Above the mage

Chapter 13 New Spells (Part 1)

"Private transactions of 0-ring spell recipes are not uncommon, and the authorities have always turned a blind eye to such transactions, haven't they?" Gao De understood these principles, but he did not give up his idea and continued to insist.

0-ring spells are special. Spells at this level do not require potions to learn, so they are also called tricks and are not classified as spells.

This has led to a much more common practice of trading spell recipes of this rank privately.

The cost of trial and error is lower.

Pierre narrowed his eyes slightly, remaining silent as if considering the matter.

"If you agree, I can add 10 more three-leaf silver coins to each spell recipe," Gao De raised his stakes again.

He desperately needed to learn new magic.

A new spell with lethal power.

A crisis could strike at any moment, so he must strengthen his own capabilities and find ways to prepare his trump cards so that he will have room to fight back when the time comes.

"Private transactions of 0-ring spell recipes are indeed commonplace, but I am, after all, a business owner, and I cannot ascertain your intentions. Perhaps you say you want to trade with me, but after the transaction, you turn around and report me."

"Although both parties would be punished in this transaction, you would at most pay a fine and be imprisoned for a period of time, but my shop would be forced to close down. I can't afford to take that risk." Pierre shook his head calmly under God's gaze.

Although the private trading of spell recipes is repeatedly prohibited, it is basically something that only happens between individuals.

Pierre and Gaudí had only just met, and there was not even a shred of trust between them. The consequences they would have to bear were also unequal, so Pierre's refusal was understandable.

However, before Gao De could be completely disappointed, Pierre spoke up again: "Although I won't make this deal with you, however..."

Gao De's eyes lit up. Seeing Pierre's hesitant expression, he instantly understood. "If you can provide any reliable channels, boss, I can pay you for it."

Pierre nodded in satisfaction when he saw that God was being so cooperative. "I have a customer who is a little short on cash lately. He tried to sell me some spell recipes, but I refused."

I can act as a go-between, but the specifics of the transaction are up to you to discuss. Any problems that arise are not my responsibility.

Gao De pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Of course, then I'll trouble the shopkeeper."

He was well aware of the risks involved, but he had no other choice.

Hogan City is just a small city, and there is no so-called official Chinese magic association here, so Gaode has no way to purchase spell recipes through legitimate channels and can only choose to trade privately.

"This customer usually comes to me every ten days or so. The last time he came was eight or nine days ago. How about this, you come to the shop again five days from now, before your evening prayers," Pierre said.

Evening prayer, which is at 5 p.m.

Gaode had no objection.

Knowledge is such an expensive thing.

After leaving Pierre's grocery store, Godard sighed inwardly.

In order to get Pierre to help make the connection, he had already paid the price of 10 clover silver coins before even seeing the spell recipe.

But at least we've gained something; we just need to wait another five days.

The thought of obtaining a new spell recipe in five days filled Gao De with anticipation.

Having been in this world for less than a day, he has already begun to experience the wonders of magic.

And how many people don't yearn for the supernatural power of magic?

He walked along the alley towards the main road of the commercial district.

It was getting late, so we needed to hurry and meet up with Amy before heading back to the herb garden.

Gao De walked briskly, but his mind was scattered, and he kept muttering to himself.

Whether it was his inexplicable arrival in this world, the current crisis, or the wonder of magic, all of these things greatly shocked him, forcing him to think deeply.

The next five days passed uneventfully. While Gao De remained on edge, he gradually became familiar with life in the herb garden.

But this familiarity did not put him at ease; as time went by, he only became more and more restless.

Knowing that the next drug trial is basically a death sentence, knowing that the next drug trial is coming soon but not being able to pinpoint the exact time, this kind of agonizing feeling is something that people who haven't experienced it firsthand can't understand.

Gao De hasn't broken down or gone crazy yet; he's still alive and well, actively thinking about ways to survive. This shows his strong will, perhaps forged from his decades-long "battle" with math problems in his previous life.

"New spells, and a new origin."

Gaode knew this was his only chance of survival.

While there was still hope for new spells, the new origin left Gao De at a loss.

