Chapter 156 - 29 The Practical Value of Spells in Reality_2

Chapter 156: Chapter 29 The Practical Value of Spells in Reality_2The three of them received their rewards. Granny Li added, "Tomorrow is my grandson’s birthday, and as long as we get through tomorrow noon, this old granny will have succeeded. Please make sure you three brave souls don’t come late. Everything tomorrow depends on you." Xiao Jie smiled and said, "Granny, rest assured that since we’ve promised to help, we won’t just stand by idly." Xiao Jie thought to himself that he was counting on receiving the final task reward and couldn’t afford to miss it no matter what. After bidding farewell to Granny Li, the three of them rode their horses back to town. As they raced along, Xiao Jie checked his attribute points, a total of 20 free attribute points. If he added all of them to his basic attributes, he could instantly boost a great deal of combat strength. However, intending to pursue a magic profession, he had to save them for now. Yet he didn’t dare to add them all to Spiritual; it might come in handy in case of danger. By the time the three returned to Luoyang Town, it was around five in the afternoon. Back in town, they went their separate ways. Xiao Jie headed to the auction house intending to sell his skill books and check the sales of Secret Dog Food in the meantime. Wow, they all sold out! Xiao Jie looked at the auction listings excitedly. He had made thirty pieces of Secret Dog Food before leaving in the morning, thinking that selling ten would be good enough. He hadn’t expected them all to sell out so quickly. This made him a tidy profit, a solid six silver taels. Xiao Jie hurried to the butcher’s shop to buy a bunch of materials and made twenty more to put up for sale. Then he checked the prices of the Magic Skills Books. To his disappointment, what he thought would be worth a fortune, expecting to sell for one or two hundred silver taels, turned out that basic magic books like Rapid Water Arrow could only sell for around forty to fifty taels or so. Even worse, there were two copies directly on sale at the auction house, one for 40 taels and one for 39.9 taels. Isn’t this too miserable? It’s not even as valuable as some of the more impressive secret martial arts manuals. A book like Five Tigers Breaking Door Saber was worth fifty taels. No, there must be something wrong here. He carefully investigated the prices of Magic Skills Books. The attribute requirements for magic skills are roughly ten points per tier, with 30 points being the entry-level, and subsequent tiers at 40 points, 50 points, with the highest even reaching 100 points. The price disparities for the lowest-tier magic books were unusually large. The cheapest was Candle Light Skill, selling for only 10 taels. Following that were the attack magic books, which were generally cheap. Skills like Wind Blade Skill, Broken Jade Wave, and Hand Palm Thunder usually sold for tens or just over ten taels. In contrast, some of the seemingly ordinary utility skills were supremely expensive, such as Rejuvenation Skill, Plague Extermination Skill, Repair Skill, which could cost hundreds to thousands of taels. As Xiao Jie pondered over this, he began to discern the underlying reasons. The likely causes were two-fold. First, there were too few people pursuing magic professions, which led to less consumption, and consequently, the skill books couldn’t fetch high prices. Although the output of magic skill books was slightly less than ordinary skill books, it was still not rare enough to create scarcity in the market. This was in stark contrast to secret martial arts manuals, as Inner Strength was something that could be learned by anyone. Even magic profession players would use martial arts in the early stages, and generally speaking, learning a variety of skills was beneficial. This led to an exceptionally high consumption rate of martial arts manuals, and regardless of the quantity produced, there was no worry of a lack of buyers, especially for high-level Inner Strength and Qinggong, which were valued higher. The second reason was that learning these skills had little to no practical use in the real world. Rapid Water Arrow, no matter how powerful, couldn’t be used casually for fighting or killing in reality, and even if used for such purposes, couldn’t match the power of modern weaponry. All attack magic had this problem; it was impractical in the real world. In the game, these low-level magics were viable, but generally, two were sufficient as they all had single-target attacks, and learning more was pointless. Rapid Water Arrow didn’t seem to have any particular advantage over other spells, except perhaps its casting range was a plus among low-level magics. On the other hand, skills like Rejuvenation Skill, Plague Extermination Skill, Repair Skill, were essentially professions in the real world with immense utility, directly equating to a lifetime of wealth. Skills like Invisibility Technique, Wall-penetrating Skill, Earth Tunneling Technique, although not profitable, were quite unique. The saddest were the likes of