NABC 016. Knowledge Exchange Street
016. Knowledge Exchange Street
De Creek, a blue-robed fourth-circle mage of Hamilton College of Magic, level 46, and the legendary old man who once taught Sinley.
As for why he's called the legendary Old Deng...
He was originally a black-robed sixth-ring mage, but after a sensational magical experiment accident, as the sole survivor, his strength plummeted, and he was demoted to a blue-robed fourth-ring mage.
"The academy convened us for the 18th Dharma Masters Seminar a while ago, but I haven't had a chance to go back yet."
Because of that accident, he was even demoted to the countryside.
"I see." Xin Lai nodded slightly. "Teacher Dekrik, I've come here to purchase cultivation resources. Do you have time? I'd like to ask you to help me make some selections."
"Of course, Your Highness, it's my honor."
De Creek smiled broadly, bowed slightly, and pointed to the direction of the college's resource procurement department.
Xin Lai opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but felt that there was something indescribable between them.
Finally, it turned into a helpless remark: "Professor Derek, you don't need to be so reserved. We are teacher and student after all, and I will not lose my respect for you because of anything."
Hearing Derek address her as "Your Highness the Third Prince" repeatedly, Sinley felt a little awkward.
His former teacher, Decker, was highly respected and a significant figure in the entire magical world.
At that time, Sinlai was still young. Apart from her father, whom she could see a few times a month, she saw Derek and her two older brothers most often.
My feelings for Derek are not exactly intense, but they are definitely not weak either.
However, De Creek's answer still stirred up a ripple in Sinley's long-buried memories:
"Your Highness, please stop teasing me. Let's go."
"..."
He remained silent for a moment, then quietly followed behind.
Dekker was no longer the sprightly young man he once was, nor did he speak so eloquently about magic and the future. He walked ahead, then suddenly turned back mysteriously.
"Your Highness, you're almost twenty now, aren't you?"
"Yes, your memory is as good as ever."
Before Xinlai could finish speaking, Dekrik became excited: "Your Highness, I suppose you're interested in the girls at the academy."
As he spoke, he led Xinlai onto a tree-lined path beside the college's resource procurement department.
This tree-lined path is bordered on one side by the forest that connects the college to the outside world, and on the other side by the tall college resource procurement department, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves.
A row of girls sat on the stone steps beside the road, each with their head down, some memorizing magic circuits, others flipping through notebooks.
They were dressed in street-smart attire that was completely contrary to their social status. Underneath cheap fabrics that exposed their shoulders and waists, their two fair legs were stretched out without any cover, like exhibits waiting to be sold.
While their looks might not be considered breathtakingly beautiful, in Xin Lai's previous world, each of them would have been a "school beauty" or "college beauty" who would have caused a sensation on campus.
Previously, Xin Lai had only used the main entrance to come and go from the college's resource procurement department, and had never set foot in this place before, let alone seen such a scene.
He stared blankly as a boy carrying a book walked up to one of the girls. The girl was wearing a bright pink strapless mini-dress, which looked as if she could be taken off completely by simply removing the shoulder straps.
The girl looked up, thought for two seconds, took the book, and then got up and followed the boy into the nearby grove of trees...
It's like some kind of tacit agreement.
What shocked Sinley even more was what De Creek said next.
"Your Highness, this place is called Knowledge Exchange Street." Dekrik lowered his voice, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening with his smile.
"The gold and cultivation resources in your possession can be exchanged for their meticulously prepared service, and for a delightful night."
He rubbed his hands together, his expression revealing a slickness reminiscent of a street brothel owner: "So, Your Highness? Anything you fancy?"
It turns out that De Creek thought Sin Lai wanted his help to get through this hurdle.
Seeing that Xinlai remained silent, De Creek even assured her confidently, "Don't worry, few of them are sick."
"They're crazy," he laughed. "Most of them would have been told to quit long ago."
"..."
Xinlai had indeed heard of such chaos in the magic academy, and in a sense, the academy turned a blind eye to it.
Because of the combination of bloodlines with high intelligence and high magic, the children born are often exceptionally gifted.
This can both guarantee student enrollment and increase the graduation rate.
why not?
The reasons for this phenomenon are also quite practical.
Many talented students strive to get into Hamilton School of Magic, only to find that they can't even afford to rent the most basic textbooks, let alone the expensive training resources and advanced spellbooks.
The boys could only work day and night, while the girls sold their youth, which was insignificant compared to magic.
He never expected that even his former mentor would be deeply involved.
Judging from Derek's practiced manner, he has probably already used the knowledge in his mind to exchange for many young and warm bodies.
Xinlai fell silent.
After he was reborn into this world, he lived a relatively comfortable life.
However, the worldview from his previous life was still deeply imprinted in his heart, and seeing the existence of the Knowledge Exchange Street suddenly made him feel immense sorrow and longing.
In that rosy society, even if schools were no less stressful, they at least had normal human ethics and morality.
