“Something’s not right!” A thought suddenly occurred to Leylin.
“You…… Could you have given him your family’s resources? No wonder you are still a level 1 acolyte! Otherwise, with your aptitude, you should have advanced to the next level long ago!”
Bicky belonged to a small Magus family. Although small in size, they were still capable of obtaining the occasional resources and magic crystals. As for Bicky, the one whom the family placed all its hopes on, she was naturally given a fixed share each month.
Her aptitude was not bad, and she had arrived earlier than Leylin by a year. By right, she should have been promoted to a level 2 acolyte long ago. However, she was still a level 1 acolyte, and even Leylin had nearly caught up to her.
“It’s……It’s not like that!” Bicky hurriedly shook her head.
Seeing Bicky’s expression, Leylin slowly shook his head. “Forget it! I can’t really do anything for you regarding this matter… However, you must remember to be more careful!”
Leylin hinted.
“Alright! Let’s go to the dining hall on the second floor!! I hear that the honey-flavoured cake there isn’t bad……” Bicky smiled, and it was obvious she did not want to talk about this topic anymore.
The second level dining hall was a special place. Contrary to the third level cafeteria where the food was served for free, the service here had to be paid for in magic crystals.
It was the first time Leylin had come here. After ordering two honey-flavoured cakes, a beef steak, two fruit juices, and the flesh of a Uni-horned Lizard, the total came up to 1 magic crystal and made Leylin feel a pang in his heart.
“I’ve heard that if the flesh of these lizards is specially prepared, it is very beneficial for a Magus’s meditation, so I must try it today!”
Leylin used a knife to slice off a part of the lizard meat, picked the meat up with a fork, and placed it into his mouth. He instantly felt the fragrant flavour of the meat spread throughout his taste buds, and Leylin’s eyes lit up in wonderment.
“I…… “ Leylin was speechless. “It’s such a splendid item, but how could I have that many magic crystals? I can only eat it for its flavour!”
On the other side, Bicky was very happily eating the honey-flavoured cake.
After their meal, Leylin bade farewell to Bicky and went to the Trading Post.
Leyin had very few magic crystals to begin with, but now he planned to sell the strength potion. With Kroft’s approval, he could earn magic crystals by brewing and selling more strength potions.
After walking past the chaotic stalls, Leylin arrived at Woox’s stall, the stall he had bought potion ingredients from during his first visit to this place.
“Leylin! It’s you again! You have spent dozens of magic crystals this half year! Haven’t you given up yet?” Woox was still as fat as ever.
“Potioneering is such an enchanting skill, I cannot bear to give it up!” Leylin said, half-jokingly.
“However, today I am here not just to buy ingredients,” Leylin said as he handed the strength potion over to fatty Woox, “Look at this!”
“This is……” Woox gaped, “You’ve succeeded?”
“Of course!” Leylin smiled lightly.
What Woox did next was to make a thorough inspection, and after ensuring that it was indeed an authentic strength potion, his eyes almost seemed to glow.
“Over a hundred times! You have only attempted it around a hundred times and yet you’ve succeeded in brewing a strength potion! This talent……This talent is only slightly inferior to Merlin’s!”
Most of the ingredients were sold to Leylin by Woox, so he was able to deduce Leylin’s talent very quickly.
“As if! This is due to Mentor Kroft’s guidance!” Leylin said bashfully.
“Oh! It’s Kroft again, he already has such a talented student like Merlin, why did they send yet another gifted student to him?”
The fatty slapped his forehead and let out a shrill voice, “Why don’t you consider changing mentors? My mentor, Wranke, is also a professor who is adept in Potioneering……He will definitely like you!”
“My apologies! I have never considered changing at all!” Leylin hurriedly rejected the offer. Kroft treated him rather well, and he would surely incur the wrath of the Magus if he changed mentors on a whim. He simply did not want to take that risk.
“What a pity……” The fatty shook his head, he clearly knew that he had been grasping at straws.
“Alright! I will be able to give you 4 magic crystals for this strength potion, how about it?” The fatty asked.
Although the strength potion was priced at 5 magic crystals, 4 magic crystals was a reasonable price when considering the profit that was to be made by the stall.
“It’s a fair deal, exchange the magic crystals for more ingredients for the strength potion!”
“Alright! If you wish to sell any more strength potions in the future, I will buy them all at the price of 4 magic crystals per potion!” Woox’s eyes flashed.
An acolyte with a Potioneering talent that was slightly lower than Merlin’s was akin to a magic crystal mine that had yet to be excavated.
“Definitely! To a good partnership!”
Leylin and Woox shook hands, and after collecting four black boxes, he walked out from the hut.
“Look quickly! Fresh Mountain Cat eyeballs! This is an item that will greatly benefit your meditation!’
“Exquisite cross blades, as well as military crossbows. All imported from the Deep Blue Kingdom!”
