"You're a Tier 1 Explorer, right? Tell me, what kind of equipment are you looking to forge?"
The sailor-suited girl asked, a highly arrogant and self-satisfied expression on her face. "Although I rarely lower myself to forge low-level Rare-Grade trash, since you're my very first customer today, I suppose I can reluctantly accept your commission."
"If it's that much of an agonizing burden for you, I'll just find another shop," Lu Li replied flatly, immediately turning on his heel to leave.
"Ehhh—Wait! Don't go! It's not a burden! It's not a burden at all!"
The girl frantically jumped over the counter to block his path. "Please rest assured! I will absolutely guarantee to fulfill your every requirement!"
"I need an overcoat," Lu Li said, deciding to stop teasing the bizarrely entertaining shopkeeper.
Honestly, he highly doubted he would easily find another Support Staff member who possessed genuine Master-tier forging skills and was currently desperate enough for business to take his commission immediately. Famous, established shops were likely backlogged with massive corporate orders, while the unknown, empty shops usually belonged to untalented hacks. This sailor-suited girl seemed like a massive weirdo, but the Legendary-Grade equipment sitting on her back shelf proved her craftsmanship was undeniably absolute top-tier.
"An overcoat? That's simple enough. What are your specific requirements?"
Once she entered "work mode," the girl became highly professional, instantly whipping out a small notepad and a pen to record the details.
"Oh, right. Before we get into that, let's establish the baseline. I want a custom Purple-Grade piece. How much will that cost?" Lu Li asked, cutting straight to the most critical point.
"A Purple-Grade?!"
The girl was visibly shocked. She carefully looked Lu Li up and down, scrutinizing him closely. "...I suppose you do look like you have the strength to back that up..."
Lu Li instantly felt a highly uncomfortable, invasive sensation wash over him. He deduced she had just used a system Reconnaissance Skill on him. Because it wasn't an active attack, the Terminus Space allowed the use of such skills in the Hub. However, Explorers generally avoided doing it. Casually scanning another Explorer's private attribute block was considered incredibly rude, highly provocative, and an excellent way to start a blood feud.
However, inside a custom-forging shop, it was actually standard procedure. Just like a tailor in the real world needing to measure a customer's chest and waist, if a blacksmith didn't know the customer's exact baseline attributes, they might accidentally forge a piece of equipment the customer didn't meet the system requirements to equip. That would be a catastrophic waste of materials.
"Yeah. Roughly how much for a Purple-Grade?" Lu Li pressed.
"If we're talking about a Purple-Grade overcoat, the actual forging process isn't overly complicated. However, if we're aiming for a max-rated 200-point piece, factoring in the cost of premium raw materials... I'll charge you..."
The girl hesitated, visibly agonizing over the price, terrified of scaring off her very first customer of the month. "...Let's say 20,000 Terminus Coins."
"I only have 16,000 left," Lu Li lied without batting an eye. He actually had over 19,000 coins remaining, but he couldn't completely drain his liquid assets down to zero.
"16,000..."
The girl's face scrunched up in profound conflict. According to her strict family teachings, a true artisan must strive for absolute perfection in every single piece they create. Therefore, she refused to forge anything less than a max-rated item. But achieving a max rating required highly expensive, premium materials. Honestly, at 16,000 coins, not only would she make zero profit, she might actually be taking a slight loss on the material cost.
But... She had secretly run away from home and opened this shop specifically to prove she could build a massively successful business on her own. If an entire month passed without her securing a single commission, her glorious journey of independence would end in absolute, humiliating failure.
"If it's not possible..."
Lu Li knew demanding a premium, custom-forged Purple-Grade item for only 16,000 coins was incredibly unrealistic. He was just about to offer to throw in a small Inheritance Crystal to sweeten the deal, but before he could finish his sentence, she cut him off.
"Deal!"
The girl's voice was crisp and decisive. She practically threw her body in front of him, physically blocking the exit. "But I have one extra condition."
"Let's hear it," Lu Li said, genuinely curious.
The girl glanced nervously at the furniture display racks near the front window, then furtively looked left and right, acting as if she were terrified someone was watching her. She leaned in and lowered her voice to a frantic whisper. "You have to buy a bed from me."
"Huh?!"
Lu Li's head was instantly filled with question marks. He had expected her to demand rare crafting materials or a share of future loot. But she wanted him to buy a bed?!
Seriously, what the hell is your obsessive, psychotic fixation with selling beds?! What is the point of selling furniture?! You possess literal, god-tier blacksmithing skills! Just forge weapons and armor!
"Just take the cheapest one. It's only 5,000 coins," she whispered, her voice so low it was practically just air passing through her vocal cords. "Trust my craftsmanship! I guarantee it'll be incredibly comfortable!"
"But I just told you I only have 16,000..." Lu Li sighed helplessly.
5,000 Terminus Coins?! That's enough to buy a highly premium, max-rated Blue (Excellent) Grade weapon! Am I mentally ill? Why would I drop 5,000 coins on a piece of wood to sleep on?!
