The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Chapter 105 Methods of Handling Spell Materials (4K)

Lorraine got up very early today.

He practiced with Eileen for a long time last night, so much so that he dreamed about the tongue-twisting spell for the Flame Arrow while he was sleeping.

Fortunately, hard work pays off.

After some effort recently, the accuracy of my spells has improved a lot, and I feel that I will be able to truly learn them soon.

Downstairs in the empty tavern lobby, Gustav was still cleaning up the mess left by the guests the night before. We were used to him getting up so early.

"Good morning. The bread isn't ready yet. Shall we make do with some from last night?"

"Okay, thank you."

Lorraine nodded and found a seat by the window.

He spread the spell notes he had borrowed from Eileen on the table, chewing on the leftover bread Gustav had brought him, and silently recited the spell for the Flame Arrow in the dim morning light from the window.

The streets were still shrouded in a gray haze, with only a few pedestrians occasionally hurrying by, their necks hunched over, wrapped in thick coats.

Frost Valley City was still asleep at this time.

Lorraine waited until the sun slowly climbed onto the roof.

The number of pedestrians and vendors on the street gradually increased, and every now and then a merchant would lead a caravan of people to stop by for breakfast.

He glanced at the crowd entering, but didn't recognize any familiar faces. It was already quite late, and there was no point in waiting any longer.

Perhaps Gary died on the way, perhaps he was discovered by Viscount Hermann's men when he entered the city, or perhaps he simply ran away with his meager provisions.

In either case, he most likely won't come.

Lorraine felt somewhat disappointed.

It seems I'll have to find another way to deal with that shipment. It's a pity this isn't Shallow Beach Town, otherwise I might be able to entrust Nathan with it... he thought casually.

"Eileen should be awake by now. I'll go ask her about the spell again. I must learn the Fire Arrow today."

Lorraine closed her spellbook, stood up, brushed the bread crumbs off her clothes, and was about to go upstairs when the door behind her was pushed open.

He turned his head to look.

"Sir, I apologize for keeping you waiting."

Gary was dressed in neatly packed linen clothes, and his face was covered with a black cloth, so his expression was not visible, but his eyes appeared very calm.

This outfit didn't seem strange in the tavern.

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief, gave Gary a second look, walked towards him, and said softly, "Come with me."

He led Gary through the lobby, opened the back door, and led him to the deserted backyard, where he casually grabbed a stool and sat down.

"Sir, I've already made arrangements with the black market merchants, but the final transaction requires your personal presence..."

""

"We'll talk about these things later. Here, take this."

Lorraine stopped Gary from talking on and on, taking out a small cloth bag he had prepared beforehand from his pouch and placing it in front of him.

Gary cautiously looked down at the cloth bag, not daring to reach for it, and asked, "Uh... excuse me, sir, what is this?"

"The money isn't much, probably just enough for you to bring your family out of Frostvale and settle them somewhere for a while," Lorraine said casually.

Since Gary had come as agreed, he could be considered as one of his own. He figured it wouldn't be too late to do things after Gary had taken care of his family.

Gary froze on the spot, the bag suddenly transforming into something terrifying, making him afraid to even look down.

He swallowed hard, his fingertips trembling slightly with fear.

"You...you know?" Gary's words were somewhat halting. "About Anne and the children? You sent someone..."

""

"Annie? I don't know anything about your family, and I won't have anyone following you."

Lorraine frowned, wondering why he suddenly brought up his family. He continued, "Since I saved you back then, I wouldn't resort to such despicable means."

The reason I asked you to take your family away is because I felt that what you did for us might implicate them, and I didn't want that to happen.

"Putting your family in a safe place is what you should do, and it's what I should ask you to do."

At this point, Lorraine paused for a moment.

Looking at Gary's suddenly reddened eyes, he felt as if his words had brushed past some of Gary's experiences.

But instead of asking further questions, he pushed the cloth bag forward a little further and said, "Take it."

'

.thank you."

Gary was silent for a moment before taking the cloth bag and holding it tightly in his hand.

Lorraine waited until he calmed down a bit before asking, "You said you've already made contact with the black market dealers?"

"Yes, sir."

Gary quickly composed himself and transformed back into the shrewd businessman. He lowered his voice and said, "The spices and furs can be divided into two batches based on quality. I contacted a middleman who runs a general store in the market area using a code."

He supplied goods to the wealthy people in the upper district year-round, and even the best quality spices could be sold to him. Although he offered relatively low prices, it was a safe and discreet arrangement that wouldn't attract attention.

"Another batch of spices and most of the furs can be sold in smaller pieces through black market dealers for a much higher price, but those dealers are very greedy and will likely have to negotiate a bit."

"If you're willing to trust me, I can handle the initial negotiations and the final transaction, even though I'm already dead," but underground transactions often don't require showing your face.

"very good."

Lorraine nodded in satisfaction.

When Gary talks business, he becomes a completely different person. He is not only logical and clear-headed, but also able to understand the risks of each route in advance.

"I still have some spell materials I need to sell, but the Mage Guild's buyback price is very low. Do you have any connections?"

He took a piece of paper with the spell materials written on it out of his pocket and handed it to Gary.

Eileen has already inspected the items loaded onto the caravan; they are mostly spell scrolls.

And those gifts that Viscount Herman gave to Eileen weren't of much use to them.

After all, Eileen has magical artifacts that can replace spellcasting materials, while Lorraine hasn't even learned how to use fire arrows yet, so she doesn't need these things at all.

Why not sell them all and exchange them for gold coins? They're both short of money right now. The shorter guy doesn't really care about these things, but having more gold coins in his pocket will make him feel much better.

"My lord... please forgive my bluntness, but the materials for magic are far more troublesome than those spices and furs."

Gary's expression turned serious. Instead of hiding the difficulties, he described all the details clearly: "Ordinary black market merchants wouldn't accept these things, and those who have the power to buy this batch of goods have more or less dealings with Viscount Herman."

"And what's your suggestion?"

Lorraine frowned and asked.

If this batch of materials cannot be sold, the funding gap for rust-filling throats will widen further.

"Sir, I have a plan."

Gary looked at the list of materials on the paper, and his years of business experience quickly led him to a feasible solution: "You said before that you didn't want to sell spell materials to the Mage Guild, which is absolutely correct. It's not just a matter of price."

The association keeps records of the origin and destination of every batch of materials, and these records could potentially be accessed by Viscount Hermann's mage advisor.

He paused for a moment, and seeing that Lorraine did not intend to interrupt him, he continued, "Sir... in my opinion, although these materials cannot be sold directly, we can find another way to deal with them."

"How so?"

"Spell Scroll"

Gary looked up, his speech quickening slightly: "Your companion... that mage lady, if she could turn all these materials into scrolls, things would be much easier."

"Spell scrolls can be sold anywhere because they are anonymous, and the association will not inquire about the source of the scrolls."

"And adventurers are even more so. They don't care where the materials come from when they buy these things. They only care about what spells the scroll can hold and how good the quality is."

Spell Scrolls...

Lorraine pondered for a moment.

This is indeed a viable path, and may even be more reliable than spices and furs.

After all, no one can trace the origins of a completed spell scroll back to the mine from which it was mined and who handled it.

Moreover, if it's made into a spell scroll, it might sell for an even higher price.

Eileen has been focusing on learning second-circle magic lately, and it's unclear whether she's willing to put her mind to these tedious things.

Or should I ask her to teach me? Copying spell scrolls shouldn't require chanting incantations, right?

"If sold to the Mage Association, what would be the price for the magic scroll and the one-ring scroll?" he pressed.

Gary paused for a few seconds, recalling the price of the rolls, and said, "The price difference between these two types of rolls is huge."

A magic scroll typically sells for around five gold coins on the market, while a full-length scroll ranges from 40 to 60 gold coins. The association's purchase price is a uniform 70% of the selling price.

