Chapter 248: Queuing and Gift-Giving

"500 grams of Moon Silver Water, 150 grams of Ruby Dust, twelve index fingers from Clay Golems, and rune stones soaked in Holy Oil."

Rod took the brass elevator again to arrive at the Magic Control Union.

In his hand, he held a list enumerating rows of materials.

Some were for Zombie Selena to craft magic rings; others were commissioned by Elf Kali to help him purchase.

There were also small experimental materials for Ghoul Pan Ni to clear diseases among her ghoul servants.

However, Pan Ni's spell experiments were likely mostly unorthodox wild methods.

So she spent a full hour of talking to persuade Rod.

Of course, Rod himself also had material needs.

Recently, the construction of the War Soul has reached its end; only a solidification ritual remains to complete it entirely.

Plus, needing to buy a batch of heating stones and heating charms, Rod had specifically brought an extra spell satchel this time.

No loitering.

Rod headed straight for the Market District.

Passing through the service hall, after verifying his employee badge, he boarded the magic elevator reserved exclusively for internal personnel.

The buttons inside the elevator were not numbered one, two, three, four, but directly labeled with the reachable areas.

Such as the Containment Branch, Market District, Data Zone, Conference Hall, and so on.

Anyway, it felt quite modern.

Rod pressed the button for the Market District.

A message popped out:

【Market District capacity reached: 2000/2000】

【Employee ID kdh9527, you are waiting in line. Ticket number N3651. There are still 1262 people ahead of you waiting.】

【'Heart of Locke' is at your service. For inquiries, please consult the Service Hall.】

"?"

Rod stood stunned in place.

The brass elevator doors opened, revealing the scene of the first-floor hall again.

He could only step out.

"What's going on?"

I've been here several times before; every time it was deserted, so how is it so lively now?

And it says 'There are still 1262 people ahead of you waiting.'

Rod really felt a headache.

Waiting is impossible; waiting for these thousands of people, it's hard to say what would be left in the Market District.

After all, we have some connections at the Magic Control Union, right?

Rod went to the Service Hall and booked a meeting with Oona, the Deputy Director of the Containment Department.

Oona was very accommodating and approved it immediately.

Of course, favors must be mutual; Rod shouldn't go empty-handed either.

So he found a batch of seasonal fruits from the spell satchel and dug up some rare carvings with special magical effects.

What?

You ask why Rod's mage satchel can even hold seasonal fruits?

Hard to please everyone; there are too many girls in the forest, and our Forest Warden is always preparing.

As for Oona...

Naturally, one cannot treat her like a little girl and give small trinkets or such.

Although she isn't a direct superior, gift-giving at this time still requires some tact.

Not too valuable, or people will think you have something important to ask.

Not too casual, or people will think you don't take it seriously.

Sincerity is primary; value is secondary.

Hmm.

Rod thought for a moment and placed a row of magic rings with colorful metallic exteriors beneath the seasonal fruits.

These were the cute version of magic rings Selena forged under his strong request, intended specifically to make girls happy.

The spells inside were not for combat, mostly daily spells.

Magic rings shouldn't count as accessories, right?

They count as magical items.

Remember last time when I gave the deep pink Masai Crystal, Oona seemed to like it quite a bit; I suppose she likes these things.

Coincidentally, coloring magic rings is currently popular in the newspapers, so it counts as riding a trend.

The Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom's newspaper severely condemned this behavior, claiming it was an insult to magic rings.

Although even people within the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom didn't manage that newspaper anyway.

Gifts prepared.

Then used the 【Packaging Spell】 on the 【Soul-Trembling Blade】 to neatly arrange them into the appearance of a generous gift.

Very strange, right?

The 【Soul-Trembling Blade】 even has such a skill.

Even stranger things exist.

A while back Rod used the 【Feather-Cleansing Spell】 on the sword, and the area below is still completely bare to this day.

"What a truly insane skill."

Rod shook his head, putting aside his wild thoughts.

He headed straight for Ona's office.

Quickly.

Rod arrived before the office door and gently pulled the bell on it.

Crack—

The door opened immediately, and the Bao Mu Fa mage Ona appeared in the doorway.

The white hood still covered half her face, while the lower half of her wheat-colored skin showed a sweet smile.

"Rod! Long time no see!"

"My lord Ona."

Rod smiled and handed over the gift.

Ona hadn't even reacted yet when her first glance fell upon the row of magic rings in various colors.

"It's a Cai Se Mo Fa!"

"Cai Se Mo Fa?"

"Haha, that's the nickname girl mages give to these dyed magic rings."

"I see."

The two hurriedly entered the office.

Only then did Rod notice there were two other guests inside.

One was a human woman, and the other was actually a tall woman with ox horns.

The two women sat on the sofa in the corner, expressionless.

Ona paid no attention at all and sat with Rod in the guest seat by the desk.

Seeing the treasure, she was delighted and didn't stand on ceremony; she directly took out the row of colorful rings.

"This dyeing spell that doesn't damage the ring's function is very rare; as soon as it appeared on the market, it was snatched up. My lord Yulia sent me several times and I couldn't buy any. Is this very expensive? Wait, it's not dyed?"

Ona's eyes brightened slightly.

She picked one up; under the light of the Brightness Spell, its color was warm and naturally translucent, obviously crafted from special colored materials, far more beautiful than those made by dyeing spells.

"The same craftsmanship as the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom, but the quality is inferior. Are these private items leaked from the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom?"

Rod did not intend to reveal his ability to craft magic rings before Ona just yet and had already prepared his explanation.

"I bought them from a familiar goblin merchant; they are said to have leaked from within the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom."

The so-called private items were batches secretly kept by people in the magic ring factory and released by them outside on their own.

Such incidents had happened several times in the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom, so it wasn't exactly rare.

Ona was extremely envious.

"What good luck. Even my lord Yulia and I couldn't buy the dyed ones, yet you already have such good goods... Wait, is this for me?"

"Yes."

Rod couldn't help but laugh.

"Really?!"

This Tu Ren Fa mage was overjoyed and stood up with a snap.

The hood consequently slipped back a bit, revealing a sweet, delicate face.

Her red pupils were exceptionally attractive, and a strand of white hair falling on her cheek made her even more exotic.

Rod did not know Ona was of the Tu Ren Fa race; he only thought this was a characteristic of humans from certain regions.

So he had few thoughts on the matter.

"By the way, my lord Ona, why were there so many people in the market district today? I took a queue ticket and ended up behind person number 1262..."

"Don't call me 'my lord Ona'~ just call me Ona. The market district? Oh! A patrol team led by a Magic Control Union committee member returned from another space, bringing a huge amount of materials; they are all going to find bargains! Don't worry, I have a special channel reserved for supervisors! I'll take you!"

Ona looked at the Cai Se Mo Fa rings, unable to put them down, and said with great conviction.

(End of this chapter)