Chapter 99 |
“Materialistically speaking, it isn’t. But if we’re talking about the realm of ideas, then I’d say it is what it is,” Lynn pondered for a moment before providing his response.
Now a wizard himself, Lynn saw no need to adhere strictly to any rules. In his view, the rules governing all things in the world were merely imprints of external truths, and the essence of a wizard lay in studying, utilizing, mastering, and altering these rules.
“That’s precisely what the legendary wizard said back in the day,” Toby remarked.
“He believed his daughter was still alive, so he extracted fragments of the past from time itself. But even for a legendary wizard, meddling with someone else’s time comes at a great cost. Hence, he remains dormant to this day.”
“Uncle Toby, your words didn’t sound like something an ordinary administrator would say,” Lynn inquired as he was about to leave.
“I’m just an ordinary administrator, nothing more. Don’t read too much into it,” Toby grinned, his five ebony demon claws closing to form a fist, igniting golden-red sparks at the fingertips. Eventually, the dazzling sparks coalesced into a delicate spiral-patterned ring.
“This is the key to the Abyss. If you ever decide to venture there, this ring will grant you access to the Abyss trading market. It’s a rare haven of peace amidst the chaos of the Abyss and falls under our academy’s jurisdiction,” Toby explained.
Accepting the ring from Toby, Lynn returned to his residence, casting a glance at the empty house next door. Perhaps the next time they met during another cycle, they would be strangers once again.
Back in his room, Lynn retrieved all the magic stones from his storage ring. After organizing them, he found he had a total of 372 magic stones, excluding those used for raising goblins and daily meditation expenses.
Although he already had the core source material for constructing the elemental pool, he still needed to purchase other raw materials. Hence, the reason for acquiring the core raw materials.
Just then, his communication conch buzzed, and Lynn answered Jim’s call.
“Brother Lynn, are you planning to go to the Abyss?” Jim inquired.
“I’m not ready yet,” Lynn replied calmly. He wasn’t in a rush to venture into the Abyss. It lay beyond the jurisdiction of Demon City and could potentially be dangerous. Even someone like Ido, the legendary wizard’s daughter, had met with mishaps there, indicating its inherent peril.
“There’s a trade fair in the Abyss recently. This trade fair only happens once every decade. If you miss this time, you will have to wait for another decade. It is said that many apprentices from various academies attend,” Jim informed.
“You might not know this as a newcomer, but there’s a market on the first level of the Abyss. It sells many things unique to the Abyss. Demons often bring some local specialties here for trade with wizards,” Jim continued.
“But ordinary apprentices like us can’t easily go there; it’s quite troublesome,” he added.
“Oh, by the way, I heard you can buy source materials to make Abyss Forges there, which are hard to come by elsewhere but seem relatively common in the Abyss,” Jim mentioned.
Abyss Forges? Lynn pondered. If he waited for the next opportunity, wouldn’t he have to wait another ten years?
“I’ll see how things go,” Lynn replied.
“If you decide to go, could you take me with you?” Jim asked.
“Each apprentice from the Abyss Wizard Academy is allowed to bring one additional companion. I won’t ask you to do it for free. I can offer you some magic stones as compensation, or if you don’t need magic stones, I can provide other raw materials as a substitute,” Jim explained.
“You should know other apprentices, right?” Lynn found it strange that Jim, who had been here for quite some time, didn’t have many acquaintances.
Why wouldn’t he ask someone he knew better to take him?
“I had a falling out with a friend, and some of my previous channels are closed off now. If it’s too much trouble for you, forget I mentioned it,” Jim explained.
“It’s because I took a risk to acquire something. That friend wanted to trade with me, but I didn’t want to give it up, so we had a falling out.”
What kind of item could cause a rift between two apprentices?
After a moment of thought, Lynn had a rough idea.
“Just as you suspected, it’s a source material for building a wizard tower,” Jim sighed, speaking from the other end of the communication conch.
“I had to pay a considerable price to acquire it, and that person wanted it from me. If he had offered a reasonable price, I wouldn’t have insisted on keeping it. But his offer was less than a third of the market value.”
“I’ve hesitated for a long time, but if you’re interested, I can trade this source material with you. It’s quite hot in my hands too,” Jim said, hesitating on the other end of the communication conch.
“What source material?” Lynn asked.
“Clayheart,” Jim replied.
As soon as Jim mentioned the name, Lynn knew exactly what it was—a supplementary source material used in constructing wizard towers. When mixed into the tower’s structure, Clayheart significantly increased the tower’s resistance to earth-based spells, and greatly enhanced its resistance against spells like ‘Fragmentation’ and ‘Fractured Light’, which were designed to dissolve and weaken.
“How many magic stones?” Lynn inquired.
“Three thousand magic stones,” Jim stated.
Lynn frowned. Three thousand magic stones was an exorbitant price, equivalent to about seven or eight years of his income. Moreover, he didn’t have that much money at the moment. However, Jim’s asking price wasn’t inflated; it was the standard market price, which was precisely why constructing a wizard tower was so fundamentally challenging.
