Bag of Holding

Soren's wounds were healing well.

By the next day, there was basically no trace of them when he walked. Only during strenuous exercise would he feel a hint of discomfort; as long as the wounds didn't tear open, he would be fully recovered in two days at most. This was the main reason Soren pursued a 20-point Constitution. If he could raise his Constitution a bit more, with his Regeneration ability, he could fully recover from injuries of this magnitude within a single day.

A treasure cave was, after all, only a low-level adventure location.

If one wanted to delve deeper into underground ruins or higher-level adventure sites, the time required could reach a month or more.

This included not only the time spent exploring the ruins but also survival events encountered on the road and the highly probable occurrence of human-related accidents. Therefore, Constitution greatly influenced an adventurer's sustained survival capability. For instance, Soren had once encountered an idiot Mage who actually used a Empowered Fireball inside a narrow underground cave. The result was a cave-in of the entire cavern. Although his teammates were all high-level professionals and suffered no casualties, they were trapped underground for a full week, eventually having to dig out a tunnel with their bare hands!

So.

Please, always remember to stay away from those low-IQ Mages.

Sometimes, they are more dangerous than monsters!

Of course.

That wasn't even the most infuriating thing!

An even more infuriating incident was caused by a Cleric. He actually used Earthquake inside an underground ruin, which led to a massive collapse of the entire site. Most of the potential loot was destroyed by the quake, and all of his teammates were buried hundreds of meters underground. In the end, only a Dwarf Warrior with a special bloodline and a Constitution exceeding 25 points managed to crawl out alive. That Cleric was eventually hailed as a legendary example of a "teammate from hell," a nightmare for all adventurers!

However.

Basically, these types of behaviors were committed by players.

The native Mages of the plot were all experts; sometimes, they could even turn the tide of a situation with a single, inconspicuous low-level spell.

Unfortunately, native Mages were the hardest to recruit as teammates!

Before going to pick up Vivian, Soren made a trip to the Arcane Shop.

The guards at the city gates were strict, checking the travel funds of outsiders very carefully. After the initial brewing and fermentation of the Skinning incidents, there were signs that things were intensifying. Yet, Soren knew this was only the beginning, because in his memory, the Skinning incidents were an evil chain-sacrifice ritual. The final scope of the disaster would encompass the entire southern region, involving six kingdoms, eighteen duchies, thirty-one city-states, and over three hundred cities.

At that time, at least two hundred thousand players were involved in the plot progression, directly drawing out over twenty legendary-tier professionals!

It could be said that this period was the most helpless time for players.

Soren carefully recalled everything in his memory, constantly trying to deduce the current time. The Skinning incidents had just begun, and the Ancient Red Dragon had not yet appeared. This meant there was still about a year left until the gods lost their divine power and were forced to descend in the form of avatars. If he accounted for certain special events, he should have about two years to accumulate strength.

Two years later.

A very serious event would occur!

That was the fall of the Goddess of Magic, the complete collapse of the Weave system, and the temporary loss of spellcasting abilities for all Wizards.

The Goddess of Magic was a powerful deity and the first to be struck during the Time of Troubles. She governed the Weave system across countless planes, helping Wizards cast their spells.

That is the spell slot ability currently used by Wizards!

At this stage, the number of Wizards is quite high, so basically every city has an Arcane Shop. It was not until the Goddess of Magic fell that the number of Wizards began to decrease on a massive scale. Because with the fall of the Goddess of Magic, the Weave system lost its maintainer, and the Weave system began to collapse on a large scale, ultimately leading to all Wizards completely losing their spell slots.

All Wizards with Intelligence below 18 points will completely lose the ability to cast spells!

All Wizards with Intelligence below 20 points will only be able to cast the lowest level 0-level cantrips!

Only Wizards with Intelligence above 20 points can rely on their own abilities to perceive and analyze the rules of the world, and then gradually restore their normal spellcasting abilities through the analysis of world rules. However, at that time, what they used were no longer spell slots reliant on the Weave, but their own mana points and comprehension of the rules.

The Weave system is both a convenience and a shackle on magical power!

It allows Wizards with insufficient talent (Intelligence below 18 points) to cast spells more conveniently, while simultaneously restricting powerful Wizards (those born with 18+ Intelligence) from advancing into terrifying Archmages!

From then on.

Mages began to move toward two extremes: either extremely useless or extremely monstrous.

However, these are matters for the future.

At this stage, the Weave system is still operating normally, and all Wizards hand over their mana to the Weave, borrowing the power of the Goddess of Magic in exchange for spell slots.

Although this requires them to frequently memorize spells!

Soren organized his past memories in his mind, because the fall of the Goddess of Magic was a very important event.

The resulting turmoil affected countless planes!

During that period, the value of extraordinary items soared several times over. A low-level Bag of Holding that costs about 100 Gold Thaler now could skyrocket to over 500 Gold Thaler at that time. Because with the fall of the Goddess of Magic, many gods also fell into the mortal realm, and many Clerics and Druids likewise lost the ability to cast spells.

Only those powerhouses whose relevant attributes broke through 20 points and entered the extraordinary realm could rely on their own power to perceive the rules of the world.

And gradually restore their own spellcasting abilities!

The arrival of this period is actually not far off. If Soren remembers correctly, the Goddess of Magic was the first deity to fall; it would not be long before Wizards lost their spellcasting abilities.

And then, the era of the Arcane Renaissance would begin!

