Perfect Match

"Spell-like Ability?!"

After slowly setting down the glass statue in her hand, the woman revealed an incredulous expression.

At that moment, she finally understood why the finished products she had assembled using Transmutation School magic were always less stable than the originals.

It was not a problem with the spells, nor was it a problem with the materials...

It was because she lacked a method that could perfectly fuse everything together without affecting those sensitive materials.

Raymond smiled and nodded. "That's right! Even if I gave you the complete technique, it would still be difficult for you to manufacture this kind of energy storage device according to the process. Even if you managed to make one, the use of too many advanced spells or materials would multiply the cost several times over, making it unprofitable in the end."

"Damn it! Does that mean all my previous efforts and investment were wasted?"

The woman's tone clearly carried intense unwillingness.

As Calimport's most famous dealer of magical items, what she could not stand most was losing money.

Of course, that temperament might also have had something to do with the Genie Bloodline flowing through her veins.

After all, Genies were best known for being outstanding yet cunning planar merchants, often able to deceive ignorant fools into circles and make them willingly hand over the last copper coin in their pockets.

Anyone who made them lose money would certainly be resented for a long time.

"That depends on what you choose to do next.

"In truth, the cost of this energy storage device is far lower than you imagine; the required materials are merely exceptionally complicated.

"If you can provide me with materials and a workshop free of charge, then I can produce large quantities of finished products in a short time.

"But in exchange, I demand half the profits from selling these devices, or an equivalent value in scrolls, books, and magical items.

"Also, while I remain in Calimport, I can use your workshop and alchemical equipment free of charge.

"By the way, you have your own wizard tower, don't you?"

Raymond calmly laid out a proposal for cooperation.

Only after escaping the Floating City Tower did he realize just how many conveniences that place he had always regarded as a prison had once provided him.

Whether it was the library's abundant collection of books, the inexhaustible materials in the warehouses, the various rooms with special functions, or the Monsters and enslaved craftsmen imprisoned in the basement cells, obtaining any of them now required vast sums of money.

Many things could not be bought with money at all.

So Raymond wanted to use this partnership to temporarily acquire a place where he could conduct magical experiments.

Otherwise, if he messed around in an unprotected inn room and accidentally failed, triggering an unexpected chain reaction, everyone in the entire inn would likely be blown into the sky.

"Of course I have my own wizard tower. But first, you need to tell me just how low the cost of making one energy storage device really is." The woman was clearly tempted.

Because only through cooperation could she recover her previous losses and perhaps even make a fortune from it.

Raymond picked up a pen and wrote the names of more than thirty materials in Faerûn Common Tongue on a blank sheet of paper, then handed it directly to her.

"Here. The costs are all listed on this. Take a look."

The woman hurriedly took it and gave it a quick glance, immediately crying out in surprise. "How is this possible? Based on the materials listed here, the cost of making one energy storage device is actually less than 2,000 gold coins?"

"More precisely, only 1,800 gold coins," Raymond corrected meaningfully. "Yet you can sell it for more than 20,000 gold coins. Even if I only get half, that is still a net profit of 9,100 gold coins. You provide the materials, and I do the manufacturing. It is a business with guaranteed profit and no losses. So, what is your answer?"

"My answer is obviously yes! No merchant could find a reason to refuse such a mutually beneficial partnership. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Aisha, a Sorcerer and a merchant specializing in acquiring and selling magical items. I am also Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue's sole designated member in Calimport."

The woman took the initiative to introduce herself.

In Calimport, a city overflowing with chaos, murder, and shifts in power, voluntarily giving one's name was a gesture of goodwill.

And once the other party knew that name, they could often use the Thieves' Guilds scattered everywhere to learn all sorts of rumors connected to it, thereby judging whether the person was trustworthy.

"My name is Soros, a traveler who has just arrived in Calimport from elsewhere. It is a pleasure to meet you, beautiful Lady Aisha."

Raymond immediately rose to his feet as well, placed one hand over his chest, and gave a slight bow in response.

Toward those who possessed great power and could bring him additional benefits, he had never been stingy about displaying his most humble and courteous side.

In fact, the true cost of making one energy storage device was less than 300 gold coins.

More than four-fifths of the materials on that list had been included for embezzlement and lining his own pockets.

More importantly, Raymond also intended to freeload on the energy reserves of her wizard tower to improve his various classes.

After all, when the time came, would not he be the one deciding how much magical energy it took to make an energy storage device?

As long as it did not exceed the female Sorcerer's psychological expectations, the chance of being discovered would be extremely low.

Aisha clearly had no idea that Raymond was considering how to take advantage of her more effectively and safely. Instead, she asked eagerly, "If the materials are sufficient, how many of these devices can you make in a day?"

"Six!"

Raymond gave a relatively conservative figure without hesitation.

He understood that scarcity created value, and he also knew that only a small number of people could afford magical items worth tens of thousands of gold coins.

If too many flooded the market at once, it would inevitably trigger a price collapse, along with a series of troubles and serious consequences.

"Excellent! Give me two days to purchase the materials. I will come find you again in two days."

Aisha was clearly very satisfied with the efficiency of producing six energy storage devices a day.

That meant she could earn back the money she had previously lost in at most two days.

Only selling one for 20,000 gold coins?

What a joke!

For such a powerful magical item, one with no restrictions that even ordinary people could use, any merchant who failed to sell it for a high price of 25,000 to 30,000 gold coins would be an utter failure.

Besides, Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue's motto was not to seek the best, but to seek the most expensive.

Of course, she would never tell Raymond the true price. She intended to calculate their share based on a selling price of 20,000 gold coins each.

It had to be said that, in a sense, the female Sorcerer and Raymond truly were a "perfect match."

Because both of them had immediately begun thinking about how to take ruthless advantage of the other.

As for who would ultimately gain more from the other, that remained unknown.

In any case, both got what they wanted. It was a genuine "win-win."

After watching Aisha leave the Happy Time Inn, Raymond immediately drew some energy from his mana pool and used Mimicry to create an entirely new mana core.

At this point, besides the most basic Planeswalker class and the Creator class he had obtained at the Floating City Tower, his class list now included Wizard as well.

Thanks to his Intelligence score of 19, he gained two first-level spell slots at Wizard level 1.

As for the zero-level spells whose mana consumption was so low it could be ignored, which wizards called "cantrips," he could cast them many times a day.