Chapter 297: Chapter 72: Special Ore

The trio entered the store door covered with magic barriers, and a mysterious atmosphere unique to the Alchemy Shop instantly struck them. It felt like an ancient relic worn by the years, dull yet bearing the weight of countless ages.

The interior of the shop was almost completely isolated from the outside world. As the two wooden doors closed behind them, the slightly noisy sounds from the outside vanished completely, leaving only the ticking of an old clock within the shop.

Just like all Alchemy Shops, the items on display here were equally bizarre and exotic.

Layered extravagant dresses on peculiar ragdolls, exquisite paintings filled with foreign artistic flair, strange logs half-covered with dark green mucus, black and red bead-like gemstones that resembled eyes…

All sorts of Mysterious Items emanating different auras were somewhat haphazardly arranged on stacked shelves, waiting for their potential buyers.

“Old Jimmy! We have guests!”

The boy walking in front shouted familiarly, shattering the quiet atmosphere that had just settled in the shop.

Clearly, this was not his first time ushering customers in like this.

“Ah, little Pace…”

At the sound, an old man in a dark red Alchemy robe that showed signs of oil stains and wear, with grey hair and a slightly hunched back, shakily made his way from behind the shelves.

The boy tactfully stepped aside to reveal the other two newcomers.

“…And two new lovely customers, welcome to Old Jimmy’s Alchemy Shop. May I assist you with anything?”

Glancing over at the three, the elder flipped through a thick, black leather-bound book he was holding and tapped a finger on one of the pages.

Anvis noticed this small gesture and understood the implications; the shopkeeper was actually keeping a record of Pace’s actions.

This was one of the unwritten rules of the Grey Crow Market; some shops situated in remote locations would employ children to attract customers.

If the customers brought by the child made a transaction in the store, then afterwards, the child would receive a small commission.

“Hello, grandfather, we need Empty Crystal Stones, Divine Oracles Ore, Miasma Crystal Stones, New Moon Stones, and Star Tear Crystals–these five types–”

Fiona politely responded upon hearing the old shopkeeper’s inquiry.

This was her first time shopping without her maid Annie to accompany her, so she felt unusually fresh and excited.

After saying this anxiously, the girl who was holding a kitten peered at Anvis as if seeking his confirmation.

“Yes, that’s right,” he said.

Anvis nodded, affirming her words under her hopeful gaze.

“You need these ores, come with me…”

The old shopkeeper nodded, closing the thick book in his hand. Suddenly, he held a long-stemmed Magic Wand, tapping it on the ground.

Then, a row of shelves sprouted little legs, moving aside to reveal a staircase leading downward.

“To save space, we store ores and other raw materials in the basement.”

With that, the shopkeeper led the way down the stairs, and Anvis and Fiona followed suit.

The little boy named Pace didn’t follow but instead stood waiting at the shop entrance.

The shop’s basement was as spacious as the ground floor, with rows of shelves set up just the same.

Metallic, mineral, Magic Beast, plant… All kinds of raw materials were neatly displayed on the shelves designated for their respective categories.

Though the shop was small and out of the way, the variety of materials was surprisingly comprehensive.

“Hmm, brother, it seems to be this kind!”

Arriving here, Fiona seemed to suddenly sense something, and quickly walked to the area where the ores were piled, picking up a stone with a pale blue surface.

It didn’t emit any light on its own, but under the Magic Lamp of the basement, its smooth surface refracted an exceptionally dazzling Radiance.

Being close enough, Feiya the little dragon attached to the girl could already sense the aura of that particular stone.

“Are you looking for ‘Divine Oracles Ore’?”

Seeing this, the aged shopkeeper revealed a smile, his yellowed teeth gleaming slightly, as if he saw the shiny Gold Coins beckoning him.

Although the two had already changed out of their Pamir uniforms, the savvy shopkeeper immediately recognized that they were definitely two inexperienced students.

Especially the girl, whose gaze, while looking at the goods in the shop earlier, was somewhat curious.

But whether it was the fragment of a relic worth one or two Gold Coins, or the Demon’s Eye Gem worth thousands of Gold Coins, her gaze remained mostly unchanged.

No, it should be said that when she saw those fragments, the interest in her eyes even surpassed that of seeing those precious gemstones.

Old Jimmy had dealt with a few customers like this before, each of whom was his favorite type: wealthy and almost insensible to the prices of goods.

“This ore is no ordinary item! According to legend, a true Divine being descended in the Ancient Era, blessing the earth to become fertile and full of fruits.

And some stones, tainted by the scattered Divine Power, turned into what we now call Divine Oracles Ore…”

Putting his best skills to use, the shopkeeper praised it to the skies as if it was an incredibly precious treasure, leaving Fiona somewhat bewildered.

“Therefore, as excess scraps from the Divine’s blessings, these stones do not have much use.

They are mostly used as high-end decorative materials for buildings, and as auxiliary materials for Low Rank Barbarian Bull Power Potions, with the current market price around four Gold Coins and twelve silver coins per Paso.”

However, Anvis ruthlessly exposed Shopkeeper Jimmy’s tricks and conveniently quoted the market reference price.

Tsk–

Glancing at Anvis with slight annoyance, the shopkeeper suddenly realized he had misjudged.

The girl was indeed inexperienced, but the boy knew his stuff!

“…Speak, how much do you need.”

Realizing that Anvis would not be easy to fool, the shopkeeper suddenly lost interest as it was just a transaction of a few Gold Coins.

“Let’s start with… um, let’s start with five thousand Pasos!”

Considering the potential appetite of Feiya, the girl tentatively said.

“Fine…Wait, young lady, how much did you say?”

For a moment, Old Jimmy wondered if he had misheard.

Those who usually buy this stuff generally need it for Alchemy Potions, and at most they would buy a few dozen Pasos, which would be enough for continuous production for two or three months.

“Five thousand Pasos? Is there any problem with that, old man?”

Fiona looked at the old shop owner with confusion.

“No, no… It’s just that I’m surprised by the amount you require.”

Touching his nose, Old Jimmy became enthusiastic again.

Although the unit price of Divine Oracles Ore was cheap, a magnitude of five thousand Pasos would amount to a grand purchase of more than twenty thousand Gold Coins.

After all, a cheap unit price didn’t mean a low profit margin.

“Buying five thousand units at once should come with a discount, right? Like, rounding off the fractions?”

From the side, Anvis interjected softly.

“Uh… Of course! Let’s round off three thousand Gold Coins from the total, and make it twenty thousand Gold Coins!”

Old Jimmy hastily nodded with a forced smile, his heart bleeding.

This rounding off meant his profit from this deal was only left at five thousand Gold Coins.

Next, with a nod from Anvis, Fiona stepped forward and made the payment with the Magic Crystal Card of Olivendi Trading Company.

Since the Element dragon had already become Fiona’s pet, Anvis wouldn’t cover this expense for her.

“Do you require anything else? Would you like to take a look at the new mysterious relic items that have just arrived in our store? I can offer you a discount of 12% off for both of you!”

Having made a big deal and receiving the money, Old Jimmy was in a good mood. While pulling out the corresponding Divine Oracles Ore from the Magic Warehouse, he tried to strike while the iron was hot for another sale.

Although five thousand Pasos of ore sounds like a lot, the actual volume isn’t even two cubic meters, which can easily be accommodated by a single Space Ring.