"Overdrawing Mana can damage the foundation of one's spirit and life, leading to many severe consequences.
This kind of medicine should always be kept on hand..."
Roy had never tried overdrawing his Mana, nor did he want to, so he decided to buy a few extra bottles just in case.
However, this brought up the issue of carrying them around.
Milina, noticing his dilemma, asked, "Do you need a second-hand portable potion satchel? I can sell it to you cheap."
"A portable potion satchel?" Roy's eyes lit up. He had inquired about such items in stores before, but they were quite expensive.
Seeing his interest, Milina quickly explained, "I bought this on a whim when I was learning potion-making.
But I assure you, it's practically brand new; I haven't used it much."
Her words were somewhat contradictory.
Even if it hadn't been used much, it had still been used!
However, the potion satchel was a substitute for a Storage Wizardry Artifact, made from special materials that could hold various test tubes and bottles.
Items placed inside would have no weight, wouldn't spoil, and wouldn't be affected by external factors like shaking, impact, cold, or heat.
Roy was quite intrigued and asked Milina for more details.
Milina quickly packed up her stall and took Roy back to her place, where she retrieved a finely crafted belt.
"This is a potion satchel with 12 standard slots. I spent 3600 Magic Stones on it, but I'll sell it to you for 1800..."
Roy took it and examined it, soon spotting some issues. He smiled and said, "800!"
"What?" Milina was clearly taken aback.
Roy repeated, "I said, 800!"
Milina's expression turned sour. "That's a really steep discount!"
Roy replied, "You started it, trying to sell me a broken potion satchel as if it were fine!"
"What do you mean broken? It's perfectly fine!" Milina insisted.
Roy said, "Do you think I can't tell? Several of the 12 slots are damaged and could leak. It needs to be repaired with Aether stones or other spatial materials."
"Ah!" Milina's confidence visibly waned as her lie was exposed.
The satchel had indeed been damaged during an adventure when it was struck by a monster.
She had tried to repair it but failed due to her limited skills.
"Fine, 800 it is. But since you know it's broken, I won't be responsible for any issues that arise later."
Roy agreed, "Deal. I'm mainly buying it for the low price, and I'll take full responsibility for any consequences."
This was the unspoken rule of buying things outside of official stores. Apprentices often sold items privately, and buyers usually assumed all risks.
But sometimes, you could really get a good deal, like this belt used by the female apprentice.
After the transaction was completed, Roy pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you have any leftover repair materials? If so, I'll take them all."
Milina looked a bit strange. "Are you sure? I'll give you a discount, 80 Magic Stones for the lot..."
"Can't you just throw them in for free?"
"Dream on!"
After some haggling, Roy spent 50 Magic Stones to buy several pieces of spatial material and immediately returned to his place to start the repairs.
"Success! Now it's a fully functional belt worth over 3000!"
After a busy night, Roy finally managed to repair the belt with the help of his two black iron-level talents, [Proficient] and [Alchemy Machine].
With great satisfaction, he stretched and tried it on.
"The success rate bonus from [Proficient] is really useful. If I do this a few more times, wouldn't I make a fortune?
But such opportunities are rare unless I make a big name for myself, and people come to me on their own.
In that case, I might face life-and-death battles.
The business wars of Warlock Apprentices are just that simple."
After this reflection, Roy tried to load various potions into the belt and then fell asleep.
...
Before he knew it, it was the next day.
Roy got up late and went to the cafeteria for lunch.
There, some advanced apprentices' discussions caught his attention.
"Have you heard? Something happened in Gale Hills!"
"Those magical creatures are really fighting!"
"I've only read about it in books, never thought I'd witness a war between magical creatures!"
"Live long enough, and you'll see everything! Those Fishmen and giants, who should have no connection at all..."
Roy looked puzzled, then found a low-level apprentice who worked as a servant on the third floor and sent him to fetch Renien and others.
"Senior Roy, have you heard the big news about Gale Hills?" Tigro eagerly mentioned as soon as he arrived.
Roy asked, "What exactly happened?"
Tigro said, "I just inquired. Starting yesterday, a large group of Fishmen besieged a giant tribe..."
But while he spoke vividly, he was vague about the specifics.
It was Niya who gave Roy something and explained, "An apprentice happened to be there on a mission and took pictures with an alchemy camera!"
She had recently spent a lot of money to secure a small supervisor position at the mission center, giving her some authority.
Her information was also quite up-to-date.
Roy looked at the pictures she handed over, which seemed to be taken from a high vantage point, too far away to be clear.
But the scene of thousands of magical creatures gathered in war was unmistakable.
"They are indeed attacking the giant tribe!"
Renien whispered.
"The leader is the Fishman Lord we encountered before. Some say they're fighting over a treasure from Chalkland!"
Roy said, "So, it must have fallen into the river?
The Wizardry Energy spread downstream along the river, reached the sea, and then a large group of Fishmen went upstream to find it."
"That's what's being said outside, and it seems the most reasonable speculation," everyone agreed.
Renien said, "Now we just don't know whether the thing is in the hands of the giants or further upstream."
Roy said, "No matter what, this is our opportunity.
Even if those magical creatures have some intelligence, they won't think too far ahead.
Fighting the giants so recklessly is just a boon for the apprentices in the Wizard Tower, isn't it?"
Tigro agreed, "Indeed, everyone is getting busy.
Many are planning to follow behind and take advantage, hoping to make a profit!"
Roy said, "Let's go too!"
As previously mentioned, they sought to avenge their grievances and seize the opportunity to hunt down that powerful monster.
Now that the chance had come, they all agreed without hesitation and began their preparations.
The next day, the team gathered once again at the entrance of the Wizard Tower, setting off on time.
Their destination: Gale Hills!
This time, however, Tigro had replaced Niya and joined their adventure squad.
(End of Chapter)