Baron initiated a greeting with Eris and directly sought to mend his relationship with Nathan.
With a hint of regret in his voice, he said, "Brother Nathan, I was wrong to have believed rumors and targeted you in the past. I apologize for my actions."
He then produced a card and handed it to Nathan.
"I heard you're still staying in the freshman dormitory. It happens that I have a spare house on middle-26 floating island. I thought of offering it to you, Brother Nathan. Please don't refuse this gesture."
"Thank you, Prince Baron, but the house is quite valuable. You should take it back," Nathan declined.
"Don't be formal with me! In Nebula Academy, we Dracorians are not many, but you and Eris are indeed our own people," Baron said, his smile warm and engaging as he looked at Eris.
"What do you think, Sister Eris?"
Eris glanced at Nathan and nodded her head.
Nathan said no more and accepted Baron's kindness.
After Baron left, an hour passed, and Nathan was almost fully recovered.
The rest he would regain through sleep or meditation.
Walking back to the dormitory, Eris bid him farewell.
"Sister, wait!" Nathan called out, slightly embarrassed, "Do you have any information about magical equipment?"
Eris looked surprised.
"After all the homes you raided in Crystalis, don't tell me you don't know about magical equipment!"
"Most of what I couldn't use, I exchanged for gold coins. I only kept a small part of it, and I've been too busy with official duties to study them."
Nathan realized he hadn't paid much attention to magical equipment and resolved to focus more on it in the future.
Eris explained, "The process of creating magical equipment involves three aspects: the material of the equipment, the engraving of the magic array, and the enchantment."
"Actually, with your current level, you don't need to worry about magical equipment yet. It's not until one reaches the elite-tier magus stage that they can start creating it." Eris pulled out a book and handed it to Nathan.
"However, it's good to get acquainted with it early. You won't end up flustered like I was."
Nathan was taken aback, not expecting that the creation of magical equipment required one to be an elite-tier magus.
Currently an intermediate elementalist, he was still a stage away from the advanced-tier, and just the collection of Promotion Magic was a lengthy process in itself.
Fortunately, he didn't need to craft the equipment himself; using it would suffice.
"Then, Sister, do you have any magical equipment you're not using? As you know, I arrived in a hurry and didn't bring much with me."
Eris burst into laughter at this, then covered her mouth and said, "I do have a few items, but they're all for women."
Nathan remained silent.
Eris continued, "You can take a look if you want. They're all things I've stopped using."
Saying this, she pulled out a lipstick, an exquisite powder box, a pearl necklace, and about a dozen earrings.
"Thank you, Sister!" Nathan eagerly accepted them, showing his satisfaction.
"Uhm... these!" Eris waved her hand dismissively.
"Never mind!"
She didn't know what her junior brother was up to, but she didn't bother to inquire further.
After giving Nathan a final glance and discovering nothing of note, she turned and stepped into the teleportation array.
...
On a Thursday, in the backyard of a standalone residence on the middle-26 floating island, a dramatic scene unfolded.
"Boom!" Two wooden dummies, standing fifteen meters apart, were engulfed in flames, quickly turning to charred remnants.
Nathan observed the slowly dissipating fire cloud with a contemplative look.
It seemed the potency of the fire cloud was directly linked to the level of the magical equipment used.
Moreover, the magical item needed to be thrown for the spell to break it down into a fiery cloud.
This spell was immensely powerful, consuming virtually no mana from him, making it an ideal fit for multiple uses without the fear of triggering Blood Burning.
However, there was a significant drawback: each use required sacrificing a piece of magical equipment.
Nathan had only 10 pieces of magical equipment left from Eris.
"It appears I must find a way to earn more credits and then exchange them for magical equipment at the Resource Department," he mused, the thought of credits bringing a hint of a headache.
Leaving the yard and closing the gate behind him, Nathan pondered his current financial strategy.
As a magic freshman, he earned 100 credits monthly.
He was also a member of three clubs.
The first was the Magic Potion Research Society, where he was still getting his bearings, earning 10 credits for attending a weekly meeting.
His involvement in the Magical Creatures Research Society was at a similar level.
Then there was the Flame Research Society, with its weekly activities.
Sometimes, these activities clashed, limiting Nathan to earning roughly 100 credits a month from his club participation.
Additionally, his contributions to the Flame Research Society, such as the "Principles of Arcane Fire Magic," garnered him 2 credits per purchase.
Altogether, Nathan could amass about 300 credits a month.
This was double what an average student could earn, yet for Nathan, it was insufficient.
Nathan had inquired of Cliff, the one who placed the sealing curse upon him, and learned that each session required resources equivalent to roughly 200 credits.
This amounted to 800 credits a month and a staggering 10,000 credits annually.
Perhaps things might improve once he joined the Inspectorate Department.
Today marked the day Nathan was to visit Cliff for his curse sealing.
Leaving the floating island, he carried 2500 credits with him, first heading to the Resource Department located on another floating island.
Upon entering the grand lobby of the Resource Department, Nathan made his way to the counter selling magical equipment and requested a list of resources.
The exorbitant credit prices tagged alongside each magical item on the list immediately gave him a headache.
"Excuse me, could I take a look at this one?" Nathan, with all politeness, asked a senior female magus at the counter, pointing to the vitality ring, the least expensive item on the list.
"Look only if you're buying!" The magus's cold response left Nathan's hand awkwardly suspended in mid-air.
"Can I pay with gold coins?" Nathan inquired further.
"Yes, you can!"
"Then, may I have a look at it?"
The magus cast a glance at Nathan before retrieving a small box from behind the counter.
Nathan opened it to find a plain ring with an emerald set atop it.
A slight release of mana from the ring emitted a hazy glow, subtly hinting at a healing aura.
Just this...
Trash!
Back in Dracoria, Nathan wouldn't have given such an item a second glance.
A few gold coins could easily fetch something similar in any ordinary magic shop, yet here it was priced at 100 credits.
With gritted teeth, Nathan resigned himself to the purchase.
After all, the magus had made it clear: no looking without the intention to buy.
Although the requirement seemed somewhat unreasonable, Nathan had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to it.
Thus, Nathan retrieved 100 gold coins from his storage space.
Picking up the box, he turned to leave but was promptly stopped.
"What's the matter?" Nathan asked, puzzled.
The female magus pointed to a corner above the counter where a note was posted: "Gold coins are calculated at ten times the credit value!"
"You're 900 gold coins short."
"Is this robbery?" Nathan felt a wave of disgust, not having encountered such a scheme for a long time.
It used to be him playing such tricks; never had he imagined the tables would turn on him.
In the academy, there were places where gold coins could be exchanged for credits, usually in the commercial areas, with a 1:1 ratio.
For instance, a meal could be paid for with 1 gold coin instead of 1 credit.
Sometimes, if the amount was less than one gold coin, silver coins could be used for the payment directly.
But this 1:10 exchange rate was a blatant rip-off.
Nathan approached the counter, took back his 100 gold coins, tossed the ring box aside, and walked away, ignoring the magus's disgruntled curses behind him.
With a grim expression, Nathan resolved to set things right with these people once he got closer to the Inspectorate Department.
In a small hall within the Sky Sanctuary, Lia's concern broke through her gentle demeanor.
"What's wrong? You seem off," she said.
Over the past month, Lia had made time to accompany Nathan for each of his treatments.
"It's nothing." Nathan smiled, brushing aside the unpleasantness from the Resource Department at the sight of Lia's concern.
Cliff entered and began inquiring about Nathan's condition.
"Today's sealing might take a bit longer," he said, pulling out a plethora of magical materials and starting the preparations.
Two hours later, Nathan and Lia left the Sky Sanctuary.
The sun was shining brightly outside as they strolled down the path, engaging in casual conversation.
Ever since Lia became a magic freshman and was assigned to a different class, their busy schedules had reduced their encounters significantly.
Nathan, with his keen perception, noticed what seemed to be an injury on the back of Lia's hand.
Despite her attempt to conceal it with makeup, he discerned it.
"Are you hurt?" Nathan suddenly inquired.
Lia instinctively retracted her hand, but Nathan caught it.
There, on the back of her hand, were two coin-sized burn scars, deep and swollen.
"It was an accident during a potion experiment," Lia explained somewhat flusteredly as she withdrew her hand.
Nathan nodded, understandingly.
Lia had a natural talent for Potionology, often praised by freshmen in his class for her exceptional performance in potion classes.
"However, if left untreated, it might scar," Nathan pointed out, aware of her reluctance to use resources needlessly, even if it was to gather credits for his sake.
"It's okay, I have a healing scroll," Lia mentioned, explaining that treatment with a healing scroll would be slower.
Unconvinced, Nathan led Lia to the infirmary, spending 50 credits for a treatment.
A beam of healing light later, the burn was as good as new, drawing a mock scold from Lia.
Nathan was touched by her gesture.
As Lia was about to leave, Nathan, struck by an idea, said, "I recently acquired a house on the middle-26 floating island. It has a full potion brewing station. Would you like to see it?"
"No!" Lia's eyes flashed with wariness.
Nathan looked innocently puzzled.
[Regarding the power levels in this book: the ranks for magus/warrior range from 1 to 9, namely beginner, intermediate, advanced, elite, grandmaster, transcendent, legendary, demigod, and god. Typically, a magus reaches their peak at legendary, with demigod and god levels transcending the realm of magic.]