Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 224 Spellcasting Delegation and Material Processing

"Mr. Xia Nan, I'm so sorry!"

In the spacious conference room, Jasmine spoke breathlessly.

Just three seconds ago, Xia Nan heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the door. The footsteps slowed down as the girl reached the door, seemingly worried about disturbing him. She then gently pushed open the door.

Her short, golden hair clung to her cheeks and nose due to the fine beads of sweat on her fair skin. Jasmine's head was slightly lowered, and her face was filled with apology.

"The alchemist's shop on the second floor didn't have any purification potions in stock. I asked the man in charge of sales, and he said that our River Valley Adventurers' Guild is quite remote, making it difficult to restock. As for purification potions, the sales volume of related potions is relatively poor, far less popular than products like healing potions and resistance potions."

"Furthermore, there are no beast-like human settlements near the Misty Forest, and there may not be a single case of beast-like disease infection for many years. Therefore, the corresponding purification potion was removed from the restocking list many years ago."

Hearing this, Xia Nan felt disappointed, but her emotions didn't fluctuate much.

After all, ever since he set the investigation mission against the beastmen as his goal, he had already used his spare time to search the shop himself, but found nothing.

Right now, I'm just thinking that Jasmine, as an association staff member, might have access to some channels that I'm unaware of.

It now seems that the other party is also powerless.

"As for scrolls, does the association offer the exchange of corresponding spell scrolls?"

"Yes, sir, yes."

Upon hearing Xia Nan's question, Jasmine immediately looked up, but her reply carried a hint of hesitation.

“Mr. Xia Nan, I have checked everything for you.”

"The most reasonably priced spell scroll in the Guild that can completely and safely remove the Beastification Curse without leaving any repercussions is the third-level 'Remove Curse'."

"What's the exact price?" Although Xia Nan could tell from Jasmine's expression that the number might be a bit exaggerated, he still asked her with a glimmer of hope.

“Uh…500 gold, sir.”

"A scroll containing the 'Remove Curse' spell requires 500 gold coins or the corresponding points to redeem."

It's not a lot; it's just all his current savings.

Oh, I might have to owe another ten or so gold coins.

After returning from Newm City, Xia Nan's savings were almost depleted due to the remaining payment for the [Bone-Binding Iron Greaves] and the expenses for equipment supplies such as the Plate Chainmail.

After working with the Seathorn Squad for a month and a half, he finally managed to raise his savings back to nearly 500 gold.

Right now, if just one scroll were to wipe out his savings, to be honest, Xia Nan was a little reluctant.

Before this, he was certainly aware of the high price of special consumables like magic scrolls, and had even fantasized about buying a few to carry around as trump cards once he had the money.

But now, it would be too painful to ask someone to spend hundreds of gold coins to buy a consumable item that can only be used once.

Unaware of Xia Nan's thoughts, Jasmine simply explained to him why she seemed hesitant.

“Mr. Xia Nan, I didn’t mean any offense, but I still want to remind you of something.” The blonde girl raised her head slightly and looked at Xia Nan cautiously.

“Using a ‘Remove Curse’ magic scroll to purify ‘Beastification’ might not be worth it.”

Jasmine's reminder was very insightful.

Although the animalistic disease is considered one of the most terrifying curses in the world due to its long history and highly contagious nature, it is still considered one of the most terrifying curses in the world.

However, it must be acknowledged that its onset time is very long. Even ordinary people who have never received training can endure it for a long time if they have a strong will, and will eventually transform into beasts.

The "Remove Curse" scroll is often used in intense, urgent battles to counteract curses inflicted by enemies to control them.
It can be said to be a key item that can turn the tide of the battle.

Using it to treat animalism is indeed a waste.

On the other hand, on the continent of Aifara, due to various factors such as the materials used in their creation, the complexity of the spell models, and the amount of magical knowledge required, high-level spell scrolls can often only be used by the caster himself.

However, for scrolls that record spells from the first to third level, most other professions that do not have spellcasting abilities can still trigger and release them.

Due to their convenience and excellent effectiveness in combat, items like magic scrolls are much more expensive than consumables like potions.

Among them, the third-circle spell "Remove Curse" is the most expensive in the same tier of scrolls due to its special characteristics.

500 gold is not something that even seasoned adventurers with many years of experience can easily pull out.

