Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3225: Chapter 3226: Pifeifei

Pixi took the initiative to walk in front, leading everyone to the market.

But as they walked, Angel started to feel something wasn’t right.

When he came before, he specifically glanced at the direction, the market was supposed to be to the right of the display stage, so why was Pixi leading them toward the center of the plaza?

With doubts in mind, Angel and the others followed Pixi to the plaza.

As soon as they arrived, they saw a long queue in the center of the plaza. The people in line stretched from the plaza all the way outside the outpost.

This line was made up of various races from the Mirror Domain who came to add pages to the display book.

Usually, it’s rare for Pirush outpost to have so many people, especially from various races. No one expected that the unexpected arrival of the Singer and the Feather Forest Clan would bring such a large flow of people to the Pirush outpost.

Seeing this scene, Pixi, who was in charge of market management, had a sudden idea and called out the merchants from the original market area, setting up a long stretch of booths on both sides of the queue.

In Pixi’s own words: ”To alleviate the boredom of waiting in line for the various races, I added a little service project so that those waiting wouldn’t get too worn out.”

This is why Pixi didn’t lead them to the market but went straight to the plaza instead, since the merchants were all here.

Angel did not comment on Pixi’s words, but Luigi gave Pixi a disdainful look and cynically said: ”Clearly it’s seizing the opportunity for forced marketing, but you make it sound as if it’s for the good of those in line, truly it’s the same trick as Pirush, hypocritical.”

Pixi explained: ”It’s not forcing anyone to buy; it’s just showing the various races the specialty products of Pirush.”

Luigi sneered: ”For example, tooth dyeing?”

Pixi awkwardly smiled. He actually wanted to say that the tooth dyeing shop was outside, and there was no tooth dyeing service in the booth area, but he dared not respond further.

He had no choice since Luigi is his creditor now.

Following Pixi, everyone arrived at the newly added booth area.

Once there, Angel realized that Pixi indeed had quite some skill.

The booth area was very lively.

This was foreseeable; Pixi’s statement about ”alleviating the boredom of those in line,” was indeed correct. Compared to monotonous queuing, being able to browse specialty products was indeed a good thing for those waiting.

So, the liveliness was to be expected.

Angel found Pixi quite adept because despite the excitement, it wasn’t noisy.

The merchants from Pirush were clearly trained by Pixi; although positioned on both sides of those waiting, they didn’t loudly hawk or solicit, only responding when guests inquired about booth items.

Such orderly booth arrangement is undoubtedly a positive aspect; at least those in line wouldn’t feel offended.

Furthermore, there was another positive aspect.

The entire area was very orderly.

The source of this order came from the number plates in the hands of those waiting.

These number plates were distributed by the Crystal Eye Clan guards, according to the order of arrival, the numbers on the plates progressed from small to large.

The Crystal Eye Clan guards would call the numbers according to priority, and those called could directly enter the Crystal Palace in the center of the plaza.

This Crystal Palace was the temporary workspace for adding pages to the display book.

This means that even if the people in line temporarily left to check out the booths, they wouldn’t be troubled by queue jumping.

With order, it naturally adds to the impression of those waiting.

As for why the Crystal Eye Clan guards were the ones distributing and calling the numbers, it wasn’t hard to understand; the Pirush guards were inadequate in terms of strength or prestige; but the Crystal Eye Clan guards were different, after all, this is Crystal City, the base of the Crystal Eye Clan, the guards naturally occupied a territorial advantage, very few would dare to provoke them in their own domain.

Another reason is that the Crystal Palace in the center of the plaza was actually borrowed by Pirush from the Crystal Eye Clan, formed by mimicking a Crystal Shell.

The presence of the Crystal Eye Clan guards was also meant to maintain the Crystal Shell.

It’s undeniable, the temporary booth established by Pixi did not harm Pirush’s reputation; instead, it became a merit.

This was also a point Angel found remarkable.

Faced with Angel’s praise, Pixi smiled broadly, looking more favorably at Angel, but Luigi coldly retorted at this time: ”Still superficial work, the real Pirush merchants are not this orderly.”

Luigi wasn’t wrong, but Angel felt that Pirush’s starting point was low, at least surface work counts as progress.

During this bantering, they started wandering around the booth area.

...

After ten minutes, Angel had acquired a golden bag and a uniquely shaped small box.

These were Angel’s acquisitions from the booth area visit this time.

The golden bag looked somewhat akin to a pitcher plant’s insect-catching cage, only in golden color; it was the famed Golden Silk Stomach Bag, a special transplanted organ creating a space inside the body to contain objects.

