"It seems you've learned quite a bit too. Tell me about it!"
Leilin wasn't the least bit surprised by this. No matter how well they tried to hide it, the atmosphere in the Academy was bound to be different when a great battle was approaching. The disappearance of a large number of
Besides, the Academy didn't seem particularly eager to conceal things. After all, wars depended on full Wizards—apprentices like them were of little use in the fight.
The ones left behind would inevitably be the weakest and lowest-ranked cannon fodder.
"Heilongsi has already cleared out the Beastkin and other creature lairs near the Academy. The Beastkin in particular—all of them were hit with spells and turned into zombies. Their souls will be imprisoned in those bodies for eternity, suffering without end…"
Leilin nodded slightly. It seemed the area around the Academy was temporarily safe.
"What about the other Wizard Apprentices?"
"It's a mess! From what I managed to hear through other sisters, Trist, Shapal, and those other special-grade apprentices have all left the Academy recently under various excuses. I'm afraid it won't be long before this news spreads everywhere… What about you?"
"My senior,
Leilin calmly relayed what he'd learned, making Ni Lan's face grow even paler.
"What about you? Any plans?" Leilin finally asked.
"I'm planning to return to my family. You know, our Vilet Family isn't particularly famous, but we do have the strength to protect ourselves. Would you like to come along?" Ni Lan was clearly trying to recruit Leilin for her family.
"No thanks! I have my own plans!" Leilin smiled and declined. Joining a family meant being bound by contracts, and besides, he had too many secrets to have people constantly hovering nearby.
The light in Ni Lan's eyes dimmed at once. Leilin knew their relationship had effectively run its course. They'd both been looking for some fun, and now that disaster loomed, going their separate ways was only natural.
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask of you!" Leilin produced a small box made of dark wood and placed it on the dining table.
"What is it?" Ni Lan forced a smile.
She casually opened the dark wooden box. Inside, row upon row of neatly arranged potions dazzled her eyes.
"This is…" A look of astonishment appeared in Ni Lan's lovely eyes.
"The potions I've accumulated. Help me sell them off." Leilin interlaced his fingers, his expression perfectly calm.
Of course, these were only a small portion of the potions he'd secretly brewed. They could easily pass for a year's worth of savings, totaling several hundred Magic Stones.
Having Ni Lan sell them served two purposes—Leilin didn't want to attract attention, and he wanted to compensate her a little. After all, he still retained a touch of old-fashioned chivalry. A breakup deserved a parting gift, and letting Ni Lan skim a bit off the transactions was the simplest way.
"No problem! Right now all kinds of raw materials and Spell Models are dropping in price, but finished potions and low-grade Magical Items are soaring!" Ni Lan's eyes lit up.
This was perfectly normal. When war approached, Spell Models and other raw materials couldn't be converted into immediate power, so their prices naturally fell. Items that could instantly boost one's strength, on the other hand, were in high demand.
"Help me sell all the potions, and just give me three hundred Magic Stones afterward." Leilin took a sip of the hot cocoa on the table.
Ni Lan's expression was somewhat complicated. "Of course, that's doable. Actually, my family could buy this entire batch! Do you have more? I can contact the family and offer you a satisfying price…"
"This is everything I've saved up over a year! You know I still need to trade potions for resources. If the market weren't this good right now, I wouldn't be putting it all out there." Leilin's tone was thoroughly sincere.
"Alright! I'll help you sell them as soon as possible!" Ni Lan understood. In her eyes, given Leilin's level, being able to accumulate this much while continuously selling potions was already the limit.
Because both of them had things weighing on their minds, the rest of the meal tasted rather bland.
After they finished, Ni Lan said a hasty goodbye to Leilin. He in turn entrusted someone to carry a few messages to his acquaintances—not stating things directly, but offering just enough hints that whether they understood was up to them.
Ni Lan worked fast. By the next day, she had delivered a small pouch of Magic Stones into Leilin's hands.
Leilin thought it over and decided it was better to spend the Magic Stones while he was still at the Academy. Out there, he might not stumble upon a trading fair, and the range of resources couldn't possibly match what the Academy offered.
He expected this trip outside would last a very long time. Leilin planned to advance his rank while away, buying up all the materials and Spell Models needed for the Activity Potion. As for the knowledge required for Third-rank Apprentice, his Chip already had it all stored.
However, the Academy's teachings stopped right there. Information about advancing to full Wizard—along with First-level Wizard foundational subjects—was kept strictly under wraps. Only Third-rank Apprentices who had signed a contract were permitted access.
Leilin headed first to the Spell Trading District.
