The next day.
Colin once again took a carriage to the eastern harbor and arrived at the ship market.
He was ready to sell the collection of Shadow Capture Crystals he had accumulated over the past month's practice to Gibson.
Gibson was the merchant from the Black Pearl Fleet who purchased witchcraft crystals,
and today was the last day their caravan would stay. By dawn tomorrow, as soon as the sun rose, they would set sail for the next destination.
Although it was the last day, the comings and goings of wizards were still incessant.
Without lingering, Colin made his way familiarly to Gibson's shop.
"Shadow Capture Crystals... that's it?" Gibson looked up with a hint of disdain.
Colin nodded and said, "I haven't been learning long, so the success rate isn't high."
"Alright then." Gibson packed up the twenty-five Shadow Capture Crystals on the table and handed Colin five magic stones.
"Where's your next stop after you leave Blackstone Island?" Colin asked as he took the magic stones.
"Why, do you want to come with us... do you have enough money?" Gibson chuckled, paused, and then added,
"Our next stop is Aman Island, which is bigger than Blackstone Island, but not by much."
"Are sea maps for sale in the ship market?" Colin nodded as he put away the magic stones and tentatively asked.
"As long as you have magic stones, there's nothing you can't get here," Gibson said. "If you want to buy a sea map, you can get an ordinary one at the central Black Pearl shop... of course, just a regular sea map, and the price is cheap."
"Hmm." Colin's expression remained calm, and after a moment, he continued, "How about you? Do you have sea maps, and how much are they?"
Gibson was taken aback and laughed in slight surprise, "You do have some brains, I indeed have sea maps. If you want one, we can sign a non-disclosure agreement, and I can sell it to you... Of course, it won't be cheap.
After all, this isn't the kind of ordinary sea map meant to deceive that you find on the market. It's drawn from my many years of careful collection; the information on it is at least ten times more than what you'd find on ordinary market maps!"
"So how much?"
"Fifty magic stones, non-negotiable."
"Deal," Colin calmly replied, pouring out fifty magic stones from his pouch.
In fact, he had already inquired about sea maps at the Black Pearl bookstore yesterday, where the clerk listed three prices from low to high: five magic stones, two hundred magic stones, and five hundred magic stones.
The clerk explained that with higher prices, the maps contained more information.
This was clearly a common tactic, one that merchants on Earth had overused, setting two prices that defied common sense among similar products, one low and one high.
In reality, the goal was to get customers to buy the mid-priced item.
So he chose the cheapest version for five magic stones, which wasn't much for him anyway.
Moreover... he couldn't afford the more expensive versions either...
As for the content of the sea map, it was only worth its price.
However, to navigate safely on the sea, such a map was obviously insufficient, which is why he suddenly had the idea to inquire with Gibson and see if he could buy a better one.
Seeing Colin agree so readily, Gibson felt an inexplicable sense of loss during the transaction, albeit reluctantly.
After obtaining the thick sea map, Colin opened it and silently compared it to the one worth five magic stones he had bought the day before.
"It's definitely much better than the ordinary sea maps you buy in the market, you're not at a loss!" Gibson said sullenly upon seeing this.
"Thank you."
Colin packed up the sea map, smiled at Gibson, and said nothing more to provoke him.
Just from a cursory glance at this sea map, it was worth the fifty magic stones he had spent,
The information on it didn't just exceed that of the five-magic-stone map by ten times - it was probably more than twenty times!
The map not only marked countless islands both large and small, but it also included simple descriptions of local customs and additional records of various kinds of information for a large part of them.
Additionally, the sea was divided into many areas, each recorded with related information, detailing where dangers lurked and what to watch out for...
Although not very detailed or perfect, the price of fifty Magic Stones was already a bargain!
After bidding farewell to Gibson, Colin visited the Black Pearl Bookstore again.
The clerk's eyes lit up when she saw him approaching and she greeted him warmly.
"Sir, have you collected the Magic Stones?" she asked with a beaming smile, "The knowledge for advancing to an Official Wizard is still reserved for you."
Colin shook his head; his purpose for coming here was clear.
"Do you have any literature on advancing to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice? The outline type," he asked slowly.
Yesterday morning, he had successfully broken through the Circulation Meditation for the second time.
That evening, as usual, he practiced his daily meditation, eagerly anticipating the effects of the second breakthrough.
This morning upon checking the Golden Paper, he was not disappointed!
His Rank as an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice had risen by two points, meaning that in just over two more months, he could advance to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice!
Although he had studied this knowledge at the School, to be cautious, he wanted to acquire more information and cross-check it.
He had not overlooked the pale and pitiful state of Regina after she had advanced to an Advanced Apprentice.
"We do have it. It comes as a set along with the knowledge for advancing to an Official Wizard," the clerk paused, then promptly replied, "Actually, we have knowledge for advancing to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, an Official Wizard, as well as for starting as a Basic Level Wizard Apprentice and advancing to an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice."
"This knowledge is a complete set, including summaries and detailed versions with Meditation Methods."
With that, she flashed a sweet smile and said, "If you buy all these together, we can offer you a ten percent discount. The same discount applies whether you buy all the summaries or all the detailed versions... With these, you could even establish a complete School…"
"No need," Colin quickly interrupted the clerk, "How much for the Advanced Wizard Apprentice advancement knowledge?"
"Fifty Magic Stones, no bargaining."
"Alright, I'll take one," Colin said, pulling out Magic Stones while preemptively stopping any further sales pitch, "This is all I need, no need to introduce anything else."
"Very well, sir."
...
After leaving the Black Pearl Bookstore, it was not yet noon, but he had lost the interest to continue browsing the ship market.
So he directly disembarked the ship and took a carriage back to his home.
"Go!"
Arthur cracked the whip, and the glossy black horse neighed, swiftly pulling the black carriage forward.
Colin sat in the carriage, eager to open the outline for advancing to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice that he had just purchased from the Black Pearl Bookstore.
The outline was a black-covered booklet with several large white characters on the front — "Summary of Advancing to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice."
Other than that, there were no other characters; it looked like a pirated book from a street stall on Earth.
The booklet was not thick, and by the time he reached Palm Street about an hour later, Colin was almost done reading it thoroughly.
Sigh—
The carriage gradually came to a stop in the yard, and Colin took his eyes off the booklet, exhaling softly, he carefully tucked it away, and stepped out of the carriage.
"My lord," Renee stood outside the carriage, ready to meet him.
Colin nodded slightly, quickly walking toward the house.
Although the booklet was not long, it was concise and to the point, every word was enlightening... Fifty Magic Stones well spent!
He was eager to return to the Meditation Room to read it in detail again!
As he pushed open the door,
he heard Renee, who had just greeted him, seemed to be instructing her sister Demi at the side.
"...Demi, don't go far to play recently, it's dangerous outside, be obedient..."
Colin paused ever so slightly but didn't stop, walking quickly to the Meditation Room.