Upon hearing that he would no longer need to scribe spells into a spellbook, Zhao Xu immediately began calculating.
For Wizards, the first difficulty in scribing spells was finding spells to copy, while the second was paying the scribing costs.
But with Antinoa backing him, he could shamelessly borrow from her. Even if she charged him, she would probably give him a discount. That meant his main problem would be the cost of scribing spells.
Now, this Feat could save him from even that expense, leaving him with no worries at all.
With that in mind, Zhao Xu nodded. "Mentor, I choose this Feat."
Antinoa was somewhat taken aback by his answer. After thinking for a moment, she said, "All right, then I'll—"
"Hm? Mentor?" Zhao Xu was especially puzzled when he saw her suddenly stop.
"Uh, sorry. I just searched through my memories and realized that after the Great Cataclysm, Mindful Caster changed from a Feat into a class feature. It was clearly still a Feat when I learned it."
Zhao Xu's brows twitched slightly. Class features were abilities possessed by everyone who took that class.
However, some class features could be selected.
The way to choose such class features was to give up certain original class features as the price.
Antinoa explained, "Under the new requirements, the price of the Mindful Caster class feature is giving up the Scroll Scribe and Summon Familiar class features."
"Mentor, are those two class features important?"
Zhao Xu did not know much about the inner workings of Wizards, but that did not stop him from seeking advice from someone powerful.
"Summon Familiar is not much of a loss if you are not pursuing a familiar-focused path. Besides, we had originally planned to arrange a different Feat for you, so giving it up would not be a pity."
"As for Scroll Scribe, that class feature is quite important for Wizards. Scrolls can substitute for a Wizard's Spell Slots, preventing a Wizard from knowing a spell but being unable to cast it on short notice because it was not prepared."
"Therefore, when facing unusual special situations, it is unrealistic for Wizards to prepare spells specifically for them every day. That is why they keep scrolls in reserve."
After hearing Antinoa's explanation, Zhao Xu lowered his head and calculated. If he gave it up, it meant that he would have to buy all his scrolls in the future rather than produce some himself.
"Of course, if you are willing to spend a Feat, you can also learn the Scroll Scribe ability through the Feat route."
Hearing that, Zhao Xu's thoughts gradually came back around.
He was not surprised that Scroll Scribe, a class ability, was also a Feat that could be learned. Otherwise, since Clerics did not have that class ability, where would the Divine Spell scrolls on the market come from?
They were made by Clerics who had spent a Feat to learn Scroll Scribe.
Or, to put it another way, First-level Mages received the Scroll Scribe Feat for free.
That made the price of Mindful Caster clear.
The price was one Feat, plus the Summon Familiar ability.
Summon Familiar, an ability unique to Wizards and Sorcerers, was also worth a Feat.
What was going on with this Great Cataclysm? It had actually driven up the price of abilities.
What used to cost one Feat now required two.
"One more thing. After choosing Mindful Caster, although you will not need to consume materials when scribing, you will still have to spend roughly the same amount to stimulate your mind."
Zhao Xu's face immediately fell.
Saving that until the last second—was she messing with him?
"Mentor, who would awaken this ability under those conditions?" Zhao Xu said, enunciating each word.
He did not need to explain further. The issue was obvious.
He would be scribing spells into his memories and his mind.
Naturally, that meant he would be unable to provide a Spellbook for others to copy from, and he would not be able to earn lending fees.
That alone would have been fine, but Antinoa had just told him about Blessing Books, the kind of thing Wizards dreamed of.
If he used Mindful Caster, would he not lose out on the 12.5 GP per page cost? Instead, he would be stuck with the original cost of 50 GP per page for copying from someone else's Spellbook.
The price had quadrupled out of nowhere.
If Mindful Caster also cost 12.5 GP per page, he could accept it.
"Don't you think it feels great not having to carry a Spellbook?" Antinoa asked, her tone full of the smugness of someone who did not understand the hungry.
"Having to pull out Spellbook after Spellbook and flip through them every day to Prepare Spell is exhausting. Not to mention that they have weight. Even if you carry a Dimensional Pouch, it still feels annoying."
Hearing that, Zhao Xu's mood finally steadied somewhat.
Wizards needed Spellbooks to Prepare Spell, so Spellbooks really were a Wizard's weak point.
If he was ambushed in the middle of the night, he would have to grab his Spellbook and run.
Before acquiring a Dimensional Pouch, the cheapest of which cost 2,500 GP, players had to carry those books themselves.
Still, even the cheapest Dimensional Pouch could hold two hundred pounds of items. A normal Spellbook weighed only two or three pounds, so it could easily hold dozens of them.
"Mentor, then perhaps we should forget it," Zhao Xu said after considering it.
He could endure some inconvenience. Money was still more important.
"Sure. In any case, this ability can only be selected at first level, so you can change your mind any time before your training is complete."
Hearing Antinoa's words, Zhao Xu's thoughts became unsettled again.
Sometimes, when there was no choice, it was easier to walk straight down one path.
But someone like him, who had choices unavailable to other players, would end up agonizing much more.
Then Zhao Xu suddenly remembered that Antinoa had said Mindful Caster was a Feat when she learned it. That meant she had merely paid one less price than Zhao Xu, the price of giving up Summon Familiar.
In other words, Antinoa had likewise spent 50 GP per page to record spells.
A Legendary Mage had chosen it too. She could not have made a random choice, could she?
"Mentor, did you have any other reasons for choosing it back then?" Zhao Xu continued asking for guidance.
Antinoa was still happy to clear up his doubts. "Mm, the path I took back then was fight, fight, fight. Naturally, I did not want to leave behind a weakness like a Spellbook."
"Besides, you actually have an advantage. If you take the Scroll Scholar class at second level, Scroll Scribe is also one of the Scroll Scholar's class features."
Zhao Xu nearly slapped his thigh when he heard that.
The more he listened, the more it felt as though Antinoa had deliberately been teasing him by withholding that information.
A Feat was very valuable.
He had only received a bonus Feat because he chose the human race.
In the end, Zhao Xu could only grit his teeth and say, "Mentor, then I'll still choose this replacement ability."
He would trade the Summon Familiar ability for an ability that would cost him more money but free him from needing a Spellbook. Zhao Xu was willing to make that deal.
"All right. Someone will bring over the method for awakening this ability shortly."
Zhao Xu glanced around the room. Aside from the incense slowly rising from the corner, the medieval-style furniture showed no signs of anything unusual.
He knew Antinoa had cast an alarm spell, but surely nobody was listening in as well?
"What are you thinking? If I cast a telepathic communication spell with no incantation, do you think you could tell that I had cast it with your current spell identification ability?"
Antinoa chuckled softly.
Zhao Xu could only laugh awkwardly along with her, but inwardly, he began planning for the future.
Once he learned this ability, at least he would no longer have a weakness in his Spellbook. Unlike other Wizard players, he would not be left helpless if his Spellbook was stolen or destroyed.
At the very least, during that hour of preparing spells, he would not need to fear a sudden attack so much.
Before you continue