Chapter 14: The Joy of Liana Dawn

Gray walked directly to the laboratory and inserted the metal badge into the alchemy table, whereupon a clear magical image appeared, recording Gray's income and expenses for the month. The alchemy table was powered by magical crystals, and activating the badge required 5 points of magic power. Gray now intended to use all his magic power for practicing magic and was unwilling to waste it on activating the badge.

Upon seeing the first line of the bill, Gray was stunned. It stated, "Update one magical puppet, totaling 1600 gold coins."

The magical puppet was the steel figure Gray used to practice fireball magic and other spells. Passing by the magic testing ground, Gray had already noticed the replacement of one puppet. But how could such an item cost 1600 gold coins? Gray had little concept of money but knew that his mother had lived in the village of Ruthland for ten years, and all her savings amounted to only a dozen gold coins. The fur of a large magical beast was priced at only one or two gold coins in the city, but hunting them required adult hunters to risk their lives. Perhaps the wealthiest village leader might have hundreds of gold coins, many of which were accumulated as military pay and rewards during his time in the army.

Had he just blown up 1600 gold coins with two fireballs?

He began to recall every detail about the steel puppet and found that besides its defense being almost identical to a standard half-plate armor, it seemed to have no other outstanding features. Gray was not yet aware that precision was the fundamental reason for the steel puppet's high cost. The defense difference between ordinary magical puppets and military-standard half-plate armors was within one to two energy levels, while the deep blue steel puppet's difference was within one-tenth of an energy level. A one-magnitude difference in error resulted in a nearly thirty-fold difference in cost. An energy level was a concept in magic, roughly referring to the amount of energy carried by a standard first-level magic missile.

Cold sweat continuously flowed down Gray's forehead, and the huge number oppressed him almost to the point of being unable to breathe. Ruthland village was also part of the Holy Alliance's territory, and their currency was interchangeable with that of Deep Blue. 1600 gold coins, for Gray now, was a debt he could never repay in his lifetime. He didn't like being in debt; this was a trait inherited from Elia Silvermoon. The priestess of the Moon Goddess didn't want to owe anyone anything. The immense psychological pressure caused Gray to see darkness before his eyes. It was only after a great effort that he calmed down and slowly continued to look down the list. As he expected, the prices of the consumables below were all astonishingly high. For example, the unit price of that bottle of magic power recovery potion was close to 500 gold coins. Seeing this, Gray's feelings were completely different when he thought of those bottles of magical potions in the warehouse's pharmacy. Those potions had labels indicating their properties and usage; most were auxiliary potions for enhancing magic power perception, affinity, and recovery. They were mainly used by magicians to accelerate the process of training.

For more than a month before coming to Deep Blue, Gray had gained a preliminary understanding of the world outside the mountains. At that time, in Ashan, he had been shocked by the expensive prices of items, but compared to Deep Blue, things in Ashan were simple and cheap as if they were free. For instance, a bottle of magic power recovery potion was only 10 gold coins in Ashan, but it was 500 gold coins on Deep Blue's bill, a difference of 50 times.

What Gray didn't know was that the magic power recovery potion sold in the Ashan market had a duration of only three hours, and its recovery acceleration effect was only 0.5 times. The bottle he drank lasted for 24 hours, and its acceleration effect was double. Similarly, the result of a 16-fold increase in overall performance was a 50-fold increase in price.

From level advancement to potion crafting, and even in various industries, progress became more difficult as one advanced, and the cost required for each step forward was increasingly high. Therefore, a pyramidal structure was almost universally applicable in all fields, and the concept that little Aiden Gray had just learned interpreted this principle from another angle: diminishing marginal returns.

At the end of the first page, Gray saw his total expenses for the month: a total of 18,000 gold coins.

The second page was income, and Gray only saw one line on it. The item was tuition allowance, and the amount was 30,000 gold coins.

While looking at the expenses, Gray had gradually become accustomed to the large numbers... but he was still shocked by the large number of the allowance.

Forget about 30,000 gold coins; just a day ago, 30 gold coins were an enormous sum that Gray had never seen, and he didn't know how to spend it. Life in the mountains was self-sufficient. Besides purchasing cloth, Gray couldn't even think of any other places where money was needed.

But 30,000 gold coins... "That would be enough to cover this entire laboratory!" Grey, who had not yet recovered from the dizzying sensation, looked at the massive alchemy laboratory and thought involuntarily.

As Grey's gaze swept across every corner of the laboratory, he arrived at an accurate calculation: if the entire floor were paved with empire gold coins, this laboratory could accommodate 333,300 gold coins.

Grey shook his head vigorously, banishing these troublesome numbers from his mind. Whether it was 30,000 or 300,000, it didn't matter; they were both unfathomable sums of money.

Moreover, the 30,000 gold coin allowance was just the beginning. There were several blank sections on the second page, with only major category names and no income figures. It seemed they would all be sources of income in the future. The only thing that puzzled Grey was the last entry: "Liana Dawn's Delight." What kind of income was that?

After calming down, Grey realized that the 30,000 gold coin allowance was actually not much. There were countless expenses in Deep Blue, and this was only the first month. He had spent most of his time in classes, with less than a week of actual magic practice. The materials and supplies consumed were minimal, but his expenses had already reached 18,000 gold coins. It was certain that maintaining a balanced budget would be challenging for the next month, and after another month, 30,000 gold coins would definitely be insufficient.

Grey didn't dwell on it further. Although he still didn't have a clear concept of money, he at least knew that every day of studying at Deep Blue meant consuming a large amount of resources. Despite the 30,000 gold coin allowance, Grey didn't believe it was without cost. Being able to enter Deep Blue and study under a legendary mage seemingly indicated that Marquess Gavin Warchant had utilized significant resources. However, the deeper reason was that Aliya Silvermoon had sacrificed her own life to give Grey this opportunity. The history and political structure of the continent were also important courses for mage studies, so Grey had a preliminary understanding of the world of Norland. At least he knew that the position of a personally taught student of a legendary mage was something countless influential figures in the empire dreamed of obtaining. Marquess Gavin Warchant's strength and status were not outstanding, so obtaining such an opportunity must have required paying a higher price than other noble lords.

Exploration in the magical world was boundless. Grey silently stopped the magical projection because the consumption of mana crystals also required money. He placed the badge in a conspicuous position. All income and expenditure items were imprinted in his memory, even more firmly than magical memories, and then he once again delved into the study of the magical world.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Aiden Grey was immersed in the world of magic and numbers every day, almost unaware of the passage of time. Now he could proficiently wield the two innate abilities of Wisdom and Truth. The digitalized world was not just strange and dull; it also had many irreplaceable benefits. For example, within his sensory range, Aiden Grey could intuitively understand the strength of others. Take Minnie and Landov, the other two students of Liana Dawn. They were now fifth-level and sixth-level mages, both only fourteen years old. Minnie's mana was 70, while Landov's reached an astonishing 110, which was comparable to a seventh-level mage in terms of mana value. Regardless of their mage levels, their mana capacity far exceeded that of mages of the same level. This meant they had more spell slots than mages of the same level, representing a direct disparity in strength. Moreover, as personally taught disciples of Liana Dawn, their own bloodlines must have special qualities. Robust bloodline abilities were crucial factors that could determine the outcome of battles for many high-level professionals.

However, every morning when Grey woke up, he would still involuntarily see the raging flames and his mother's figure in the firelight. Occasionally, there would be bloodstains on the quilt, which was from him biting his mouth in his sleep.