Bargaining

"You think I can't figure out the internal structure and secrets of this cylindrical crystal, so you want to ask for the sky?" the woman questioned, looking up with a slightly provocative tone.

Zuo Si smiled faintly and nodded without hesitation: "Exactly! If you think you have the confidence, then please name your price. After all, once you buy it, whether you smash it open or use various magic to probe it, it's entirely up to you."

It was obvious that his fearlessness stemmed from the special abilities granted by the Creator profession.

Without [Refinement] and [Shaping], even if outsiders figured out the materials and magic used in its creation, they wouldn't be able to replicate a true Energy Storage Device.

What's more, this thing incorporated design concepts similar to modern battery technology, and it was only successfully manufactured after more than three hundred experimental failures.

Want to crack it?

First, try to understand the dozens of composite materials and compounds that can only be manufactured with modern industry, and then figure out its unique rune sequencing!

You should know that even the Archlich - Astar - spent over a week studying it and ultimately couldn't unravel its mysteries.

Of course, part of the reason was that he wasn't particularly interested in it.

After all, for a powerful caster dedicated to necromancy and the pursuit of eternal life, something akin to an enhanced [Lightning Wand] simply wasn't worth wasting too much time and energy on.

He'd rather spend that time creating more Flesh Golems or other high-level Undead Creatures.

"Very well! Since you're so confident, I'll try it.

The price of general Spell Storage Magic Items is usually calculated by multiplying the base price by the spell level, and then by the caster's level.

Given that this is your unique technology, I'll add an extra 5000 gold coins for knowledge value.

Now, please tell me your caster level."

The woman was clearly confident in her knowledge of magical item manufacturing and didn't believe this interesting little gadget could stump her.

The palpable pride and strong self-assurance also proved, from another angle, that her personality was definitely influenced by her non-human half.

"My caster level is five."

Zuo Si didn't waste time on verbal sparring and directly stated his Creator level.

The woman glanced down at the gem in her hand and then asked, "Are you a Wizard?"

She didn't show any surprise or shock that the boy, who looked less than ten years old, possessed five caster levels.

In the world of casters, appearance was no basis for judging true age.

Let alone making oneself younger, changing one's gender, or even changing one's race was possible.

Some foolish apprentices, while studying transmutation magic, would even turn themselves into small animals like chickens, ducks, geese, or dogs due to a lack of caution.

"Sorry, that's a secret. I can only tell you that I am an Arcane Caster."

Zuo Si gave a deliberately vague answer.

He wasn't a fool and could tell that the gem in the woman's hand was likely a magical item capable of detecting lies.

If he answered too directly, others could deduce a lot of useful information from it.

Seeing Zuo Si become cautious, the woman didn't press further. Instead, she put away the gem and said directly: "The base price of a spell storage wand is 750 gold coins.

Your interesting device can absorb and store a third-tier [Lightning Bolt], so we'll calculate it as a third-tier magic.

Finally, multiply by the caster level.

That makes a total of..."

"Wait!"

Before the woman could finish her calculation, Zuo Si immediately interrupted.

"My energy storage device is not a wand.

It can not only absorb a third-tier [Lightning Bolt] but also a sixth-tier [Chain Lightning], or even a Blue Dragon's lightning breath.

And it won't be damaged after expending its last charge like a wand.

It's a spell storage device that can be reused cyclically, and it can also be used to defend against lightning-based magic attacks.

So, the base price you're offering is problematic."

"Then what do you think it should be?" the woman asked expressionlessly.

It was clear she knew she was deliberately undervaluing the Energy Storage Device by calculating it as a wand.

Now that she'd been called out, she'd have to enter the bargaining phase.

"I think the base price should be at least 1500 gold coins to be reasonable."

Zuo Si doubled the original base price after a moment's thought.

However, this attempt at price gouging immediately drew the woman's laughter: "1500 gold coins?

Do you have a misunderstanding of how magical items are priced?

Or are you just a clueless novice?

At that price, you could buy a wand with 50 charges of a third-tier spell.

And your device is completely empty right now.

I'll offer 1200 at most."

"1200?"

Zuo Si quickly calculated the money he would ultimately receive in his mind and immediately nodded.

"Deal!"

"1200 multiplied by 5, then multiplied by 3, and finally adding 5000, for a total of 23,000 gold coins. After deducting the 1647 you owed me, I should pay you 21,353 gold coins."

The woman clearly possessed excellent mental arithmetic skills, calculating the accounts between the two of them in the blink of an eye.

Just as she was about to open the cloth pouch, which seemed to be a [Bag of Holding], to get the money, Zuo Si suddenly pointed at the Spellbook Blind Box and said, "I want to try my luck."

"Oh? You want to experience the unpredictability of fate as well?

No problem! Please, pick to your heart's content.

Remember, you cannot open them, nor can you cast any spells to identify them.

You can only judge their value by their appearance."

With that, a hint of amusement flashed in the woman's eyes, and she made a gesture as if anticipating some interesting developments.

Zuo Si sensed the shopkeeper's malicious gaze and immediately realized that most of the magic recorded in these spellbooks was likely not worth 5,000 gold coins.

However, he didn't show any signs of nervousness. He calmly picked up spellbooks of varying materials, colors, and decorative styles, examined them carefully, and then put them back one by one.

The selection process lasted a full twenty minutes.

Finally, he chose two books from dozens of spellbooks.

One of them looked very plain. Apart from its intact pale yellow cover, the rest of it was tattered and worn.

The edges of some pages even had uneven, serrated patterns.

The other book was the complete opposite. Its cover was densely inlaid with gems, and the edges of its binding were even adorned with gold and silver trim.

"Are you sure it's these two? Once you make your choice, no matter how many spells are recorded inside after opening, you won't be able to change your mind," the woman reminded him meaningfully.

Through this feigned act of kindness, she could exert an invisible pressure on those choosing spellbooks, thereby influencing their initial judgment.

But Zuo Si was completely unfazed. He responded crisply, "I know. Can I open them now?"

"Of course! It's your prerogative. Also, I will deduct 10,000 gold coins from the payment."

Seeing that this "little fellow" was not influenced by her, the woman was clearly a bit disappointed.

However, this disappointment quickly turned into shock and disbelief.

When the two spellbooks Zuo Si had chosen were opened, and after the shop owner's simple magical identification, the tattered one astonishingly contained over forty spells.

Although the majority of them were low-level spells of the first and second rings.

There were also five third-ring spells and two fourth-ring spells.

Undoubtedly, the value of this spellbook far exceeded 5,000 gold coins.

The other book, while containing fewer spells, had a fifth-ring [Teleportation].

As a shrewd businesswoman, she knew very well how difficult it was to pick out a spellbook worth more than 5,000 gold coins from such "junk."

Moreover, some of these spellbooks had been sitting here for many years, and even she didn't quite remember what spells were recorded inside.

Yet today, someone had managed to pick out two at once.

It almost made her wonder if the person had been kissed and blessed by Tyche, Goddess of Fortune.