"Oh, stop pretending."
The girl rolled her eyes in an incredibly cute, highly exasperated manner. "There is absolutely no way a Tier 1 Explorer demanding custom Purple-Grade gear doesn't keep a secret emergency reserve fund. You definitely have the cash."
"I'll add one Inheritance Crystal (Small) to the 16,000 coins. That covers the custom overcoat and the cheapest bed. If you accept, we discuss the forging details. If not, I walk," Lu Li countered firmly.
On the open market, a small Inheritance Crystal usually sold for around 3,000 to 5,000 coins, but they were highly illiquid because practically no Explorer ever willingly sold them.
If she accepted the deal, Lu Li considered it a massive win. Paying roughly 20,000 coins total for a bespoke, perfectly tailored Purple-Grade armor piece was already incredibly cheap. The bed was basically just a bizarre freebie.
"An Inheritance Crystal?!"
The girl's eyes lit up like spotlights. "Deal! It's a deal! Tell me your requirements!"
For the next ten minutes, Lu Li meticulously detailed exactly what he wanted. By the time he finished, the girl was looking at him with an incredibly bizarre, deeply disturbed expression.
"Can I back out of this contract? Because what you just described is absolutely not a Purple-Grade item!"
The girl was practically pulling her hair out in frustration. In her eyes, Lu Li was the absolute worst kind of 'Client'. His demands were completely divorced from reality.
It needs extreme flexibility and high-tier kinetic defense. It needs a passive self-repair function. It needs an active defensive skill capable of completely nullifying high-yield attacks. It needs passive survival-enhancing properties. And to top it all off... it 'preferably needs to look really cool'?!
Are you asking for a Purple-Grade item?! Because you literally just described a Mythic-Grade artifact!
"Ah. If you can't manage all of that, it's fine. Just try to aim in that general direction. I'm just describing my ideal piece of gear. Fulfill as many of the requirements as you physically can," Lu Li said casually.
He didn't actually know anything about the complex mechanics or systemic limitations of Terminus Space blacksmithing. He was just describing his dream coat.
During his brutal deathmatches, he had grown deeply annoyed by the fragility of ordinary clothing. His shirts were constantly being shredded or violently blown off by shockwaves. He didn't have a bizarre exhibitionist fetish; he didn't enjoy fighting half-naked.
Therefore, he figured if he could acquire a highly durable, indestructible overcoat, he wouldn't look so pathetic and ragged after fighting a supreme powerhouse. Furthermore, an overcoat provided a massive surface area for defensive enchantments. Combined with his passive [Armament Haki], he wouldn't even need to bother dodging most attacks anymore; he could just tank everything and fight with pure, unrestrained brute force.
"Who the hell said I couldn't make it?!"
Lu Li's casual dismissal was like stepping hard on a cat's tail. The girl's competitive pride violently exploded. "I'll make it! You just wait! Come back next week to pick it up!"
"Oh... alright then. Good luck," Lu Li muttered. His primal survival instincts warned him not to further agitate the hyper-competitive teenager.
"I'm starting work immediately! The shop is officially closed for the day! And don't forget to take your bed with you when you leave!"
As she furiously yelled, she triggered the system trade window, officially transferring ownership of the display bed to Lu Li.
Holding a tiny, toy-sized wooden bed in his palm, Lu Li walked out of the 'Bespoke Private Customs' shop feeling completely bewildered. Support Staff technology was genuinely miraculous; the furniture was inherently designed to infinitely scale and compress for easy spatial storage.
Watching the highly motivated, intensely glaring girl violently slam the shop doors shut behind him, Lu Li couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety. Once a System Contract was signed, neither party could back out. He could only pray she was actually reliable and could forge a piece of equipment he was satisfied with.
Having essentially drained his entire liquid bank account, Lu Li had absolutely no desire to continue window-shopping in the Commercial District. He planned to quickly check the stats of the toy bed in his hand before tossing it into his Spatial Inventory to rot.
But when he casually glanced at the system details... his eyes widened in absolute shock.
[Dreamless]
Origin: Terminus Space
Rarity: Dark-Blue (Rare)
Item Type: Furniture
Toughness: 28
Durability: 70/70
Usage Requirement: None
Details: A premium piece of furniture meticulously hand-crafted by Support Staff #█████ using highly precious 'Dream Incense Wood'. It possesses an advanced, bio-adaptive firmness regulation system. Sleeping upon this bed induces a state of profound physical and psychological relaxation, exponentially elevating the fundamental quality of sleep.
Furniture Effect 1 (Dreamless): While resting upon 'Dreamless', the Pioneer's natural Reiryoku (Soul Source) Regeneration Rate is increased by 300%.
Furniture Effect 2 (Nourish): While resting upon 'Dreamless', the Pioneer's natural Vitality (Health) Regeneration Rate is increased by 300%.
System Rating: 100+ (Max Rating)
Evaluation: Sometimes, owning a truly good bed is the most important thing in the world.
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