Wizard: I brought the wrong system.

Chapter 254 Price
After bidding farewell to Ian, Yaro quietly turned around and returned to the deer cart. Hiding inside, he retrieved the Shadow Wolf's pelt and the broken wolf head pendant from his spatial ring.

The wolf head pendant is a Shadow-type treasure. Yaro can neither repair it nor make good use of it, so keeping it is meaningless. It would be better to exchange it for magic stones and buy more purification potions and the alchemy materials needed.

Fold the wolf pelt, put all the other Shadow Wolf materials inside, and then use a burlap sack as a cover. Yaro carried it on his back and headed straight for the enchanting shop he had already located.

The fur of the Shadow Wolf not only carries a rich amount of shadow energy, but also naturally possesses strange magical patterns, making it a material belonging to the enchanting category.

Enchanting and alchemy are intertwined in many ways. People generally think that alchemy is for making large items and enchanting is for melting down small treasures, but this is actually incorrect.

It can be explained in just one sentence.

Enchanting focuses on the use of runes, while alchemy focuses on materials and structure.

To put it more simply, you can think of alchemists as unconventional material and structural scientists, and enchanters as unconventional programmers.

Most of the materials produced in the eerie space are aggregates of various energies, and generally speaking, enchanters are more interested in these kinds of materials.

When he was with Ian earlier, Yaro hadn't looked around carefully, but when he actually entered the enchanting shop, he was immediately drawn to the skull wands on several walls.

Inside the dimly lit shop, a cat-eared woman sat languidly on a large, soft seat, holding a slender metal rod in her hand. A tiny spark flickered at the end of the rod, and her sensual lips uttered thin wisps of smoke, yet she made no attempt to get up.

Skull wands are typically made from the skulls of apprentices.

From the intermediate apprentice level onwards, the apprentices have already inscribed various magic tricks into their core consciousness. When these apprentices die, some strange methods can be used to preserve the magic trick imprints in their core consciousness and transfer them into their skulls.

Then, the skull is compressed so that it is no longer so conspicuous and in the way, and a skull wand is roughly made.

This method of production is not only simple, but also significantly enhances the combat power of apprentices because it uses the skulls of wizard apprentices.

If a junior apprentice in the same lineage can obtain a skull wand from an intermediate or advanced apprentice, they can even rival the combat strength of an intermediate or advanced apprentice to some extent.

After all, once they obtain the Skull Wand, they can quickly activate the various tricks engraved within it.

These kinds of wands may have many advantages, but there is one important problem that cannot be ignored.

While it can improve an apprentice's strength to some extent, it will greatly increase internal conflicts among apprentices and will not help them advance to become a formal wizard!
Moreover, as long as the maker is highly skilled, it is not impossible to make similar or even superior wands using other materials.

Therefore, the Jungle House strictly prohibits the manufacture of skull wands, and anyone found in possession of such wands will be immediately confiscated and punished.

But here, these kinds of wands are being sold openly and honestly.

Is all I see in front of me just a simple wall of magic wands?

Do not!
This is a declaration of war, and also a warning!
The conflicts between extraordinary individuals here will be very intense!
No one would expect that all skulls were obtained by digging up graves, right?

Just like a certain country that regards albinism as a sacred thing and likes to wear the bones of people with albinism, when someone is in dire need of money, they will not consider looking for the graves of people with albinism, but will go directly to the homes of people with albinism.

It's always easier to find a living person than a dead one.

Perhaps noticing that Yaro had been staring for a while, the cat-eared girl, in a seductive voice, lazily introduced, "Would you like to buy a wand, sir? What type would you like? Do you want to increase your energy affinity? Or do you want to cast spells quickly? Or perhaps you need one with powerful spells attached?"

“No need,” Yaro said calmly, taking off the bundle he was carrying and opening it. “I just want to sell some materials.”

"Oh?"

The cat-eared woman sat up straight, glanced at the gray-black wolf pelt, then lay back down slumped, saying listlessly, "Is it a werewolf's pelt? Or some strange monster's fur? I'm not interested in that trash. Perhaps you could try looking for that alchemy shop over there that specializes in collecting junk?"

Yaro explained, "This is a pure shadow creature, the fur of a shadow wolf, not the fur of a material monster."

