Recovery
“Magic artifact?”
The little boy shook his head, “That is a very precious item! Last year the auction only sold one low-grade magic artifact. There were even official Magi present who joined the bidding……”
“So it’s like this. Take me to the weapons shop!”
Leylin followed the little boy to where the blacksmith’s smithy was.
“Hey! Big-bearded old man, I brought you some business!” Once the little boy entered the forge he started shouting loudly.
“I’ll be right there!” The shop owner did indeed have a thick and bushy beard. He was not tall, but the muscles on his arm were extremely hard and gave an impression of power.
“Greetings esteemed guest! I am the owner of this smithy, please call me Black Hammer!” The shop owner introduced himself.
“I need a cross blade!” Leylin spoke of his intentions. Previously, he had ruined his cross blade when fighting the mutated Green Tree Sprite. He now wanted a better quality one, something that wasn’t easy to obtain.
“A cross blade huh, follow me.” Black Hammer undid the wine flagon hanging on his waist and took a sip. The scent of alcohol wafted out.
“Oh! Haven’t I told you to tone down your drinking?” The little boy frowned as he pinched his nose.
“Hiccup……Edgar, you are still a child and cannot appreciate the absolute bliss of fine tasting wine!” Black Hammer shook his head and led Leylin to a wooden shelf.
“My shop’s finished cross blades are all here. Please take your pick. Of course, if it isn’t satisfactory, you can have one custom made, as for the price……”
When he spoke of the price, Black Hammer’s words were extremely clear. He did not seem even a little bit drunk.
Leylin casually scrutinized the cross blades on the wooden shelf. These blades obviously already went through the rigors of war. Their silver surface emanated a bloodthirsty aura.
Leylin casually picked one up. It had an intricate yet sturdy feel that tingled into his palms that felt rather heavy.
“A finely smithed steel blade. It even has a metallic star smelted onto it. The hilt is wrapped in black silk, to prevent it from slipping through one’s hands……” Black Hammer described the item.
Leylin nodded his head and placed the cross blade back on the yellow wooden shelf, then picked up another one.
This cross blade’s exterior was a little darkened. It let out a solid reliable aura.
“A blade made of alloy. It has been modified before. Able to resist corrosion and flames!”
“Oh?” Leylin was a little moved, “Can it deflect a Magus’ spell?”
“Of course not!” Black Hammer shook his head immediately. “To resist a spell, there should be runes inscribed on the blade at the very least. Moreover, it has to be compounded using precious materials from an Alchemist. Such a blade would already be considered a magic artifact, and wouldn’t be displayed in the open like this for sale……”
“My apologies, I have been too greedy!” Leylin shook his head.
Picking up the black blade, “I want this, and prepare another 20 crossbow bolts for me……”
“Alright, the price is……” Black Hammer’s eyes shone. He did not bother to drink his wine anymore.
When Leylin and the little boy walked out of the weapons shop, Leylin hung the cross blade from his waist, at the same time he took a magic crystal and tossed it over to the small boy.
“This is your remuneration for today! I wish to walk alone now!”
“Alright! Have a good day!” The little boy was extremely delighted and put away the magic crystal before trotting off.
Leylin stood rooted to the spot until the little boy could no longer be seen. Only then did he turn back to the stalls he had first went in, where the goods were lying on the ground.
After browsing for a bit, Leylin visited every wooden shop found in the central area. Only then did Leylin walk into the shop with the test tube sign.
“Sir, how may I assist you?” spoke a young male staff who wore a fashionable western style suit.
Leylin looked at the potions on the shelves. These sparkling potions radiated various colours. The transparent glass counter also displayed various precious ingredients.
“It seems like this shop’s goods are a little better than fatty Woox’s!” Leylin nodded his head in approval.
“I will need the feathers of a flamingo, eyeballs of multi-tailed owl, feather from a Human Head Bird, Pink Ink Oil, Green Coconut Rock……”
Leylin hurriedly listed his items. These were all ingredients needed to treat his injuries, to make explosive potions and formulate other basic potions.
The staff quietly listened until Leylin finished speaking before bowing and saying, “My apologies, but may I ask if you are a Potions master?”
“I have a little bit of knowledge in the field!” Leylin’s facial features were concealed by the hood of his the cloak. Thus, the staff was unable to discern his expressions.
“Our Walker family wholeheartedly invites you to join our family. The terms we offer are the absolute best amongst Magi families of equal ranking ……” The staff bowed even deeper.
Leylin did expect this a little. Potions masters were a difficult breed to raise. Plus, Magi cannot do without potions so Magi families have always tried to recruit them by offering generous remuneration.
He would definitely not be able to conceal his identity as a Potions master if he were to buy raw ingredients. However, as long as no one discovers his talent, he wasn’t afraid of letting them know. After all, as long as he was not found out, others would not know if the person standing before them was a Potions master or an acolyte.
“I will give this some consideration. Do you have the ingredients I listed earlier?” Leylin said with a raspy voice.
