Above the mage

Chapter 213 Strange People

Gao De's pearly white teeth seemed somewhat jarring to the locals at the table.

Although they had some intention of letting Gaode hear them, their real intention was to persuade Gaode to quit, not wanting to see anyone die in vain.

Under normal circumstances, regardless of whether Gaode listens to what they say or not, they will usually pretend not to hear it.

However, Gaode Maps took the initiative to "come to their door," catching them off guard and leaving them feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"That little white kid, stay here. Snake and Rat is the biggest inn in Ellaheim." Finally, one of the locals answered.

The awkward atmosphere eased somewhat.

"Thank you," Gao De said, bowing with his hands clasped in gratitude.

Then, he took out a silver coin from his pocket, flicked it, and the coin landed precisely on the bar counter, spinning around several times.

Gao De waved his hand and said to the bartender who was watching the commotion with a smile, "Bring this table a pitcher of dark beer."

As he spoke, he pushed open the oak door and disappeared into the shadows.

After leaving the tavern, Gaode arrived at the three-story stone building on the ground.

The first floor of the stone building is a large hall.

Gao De walked straight in and came to the counter.

Are there any rooms available?

Behind the counter was a tall and plump middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, skillfully knitting clothes with a ball of wool yarn.

In Ellaheim, most locals have this kind of build; they probably need to accumulate more fat to withstand the cold winds of Dandong Snow Mountain.

Hearing Gao De's question, the middle-aged woman didn't even look up, focusing on the wool yarn in her hands. "There are still rooms available. What kind do you want? A dormitory room or a single room?"

"Let's have a single room," Gao De said.

The middle-aged woman finally raised her head and said, "Then I'll arrange a single room for you on the second floor, two silver coins a night."

Gaode didn't haggle and handed over one gold coin.

"Let's rent for three nights first."

The middle-aged woman nodded, then took out a brass key from the drawer, slammed it on the counter, making a crisp sound. "This is your room key, room 202, breakfast included."

As she spoke, she retrieved 14 silver coins from Gao De, placed them on the table, and pushed them in front of Gao De.

Gao De did not accept it immediately, but instead pushed another silver coin back.

"Was there a person from out of town who checked into this hotel yesterday?" he asked.

The middle-aged woman glanced at the silver coin Gao De pushed towards her and replied expressionlessly, "No."

Looking into the middle-aged woman's emotionless eyes, Gao De thought for a moment, then took out two more silver coins and pushed them in front of her.

"Is it available now?" he asked again.

"Yes," the middle-aged woman nodded. "I remember now, a young man from out of town did check into our hotel yesterday and rented a room for three nights."

"Could you tell me which room he's staying in?" Gao De asked again.

The middle-aged woman immediately fell silent again.

Gao De calmly pushed two silver coins over.

"Leaking guest room numbers is a major taboo. If word gets out, my business will be in trouble," the middle-aged woman finally said.

Gao De didn't waste any more words and simply pushed over 5 more silver coins.

A satisfied smile immediately spread across her freckled face. She pocketed the ten silver coins that Gao Delong had pushed back, and then said:

"Room 201, right across from yours. Even if I don't tell you, you're very likely to run into him."

"Thank you, boss." Gao De didn't feel like he had wasted his money and said politely.

He carefully collected the four silver coins he had taken from under him, grabbed his room key, and turned to go upstairs.

"Master, why was she unwilling to talk at first, but then willing to talk later?" As they walked up the stairs, a tiny head popped out of Gao De's pocket and asked, puzzled.

"Because money can make the devil turn the millstone."

What is money?

"Those golden, silvery, round things are money."

What is money?

Gao De realized he had misunderstood Flora's meaning. After thinking for a moment, he explained seriously, "Money is used to buy food, rent houses, and if Lady Flora wants new clothes, she can also buy them with money."

"Oh," Flora seemed to understand, "that money is a good thing."

"That's not entirely true."

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"It seems not."

"Then it's a good thing."

"Lady Flora is right."

"Mage, you're not smart," Flora said disdainfully.

As they were talking, Gao De arrived at the door of room 202, opened the door with the brass key, and went inside.

Close the door.

Gaode put down a small package he was carrying.

The package contained "Breath of the Wild".

A fourth-tier runic construct is not something a first-ring mage can wear.

Gao De couldn't feel at ease leaving such a precious item anywhere, so even though it was a bit of a burden, he had no choice but to carry it with him at all times.