In plain terms, it’s a spatial artifact.

Angel wasn’t particularly concerned with the effects of the Golden Silk Stomach Bag. What interested him was its materials and operating principle.

It’s known that stable spatial artifacts are still rare in the Wizards’ Realm.

There are two major difficulties in refining spatial artifacts: First, material scarcity. Wizards’ spatial artifacts require a highly rare primary material—Crystal Wall Microorganisms.

Crystal Wall Microorganisms have an extremely low production rate, currently only stably dropping during plane fusion or witchcraft garden creation.

Other times, luck in the Void is the only way to get them.

And both plane fusion and the birth of witchcraft gardens are not frequent, which causes the price of Crystal Wall Microorganisms to remain high in auctions year-round.

One unit of Crystal Wall Microorganisms costs around five to six hundred Magic Crystals.

Usually, it takes more than ten units of Crystal Wall Microorganisms to refine a small stable spatial artifact. – Angel’s bracelet used ten units of Crystal Wall Microorganisms.

This means a small spatial artifact requires nearly six thousand Magic Crystals’ worth of Crystal Wall Microorganisms, which is only the primary material; auxiliary materials might be easier to acquire but aren’t cheap either.

For instance, Plane Dark Erosion Fragments and Plane Breeding Fragments are essential auxiliary materials, costing hundreds to over a thousand Magic Crystals.

The second difficulty is the complexity of refinement. Refining spatial artifacts extremely tests the Alchemist’s skills.

At least an official ”Alchemist” title is required.

And in the Southern Domain, Alchemists are scarce talents, finding one capable of refining spatial artifacts is even rarer.

These two difficulties make spatial artifacts hard to proliferate in the Southern Domain Wizard World.

Many Official Wizards are still using one-time spatial capsules, lacking stable and continuous spatial artifacts.

But now, almost eighty percent of the people in Pipi Castle’s inner city own Golden Silk Stomach Bags, showing a general condition, which means... the materials for Golden Silk Stomach Bags are not expensive, and the refining method isn’t too difficult.

Otherwise, they couldn’t be widespread.

Angel bought the Golden Silk Stomach Bag precisely to research its materials and refining methods.

If it can be modified and successfully replicated, the created value would be immeasurable. After all, the demand for spatial artifacts in the Southern Domain Wizard World has always been substantial.

As for why not sell the Golden Silk Stomach Bag? That’s not feasible.

Because the Golden Silk Stomach Bag needs Aggregation Energy to use, which Wizards don’t have, so it must be modified for use.

The Golden Silk Stomach Bag that Angel currently possesses is the smallest size, with an internal space capacity roughly equivalent to a three-room apartment.

According to standard prices, this smallest size Golden Silk Stomach Bag costs about 30,000 Crystalline.

Angel naturally doesn’t have 30,000 Magic Crystals, however, perhaps because he previously impressed Pixi quite a bit, and Pixi wanted to please Luigi and Laplace, Pixi gave Angel this Golden Silk Stomach Bag on credit.

Yes, it’s just on credit, not a gift.

Afterward, Angel still needs to repay the debt.

Angel is quite satisfied with this result; after all, once the log-in device is sold, he won’t be short of that Crystalline amount, considering it as an advance expenditure.

If worse comes to worst, even if the log-in device isn’t widely promoted, he can still rely on selling real-world items to make money to repay the debt.

For example, dandelions loved by Turul are merely weeds in the real world. Selling them would be pure profit. Even if the Turul can’t buy too many dandelions, selling enough to repay the 30,000 Crystalline debt should be feasible.

After getting the Golden Silk Stomach Bag, Angel immediately performed a basic inspection.

The material is currently unidentifiable, but the operational method is roughly understood. It needs to be continuously nurtured by Aggregation Energy to maintain the Golden Silk Stomach Bag’s activity.

That’s also why the Golden Silk Stomach Bag needs to be implanted within the body, because only then can Aggregation Energy nurture it constantly.

If Aggregation Energy isn’t available, one can choose to periodically provide Crystalline, but it would consume a lot.

Once the Golden Silk Stomach Bag isn’t persistently cared for, it will lose activity and ultimately ”wither and die.”

This restriction is even greater than Angel imagined.

Wizards’ spatial artifacts are constant spaces, needing no energy nourishment; unless intentionally damaged, their usage duration is nearly eternal.

But the Golden Silk Stomach Bag not only requires periodic energy feeding, but also needs to be linked to bodily circulation, otherwise it ”withers and dies,” which is far inferior to Wizards’ spatial artifacts.

