Above the mage

Chapter 39 Potions, Runes, Extraordinary Items

Having figured out the secret of the wooden box and unexpectedly received help from Pierre, Gaud did not leave immediately.

Suppressing his complex emotions, he asked Pierre, "Boss, do you know of any external aids that can assist a mage in their practice?"

The progress of practicing the guided methods step by step is really frustrating.

If possible, it is necessary to use some external aids to accelerate the progress of spiritual practice.

Gao De knew in his heart that such items must be very expensive and probably beyond his means, but it wouldn't hurt to find out the market price first.

Pierre was indeed very knowledgeable. After thinking for a moment and organizing his thoughts, he said, "A mage's practice consists of two parts: guidance techniques and meditation."

"Meditation cultivates one's own spiritual power without the participation of external energy. Therefore, its cultivation depends more on oneself, and auxiliary items are extremely rare and precious, so we will ignore them for now. However, there are more auxiliary items for cultivation guidance methods."

Fortunately, my progress in practicing meditation is not slow... Gao De thought to himself with relief.

Compared to his predecessor, his speed of cultivating the guiding method remained unchanged, but his progress in cultivating the meditation technique greatly improved.

Pierre had already sat down behind the counter. "There are many items that can assist in the cultivation of magic, but if you really want to categorize them, they can be divided into three categories: potions, runes, and extraordinary items."

"Essentially, there are two methods: one is to improve the efficiency of the mage in guiding magic power to convert into mana, and the other is to increase the concentration of magic power in the cultivation environment."

"As for potions, the most common cultivation potion is the magic potion."

"The magic potion contains powerful magic. After drinking it, the mage can directly absorb the magic in the potion, thus replacing the magic that should have been guided into the body through a channeling spell."

This essentially eliminates the step of guiding magical energy in guided practice; the mage only needs to transform and refine this magical energy into their own magical power.

"In this way, the speed of cultivation will naturally be faster."

"However, magic potions are too expensive. For example, a set of basic magic potions (3 small bottles) for a mage apprentice costs as much as 6 gold."

A set of basic magic potions is enough for a first-class apprentice to cultivate for six days, while a second-class apprentice needs to consume a set every three days.

"Therefore, mage apprentices usually only buy a set of magic potions to help them break through the bottleneck when they are about to break through the guidance method."

"If it is used as an aid in daily practice, that would be too extravagant and beyond the reach of ordinary people."

A set of 6 gold coins consumes a set every 6 days, which is 360 gold coins a year, equivalent to 36 in his previous life. Gao De did the math in his mind and knew that Pierre's words were true.

How many people can afford an annual expenditure of 36?

This is just the potion expenditure for a first-class apprentice; for a second-class apprentice, it's 720 gold per year.

Of course, if one is truly willing to make such an expenditure, it is likely that the apprenticeship guidance method can be brought to perfection in a short period of time.

There must be many so-called geniuses who have been nurtured with this kind of "magic potion".

However, this is not a method that Gaode Maps can afford.

Pierre could naturally see this, and quickly continued:

"If potions tend to be the first type of aid, then runes tend to be the second type—increasing the concentration of magic in the training environment."

"Multiple runes can be combined to construct a magic circle to increase the magic concentration in a specific area. The two most well-known auxiliary magic circles for cultivation are the magic crystal matrix and the magic node array."

"The former requires a continuous consumption of magic crystals to increase the concentration of magic in the environment by releasing the powerful magic in the magic crystals, while the latter gathers the magic in the surrounding area into a small area."

"Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The former increases the concentration of magic power more effectively, but it is also more expensive because it requires a constant supply of magic crystals."

"The latter is the opposite. Although the increase in magic concentration is far less than that of the former, once the magic circle is successfully constructed, it can automatically gather the magic power from the surrounding area without any consumption. Moreover, the magic power in the world is constantly regenerating and flowing, which is equivalent to a huge profit and is much more cost-effective."