Then, he took out his money bag, carefully counted it, and tallied his current savings balance: 67 gold, 6 silver, and 6 copper.

Fortunately, although he was sent to the dungeon of the Seraphim Tower and the Seraphim Prison in Saint Sein City, Quincy Erther's target was always the rune construct, so no one took away the money bag he was carrying.

In addition, he was released after only one night in prison, so Gao De, despite being a prisoner, didn't lose a single penny.

After counting the money, Gao De was about to put it all back into his money bag when he looked up and found Flora sitting on the edge of the table next to him.

Her two little legs dangled in the air, swinging unconsciously, while her "big" eyes stared unblinkingly at the glittering gold coins.

His eyes were bright and piercing.

That meaning was all too familiar to Gaode.

He thought for a moment and placed a gold coin next to Flora.

"For Lady Flora."

"Lady Flora has no food for you, no house to rent, and no new clothes to sell you." Although Lady Flora's eyes were shining, she did not accept them immediately.

She remembered what Gao De had said earlier.

"Because Lady Flora did something for me before," God said, referring to the matter of detonating the rune workshop's magic circle, "this is Lady Flora's reward."

"reward?"

"It's about rewarding those who put in the effort."

"Thank you, Venerable Master."

"You're too kind, Lady Flora."

Flora held the gold coin in both hands.

The tiny gold coin, in her hand, looked like a giant dumbbell plate.

It is heavy and large.

However, Flora showed no disdain whatsoever, her eyes sparkling.

Soon, to Gao De's envious gaze, the gold coin vanished from Flora's hand.

Unlike what I saw in fantasy novels in my previous life, where cultivators all had several storage bags.

In this world, apart from Flora, Gao De has never seen or heard of any so-called space equipment.

Although Flora's "storage space" is small, not even big enough to fit a chair, it is still a testament to her spatial abilities.

Flora may be young, but she is quite capable.

After carefully putting away his money bag, Gao De stood up.

"Where to?"

"Go and meet new friends."

Buckle buckle.

The hotel door was very heavy, and the sound when knocked on it was dull.

A moment later, the door to room 201 was opened.

A tall, thin young man, or rather a teenager, appeared behind the door, looking at Gao De with a blank expression.

It was upon seeing the person before him that Gao De finally understood what the local man in the tavern had left unsaid earlier.

The character "小白" should be followed by the character "脸".

This was a young man who was about sixteen or seventeen years old and extremely handsome.

It could even be said that he was the most handsome of all the diverse people Gao De had met since coming into this world.

He has a broad forehead, dark and prominent eyebrows, a straight nose, and clear and strong facial features.

What's most striking are those pupils, which faintly shimmer with a golden hue.

"What is it?" The young man's expression was icy, making Gao De feel that his destination was most likely to be lost.

Judging from the other person's personality, he didn't seem like the type to beat around the bush, so Gao De simply said, "I'm your tenant across the hall. I just arrived in Ellaheim today. I heard from the people in the tavern that you're planning to climb Danton Peak."

"Perfect match, me too."

"Sorry, I don't team up." The young man said stiffly, his face expressionless.

"No, I didn't come here to team up with you," Gao De said sincerely as a last-ditch effort. "I suddenly decided to climb Dandong Snow Peak for some reason, and I wasn't well prepared."

"Since you're planning to climb Dandong Snow Peak solo, you must be a mage, right? I'd like to ask if you possess the [Ice Skating] or [Ice Walking] spells. If so, could you sell me a copy of the spell recipe?"

"In Ellaheim, the official oversight is not strict, so I can offer more money," Gaode said, showing his utmost sincerity.

"No need," the young man said, then turned and walked into the house, closing the door behind him.

Looking at the door that had been ruthlessly closed, Gao De shook his head helplessly.

I was somewhat disappointed, but not angry.

After all, trading spell recipes in private has always been strictly prohibited.

Even in Ellaheim, where regulations are extremely lax, it is difficult for an average person to agree to a transaction with a stranger unless they are really desperate for money.

If it doesn't work, then forget it.

Gao De returned to his room.

"Why did he disagree again? Didn't you offer money, Master?" Flora asked again.

"They probably don't lack money," Gao De replied.

"That's wonderful," Flora exclaimed.

Just then, a knocking sound rang out on the door.

Gao De was astonished.

I'm new here, so why would anyone come looking for me?

While pondering, he opened the door in surprise.

The young man across the hall still stood at the door with a cold, indifferent expression.