According to Angel’s understanding, what Wizards use are truly constant spatial artifacts.

While the Golden Silk Stomach Bag is categorized as stable spatial artifacts.

Constant and stable may seem similar in text, but their effects are worlds apart.

However, even if the Golden Silk Stomach Bag is merely a stable spatial artifact, if it can indeed be modified and replicated, and maintained through Magic Power or Magic Crystals for prolonged stability...

Its sales would undoubtedly be significant.

But its price will certainly be much cheaper than genuine constant spatial artifacts.

Due to time constraints, plus Pixi’s presence alongside, Angel couldn’t dissect and research the Golden Silk Stomach Bag, just roughly inspected it before putting it away.

Apart from the Golden Silk Stomach Bag, Angel also bought a special button.

It’s the item kept in that exquisite little box.

Inside is an unremarkable button.

Once this button absorbs a biological fluid, within approximately a hundred kilometers, pressing it can quickly establish contact with the corresponding organism.

The red, green, and white buttons set up by Pipi Castle are actually this kind of button.

The effect of this item is somewhat similar to the Witcher Organization’s communicator.

Angel also possesses a mushroom called ”Sound Transmission Mushroom,” capable of long-distance communication between offspring and parent mushrooms, similar in effect to the button.

However, the operation method, logic, and characteristics of the button, communicator, and Sound Transmission Mushroom differ.

Angel bought it for research purposes.

As for the price of the button, 50 Crystalline. Since it wasn’t expensive, Angel paid on the spot.

Besides this button, Angel found many intriguing items with research value, but all priced higher than the button, so Angel temporarily abandoned them.

After purchasing the Golden Silk Stomach Bag and button, Angel’s stroll through the marketplace was nearing its end.

There were gains indeed.

However, one thing puzzled Angel: wasn’t it said that Pirush merchants brought many Invention Mice over? How come he didn’t see any Invention Mice here?

Angel’s interest in Invention Mice was rather ordinary. Mainly because he previously acted as a riddle-maker in front of Luigi, if he appeared uninterested now, it would be a giveaway.

Therefore, he actively inquired about the situation regarding Invention Mice.

”Invention Mice?” Pixi hesitated for a moment before recognizing the reference: ”Are you referring to Pipepipe?”

”Pipepipe?” Angel and Luigi were momentarily taken aback by the name.

It begins with ”Pi,” isn’t that a name favored by Pirush’s wealthy and influential?

With curiosity, Angel inquired further about Pipepipe’s details. Through Pixi’s explanation, Angel finally understood that Pipepipe is indeed an Invention Mouse.

But Pipepipe is a First Generation Invention Mouse.

Notably, the most intelligent one, capable of independently writing dissertations.

Why it’s named Pipepipe is because a distinguished person favored Pipepipe so much that they personally named her.

”Pipepipe didn’t attend the gathering. If you’re interested in Pipepipe, you can go to Pipi Castle...” Pixi paused and solemnly stated, ”However, Pipepipe isn’t for sale.”

Luigi: ”We weren’t talking about Pipepipe, but her descendants.”

Upon hearing that, Pixi relaxed: ”If it’s Pipepipe’s descendants, there are quite a lot. However, although some of Pipepipe’s descendants are smart, none have exceeded Pipepipe yet. There are still many very foolish ones.”

Angel: While he hasn’t seen the smart ones yet, he has already encountered the foolish Invention Mice.

Pixi: ”I’ve heard that merchants brought over Pipepipe’s descendants, including the Peel family. Pipepipe is currently residing in Peel’s residence... Shall I help you inquire from Peel’s family members?”

Pixi’s gaze first turned to Angel; seeing him silent, then looked at Luigi.

Luigi remembered the time Angel played an enigmatic riddle game with him, implying the little hamster inside the cage held some secret... He turned to Angel: ”Should we check out these Invention Mice here? Or should we go to the parrot’s side and buy that Invention Mouse?”

Angel: ”...” The Invention Mouse by the parrot is genuinely a foolish mouse, what purpose does buying it serve?

Though internally retorting, Angel maintained a calm demeanor to keep face: ”Let’s ignore the parrot’s side for now. Let’s first see the Invention Mice here.”

Luigi naturally followed Angel’s lead, nodding to Pixi: ”Did you hear that?”

Pixi didn’t know what ”the parrot’s side” referred to, but he understood Angel’s intention: ”Alright, I’ll go inquire.”

After saying that, Pixi walked towards the depths of the crowd.