"What do you want?" The old woman behind the counter was even more unpleasant than usual. But Leilin was in a good mood—he already knew that the Third-rank Apprentices behind these counters had all failed their advancement to full Wizard and were bound to the Academy by contract to provide basic services. Trapped by that contract, unable to flee even if they wanted to, and likely to be caught in the crossfire of any serious battle, there was no reason for them to be friendly.
"Dark System foundational Spell Models—everything except Shadow Hand. I want them all!" Leilin was putting on a show of confidence.
The old woman behind the counter gave Leilin a surprised look. A Second-rank Apprentice with this much money was rather unusual.
"Thirteen in total. One hundred and thirty Magic Stones!"
"I also want the foundational Mimicry Spell Model!"
"That makes one hundred and forty!" came the woman's voice from behind the counter.
Leilin nodded, dumping a pile of Magic Stones onto the counter. The woman counted them, put them away, and handed over fourteen leather-bound tomes—each one a thick brick, stacked high enough to nearly match Leilin's height.
"Looks like I'll need to hire a few extra horses!"
Leilin hired several porters to deliver the Spell Model books back to his room, then returned to the Trading District.
The district was one of the few places in the Academy that still maintained a lively atmosphere.
More apprentices had come here, and quite a few quality items had appeared, drawing crowds of onlookers.
"So the apprentices aren't completely oblivious after all," Leilin mused to himself.
It was like a forest before a catastrophe—only the rarest of animals would sense danger ahead of time and flee. The others, though they hadn't felt the danger themselves, would naturally follow once they saw a few leaving.
"But still, no Magical Items have shown up." Leilin felt a twinge of regret. He'd been wanting to get his hands on a Magical Item for a long time, but they were genuinely rare and exorbitantly priced. Every time one appeared, it ended up in the hands of a full Wizard, and on the rare occasion a Wizard passed on one, it triggered a frenzy among the Third-rank Apprentices—Leilin never stood a chance.
"Crafting Magical Items involves Alchemy and Enchanting—both vast and profound disciplines. I can barely spare enough time for Potionology as it is!"
Leilin smiled ruefully. Even the Chip had its processing limits. Based on his earlier experiments, only by continuously advancing his soul could he drive the Chip to upgrade.
"Once I reach Third-rank Apprentice, if there's really no other way, I'll dabble in Enchanting myself and see if I can create a Magical Item!"
Without any Magical Items, the other goods on the small stalls couldn't catch his eye at all.
Still, there were some noteworthy changes. The finished-potion stalls were packed with people, and the sales of bows, arrows, and leather armor were doing well too. But the raw-material stalls were nearly deserted.
Leilin made his way, with practiced ease, to Wus's potion shop.
There were many apprentices inside now. They would spot a potion they wanted, buy it on the spot, and were quite free with their money.
Wus was drenched in sweat and had even hired a few apprentices to help—something that absolutely would not have happened in the past.
Leilin took a look. The finished potions on the shelves were vanishing at an astonishing rate, with many spots already marked as sold out.
Upon seeing Leilin, Wus's eyes lit up. He called an apprentice over to take his place and came to attend to Leilin personally.
"Hey! My dear Leilin, I heard a lark singing this morning and knew good news must be on the way! Well? How many potions have you got? I can offer ten percent above market price for everything!" Wus greeted him warmly, looking at Leilin as though he were looking at a pile of Magic Stones.
"Sorry!" Leilin spread his hands. "I've been busy running missions lately. I've barely had time to brew anything!"
"What a tragic piece of news!" Wus sighed. "You have no idea how explosive the market is right now!"
"Alright, alright! I'm here to buy materials," Leilin said, handing Wus a list.
Wus took it and scanned the densely packed names and quantities. His expression changed, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead.
"That's a massive amount of raw materials! Let me see… White Crystal, Purple Wisteria Root, Specter's Claw—you're planning to brew Activity Potions?" the portly man asked directly.
"That's right! I need to prepare for my advancement in advance. If you happen to have any finished Activity Potions in stock, I can buy them directly—name your price!"
Leilin spoke casually. The Activity Potion recipe was available right in the library and plenty of people had seen it. The portly man recognizing it was nothing strange.
After the Activity Potion materials, Leilin had also listed many common ingredients for
"Brewing Activity Potions is extremely complicated with a low success rate. Demand is sky-high—every batch gets snapped up the moment it appears. How could I possibly have any in stock?" Wus shook his head.
"You apothecaries have it good—at least you can brew your own potions when you need them. Back when I was still a Second-rank Apprentice, the things I went through just to get a single bottle of Activity Potion…" Wus sighed.