High Emotional Intelligence

The reason it was "heart-stopping" was because the eyes had no whites at all, only a sphere emitting red light.

The pupils resembled intersecting black crosses, with a not-very-obvious white dot in the center.

There was no doubt that these were not eyes a human could possess.

Demonic/Divine Offspring!

Leftovers confirmed the identity of the woman before him almost instantly.

After all, Demonic/Divine Offspring was the general term for the mixed-blood offspring born from the union of humanoids and creatures from other planes.

This included Asimar (half-human, half-celestial), Half-Elementals (half-human, half-elemental), Tieflings (half-human, half-fiendish or abyssal creatures).

In addition to these, there were also Demonic Minotaurs, Demonic Elves, Demonic Orcs, and so on.

In this magical world with almost no reproductive isolation, such mixed-blood intelligent creatures were quite common.

Some of them looked no different from humans externally, merely possessing some mysterious patterns on their bodies or awakening certain spell-like abilities upon reaching adulthood.

However, others had very obvious external manifestations.

For example, the hair of a Fire Elemental Descendant would be like blazing flames;

Tieflings might inherit horns, tails, hooves, wings, or red or blue skin from one of their parents;

While living in the towers of the floating city, Leftovers had encountered many Demonic/Divine Offspring, most of whom were forcibly created by insane mages through artificial intervention.

He had even dissected over a dozen of them personally, turning them into advanced undead guards with special spell-like abilities.

However, considering that the land of Calimshan had been ruled by Air Giants and Fire Giants for thousands of years, it wasn't surprising that some mixed-blood offspring with humans had appeared.

The veiled woman noticed Leftovers' reaction and immediately asked with a smile, "What, did my eyes scare you?"

"No, no, I was just captivated by their unusual beauty."

Leftovers displayed a high level of emotional intelligence at the critical moment.

This was because he could already sense the astonishing magical power contained within the woman's bloodline.

"Heh, you have a way with words," the woman's voice, hidden behind her veil, chuckled pleasantly.

After all, no one disliked hearing compliments.

But soon, she pointed to the various books, scrolls, rings, wands, gloves, and other miscellaneous items of unidentifiable names displayed on the counter in front of her and said, "Come, take your pick. I guarantee that whatever you want to buy, you'll find something suitable here."

"What are these?"

Leftovers pointed to a row of books standing upright on the table, densely packed together.

This was because he could feel that these books, made from different materials, all emanated a faint magical aura.

Furthermore, there was a sign standing next to them written in Common: 5000 gold coins per try.

Most importantly, this was the only clearly priced commodity in the entire magic market, making it particularly conspicuous.

The woman replied meaningfully, "These are spellbooks for mages.

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

I've broken the protective magic the original owners placed on them, and now anyone can open and read them.

Of course, if you are a mage and have sufficient spell identification skills, you can buy them and use them directly as your own spellbooks."

"What happened to the original owners of these spellbooks?" Leftovers asked with some curiosity.

After all, in Faerûn, if a mage lost their spellbook, it was as fatal as a soldier going into battle with a gun but no ammunition.

Normally, mages would regard their spellbooks as things of equal importance to their own lives.

"They're dead! All the owners of these spellbooks are dead. After all, Calimport and the Calim Desert are very dangerous and chaotic places. Isn't it normal for a few mages to die each year?"

The woman lightly traced the spines of the books with her slender fingers, her calm tone carrying a chilling hint of bloodshed.

After all, there were as many as thirty or forty spellbooks!

Behind each one hid the soul of a mage.

Leftovers wasn't surprised by this outcome; he simply nodded lightly and then asked, "Then why are all the spellbooks priced at 5000 gold coins? Shouldn't they be priced based on the number of spells recorded and then sold?"

"No, I think you've misunderstood.

That sign means that as long as you pay 5000 gold coins, you can choose any one of these spellbooks.

But the condition is that you cannot open the pages to view the contents, and you can only judge its value based on the book's exterior.

To put it bluntly, it's a form of gambling.

If you're lucky and the chosen spellbook contains spells worth more than 5000 gold coins, you naturally profit.

But if you're unlucky and the spells recorded in the spellbook are worth less than 5000 gold coins, you can only blame your bad luck.

I think this reflects the unpredictability of fate.

What do you think, isn't it interesting?"

The woman explained with a smile.

Spellbook blind boxes?

"Alright!"

Zuo Si couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Karlin Port truly lived up to its reputation as one of Faerun's largest and most prosperous port cities.

The magic item merchants here were incredibly savvy, having clearly mastered the psychology of most gamblers.

Although he felt a pull to try his luck, Zuo Si ultimately resisted and asked directly, "I'm looking for something that can regulate body temperature. Do you have any good recommendations?"

"Hmm, let me think."

The woman quickly spun around behind her counter twice, then retrieved three palm-sized boxes from a high shelf using Mage Hand. She opened them one by one and placed them before Zuo Si.

"The first box contains the Amulet of Environmental Endurance. With this, you can basically handle all sorts of extreme heat and cold environments. It costs 2500 gold coins.

The second box holds the Bracer of Spring. It allows the wearer to maintain a comfortable and pleasant temperature of twenty degrees Celsius in a circular area around their body, just like springtime. This one goes for 3500 gold coins.

The third item is the Frozen Pearl. Simply by placing it, it will automatically lower the ambient temperature within a fifteen-meter radius. It's priced at 800 gold coins."

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

Zuo Si chose the cheapest one without even thinking.

It wasn't out of stinginess, but because the prices of magic items were simply outrageous.

Even though he had funds totaling roughly 30,000 to 33,000 gold coins, he couldn't actually buy many items.

Take the "Spellbook Blind Box," for example; he could only open about six of them at most.

If he were to buy magic weapons, a +2 scimitar without any additional properties would cost 4000 gold coins. Something like Harlett's, which dealt extra lightning damage on hit, would probably go for over 8000.

Yes!

The prices of magic equipment were that absurd; ordinary adventurers or mercenaries simply couldn't afford them.

Therefore, Zuo Si had to save wherever possible and prioritize spending his limited funds on crucial items.

"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 their original positions.

The soldier wordlessly opened his satchel, counted out 800 gold coins, and piled them onto the table.

About half of them were Dante coins issued by Amn, and the other half were Bikenta coins issued by Calishite.

Clearly, he was using this method to test which type of gold coin was more favored in Karlin Port and had higher purchasing power.

However, to his disappointment, the woman showed no reaction to either type of coin.

After a quick count to confirm the quantity was correct, she simply tossed them all into a bottomless pocket beside her.

This meant that the difference in purchasing power between the two types of gold coins was very small, almost negligible.