Chapter 172

Green Bud Month, 6th.

Coming out of the first-rank cultivation room, Gao De paid another 20 gold at the counter, extending his usage time of the cultivation room by forty hours.

The price was that his savings, which had just broken into triple digits three months ago, had now fallen to the warning line of 41 gold and 18 silver.

But even if the economy was tight, Gao De never wanted to cut the fixed daily expenditure of 10 silver coins for the cultivation room.

The good news was that there would be an additional income today.

Leaving the cultivation building, Gao De headed straight for the committee's small building.

Swiping his identity badge, he entered the building, climbed to the second floor, and arrived in front of Master La Er's office.

He lightly knocked on the carved wooden door, and the next moment the door opened in response.

Just as Gao De stepped over the threshold, Master La Er, sitting behind the long table in the office, stood up enthusiastically and led Gao De to the guest area on the side.

As if welcoming a distinguished guest, he personally picked up the kettle and brewed a cup of black tea emitting a misty fragrance for Gao De.

Gao De took the exquisite porcelain cup with complex patterns, took a symbolic sip, and realized the tea fragrance was misty, instantly blooming in his mouth, with a mellow and delicate taste, carrying a trace of sweetness.

This taste was even a few points better than the tea he drank at Jielika's house.

"Good tea." Gao De's thoughts raced, but he had already politely praised it.

"Empress Black Tea, top-tier goods at 3 gold per pound," Master La Er introduced.

Such high-standard treatment, however, made Gao De frown secretly.

He didn't think Master La Er, as an academy committee member, needed to be so polite and enthusiastic to him.

Nor would he think it was his grades that made Master La Er look at him with new eyes.

As the saying goes, if someone shows courtesy for no reason, they are either treacherous or stealing.

Gao De vaguely had bad thoughts rising, but on the surface, he didn't show it at all, instead acting flattered.

Master La Er looked at Gao De, hesitated for a moment, then took a money bag from his bosom and handed it to Gao De.

Gao De took the money bag, and as soon as he weighed it, he felt something was wrong.

He untied the drawstring and looked inside, seeing a full view of golden light.

A full money bag of gold coins; although he couldn't tell the number at a glance, it was clearly more than 20 gold, probably about 100 gold.

"Committee Member La Er, this?" Gao De "hesitated."

According to the original transaction details, before returning the "Water of Spirit Ascension," Master La Er only needed to pay him 20 gold coins per year.

Master La Er said somewhat unnaturally: "Our last transaction had a little problem."

"After Terifu took the Water of Spirit Ascension, his advancement to a 1st-circle magic user failed, but he did accumulate some foundation and experience, so he will definitely succeed next time... so he still needs 1 portion of Water of Spirit Ascension."

"Look, can the portion of Water of Spirit Ascension promised to be returned to you be transferred to me directly?"

"But don't worry, when you reach a third-rank magic user apprentice and prepare to advance to a 1st-circle magic user, I will definitely do my best to help you apply for the Water of Spirit Ascension from the academy."

"I heard that you, Yilan, and Jielika were rated as the three great geniuses of this batch of new students."

"With this foundation, and with my help, applying for the Water of Spirit Ascension will definitely not be a problem..."

Master La Er rubbed his hands awkwardly, seemingly still embarrassed about this matter.

Upon hearing this, Gao De's face showed no emotional fluctuation.

Seeing Gao De's posture, Master La Er hurriedly added: "There are 100 gold here. The 【Obtain Magic Pet】 spell formula and potion I gave you last time are worth about 100 gold on the market."

"200 gold to buy a portion of Water of Spirit Ascension, my sincerity is very sufficient, I didn't cheat you."

Gao De suddenly smiled and replied: "What are you saying, Committee Member La Er? As a dignified committee member of the academy, how could you cheat a student?"

"Since you need this portion of Water of Spirit Ascension, then I will transfer it to you. Anyway, I don't need it yet, so I'm not in a hurry. As for this, it's not needed."

Gao De handed the money bag in his hand back to Master La Er with a full face of smiles, "Just consider it a student's filial piety to you."

"That won't do!" Committee Member La Er saw Gao De was so "accommodating," but he wasn't happy; instead, his expression became slightly stern, putting on a righteous look, "As an academy committee member, how could I take advantage of such a student?"

As he spoke, he "slightly angrily" pushed back the hand Gao De used to offer the money bag.

Gao De's smile stalled slightly, and then he "sincerely" explained: "Committee Member La Er misunderstood my meaning."

"I meant that as a student, the most important thing is spell learning and cultivation. If possible, Master, just give me one or two rare cantrip formulas."

Hearing Gao De's words, Master La Er's slightly angry expression eased. He thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and said: "I do possess some rare cantrips, but you know, most spell formulas are not allowed to be spread."

This is the rule; one can quietly ignore it in private, but one must abide by it on the surface.

"However, there is indeed a rare spell formula that belongs to me, which I can pass on to you."

Saying this, Master La Er stood up, opened a small cabinet in the room locked with a secret magic lock, took out a small booklet with a brand-new cover, and handed it to Gao De.

"You can only learn it yourself, and it is not allowed to be spread," he instructed according to convention at the same time.

"As for these 100 gold coins, you should still keep them. There are still many places in the academy where money is needed."

"I understand, thank you, Committee Member La Er," Gao De took the copied spell formula, which looked like a transcript, and "thanked" him.

"This is nothing, then let's make the deal." Having solved the matter stuck in his heart, Master La Er was in a good mood.

Gao De immediately took his leave tactfully.

After Gao De left, the smile on Master La Er's face disappeared instantly and became gloomy. He was silent for a long time before muttering: "He already took the initiative to ask me for more benefits, so he shouldn't be one way in the open and another in secret, and go report me..."

He sighed again: "Terifu, for your sake I even lost my face. Using such means to deal with a new student, you must not let me down again."

Thinking this, Master La Er curled his lips, feeling a bit depressed, "This kid also has some ability, having made a name for himself in the academy, making it hard for me to dismiss him too casually... But even if he had no ability, his mentor is that guy He Xi, so I can't go too far."

"Fortunately, this is a guy who knows how to advance and retreat, not a stubborn one..."

Leaving the committee, Gao De's mood was actually very calm.

One reason was that when he first traded with Master La Er, he had already prepared himself mentally for the other party to "renege."

Later, after learning from Shadi that Master La Er's apprentice had failed to advance, he had long expected this day to come.

The second reason was that he understood that even if he threw a tantrum and fought hard against Master La Er, the final result would likely be that he still wouldn't get what he deserved, and he would be held a grudge by Committee Member La Er in the future.

And although Committee Member La Er would ruin his reputation, he actually wouldn't suffer any loss in the end.

Therefore, when Master La Er went back on his word, his first reaction wasn't anger, but thinking about how to maximize his benefits.

The retreat as an advance just now was for this purpose.

Sure enough, on the basis of 100 gold coins, he obtained another rare cantrip formula.

As his thoughts raced, Gao De had already opened the spell formula given by Committee Member La Er.

(End of chapter)