According to Xia Nan's understanding, if he really wanted to exchange for this scroll, he should have chosen the ratio of "1 point = 30 gold coins" and used points plus gold coins to retain some savings so as not to go bankrupt.

However, the only way to obtain points at present is by completing association commissions. They can also be exchanged for a variety of items that cannot be bought on the market, including professional combat skills, secret intelligence, and rare materials, making them much more valuable.

Xia Nan also wanted to accumulate more points to exchange for combat skills needed for future advancement and job change.

Therefore, he did not want to use the few points he had in his association's account unless absolutely necessary.

In response, Jasmine also proposed several other solutions:
The first option is to wait for the alchemy shop to restock from their headquarters.

In fact, due to the recent sightings of beastmen near the forest, the alchemist in charge at the River Valley Town branch of the association had already added purification potions to the next batch of restocking orders several days ago.

Once the goods arrive, thanks to Xia Nan's status as a professional, the price shouldn't be too high. It's estimated to be less than half the price of the Cursed Scroll, which ordinary adventurers can barely afford.

The downside is that it takes a long time to arrive, and the goods may not arrive before midsummer.

The second option is to order directly from the Alchemists' Guild.

High efficiency and fast speed.

Of course, this is all predicated on having enough gold coins.

Furthermore, most alchemists would not accept orders for just one or two bottles of this level of potion; they would typically produce them in batches.

In fact, the price is even more expensive than a magic scroll.

As for the last one...

The commission was posted on the second floor, hiring spellcasters with relevant magic to remove the curse from Xia Nan.

This method is the cheapest and fastest to show results.

The prerequisite is a bit of luck, being able to meet a suitable monk who is short of money or has the time and inclination.

If all else fails, go to Newme and seek help from the priest of the Luna Church there.

According to the teachings of the "Moon Maiden," it's not certain that they'll remove Xia Nan's curse for free, without costing her any money.

However, the journey would take more than half a month, which is too long. And if things don't go as planned, it would take another ten or twenty days to get back, and there is a risk of the beast-like syndrome flaring up.

It can only be considered a last resort.

In summary, Xia Nan really only has two choices.

It costs money, or it costs time.

"Here's what we'll do: first, you can post this request for me to find a spellcaster who knows 'removing curses' spells. The duration is... seven days."

After pondering for a moment, Xia Nan gave instructions to Jasmine in front of him.

If you still haven't found an affordable way to purify the curse after seven days, just be decisive, stop arguing, and buy the scroll for five hundred gold coins.

This amount of money does seem like a lot, but if he's lucky, he could earn it back in a few months without going into debt. And considering that Buck contracted the Beast Transformation on the Hunting Day, and it took some time after he returned to Newm for the curse to finally take effect.

Several dozen days must have passed in between.

Moreover, the onset of bestiality is a continuous process, and I haven't even experienced whispering or inexplicable animalistic desires yet, so I'm obviously still in the early stages.

With my professional physical and mental resilience, I am no weaker than Buck. Seven days is nothing to wait for.

"Sigh, gold coins..."

Saying goodbye to Jasmine, Xia Nan walked along the bustling street and sighed inwardly.

His dark eyes swept over the adventurers on the roadside.

Seemingly fresh from an adventure, each member of the four-person team was slightly injured, with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their bodies.

They were carefully dividing a bottle of newly bought healing potion, each taking a sip and passing the bottle around.

Seeing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but have some thoughts.

If you really want to make money, the newly acquired [Tears of Spring Breath] might be a way.

The "Secondary Healing" spell, applied three times a day, is certainly not as effective as healing potions, but it is quite effective for some relatively common injuries.

I reckon if the price is set at 20...15 gold coins per attempt, there will definitely be adventurers willing to pay.

In this way, he could earn forty-five gold coins in just one day.

After half a month, the gold coin equivalent to a magic scroll was returned.

The more you ponder it, the brighter your eyes become.

Xia Nan even felt eager to try, as if a path to wealth was right in front of him.

Suddenly, something else occurred to him, and his thoughts paused.

He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"No, that's too risky."

He was somewhat well-known in River Valley Town, and with a little investigation, it was easy to find out that "Gray Sword" was a close-combat swordsman, and he had never shown any healing abilities before.

