Volume 4 Chapter 16 Reward
"Al, good job. This is your reward."
Ten days after leaving Ruella with Barbara and the others, the caravan safely arrived at the border city of Lester in the evening. As Al was about to get off the carriage at the south gate, he received a small leather pouch from Eric.
"Thank you very much."
Al accepted the reward from Eric. Inside the pouch were 5 gold coins, far more than he had expected.
"Huh? Is there some mistake...?"
Al asked without thinking, but Eric shook his head.
"Don't worry. This includes the rewards for the Sheep-Eating Eagle and other Barbarians we defeated along the way. I rounded up a little bit. You achieved quite a lot."
At Eric's words, Al couldn't help but smile.
"Also, Al, do you plan to change your base from this border city of Lester to somewhere else?"
Al tilted his head and answered that he didn't have any particular plans. Then Eric asked if he would like to train in magic with Leda. He explained that he wanted to compare how Al's method of learning magic differed from Leda's by having them practice the same spells together.
"You mentioned that when learning magic, you can change things by focusing on your imagination. I think it would be good for Leda to learn the same spells as you. Of course, I would like to use spells that I or Fitz have already learned. This way, we can compare your options in detail. What do you think?"
Al nodded, understanding. If he did that, it might make it clear how he was different from others. Plus, he was excited to see a spellbook he didn't know about.
"Yes, please!"
Eric asked Al if he wanted to learn the 'Telepathy', 'Floating Eye', or 'Shield' spell. The first two were useful for protecting the caravan during the day, and the 'Shield' spell had already helped in fights against thieves. After thinking, Al chose to learn the 'Floating Eye' spell.
"Great! Come by when you have time, but don't wait too long. The 'Floating Eye' is a 3rd tier spell, so it should take about a year to learn. Since you're working too, I'll give you two years to complete it. Also, I want to study some of the magic options you mentioned earlier--I'll probably ask you some questions along the way. Is that okay?"
Learning spells takes a lot of time, so 2 years is generally considered short. But Al felt that it was more than enough time for him. He was also happy that Eric would look into the options. He replied cheerfully, "I understand!"
"Well then, Leda, it's time for you to learn a new spell too. Good luck!"
Inside the carriage, she pressed her lips together and said seriously, "Yes." She didn't want to lag behind Al in learning spells.
"Well then, I'll be bothering you again. Mr. Eric, please take care of me."
Al took his bag from the carriage and bowed goodbye to Eric and the others. Barbara had asked him to come when he arrived, but she probably wasn't there yet. Thinking he should just head home, Al remembered that Lara's magic tool shop was nearby. He hadn't mastered the 'Spray' spell he bought from her, but its quality seemed good. It had been 3 weeks, and maybe there was a new spellbook in stock. He had some gold coins left from his recent reward, so he thought it might be a good chance to buy a new spell, if the shop was open.
Lara's shop is one of the few that sells unofficial spellbooks called Garbage scrolls. These are seen as a threat by the magician guild, and their quality can be unstable. Al had tried learning from them 5 times and succeeded only twice. If he could master the 'Spray' spell, it would be his third success.
* * *
"Hello, Ms. Lara."
As Al asked around, he quickly found her stall. Today, she had moved her stall close to the south gate.
"Hey, aren't you that kid who bought the 'Spray' spell the other day? It's a bit early for you to say you've mastered it. What brings you here today?"
She seemed to remember Al. When Al mentioned wanting to buy more good spells since the quality seemed fine, she looked a bit suspicious.
"It hasn't even been a month yet... Well, that's okay. I'm glad you think my spellbook is reliable. But the 'Sleep', 'Paralysis', and 'Fly' spells you mentioned still haven't come in."
She told him that three spells were available: 'Haste', 'Analyze', and 'Magic Power Control'. The 'Haste' spell costs 8 gold coins, and the other two are 4 gold coins each. 'Haste' is popular since it speeds up sword swings and walking, while 'Analyze' helps understand the makeup of objects, and 'Magic Power Control' is for restoring mana to magic stones. The last two are more useful for craftsmen than in battle. Al was unsure. Learning these spells seemed worth the price, but there was no guarantee he could master them. He only had 20 gold coins. Buying all three would leave him with just 4 coins.
"You don't have to buy them if you don't want to. By the way, are you thinking of selling your spellbook? I'll pay a good price if you can fix it up properly."
Spellbooks can get dirty because you need to study them closely. Important spell diagrams might smudge, and if that happens, you lose the inspiration for the spell. Al learned this in middle school when he borrowed a spellbook. Spellbooks are fragile. Luckily, his teacher helped fix it so he could continue learning. But Al realized only someone who has mastered the spell can repair a damaged spellbook properly.
Al looked a bit troubled. The spellbooks he had were all still damaged, and he knew that fixing them would take a lot of time because he had to do the same when he returned the spellbook he borrowed in middle school.
"How much will you buy it for?"
The magician's guild does buy spellbooks, but they usually pay about 1/30 of the selling price. They buy them at that price, fix them up, and then sell them again with a certificate of inspection at the original selling price. According to them, the repair takes a lot of time, and they have to check everything multiple times. Plus, they use packing spells for protection, so they say the price is fair.
"Well, I buy them for about 1/10 of the market price. But on the other hand, I sell them for less than 1/3 of the market price. That's pretty reasonable, right? But I can only confirm the ones that have been repaired."
Al was impressed with his recent purchase of a 'Carrier' spell, which cost him 18 gold coins from the magician's guild. Normally, the guild buys it back for 60 silver coins, and Lara offers 1 gold coin and 80 silver coins. She likely sells it for around 6 gold coins. By doing so, she probably earns some profit. However, Lara mentioned that business is tough. Few people want to buy a Garbage scroll, and even when repaired, many think it's overpriced. Al was in a tough spot. He really wanted three new spellbooks. If necessary, he could sell the spellbooks he had already learned.
"I understand. For now, I'll buy all 3 spellbooks that Ms. Lara is selling. But I need to think about selling my current ones."
In the end, he couldn't resist the charm of the new spellbooks, and Al decided to spend almost all his money to buy them. He carefully hugged the package he received from a beaming Lara and hurried off to the (Red-Faced Sheep) inn, which he hadn't visited in a while.
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