The group arrived at the student market which was not too far from the cafeteria. Students had set up various stalls around a plaza where they were offering different things to sell while there were a few stands that actually belonged to the school at each of the cardinal directions.
"This is the market. It is the only place where you can buy goods or services besides the mission center. At least publicly. People do private trades or auctions in classrooms or around campus," Liz said, hinting about the auction that Wyne held
She brought them on a small tour around the market as she introduced what each section of the market was for.
In the north, students would sell materials. These could be leftover mission materials or just some stuff they found while hunting. Potion masters and blacksmiths loved this area since they could find lots of materials without having to go out and endanger themselves.
The eastern section was where magical items were sold. Enchanted items, magical artifacts, and grimoires were sold here but the latter were very rare. In this school, knowledge was power. And having spells that no one else had provided plenty of power.
"You said that low-tier grimoires are worth around 1000 points?!?!" Koxa wanted to tear her hair out. She had traded away 5 of them for 1/5 of the price.
Liz began laughing behind Koxa's back as the girl was still getting scammed.
"He is right but wrong. That is only for red magic grimoires. Blue and green go for around 1500 per grimoire while white and black could range between 3000 and 5000 for a single low-tier grimoire," Liz felt pity for the girl getting scammed but she felt like she should bring the girl to reality and let her realize just how dangerous lack of knowledge was in this school
"3-3-3 to 5 thousand per?" Koxa asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Liz nodded solemnly to let her know that she was serious.
'I sold them each for 200. I sold something that averaged 4000 points for only 200?! Only 5% of its price!' Koxa wanted to go back in time and choke her past self as well as her parents. They knew all about the academy but they didn't tell her anything. If they had informed her, she could saved herself from the heartache she was experiencing.
Wyne felt the opposite of her. He had managed to get a steal on all the grimoires that he bought which would most likely be the last time he would ever make such a great deal.
The southern section had potions and potion-making materials. Flasks, cauldrons, and potions of various tiers. All of those could be found here but students needed to be careful. A simple potion of low-tier Fatigue Restoration was easily able to look like a High-Tier Phoenix Blood potion if one did not look carefully.
This was another way that potion masters got their points. They would rent out their services to other students and prevent them from getting scammed. But students only hired them when they were looking for mid-tier and high-tier potions with some rarity to them.
The western section was called the mortal section. It was where people sold anything non-magical such as daily living supplies, non-magical weapons, food, and jewelry. This area was really only open during the beginning of the year, around mid-terms, and near the end of the semester. Many students were always desperate to make some extra points during these times since this was when classes were the most stressful.
After getting the tour, Liz wandered off to go buy some stuff but not before teaching them how to transfer points so that other students wouldn't rob them.
Wyne transferred over the 400 points he promised Koxa while giving Lina her 120 of the 240 points she was supposed to get later. Wyne figured that she needed to buy some supplies and wanted to make sure her potion-making skills did not deteriorate.
With 1080 points still in his badge, Wyne and Mil walked around the market to try and buy some supplies. Their first stop was in the eastern section. What they really needed was a storage device.
Wyne noticed that the senior students didn't seem to carry any items on them while the 1st years carried all of their new books and other supplies in their hands or with backpacks. So he came to the conclusion that these items were sold at the market.
After walking around the various stalls, they found a few different low-tier storage items, each having its own perks. The larger the item used for storage, the more space it provided but also the more unstable it was and more likely to detonate if the wrong spell came into contact with it.
"The jewelry pieces aren't too bad. Although they each cost about 300 points, they have a 5 x 5 meter storage capacity. That's enough for now, don't you think?" Wyne turned to see what his friend thought
"Hmm. I think cuffs would work best since we can put them on our arms or legs so they won't get in the way during battle," Mil had also seen the selections. She wanted more storage space but she preferred something that was easier to carry. None of the prey they were hunting were too large either so this was enough space for them to gather several creatures during hunts and bring them back without having to worry about the smell.
After paying for the cuffs the duo walked around to see if any other magical equipment caught their eyes. Unfortunately, everything that they would have bought was too expensive. With only 480 points left, they needed to spend money where it would count.
After buying those, Wyne made his way over to the mortal section. Wyne decided to leave with Koxa to grab the grimoires before meeting him at the cafeteria. He went through the stalls and bought several pieces of jewelry, a few notebooks, 6 quivers wroth of arrows, and some high-quality thread & needles. But even though he bought all of that, he had only spent 4 points.
'These 1st-year students are desperate and these seniors are taking advantage of them so why shouldn't I?' Wyne could not believe how cheaply he bought all those pieces of jewelry. 'This might be the only time when they can get some points. The seniors are making those enchanted items from jewelry, you fools.'
He then went to all the other sections and began browsing their wares to see if there was anything else he needed but had forgotten about. Wyne could feel a large number of people watching him while he shopped but no one felt hostile so he ignored them.
With all of his shopping done, Wyne left the market and began walking up the stairs of the cafeteria to grab the first bite of food he had since eating wolf that morning.