Candle Light Skill, Lighting Skill, which were replaced by a mere flashlight in reality. Having realized this, Xiao Jie couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed his lucky streak wasn’t thorough. He would have Jin Fugui help sell them later, at least saving some commission fees. Afterward, Xiao Jie checked the prices of several other goods. While checking, he suddenly let out a curious huh. Huh, why has Monkey Wine become so expensive? cents a bottle, is it trying to take off or what? And even though it’s selling at such a high price, the number listed on the auction house has actually decreased, from seeing dozens of bottles before to just over ten left now. Curious, he sent a message to Jin Fugui to find out more. Hidden Moon Following Wind: Brother Fugui, I have a question. What’s Monkey Wine for? Why did it suddenly become so expensive? Jin Fugui: Monkey Wine is used by Generals to boost their subordinates’ loyalty, and it’s also very effective for gifting NPCs to increase Favorability during quests. As for why it’s so expensive, it’s because the person who made it got hanged. Before, it seemed that only a lone wolf player from Canglin State could make it. A few days ago, Canglin State suffered a demon calamity, and that guy was unfortunately killed... As a result, Monkey Wine has become a discontinued item, naturally making it pricier. Hidden Moon Following Wind: Didn’t anyone farm for the recipe of Monkey Wine? Jin Fugui: Of course people farmed for it. The major guilds aren’t interested in such a niche recipe, but smaller guilds and lone wolf players care a great deal about it. Previously, several guilds organized to kill many apelike bosses, Elites, but not a single recipe dropped. I suppose that guy must have obtained the recipe through some rare encounter. But such encounters are down to luck; they can’t be sought after deliberately. Usually, they’re a one-time thing—there’s nothing one can do about it. Hidden Moon Following Wind: Got it. Oh, by the way, I have a Magic Skills Book I’d like you to help me sell, interested? Jin Fugui: No problem, I take a 1% brokerage fee here, which is way more economical than the auction house. What magic is it? Hidden Moon Following Wind: [Rapid Water Arrow]. Jin Fugui: That kind of magic won’t sell for much. I estimate it could go for at most around 40-50 taels. I can give you an advance of 20 taels, and the rest after it’s sold. Hidden Moon Following Wind: I understand, that’s about right. I’ll directly mail you the item. Don’t worry about the advance, I trust you. But please try to sell it sooner; I need the money urgently. Xiao Jie had a good gauge of Jin Fugui’s trustworthiness from their previous two transactions. Such professional merchants needed to maintain their reputation and credibility if they wanted to operate over the long term. Of course, this was because the item wasn’t worth much. If it were something valued at hundreds or thousands of taels, Xiao Jie wouldn’t dare to be so generous. Xiao Jie closed the private message, his heart quite stirred. If he could learn how to make Monkey Wine himself, that’d be a huge profit. Monkey Wine must be related to monkeys. Knowing the Beast Language Skill, he could ask the monkeys about it; maybe he’d learn how to make it. He must give it a try when the opportunity arises. But for now, he thought it best to focus on completing tomorrow’s task. He had slain more than two hundred merfolk today, but due to sharing the spoils three ways, his earnings were actually lower, though his expenses had decreased as well. He checked his bag and, thanks to selling 30 units of Secret Dog Food and earning 6 taels, he now had 14 taels. Tomorrow there might be a boss fight. Although he expected assistance from one side whether it was dealing with Granny Li or the merfolk, it was best to be self-reliant; only with adequate strength could he act confidently. Xiao Jie began a shopping spree. One Godspeed Talisman = 2000 cents. One Iron Wall Talisman = 2000 cents. One Vajra Talisman = 2000 cents. One Thunder Talisman = 3000 cents. One Cold Ice Talisman = 3000 cents. The Thunder Talisman has a Spread effect when blasted on the water surface, and can be used as an AOE skill. The Cold Ice Talisman has a freezing effect when blasted on the water surface, and can be used as a powerful control skill. Both types of talismans are incredibly effective when there’s water around, making a huge difference in lakeside battles. Although these single-use items are expensive and not very cost-effective, they’re life-savers that can turn the tide in crucial moments--this isn’t the kind of money to skimp on. He bought some Potion Arrows and repaired his Equipment—the money in his bag was down to just a few hundred cents. Fortunately, another twenty units of Secret Dog Food were up for auction, ensuring a steady flow of income. Indeed, having a craft sure is lucrative. Next, all that was left was to wait for the final challenge and its rewards tomorrow. —————— PS: Recommending a book from a fellow reader. "You Said It Was a Death Game, But You’re Flying on a Sword?"