Such a sudden turn of events is bound to be a bit abrupt, and it's easy for people to discover that you're using equipment effects to heal others.

【Tears of Spring】Even among blue-quality items, it's definitely top-tier. If you put it on the market, it could easily sell for four figures, maybe even five figures.

The fourth-circle spell "Spring Healing," which can be used once a week, is certainly not without appeal to extraordinary level experts.

If, for the sake of a mere five hundred gold coins, someone with ulterior motives discovers the truth and gets into trouble, then to some extent, it would be like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon—a loss that outweighs the gain.

It's best to keep it close to your body and use it as a trump card.

He was thinking about ways to make money.

Before Xia Nan knew it, he was standing in front of a small, exquisite wooden house whose exterior walls and eaves were decorated with a lot of vines and green plants, and from a distance it looked like a clump of giant shrubs.

The roadside sign clearly reads "Green Grass Crucible".

As Xia Nan pushed open the door, the unique fragrance of herbs filled her nostrils with each breath, instantly invigorating her.

Behind the brown counter displaying colorful bottles and jars, a gentle woman with long, curly hair and a slightly plump figure, wearing frameless glasses, looked at me with a smile.

"Xia Nan?" The shop owner, Ms. Edwina, glanced at the claw marks on Xia Nan's chest armor, her tone tinged with surprise. "It seems your mission wasn't easy."

Having traveled to the present day, Xia Nan has been in River Valley Town for almost a year. He has become quite familiar with the owners of the shops he frequents, and can call them by name.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Edwina, Xia Nan took out a few small jars from his waist bag and handed them to her.

This is an item he found on Vera's body, suspected to be poison.

"Hmm... a small jar of bat blood, which seems to have been corrupted by negative energy, and also contains some rotten steel fragments unique to the Underdark."

"These two bottles should be a mixture of phosphorescent mushroom spore powder and gray dwarf furnace slag, with a few drops of phase spider venom added."

The lenses reflected the warm light of the cabin as Edwina carefully examined the small jar in her hand.

"What do you want to do about it?"

"If you're interested in selling, I can offer you a price that's slightly lower than the market price."

"If you want to use it yourself, that's fine too. We're all acquaintances, so I won't charge you any appraisal fee. Just apply the poison from the jar to the blade, but remember to clean it off promptly. With prolonged use, the negative energy in the poison might affect the weapon's sharpness."

"How much?" Upon hearing that its use might have a negative impact on the weapon, Xia Nan promptly asked the price.

"How about 21 gold medals?"

"make a deal."

Having done business with this gentle lady who had a penchant for strong liquor, Xia Nan knew that her prices were relatively reasonable and there wasn't much room for negotiation, so he didn't waste any more words.

Instead, he took out an oval-shaped object, which resembled an eyeball, from his fanny pack.

Also from the drow half-elf Veris, it was the opponent who used it as a trump card to launch a surprise attack on her, but this unexpectedly triggered the mind control item [Looking into the Abyss] counter-effect.

It was clear that Edwina's face lit up with surprise the moment Xia Nan took the glasses out of her bag.

After obtaining his permission, I took the glasses in my hand and examined them carefully.

Then, the initial surprise gradually cooled, and a hint of regret appeared in his eyes behind his glasses.

"This should be a special item made from the compound eye of the tentacles of the dangerous monster [Observer Eye Demon] from the Underdark."

"Under normal circumstances, it should contain enough control line of sight for three to four uses."

"Unfortunately, the eye you brought has already used up all the vision stored in it. It's a one-time consumable item, and there's no way to recharge it."

"Furthermore, after processing, its value as a monster material is greatly reduced."

"If you're planning to sell... I can only offer a maximum of 32 gold."

"Green Grass Crucible" is also mentioned in the Adventurer's Handbook. It is a shop with a very good reputation in the town and is trusted by countless adventurers.

They wouldn't ruin their reputation for such a small amount of money.

Currently, this item made from the Eye Demon's Eye has lost its value and is of no use to me. Selling it for gold coins would be the best option.

The deal was struck with a nod.

Another thirty-two gold coins were obtained.

With a total of 53 gold, plus my savings in the bank, I could just exchange it for a magic scroll that said "Remove Curse".

Besides that, he still has three pieces of equipment left to deal with, including the [Tidal Lure Rod].

I hope to gain something from this.

(End of this chapter)