Zero-ring creatures are hard to find, and "zero-ring scum" like the little gray mouse, which has the bloodline of a ley line creature and reaches the zero-ring level, but has no combat power whatsoever, is an extremely rare existence.

Even a mage apprentice like Ilan, who requires a night raid to kill, is actually among the weakest in terms of combat power at level 0.

As he pondered, he dripped the last drop of green spider venom into the medicine bottle. With a flash of inspiration, a high-quality, low-grade spider venom potion was successfully prepared.

Gao De carefully put away the medicine, tidied up the utensils on the table, and then took out the wooden box from under the shelf.

He opened the wooden box, and saw gold, silver, and yellow colors.

The box contained all his savings.

A total of 6 gold, 30 silver, and 8 bronze pieces.

It is approximately 7500 yuan.

Gao De quickly calculated in his mind, thought for a moment, took out all his savings, put them into his pocket to make them cumbersome, put the wooden box back in its original place, then slowly got up and pushed the door open to go out.

The afternoon's work is finished.

Next was his free time.

He had just stepped outside when he ran into Amy. He clearly hadn't expected that Gaode wouldn't be in the workshop preparing potions at this hour, but instead would be out. However, he quickly realized what was happening.

"Gaode, are you going to the city?"

Gao De nodded, and did not hide his whereabouts.

After Ilan's death, he had the right to freely enter and leave the herb garden without having to hide it.

Watching Gao De's figure disappear into the shadows of the herb garden corridor and then be enveloped by the light outside the door, Amy stood there in a daze for a long time.

Five days have passed. Gao De brought all his wealth into the city this time, not for anything else, but to buy spell recipes.

Having learned from his previous experience, and with it being daytime and him eager to get there, Gao De navigated the familiar route with ease, arriving at Hogan City's commercial district in less than forty minutes.

This wasn't his first time in the commercial district, and in his previous life, this so-called bustling commercial district wasn't even as prosperous as a commercial street in a small county town.

But after spending too much time in the oppressive medicinal herb garden, the bright and spacious commercial area still gave Gaode a sense of longing and vitality.

With a clear purpose, he followed the address number and arrived at Pierre's Grocery Store, hidden deep in the alley.

Gao De strode into the grocery store, and just like the first time he saw it, the owner, Pierre, was reclining in a deck chair, resting. However, compared to five days ago, the empty store now had an outsider.

This was a man in his early thirties with a thin, long face. His sparse stubble gave him a slightly weathered look, and he wore clothes made of fine linen.

Although he had his back to God and didn't even glance at him, Pierre seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. As God was sizing up the man, he stood up and said, "You've finally arrived. Yom has been waiting for you for almost an hour. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have been able to keep him here."

The man's name was Yom.

It was Pierre who introduced the guest who was trading spell recipes with God.

"It took a little time on the way," God said apologetically to Pierre, glancing at Yom but not speaking to him immediately.

When conducting a transaction, if you cannot ensure that you have the initiative, then wait for the other party to speak first. This will make it difficult for the other party to figure out your background.

This is a little trick by Gaode Maps.

Yom clearly lacked experience in this area. Knowing that God was the one who wanted to buy his spell formula, he eagerly looked at God with a suspicious gaze.

"So you want to buy spell recipes?"

Clearly, Gord's simple attire and youthful appearance made Yom doubt the strength of his purse.

"No one would give up ten clover flowers just to make a joke," Gao De said calmly, shrugging.

The brokerage fee for the ten clover silver coins was paid by Gaode.

Yom stared into God's eyes for a few seconds, and after a moment of silence, calmly took out a piece of yellow paper from his pocket and handed it to God.

"These are the spell recipes I'm going to sell. Take a look."

—The magic formula is selling knowledge, so it's impossible to give the formula directly to Gaode before the transaction is completed.

The paper contained some spell recipe entries, along with descriptions of the corresponding spell effects.

After customers select their desired spells through these introductions, they exchange money for the spells—this is the most common spell recipe transaction process.

Even when purchasing spell recipes through official channels, the process is the same.

(End of this chapter)