Chương 28: Got Time?

Zelier glanced back at the mustached merchant and became even more convinced that the man had the face of a stereotypical swindler. Four Gold Coins? Was he trying to fool an idiot? Even the highest-quality Gravity Press scroll wouldn't sell for that much. Did this guy think all mages were loaded and easy targets for a rip-off?

"Fifty Silver Coins." Zelier casually named his price.

"What?!" The mustached man's voice instantly shot up.

"Fifty Silver Coins? Young master, you must be joking! Fifty Silver Coins wouldn't even buy the parchment, let alone a magic scroll! This is a magic scroll!"

"You know it's a magic scroll, not some priceless family heirloom. The quality is mediocre, and the spell matrix left by the inscriber isn't particularly clear. Don't tell me you weren't aware of that." Zelier remained calm.

"I assume you already had another mage appraise it, didn't you?" The mustached man's expression stiffened.

"Th-that doesn't mean you can slash the price like this! Fifty Silver Coins is absolutely impossible. I can lower it to three Gold Coins."

"One Gold Coin." Zelier's expression didn't change.

"One Gold Coin is too low." The mustached man shook his head.

"Two Gold and fifty Silver. That's my bottom line."

"I'll pay one Gold and twenty Silver."

"Two Gold Coins! Fine? Two Gold Coins is already a huge discount."

"Then you can keep it and sell it to someone else." Zelier turned around and walked away without hesitation.

"One Gold and fifty Silver! I can't go any lower!" The mustached man gritted his teeth and shouted out his final offer.

"Not a single coin less!" Zelier stopped. He currently had three Gold and twelve Silver on him. Spending one Gold and fifty Silver on a scroll... Well, acceptable.

"Deal." With the newly purchased Gravity Press scroll tucked away, Zelier arrived at the outskirts where he usually practiced magic. He unfolded the slightly yellowed parchment. There was nothing written on it. Zelier infused his mana into the scroll. A faint glow spread across his body, and the parchment began radiating a dim light as well. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The hidden secrets within the scroll unfolded before him.

A brand-new spell matrix surged directly into his Soul Space. From the input interface to the mana channels, then the acceleration circuits... the guiding runes... Just as expected, this magic scroll was not particularly high quality. The inscriber's skill was clearly lacking, and many parts of the spell matrix were blurry and incomplete. For an ordinary mage, it would likely take a week or two of painstaking study to reconstruct the spell. Fortunately, Zelier possessed Spell Evolution.

Those minor imperfections in the spell matrix were quickly resolved. Only ten minutes later, the structure of Gravity Press appeared clearly within his Soul Space. The number of spells he possessed had increased to six. The faint glow on the scroll faded away, leaving behind nothing more than an ordinary piece of useless parchment.

"Whew... Gravity Press." Zelier clenched his fist.

"Let's see how useful you are." However, simply casting the spell into empty space wouldn't allow him to properly judge its effects. Zelier looked around. On a nearby tree branch, a small bird was perched. The distance gave it a comfortable sense of safety. It tilted its head, staring down at Zelier beneath the tree, completely unaware of what he was doing. You'll do. Zelier selected his target. After a brief moment of mana accumulation— Gravity Press activated! Bang!

The bird sensed something was wrong and attempted to spread its wings. But an invisible force suddenly erupted. The Gravity Press Zelier controlled descended from above, releasing a powerful mana impact downward. The branch, no thicker than a finger, snapped instantly. The bird fell from the sky and crashed straight into the ground.

"Huh..." Zelier raised an eyebrow. The effect was actually pretty decent. Once fully charged, the spell activated instantly after release. Enemies would have almost no chance to dodge. Although it lacked direct destructive power, that brief moment of suppression could create unexpected opportunities in battle. A single opening might even be enough to turn a losing fight around.... Over the next few days, Zelier focused on practicing his magic, working to fully adapt to his four additional points of Intelligence.

"Fireball!" Boom! A brilliant sphere of flame formed in his palm before shooting directly into the river, creating a cloud of white steam. By now, Zelier had become highly proficient with these Tier-2 spells. Meanwhile, the analysis progress of Veil of the Mist had reached 52%, while Arcane Missile had reached 64%. Both spells still needed some time before completion. However, one thing continued to bother Zelier.

Despite gaining four points of Intelligence, his casting speed without a magic catalyst had barely improved. It remained stuck at slightly over four seconds. Every attempt to optimize the spell matrix ended in failure, as if some invisible barrier was blocking him. After several rounds of analysis, Zelier came to a conclusion. Not every increase in attributes would directly reduce casting time. A mage's growth curve was divided into stages, rather than being a smooth linear progression.

Only after Intelligence reached a certain threshold could the spell matrix be optimized again. The only problem was that he had no idea what that threshold actually was. Looks like he needed to take more quests and level up again.... Early morning. Redbeard Inn. Marcus sat beside his bed and opened a leather maintenance kit. Inside were two long whetstones and a small jar of thick, paste-like weapon oil.

Under the faint morning sunlight, the patterns engraved along the blade were clearly visible, along with traces of dark red stains left behind. Marcus sat silently for a while before picking up a damp linen cloth. He carefully wiped down the surface of the blade. After cleaning it thoroughly, he took the two gray sandstone blocks and began sharpening the edge. Scrape... scrape... The grinding sound was harsh. Tiny fragments of iron fell away like dust.

Under Marcus's meticulous care, the blade's lines gradually became smooth again, restoring its original sharpness. Then he began applying oil to the battle-blade. The paste was spread evenly across every corner of the weapon. It not only prevented the steel from rusting in damp environments, but also allowed the blade to slide out of its sheath more smoothly. When cutting into an enemy's flesh, the sharpened edge would tear through with far less resistance.

After completing every step of maintenance, Marcus tested the edge with his thumb. He was satisfied with the result. Just then— Knock. Knock.

"Come in." Marcus sheathed his battle-blade. The wooden door opened. The person standing outside was Zelier.

"Hey." Zelier gave a casual greeting.

"Got time? Want to head to the Adventurer's Association and pick up a quest together?" The result was exactly what he expected.

"Of course." Marcus smiled. Before reaching the Adventurer's Association, Marcus and Zelier made a small detour to check the inn where Vaelis was temporarily staying. As it happened, the half-elf ranger was free as well. When the two invited him to join, Vaelis accepted without much hesitation. After several quests together, Vaelis had already grown quite accustomed to this team.