Chapter 175: Mage He Sai

In the afternoon, Xia Duo first communicated with Aideliqi and the others via Sending to inquire about the Apprentice Competition. The result was very encouraging; Aideliqi had asked around, and the Mage Tower did not forbid it, though naturally, they did not encourage it either. The premise for everything was that one could not violate the relevant regulations of the Mage Tower, nor could one neglect their own primary duties—apprentices were, in essence, servants who had work to do.

Aideliqi and the others were already soliciting opinions among the apprentices to see what form of competition to organize. The Apprentice Competition would certainly be different from the official Arcane Competition that the Territory was about to host.

Xia Duo offered a few words of encouragement and then headed to the Material Requisition Office.

……

Public Level, Material Requisition Office No. 6.

Perhaps because the Mage Tower had already begun its courses, the Material Requisition Office was exceptionally quiet in the afternoon, which Mage He Sai found particularly enjoyable.

Although apprentices usually handled most of the chores and did not often disturb him, it still could not compare to when there was no one around.

When there was no one around, even the apprentice on duty would be careful not to make a single sound, allowing him to think quietly for a while.

If he was in a good mood, he might even give the apprentice a chance to ask a question. For this reason, even though working at the Material Requisition Office did not yield much profit, there were still people who would break their necks trying to squeeze in.

But not every Material Requisition Office had an Official Mage on duty, and not every duty mage was as easy to talk to as he was.

Glancing over and seeing that the apprentice was carefully tidying the counter and counting items with light movements, Mage He Sai nodded with satisfaction, preparing to allow him to ask one question during his break.

Just then, a soft sound of surprise came from the doorway. Mage He Sai frowned and looked over, but his expression relaxed immediately; it was an Official Mage, so he knew work had arrived.

"Mage He Sai, would you please take a look at this Scroll?" Xia Duo took out a Steam Ray Scroll and handed it over.

"Hm?" Mage He Sai was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly took the Scroll, first inspecting it from the outside before unfolding it to examine it in detail.

After a long while, he shifted his gaze from the Scroll, looked at Xia Duo, and asked, "You are—"

Although Xia Duo recognized this Mage He Sai, the other party clearly did not remember him. "Mage He Sai, you can just call me Xia Duo."

"Mage Xia Duo, if I am not mistaken, this should be a brand-new Spell?"

"Yes!"

"That is rare; it has been quite some time since a new Spell appeared in the Mage Tower!" Mage He Sai seemed to be reminiscing, when suddenly, he seemed to recall something. "Xia Duo, Xia Duo, are you the apprentice that Mage Leonard brought back?"

"That's right, that's me."

"How did you—" Mage He Sai already remembered; back then, Xia Duo had exchanged for quite a few 0-Ring Learning Scrolls here, and coupled with the involvement of the Lord's student, Leonard, it had left a deep impression on him at the time.

It was just that later, over such a long time, the two had no interaction, and Mage He Sai had long since forgotten. It was only hearing the name just now that made him recall it.

"Congratulations on becoming an Official Mage." He Sai's tone was somewhat wistful; people like Xia Duo were indeed rare, and it was impossible not to feel envious.

"How do you intend to handle this Scroll?"

"I'll ask about the price; if it's suitable, I might sell a batch regularly," Xia Duo said calmly.

"You made this Magic Scroll?" He Sai was very surprised, his face no longer able to maintain a calm expression. "I mean, this is truly a rare, high-quality piece."

"Thank you for the compliment. What price range could this Scroll sell for?"

Whether it was high-quality or not, Xia Duo did not take to heart; he could say polite things too. What he truly cared about was the price and whether it was worth his long-term production.

He Sai had inspected the Scroll; although it was an encrypted, ordinary version, he could still infer some information, such as it being an offensive Spell.

But as for the specific effects, he would have to test it in practice to know, as it was not a common, mass-market Scroll. Therefore, He Sai did not provide a quote immediately.

"I need to perform an actual test, but you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. There are too many choices for 1st Circle Magic Scrolls; even if the effect is unique, I estimate it won't exceed 30 Gold Coins."

Xia Duo was greatly surprised; he had thought he would be low-balled. After all, the Mage Tower knew the cost of 1st Circle Scrolls better than anyone. Being able to reach 30 Gold Coins actually already exceeded Xia Duo's expectations.

"Mage He Sai, please feel free to test it. However, I suggest using a living creature for the test. I call this Spell 'Steam Ray', and it has miraculous effects on living creatures."

"Rest assured, the Mage Tower has a specialized testing process for this type of Spell," Mage He Sai suggested. "Would you like to come and see?"

"Is that allowed?"

"Of course it is. I think you might find it useful in the future," Mage He Sai gave an affirmative answer.

Xia Duo immediately became interested. He hadn't known the Mage Tower had such a place; in the end, it was because he had been in the Mage Tower for too short a time.

After giving a few instructions to the apprentice on duty, Mage He Sai led Xia Duo into the Elevator next to Material Requisition Office No. 6.

"The place we are going to is on Underground Floor One of the Mage Tower. There are specialized Blast Rooms, Restraint Rooms, Sealing Rooms, and a Dungeon there. You will be dealing with that place often in the future."

As he spoke, Mage He Sai ordered the Tower Spirit to take them to Underground Floor One.

……

On the way, Mage He Sai asked Xia Duo for two more ordinary versions of the Scroll.

Generally speaking, the appearance of a new Spell must undergo multiple, repeated tests. This testing is not the feasibility experiment before the Spell is completed, but rather something akin to functional testing of a product.

For example, for Xia Duo's Steam Ray, he himself had only completed the feasibility experiment, proving that this Spell could indeed emit a steam ray.

He had not actually tested it on a living creature; as for the effect, that was something he inferred based on people on Earth being scalded by high-temperature steam.

Scalding is not an instantly fatal injury, but it can cause a person to rapidly lose the ability to resist, which is why Xia Duo jokingly called this Spell a "non-lethal rapid incapacitation spell."

However, for a Scroll, three copies were about enough. After all, the person using the Scroll can only simply guide the Spell to be emitted; even, when used by a non-Spellcaster, they cannot even perform basic guidance and can only release it according to the preset instructions of the Scroll creator.

Because of this, non-Spellcasters are generally not very willing to use offensive Spells. If one is not careful, they might not hit the enemy but end up killing themselves instead; that would be laughable.

When Mage He Sai spoke to him about this, Xia Duo immediately realized he had chosen the wrong Spell.

Steam Ray might become a hit in the short term due to its novelty, but in the long run, it would be far less marketable than auxiliary Magic Scrolls.

Before he could feel annoyed, the Elevator had already stopped at Underground Floor One of the Mage Tower.

"We're here."

Happy New Year, everyone!

(End of chapter)