He added an explanation: "After all, those who can copy a scroll are all formal monks, and there are only a few formal monks who are stationed here, let alone those who are willing to do such a tedious job."

"Therefore, most of the scrolls circulating in the market are magic scrolls, and magic apprentices who are short of money are happy to do these jobs."

Lorraine quickly did some mental calculations.

The association buys a single spell scroll at 70% of its original price, making a profit of ten or twenty gold coins in one go.

Moreover, it seems that the only problem is the lack of supply; there's no worry about selling at all. It's incredibly profitable.

The profit margin was so large that he was quite envious.

"Then let's do it the way of a scroll."

Lorraine made a decision, turned to look at him, and said, "You go and negotiate the prices of those spices and furs first. I'll discuss the scrolls with Eileen. You don't need to get involved here."

"I understand, sir."

Gary stood up, carefully put the cloth bag into his pocket, bowed respectfully to Lorraine, and then turned to leave.

Lorraine sat in the backyard for a while, going over the whole thing in her mind to make sure there were no oversights.

He looked up at the sky; the sun had fully risen, and Eileen was probably already awake by now.

Go ask her about spell scrolls.

Lorraine returned to the lobby and was about to go upstairs when she saw Eileen already sitting in her usual spot at the bar by the stairs, looking down at a spellbook so thick it could be used as a brick.

"When did you come down? Why are you learning magic so early?" He walked over and sat down next to her.

"While you were having a lively conversation with that businessman," Eileen turned a page in her book, then glanced up at him, "I really have to thank him. It's been so long since I've been able to sleep in."

"Ha ha..."

Lorraine smiled awkwardly, knowing that she was referring to his habit of going to her early in the morning to learn magic, so he decided not to get entangled in the topic with her.

If I don't go up early, how will I see her in her bathrobe?

"Those things are almost done, but we still need to think of another way to get the spell materials," he said, changing the subject.

"Have you come up with a solution?"

Eileen took a sip of the hot tea that was placed to the side, and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Spell Scroll"

Lorraine mouthed four words to her, and seeing her confused look, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "The spell materials can't be sold directly, but they can be made into scrolls. That way, not only will the price be higher, but we also won't have to worry about that person finding us."

He then briefly recounted Gary's proposal, as well as the possible prices of those rolls.

"So... what do you think?"

"Get out of the way."

Eileen pushed his forehead aside in disgust, rubbed her itchy ears, and suspected that he was doing it on purpose.

She closed the book, looking at Lorraine's expectant expression, and simply couldn't bring herself to refuse him.

"Sure, but..."

Eileen sighed, then said solemnly, "Copying scrolls is not as simple as you think. Each scroll must have its spell model constructed simultaneously during the copying process, and not a single stroke can be wrong."

"It consumes almost as much mental energy as casting a spell. It takes a professional mage at least two or three hours to complete a single scroll."

"Copying two or three pages a day is the limit; any more and you're likely to fail."

"What if I copy it? Does it need to know how to chant spells?" Lorraine asked.

"You..."

Eileen raised an eyebrow, about to mock him for overestimating himself, when she suddenly remembered that he had learned the combat skills of runes and spell models in one go. So she swallowed back the words, "You should learn that fire arrow first."

What a weirdo! Most people learn incantations quickly, but it takes them a long time to learn runes and spell models. He's doing the opposite.

"That seems feasible... Alarm spells, detection magic, disguise spells, and so on. Spell models and runes shouldn't be difficult for you, and you should be able to mix the magic ink after watching me do it once."

Eileen picked up her teacup again, took a sip of tea, and then looked over the rim of the cup to examine Lorraine.

"But... do you know how tedious it is to copy scrolls? If you make even one mistake, you have to start all over again. Not to mention the wasted materials, it's common for a beginner to work on a single scroll five or six times. Are you sure you have enough patience?"

"You can completely trust me on this."

Boring? Patient?

Lorraine has plenty of patience.

The number of tedious problems he solved in his past life is probably more than the number of scrolls copied by the entire Mage Association.

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