Lowian’s Teachings
"Sir, do you need someone to show you around? I only charge 1 magic crystal!" Clamored the little boys and girls who crowded around Leylin.
"No need for that!" Leylin immediately refused.
After visiting a lot of markets, he found out that these guides did not require that much payment. Some of the families controlling these markets even provide free guides to help patrons move around.
The first time he entered a market, he gave a little boy a magic crystal. This was a huge deficit for him.
As for ordinary markets, they were considerably smaller. Circling for a few times would be enough for anyone to become familiar with the place. There were even signs around. So under normal circumstances, patrons do not require guides at all.
Leylin casually strolled inside the market. Later, he walked towards the largest Potion’s Shop.
"Greetings Sir!" A white-bearded geezer smiled and bowed.
"I wish to sell a batch of potions. Their prices may be a little high!" Leylin was extremely direct.
"Please follow me!" The old geezer was startled. He immediately brought Leylin to a small booth at the back.
After closing the door, Leylin felt the energy waves generated by an isolation spell formation.
"Our shop extends confidentiality towards our guests. Moreover, we also employ the best safety measures......"The white-bearded geezer smiled as he explained.
"Not bad!" Leylin nodded his head, being able to avoid the crowd was extremely beneficial to him.
There were two sofas within the booth, and between these was a small wooden table with two hot piping drinks on it.
"Please have a seat!" The geezer gestured.
Leylin sat down and reclined on the sofa. He lifted the cup and sniffed lightly, "Powder of Tillan Beans with black pearls added, very beneficial for an acolyte’s meditation!"
"Your achievements in Potioneering have left me speechless!" The old geezer’s eyes widened in shock.
"Thank you. I have been inside an experiment lab for a year until now working on something important. Please appraise these potions for me!"
Leylin handed over a sack to the old geezer.
The old geezer opened the sack, and immediately cried out, "Eh?!"
In the sack was the remainder of Leylin’s potions, each and every one of them glowed resplendently.
"Please wait a minute!" The old geezer took out a monocle and placed it over his eye.
After what seemed like half an hour, the old geezer looked a little exhausted and rubbed his temples after he put the monocle away.
"37 hemostasis potions, 45 antidotes, silence potions......These potions are all of the good quality and have been preserved well. I can give you 900 magic crystals for them!"
"Very fair!" Leylin gently nodded his head.
The old geezer then stored the potions for safekeeping and counted out 9 high-grade magic crystals which he handed over to Leylin.
"Sir, you must be a Potioneering Master? Please keep this; you will be able to enjoy a 10% discount on items and services in our shop. We can also offer a higher price for other potions you may have......"
The old geezer said as he presented a purple card to Leylin with both hands.
Leylin glanced at the card and then pocketed it swiftly, "I’ll keep that in mind!"
The old geezer then sent Leylin off. As they bade farewell, Leylin casually asked, "As you know, I’ve just finished my experiments. Are there places where I may inquire about the latest news on the Poolfield Kingdom?"
The old geezer stared blankly for a while before answering, "If you wish to learn some secrets and the latest intelligence, Gandor’s Grocery Shop would be your best choice. Although his temper is a little wacky, but he’s the most informed......"
According to the old geezer’s direction, Leylin came to Gandor’s Grocery Shop.
As he entered, the things inside the shop were very untidy, and various items were lying around. There were even many that the A.I. Chip could not identify.
One thing stood out though, no counterfeit products were inside. This piqued Leylin’s interest.
"Who?" A voice sounded from behind the counter. Following which, a geezer, who appeared as if he was on the brink of death, popped out from behind it.
"The geezer from the Potion Shop recommended this place to me. I wish to gather the latest intelligence regarding the Poolfield Kingdom.
"Same old rules, only after buying an item in my shop will you will be able to obtain information from me." The half-dead geezer lips did not move but a mysterious voice could be heard from him.
"Alright! I’ll simply pick anything I fancy!" Leylin wanted to pick an item at random.
"No can do, it is I who will choose for you!" The half-dead geezer sniggered.
"No wonder business is so bad here!" Leylin rolled his eyes, "Go ahead then!"
The half-dead geezer rummaged through a shelf at the back of the shop. The wooden shelf made a creaking sound. It looked like it would collapse any moment. Leylin was even worried about him since the shelf looked like it could collapse at any moment.
"I found it!" The half-dead geezer took a black coloured scroll from the shelf.
On this scroll were characters that Leylin did not recognize at all. Its corners were extremely frayed and looked like mice had chewed on it.
"This is a fragment of The great Magus Serholm’s spell. I’ll sell it to you for only 1,000 magic crystals, an absolutely worthy deal, what do you think?" The half-dead geezer eyes glittered.
"This could even be the inheritance of The Great Magus Serholm! Perhaps, you could advance to high-level Magus after you buy it......"
Leylin was left speechless as he took it in his hands.
"A.I. Chip! Scan!"
