Chapter 74 - 27: [God of Wealth, God of Love, and Super Little Sun]

Chapter 74: Chapter 27: [God of Wealth, God of Love, and Super Little Sun]

His travel funds were sufficient now. If nothing unexpected happened, he would soon leave Luojie City and head for the border of the Ederic Empire. How he would sneak past the border inspections would be another problem.

But for now...

He headed downstairs, greeting the landlady at the counter along the way.

A middle-aged man with a fish spear gun strapped to his back sat in the lobby drinking tea, arms wrapped around a large roll of snakeskin. Seeing Samael come down, the two exchanged nods of acknowledgment.

It was getting late. The sun had just vanished beneath the horizon, leaving the twin moons hanging high in the sky. Yet, the streets were still bustling with merchants and adventurers coming and going. Under the veil of night, indoor lights flickered faintly through the windowpanes, and the scattered lanterns and candlelight along the road resembled sparse stars.

The night market was still open. Samael walked through the market streets, examining the stalls one by one.

As adventurers passed by, the cries of the stall vendors echoed one after another.

"Second-hand weapons! Buying and selling second-hand weapons—don’t know what to do with your old, unused weapons? Come find Old Reggie..."

"Baked pies! Fragrant bacon and ham baked pies! Even a magical beast would drool over these..."

"Lucky charms! Lucky charms! Lucky charms made with premium magical beast feathers! Guaranteed to bring you good luck on your next expedition, so you can dig right into the Demon Monarch’s vault with one shovel..." a vendor shouted.

Samael tilted his helmet slightly, glancing over.

Dyed split claw bird feathers... He shifted his gaze away.

He wondered, "Are there no sweets at the market?" According to his past experience coaxing children, getting some sweets when they were unhappy worked every time.

"Look, it’s him... that tall knight in bronze armor..." He heard muffled voices behind him. "He’s so tall... and his shoulders are so broad..."

"Isn’t that the one you like?"

"Keep your voice down!"

Samael turned his head. It was the two young mage girls he had seen earlier in the lobby of No. 3 Barracks.

In front of the two mages was a small stall displaying several large barrels.

Curious, he walked over for a glance. Inside the barrels were translucent ice cubes, emanating a faint white vapor from the cold.

The short-haired girl wearing rune stone palm gloves smirked and nudged the long-haired girl next to her.

"Do... do you need... anything?" The long-haired girl holding a rune stone staff flushed bright red, greeting him with a stutter. "We... these are pure ice cubes, created using a magic catalyst. They can... they can keep things fresh..."

"Oh. Ice cubes..." Samael mused. "Are you two adventurers?"

"Strictly speaking, not really. We only registered as adventurers to make staying at the barracks more convenient," the short-haired girl with the rune stone palm gloves explained. "We are still students. Our mentor has been working for the Alliance these past few years and needed to come here to Luojie City to assist in operating the magical beast exorcism array. So, he brought us along to stay for a while to study, and to purchase some precious catalyst materials while we’re at it. Materials in the habitable zones are resold through multiple layers and are extremely expensive."

She pointed at the large barrels in front of them. "We made these ice cubes using magic to maintain low temperatures for Luojie City’s magic potion library and premium demonization material warehouse. But we accidentally made six extra barrels today. Throwing them away would be a waste, so we brought them to the market to try setting up a stall. Maybe an alchemist will need them—after all, some unstable magic potions require low-temperature preservation."

"Oh, I see," Samael pondered. "Have you two ever thought about crushing this ice up, then adding a little something... like jam or something similar, to make a dessert?"

"Jam? A dessert?" The two mage girls exchanged bewildered looks.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the market, the alchemist Ruby sat on a stone step, sobbing uncontrollably.

The mage Selena and the hunter Randall stood beside her, trying to comfort her.

"I... I’ve been taking this exam for five years..." Ruby choked out. "It’s completely pointless! It’s impossible to succeed... The Alchemist Association only recruits the top-ranking newcomers every year. If there’s even the slightest issue, you’re immediately eliminated. There’s no hope at all!"

"Alright now, don’t be so pessimistic. Who knows, maybe you’ll pass this time? I heard there are a lot fewer competitors this year." Selena hugged Ruby, not minding the snot and tears at all as she pressed the girl’s head into the embrace of her mage robes.

"My family borrowed money from everywhere just to send me to Maxwell Academy. My dad even ruined his leg trying to save money for me, and now half his leg is crippled. They were counting on me to pass the official alchemist certification, but I haven’t been able to pass for five whole years..." Ruby clutched tightly at the hem of Selena’s clothes, crying ceaselessly. "I’ve been an adventurer for over a year now, and I don’t even have the face to go back and see my family...

"If I hadn’t come to the Barren Land to gather materials myself, I wouldn’t even be able to afford magic potion ingredients in the habitable zones... More than half of all new alchemists end up unemployed right after graduation. Alchemists from poor families simply can’t afford the expensive raw materials, so they can only come to the Barren Land, breaking apart magical beast feces every day just to look for traces of materials..."

"There, there. You’ll definitely do it this time. There’s still half a month left; you’ll definitely succeed," Selena comforted her softly. She looked up and glared at Randall, who was standing to the side in dumbfounded helplessness, signaling for him to say something too.

"Me? What can I say? Am I supposed to take the exam for her?" Randall pointed at himself, mouthing the words.

Selena raised her fist and delivered a backhanded thump to Randall’s calf.

Randall winced, clutching his calf and retreating two steps.

"Selena’s right, you’ll definitely succeed this time," he tried his best to comfort her dryly.

But Ruby continued to cry endlessly. Her tears were like an open floodgate, impossible to stop once unleashed.