“Feathers of a flamingo! A precious ingredient for experiments, only 5 magic crystals!’
Here and there, various acolytes were promoting their wares. Leylin saw a black-robed acolyte holding up a huge 5 coloured feather and advertising continuously, which obviously attracted a huge crowd.
“A.I. Chip! Scan the feather!”
Leylin looked at the acolyte who was still advertising his goods and was speechless. Flamingo feathers are rare, but the 3 bird feathers that the A.I. Chip detected were so common that acolytes wouldn’t bother to pick them up if they fell to the ground. Obviously, it was a scam.
This situation was rather common in such stalls. Although goods are rather good, the counterfeit goods are also aplenty. Hence, Leylin always bought from the wooden huts in the centre area.
Moreover, acolytes are sharp, and the chances of finding a cheap yet good item in the stalls and striking big are the same as finding the remnants of dead Magi.
Leylin shook his head and left the Trading Post.
Three days later, Leylin was in his dorm, looking at sixteen test tube lined up properly on his table, deep in thought.
Right now, his success rate for brewing a strength potion is almost at the same level at Kroft at 40%. However, he would be seeking trouble if he were to sell them all at once!
“Right now I am only able to put on a front and earn just a little, so at most it will be 2 test tubes! As for the rest, I will have to stow them away.
Leylin sighed and placed 2 test tube in the purse hanging around his waist, and then stowed the remaining 14 test tubes in the empty space under his bed.
“I won’t be able to sell huge amounts within the academy, so I had better find some other way outside. The best scenario would be a black market; I hear prices there are higher too!”
“The outside world is dangerous; I must become a level 2 acolyte before going out!”
“What’s next, I can use the magic crystals I earned from selling potions to buy higher tiered knowledge from Kroft and expedite my break through to level 2 acolyte!”
“After becoming a level 2 acolyte, I can attempt to practice magic spells, and take a mission outside to see if I can find ways to sell the potions……”
Leylin pondered, and then asked, “A.I. Chip, bring forth my current stats!”
“After such a long period of meditation, my vitality has increased the most. As for strength and Agility, they have increased a little too. As for my spiritual force?” Leylin looked at the data in front of him and his brows furrowed.
“A.I. Chip, are you able to convert my spiritual force into data and display it?”
“When will it be ready?” Leylin asked.
“Half a year, huh? It is close to when I advance to level 2 acolyte.” Leylin nodded his head, “I’m not planning to leave in this next half a year, so it’s no big deal!”
What followed next was that Leylin entered into a state of painstaking training.
Apart from aiding Kroft in his daily experiments, he was brewing potions, exchanging them for magic crystals, and then purchasing more information.
Besides brewing strength potions, he also bought the formulas for the Hemostasis Potion and some low levelled antidotes and began to practice brewing them.
With the A.I. Chip, the success rate was not bad, but this fact was concealed by Leylin.
During this period, Leylin also heard some bad news – Kaliweir’s team had met with trouble on a mission. Not only had some been injured, others had also died. The acolyte who came with him in the same Dirigible, third-grade acolyte Hank, would forever be buried in the Abyssal Bone Marsh.
Leylin was expecting a similar result, as a level 1 acolyte only has a small resistance to magic. It would be abnormal if they risked their lives and was free of injuries or loss of lives.
After this incident, Kaliweir and his team seemed to face reality and started to be content with studying in the academy, not daring to take on any other missions.
In the blink of an eye, Leylin grew a little taller and his face acquired a tinge of maturity.
“I am finally 14 too!” Seeing that his palms had grown a little larger, he felt deeply moved.
The Abyssal Bone Forest Academy seemed to have a spell formation regulating the temperature. Leylin always wore the grey robe for acolytes, but he never felt any stifling heat or frigidness.
“Sir! I want to purchase the crystal ball with the magic spell formulas!”
Leylin stood in front of Kroft.
“Oh! You want to begin learning rank 0 spells?” Kroft cusped the porcelain cup that was emitting steam and heat in his hand, and sipped from it.
“I have nearly finished constructing my mind runes, and there’s only one more step needed before I advance to a level 2 acolyte. I wish to make some preparations for this beforehand!”
Leylin said warmly.
“Being able to progress in both Potioneering and also meditation, I am very gratified!” Kroft said as he stole a glance at Bicky who was nearby.
Bicky had only advanced into a level 2 acolyte two days ago, and never exhibited any extraordinary talents towards Potioneering. With her aptitude, this could be considered a slow pace.
“The academy price for the introduction to magic spell models is 30 magic crystals, I am able to give you a discount and reduce the price to 20 magic crystals!”
“Although I could also give you this information for free, I want you to know that you will only achieve results with effort!”
Kroft smiled lightly. This was the authority of the professors. They could give students favourable prices, or even give the information free of charge. It all depended on the mood of the professor. From this, it was obvious that Kroft approved of Leylin.