[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257016,4404,"Chapter 12: Spell Formula","above-the-mage-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>After confirming Amy hadn’t followed, Gao De wandered the streets, searching for suitable shops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition to often being located in a city’s center, a commercial district typically develops around the lord’s mansion, a church, or a marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hogen City was no exception; its commercial district grew around the city square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it followed the natural pattern of development, the layout of Hogen City’s commercial streets was still chaotic, lacking unified planning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one main road, running north-south toward the city square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several side streets branched off, forming narrow alleys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because foot traffic was light in these alleys, rent for shops was low, so many small businesses and workshops hid within them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After slipping through several alleys, Gao De finally found his target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a general store, far humbler and more secluded than the grand, ornate facades of larger shops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside its already plain entrance stood a wooden sign, even more crude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scrawled on it in messy handwriting: Pierre’s General Store—sells ready-made potions, holy waters, herbs, and herb seeds; sells various materials and ores (including magic crystals); sells low-grade magical trinkets and charms; also offers item buyback and artifact appraisal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De nodded slightly at the sign’s unmistakable workshop vibe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was exactly what he needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Gao De entered the store, the owner Pierre was curled up in a reclining chair behind the counter, half-asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear the store rarely had good business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Help yourself—anything not on display isn’t necessarily out of stock; some goods are kept in the back warehouse.” The owner, an old man with a long beard, clearly heard Gao De’s footsteps but didn’t look up, offering a casual greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De glanced around and noticed the store’s items, though numerous and disorganized, were neatly arranged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw on your sign you buy back items—do you take everything?” Gao De asked bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course not,” Pierre shook his head, still not rising. “I run a general store, not a junkyard. It has to have some value.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about potions?” Gao De said, scanning the shelves lined with potions—vastly varied, but all zero-tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Show me the goods,” Pierre said, his interest piqued. He finally opened his half-closed eyes and rose from the chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Low-grade spider venom potion wasn’t rare; no need to hide it. Gao De immediately took out three small vials of low-grade spider venom potion from his pack and placed them on the counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Low-grade spider venom potion,” Pierre’s eyes flickered with a faint glow—the mark of casting the spell [Detect Magic]. He nodded. “The aura is strong. Good quality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mastering a spell qualifies one as an apprentice mage, so this shopkeeper was at least an apprentice—and given his age, even with the worst talent, his power surely surpassed Gao De’s. Gao De mused silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My usual buy price for a set of low-grade spider venom potion is thirty silver. Yours is good quality—I’ll add one silver per vial. Thirty-three silver for the set.” Pierre stated his offer outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a very fair price; Master Seda’s long-term buy rate was only forty silver (two gold).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deal,” Gao De said, satisfied, accepting immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging money for goods, Gao De didn’t leave. “Need something else?” Pierre asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De leaned closer to the counter, lowering his voice. “Do you sell spell formulas?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment of silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In Xien, private trade of spell formulas is strictly forbidden,” Pierre’s friendliness vanished; his face turned expressionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, not just Xien Kingdom, nearly every nation on the continent classified spell formulas as controlled items and restricted private trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mages wishing to buy spell formulas could only do so through official Mage Associations or state-approved mage organizations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many reasons for this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Gao De’s world before his transmigration, controlled items generally fell into three categories:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, items with lethal power that could threaten public order—like firearms, ammunition, or banned blades. Second, items infringing intellectual property—such as pirated software or pirated audiovisual products.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, items offering huge profits but posing potential harm themselves—the most typical being tobacco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spell formulas met all three criteria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, they allow buyers to master spells with powerful offensive or destructive effects—equivalent to “firearms and ammunition,” even more so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, spell formulas are wildly profitable. In essence, they’re just paper with text—virtually no cost—yet sold at astronomical prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The average price of a zero-tier spell formula is six gold, already hundreds or thousands of times profit; the average price of a first-tier spell formula reaches twenty-five gold. What’s actually sold is knowledge—the paper is merely the vessel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, spell formulas are far too easy to forge; private trade cannot guarantee authenticity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If fake formulas flood the market, they’ll severely harm the entire nation—why are they called spell formulas? Because mastering a spell requires not only diligent practice and talent, but also consuming the corresponding potion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, a complete spell formula includes not only the spell’s description, model, and casting technique, but also the potion recipe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you buy a fake spell formula, you’ll brew a fake potion. Not only will you lose everything, but death from consuming the poison is highly likely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering all this, nations strictly control spell formulas—it boosts state revenue, maintains market order, protects mages’ “intellectual property,” and prevents spell proliferation—all in one stroke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even with strict controls, completely banning private trade of spell formulas is impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the act of trading itself is hard to prove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, Master Seda teaching his apprentices minor spells clearly isn’t trade—it’s permitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many private sales of spell formulas, lacking evidence, can simply be called “teaching.” Who could punish you? Still, most mages prefer paying high prices through official channels rather than risking private deals—even though private prices are much cheaper. Official formulas are expensive, but they guarantee authenticity; who can vouch for the truth of formulas from other sources?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, forging formulas has a low barrier—anyone can do it—and the materials needed for potions are often far more expensive than the formulas themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To save a little money by buying a fake formula, then wasting far more on materials to brew a fake potion is simply not worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1027,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e3832521327817c7662f58439fb9f64e342c00097a5cd1ed8f18c65ef211291a","above-the-mage-chapter-13","above-the-mage-chapter-11",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]