“We do have 2 flamingo feathers. As for eyeballs of the multi-tailed owl, we still have a pair left. However, it has been around for 3 years, so some of its medicinal properties have spoiled a little. As for the feathers from a Human Head Bird, Pink Ink Oil, Green Coconut Rock, we have them here, also……”
The staff seemed to remember every item in the shop from memory and blurted them all out.
Leylin nodded his head. A Magus’ main cultivation is the spiritual force. After advancing, their brains will also develop. Hence, all Magi were intelligent people. As for Leylin’s conjecture, when Magi have advanced into a higher realm, their brains would even be comparable to the processing abilities of the A.I. Chip.
“I want all of them, name your price!” Leylin nodded his head.
“The total amounts to 157 magic crystals!” The staff smiled.
Leylin nodded his head and took out a small box, which he had prepared earlier, from his robes. After opening, one could see that it was densely packed with cyan-coloured potions.
“Look, these are all strength potions!” Leylin took out the strength potions and lay them in front of the front of the staff.
strength potions were one of the basic potions. In fact, most of the Potioneering acolytes chose to brew it first. After seeing this, the staff became evidently disappointed.
But he quickly recovered his composure and began to inspect.
“30 strength Potions, I can give you 130 magic crystals for them,” the staff said.
Leylin approved silently. If he were to sell these at Woox’s, he would have gotten 120 magic crystals at most. Prices outside were indeed higher, but it was more dangerous too.
“Okay!” Leylin counted another 27 magic crystals and handed them to the staff.
“Bring me the materials I ordered!”
“Okay, give me a moment!” The staff put away the potions and magic crystals before swiftly running to the back.
Leylin waited for what seemed like another dozen minutes before the staff returned with a small wooden chest, which he placed in front of Leylin.
“These are the goods you requested, please inspect them!”
Leylin opened the small wooden chest. It was compartmentalised using wooden trays, where various ingredients were placed on them. There were colourful feathers, green-coloured rocks, and various coloured powders.
Leylin fingers traced the various ingredients, “A.I. Chip! Inspect……”
After the A.I. Chip indicated that all the ingredients were up to standard, only then did Leylin keep the wooden chest. He then rose to leave the Potion Shop.
“What I’m selling is only the most basic of strength Potion, and to gather the ingredients is already this complicated. Even I cannot guess the uses of these ingredients completely. They will definitely not be able to as well.”
Leylin hid the small wooden chest beneath his robes and circled around a few times before he slowly left the market.
“The most important thing is, my trades only cost around 100 magic crystals. If the Walker family was stirred because of this paltry amount, then their reputation would have long since gone bad!”
On the way, he increased the A.I. Chip’s detection area to the maximum. Only after confirming that no one was following him did Leylin leave the Lost Forest.
Ever since the earlier incident, Leylin moved camp. Right now he sheltered in a cave. As for its previous owner, a Black Bear, it had long since become Leylin’s dinner.
* Bang! *
Leylin stacked a few large boxes together to form a simple experiment table. Then, he placed his apparatus on it.
“I am finally going to be rid of this damned pathogen!” Leylin gritted his teeth, “Every day I have to cauterise this wound. With the limitations of my vitality and strength, I’ve had enough of it!”
Leylin picked up a green-coloured rock with the shape of a leaf on its surface.
This was a Green Coconut Rock, a rare half plant half mineral commodity.
Smashing the Green Coconut Rock apart, Leylin took the Pink Ink Oil and heated it. When it began to bubble, he added the grounded Green Coconut Rock powder.
* Sssii! * As the powdered Green Coconut Rock was poured onto the Pink Ink Oil, a hissing sound was let off.
The Pink Ink Oil turned green in a moment. It released a strangely fragrant odor.
[Potion successfully brewed!] Upon hearing the A.I. Chip’s confirmation, Leylin nodded his head slightly.
He stripped all his clothes off. All sorts of burns and scars could be seen littering his body. His shoulder and stomach each had an extremely horrifying scar with tufts of hair growing around them.
“Qiesiter – Kesi!” Leylin murmured an incantation.
The green-coloured potion in the test tube immediately boiled, and continued to evaporate, making the smell in the air more concentrated.
* Sssii! * As if having been granted a life of its own, the hairs around Leylin’s wounds started climbing out and wiggled their way into the test tube.
“Wu!” Leylin gritted his teeth and let these hairs make their way out as they pleased.
A dozen minutes later, Leylin’s wound no longer had black hair around it. As for the test tube, it transformed into a ball of hair.
Leylin’s expression remained apathetic as he wiped off his cold sweat. He lit a feather on fire and threw it on the ball of hair.
“Boohoo……”
Green flames rose and mimicked the crying sound of a female, which was rather similar to Doris’ voice.
Many strands of hair tried to escape, but they were trapped by Leylin within a ball of milky white substance. They had no option but burn into oblivion.