He said, "Here you go."

The young man handed over a piece of parchment. Gao De looked down in bewilderment and saw that it was a spell recipe.

Ice skating.

"How much?" Gao De looked up blankly.

"No need," the other person repeated what they had just said.

Gao De then realized that when the young man said "no need," he actually meant "don't need money."

"Dandong Xuefeng, you can't do it. Even if you learn it, it won't be enough." The young man nodded to Gao De, who was still looking bewildered. His handsome and cold face seemed to have softened a bit at this moment.

"I'll think about it again," Gao De said, giving the other party a lot of face.

The young man frowned. "Still want the challenge?"

"So direct?" Gao De sighed and said honestly, "I have reasons to challenge the Dandong Snow Peak, and I also have the ability to do so."

The young man gave the fairest assessment in his mind: an overconfident newbie.

He hasn't even mastered ice skating or ice walking, so he's clearly a novice. How could he possibly think of, or even dare to think of, challenging the most difficult Dandong Snow Peak?

As expected, they know nothing.

Even he held absolute reverence for the snow-capped peaks of Dandong.

Although he was confident he could do it, could the other person do it the same way?

"I understand." The young man glanced at Gao De expressionlessly, gave his usual reply, and then turned and went back to his room.

They saw off this somewhat strange young man.

That's really strange.

If you say he's friendly, his aloof face and stiff tone of voice make him seem anything but friendly.

If you say he's unfriendly, then why is he willing to give away a first-level spell recipe for free?

Officially, this item costs over 20 gold.

Gao De picked up the spell recipe, which was clearly handwritten by the young man, and began to read it.

Compared to purchasing spell recipes from the official source, the biggest drawback of trading spell recipes privately is that the authenticity of the spell recipes cannot be guaranteed.

Especially after moving beyond the level of mere magic tricks, the construction of spell models requires the use of corresponding spell potions.

The spell model is fake; at most, it's a waste of time and effort.

However, if the recipe for a spell or potion is fake, it could kill someone if they're unlucky.

"One portion of Tier 1 Ice Blue Butterfly Powder." Gao De looked at the recipe for the spell potion and began to study it carefully.

The course "Pharmacological Research" that I had taken at Cyrus College came in handy at this time.

Although it wouldn't allow Gao De to verify the authenticity of the magic potion recipe, it would at least let him understand whether the recipe would harm his body.

After carefully studying the recipe several times and confirming that it would not cause any harm, Gao De finally felt relieved.

"Tomorrow I'll wander around town, replenish the equipment I need for climbing Dandong Snow Peak, and then see if I can gather the main and auxiliary materials for the [Ice Skating] spell potion."

"The materials needed for the [Ice Skating] spell potion are all local specialties of the snowy region. It shouldn't be a problem to gather the materials in Ellaheim, and you might even be able to get them at an extremely low price."

According to market principles, any "product" is generally cheapest at its place of origin.

If we can gather all the necessary materials, and spend a few more days building the spell model for [Ice Skating], then we can set off to cross the Dandong Snow Peak and enter the Northern Territory.

After making a brief plan for his trip to the North, Gao De went to bed and lay down with peace of mind.

After spending a month or so in the river, Gao De still missed the softness of his bed, even though he would rest on the boat every night.

After a good night's rest, Gao De got up early the next day, enjoyed the hotel's free breakfast of fish roe bread, and then went out to buy supplies.

Mountaineering equipment is easy to buy.

After some haggling, it only cost about 5 gold coins, and Gaode transformed himself, fully equipped.

Durable goatskin hiking boots, thick and warm bearskin gloves, soft and comfortable cashmere underwear, and a fox fur cape.

Clothes make the man.

With this set of equipment, Gaode's appearance will at least no longer give the impression of a novice climbing a snow mountain for the first time.

The equipment purchase went smoothly, but the main and auxiliary materials needed for the [Ice Skating] spell potion kept Gao De wandering around the city for a long time.

Because there are no potion shops in Ellaheim that specifically cater to mages.

Therefore, he could only search for the materials one by one.

In particular, Gao De only managed to buy the Tier 1 Ice Blue Butterfly Powder after being introduced by a small shopkeeper to a local hunter in an extremely remote area.

Although it took a lot of time, we managed to gather all the materials.

Moreover, these potion ingredients, which would cost around 40 gold elsewhere, were acquired by God for only 23 gold in Ellaheim.

It's almost half the price.

This made Gaode feel much happier.

(End of this chapter)