The Gift

Soon, Kerry found Boss Big Head again and stated his request. "Boss, I'd like to buy a Secret Manual that's simple to understand and suitable for a beginner mage."

Boss Big Head seemed to have all his merchandise catalogs stored in his head. Without hesitation, he listed a huge number of options for Kerry.

Kerry eliminated the expensive ones, then removed the difficult-to-learn options from the mid- and low-grade selections. After all, Emma didn't have a Learning Machine. Since Kerry still didn't know which school of magic Emma was skilled in, he removed the various elemental spells as well.

In the end, Kerry took a liking to a beginner mage's practical guide that cost only 58 Points: Reserved Magic.

This practical technique involved a mage releasing the minor spells they excelled at in advance and storing them in a gem or a staff.

The magic could be stored inside for up to twelve hours, during which time it could be cast instantly at will.

The restriction was that it could only be used for minor spells below Level 3. In addition, it required a medium such as Magic Gems or a staff.

Overall, though, it was an extremely practical technique. After all, mages could only instantly cast low-level spells after reaching Level 5. With this technique, Emma would surely be much safer.

Since he had bought the magic technique, Kerry decided to buy some gems as well. After all, the gems sold by the Dimensional Exchange that could store low-level magic were very cheap.

Gems of decent quality cost around 100 Points, while the poorer ones were practically sold by the pound.

At a gem stall, Kerry spent 500 Points at the wholesale price to buy a small bag of Magic Gems. Some were ugly and cracked, while others were beautiful. He picked out the largest and best-looking one. He would give it to Emma as a gift along with the Secret Manual.

With a Secret Manual and some gems, that should be enough, right? Kerry had more or less taken care of everything. Seeing that it was already eleven and the market was about to close, Kerry was just about to leave when the crackling sound from a nearby stall suddenly caught his attention.

It was a miscellaneous goods stall. The owner had a square face and mainly sold various adventuring tools: durable hoes, Spatial Tents that contained more space than their exterior dimensions suggested, water bottles that automatically collected moisture from the air, temperature-regulating clothes, and so on.

The crackling sound came from an Electric Baton that resembled a flashlight.

The stall owner was organizing his stall and seemed to be preparing to close early. Since most of the items here were not large, the owner displayed most of his merchandise as physical objects. He had accidentally touched the Electric Baton, causing it to crackle.

"How much is this Electric Baton?" Kerry thought. Emma was so beautiful that it would be better for her to carry a Wolf-repelling Stunner. Mages were afraid of close combat, so it would be perfect for her to use alongside her magic.

The stall owner hadn't expected to get any business just as he was about to close. He immediately began introducing it enthusiastically.

The Wolf-repelling Stunner—those were the words printed on it. It looked like a flashlight, but could anything sold by the Dimensional Exchange be ordinary? Although its name and appearance were identical to the anti-wolf stunners from his previous life, the one sold here was far more advanced.

This stunner used a magic array to store energy and another array to release it. Once the stunner's electrical charge was depleted, the array inside would automatically absorb ions from the air. Under good environmental conditions, it could recharge fully in just one day. Even under poor conditions, it would take no more than a month.

When releasing electricity, the Dimensional Exchange's weapon restrictions caused it to automatically adjust the voltage according to the target's constitution. The electricity definitely couldn't kill anyone, but regardless of the target's physique, as long as they did not exceed its energy limit, it could certainly electrocute the target unconscious within two or three seconds.

What a good item. Kerry felt that if Emma used it, she wouldn't have to worry about teaching lecherous men a lesson and accidentally killing them while traveling the world.

After all, a mage's magic was usually astonishingly destructive. If an ordinary person tried to act like a perverted stalker and harass a young woman, they could be turned into **** on the spot.

It wasn't expensive either—only 5 Points. In Kerry's transaction history, only the Nanobots were cheaper.

"Sir, is there anything else you're interested in? How about this tent? It takes up only one square meter but contains a thousand square meters of space. It's practically essential for travel and home use. Right now, the second one is half price! We also have a fully automatic shower head. It comes with a ten-cubic-meter water tank. Just hang it somewhere and you can use it. As long as it gets enough sunlight, it can even regulate the water temperature automatically. And this Micro-nuclear Electric Vehicle can run fully loaded for a year on a single battery. We also permanently buy back used batteries at half price. Whether you're touring the city or going out to buy groceries, you'll never have to worry about running out of power and pushing it home again..."

Perhaps because he rarely got any business, the owner had finally caught a customer and was doing his utmost to sell all kinds of small items to Kerry. The key point was that the things on his stall really weren't expensive.

By the time Kerry returned to the real world, he had bought two tents, four Automatic Shower Heads, and a sand-model, four-wheel-drive Micro-nuclear Electric Vehicle.

However, those purchases had only been incidental. Kerry had previously considered buying some walkie-talkies for his underlings, so he could learn what was happening within his sphere of influence at the earliest possible moment. He had actually found suitable ones at this miscellaneous goods stall.

The Super Hand-Crank Walkie-Talkie only needed to be cranked before use, and it could basically support a call lasting one or two minutes.

If you cranked it for five minutes, you could talk for two hours. Its range extended up to one hundred kilometers, and it was waterproof, shockproof, and protected against power leakage.

Although its design and name were old-fashioned, it was still an incredible piece of advanced technology.

Kerry bought one hundred in a single purchase. Later, he could distribute them among his subordinates so they could contact each other directly whenever they needed something. They were simple to use—just press the buttons to dial. If that was too troublesome or the distance was too great, he could always arrange for someone to serve as an operator.

This time, Kerry could be said to have gone on a major shopping spree. Although everything was cheap, the total price of all the items together still came to less than 1,000 Points.

Carrying bags of all sizes, Kerry returned to his room and piled everything on the floor. Only then did he realize that his bedroom seemed especially spacious today. Ah, how had he forgotten to ask whether there were any advanced-tech beds? Unfortunately, the market had already closed. He would have to wait until the first of next month, twenty days later, for it to open again. Basic Membership holders could enter the market twice a month.

Kerry realized that if he wanted to spend the night in his own castle today, he would have to set up a tent in his room. Fortunately, the new tent came with a matching camp bed.

Meanwhile, Emma sat nervously in the dining hall. It was already past noon, yet the castle's master still hadn't come to eat. Ever since the puppet had summoned him that morning, she hadn't seen Kerry anywhere.

Kerry was always punctual when it came to meals. On top of that, everyone in the castle was acting strangely today. Emma was already eighty percent certain that they were hiding something from her.

Could it be that Kerry had already contacted Faglan's pursuers? The servants looked at her as though they were trying to prevent her from escaping.

At that thought, Emma quietly pulled out her wand. It was a fairy wand slightly longer than a large calligraphy brush, with a small plum blossom at the tip.

This was a terrible situation. She hadn't been able to find Teacher Gandalf all morning. Could it be that her teacher had already been attacked?

Just as Emma was letting her imagination run wild, Kerry finally arrived late, and lunch began.