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Chapter 57 Tree Spirit Crystal
Old Baggins lived a comfortable life.
At this time, business in the shop was slow. He was standing on a high stool behind the counter, reading an ancient book while enjoying his dinner.
Mushroom and smoked meat stew, roasted chicken with nuts, honey oat cakes, and a glass of frothy ale.
These are not everyday dishes; they are mostly ordered from the tavern across the street, and each dish costs at least three silver coins.
This old fellow eats just as well as adventurers who risk their lives.
This gave Wilder a new idea.
It's not necessary to compete with those few lobster pits in the association; opening your own shop like Baggins is also quite good.
However, opening a shop requires capital. The treasures displayed in Zhulingbaozhai are quite valuable, worth at least several thousand gold coins.
Wilder believes that Burgess was able to accumulate such a large fortune thanks to two factors.
Firstly, his profession is that of a warrior, and when he is an adventurer, he doesn't spend much money. In addition, he has no bad habits, so he can save a lot of money.
Secondly, dwarfs have long lifespans. Baggins is over two hundred years old. The longer he lives, the more wealth he naturally accumulates.
Uh……
Wilder seems unable to do either of these things, or even perfectly avoids them.
"Wild, you've come!"
After their long conversation during the last time they bought the staff, Baggins and he were already quite familiar with each other.
"Hmm, I need your help with something." Wilder said as he walked towards the counter.
"What is it?"
Baggins pushed the plate aside, wiped his hands, and said, "Let me see it!"
Curiosity and a spirit of exploration flow in the blood of dwarfs, which allows them to maintain a youthful heart no matter how old they are.
Wilder took the emerald-green essence out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.
"Tree spirit crystals?"
Baggins recognized it immediately. "Good heavens, you've hunted down a fully grown treant!"
"It was a kill done in coordination with my teammates," Wilder replied.
"amazing!"
Baggins praised it, then launched into a long recollection, "Back in the day, I encountered something similar deep in the forest..."
"How much is this worth?"
Having learned from his previous experience of being subjected to ear-training, Wilder immediately interrupted him.
You've already eaten, but I haven't!
The old man is a nice guy, but he's even more talkative than Gru.
"Well," Baggins said, holding the crystal and examining it again under the magnifying glass, "I can offer three gold pieces, a perfectly fair price."
Wilder nodded.
It's fair that they won one more gold medal than the association.
"However..." Baggins changed the subject, "Are you sure you want to sell?"
"Why not sell?"
Wilder was puzzled. Was he keeping the nightlight for getting up at night?
Emerald green, strangely eerie.
"You're a mage, that's why I asked," Baggins explained. "Why don't you consider transferring this crystal to your staff?"
Wilder was taken aback: "Can it be transferred to the staff?"
"Of course." Baggins smiled. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm not a mage. Since I'm doing business with you, I actually know more about you than you do."
"This crystal is much better than the rubies we have now."
He explained, "Rubies are ordinary mineral crystals, and their only advantage is their purity; they don't diminish magic power."
"Tree spirit crystals are monster crystals; they retain the characteristics of monsters and can enhance certain spells."
Wilder nodded; that was evident from the price.
The ruby was given to him for free by Baggins, but the tree spirit crystal was worth three gold coins.
You get what you pay for.
"What spells can it enhance?" he asked.
"Confusing and bewitching magic".
Baggins stroked his beard. "That's the tree spirit's main ability."
Wilder recalled the tree spirit's ability to control tree monsters and possess trees, and thought that Baggins was probably right.
The problem is, he doesn't know any bewitching magic at all.
The system-given specializations might be possible, but they lack even basic spell structures, making the staff completely useless.
"It is said that it is difficult for sorcerers to master the spells of the Bewitching School."
"Indeed, otherwise this crystal could have sold for at least five gold coins."
Baggins smiled. "However, low-level bewitching spells are not particularly difficult for mages. At most, they are a little slow to learn, but the effects are quite good. Sometimes they can even save lives than defensive spells."
Wilder agreed with this.
Moreover, he actually really wanted to try learning the spells of the Confusion School.
The three feats provided by the system added three points to his Charisma. If they are indeed spells of the control type, then it means that the use of this type of spell is related to the Charisma attribute.
His current intelligence is 13, which plays a significant role in his mana capacity and casting speed.
And its charm of 11 points should not be wasted.
Try?
Three gold coins are a bit of a pain.
After a moment's thought, Wilder asked a question:
"If I transfer this crystal to my staff, can I then take it off and sell it to you?"
"If you weren't a mage, I'd really like to have you as my apprentice, you clever young man."
Baggins laughed. "But I'll buy you when you're substituted."
"Then let's change it."
It seems that crystals are a form of hard currency, similar to buying gold; they are both useful and retain their value.
"Alright, give me your staff, it'll be ready in a quarter of an hour," Baggins continued. "And there's a fifty-silver service fee."
"What?!"
Just like buying gold, if you want to use it, you have to pay an additional processing fee.
"Craftsmanship is the most valuable thing; fifty taels of silver is not much." Baggins had already begun disassembling his oak staff.
"Then I'll sell you the ruby I took off to offset the labor cost."
"If I remember correctly, this ruby was a gift from me to you."
"I traded you the quartz crystal, didn't I?"
"Even if I were senile, I wouldn't trade gemstones for quartz with you!"
"Hmm... since you gave it to me, it's mine. There's nothing wrong with me reselling it, right?"
"..."
In the end, Baggins took back the ruby and waived Wilder's labor fee.
Wilder received the staff with the replaced crystals; the deep emerald green head looked much more sophisticated than before.
"Mr. Baggins, as a token of my gratitude, I will come to you first whenever I get anything good."
"No thanks," Baggins said with a smile, waving his hand. "I can't make any money off you."
……
When Wilde left the Forging Treasure House, it was already past dusk. He went to the Red House Hospital.
Cyrion lay on the bed, his legs bandaged, resting with his eyes closed.
Gru sat on the chair next to him, yawning listlessly.
"Little one, why have you been gone for so long?" he asked.
Wilder then recounted how he went to the Crystal Foundry to sell crystals, and ended up buying them himself.
"Let's calculate the distribution of the reward. Just deduct three gold coins from my share."
Cyrion nodded, offering no objection.
The purse contained five gold pieces and twenty-five silver pieces. Including the three gold pieces from the crystal, the total was eight gold pieces and twenty-five silver pieces.
Divide it according to the agreed proportions...
"Wild, you get three gold and five silver coins," Cyrion said. "Subtract the three gold coins for buying the crystal, and you'll have five silver coins left."
"Well……"
Wilder gave a wry smile.
Didn't you just receive your reward after a mission?
How did the money disappear in the blink of an eye?