Chapter 725: Lack of Materials
After absorbing all the memories from the wood clone, Charles ascended to the top floor of the magic tower.
Pushing open the door to the top floor, he saw that what was once an empty room was now filled with stone pillars resembling display stands.
On these stands rested thirty pieces of magical equipment, including armor, swords, rings, necklaces, crystal balls, cloaks, and robes, among other items.
The thirty pieces of magical equipment were all of different styles, each protected by a blue energy shield.
Charles approached the nearest piece of magical equipment, a necklace, and noticed an inscription on the display stand introducing the item.
Wind and Moon Necklace: A finely crafted accessory made by the renowned Lynette Lide, it provides a significant boost to magical power when worn.
The necklace, predominantly gold, featured a pendant with a circular ring and a blue moonstone, adorned with a purple azalea flower. The craftsmanship was impressive, befitting a master smith from the magical world.
Despite its beauty, Charles intended to use it for recharging.
Looking at the Wind and Moon Necklace within the energy shield, Charles used magic to deactivate the shield and took the necklace in hand.
A notification sounded.
Ding! A rechargeable item has been detected. Would you like to recharge it?
Recharge!
Ding! Recharge successful, 3,000 gold coins obtained.
Satisfied with the amount of gold coins received, Charles nodded in approval. This necklace was far more valuable than those magical items seized from sealed evil wizards.
Charles glanced at the remaining magical equipment and proceeded to recharge each one. Soon, all 30 pieces of magical equipment were fully recharged, yielding a total of 100,000 gold coins.
Due to the varying abilities, materials, and creators of each piece of magical equipment, their values fluctuated accordingly.
Ding! Congratulations, Charles Doyle, on reaching VIP Level 13. You have received a privilege package.
Ninja Shop Privilege: Each display window can now be purchased from up to 10 times per day!
Privilege Package: Includes 60,000 copper coins, 600 reputation points, 6 ninja recruitment scrolls, and 50 bowls of delicious ramen.
Reaching VIP Level 13 had been a long journey for Charles, and he couldn't help but marvel at the achievement.
After so many years, finally reaching Level 13, the privilege package—though only worth about a thousand gold coins—was better than nothing.
What truly excited Charles was the reward he will get at VIP Level 14: the Konoha Jōnin, Kakashi card.
This was the legendary "10,000-yen card" of Kakashi Hatake. When he fuses it with Kakashi again, perhaps the embarrassing shortage of chakra will finally be resolved.
Charles stroked his chin, pondering whether the physical enhancement would also boost Obito's Sharingan.
After all, various versions of Kakashi—Anbu Kakashi, Jōnin Kakashi, Kamui Kakashi, War Arc Kakashi, and even Summer Kakashi—all possessed Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan. What if this enhancement resulted in an unbeatable Kamui...
That... shouldn't happen, right?
Charles wondered curiously, though he knew that fusing the same eye wouldn't grant the Eternal Mangekyō; otherwise, every Uchiha would have Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Entering the system space, he noted his total gold coins had reached 120,199.
Charles went straight to the battle column. After spending 118,000 gold coins, Charles obtained two additional battle slots, leaving him just one slot away from completing the roster for the Cloud Village emergence.
Glancing at the remaining number of gold coins, Charles shook his head before exiting the system space.
Fortunately, there was still time, and he could afford to wait for now.
As he looked at the now-empty stone pillars in the room, Charles briefly considered having all the master smiths forge identical magical equipment to speed up the process.
However, based on the clone's memories, gathering these masters together and having them forge magical equipment was already a feat made possible only because of Charles's role in defending against the Hell invasion.
These master smiths were meticulous and slow in their craft, valuing quality over quantity, making it unlikely that they would mass-produce standardized items.
Moreover, the clone speculated that if the quality were compromised, the value of the items for recharge might be significantly lower, or they might not be considered valid for recharging at all.
Deciding not to dwell on the matter further, Charles stopped thinking about it.
Just then Balthazar entered the room, carrying a piece of magical equipment.
Seeing the empty room, Balthazar remarked in surprise, "Did we get robbed? Where did all the magical equipment go?"
Charles turned to face his teacher and said, "Teacher, I had other uses for those items, so I took them."
Balthazar nodded, not inquiring further about what Charles intended to do with those equipment.
Instead, he waved his hand, causing a stone pillar to rise in the room, leaving information about the magical equipment he held, though he handed it directly to Charles instead of placing it on the pillar.
"Since you're back, I'll hand this equipment directly to you."
Charles accepted the magical equipment and stored it in his inventory space.
"Thank you, teacher, and thank you for all your help during this time."
Balthazar shook his head and replied, "It's no trouble. But there's something you should know. We're running low on high-quality magical materials."
"Once the materials are fully forged, these master smiths will return to their own work."
"If you need a large quantity of magical equipment in the future, you'll have to start paying the masters. This time they did it for free because you're the Supreme Merlin and successfully repelled a Hell invasion."
"But next time, it won't be free."
Charles nodded at his teacher's words and responded, "I'll find a way to solve this problem."
"I trust you," Balthazar said before turning to leave, explaining that the forging process still required his assistance and some material coordination.
After Balthazar departed, Charles walked to the window and looked out at the magical world. This world, too, should be utilized.
With materials running low, it seemed he would need to find a way to exploit the Hell dimension's resources once again.
…
Elsewhere-
The hooded man who had saved a woman from an explosion was now sitting in a café, sifting through job advertisements in a newspaper, searching for useful information.
On the nearby television, a news report was playing, covering the story of his heroic actions.
"The identity of the Hooded Hero remains a mystery."
"Is there any way to thank him?" the woman he had saved asked during an interview.
"Unfortunately, the identity of the Hooded Hero is still unknown," the reporter responded.
"The research team at the Los Angeles Medical Center reported today that supernatural…"
The man glanced at the news on the television, a small smile playing on his lips, clearly pleased with the outcome of his actions.
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