Gem Ticket (Happy New Year!)

When Lynn and Elaine arrived at the entrance of the Magic Association, they discovered that the association had not even opened yet.

What time was it already? Did they really start work this late...?

"Ah, I forgot to remind you. Mages like to meditate and train in the morning, when their minds are at their fullest, so the Magic Association's working hours have been adjusted too..."

So that was how it was. Lynn gave a slight nod. He himself did not rely much on meditation and training, so he had not paid much attention to it.

"That works too. Why don't we look around nearby first? There should be quite a few magic item shops around here. I'm still short a staff."

Besides a staff, he also wanted to buy some magic items that could enhance his spirituality, making it easier to sense danger around him.

After being ambushed by a Mana-Sucking Monster in the Whispering Forest yesterday, and then having Gray silently get close to him last night, he increasingly felt that he still had far too many weak points.

There were quite a few such shops near the Magic Association. Following his intuition, Lynn picked one that was relatively normal in its decorations and looked like something he could afford, then walked straight in.

The shop was not large, but it was very clean and tidy. A dazzling array of goods was arranged in perfect order, making it quite pleasant to look at.

There was only a middle-aged man in the shop. Hearing movement, he raised his head, and the moment he saw Lynn's clothing and appearance, he frowned.

"We are a specialty shop for mage supplies."

His expression was as hard as a block of iron. His eyes were clearly aimed at Lynn, yet they had no focus, as if he could not even be bothered to look at him properly.

Lynn was somewhat speechless. This was not the first time he had suffered this sort of "discrimination." Just as he was about to explain, a slender figure stepped in ahead of him.

"We are mages," Elaine said, waving the dazzling staff in her hand and blinking at the owner with innocent harmlessness. "Boss, may I ask if you're blind? Or have you never seen a real mage before?"

"..." The owner had originally been about to lose his temper after that earful of veiled mockery, but when he saw Elaine's extraordinary attire, as well as the even more extraordinary emerald staff in her hand, he was immediately blinded by greed and walked out from behind the counter.

"Is there something you'd like to buy, dear customer?" He smiled solicitously at Elaine. "Although our shop isn't large, our goods are the most complete on the entire street! If you need anything, just tell me."

Elaine walked to Lynn's side and broke into a bright smile. "It's our captain who needs something. I'm only here with him."

Lynn understood at once. Elaine was deliberately helping him hold up the scene. On the surface, he only nodded faintly.

The owner looked Lynn up and down at that ragged-looking leather-inlaid cloth armor of his, resisting the urge to shake his head and frown. He only smiled and led the two of them to one side, introducing, "Dear customer, I strongly recommend that you purchase a set of clothing befitting your noble status as a mage. For example, this set here is the most popular style at the moment. Loose and breathable, and it can even resist slight elemental magic attacks..."

Lynn glanced at the price, went around the owner, and turned to look at the shelves beside him.

Right now, he had no budget to buy something more decorative than practical.

However, continuing to wear this tattered armor all the time was not a solution either.

"I think the way you're dressed has a real adventurer air to it," Elaine whispered beside him. "Besides, a mage's strength lies within. Only those without any real skill would single-mindedly chase after external things."

Lynn glanced at Elaine. "Actually, there's really no need to spend your social skills on me."

As an adult who looked very young on the outside, but was sufficiently firm and rational within, Lynn was not so fragile that he would be moved by a small thing like being "judged by appearance."

Still, he accepted Elaine's kindness.

Elaine turned her face to the side and said very sincerely, with a trace of surprise, "How could that be? I'm clearly telling the truth. Lynn, you really are the most talented mage I've ever seen, bar none!"

"..."

He suddenly realized that this girl's skill at flattery was truly impressive. It was probably because she had mingled in social circles since she was little and had already reached the point where the furnace fire was pure blue; she made it impossible to tell truth from falsehood, leaving only comfort.

"All right, all right." Lynn pointed at the row of shelves where staffs were placed. "My budget is limited. Help me take a look. Is there any staff more suitable for me to use right now?"

Although he had the Magic Web talent and was not exactly lacking in mana, the artifacts of this world did not only assist with recovering mana. They also had functions such as strengthening the power of magic and speeding up casting.

It could be said that they were indispensable to spellcasters.

And staffs were the most common category among all magical artifacts.

The displayed staffs before him had no decorations at all. Most of them looked like nothing more than ordinary long strips made of wood or metal.

Their functions were also relatively limited. They could only serve as transitional equipment for Lynn at present.

Elaine, who clearly came from no ordinary background, was evidently quite experienced in this. While taking down staffs and weighing them in her hand, she explained to Lynn, "I suggest starting mainly with wooden staffs. Metal staffs are generally made with expensive rare metals, so the cost is much higher, but the spirituality they contain isn't much more than that of some kinds of wood. In terms of feel, they're also too heavy and clumsy..."

"Of course, using a metal staff to whip an enemy still hurts a lot!"

As she spoke, Elaine suddenly fell silent.

Lynn turned his face and asked, "What is it?"

"I just thought that with your talent, using any of these staffs would be too much of a waste. Wait a moment..."

As she spoke, she pressed her left palm against the gemstone at the top of her staff, as though rummaging through a storage space.

A moment later, she made a pouring motion, and in the blink of an eye, a huge sea-blue gemstone appeared in her palm.

The instant that gemstone appeared, Lynn felt as if the mana inside his body had frozen for a moment.

He could feel that this gemstone contained powerful mana, and even carried some special laws!

Such a treasure—even an outsider like him knew it was extremely rare and expensive!

Elaine stretched her hand toward him and said with a smile, "This is what can be considered suitable for you."

Lynn's expression froze slightly. Was she planning to give it to me directly?

He secretly swallowed. That didn't seem too good...

Elaine instead moved a little closer and said softly, "Think of it as making up for last night's ticket into the Magic Web? You've helped me so much. It's about time I repaid you a little, right? Besides, I'm a healing mage. I have no use for something like this at all."

Her green eyes blinked as she met Lynn's gaze, until he silently took the Aquamarine Gem.

Then she returned to her normal volume and said, deliberately pretending to ponder, "This gemstone is very precious. We'll have to find a reliable craftsman to process it properly into a staff..."

As she spoke, her gaze flicked toward the shopkeeper, who had been staring at them from not far away the entire time.

The man's eyes had gone straight at the sight of the Aquamarine Gem, and now that he heard Elaine's words, his spirits instantly rose.

This was a fat job! Just the leftover scraps from that gemstone would be worth quite a bit of money!

He immediately sidled up, his face full of flattery. "Honored guests, our humble shop just so happens to offer item-processing services. Exquisite craftsmanship, fair prices!"

What a pity this guy didn't go into face-changing opera, Lynn thought to himself.

Elaine, however, suddenly tapped her smooth forehead lightly with her staff and smiled at Lynn. "Captain, I just remembered there's a very good craftsman nearby, and his eyesight is excellent too. Why don't we go take a look there?"

Seeing Lynn nod, she briskly grabbed his arm and led him away, completely ignoring the shopkeeper's collapsed expression beside them.