But upon closer inspection, it turned out that the fiery red gem was actually a crystal of a plane breeding fragment.
A plane breeding fragment is a material from the Space Series. It usually appears in abundance when a subsidiary plane is formed and can occasionally be obtained when a plane corridor is opened. It’s commonly involved in most space-related alchemy and is generally not considered precious, often available for sale in Official Wizard alchemy shops.
However, what’s mentioned here is the plane breeding crystal, which is different.
Usually, it takes five breeding fragments to condense into one crystal. Judging by the size of this crystal, it must have involved at least ten or more fragments.
Although the effects are similar, the value is vastly different because condensing fragments is a special technique only mastered by Space Mages.
This crystal could even be auctioned in the early sessions of common auctions, showing that its value is indeed significant.
Dangross seemed to like this gem very much, constantly rubbing it with its face—its palm, that is—looking just like a human obsessed with petting a cat.
However, no matter how much Dangross liked it, it couldn’t just take it as its own.
This item is not as low in value as quenching liquid and can’t be casually taken.
Angel was about to severely criticize Dangross, making it realize its mistake, when Kaier came over, curiously looking at Dangross: "Do you like this?"
Dangross eagerly nodded its head while holding the gem.
Kaier smiled carelessly and said, "If you like it, then I’ll give it to you."
Angel, ignoring how excited Dangross was, quickly said, "The plane breeding crystal is useless to it; you should put it away."
Kaier quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need."
Seeing Kaier’s insistence, Angel frowned and sighed, "Then let me buy it at market price."
The reason for not wanting to take Kaier’s gift for free is simple: to outsiders, Dangross is Angel’s elemental partner, which means it’s Angel’s property. Giving something to Dangross for free is essentially giving it to Angel, just more tactfully. This amounts to Angel owing a favor.
Angel likes others to owe him favors but doesn’t like owing favors to others. Besides, it’s not like he can’t afford to buy the plane breeding crystal.
Kaier didn’t understand the twists and turns in Angel’s heart and quickly said when Angel offered Magic Crystals, "It’s alright, this is a discarded crystal. When Mentor synthesized it, he got distracted, made a mistake, and it became unusable."
"Because it was discarded, it’s not valuable," Kaier said, embarrassedly scratching his head, "I originally brought it to the shop to deceive some people who don’t know better."
"After all, it’s just a discarded crystal; if it likes it, giving it away is fine," Kaier added, "If it were valuable, I would definitely charge you."
Hearing Kaier explain, Angel turned his attention back to the crystal.
"Let me see it." Amidst Dangross’s reluctant expression, the crystal reached Angel’s hand.
Holding it, Angel felt a burning sensation, quite different from the touch of typical plane breeding crystals.
After a careful investigation, Angel discovered that the crystal contained a large amount of intermingled fire elements. In essence, it’s a mixture of fire and space elements.
"Why is there fire element inside?" Angel asked in confusion.
Kaier responded, "I haven’t learned to synthesize crystals yet, so I don’t know the specifics, but I guess the mentor made a mistake at the step where fire control was required. The fire got in, resulting in this bizarre state."
Angel didn’t know how such a strange thing was created, but he understood why Dangross liked it; the fire element inside was quite abundant. The flames used by Esos during synthesis must have come from a high-grade fire creature, possibly even a special fire source.
Angel fiddled with it for a moment, unable to think of any use for it, and eventually handed it back to Dangross.
Then, Angel took out a small bag of Magic Crystals and handed it to Kaier.
In Kaier’s eyes, filled with refusal and confusion, Angel said, "The balance between space elements and fire elements is quite unusual. I might be inspired by it for some related research topics when I go back. So, it’s better if I buy it."
Kaier hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted it. Although he thought the crystal was useless, since Angel mentioned it might inspire research topics, it had some meaningful value.
Dangross’s excitement over gaining a new favorite crystal was evident from its terrible finger dance.
Feeling embarrassed, Angel picked up Dangross and fixed it on the hooks of the Shadow Sanctuary. Then, he turned his attention to Kaier or, more accurately, to the stack of handbooks in Kaier’s hand.
Upon noticing Angel’s gaze, Kaier quickly handed the handbooks to him.
There were six volumes in total, feeling substantial in Angel’s hands. The first three volumes were made of parchment, thick and with frayed edges, showing years of use.
As for the latter three handbooks, they were made of paper pulp, clean and white, leaving Angel a little surprised.
Kaier explained, "The first three volumes are my mentor’s apprenticeships, and the last three are mine, including annotations and supplements to the mentor’s handbooks."
Upon checking, Angel indeed saw Kaier’s name on the latter three handbooks.
Angel frowned slightly, feeling a bit conflicted as Kaier’s handbook was not part of the task rewards. However, Kaier mentioned there were some annotations, which intrigued Angel.
Perhaps sensing Angel’s hesitation, Kaier explained, "Although the mentor only mentioned using his handbook as a reward in his letter, your unlocking of the drawings and refining the short sword far exceeded the value of his handbook. I know my handbook isn’t worth much, but I hope it can be a small supplement, and I hope you don’t mind."
Angel said nothing, flipping through Esos’s handbook, then Kaier’s.
Although a cursory glance, Kaier’s detailed and straightforward writing greatly satisfied Angel compared to Esos’s frustratingly brief entries due to the limited parchment space.
Ultimately, Angel couldn’t bring himself to decline and nodded, saying, "In that case, I’ll accept it."
Kaier bowed deeply: "It is my honor to be of help to you."
Angel thought for a moment, "I also have some knowledge of spatial concepts, although the fundamentals are a bit weak. During this time, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
With the knowledge package from the Dalmatian, Angel felt it was time to put it to use.
Although Kaier knew Angel had knowledge of space, he had no concept of how strong it was, but since Angel offered, he didn’t plan to be polite. He was genuinely obsessed with research, driven by a pure pursuit of knowledge, and his mind was already calculating what questions to ask.
After Kaier left, Angel kept the handbooks and advised Dangross not to overindulge before entering meditation.
It wasn’t until three hours later that Angel opened his eyes.