CH107

The rows of houses in Crowfall Town were mostly shops for people to set up. If you wanted to sell something, you just found an empty house.

There were plenty of houses because there were so few wizard apprentices.

Even though this was an annual market, most of the surrounding wizard apprentices attended, but the numbers were still low.

Helag estimated about thirty people so far.

The numbers might increase, but it wouldn't be a sudden surge. It would likely cap at a few dozen.

"No wonder Calis could spot me as a newcomer. There are so few rogue wizard apprentices that most have probably met before, making newcomers easy to identify."

Helag continued strolling down the street. Some shops were already occupied by wizard apprentices, with small blackboards listing items for sale and wanted items.

"Bartering seems common here, with few gold coin transactions and no magic stone trades so far."

He observed several shops selling potion ingredients, spellcasting materials, and finished potions. Some even sold spell model books.

Items were generally priced in gold coins or traded for items of equivalent value.

For example, one shop's blackboard read: "Selling Withered Magic Vine, 80 gold coins each, preferably traded for White Dew Grass."

These wizard apprentices were more interested in acquiring resources for their practice than in making money.

They had no stable channels for obtaining practice resources outside wizard organizations.

While earning money in the ordinary world was easy, acquiring various potion and spellcasting materials was challenging.

Resource-rich areas were controlled by wizard organizations, making scattered resources hard to find and obtain.

Places like Creek Valley Town, rich in resources, would attract these apprentices despite the dangers.

Helag didn't find any Moonstone Grass for sale after making a round, guessing the seller hadn't arrived yet.

He wasn't interested in the current shop items, as Larry had provided him with a wealth of basic potion ingredients.

As night fell, Helag found an empty house to stay in.

He closed the door and took out prepared food and water for dinner.

There was no need to worry about sudden attacks here, as no wizard apprentice dared cause trouble in Crowfall Town.

***

Two days later, the market officially opened, with over sixty people in attendance.

Helag spent the past two days meditating, pausing the slate analysis to maintain peak condition and full magic reserves.

Crowfall Town was now bustling, with two or three black-robed figures maintaining order.

Helag sensed they were third-level wizard apprentices with strong magical auras.

"Likely from a wizard organization, probably Dream Island," Helag speculated.

With these figures present, transactions proceeded smoothly, with no fear of theft or violence.

"Moonstone Grass! It's Moonstone Grass!"

"That's a high-grade potion ingredient. How did he get it?"

"It's a valuable item, but useless to me. It's not used in common potions."

"Exactly. If I had the skills to use it, I'd be in a wizard organization by now."

Helag noticed a crowd gathered in front of a shop, discussing animatedly.

Hearing the mention of Moonstone Grass, he approached and saw a man in a white mask selling it.

The masked man held an exquisite wooden box, lined with red silk, containing two silver, transparent leaves.

"Deep Blue, verify if this is Moonstone Grass."

[Confirmed, it is Moonstone Grass.]

To be sure, Helag had Deep Blue verify its authenticity.

Moonstone Grass typically grew underwater, in places illuminated by moonlight.

Before harvesting, it appeared green and unremarkable, resembling ordinary water plants.

Without the proper knowledge, one wouldn't recognize it as a high-grade potion ingredient.

The masked man displayed the Moonstone Grass and said, "I have two pieces of Moonstone Grass, looking to trade for necromancy or curse spell materials."

"Can't you trade for gold coins? Those materials are hard to come by," someone asked.

The masked man shook his head. "No, I don't need gold coins."

"I doubt there are any necromancy or curse specialists here. Trading this Moonstone Grass will be difficult," the person continued, clearly interested in the Moonstone Grass.

He was right. Necromancy and curse studies required extensive knowledge, a high barrier for rogue wizard apprentices, making specialists rare.

Without specialization, one wouldn't have the corresponding spell materials, which were typically dark and uncommon.

The masked man remained firm. "If I can't trade for the materials I need, I'll stop the transaction and try again later."

Helag glanced around and stepped forward, presenting a Voodoo Doll. "I have a valuable spell material, but trading it for both pieces of Moonstone Grass is too much of a loss."

"A Voodoo Doll!"

"Such a high-grade spell material, where did he get it?"

The crowd's attention shifted to Helag, eyeing the Voodoo Doll in his hand.

For curse wizards, a Voodoo Doll was a treasure, though using it for zero-level curse spells was wasteful.

It wasn't impossible, but it was overkill.

The masked man was instantly tempted by the Voodoo Doll but realized his two pieces of Moonstone Grass weren't enough.

He then produced a thick book. "This is the spell model for the zero-level spell 'Ice Spike.' How about I add this to the trade?"

Helag chuckled. "No way. The Voodoo Doll is a first-level curse spell material. An Ice Spike spell model isn't enough. If you can't offer something more valuable, this trade won't happen."

He pretended to be uninterested in the Moonstone Grass, ready to retract the Voodoo Doll.