Chapter 1371: Expensive Goods, Eerie Psionic

Of course, that pitch-black stone was not the most expensive item in this shop; the most expensive was a sword hanging and floating from a vine rack inside the shop!

The hilt was a grayish-blue, while the blade was translucent, like crystal with extremely high clarity; with the tip pointing downward, one could even faintly see the blade slightly contracting and extending, just like a living creature breathing.

Seeing this sword, Xia Duo immediately thought of the Psionic Master from Zhamu Dasi in the south whom he had just seen at Dawn Plaza; the person seemed to have a long sword of this style hanging at their waist.

It was just that the pressure the other party gave him at the time was too strong, so he hadn't been able to observe it closely; now, tracing his memory to compare that sword with this one, it was truly as if they had been cast from the same mold.

Xia Duo did not know the value of the Psionic Master's sword, but in this shop, this similar sword was priced as high as 600,000, and it had to be settled in Cormanthor Gold Coins (Xiermeier).

That was a type of magic gold coin upon which a spell had been cast by a High Mage; it was not something that could be privately minted by just digging up some gold, so it counted as an anti-counterfeiting measure, and could also be considered a credit currency with gold as its material.

That black stone worth 100,000 gold coins did not have this restriction; as long as the gold coins met a certain standard, they would do, such as the Mingshui Gold Coins currently used in Daxia Territory.

Even today, with the Northland Alliance already established, perhaps the Gold Coin Exchange Voucher of the Netheril Arcane Union could also work here.

It was just that Xia Duo could not produce 600,000 Cormanthor Gold Coins in such a short time, otherwise he would really have liked to buy this sword back to study it properly.

Although he could not observe any Magic Aura on this sword, just by the blade slightly expanding and contracting like a living creature's breathing, Xia Duo was certain it was definitely extraordinary.

After thinking for a moment, he came before the shopkeeper, who appeared to be practicing Psionic, and asked tentatively: "I have seen that sword before; what is its use?"

"Powerful human guest! That sword might be of no use to you; it is a Focusing Artifact used only by Psionic Masters. The one you saw is merely a replica, not an authentic piece from Zhamu Dasi."

It was still the same voice from the beginning that had come from the void, and this time, under Xia Duo's careful observation, he finally discovered a trace of an anomaly he hadn't noticed before—

The slight vibration of the Magic Net involved several combinations of Magic Net Strings related to sound waves, but it was not directly operated by a Spellcaster; it was more like being inversely excited by the suddenly appearing sound waves.

Creatures of the Main Plane live in a Magic Net environment; the Magic Net is not some mechanical, fixed, concrete creation, but more like a dynamic feedback mechanism that maintains elemental balance and stability.

A Spellcaster can operate the Magic Net to create various Magic Effects to influence reality, but conversely, if changes appear in reality out of thin air, these changes will also have a counter-effect on the Magic Net environment.

The most fundamental point in judging whether something is Magic lies in whether the changes in the Magic Net are within the magic system (in a broad sense, referring to a system of energy operation and transformation that conforms to laws); if not, then it is not Magic.

Although Xia Duo observed at this moment that the vibration of the Magic Net involved several combinations of Magic Net Strings related to sound waves, they were incomplete and could not constitute an energy flow process that conformed to objective laws.

With just those few Spellcasting Element Units, if it were Xia Duo performing it, he could at most produce some noise without any practical significance; it would be impossible to form the effect of voice transmission from the void like the shopkeeper.

This means—the so-called Psionic Magic must contain components unrelated to objective laws, and quite a lot of them at that; it might even be the key!

Perhaps that is the power defined by idealism!

Xia Duo was lost in thought and continued to ask: "Boss, forgive my presumption, may I ask if you are practicing in the field of Psionic?"

"Yes, I once went to Zhamu Dasi in the south and underwent Psionic Enlightenment there. After coming into contact with this power, I realized that this is the truth I have been striving for!"

"Truth?"

Xia Duo's heart stirred, and he seemed to understand something; it turned out this shopkeeper was a non-conformist before practicing Psionic. Generally speaking, in Elf society, the status of a Mage is the highest.

But what Elf Mages pursue is not some truth; at least the mainstream does not pursue truth, but rather the peak realm of magic craft.

In layman's terms, that is to become a High Mage.

If this step is achieved, the next step might be to seek to leave one's own mark on the Mortal Plane, but this step is not necessarily related to magic; founding a country or killing people are both possible.

The shopkeeper prides himself on being a seeker of truth, which is exactly what a non-conformist is; now that he is also practicing Psionic, he is even more of a non-conformist.

Even in Netheril, Mages who single-mindedly pursue truth are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; almost everyone is busy with the various desires of this mortal world.

Becoming a Mage is the best way to realize these desires.

To some extent, Xia Duo is also such a person, but his desires, or rather his ideals, have long since departed from the level of low-level interests and headed toward a broader world.

Truth is what he pursues, but it is not the only thing, and he could not do what this shopkeeper does—easily change his sole focus.

For a moment, Xia Duo did not know how to describe the other party; if one said he was not persistent, he did not forget to practice even while receiving guests.

How should one put it?

This is perhaps the complexity of intelligent beings!

However, having embarked on the path of idealism, whether one can still maintain this complexity of human nature is hard to say.

Regarding this, Xia Duo felt quite emotional.

And during the process of the shopkeeper's answer this time, he once again observed the phenomenon of Magic Net vibration, and at the same time, he confirmed his previous speculation—

Psionic Magic contains components unrelated to objective laws!

But if there are parts within it that conform to objective laws, they will trigger passive vibrations of the Magic Net. This vibration has a certain delay; it is not long, but at a critical moment in battle, it is very likely to lead to fatal consequences.

Going a step further, Xia Duo also thought: if this power of Psionic Magic, defined by idealism, were completely contrary to objective laws, would it be entirely without warning? Would the spell be completed without a trace of movement?

Perhaps the impression that Psionic Magic is extremely strange in the minds of the Illefarn Mages comes from this!

Just as Xia Duo was preparing to ask the shopkeeper for more information related to Psionic, that lively young girl's voice appeared outside the door again—

"Guests are here, guests are here! Welcome to Kalish Aier's Psionic Cabin!"

Subsequently, the fair-skinned and graceful Moon Elf attendant Lunaxisi walked in slowly from outside, and upon seeing Xia Duo, she walked straight toward him.

However, she did not speak after approaching; after bowing, she just stood quietly by Xia Duo's side.

The arrival of Lunaxisi caused Xia Duo to swallow the words he originally wanted to say; regardless of whether it was useful or not, he still did not want this Elf Noble, who was suspected of working for the Evereska intelligence department, to know his thoughts and ideas.

As for the other party learning from this shopkeeper, Xia Duo could not manage that much; in any case, up to now, he had not asked any overly sensitive questions.

His performance was no different from that of a normal tourist.