This shop was run by a mage apprentice-the kind who would remain a mage apprentice for life. Only people like that, who had a decent education but no way to become a prestigious full-fledged mage, would switch careers and open an herb shop or alchemy shop.
The shop was small.
Lordaeron had no large alchemy shops!
Most alchemists practiced it as a sideline to being mages. Across the Eastern Kingdoms, the magical kingdom of Dalaran and the high elven city of Silvermoon City had the most mages and alchemists, followed by Stormwind City. Lordaeron ranked even lower.
Besides, the alchemy shops, enchanting shops, and such run by full-fledged mages were all over in the Mage Quarter. Their goods were generally supplied only to mages and nobles because they were too expensive. Jiang Jie could not afford them anyway, so why bother going?
The shopkeeper was a mage apprentice in his forties, probably the sort who would never have a chance to advance in his lifetime.
The shop did not have many herbs, only twenty or thirty varieties in total, all relatively common ones such as silverleaf, peacebloom, mageroyal, and earthroot. There was not a single rare herb. Even if there had been any, they would probably have been sold straight to the mighty mages in the Mage Quarter through some connection. How could they still be here?
"Let me check the quality first." Jiang Jie asked the shopkeeper to take out one of each herb and made a show of examining them carefully. In reality, he secretly had the AI, Xiao Feng, activate its scanning and analysis functions.
"Peacebloom, an annual herbaceous plant. Analysis results as follows..."
"Silverleaf, an annual herbaceous plant. Analysis results as follows..."
The gaming pod's scanning and analysis took time, so Jiang Jie had to keep up his act for quite a while. Finally, under the little maid's suspicious gaze and the shopkeeper's scornful one, he waved a hand grandly and bought a large bag of mageroyal and stranglekelp. Only five of his twelve gold coins remained. He had really put on a show!
"Nicholas, why did you buy so much? Couldn't you just buy a little? Try your hand at it first! If you can't brew it properly, we can just give up. These herbs are way too expensive! Just this one sprig of peacebloom could feed me for a month!" On the way back, the little maid could not help complaining, pained by the expense.
Jiang Jie shrugged helplessly.
They were a little expensive, but not outrageously so.
For one thing, few people knew how to identify herbs. For another, herbs did not grow everywhere and were hard to find.
Most importantly, the wilderness was dangerous. Venomous snakes and wild beasts were everywhere, and you could even run into kobolds, gnolls, or ogres! Gathering herbs was dangerous work, all right? Usually, class practitioners picked some along the way while traveling, then sold them to herb shops or wealthy mages in the Mage Quarter.
Besides, the city gates were now sealed, and many towns had been occupied by the undead. Things were getting more dangerous, and unscrupulous merchants were jacking up prices along with it. Before long, the prices of herbs and every other commodity would probably shoot up. If he did not buy more now, he would not be able to afford them later!
"Snip the herbs into bits and toss them into the basin. So many things, I won't understand until I try..." Jiang Jie hummed softly as he followed the preparation steps the gaming pod had stuffed into his head, one at a time. Then...
He failed!
But Jiang Jie still poured it straight down his throat.
Because these herbs already contained the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon... well, in other words, they had absorbed the omnipresent arcane energy from the air. There was not much of it, but drinking them still had an effect.
After three consecutive failures, Jiang Jie's belly was swollen round, and he had run out to the toilet twice before he finally succeeded.
Still, its appearance was far worse than a proper mana potion. No one would buy it if he took it out, so selling it for money was out of the question.
The proper stuff was a translucent, pale green liquid. Jiang Jie's was nothing but herbal soup. He had not even strained out the herb dregs, because Xiao Feng said there was still a little energy left in them that must not be wasted. Of course, the main components were the same, and there was no difference in efficacy.
"Down this basin of mana soup!"
Jiang Jie drained it in one go, wiped his mouth, then entered the gaming pod and lay down.
"Very good,
the effect is pretty good-several times better than ten bottles of mana potion combined." Xiao Feng appeared, nodding and smiling for once. The herbal soup brewed from ten gold coins' worth of herbs was several times better than ten gold coins' worth of mana potions, even with quite a bit wasted. Jiang Jie could not help grumbling inwardly: Alchemists really are all profiteers. No wonder they're so rich...
Xiao Feng waved his hand, and a 128K ultra-high-definition three-dimensional screen appeared before Jiang Jie, playing an edited version of Roand's instructional video. Most of the nonsense, showing off, and breaks had been cut, leaving only a fifth of the original.
Jiang Jie finished watching in less than half an hour. Then Xiao Feng waved his hand again, and Roand actually "walked" out of the video and merged into Jiang Jie's body.
The next moment, Jiang Jie found that he could not move.
"Host, guided training will now begin. Please pay close attention to the circulation paths of your physical energy and the movements of your body." Xiao Feng rattled on. "Scans indicate that rogues use a type of energy originating within themselves to activate their skills. Simulations and analysis have shown that internal energy can replace this energy. The detailed research report is as follows... Forget it. An illiterate like you wouldn't understand it anyway. In short, you can use internal energy to activate all rogue skills. Guided training begins!"
The next moment, Jiang Jie's body moved beyond his control. His physical energy automatically circulated along a particular path, and his body began assuming various positions, successfully executing one rogue skill after another.
Sinister Strike!
Eviscerate!
Parry!
Mutilate!
Blade Flurry!
Every skill Roand had taught appeared in turn, and soon he had practiced them a hundred times.
Half an hour later, Jiang Jie regained control of his body. Then his surroundings abruptly changed, and he was once again in the Child Hall of the Shaolin annex at the Chan Buddhist Shaolin Centaur Constellation Fourth Earth Branch.
This time, the two boys guarding the entrance did not block his way. They opened the gates.
The next moment, five little monks of the same size rushed out together, unleashing all kinds of martial arts in succession. One minute later...
Jiang Jie, deceased!
"You learned to launch sneak attacks at such a young age? Very good. Let your big brother teach you some manners!" Jiang Jie flew into a rage, then began circulating his internal energy and greeting them with all sorts of rogue skills.
Of course, he was bound to get thrashed at first, but the more he was thrashed, the more satisfying it became. His skill proficiency shot up, and finally, two hours later, he defeated all five little monks.
Watching the little monks' bodies dissolve into motes of light and disappear, Jiang Jie actually felt an inexplicable thrill and silently berated himself for being like this!
"Host, the gaming pod's energy is about to run out. Will you rest here or outside?"
At the sight of Xiao Feng's teasing expression and excitement-filled eyes, Jiang Jie shuddered. He remembered the murderous urge he had felt when Xiao Feng woke him up last night!
"Forget it. The gaming pod's energy is expensive. I'd better save some!" Jiang Jie hurriedly waved his hands.
The gaming pod burned through energy too quickly!
Starting it up required energy, scanning and analysis required energy, guided analysis required extra energy, and creating environments required even more energy...
Gold came quickly and went just as quickly. In the end, Jiang Jie was still just as poor!
The benefits were obvious.
Having fully mastered all the lowest-tier skills, Jiang Jie was now a qualified rogue apprentice. The next step was to connect with shadow energy, channel it, and learn that signature core rogue skill:
Stealth!
Only by mastering Stealth could he become a full-fledged rogue and learn more skills, such as Ambush, Sap, and Garrote!
"I need to find a way to make money." Jiang Jie sat on the bed, propping his chin on his hand as he thought seriously.