Chapter 24: Zero-Tier Magic: The Unique Utility Magic of the Otherworld

Four years before the New Calendar.

[Mid-Wind Month], May 30th.

Following the flow of people, Tang Zheng walked along the main thoroughfare; perhaps due to the sheer number of pedestrians, the stone-paved road had become somewhat sunken in certain spots.

However, the entire ground remained very clean, with only the faint traces of moss visible in the crevices along the very edges of the street.

The surrounding clusters of buildings were arranged in an orderly fashion, primarily in light tones, with dark-toned, European-style roofs.

As Tang Zheng walked along the street, he observed his surroundings while heading toward the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel.

He needed to find a place to rest and recuperate first.

He had left the Royal Capital on May 17th; by now, he had spent thirteen days on the road.

The matter of leveling up had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

The Tob Forest and the Katze Plains, located near E-Rantel, were two important leveling locations in his view.

Tang Zheng intended to head to the Tob Forest first.

This was not only because the forest contained a large number of beasts and magical creatures, but also because he currently lacked the means to inflict effective damage on the undead creatures of the Katze Plains.

Therefore!

Tang Zheng needed to prepare some supplies for himself; he owed this to the wilderness survival skills the "Rock" squad had taught him.

He was not heading to the Adventurer's Guild now, but to an inn located nearby; it was said that these inns were businesses that had sprung up around the guild.

Some high-level adventurer squads did not even need to pay when staying at these inns.

He had been walking for over ten days straight.

In his past life, Tang Zheng felt that his legs would have been all but ruined, if not completely useless.

But now.

After this long journey, aside from feeling a bit tired, Tang Zheng felt no discomfort at all, and he hadn't even developed a single blister on his feet.

This situation made Tang Zheng suspect that leveling up was likely not just an increase in strength, but that his own physique was also becoming significantly stronger.

Tang Zheng unhooked the water skin from his waist and took a drink; after passing through a few blocks, he found a small inn located one street away from the Adventurer's Guild.

This type of inn offered two kinds of rooms.

One was a multi-person room, which could accommodate 4 to 6 people, costing one copper coin per person per day.

The other was a two-person room, costing 5 copper coins per person per day.

This type of inn was clearly provided for adventurer squads, and indeed, that was the case; after all, aside from adventurers and visiting merchant caravans, local commoners would not stay in inns.

Naturally, Tang Zheng would not stay in a multi-person room, so he simply booked a two-person room for himself; after considering the time needed to prepare supplies, he booked it for a total of two days, which cost him 20 copper coins.

That was the price of one silver coin and seven copper coins.

Click!

Pushing open the brown wooden door, the somewhat aged hinges let out a harsh, light sound.

Tang Zheng stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and scanned the entire room.

The room was not large, only about eleven or twelve square meters; in the center of the room were two wooden beds with a simple nightstand in between.

As for the rest of the space, there was no other furniture, making it look very sparse; the only thing that brought Tang Zheng any comfort was that this room came with a private toilet.

Overall, this otherworld was at a medieval level, but due to the existence of magic, it could not be viewed entirely as medieval.

For example!

Whether in the Royal Capital or on the central streets of E-Rantel, there were things similar to streetlights.

Of course, they were not real streetlights, but magic lamps containing something called "Everlasting Light."

Although the journey had been arduous, it was not a problem for Tang Zheng; the only thing he found somewhat unbearable was the issue of using the toilet.

"Paper" did exist in this otherworld!

However, the papermaking process was very backward, the output was very low, and no one was willing to waste time improving it.

This was because in this otherworld, there existed zero-tier magic that did not exist at all in the game "Yggdrasil." This type of magic was also known as utility magic!

One only needed to consume a little mana to easily create a large amount of paper; under these circumstances, there was naturally no need to improve papermaking technology.

Fortunately.

The "Rock" squad was, after all, a high-income group, and once people have money, their standard of living always improves a bit.

Otherwise—

"Ahem."

Tang Zheng coughed lightly, interrupting the thoughts that had emerged in his mind.

The existence of zero-tier magic was information Tang Zheng had heard from the "Rock" squad; according to their captain, Dosari.

This type of magic was only used to make life more convenient, and most magic casters would not specifically learn it; unless they had a need for it, they would only purchase the corresponding magic scrolls.

It was also because of this information.

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That Tang Zheng was reminded of something: his way of acquiring skills was to learn them by consuming skill points after someone else cast the skill.

If a spell was cast using a scroll, could he also learn it by consuming skill points?

Additionally.

There was also the issue of making money!

Whether he was willing to admit it or not, the upcoming purchases would all require money.

Heading to the Tob Forest, not to mention anything else,

he had to buy at least one piece of armor, especially a weapon; the short sword in his hand would likely have its edge rolled after killing just a few beasts.

He couldn't afford a magic weapon, so he had to stock up on a few ordinary blades!

The basic cost of living in this world was not high, but once an item was involved with "magic," the price became frighteningly high.

A cup that merely had a cooling effect cost as much as 150 gold coins.

And weapons with magical effects, regardless of their strength, were worth over 1,000 gold coins!

These were things ordinary people could never touch in their entire lives!

With the money he currently had, he could only buy a few decent ordinary weapons!

On the way to E-Rantel, Tang Zheng had already started considering the problem of making money; asking Enri for advice on manufacturing "healing potions" was done with this consideration in mind.

However.

After figuring things out, Tang Zheng knew he couldn't spend a large amount of time collecting herbs and learning herbal knowledge.

Therefore.

Tang Zheng had considered "zero-tier magic," or utility magic.

"Fortunately, the money Captain Dosari gave me solved my current temporary predicament."

Tang Zheng took the pouch of gold coins from his bosom.

He had just checked it; there were a full 20 gold coins inside, and adding the money he had left over previously, he currently had 22 gold coins, 4 silver coins, and 4 copper coins on hand.

Tang Zheng put the money pouch into his item box and reached up to rub his temples; there were many problems to think about, but next...

Thump!

Tang Zheng walked to the side of a bed and fell backward onto it.

He had been sleeping in the wild, and his nerves had been tightly wound.

Now, he could finally sleep on a bed.

What he needed most right now was to properly recuperate and get some rest.

Tang Zheng lay on the bed, turned his head, and glanced out the window; the sun was high outside, and calculating the time, it should have just passed noon.

This inn was not far from the Adventurer's Guild, and since it was daytime, he should be able to get a good rest.

This thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind, and he closed his eyes.

(End of chapter)