The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

After about half an hour, Wang Ya figured out some of the rules. Freedom Street was divided into commercial shops and market stalls. The former were managed and regulated by the Dark Land, and most of the items sold could be guaranteed as authentic. The latter were located deeper in Freedom Street, at the Wizard stalls in the plaza encampment. There, you could buy rare treasures at extremely low prices. Of course, you had to be sure you could find the same stall again a few minutes later.

”My Magic Stones! That damned swindler cheated me out of all my Magic Stones!” a young man wailed, writhing on the ground. A large space cleared out around him, his face contorted in aggrieved pain. The surrounding crowd watched with cold indifference, many stall owners flashing derisive smiles. Most people who entered the plaza encampment concealed their faces. After a quick change of appearance, where could anyone even find them?

Wang Ya watched the farce unfolding before him, his brow furrowing slightly beneath his black, human-faced mask.

This was all too common in the plaza encampment. People always thought they could find a bargain, always thought they were special, only to be scammed out of everything. One only had to ask around a little to hear countless examples and stories, yet people continued to fall for it.

Wang Ya stepped past the man and headed deeper into the market. Behind him, he heard the sharp rebuke of a Law Enforcement Wizard and the young man’s desperate shouts. If he kept making a scene, he would surely be expelled from Wizard City.

An hour later, Wang Ya had a rough understanding of the market and had also assessed the value of the items he possessed.

The two types of Wizard Potions were worth about fifteen Magic Stones per bottle.

The ’Water Guardian’ Witch Array Technique components were the most expensive; Wang Ya estimated they were worth at least one hundred Magic Stones or more.

The Thorn Hearts he planned to sell were Low-tier Extraordinary Materials, generally worth around two Magic Stones each. However, due to their rare Cultivation Traits, they could fetch three to five Magic Stones each.

In the shops, buying such items would cost significantly more Magic Stones, while the prices they offered to buy them were kept very low, likely because the shops had their own stable supply channels.

The only things Wang Ya planned to sell were the ’Water Guardian’ and the Thorn Hearts.

Wang Ya did not lack means of self-protection. As for books on Extraordinary Knowledge, he was willing to pay a premium. What he truly lacked were the direct resources to increase his Power and items or methods to replenish his weakened Soul Power.

However, he could give up on the books related to Extraordinary Knowledge. A single basic Extraordinary Witch Book cost thirty Magic Stones—not even robbery and murder would yield a profit that fast. He had over a dozen such books in his Silver Bracelet.

He faintly regretted not bringing more with him; it would have been a great fortune. But he couldn’t possibly sell these Witch Books that he hadn’t studied yet.

Of course, he wasn’t going to let a powerful tool like the Eye of Truth go unused. Wang Ya did indeed spot quite a few good items, but the Wizards running the stalls clearly knew their worth. The prices all matched the standard, so his hopes of finding a bargain gradually faded. No one here was a fool.

After careful consideration, he settled on two items that could increase his Power—the ’Nightmare Flower’ and the ’Clear Heart Potion’—as well as a ’Red Dogtail Grass’ to replenish his Soul Power. Their combined price already exceeded the number of Magic Stones Wang Ya currently possessed.

He was still a poor wretch; there was no question of him being wealthy. The ’Clear Heart Potion’ in particular, despite also being a Low-tier Potion, was more than twice as expensive as the two Wizard Potions he owned.

Unable to resist asking, Wang Ya was told by the Wizard stall owner that he was just a middleman. The bulk of the profit went to the Potion Wizard, who took at least an eighty percent cut, while the stall owner himself only got ten percent.

’Truly an outrageous profit!’

Wang Ya almost lost his composure, stunned speechless. ’My guess of a seventy percent profit margin was far too low.’

’A Healing Potion sells for fifteen Magic Stones, but the ingredients only cost one. Without a middleman, that’s a net profit of fourteen Magic Stones. Potion Wizards are a real bunch of black-hearted bastards!’

The stall owner added that a Clear Heart Potion was different from an ordinary Potion. It was much more difficult to brew, and since it could aid in the practice of a Wizard Meditation Method, a price of ’thirty Magic Stones’ was quite a bargain.

Wang Ya could only remain silent.

The two-Magic-Stone stall fee wasn’t expensive. Wang Ya laid out eight ice-covered Thorn Hearts and, for the first time in his life, became a Wizard vendor.

It was just noon. He still had the entire afternoon and evening to sell his wares.

The foot traffic in the plaza encampment was heavy, and few of the Wizards who frequented the area didn’t know their goods. Of course, there was no shortage of novice young Wizards who, upon seeing the ugly-looking black hearts, would simply frown and walk away.

Wang Ya sat there calmly, his mind occupied with contemplating basic Extraordinary Knowledge—this, too, was a form of training.

However, just ten minutes later, a scruffy middle-aged Wizard approached. With a bit of surprise in his eyes, he said, ”These black hearts of yours are clearly from a Thorny Sea Beast, but why are they black? And they’re emitting Extraordinary Fluctuations... how strange.”

Wang Ya looked at him coolly, his lips moving. ”Five Magic Stones per heart. The price is firm.”

The middle-aged Wizard was instantly stunned, but Wang Ya simply closed his eyes to rest. In the end, the former sighed and said with a dry laugh, ”You win. Five Magic Stones it is. That’s reasonable. I’ll take them all.”

As he spoke, he took out a Wizard’s Bag used for storage. It was much cruder than a Witchcraft Artifact, lacking any Technique-based wards, meaning any other Wizard could easily open it.