Chapter 43: Magic Potions, Runes, Extraordinary Items

Having uncovered the secret of the wooden box and unexpectedly received Pierre’s help, Gao De did not leave immediately.

He suppressed his complex emotions and asked Pierre again: “Boss, do you know of any external items that can assist a mage’s cultivation?”

Progressing through the guiding method step by step is simply too slow.

If possible, it’s necessary to use external aids to accelerate cultivation.

Gao De knew well that such items would certainly be expensive, likely beyond his means—but learning the market price first posed no harm.

Pierre, as expected, had vast knowledge; after a moment’s thought, he organized his words and said: “A mage’s cultivation consists of two parts: the guiding method and meditation technique.”

“Meditation cultivates one’s own spiritual force, with no external energy involved, so its progress depends mostly on the individual; auxiliary items are extremely rare and precious, so we’ll set them aside for now. But there are many auxiliary items for the guiding method.”

Fortunately, my progress in meditation isn’t slow… Gao De thought inwardly with relief.

Compared to his predecessor, his progress in the guiding method hadn’t changed at all, but his meditation progress had improved dramatically.

Meanwhile, Pierre had sat down behind the counter. “There are many auxiliary items for guiding method cultivation, but if categorized, they fall into three types: magic potions, runes, and extraordinary items.”

“Essentially, there are two approaches: one enhances the mage’s own efficiency in converting mana into magical energy; the other increases the mana concentration in the cultivation environment.”

“As for magic potions, the most common cultivation potion is the Mana Potion.”

“Mana Potions contain potent mana; after drinking them, a mage can directly absorb the potion’s mana, replacing the mana normally drawn in through the guiding method.”

“This skips the step of drawing in mana through the guiding method—the mage only needs to refine and polish that mana into their own magical energy.”

“Naturally, cultivation speed increases.”

“But Mana Potions are far too expensive—for example, a basic Mana Potion set for apprentice mages (three small vials) costs 6 gold.”

“One set of basic Mana Potion lasts a first-rank apprentice six days, but a second-rank apprentice consumes a set every three days.”

“So apprentices usually buy only one set when nearing a breakthrough in their guiding method, to help push past the bottleneck.”

“Using them for daily cultivation would be far too extravagant—not something an ordinary person could afford.”

Six gold per set, consumed every six days—that’s 360 gold per year, equivalent to 360,000 in his past life. Gao De calculated mentally and knew Pierre spoke truthfully.

Who could afford an annual expenditure of 360,000? And this is only for a first-rank apprentice’s potion cost; for a second-rank apprentice, it’s 720 gold per year.

Of course, if one truly could afford such spending, one could swiftly bring the apprentice guiding method to perfection.

Many so-called prodigies were undoubtedly raised on these “Mana Potions.”

But this was not a method Gao De could afford.

Pierre clearly saw this and continued: “If magic potions lean toward the first method, runes favor the second—increasing mana concentration in the cultivation environment.”

“Multiple runes combined can form a magic array to enhance mana concentration in a specific area. The two most well-known cultivation-assisting magic arrays are the Mana Crystal Matrix and the Mana Node Array.”

“The former requires constant consumption of Mana Crystals, releasing their potent mana to raise environmental mana concentration; the latter gathers ambient mana into a small area.”

“Each has pros and cons: the former raises mana concentration higher, but its cost is high due to constant Mana Crystal consumption.”

“The latter is the opposite: though it raises mana concentration far less, once constructed, it automatically gathers ambient mana without any ongoing cost. Since mana in the world constantly regenerates and flows, it’s effectively a high-return investment—much more economical.”

“But you needn’t consider this method—magic arrays have no zero-rank classification; the lowest is first-rank, and constructing even a first-rank array costs over a thousand gold coins.”

“Most mages rent access to magic arrays for cultivation. But the problem is, there are no rented magic arrays permitted in Hogen City,” Pierre said, spreading his hands.

Hogen City is still too small, and there are too few mages to sustain the operation of even one magic array.

“Lastly, there are extraordinary items.”

“Some extraordinary items are crafted specifically to aid cultivation, automatically absorbing mana to assist their owner.”

“Of course, their effects are far less obvious and direct than magic arrays, but they can be carried on one’s person, working continuously—unlike magic arrays, which are fixed in place, immobile, and unportable.”

“Clearly, extraordinary items designed to aid cultivation are valued far higher than other categories of extraordinary items.”

“Even a 1st-rank extraordinary item, if designed for cultivation and even if its effect is modest, often sells for hundreds of gold coins—and is always in short supply.”

Pierre’s meaning was plain: regardless of whether Gao De had the funds, even if he did, there was nowhere to buy them.

After all that, none of it was usable by him. Gao De felt helpless.

At its root, it came down to one word:

Poverty. Leaving Pierre’s general store, Gao De, clutching one gold and fifteen silver, headed straight for a herb shop at the end of the street.

Preparing a Chuji Spider Venom Potion requires three main ingredients: one Snake Fang Herb, one Mountain Wormwood, and one Green Spider Sac.

The Snake Fang Herb and Mountain Wormwood could be grown in his own herb garden; only the Green Spider Sac needed to be purchased from a herb shop.

Phil’s Magic Potion Shop primarily sells potions but also offers herbs, including Green Spider Sacs, with guaranteed quality.

The problem was, when Seda the mage was still alive, purchases were made in bulk—half-monthly or longer. Now, with Gao De’s tight purse, he could only buy one or two portions at a time.

Buying herbs from Phil’s Magic Potion Shop under these circumstances would be inappropriate—it might draw suspicion from those paying attention.

Adhering to the principle of caution, Gao De reluctantly chose a smaller, distant herb shop instead.

“Twelve silver coins for one Green Spider Sac older than a year?! At Phil’s Magic Potion Shop, it’s only ten silver per portion—how come yours is twenty percent higher?”

In the herb shop, Gao De frowned at the clerk’s price and asked.

“Customer, our shop has stood on this street for decades. Our longevity rests on ‘integrity.’ No matter one’s status, all who enter receive equal respect and fair treatment.”

“Hogen City is small—if we ever cheated a customer, word would spread, and our business would collapse. Why would we be so shortsighted as to deceive you?”

The herb shop owner stepped forward calmly, speaking with unwavering sincerity: “Lately, more people have been leaving the city to hunt. The price of Chuji Spider Venom Potion has risen accordingly.”

“As one of its main ingredients, the Green Spider Sac has become scarce—and naturally, prices have risen. Not just our shop—every herb shop in the city now charges this price.”

“If you don’t believe me, visit other herb shops in town—you’ll find my words are true.”

“Fine… I’ll take two portions,” Gao De said, wincing at the cost.

Though this herb shop wasn’t large, it was an old establishment—nearly twenty years in business—and wouldn’t risk its reputation with such a blatant lie.

The “little rooster” coin he’d barely held onto was gone again. After paying with reluctance, his savings shrank to eleven silver.

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(End of chapter)