Chapter 45 - 44: Return

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Return

Half a month meant half a month.

After the last day of the Spring Bud Moon, the Green Leaf Moon arrived, and the city began to brim with lush greenery.

Gaode delivered five batches of Basic Spider Venom Potion to Phil’s Magic Pharmacy and purchased enough Green Spider Sacs to last another half a month.

After finishing all this, he dropped by the Pierre Grocery Store on his way back. To his surprise, the door, which had been tightly shut for half a month, was now open.

The familiar little old man was leisurely leaning back in his recliner, basking in the warm morning sun. He looked as comfortable as could be.

A look of joy appeared on Gaode’s face, and he walked over.

"You brat, don’t tell me you’ve been staking out my store every day. I just got back yesterday and opened the door half an hour ago. Not a single customer has shown up yet, but here you are."

Pierre also noticed Gaode’s arrival. He wriggled a bit and stood up, seemingly a little reluctant, to greet him.

"Just a coincidence," Gaode said. His mind was entirely preoccupied with the Magic Scroll and the anxious anticipation of potentially striking it rich soon.

"Alright, I know what you’re thinking." Pierre was a shrewd man and didn’t bother keeping him in suspense at a time like this. "Wait a moment."

He moved his recliner aside, walked into the store’s inner warehouse, and emerged a moment later.

Seeing Pierre come out of the warehouse, Gaode’s eyes instantly lit up.

In the little old man’s hand was none other than a Scroll!

"I’m telling you, you’re in luck. The Tapping Technique is a Magic with a very low usage rate. The Scroll Masters of the Jade Alliance only made a total of three Tapping Technique Magic Scrolls last year.

"Out of the three Scrolls, one was put up for public sale, and one was kept internally by a Mage in the organization. That left exactly this one, which I managed to get my hands on."

Pierre boasted about his achievement while handing the Scroll to Gaode. "Inspect the goods."

Gaode received the Magic Scroll as if it were a precious treasure and examined it carefully.

The texture of the Magic Scroll felt extremely tough and tightly woven, with delicate fiber patterns on its surface that gave it a natural, classical aesthetic. It was likely made from finely processed animal hide.

The parchment must have also undergone special treatment to ensure the long-term preservation of its Magic Power.

Drawn along the edges of the Scroll in dark ink were Runes and Magic Symbols.

These patterns were not just for decoration; they contained the key to unlocking the Magic Power.

The Scroll itself was tightly rolled up and tied at both ends with a cord in a slipknot. With just a gentle tug, the Scroll could be opened.

"You can untie it. It won’t activate the Magic inside, don’t worry," Pierre chimed in, having noticed Gaode’s eagerness and hesitation.

Hearing this, Gaode felt reassured. He immediately undid the slipknot and unrolled the Scroll.

What met his eyes were Spells written in a bizarre font.

These characters seemed to have a life of their own, occasionally flashing with a faint light that revealed the Magic Power contained within.

Gaode did not recognize the characters because they were Magic Text.

He wouldn’t be able to read it unless he had mastered Reading Magic or was proficient in this specific Magic Text.

However, this did not affect his ability to use the Magic Scroll.

Using a Magic Scroll only required opening it, concentrating one’s Spirit to focus on the Spells on the Scroll, and silently chanting a specific intent in one’s mind to release the sealed Magic Power within.

Of course, before using it, the user first had to identify the Magic and its tier on the Magic Scroll.

Furthermore, it required the user’s Spiritual Power to reach a corresponding level; otherwise, they would be unable to control and activate the Magic in the Magic Scroll.

The Spiritual Power requirement for using a Magic Scroll was the required Magic Ring Technique reduced by a 1st Ring, with the absolute minimum being a Mage Apprentice.

In other words, a Mage Apprentice could use a 1st Ring Magic Scroll, while a 1st Ring Mage could use a 2nd Ring Magic Scroll, and so on...

After inspecting it for a while, Gaode tied the Scroll back up and smiled.

"You’ve really done me a huge favor."

"Just business," Pierre shrugged casually. "Buying the Scroll cost seven Gold Coins. I won’t charge you for the meal I bought to pull strings."

He stretched out his right hand, palm up, toward Gaode.

Gaode quickly turned out his pockets, counted out seven Sean Gold Coins, and handed them to Pierre.

Money in one hand, goods in the other.

Through his recent hard work selling medicine, his savings had reached twenty-one Gold Coins. Just as Gaode was beginning to feel a bit more financially comfortable, he was instantly knocked back to square one.

Gaode thought to himself, "I only have fourteen Gold Coins left in my account...

"And in a few days, I still have to buy a batch of Mountain Wormwood and Snake Tooth Grass seedlings to plant in the Medicinal Garden.

"Otherwise, at the current rate of consumption, the yield of these two herbs in the Medicinal Garden won’t be able to keep up by the end of the year.

"If it really comes to that, I’ll have to purchase all three main ingredients from the Magic Pharmacy. The production cost will rise from the current twenty to twenty-five silver back up to thirty silver. The profit for a batch of Potions will drop by ten silver, and that profit margin is simply too meager.

"I absolutely have to buy these herb seedlings, and I can’t delay it.

"But buying the seedlings is an expense, and on top of that, I have to purchase the fertilizer needed to nurture them, which is another expense..."

After making these calculations, Gaode once again let out a sigh that was universal across any world.

"Making a living is truly difficult!" he thought.

"I can only pray that Mage Seda’s inheritance doesn’t disappoint me."

Although Gaode was fairly certain he would hit the jackpot, what if?

What if Mage Seda was a treacherous old bastard who played some sort of anti-trope trick?

It wasn’t entirely impossible that the heavily guarded box actually contained nothing, while the truly valuable items were left right out in the open.

If that were the case, aside from cursing the old geezer a few times, there seemed to be nothing else he could do.

He couldn’t exactly dig up the man’s corpse and whip it to vent his frustration.

"The recent anomalies outside the city might not be as simple as we imagined."

Seeing Gaode put away the Magic Scroll and prepare to leave, Pierre hesitated for a moment before finally calling out to him, kindly warning him, "You should stockpile a little more food, just in case something bad actually happens and you’re caught completely unprepared."

"Huh?" Gaode’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked with humble sincerity, "What kind of bad things?"

Based on his understanding of Pierre, he didn’t believe this little old man would speak baselessly or fearmonger.

To give him such a warning, Pierre must have discovered something.

"It’s hard to say for sure right now, but the increasing number of Earth Vein Creatures is definitely happening for a reason. At first, I also thought it might be the maturing of some High Tier Magic Plants causing the Earth Vein Creatures to gather.

"But this has been going on for too long." At this point, Pierre’s expression grew a bit more solemn. "With this much time passing, those Magic Plants should have matured long ago... I can’t be certain what exactly is going on right now. I still need to observe the situation.

"It’s just my intuition telling me that there’s a high probability something bad has happened. I just don’t know if it will affect us."

Pierre sighed and revealed a bit more of his hand. "My trip to Bremen this time was exactly to prepare a way out. If things go south, I’ll likely be fleeing to Bremen.

"I just hope things don’t escalate to that point. After all, I can run away, but my store can’t."

At his advanced age, if he truly abandoned his store and left, he probably wouldn’t be able to find a new livelihood in Bremen and would have to live off his savings.

This was a choice he would only make in the worst-case scenario.

"So, if possible, you should try to make some preparations too," Pierre said, concluding his advice.

"I understand. Thank you for the warning," Gaode nodded seriously, his mood unconsciously growing a few degrees heavier.