, Henwell already feels a twinge of regret.

  Newwood casually pulls out dozens of gear sets from his storage space.

  Grabbing a file, he starts scraping off the golden sun emblem stamped on the armor.

  Then, thoughtfully, he brands each piece with the name “Henwell.”

  Henwell can’t help but compin, “You already have these ready-made! Why are you still haggling with me?”

  Newwood throws his head back. “Those are treasures I painstakingly ‘zero-cost acquired’! Do you know how hard it was to steal these from the Bzing Sun Dynasty? I worked as a security guard for two whole years! Only then did I get the chance to sneak in and grab these. Do you have any idea how valuable this stuff is?”

  Henwell eyes him suspiciously. “So You have ready-made weapons and armor that suit me, do you?”

  Newwood tosses a few metal ingots his way. “Nonsense! I said I’d make your gear by hand—and I will!”

  With that, he pulls out a top-tier warhammer and starts pounding away…