The Arcane Shop is actually quite inconspicuous.

Because Wizards do not like to communicate with ordinary people, and even other professionals find it difficult to interact with them.

Among all spellcasting professionals, only Clerics can be considered relatively grounded.

Soren gently pushed open a wooden door. The interior of the Arcane Shop was very empty, with only a few counters displaying some enchanted equipment. Guests here are actually very rare.

Because the items here are also very expensive, and ordinary people simply cannot afford them!

"Selling or buying?"

An elderly man glanced lazily at Soren. He wore a pair of spectacles and held a book as thick as a brick. After looking up at Soren, he said indifferently, "If you're selling enchanted equipment, let me evaluate its value. If you're buying, feel free to look around."

The Arcane Shop was established by the Wizard Alliance and could be found in most cities. They were staffed by wizards of the second rank or higher, who rotated periodically. At this stage, the Wizard Alliance was still quite powerful and prosperous; it was only after the Goddess of Magic fell that their strength began to decline on a large scale, at which point many people took advantage of the chaos to loot the Arcane Shops.

But doing that now would be suicide!

The old man seemed to have discerned Soren's profession and warned, "Don't touch anything here; they all have magical traps on them."

Everyone knew that a thief's hands were the most restless.

Soren, naturally, had no intention of courting death. Instead, he took the two Marilith Longswords from his back and placed them directly in front of the old man.

This was a third-rank wizard.

His professional level was likely at least a 10th-level Scholar/10th-level Wizard. Killing Soren would be a matter of minutes.

"Oh?"

The old man's gaze swept over the Marilith Longswords, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He muttered, "Abyssal Fire Rock?"

He picked up one of the longswords with some effort and touched the blade with his finger. Wizards generally lacked physical strength, and their Constitution was significantly lower than other professions; they could only strengthen themselves through special rituals after entering the legendary realm. The old man observed it carefully before withdrawing his finger. "To think such materials were used to forge weapons!"

"A bit of a waste."

The old man looked at Soren. He didn't ask about the origin of the weapons, simply stating, "80 Gold Thaler."

The Arcane Shop had its own channels. As long as it was extraordinary equipment, they would buy it without asking about its origin, regardless of whether it was stolen goods.

Mages never complained about having too much money; the speed at which they spent it was even more impressive!

"120 Gold Thaler."

Upon hearing the old man's offer, Soren frowned slightly and said slowly, "This sword is forged from Abyssal Fire Rock!"

"According to the rules of weapon pricing, the price for greatswords should fluctuate by about 50%!"

"Whether sold as a weapon or recycled for materials, its value should be over 200 Gold Thaler. If it could be transported to the north or the grasslands, its value could reach 300 Gold Thaler."

"That's over a hundred percent profit!"

"80 Gold Thaler is far too little. If I handed these over to the Thieves Guild, the price would be higher than this!"

The old man looked at Soren with some surprise, then said, "You certainly know the market."

"Fine."

"120 Gold Thaler it is."

The old man gently rang a bell, and a heavy figure emerged from the back. It was a Stone Golem standing about 2.2 meters tall, a type of alchemical construct. The Stone Golem picked up the Marilith Longsword with both hands, walked into the back room, and soon returned to stand behind the old man, holding an inconspicuous bag.

It was a Bag of Holding!

The old man reached out, opened the Bag of Holding, and poured its contents onto the counter. A pile of shimmering Gold Thaler appeared.

He swept his gaze over them, traced a line with his finger, and the Gold Thaler automatically divided into two piles. The smaller pile flew into the Bag of Holding out of thin air, while the larger pile was pushed toward Soren.

"Mage Hand."

It was a very convenient ability.

Mages were indeed wealthy and imposing. After accepting the two Marilith Longswords, the old man turned his attention back to his book and said casually, "Feel free to look around. Let me know if you want to buy anything."

240 Gold Thaler.

It was quite a small pile, weighing 12 pounds (about five kilograms), which was actually inconvenient to carry around.

Sometimes, it could even affect one's combat ability.

Soren reached out and set aside a little less than half—exactly 100 Gold Thaler—and said, "I want a low-level Bag of Holding."

The old man nodded, raised his hand to collect the Gold Thaler, and then took an inconspicuous bag out of a drawer.

"Be careful not to damage it."

He glanced at Soren, perhaps finding him agreeable enough to offer a reminder: "It only has the most basic protective enchantment. It won't break under normal use, but if it's damaged by force, everything inside will spill out."

Soren nodded, took it, and packed the 140 Gold Thaler inside.

The low-level Bag of Holding had three feet of internal space and a half-foot opening, enough to store some smaller items.

It could be damaged during an attack. If destroyed, it would lose its storage capacity, the small space created within would collapse, and the items would all tumble out at once.

There was even a chance they could be lost in a spatial rift.

The probability of non-legendary extraordinary items being damaged was not low; even Soren's Ogre Bracers could potentially be damaged and rendered ineffective during combat!

Some items were even impossible to repair once broken.

The transaction was complete.

Soren soon left the Arcane Shop and headed toward the blacksmith shop near the main plaza.

He needed a scimitar.

Extraordinary-level scimitars were hard to purchase in the south, so he would have to settle for a military-issue scimitar for now.

A string of data appeared:

"Diplomacy successful!"

"You have successfully increased the value of the sold items through Diplomacy!"

"Appraisal +1, Diplomacy +1."