Chapter 680 - There Are Competitions Everywhere
Chapter 680 There Are Competitions Everywhere
That was truly a generous offer.
In a world where someone with a hundred gold coins could already be called a magnate, the man offered a thousand gold coins just for the title of the creator of a new spell. It was truly impressive.
Moreover, he was willing to offer real estate on a commercial street in the capital of Fareins.
The street couldn’t have been the most popular one in downtown, but it must’ve been on the second tier, or he wouldn’t have listed it alongside a thousand gold coins.
The annual revenues from this real estate could probably be about a hundred gold coins too.
That was already an unbelievably high price that indicated his sincerity.
However, Roland wasn’t interested at all.
About money… The teleportation arrays of the Temple of Magic were already under construction. In half a year, Roland would receive a fairly large amount of dividends each month. He probably could get a dozen gold coins at the beginning, and as more magic arrays were built, the number might grow to hundreds or even thousands a month.
The Temple of Magic would make an even bigger fortune out of that.
Would he be short of money in the future?
No… He wasn’t short of money even at this moment. He had sold quite a lot of Dragon Meat Reagents two months prior, and his treasury had become full again.
As for real estate… Betta had given him a large piece of land for him to develop magic schools and other associated businesses. Although Wetland City wasn’t as prosperous as the capital yet, it had already shown the potential of a metropolis.
After all, when Betta constructed the city, several friends who worked in the City Planning Bureau proposed a lot of suggestions. It was much better than the capital in terms of infrastructure.
Besides, a lot of players were gathered there, which ensured fairness and justice in the city.
Such a city was perfect for living and doing business.
Very soon, Wetland City could become one of the top cities in the world, if not the most prosperous city.
Roland’s property in Wetland City was not small.
So, Roland didn’t care about the guy’s offer at all, although it did sound very wonderful.
Besides, his goal was to establish a floating city. He didn’t really need a large chunk of land.
After all, no matter how valuable a piece of land was, it couldn’t compare to his floating city.
So he shook his head and said to Field, “Sorry, but I’m not tempted by your offer.”
After that, he turned around and was about to leave. At this moment, Field continued, “Mr. Roland, bargaining is necessary in negotiations. I don’t know you well, but you can tell me what you want. Everybody has certain things that they need but can’t have in their life. Whatever you need, I can try to get it for you.” Roland turned around and looked at Field.
The man’s eyes were sincere, and his attitude was genuine.
Whether or not he was acting, he left a rather good impression on Roland.
After a brief silence, Roland said, “As a matter of fact, there are few things in this world that I’m lacking. If I must name one thing, it would be unique magic knowledge, but I don’t think you can find it for me, because you’re asking for the authorship of a spell from me.” Field instantly put on a bitter smile after hearing that.
“That’s true… A genius as strong as yourself can’t be needing anything.” He was quite disappointed, but he quickly lifted his spirits and said, “But in any case, my offer stands. Feel free to come to me if you’re willing to accept it, or if you need anything.”
He briefly nodded at Roland and was about to leave.
But exactly at this moment, Roland suddenly said, “In fact, there’s indeed something I need… You sound like a big shot in Fareins. Does your family have any influence in the magic material market?”
Hearing that, Field smiled. “Sir, you might not know my family very well. Allow me to introduce it to you. I came from the Julian family. My father is a duke in Fareins. Our family’s territory is Sand Wood County. We have two thousand heavily-armored cavalrymen and thirty thousand infantrymen to protect our family. That’s only mediocre in Fareins. But our family’s strong suit is business. My uncles and aunts have monopolized many unimportant businesses in Fareins, such as furs, construction materials, lamp oil, and paper. We sell most kinds of magic materials too. We haven’t monopolized them yet, but our market share is fairly large.”
Hearing that, Roland couldn’t help but whistle.
That was a business family that kept soldiers.
No wonder they could’ve afforded two thousand heavily-armored cavalrymen.