“If you don’t have magic stones, you can use recipes or other items to offset the cost,” Jim suggested.
“I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know if I decide to go,” Lynn said.
“By the way, what’s the identity of the apprentice you had a conflict with?” Lynn inquired.
“That apprentice has a bit of a background. He has a junior who recently became an official wizard, but it’s been less than thirty years since he became a wizard himself. If he really came from a significant background, he wouldn’t bother with my small source materials. Moreover, my source material is only useful for building first-level wizard towers; its effect on higher-level wizard towers is minimal, only serving as auxiliary material,” Jim explained.
“Understood. I’ll let you know if I decide to go,” Lynn replied. “By the way, that Abyss market, how long does it last?” Lynn asked.
“It’s next month, and it’s quite flexible. There are still more than twenty days left.”
“Good.”
Jim then hastily hung up the communication conch.
As he hung up, Lynn furrowed his brow and pondered for a while. If he wanted to purchase source materials, the money he had on hand might not be enough.
Moreover, there might be things he wanted to buy at the Abyss market. How could there be things he didn’t want? Every time he passed by a shop, he felt a twinge of longing, but he simply couldn’t afford it due to financial constraints.
Initially, Lynn thought he could make a decent amount of money with his level 2 alchemical studies, but he now realized he had been too naive. There were numerous wizard apprentices in Demon City, and many of the shops here were backed by official wizards. The daily flow of magic stones in this huge city was astronomical.
Alchemical products made at the level 2 alchemical studies were only enough to earn Lynn a modest living.
Fortunately, his mutation studies had already reached level 3, but unlike alchemical studies, mutation studies was different. It wasn’t that mutation studies couldn’t earn wealth; it was just that the efficiency of turning the knowledge of mutation studies into wealth wasn’t as quick.
His assistance to Nocturne in experiments, obtaining the Elemental Stone Marrow, was the best proof of this.
As long as there was knowledge, wealth could be earned anywhere; it was just a matter of different channels and efficiency.
If he wanted to make money quickly, he would have to rely on potion studies.
Among the various fields, potion studies was unique in that most of its products were consumables. Where there was demand, there was a market.
He decided to save up some magic stones first and then go to the market to see the situation. If he didn’t have enough money this time, he would save up and buy it next time.
The main thing was to go and see the situation first and see if there were any opportunities to make wealth.
Since he had heard that many people were making Abyss Forges, this source material was definitely not a rare item. There was always a next time if he missed out, even if it meant waiting for ten years.
To Lynn, ten years sounded somewhat lengthy.
Because from the time he started learning magic until now, it had only been two and a half years. Ten years was the equivalent of four times his current experience.
In ten years, his younger sister should have grown up, and his younger brother might have even gotten married.
The next day, there was a knock on Lynn’s door.
He stepped outside to find a slightly older-looking male apprentice waiting.
The apprentice’s face seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
“Are you Wizard Lynn?” the other party asked politely.
“Yes, what can I do for you?” Lynn responded, returning the courtesy.
The other party’s demeanor was quite polite. Among apprentices, some would use the title of “wizard” to show respect to other apprentices, although this kind of address was usually used in the absence of official wizards, much like how a deputy director might dislike others adding the prefix “deputy” to their title.
“Hello, I’m Jado. I’ve heard that Wizard Lynn’s alchemical puppets sell very well. I bought two before, and they were indeed quite useful,” the other party said, attempting to establish rapport.
“I also have a channel for selling alchemical puppets made by Wizard Lynn, and I won’t charge you any intermediary fees. If Wizard Lynn is willing, you can sell them through me.”
Lynn remained composed. “What do you want in return for promoting my work for free?” he asked, skeptical that there could be a free lunch.
“Haha, I hope that if Wizard Lynn hears any news about Jim, you’ll inform me. When Jim and another friend of ours went out on an adventure, they obtained two Clayhearts. According to the rules, the highest bidder should win, but Jim took both Clayhearts and severely injured my other friend,” the other party explained.
The story of this person differed to those of Jim’s, but it had nothing to do with Lynn, so he didn’t feel inclined to get involved.
“I can place my alchemical creations in your channel for sale, but we’ve never collaborated before. I’ll try it out on your channel first and see how the sales go,” Lynn proposed.
The other party smiled. “Of course, that’s only fair. In fact, I’ve been in Demon City for fifty years now, and I know many apprentices. If Wizard Lynn can gain some popularity and open a shop, I can leverage my connections to have my friends help promote it for you.”
“Thank you very much,” Lynn said with a smile, extending his right hand.
The other party also extended his right hand, and the two shook hands.
The conflict between him and Jim was their own business; Lynn just needed to expand his trading channels.
After Jado left, Lynn took out his communication conch to contact Jim. After all, they had been working together for a year, and Lynn had known him for even longer.
Of course, the main reason was that for the sake of convenience in sales, Lynn had two Iron Serpent No. 1 units stored with Jim for trading.
In simpler terms, it was stockpiling; he had a batch of goods stored with Jim.
But when Lynn tried to contact Jim this time, there was no response.
Lynn’s expression gradually darkened.
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