Chapter 154 - 64. sea snail

Chapter 154: 64. sea snailFisher was now taking Moli to the largest Magic Materials Market in Saint Nali, where many famous magic enterprises sold magic materials, such as those under the Nali Exploration Company. Of course, there were also many individual vendors with their own operations.

Since the financier behind Saint Nali University was the Nali Exploration Company, the school recommended that Fisher visit the Nali Exploration Company’s Magic Shop to purchase Magic Items. However, Fisher thought the quality of the magic materials there was subpar, and he had better options.

"Question, if a Magic Emblem is successfully activated by just engraving it with Magic Power to leverage World Resonance, then why do Mages still need to buy Magic Materials to assist in Magic Engraving?"

While leading Moli towards the center of the market, Fisher suddenly asked this question.

"That... There are two reasons for this. First, because some spells are not powerful enough to leverage resonance with just Magic Power and Emblems alone, and at that time Magic Materials are needed to deepen the connection between the Emblem and the world; second, because most spells triggered by Emblems and Magic Power cannot be preserved for long, and their effects don’t last, so Magic Materials are needed to maintain the potency and duration of the spells..."

Moli recalled furiously the knowledge she had read in books, reciting everything she learned. After she finished speaking, she looked nervously toward Fisher, appearing anxious.

Before coming to land, the sea-floor people hardly used magic. This was her first time systematically learning magic because her Mother had told her "Humans are a race very adept at using magic," which seemed to be true. Thus, she entered Saint Nali University with an open mind to learn human magic and to provide a legitimate cover for her mission.

After listening to her, Fisher nodded and added,

"You’re right. In the distant past, demi-humans and humans used Magic Materials to craft various items with magical effects, known as ’relics.’ But the crafting techniques are mostly lost now, and scholars can only speculate on how they were made based on the relics that have survived."

Moli realized she was familiar with this knowledge point because her Aunt Mu Xi knew how to craft relics!

When she was younger, her aunt made many such items for her, but her aunt left for the surface above the sea trench before Moli turned one, occasionally sending some things over.

Her aunt mentioned that all the crafting techniques for relics in the world came from a race far from the ocean. Only Aunt Mu Xi, who loved to adventure around the world, had learned this craft.

Moli was about to share this knowledge but then remembered she was supposed to be a well-behaved human student. What if, after telling this, Professor Fisher asked how she knew?

She didn’t speak, but the unsaid words itched in her mind like a cat’s claw.

Fisher didn’t notice her hesitation; he continued to weave through the streets. Alongside them were not only vendors shouting to sell various wild Magic Items but also those selling food and small animals.

I forgot to mention, the full name of this Magic Market is the "Saint Nali Magic Market," where plants and pets were also sold amongst other goods. However, Magic Items were the main attraction, and most people came here for them.

"Top-quality mature Dragon Blood and Dragon Scales! Gentlemen, don’t miss out!"

"Graveyard tombbell lilies from underground mines, Ketila Red Leaves, and Magic Crystal Ores, sold in bundles! Large orders even include delivery service!"

"Pets from Schwali—the cooperative cats are perfect for cuddling and caressing, an ideal choice for a family pet!"

Moli looked at a little cat grooming its fur by the roadside, staring at its long and smooth coat. She really wanted to reach out and feel its texture.

Fisher deliberately slowed his pace, letting her take in everything around her.

Occasionally, the market also sold demi-human slaves. Soon enough, Moli saw cages beside the road holding several male Bull-man and Doggie Race individuals.

This was Moli’s first time out of the classroom, seeing so many things she wouldn’t normally encounter. After seeing the chains shackled on those demi-human bodies, she pursed her lips and nervously stuck closer to Fisher, until they stopped in front of a very small shop on a street corner.

The shop was squeezed between two walls. Its entrance was less than half the size of other shops. There was a crooked sign hanging on the door, with the name "Gina Wholesale Store." As the name suggested, this shop mainly dealt in the wholesale of common Magic Materials, occasionally selling high-end ones, although they were rarely seen.

The materials used in Magic Classes could all be found here, and it just so happened that Fisher had a previous acquaintance with the owner. Therefore, he had specifically come to patronize her business.

"We’ve arrived... The shops recommended by the school aren’t very good in quality, so I found a store I frequently cooperated with before, come in..."

"That’s enough! If you won’t give it, then don’t give it!"

Before Fisher could finish his introduction, the small door in front of them suddenly swung open. A young girl with short hair, dressed rather revealingly, stormed out, fuming mad. Upon seeing Fisher outside, she was momentarily taken aback and her irritation slightly subsided, and she greeted,

"Fisher..."

Fisher nodded to the girl in front of him and watched her leave by his side, plunging into the bustling street and quickly disappearing from sight.

"Scram already, and don’t ever come back... Oh, Fisher, it’s you. I thought that Meg lass hadn’t left yet..."

