Chapter 206: Exchange and Departure

The night passed, and the maid, whom Shaoke had knocked out with a sleep spell, remembered what happened yesterday. Her little face, usually rosy, went pale in an instant. She had no idea what this mage had done while she was out—if he'd wrecked anything... At that thought, the maid started crying softly.

Woken from meditation by her crying, Shaoke quickly figured out what she was worried about and gently reassured her, saying he was just a Fourth Tier Mage and couldn't possibly mess anything up in a Sixth Tier Mage's place. That finally got her to stop crying, but she still insisted on serving him—after all, the master had ordered it, and it was her job.

Seeing her standing there naked, Shaoke turned her down again, just gave her a polite kiss on the forehead, and left the room, ignoring the maid. No master would punish a maid just because a mage turned her down—mages were always too wrapped up in their spell studies anyway.

The Sixth Tier mage Tina, a woman, greeted them again and had breakfast with them. After the servants cleared the table, Shaoke started the conversation. "Respected Mage Tina, can I get some extra fruit for making potions? If so, what's the price?"

The question made the female mage think for a good long while. Meanwhile, the other three knights—including the sleazy officer—stared hard at the hearth or fireplace, like they hadn't heard a thing. Finally, Mage Tina answered, "Money, lots of money, or stuff you can trade for money." After saying that, the female mage seemed to let something go, relaxing her stiff posture and leaning back in her chair, adding, "Precious magic materials, or other stuff."

Shaoke set a magic bag full of materials in front of the female mage. "Energy-replenishing fruit." He stared right into her eyes, wondering why she needed this stuff—since all the resources Sixth Rank mages used for research came from the legion, with no extra cost.

"A reward from the Blizzard Legion?" The female mage used a bit of magic to check the bag but didn't look inside, instead asking Shaoke roughly what was in there. Of course, Shaoke provided a detailed explanation.

Finally, he asked, "So, how much fruit can I get for these?"

The Sixth Tier mage didn't answer his question. Instead, she checked out his outfit again, her eyes lingering on the staff in his hand for a long time. "A mage from the Death Mage Corps?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "Just energy-replenishing fruit—I can give you enough to fill this magic bag this time." After that, she didn't ask why he only wanted that kind of fruit—every mage's secrets were their own business. But she still warned him that while this energy fruit was effective and valuable, it wasn't much use to High-rank Mages or most mages—not everyone was burning through tons of energy every day just to keep up with meditation and other stuff.

Shaoke silently brushed off the female mage's kind warning, but the deal went smoothly—at least as far as he was concerned. One knight frowned, puzzled as to why the mage would trade for such practically worthless potions. Of course, he believed that after returning to the legion and making some inquiries, he might understand a bit.

"What about trading for the potion that maintains physique?" Shaoke pointed to the unnamed fruit placed nearby. This fruit had left a deep impression on him and was truly precious to mages. He thought that if the price wasn't too high, he could take out some items to exchange. But the female mage's answer disappointed him, quashing that idea.

"The materials you offer can only exchange for ten fruits." The female mage put away the magic bag containing the materials and smiled slightly. "After all, this potion is the most consumed, and I can only get a fixed amount. As for extra, I don't have much ability to obtain it." Though she said this, she cast a glance at the drowsy sleazy officer and the three knights, using them to hint at her difficulties. Of course, they all ignored her gaze.

After chatting with the mages for a while, the female mage got up and left, as the guests' main task was complete, and she had no need to waste time with them. However, she sent a warrior to guide the guests around the area, but the alert guests simultaneously refused, eager to return to their garrison. The sleazy officer's attitude was deliberately overlooked by everyone.

Finally, Shaoke made an agreement with the female mage: within the hundred years of her tenure, he could come anytime to exchange money or precious materials for the raw fruit used to make potions. The exchange quantity would be set by Mage Tina. Of course, after consulting the three knights and his own past experience, Shaoke confirmed her terms. This time, Mage Tina also provided them with a small amount of fruit for free as they left.

"You shouldn't have bargained with that damned woman," the sleazy officer complained loudly after leaving the female mage's estate. "Exchanging those magic materials for money would let us change maids every day. Isn't that enough to tempt you?" As if venting his dissatisfaction, he whipped his horse hard and spat maliciously in Shaoke's direction. But the mage paid no attention, thinking instead about how to handle the fruit.

Until now, the vortex formed by the fruit in his mind hadn't disappeared, but he felt his energy slowly draining, and the fruit's effect was gradually fading. He estimated that at this rate, by nightfall, he would need to take new potions to sustain the silver light and the vortex. Of course, having just obtained a large batch of energy-replenishing herbs, Shaoke wasn't worried. Moreover, the other party had agreed to future exchanges.

Leaving the small city, the group reunited with the cavalry stationed outside. After one knight announced an order to speed up, the entire team's pace quickened. The road, perhaps built for grain transport or other reasons, was wide enough for the cavalry to form ranks and gallop swiftly.

As Shaoke had thought, the energy-replenishing fruit completely wore off by nightfall. The sudden drain of energy by the silver light and vortex nearly made him faint, but the mage quickly took the fruit to stay conscious. However, the instant loss of a large amount of energy still caused some minor damage to his body, though it was extremely slight.

After some necessary preparations, Shaoke entered his meditation space again. Six or seven large vortices were still spinning rapidly, with streaks of silver light wandering throughout the space. After a brief observation, Shaoke focused on the meditation space's stability, wondering when the potion maintaining it would lose its effect. He didn't want to cause severe damage to the space by failing to notice in time.

Perhaps because Shaoke's mental space was inherently tough, the massive flow of mental energy didn't cause particularly intense fluctuations. However, the relatively weaker magical space showed signs of instability. But the silver light, combined with the potion's effect, would merge some light into the space's walls to calm the turbulence and slightly increase its sturdiness. Of course, this only increased Shaoke's energy consumption.

In the following days, the cavalry unit sped up again. According to news from merchants on the road, the camp where Shaoke belonged had begun preparations for battle, with many soldiers dispatched to the city walls. Even High-rank Mages, who never performed tasks, were ordered by the Legion Commander to join the city's defense. Soldiers from other cities passed through the garrison, heading directly to the front lines. "I believe many of them are still recruits," an old merchant who had left the army years ago told a knight. "They hold their weapons mechanically, forgetting all the infantry drill records. And their stamina is severely lacking."

When they were only a day and a half's journey from the Blizzard 33rd Corps, the group decided to rest here for one night and return to the garrison the next evening. So the cavalry set up tents and began to rest.

Once again refusing sleep, Shaoke continued observing his meditation space. The large vortices in both spaces showed no signs of disappearing, but the potion maintaining the space's stability had worn off, further increasing his burden.

He took an energy-replenishing fruit almost every half day, and within that time, he consumed a Fourth Rank top-tier energy-restoring potion every half magic hour. This frantic pill-taking behavior drew a harsh mockery from the idle sleazy officer.