[Beep! Confirmed: Carbon dating, document comparison analysis shows this page is composed of human skin! Belongs to: Lowian’s teachings: 89.5%, Blue Cobalt rare book: 56.5% and Serholm’s writing: 21.7%]
"There exists something like this? A.I. Chip, what is the strength of the geezer opposite me?"
[Estimated level 3 acolyte, based on energy wave emissions, Confirmed: he is in a process of reconstructing his physical body. Degree of similarity: Zombification: 86.6% and Aggrieved Soul Transformation: 45.6%]
Leylin pretended to scrutinize the page for some more time before looking up at the geezer, "This seems like a remnant of the Lowian’s teachings. You actually lied to me?"
"How can this be?" The half-dead geezer hurriedly lamented. A flash of shock crossed his eyes, which immediately changed into a cajoling expression.
"Even if it is the Lowian’s teachings, this assuredly belongs to Sir Rookmanst, a rank 2 Magus, 2 years ago, this same fragment was sold for 700 magic crystals. So, how about I sell it to you for that price?"
Leylin shook his head, " Lowian’s teachings were written in an advanced-coded language. Only an official Magus will be able to decipher the code. Ordinary acolytes will definitely not be able to."
"Furthermore, although the contents were written in code, but their page numbers were written in the Angema language to make it more obscure!" Leylin pointed to the page number at the bottom.
"Look at this, it’s only page number 12! According to , the first 30 pages of Lowian’s teachings contained only records of his experiments, and insights penned when he was still an acolyte. Only when he turned into an official Magus, did he chance upon an inheritance and he began to display a terrifying talent! As for this overpriced page, the page number should at least be beyond 100 to be believable!"
"Transactions among Magi are based on the premise that the exchanged goods are equal in value. This derelict page of yours is not worth 700 magic crystals. According to my estimate, 70 is its highest asking price." Leylin concluded.
"Yikes......Hahaha! Today’s weather isn’t bad!" The half-dead man tried putting up a front but finally gave in to Leylin’s unwavering gaze.
"Alright, I never expected to meet a very erudite scholar! Take your pick then!"
"No need, I came here to gather intelligence! I’ll just buy it at a fair price." Leylin held onto the black coloured page and placed 7 middle-grade magic crystals on the table.
Although the coding on this derelict page could only be deciphered by an official Magus, Leylin wished to give the A.I. Chip a shot at breaking the code. After all in terms of processing ability, Leylin was confident that the A.I. Chip’s ability was much better than even an official Magus’, despite this being his first attempt at such.
"Alright! Alright! What do you want to ask?" The half-dead geezer sprawled on the table and ate the magic crystals one by one. Leylin was rather shocked by this scene.
"I require a lot of energy. If you were to give me another 1,000 magic crystals I would’ve definitely completed my physical body’s restructuring......" The half-dead geezer’s expression was resentful.
Leylin shook his head, "Tell me news about Abyssal Bone Forest Academy!"
"Abyssal Bone Forest Academy! You are an acolyte there?"
"Only some interest in the happenings over there. Besides, I don’t want to suffer any collateral damage from the war!"
"Alright!" The half-dead geezer did not ask anymore. "I graduated from there too. Now Abyssal Bone Forest Academy’s situation isn’t that great. I heard that Sage Gotham’s Hut and Whitewoods Castle teamed up to go against Abyssal Bone Forest Academy in this war......"
The half-dead geezer spoke endlessly.
Half a day later, Leylin walked out from the grocery shop with an extremely miserable face. "I never thought that the situation would already be this bad. It seems like I need to stay out here longer than I expected."
According to the half-dead geezer, the reason for the war had long since been forgotten. What mattered was that Sage Gotham’s Hut and Whitewoods Castle were factions on the same level as Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. Their alliance placed Abyssal Bone Forest Academy in a disadvantageous position. Right now, the academy could only rely on its defence spell formation to resist.
"A.I. Chip, how long will it take to decode this page?"
Leylin felt the derelict page of the Lowian’s teachings. Although it was made from human skin, Leylin still wrapped it well and kept it within his robes.
[Beep! Analysis in progress! No comparable code found in the databank. Will require conjecture......Estimated time to completion: 93 days 13 hours!]
"3 odd months? I can do that!" Leylin stroked his chin as he casually strolled around the market.
What he had told the half-dead geezer earlier was the truth, but Leylin simply wanted to gamble upon the A.I. Chip’s abilities. Even if it did not work out, the information the half-dead geezer had provided was worth at least 20 to 30 magic crystals.
Although the page number of the Lowian’s teachings’ derelict journal page was pretty low and contained mostly information for acolytes, for a level 2 acolyte like Leylin, it still was pretty useful.
There may even be some of Rookmanst’s meditation techniques, experiment records or even some discovery of resources. If he could discover them, Leylin would benefit immensely.
In any case, the processing capabilities of the A.I. Chip were very impressive. Leylin had not even used half of its capabilities, just letting it sit idle for most of the time. He might as well use this downtime for deciphering the code.