"However, you don't need to consider this method. There is no such thing as a level 0 magic circle. The lowest level is level 1, and the construction cost of a level 1 magic circle is thousands of gold coins or more."

"Mages usually use magic circles to practice their skills by renting them out."

"The problem is that there are no magic circles that are allowed to be rented in our Hogan City," Pierre said, shrugging.

Hogan City is too small, and the number of mages is too small to support the operation of a magic circle.

"Finally, there are extraordinary items."

"Some extraordinary items are created to aid in cultivation; they can automatically absorb magical energy to assist their master's cultivation."

"Of course, the effects of these extraordinary items are far less obvious and direct than those of magic circles, but their advantage lies in being portable and working at all times, unlike magic circles which are fixed in position once set up, cannot be moved, and cannot be carried."

"Clearly, extraordinary items that aid in cultivation are far more valuable than other types of extraordinary items."

"Even though they are all level 1 extraordinary items, those that assist in cultivation can often sell for hundreds of gold coins, even if the effects are not particularly significant. Moreover, they are always in high demand but not readily available."

Pierre's meaning was also very straightforward: regardless of whether Gaode has the financial resources, even if it does, there's nowhere to buy it.

He came up with a whole bunch of suggestions, but none of them were useful to him. Gaode was also quite helpless.

Ultimately, it all boils down to one word:

poverty!

After leaving Pierre's general store, Godard, clutching 1 gold and 15 silver coins, headed straight for a herbal medicine shop at the end of the street.

The preparation of basic spider venom requires three main ingredients: 1 snake tooth grass, 1 mountain wormwood, and 1 green spider sac.

Among them, snake tooth grass and mountain wormwood can be produced by the herb garden itself, but green spider pods need to be purchased from the herb shop.

While Phil's Potions Shop primarily sells potions, it also sells medicinal herbs, including green spider sacs, and their quality is guaranteed.

The problem is that when Master Seda was still around, the purchase quantity was based on more than half a month's supply. Now, Gaode is short of money and can only buy one or two portions at a time.

In this situation, it would be inappropriate to purchase medicine from Phil's Potions Shop, as it could easily arouse suspicion from those with ulterior motives.

Adhering to the principle of being cautious, Gaode had no choice but to go to a small herbal medicine shop instead of a nearby one for its purchase.

"A green spider sac that's been aged for over a year costs 12 silver coins?! At Phil's Potions Shop, it's only 10 silver coins a piece! How come yours is 20% more expensive?"

In the herbal medicine shop, Gao De frowned instinctively when faced with the price quoted by the clerk and asked a question.

"Guest, our shop has been on this street for decades. Our enduring success is all thanks to our integrity. No matter your status, everyone who enters our shop will receive the same respect and fair treatment."

"Hogan City is only so big. If our shop cheats its customers, our reputation will spread and we won't be able to continue doing business. How could our shop be so short-sighted as to cheat you?"

Upon hearing Gao De's question, the owner of the herbal medicine shop stepped forward and said earnestly in an unquestionable tone, "These days, there has been a significant increase in the number of people going out of the city to hunt, and the price of basic spider venom potion has also risen accordingly."

"As one of the main ingredients in basic spider venom potions, green spider sacs have become scarce, naturally leading to a price increase. Not only in our store, but all herbal medicine shops are now charging this price for green spider sacs."

"If you don't believe me, you can go to other medicine shops in the city and see if they agree with what I said."

"Okay... then give me two portions." Gao De said, unable to suppress his heartache.

Although this herbal medicine shop is not particularly large, it is indeed an old shop that has been open for almost twenty years. It is impossible for them to tell such a self-destructive lie.

Before he could even enjoy the "little rooster" (a type of credit card) anymore, Gaode Maps disappeared again. After painfully paying the fee, his savings shrank to 11 silver coins.

New book recommendation period, please read it!

(End of this chapter)