A hint of surprise flashed in the cat-eared girl's emerald green vertical pupils, and her soft body seemed to be injected with a power, immediately sitting up straight.

She exhaled a long puff of smoke, put down her slender pipe, slowly rose, and walked over with elegant steps: "Shadow Wolf? Interesting."

"Materials from pure shadow creatures, containing abundant active shadow energy, are worth far more than an equivalent weight of magic stones. Considering the weight of a shadow wolf pelt, and especially since this is a shadow wolf pelt with shadow stealth runes..."

Yaro chuckled softly, "In the shopkeeper's words, it's just 'somewhat interesting'?"

The Shadow Realm is deeply intertwined with the Material Realm, forming a sub-world with far-reaching influence. Consequently, it is prone to generating corresponding eerie spaces within the Material Realm, resulting in a significant annual production of Shadow Materials.

However, the Shadow element is also a major category within the Wizarding class, and the demand for Shadow materials is extremely high.

Shadow stealth is a signature move of shadow-based apprentices, and it's a valuable trick whether used for surprise attacks or escape.

In this remote region, in a barren little shop that mainly sells skull wands, this item only received a "somewhat interesting" rating?

The cat-eared woman showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Her strange vertical pupils curved into soft crescents as she smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. As long as it is confirmed to be the fur of a Shadow Wolf, the price will not disappoint you."

Yaro pushed the fur over, glancing at the skulls covering the wall, and said meaningfully, "I hope the satisfactory price you mentioned refers to magic stones, and not some other unspeakable means."

The cat-eared woman noticed Yarona's familiar face, a knowing glint in her emerald eyes. She carefully took the fur, chuckling as she said, "This amount of magic stones isn't enough for me to give up this shop."

"I need to cast an identification spell, is that alright?"

The sudden use of magic when they are not far apart is often the beginning of conflict between wizards.

Yaro readily agreed, taking half a step back and gesturing, "Please go ahead."

With Aro's permission, the cat-eared girl gathered a faint magical power, and a strange light shone upon the wolf skin.

Yaro narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Materials identification, magic rune observation, and an unknown magic trick..."

The cat-eared woman examined the material carefully. After confirming its authenticity, she did a thorough inspection to ensure it wasn't a sewn-up wolf pelt. Satisfied, she nodded and stood up, saying:
"That's right, it is indeed a whole piece of Shadow Wolf pelt, and it was a one-hit kill. The wound on the wolf pelt is very clean, and the magic patterns are not greatly damaged. The shadow energy of the whole wolf pelt has not dissipated much, which shows that the kill did not take long. In addition to the other materials of the Shadow Wolf... I can get a total of forty-five magic stones."

“A very reasonable price.” Yarrow nodded in satisfaction.

He had initially estimated the price to be roughly the same, but after learning about the price difference between exchanging magic stones and gold coins, his previous thoughts changed slightly. He even considered that this item could only be exchanged for a dozen or so magic stones.

After all, prices can vary between shops, not to mention price differences in different areas. Besides, this shop looks like a shady operation no matter how you look at it.

The cat-eared girl then counted out forty-five magic stones. Once he had the magic stones, Yaro began to trust this unassuming little shop more.

"Would you like this?" Yaro asked, taking out the broken wolf head pendant.

The cat-eared woman examined her for a moment, a hint of envy flashing in her alluring vertical pupils: "You encountered a small shadow space?"

For intermediate and advanced apprentices, small shadow spaces pose no danger whatsoever; encountering one is like finding a magic stone for free.

"Good luck." Yaro smiled slightly and placed the broken wolf head pendant on the table.

The cat-eared woman examined the exquisite little item even more carefully. Half an hour later, she rubbed her eyes and looked up, saying, "The shadow magic of this pendant has completely dissipated, and the most important Shadow Wolf Summoning rune has basically collapsed. There is no value in continuing to repair it, and the value of summoning a shadow puppet is not high... I can only offer eighty magic stones."

The cat-eared girl added, "Shadow wolves can be summoned at any time, but shadow puppets must have a vessel to have combat power. Moreover, even with a vessel, their combat power is far inferior to that of shadow wolves. This pendant cannot be used to summon shadow wolves, which means it is already more than half useless. Eighty magic stones is already the highest price."

After a moment's thought, Yaro did not refuse: "Okay."

……

With these hundred-plus magic stones, Yaro was finally able to purchase some materials to craft the lead-iron heavy armor.

The main materials of lead-iron heavy armor are lead and iron.

However, the key components are the internally filled buffer structure and the flow guiding system embedded in the middle.

The fish glue used in the cushioning structure and the extraordinary metals required for the diversion system are both alchemical materials and need to be purchased from an alchemical shop later.

However, there are many other small parts, such as the isolation of the abyss power, the guidance of the surge of abyss power on the back, and the regulation of internal temperature and humidity, which all require the use of enchanting methods. These materials can be purchased from this shop.

"50 ounces of basic magic rune ink, 100 ounces of ice scorpion spider blood, 5 feet of tidebearer hair, 50 pounds of pale stone..."

Following the note given by Yaro, the cat-eared woman calculated and said, "These are all basic materials for enchanting, and I have them all in my shop. A total of sixteen magic stones are needed."

Sixteen?

Yaro was slightly taken aback.

This price is too cheap. He spent more than sixty magic stones when he prepared these materials at the academy!
Even if prices vary from place to place, the discrepancy can't be this exaggerated, right?
After all, the materials that Yaro prepared came from all over the world, and it wasn't like he had actually found the places where those materials were produced.

"Is it too expensive?" The cat-eared woman misunderstood Yaro's hesitation, pushed the calculation paper to Yaro, and explained, "These are all very common materials, and the prices are very transparent. I would never lie to you about something like this. Take a look for yourself, and if you think any of them are too expensive, just eliminate them and ask around elsewhere."

Yaro snapped out of his daze, casually pushed the scrap paper aside, and said with a smile, "That's enough, no need to look at it anymore. It's only right whether you earn a lot or a little."

The cat-eared woman paused for a moment, then revealed a charming smile: "Please wait a moment, it will be ready for you shortly."

……

Looking at the scattered items in the bag, Yaro sighed inwardly.

Shouldn't it generally be that things at the academy are cheaper, while things outside are more expensive?

How come it's reversed?

The college is so corrupt!
Treating apprentices like slaves wasn't enough; they also inflated prices so much!

No wonder so many apprentices go out during their holidays.

No wonder the academy is so strict in investigating smuggled goods.

No wonder... the academy store is always so deserted whenever I go to buy materials.

I had the nerve to think the academy was legitimate and that I could just go to the academy shop for anything I needed. I must have lost so many magic stones in the process!
"Perhaps the only advantage of the academy store is that it says what it is and there won't be any mistakes in the materials?"

This benefit is very important for beginners, but it offers no advantage to those who have been using it for a long time.

After putting the bag back on his back, Yaro put the matter out of his mind.

"Since I've already escaped those shady academies, this news is actually a great thing!"

With such a large discrepancy in prices, with these hundred-plus magic stones, after purchasing the essence potion, Yaro might even be able to buy all the materials for the lead-iron heavy armor!
……

"What? The purification potion costs six magic stones? Why don't you just rob it?"

The weathered old man wasn't angry at all. Instead, he chuckled and said, "Guest, you're joking. How can robbery be as profitable as making potions?"

Looking at the rows of purification potions emitting a faint glow, Yaro subconsciously swallowed and struggled to say, "Can the price... be a little cheaper?"

The weathered old man said humorously, "If it's any less, I really will have no choice but to rob someone."

This price was twice as high as the purification potion in the academy, and Yaro couldn't understand his humor at all.

Unfortunately, Yaro had already visited every apothecary in the market, and they all had basically the same price.

"Give me five bottles!"

Yaro's heart was bleeding, but he had no choice but to buy it; the problem of the Abyss's corruption could not be delayed any longer.

After counting the magic stones, Yaro, who had just received the potion, suddenly asked, "Water Crystal, Mystic Flower, Snake Kiss Grass, Dried Elephant Trunk Lizard... what's the approximate price of these materials?"

"Does the guest know the formula for the purification potion?" The weathered old man was somewhat surprised, but still gave the prices.

Yaro did a quick calculation in his mind, then looked up in astonishment: "The cost of a bottle of potion is less than a magic stone?"

(End of this chapter)