Six hundred magic crystals just to craft an alchemy item enchanted with Prelude to Elimination.
And this was based on the condition that his attempt was successful. Should anything go wrong, everything would go to waste.
Angor hesitated. He wanted to give up. However, when he recalled how Prome did save his life back there, he decided to give it a shot anyway.
He did not reveal his plan since he still had many problems to solve, such as where to find the magic crystals and materials. Besides, if Prome could actually find a usable weapon from the Wizard Fair, he could avoid “wasting money”.
Dave asked a question in the meantime, “Master, from what I heard till now, an Energy Stabilizer doesn’t seem so useful. Why is the draft so expensive to rent? And how much does it cost when a full-functional stabilizer is sold?”
Prome sneered, “I didn’t say anything about the true potential of a stabilizer. It isn’t used for extracting pure energy only. Any experiment that involves energy application could use such a tool, and any wizard who strives to achieve something good should get one. It has a high demand on the market, thus it’s an expensive blueprint.
“You should already know that anything related to alchemy knowledge costs a fortune. As for a full-functional stabilizer… it actually is affordable. I think Floating Mech City provides them at less than 200 crystals. We don’t have many alchemists here though, so you may find them in Brute Cavern at a higher price.”
“Can you make one, Master?” Dave asked.
Prome cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t be running a shop in this place if I can. If I go to Wizard Fair and sell stabilizers there, even if only one each day, I’d become richer than most people!”
Prome noticed Angor’s expression and thought the kid was still thinking about Energy Stabilizers.
“No need to worry. I was planning for the worst already. I’ve found enough magic crystals so I can go check the grand auction held in Twilight Well next week.”
Twilight Well, the name of the Wizard Fair in Darkivil Empire.
Apparently, auctions in Twilight Well were managed by their local wizard families. But in truth, they were sponsored mainly by Brute Cavern. Aside from routine auctions every month, they also held two grand auctions each year. One during the middle of a year, and one at the end.
“I’ll go as well, maybe I can learn something. I really need some new alchemy materials too.”
Angor already mentioned this last time. He was glad he was just in time for the mid-year grand auction.
“Of course. You come with us too, Dave. Go find a space capsule so we can stock up for the shop.”
Since it was decided, Angor needed to prepare something for his own. The foremost task was to earn some money. If Prome failed to find anything useful from the auction, he would need to “spend money” and make one, and he currently did not have enough money for that.
Besides, he also needed some other materials for his space storage, which would probably cost him more crystals.
The mid-year grand auction would start in the middle of Month of Soothing Wind, which meant it was only ten days away.
“Master Prome, do we use a steam train or airship?” Angor spoke.
“I planned to take an airship. But a ticket costs two crystals, which is… a little more expensive than a train ticket. There will be a lot of people going for the grand auction, so we better go pre-order the tickets now.”
Angor offered to take this job, but Dave asked to go instead since he earned 50 magic crystals today.
Ramanbell bought all of Angor’s weapons. As promised, Angor shared 10% of the income with Dave, and it was about 50 crystals. When Dave asked whether he should give a share to Prome, his master declined.
Dave earned money equal to his salary for two months in a single day.
With Dave away to buy tickets happily, Angor and Prome exchanged all kinds of tips about alchemy. “Exchange” might not be the right word for it, since Prome was the one talking most of the time. Angor was also interested in synthesis, so he gladly listened to Prome’s lecture as a “student” and asked several really childish questions of his own, while Prome did not mind enlightening him.