Emotional Intelligence

The reason they were so heart-stopping was that these eyes had no whites at all, only glowing red spheres.

The pupils were like intersecting black crosses, with an inconspicuous white dot in the center.

Without question, these were not eyes a human could possess.

Planetouched!

Raymond identified the woman before him almost instantly.

Planetouched was the collective term for mixed-blood descendants born from unions between humanoids and otherworldly beings.

They included Aasimar—human-Celestial hybrids; Genasi—human-Elemental hybrids; and Tieflings—human hybrids with creatures from the Hells or the Abyss.

There were also Fiendish Minotaurs, Fiendish Elves, Fiendish Orcs, and so on.

In this magical world, where reproductive barriers scarcely existed, intelligent mixed-blood creatures like these were quite common.

Some looked little different from humans, save for mysterious patterns on their bodies or the awakening of certain spell-like abilities after adulthood.

Others, however, bore very obvious physical traits.

For example, a Fire Genasi's hair could burn like raging flames;

Tieflings might inherit one parent's horns, tail, hooves, wings, and red or blue skin;

While living in the Floating City Tower, Raymond had seen quite a few Fiend-Touched, most of whom had been forcibly created through the deliberate interference of insane mages.

He had even personally dissected more than a dozen of them and turned them into powerful undead guards with special spell-like abilities.

Still, considering that Calimshan had once been ruled by Air Genies and Fire Genies for thousands of years, it was hardly surprising that some of their mixed-blood descendants existed.

The veiled woman noticed Raymond's reaction and immediately asked with a smile, "What? Did my eyes frighten you?"

"No. I was merely captivated by their extraordinary beauty."

At that critical moment, Raymond displayed exceptionally high emotional intelligence.

He could already sense the astonishing magical power contained within her bloodline.

"Hehe, you certainly know how to talk." A pleasant laugh came from beneath the woman's veil.

After all, no one disliked hearing flattering words about themselves.

But soon, she pointed at the various books, scrolls, rings, wands, gloves, and other miscellaneous objects of unknown purpose spread across the counter before her. "Come, have a look. I guarantee that whatever you want to buy, you can find something suitable here."

"What are these?"

Raymond pointed at a row of books standing upright on the table, packed tightly together.

He could sense that these books, made from different materials, all gave off faint magical auras.

A sign stood beside them, bearing the words in Common Tongue: 5,000 gold coins per try.

Most importantly, they were the only goods in the entire magic market with clearly marked prices, making them especially conspicuous.

The woman replied meaningfully, "These are all wizards' spellbooks.

Each one contains anywhere from a dozen to several dozen spells.

I have already broken the protective magic their original owners placed on them, so anyone may open and read them now.

Of course, if you are a wizard and possess sufficient skill in identifying spells, you may buy one and use it directly as your own spellbook."

"What happened to the original owners of these spellbooks?" Raymond asked curiously.

In Faerûn, a wizard losing his spellbook was as deadly as a soldier heading into battle with a gun but no ammunition.

Generally speaking, wizards regarded their spellbooks as things equal in importance to their own lives.

"Dead! Every owner of these spellbooks is dead. Calimport and the Calim Desert are both dangerous, chaotic places. Is it really so strange for a few wizards to die every year?"

The woman ran her slender fingers lightly across the book spines, and beneath her calm tone lurked a chilling scent of blood.

There were a full thirty or forty spellbooks here!

Behind every one lay the ghost of a dead wizard.

Raymond was not surprised by this outcome. He merely nodded, then asked, "Then why are all the spellbooks priced at 5,000 gold coins? Shouldn't they be sold according to the number of spells recorded within them?"

"No, I think you misunderstood.

That sign means that as long as you pay 5,000 gold coins, you may choose any one of these spellbooks.

But there is one condition: you cannot open it to inspect its contents. You may only judge its value by its outward appearance.

Put simply, it is a kind of gambling.

If you are lucky and the spellbook you choose contains spells worth more than 5,000 gold coins, then you profit.

But if you are unlucky and its spells are worth less than 5,000 gold coins, you can only accept your bad luck.

I think it reflects the unpredictability of fate.

What do you think? Isn't it interesting?"

The woman explained with a smile.

Blind-box spellbooks?

Not bad!

Raymond inwardly marveled that Calimport truly deserved its reputation as one of Faerûn's largest and most prosperous port cities.

The magic-item merchants here really knew how to play with people's gambling instincts.

Although he felt the urge to try his luck, he ultimately restrained himself and asked directly, "I want something that can regulate perceived temperature. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Hmm—let me think."

The woman quickly circled her counter twice, then used Mage Hand to take down three palm-sized boxes from a high shelf. She opened them one by one and placed them before Raymond.

"The first box contains an Amulet of Enduring Environment. With it, you can basically handle all kinds of extreme heat and cold. It costs 2,500 gold coins.

The second contains a Bracelet of Spring. It keeps the temperature within a circular area around the wearer at a constant twenty degrees Celsius, as pleasant and comfortable as spring. It costs 3,500 gold coins.

The third contains a Frozen Pearl. Simply place it somewhere, and it will automatically lower the ambient temperature within fifteen meters. It costs 800 gold coins."

"I'll take the Frozen Pearl in the third box."

Raymond chose the cheapest one without a moment's hesitation.

It was not because he was stingy, but because magical items were absurdly expensive.

Though he had funds worth roughly 30,000 to 33,000 gold coins in total, he could not actually buy many things.

Take the "blind-box spellbooks," for example. At most, he could open six.

As for magical weapons, even a +2 scimitar with no additional properties cost 4,000 gold coins. One like Harlett's, which dealt additional Lightning Bolt damage on a hit, would probably cost over 8,000.

Yes!

Magical equipment was just that outrageously expensive. Ordinary adventurers and mercenaries simply could not afford it.

Therefore, Raymond could only save where he could and spend his limited funds on the most important things first.

"No problem. Give me 800 gold coins, and it's yours."

As she spoke, the woman waved her hand. The other two boxes instantly closed and flew back to where they had been displayed.

Without a word, the soldier opened his pack, counted out 800 gold coins, and piled them all onto the table.

About half were Dants issued by Amn, while the other half were Bicentas issued by Calimshan.

Clearly, he was using this method to test which type of gold coin was more popular in Calimport and had greater purchasing power.

Unfortunately, the woman showed no reaction whatsoever to either kind of coin.

After roughly counting them and confirming the amount, she tossed them all into a bottomless pouch beside her.

This meant that the difference in purchasing power between the two currencies was extremely small—so small that it was practically negligible.