Ian

In the end, considering he still had to save up for the advancement ceremony—and it would definitely be more than once—he reluctantly held back the urge to splurge and gritted his teeth to buy a standard military-grade strongbow for one thousand eighty-eight silver coins, equivalent to ten gold and eighty-eight silver.

He also spent one gold on three quivers of high-quality armor-piercing arrows, plus the best standard shortsword and dagger available here, totaling just over twenty-five gold.

Even with careful budgeting, this set of gear directly shrank his remaining stash of about a hundred gold coins by a quarter.

Gold coins had terrifying purchasing power, but he had chosen top-tier goods.

Though the real expense was his spellcasting materials, those were hard to find on the market and he didn't plan to sell them. He only considered taking the Azure Wolf materials he had to the magical beast material market he'd heard about.

Even if he only collected the valuable parts of the main materials, keeping what he needed, selling the rest for over a hundred gold would be enough.

What a pity about those wolf pelts—too bulky to bring along. And Aitiya's personal weapons and such had been buried with them back then. Now, seeing the prices of weapons here, he really felt like vomiting blood.

Back then, his thinking had been simple—yeah, when comrades died in battle, their weapons were buried with them. Besides, even if he stuffed everything into the Spatial Bags, they wouldn't fit. Aitiya's greatsword and giant shield, even with the Spatial Bag's internal space being malleable, couldn't be stored.

Now that he vaguely knew the approximate prices, he could only cry without tears. If only he'd known, he would have carried them back on his back even if it killed him! Mm-hmm, they should also want their weapons to continue fighting in their stead, he thought shamelessly.

Then he fell into a daze again, hoping they were happy on the other side in heaven...

Since crossing over, not a single thing had gone smoothly. Just now, when he tried to ask that salesgirl out—rarely pretending to admire the scenery as he 'subtly' invited her to a tavern for a drink—she politely declined, saying he'd have to treat her to a meal first.

After being tricked by that Potion Bitch, Xuan Ye had almost developed a phobia. He'd thought that with this kind of 'down-to-earth' service girl, he might have a chance to flirt, but it still failed.

Sigh, pretty girls really weren't easy to deal with. Time to wake up. She only wanted to con a meal out of him without giving anything in return. Where was the basic trust between people? Good thing he'd seen through her cleverly.

In his past life, as a little shut-in aspiring to be a Great Sage, he'd thought that after coming here, he might finally break his streak. But it was still this hard. Tch, who cares anyway? He was going to be the Magic King...

Following the signs to the magical beast material market, he saw a bustling sea of people. Shops and street stalls were all thriving, which made Xuan Ye breathe a sigh of relief. With such a lively market, there should be the magic core he needed.

After first exchanging most of the Azure Wolf materials he didn't need for one hundred twenty-three gold coins, Xuan Ye also found a blacksmith and ordered ten Demon-Breaking Arrows made from ten Azure Wolf fangs.

Azure Wolf fangs, kept mostly intact, naturally carried low-grade dispelling runes. Paired with strong arrows, they had decent demon-breaking power against various magical shields.

This wasn't to prepare for fighting mages, but as a safety net—after all, there were still some items and scrolls that could activate magical shields.

"Earth Magic Core? Yes, yes, yes. Here, this is a Desert Giant Lizard magic core I just received. They say it's from a powerful Three-Star magical beast."

Entering a larger material shop, Xuan Ye got straight to the point about his needs. The owner's reaction was enthusiastic, quickly bringing out a box and opening it to make his pitch.

Hearing that he had one, Xuan Ye was delighted, thinking his luck had finally turned. But when the owner said it was a Desert Giant Lizard magic core, his heart sank. When the owner opened the box and showed it, his temple veins bulged.

Are you kidding me? This is a Sand Magic Core!

"This is a Sand Magic Core, boss. And from the fluctuations, it's just an ordinary One-Star magical beast's core, lucky to have condensed after death. Though the effects are similar, there's still a slight quality difference. I want Earth, pure Earth Magic Core."

Xuan Ye didn't hide anything, directly calling him out. Sorry, but I'm just that straightforward.

"You! Do you even know anything? Sand is a branch of Earth! Anything an Earth Magic Core can do, Sand can do too, and even better! And this is clearly a Three-Star magical beast's core, but you're calling it One-Star to haggle. How can you be like this?"

The owner's professional smile instantly twisted, spittle flying as he spoke.