Calvary was very costly. The money to support one heavily-armored cavalryman was enough to support twenty infantrymen.
The man was from a real rich family. No wonder he had offered a thousand gold coins and excellent real estate.
Field said hopefully, “So, what magic materials do you need, sir, and how many?”
“I’ll give you a list tomorrow.” Roland thought for a moment and continued, “They’ll be a lot of materials from a variety of categories, but they won’t be as expensive as what you offered, although it might take you more time to gather them. Can you accept that?” “Yes, of course I can.” Field seemed rather happy. “It’s a deal then.”
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Roland nodded. Then he thought for a moment and asked, “But do you really want the food-making spell? Many people heard my declaration of making the food-making spell. Wouldn’t they be suspicious if you turn out to be its creator?” “I know.” Field shrugged helplessly. “It would be even better if you have other spells that you created and haven’t sacrificed yet, but I know how difficult it is to create a new spell…”
“I do.”
“It’s not so easy to get inspiration for new spells. I’ve considered it. I’ll try to lower the…” As he went on talking, Field finally realized what he just heard and looked at Roland in shock. “What did you say? You have new spells that haven’t been sacrificed to the Goddess of Magic yet?” Roland nodded.
Field took a deep breath. “You are truly awesome, sir.”
“You’re too kind. I only created them because of occasional inspirations.”
Field put on a bitter smile. Occasional inspirations?
You’ve already sacrificed the water-making and oil-making spells, and you’re working on the food-making spell, which is already crazy enough. Yet, you have more new spells that you’ve been keeping a secret, when every other Mage, except the stealthy, wicked necromancers, would’ve announced it to the whole world after they created them.
Though slightly jealous, Field knew that talent was an unreasonable thing.
He, for one, had been born to a rich family that was better than most people’s. That was his talent too.
Besides, as the spoiled son of a rich family, he shouldn’t really compare himself to a genius.
Very soon, Field readjusted his attitude and asked, “May I ask what spell it is?”
“It’s a flying spell,” said Roland with a smile.
“A flying spell?”
Field hesitated, because Wind Soaring was a popular flying spell that all Mages had been using for hundreds of years.
Old didn’t necessarily mean obsolete; it could also represent stability and safety. Could a new flying spell be better than the old Wind Soaring?
Seeing the suspicion in the guy’s eyes, Roland said with a smile, “We’ll meet in the woods on the east side tomorrow. That place is empty. I’ll show you the spell and give you an inventory of the magic materials I need.”
“All right.”
Field was greatly reassured. It would be fine if he could check the spell first. As long as it wasn’t too inferior to the food-making spell, he would be happy to buy it.
Then, the two of them separated.
Roland went to the cafeteria and had lunch.
He had to admit that the Transmutation Magic Tower had great cooks. The cakes and dishes were all delicious.
After Roland was full and was about to take the tableware away, a young Mage suddenly came to him.
He stood in front of Roland proudly, but he still slightly bowed when he said, “Hello, Mr. Roland. I’m Joby Robert.”
“Hello.” Holding the tableware, Roland asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’m told that Field Julian met you in private.” The young Mage stared Roland in the eyes aggressively. “May I ask what you talked about?”
Roland was briefly stunned. “That’s very rude of you.”
“I know,” said Robert with a smile. “But my father is the Great Elder of the Transmutation Magic Tower. I can help you if you want to learn a spell or find a model. I only want to know what Julian wants.”
“That’s none of your business.” Roland shook his head and walked away, unwilling to talk to him anymore.
But Robert caught up with him and walked next to Roland. He said in a low voice, “Mr. Roland, I’m not your enemy. I just want to know more about Julian.” “Is he your enemy?” Roland chuckled. “Then go pester him. Why are you after me?”
He found the young man quite interesting. You don’t want to be my enemy? There’s an obvious hint of hostility. If I don’t listen to you, a threat will probably come next.
