A New Profession
Name: Phantom Object - Exquisite Fountain Pen
Elements: [Stationery], [Unlimited], [Durable], [Efficient], [Supernatural], [Comfortable], [Precious]
Description: A high-end fountain pen of considerable value, understated yet luxurious, perfectly fitting the finger. Simply holding it in one's hand brings joy, and when used for writing, it greatly enhances the fluency and speed of writing. However, this pen seems to have been used by one of its former owners in some special ritual, thus acquiring a peculiar power. It possesses an inexhaustible supply of ink and can even improve the accuracy of divination.
Note: If I were you, I would never use this pen to play with Ouija boards!
For five thousand dollars, you could buy a fountain pen with multiple functions. This should have been a very profitable deal, but Feng Xue felt a little cheated when she remembered the shopkeeper's decisive price.
"Looks like the merchants here are even more unscrupulous than I imagined. They can still make a profit even at one-tenth of the price. Next time, I'll just ask for one percent." Feng Xue played with the fountain pen, which had such a smooth and warm feel that he couldn't put it down, and pondered silently.
As for the side effects... Feng Xue didn't care at all. To be honest, he didn't even know how to play the Ouija board game.
After all, he was a traditional Yan Chinese, and the idea of "respecting ghosts and gods but keeping them at a distance" was deeply ingrained in his thinking. Even if he knew that this thing was probably just a hoax, at most containing Dim Sum elements, he still wouldn't be foolish enough to try those games that sounded too complicated.
Feng Xue Hom casually slipped the pen into the breast pocket of her dress and returned to the tavern the way they came, only to find that it had indeed been moved.
Only after leaving the unfamiliar tavern did he suddenly speak:
"Hom, do you know where I can buy False Thing?"
"False Thing ..." Upon hearing this request, Hom's eyes lit up immediately, recalling the items Feng Xue had previously purchased. Realizing this was a major client, her tone became even more respectful.
"That's right, boss. The profit margin on False Thing is very low. Compared to scavenging, people go into the Garbage Mountain more to hunt Omen or capture slaves. Of course, holders of Manufacturing Type Tag still have a demand for False Thing, so there are still specialized merchants who classify and organize them. However, these merchants basically only accept large-scale transactions. If you don't need much, it's better to go into the Garbage Mountain and find it yourself."
"I see." Feng Xue nodded, then added:
"What about books? Do you have any channels to get books?"
Upon hearing the word "books," Hom's expression visibly changed. His face, which Feng Xue found excessively refined, remained silent for a brief moment before he finally nodded and said:
"Yes, but they are very expensive, and the quality is just average."
Seemingly realizing that his statement was somewhat inaccurate, he added:
"As long as there is enough information recorded, whether it is a miscellaneous book such as a novel or a comic book, or a reference book in a professional field, it has extremely high value. If the content is relatively professional, it can even be equivalent to Fine Grade or even excellent level of Phantom Object."
"Besides being used for reading to acquire relevant elements, some books can also be sold to holders of Manufacturing Type Tag. It is said that if books are used as auxiliary materials to create Phantom Object, the quality of the Phantom Object can be greatly improved. Although most of the time it will fail, once it succeeds, it will at least be an excellent-grade masterpiece."
"Therefore, most books are collected by various powerful forces and provided to their insiders for digestion. What can be bought through special channels are mostly miscellaneous books with little content, and many of them are 'False Book' that are copied and lack relevant elements. These books are very difficult to study and cannot be used as auxiliary materials for manufacturing. Their value is far lower than that of ordinary books. Without the ability to appraise, it is easy to be fooled."
"So living in this South District, you need to have the Appraisal Ability everything, right?" Feng Xue was somewhat speechless, but she was interested in the term "False Book," because her Golden Finger didn't care about authenticity. Back then, when the Yu-Gi-Oh! -Oh! cards were bound together, didn't she still manage to create a "Bu Tiange for him?
However, upon hearing that it was very expensive, Feng Xue temporarily suppressed her idea of going to take a look and instead said:
"Then I'd like some white paper? White cloth will do too."
Although she brought back a lot of paper from reality, Feng Xue did not intend to use all of it to Tracing Paper. After all, there was only so much. Feng Xue preferred to use it on secret manuals like Bu Tiange, which also required specific character shapes and fonts, rather than wasting it on ordinary text manuals that could never replicate the "artistic conception".
"Is this guy planning to make 'False Book'?" Hom thought to himself. Copying books is tiring and troublesome, and it's easy to make mistakes if you're not careful. However, copying False Book is also a very profitable business. Putting aside the fact that you can sell inferior books as genuine ones, the [Book Copyist] Tag that may be created during the copying process is a very desirable and enviable profession.
If a book is copied normally and is a 'False Book' without any elements, then after obtaining the [Book Copyist] Tag, there is a chance that the book's elements will also be copied, making it a real book. Although it is still False Thing and is inferior to the original, as long as it is a book, it will not be cheap in Infinite City. Not to mention that as long as you take the job, you will be qualified to work in the Residential Area's library and become an upper-class person in the Residential Area.
Of course, such enormous profits have not become rampant, naturally because the difficulty is too high. In Infinite City, there are countless people who know how to obtain the Book Copyist Tag, but only one in ten thousand may succeed.
The specific rules for success are widely debated. Some say one must meticulously copy hundreds of books without error; others say one must successfully copy a single Phantom Book; some say one must copy in the book's original language, not in one's native language as translated by the Infinite City (because the Infinite City automatically translates, so unless one happens to encounter a book from their own world, they have to copy it in reality); still others say one must understand the True Intent of the book during the copying process...
Regardless, Book Copyist is a very precious and rare profession.
The gentleman in front of me bought a pen on the Black Market, which clearly indicated that he had this in mind. As for whether he could succeed, Hom didn't have high hopes, but even just a byproduct of the copying process was a tempting sum of money.
Hom slightly adjusted his assessment of Feng Xue again, and said in a slightly obsequious tone:
"The fabric supply in South District, apart from a small amount from the Garbage Mountain, is mostly monopolized by the 'Arachne' organization. Ordinary white Cotton Cloth, about 1.3 meters wide, costs around 200 taels per meter. Softer, lighter white silk costs around 10,000 taels per meter. Although I have connections within the Arachne organization, I know some merchants who supply tailors and can get you a 10% discount. If you're interested in selling the books you've copied, I can also help you contact some booksellers and guarantee you a suitable price."