Before Xuan Ye could retort, a soft laugh came from the side, followed by a gentle voice.

"Sand and Earth are different. Sand Magic Cores are more active, better for making scrolls like Quicksand Art, and more effective for blending Baptismal Potions. Earth Magic Cores are purer, superior as cores for defensive arrays, and can be used for advancement ceremonies. But generally, they're interchangeable in most cases."

A robed man in his thirties walked in. After a closer look at the magic core, a faint surprise flickered in his eyes, and he continued.

"This is indeed a core condensed from a One-Star magical beast. However, the effects of cores from One- to Three-Star Predator Rank magical beasts aren't much different. It's just that Three-Star beasts are more likely to leave them behind after death. But with careful Spiritual Power distinction, there are subtle differences."

After explaining to the owner, he turned to Xuan Ye with interest and said, "Brother, are you also an active Spiritual Power user? Hmm, a bow—are you planning to take a special ranger class? Earth Ranger?"

Looking at this suddenly appeared young man, brimming with curiosity like a know-it-all, Xuan Ye rolled his eyes. Ranger my ass. Your whole family are rangers.

Just now, when the other observed the magic core, Xuan Ye had sensed an external Spiritual Power fluctuation, thicker than his own—about an eighth-level apprentice. Well, even an eighth-level apprentice should have a pretty high status.

Just as this thought crossed Xuan Ye's mind, the owner immediately put on a honeyed expression.

"Oh! It's Archmage Ian! Thank you so much for your guidance. I didn't realize I'd been fooled by the seller of that magic core."

Uh, well, his status was indeed high. But why did it sound so cringey?

Called that by the owner, Ian smiled calmly and said, "Normally, that title is fine, but with a colleague present today, it's inappropriate. I'm just an eighth-level apprentice. Have the items I ordered arrived?"

"Already prepared. I was about to send them to you."

Pulling two boxes from under the counter, the owner completely ignored Xuan Ye.

Using Mage's Hand to take the two boxes, Ian turned back to Xuan Ye with a smile.

"So, answer my question, and I'll tell you where to find a pure Earth Magic Core."

This made Xuan Ye want to punch him, but the guy had hit his weak spot—cough, no, his vital point. Given how this owner couldn't tell Sand from Earth, he really had to ask a professional.

"I'm planning to go the mage route. The bow is just a temporary stand-in."

Out of spite, Xuan Ye 'honestly' revealed his deepest thoughts.

"Uh~"

Clearly, Xuan Ye's answer caught Ian off guard. Planning to be a mage, but dressed like a ranger? That~

The reason mages are special, the reason they can steadily improve their strength without ever leaving their homes, is that they require a spirit of dedicated research. Even when traveling, a mage should never be dressed like this.

A mage is a mage. Even if special professions like Paladins have opened their Star Palaces, they still cannot be called mages!

Without understanding the mysteries of magic, without studying the principles of nature, without profound knowledge—even if you fill your Star Palace to the brim, you're just a mortal with slightly stronger Spiritual Power.

"Heh, you really know how to joke."

Rubbing his nose, Ian said with a wry smile.

But Xuan Ye now wore a playful expression as he raised a finger and wagged it.

"Looks like you don't believe me. I have no reason to lie. For example, the Golden Orchid and Specter Grass you've gathered right now—you're planning to try brewing a new batch of Basic Meditation Potion, aren't you? Though I'd guess you haven't put much thought into alchemy; you're just messing around."

After Xuan Ye finished speaking, Ian instead showed a strange expression.

"How do you know that?"

He really was planning to go back and casually brew the simplest Basic Meditation Potion to test his hand. But since he hadn't yet broken through to the Professional Rank, his time was precious, and he hadn't invested much effort—it was just a way to lighten the mood after tedious meditation. Yet this stranger who clearly didn't know him—how could he know this?

He hadn't even opened those two boxes!

The next chapter will be after 12 o'clock. No choice—the editor has already demanded that daily update word counts be limited. Two chapters every three days, wiping tears.

But in terms of word count, it's about the same as most books updating two chapters daily. The missing chapters will be compensated after mid-September, and you can do whatever you want with me then.

Thanks to the readers Jidao Wuyu, Tiandiande DJT, Xinlaide Jiuren, and Fengfengfeng 111 for their tips. Please keep supporting me—if the results are better, I won't have to worry about this so much.