Following that, an outspoken middle-aged woman emerged from inside the shop. She was dressed in a large blue apron used by fishermen to scale fish and wore gloves on both hands, carrying two strange roosters with long colorful feathers and with a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth.

She was holding a cigarette in her lips, her fierce appearance softened a bit upon seeing Fisher, as she greeted him in an indistinct accent.

This is Gina, the owner of the shop. The young girl who had just run out was her not yet of age daughter, Meg, who appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

"What happened?"

Fisher was clearly asking about Meg who had run out earlier; her complexion did not look good.

"What else could it be... a rebellious daughter skipping school, hanging out with punks all day, and then comes back to her innocent mother asking for money after she’s broke. And when she gets refused, she storms out in a huff. The same old story. That kid, always thinking there’s some future in mixing with those gang members, those scoundrels will do nothing but deceive her and take advantage of her!"

Speaking of her daughter seemed to bring out a frustration in her, as if she wished her daughter were made of sterner stuff. She angrily threw two innocent roosters onto the ground and locked them in a cage at the entrance as if to vent her anger on the birds.

Fisher glanced at the street behind her, not mixing into Gina’s family affairs. Although she remembered that Meg was quite well-behaved as a child, who knows what had changed in her heart and experiences during the times she hadn’t seen her.

Gina, with a cigarette still clinging to her lips, chose to ignore the headache-inducing topic of family and turned to Fisher’s serene, animal-like student, Moli, nodding toward her and asked,

"By the way, what brings you here? I heard you went to the South Continent before? And who is this?"

"I was working on a research project, now I’m back... I’m now teaching Magic at Saint Nali University, and this is one of my students. We mainly came to buy some magic materials for class, like a bit of Redstone Powder and Light Worms, I’ll have a look if there’s anything else."

"Saint Nali University, that’s a pretty good school." Gina finished her cigarette and casually tossed the butt onto the street at the shop’s entrance. She looked at Moli and sighed,

"If only Meg would be half as well-behaved as you, I would thank the Mother Goddess. I’ve donated so much to the church over these years, and this is how she repays me, ungrateful... Alright, come in then, I happen to have some surplus loose stock."

Fisher walked into the seemingly tiny shop but found the interior space was actually quite spacious. However, because Gina had piled up too much magic material in a small room without proper isolation measures, the odor inside was a bit unpleasant.

After all, magic materials aren’t limited to herbs growing in high mountains and valleys, they also include dried feces left by giant beasts.

There’s a pink deer in the wilds of Nali called "Sikorima," and these creatures defecate only once a year. They can’t be domesticated as they quickly succumb to depression and die when captured, but their feces are valuable medicinal and magic items, used as primary ingredients in many advanced Healing Magic spells.

That’s right, the main material for the Thirteen Ring Magic "Resurrection" engraved by Helson previously was Sikorima feces.

Then, each year there’s a whole bunch of "Material Hunters" waiting behind the Sikorima, eagerly anticipating their defecation, hoping for precious magic materials, but mostly what comes is just gas.

Moli curiously inspected the countless magic materials around her, which she had never seen in the ocean... though she had seen many even stranger materials before.

After Fisher had gathered many materials that would be used in future classes, she was just about to explain their uses to Moli when Gina pushed a strange-looking sea snail in front of her,

"What is this?"

Gina sighed and said,

"That’s Meg’s scam to get money; she said this is a magic material from the deep sea, found by the Coco River in Saint Nali. I’m not sure myself, but the shell does look pretty strange, something I’ve never seen."

Fisher fixed her gaze on the sea snail. The snail had an extremely tricky spiral pattern, the whole creature being a deep black, yet it shimmered with an odd luminescence.

"This isn’t a magic material, it’s a Drill Black Shell; not used for magic but it’s pretty to look at, and when you blow into it, dense bubbles come out the other end..."

Suddenly speaking up out of nowhere, Moli, who had approached Fisher’s side, effortlessly recognized the item before them. As Gina and Fisher turned to look at her, she blushed and explained,

"I... My hometown is by the sea, so... so I recognize this."

In reality, such creatures only exist in the deep sea. The reason why the snail’s shell was so hard was to withstand the pressure of the sea floor, but it seemed that Professor Fisher and others were not aware of that.

Moli began to chastise herself for a mouth that couldn’t keep secrets, always inadvertently revealing things she shouldn’t.

"Hmph, I too thought this thing didn’t look like magic material. That kid really comes up with anything to trick her mother out of money, the little demon!"

Gina clearly agreed with this sentiment, looking at the sea snail as harshly as if it were Meg herself.

Then, she started cursing her disappointing daughter, leaving Fisher with no choice but to smile wryly.

At that moment, however, Moli was wondering, if the snail was from the deep sea, why would that human girl claim she found it by a river in Nali?