Robert heaved a sigh. “Mr. Roland, I’m very serious and sincere. So… can you tell me about it? All the files in the Transmutation Magic Tower will be accessible to you. However, if you’re unwilling to…”
“No, I can’t.” Roland interrupted him and stopped. He stared at the man and said, “So, whether you want to threaten me or frame me, hurry it up.”
Robert seemed rather angry, but he didn’t offer any threat. He simply held back his fury and tried to say peacefully, “Mr. Roland, you don’t have to meddle in our conflict, which is meaningless to you and won’t bring you any benefit.”
Roland smiled the moment he heard that. “I don’t want to meddle in your conflict, but he and I have a private deal. After it’s done, we’ll be total strangers, and I don’t care whatever happens between the two of you.” “But the private deal between you and him might get you involved in our conflict.”
Roland shrugged. “That’s not my concern. I’m here to study magic, not to deal with the likes of you, do you understand? Don’t piss me off. If you find me too cocky, you can ask other people how the Spatial Magic Tower disappeared.”
Robert instantly felt silent.
He did find Roland cocky, even cockier than himself, who was the Great Elder’s son.
But he was aware of the disappearance of the Spatial Magic Tower. By the sound of that, did Roland play a big part in it?
The students of the Transmutation Magic Tower weren’t interested in world news. They were more devoted to magic studies.
However, the leadership should be well aware of the matter.
He didn’t know Roland’s background yet, so he decided to ask his father first.
“It seems that you’re really good.” Robert heaved a sigh. “However, I sincerely advise you to keep a distance from Field, unless you’re stronger than a Legendary Mage or more powerful than the Robert family.” After that, Robert walked away.
Roland shook his head.
A lot of people nearby overheard their conversation.
Many of them had intended to talk to Roland after he finished lunch, but after seeing this scene and hearing the conversation, they temporarily dropped the thought.
After all, Robert was the Great Elder’s son, and Roland… appeared to be nothing more than a talented genius so far.
Until the situation became clear, they might as well wait and keep their distance.
Roland wasn’t bothered by that. Quite the contrary, he was very happy.
As a Mage, he was never fond of frequent social activities, which were a huge waste of time.
Afterward, he went to the library and borrowed a few books on substance transformation to read.
They were all written by the big shots of the transmutation school who had already died. A lot of the knowledge was very useful.
The correct name of Substance Transformation was Mineral Transformation, because it could only transform minerals.
Roland studied the transformable minerals and found that they were all metals.
Bronze, iron, silver, and gold were the mostly common metals among them.
However, nobody attempted to make money with this spell.
Although gold was very valuable, transforming bronze and iron into gold wouldn’t be profitable, because for some reason, transforming other metals into gold required a huge amount of magic power and was very inefficient. It was often the case that tens of thousands of pieces of bronze or iron could only be turned into one piece of gold. The loss was quite heavy.
The ability seemed useless at first glance, but at critical moments when one needed to make weapons with bronze and iron but couldn’t find any materials, transforming one piece of gold into thousands of pieces of bronze and iron would solve the urgent problem.
But it would still be a huge loss, and could only be used as expedience.
So, it was better to transform bronze and iron into each other, and gold and silver into each other.
One of the books mentioned that its author once transformed bronze into mercury one-third its weight as well as some other weird minerals, whose elements and usages he didn’t know.
However, such transformations were highly random and could hardly be replicated.
The book speculated that it might be because the author always changed the input of magic power randomly, and he had terrible control over magic power. So, the resulting minerals were different every time.
Also, the efficiency of transformation was very low. It was often the case that ten pieces of materials could only result in one piece of another material.
Roland was quite astounded when he read these books.
Substance Transformation essentially dismembered substances into elementary particles and then reassembled them into new substances!
Although it could only be used to transform metals at this moment, Roland had no doubt that he could transform other substances too as soon as he found the structural mechanism of the spell. If he could find the patterns in the spell… Roland smiled. It would be a practical spell even if he couldn’t make food with it.
After all, many special metals were very useful, especially in making weapons and armor.