"...That's enough, Derek." Sinley shook her head, her tone flat and emotionless. "I can handle the rest myself."
Unaware of anything amiss, Dekrik simply nodded and bowed, saying, "No problem, Your Highness, please choose whichever one you fancy."
He suddenly remembered something, slapped his forehead comically, and quickly said, "Oh, my carriage is almost there, I have to hurry."
After speaking, he bowed respectfully and then limped away, his hunched figure eventually disappearing into the distance.
Ugh.
A bullet from her junior high school days in her previous life, traversing the distance of time and two worlds, finally struck Xin Lai accurately in the back of the head at this very moment.
After Derek walked away, Sinley remained where she was.
That attire, which exuded aristocratic status, stood out conspicuously on this knowledge exchange street in the back alley of the college's resource procurement department.
Several girls who were nearby even approached them and whispered, asking how many magic books or cultivation resources they could exchange for.
Xinlai walked past them expressionlessly, passing through a sea of flowers without a single petal clinging to her.
He couldn't change this harsh world, and besides, it was something the academy tacitly approved, so he had no say in it—
All I can do is do what I'm supposed to do.
Without further thought, Xinlai stepped into the academy's resource procurement department and began purchasing cultivation resources in large quantities.
The layout here is very similar to that of a modern large warehouse supermarket, Metro, with all resources categorized and displayed on the shelves for customers to take as they please.
When it's time to settle the bill, just leave normally. The trading magic surrounding the academy's resource procurement department will treat every transaction fairly and impartially.
Of course, if you don't have enough wealth to support the resources you have, you can't even step out the door.
Moreover, the academy's resource procurement department is blessed with nine-ring magic and has a high-level mage secretly stationed there.
If someone wants to use resources for free without paying, they should first think about where they should be buried.
Xinlai randomly picked up a trailer and wandered between the rows of shelves.
Sinlai's castle was already overflowing with magic books, so there was no need to buy any more.
What he needs are various medicinal bath ingredients, as well as consumables to aid in learning magic.
For example, to practice the Fireball spell, one must use fire-attribute items to aid meditation, such as Fireweed, Ganoderma, Red Dragon Scales, and Dead Volcano Plates.
Once the magic circuit for the Fireball spell is inscribed, these resources will be used to connect with the fire element, ultimately achieving magic conversion.
These steps seem simple, but they are extremely demanding in terms of talent: whether one can understand the magical circuits, whether one can successfully meditate, and the efficiency of the conversion...
However, witches don't need to worry about these things. Their ever-growing magical power is enough to annihilate any shortcomings in their talents, allowing them to unleash magic directly and violently.
Xinlai recalled that in "Elegy of Asgard", after Eve fell into the clutches of death, she used water-based magic to kill most often.
Blood flows backward, evaporating body fluids, or making fluids carry deadly poison... Each spell can easily turn a city into a ghost town.
As the final boss in the later stages, every skill she uses is a concept-level magic. Even if challengers are armed to the teeth, it's useless. They can only desperately stack resistance and try to kill her instantly before they die.
To cultivate Eve, the fallen witch from the original storyline, requires countless resources.
Xinlai pulled the trailer and dumped basket after basket of resources Eve needed for her meditation practice into it, displaying an inhuman level of extravagance.
Even the most expensive giant bone serpent's cold scales, he bought more than ten pieces in one go, each piece costing only thirty gold coins, equivalent to one-tenth of a gold brick.
The people around him watched him buy up the goods like a wholesaler, swallowing hard and staring intently, but daring not to overstep the bounds in the slightest.
After all, the golden lion and rose brooch of the Golden Glory Royal Family on Sinlai's chest was his best talisman.
With this brooch, not only would the prospective mages in the Academy's Resource Procurement Department be treated with utmost respect, but even purple-robed mages with more seniority than Dekrik would have to show him the utmost deference.
After indulging in some extravagant spending, Xinlai glanced back at the fully loaded trailer behind her, thinking that these cultivation resources were probably enough for Eve's current cultivation.
"Senior!"
Just as he was about to leave with all the resources, a beautiful figure appeared in front of Xin Lai without any warning.
Xin Lai paused for a moment, then subtly sized her up.
She was wearing a Hamilton School of Magic uniform, the sleeves of her shirt rolled up to her elbows, a blue star bracelet on her wrist, and her high ponytail swaying gently as she stared at Xinlai with sparkling eyes.
"Eh...you are...?"
Before Xinlai could ask a question, the girl put her hands behind her back, bent slightly, narrowed her eyes into crescents, and parted her red lips slightly:
"Senior~ Long time no see~"
Xinlai:【・ヘ・?】
Looking at that unfamiliar yet handsome face, Xinlai tried her best to recall everyone she had met in her life, which had been like walking on thin ice.
But he neither studied at Hamilton School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, nor did he trade on Knowledge Exchange Street...
No arguing: