"But your talent is pretty decent."
The stall owner fidgeted with Ronan's two [Clean] runes, glanced at him, and said, "What's your intent now?
Planning to sell these to me?"
"Just tell me if you're buying or not?"
"Of course, I'm buying."
The stall owner nodded, speaking indifferently, "Two [Clean] runes, I'll offer you one and a half low-level Magic Stones."
"Isn't it supposed to be two?"
Ronan was anxious.
"Please, that's the selling price. This is buying."
The stall owner replied irritably, "Try to see if you can sell these two runes on the market yourself?
Normally, who would buy one or two runes from a street stall, if they're going to buy, they'd go to a proper Rune Store..."
"Then why are you setting up a stall here?"
Ronan expressed disbelief.
The stall owner seemed a bit helpless, "I set up a stall mainly to buy things, can't exactly have nothing on display..."
"Uh..."
"If you think the price is too low, take it to a proper Rune Store yourself..."
The stall owner tossed the two runes back at Ronan as he spoke, "But don't say I didn't warn you, the only proper Rune Stores are in the Dwarf Market next door, and it costs one Magic Stone to enter. Plus, with your unfamiliar face, selling only the two lowest-grade General Runes, even a proper Rune Store might not buy them..."
Ronan's expression changed, he thought it over and over, and at last, he reluctantly agreed.
"Fine, fine, one and a half it is."
"Deal."
The transaction was complete, and the stall owner took the runes and gave Ronan one low-level Magic Stone plus fifty Magic Stone Shards.
Ronan turned around and spent fifty Magic Stone Shards at his stall to buy ten blank runes.
Perhaps seeing how shabby Ronan really was, the stall owner suddenly had a burst of generosity and even gave him an extra ten, then patted Ronan's shoulder and expressed, "Kid, don't think that just getting started means you can make money, the real spending is just beginning...
Weigh it carefully for yourself."
Ronan understood what the stall owner meant.
The success rate for a novice Rune Master inscribing runes was too low, there might not be one success out of ten attempts.
It was difficult to break even initially, one must thoroughly master inscribing a rune before slowly turning losses into gains.
However, Ronan had an interface blessing, each attempt at inscription would bring progress, and his success rate far exceeded that of regular Rune Masters, which the stall owner did not know.
Walking away from the stall, Ronan couldn't wait to take out the low-level Magic Stone he had just obtained.
No longer Magic Stone Shards, but a proper low-level Magic Stone, about the size of a pigeon's egg.
Dark in color, smooth on the surface, it felt cool and very hard to the touch.
Holding it in hand, one could clearly sense the Energy Particles condensed and accumulated inside.
The main use of Magic Stones is to provide energy for Magic Tools and rune arrays, many alchemy experiments also require them, therefore they become a solid currency among wizards.
"I can only come to this stall two or three more times, or sooner or later my rune talent will be completely exposed."
Ronan carefully put the Magic Stone into his money bag, planning, "Once I save up some money, I'll go to the Rune Store myself to sell."
Although the entry fee of one low-level Magic Stone at the Dwarf Market made Ronan's heart ache, when compared to his personal safety, it didn't count for much.
It could also save the difference earned by the middleman.
Ronan took out his pocket watch to check the time, it was just past three in the afternoon, still early, so he thought about strolling around the market some more.
With money in his pocket, his whole mindset changed.
Now Ronan also dared to stop in front of some stalls, pretending to inquire about the prices.
"Fifty Magic Stones for a zero-rank low-level Magic Tool?.. Too expensive, too expensive..."
Ronan walked away from a stall with a face full of "disdain," completely ignoring the stall owner who was still counting down "forty-nine" and "forty-eight," as if lowering the price would actually make it affordable for him.
Walking on, Ronan's gaze suddenly stopped on a stall filled with books bound in black leather.
His expression flickered slightly as he slowly approached.
The stall was manned by a young man who looked about thirty years old, dressed unusually in leather armor and looking quite spirited.
Seeing a customer approaching, the young wizard's eyes lit up as he greeted Ronan enthusiastically.
"Feel free to browse, I have just about every spellbook for Zero Rank Advanced and below."
Feeling the young man exuding spiritual power that was clearly many times stronger than his own, Ronan knew the man was a wizard apprentice much stronger than himself and behaved politely, nodding his head and carefully flipping through the books.
As the young wizard had said, his stall mainly sold spellbooks.
"Collection of Intermediate Zero Rank Fire Magic"
"Collection of Intermediate Zero Rank Ice Magic"
"Collection of Intermediate Zero Rank Electric Magic"
...
Judging by the looks, these spellbooks were likely compiled and bound by the young wizard himself, with similar covers and the same titles differing only in thickness.
Ronan picked up an electric magic book to inquire about the price. After hearing a figure he absolutely couldn't afford, he thought for a moment and hesitantly said, "Actually... I'm looking to buy a good set of knight training methods."
"Oh!"
The young wizard didn't seem too surprised to learn about Ronan's real intention.
He smiled and said, "The problem with the erosion from energy particles getting worse, right?
Seeing your condition, I could tell you're quite weak; you definitely should do some training..."
Ronan nodded awkwardly.
"You've come to the right person then."
The young wizard turned his head and rummaged through a stack behind him, then pulled out a thick bundle of booklets.
These booklets were clearly not as refined as the spellbooks displayed on the stall; they looked like notes of some kind, with many yellowed covers.
Ronan picked one up and flipped through it.
"Lion Heart Body Forging Technique: A legendary knight technique passed down by Duke Lion Heart of the South Ao Kingdom..."
He picked up another.
"Silver Cross Body Building..."
After reading a few, Ronan felt that they all seemed quite effective, or at least they were well-touted. If they could achieve one-tenth of what was described, it would be enough to satisfy him.
But upon asking the price, he was taken aback.
"Why is it so expensive?"
Ronan couldn't understand, "Several magic stones for a commoner's knight training method?"
"These are the top knight inheritances among commoners. If practiced to the utmost, you might even be able to contend with advanced apprentices."
"The problem is, who would cultivate these techniques to the utmost?"
Ronan kept shaking his head, "I'm just looking to strengthen my body; I don't need any top-level knight inheritance.
Do you have anything cheaper?"
"The cheaper ones are at the bottom, and they only cost two or three magic stones, but they are of much lower grade."
"Even cheaper... Give me the cheapest one."
"The cheapest one..."
The young wizard frowned, his attitude growing colder.
He reached under a pile of booklets and pulled out one, tossing it in front of Ronan.
"Meh, this is the cheapest one. It doesn't include any sword skills or breathing methods, just a few Body Forging Postures... It's said to be an ancient ascetic's method of affliction..."
The young wizard paused briefly, then continued, "Just for strengthening the body, it's definitely sufficient."
Ronan picked it up and quickly skimmed through it, asking, "How much for this book?"