Chapter 106: Gifts

This afternoon, because of the incident of being caught, Jess missed an orc language class. He can't miss this class this morning.

Since he doesn't have to stay at Marin's all morning, he can simply clean up a bit, ask Marin if there is anything to do and then leave directly, and then he can go to the orc language class on Wednesday morning.

After class, Jess went straight to the clothing store of the Larson family.

Among the two clothing stores in the mage district, Jess is more familiar with Duncan's. After all, he has been there several times.

As for the other one, Larson's, Jess has only been in once. The person who greeted him was still a person from Lordaeron.

As a result, when he saw him for the first time, he looked down on him as a migrant worker, which made Jess a bit unhappy. So he never went in again.

But unexpectedly, this store is a cooperative merchant of the Wizard's Sanctum. The robes of mages are actually made here.

This time, he reluctantly came in. The store owner has changed from a young man to a middle-aged man.

"Hello, young sir." The middle-aged store owner looked over here and said, "Welcome to the Larson family. Just call me James. I am the owner of this ready-made clothing store."

James has gray hair and his face is full of wrinkles. But judging from his posture and speech speed, he may be in his fifties. Moreover, his accent obviously doesn't have much of a Lordaeron flavor. He should be a native of Stormwind.

Jess looked around and said, "Last time I came, Ivan Larson was looking after the store. I thought he was the owner here."

James said, "That's my nephew. Of course I am also surnamed Larson. This store is the inheritance of my grandfather. Ivan is helping me look after the store. Do you know each other?"

"No... just curious."

"Well, what are you looking at when you come here, sir? Most of the clothes in our store are made for mages."

"I am a mage." Jess showed him the apprentice emblem.

"No problem." James put on his glasses and took a look. He asked, "Is this your first time buying a mage robe?"

"Yes?"

"Have you considered whether you want a long one or a short one?"

"Short one." Jess made his decision very decisively.

He not only has to study in the academy but also has to travel and run around everywhere. Long robes are not easy to take care of and also hinder fighting.

"A non-traditional type, huh?" James Larson asked again, "What material do you want?"

"I have a limited budget. I only have about 10 silver coins, boss." Jess said, "I don't know much about mage robes. Please recommend a good set as much as possible. Priority is given to quality. The kind that is not easy to break."

"10 silver coins." James said, "If you want better quality, you can use spider silk material. The disaster in southern Elwynn is not without any benefits at all. The silk spit out by the giant spiders living there was discovered a few years ago to have good shadow resistance. It is just right for making mage robes. Especially now that we are dealing with the rampant gnoll warlocks and there are still many orcs who master black magic hiding in the dark. For mages of any level, spider silk mage robes are a good choice. Light and strong."

"Can it be bought with 10 silver coins?" Jess said, "Spider silk seems to be more expensive than silk."

"It depends." James said, "Even spider silk can't be pure spider silk... By the Holy Light, that might be extremely expensive. The cheapest grade of spider silk fabric in our store can buy a set for about 12 silver coins. For apprentices or even apprentice mages, it is a very good choice in terms of quality."

12 silver coins.

After buying this piece of clothing, I don't know how long I will wear it. Try to buy a better one.

"Do you have any requirements for the appearance of the clothes? For example, color, pattern and so on."

"Try to be as low-key as possible. Brown or something. Simple is fine. Patterns should be simple." Jess said.

"Noted." Jess watched the boss write furiously and asked carefully, "Is there any such thing as credit?"

"Sure." James took out a piece of paper, wrote on it, and handed it to Jess and said, "12 silver coins within one month from getting the clothes. If it is delayed until after one month, it will be 13 silver coins and so on. If it is delayed until next semester, you will be asked for payment by the Wizard's Sanctum. Young sir, if you still can't pay by then, there is a risk of being expelled."

Jess will be paid soon. He definitely won't delay until next month. So he signed it.

"Sign your name below." James reminded.

After Jess wrote his name, James looked at it and said, "You are Jess Setho? The abbreviation on the ring means Jess Setho?"

"Yes." Jess said, "I have just become an apprentice. My teacher is Master Eden Marin."

James said, "Mr. Setho, Master Andomas asked me to pay special attention. Your mage robe is funded by the royal family. So this bill is waived."

After saying that, he directly tore up this bill.

"What..." Jess was stunned for a moment.

"Can I choose again?" he immediately asked.

"Sure." James said, "But even if the royal family gives a subsidy, it is only 15 silver as the exemption limit. This is also the upper limit of the price of mage robes for most new mages. If it exceeds this price, you still need to pay for it yourself."

It turned out to be a standard subsidy of 15 silver. Forget it. Jess didn't want to bother anymore. Just choose this one. The Stormwind royal family is so poor. He didn't expect too much. It's already very good to be exempted from this much.

"I won't choose again." He said helplessly.

"Sure. There is also one thing to be transferred to you. Wait a moment." Larson tidied up the counter and quickly walked into the back room.

As he said this, he walked towards the back room, leaving Jess alone.

It turns out that the king also paid for his clothes. That's really great.

At this time, he suddenly remembered the strange look in Andomas's eyes when he told him about Larson's store at that time. Maybe it was because there were too many people around and he was embarrassed to say that the king funded him to get new clothes or something. So in the end, he just reminded him to go and have a look.

Unexpectedly, Jess didn't think of this at all. It was only when he was caught as a thief that he was finally willing to come here.

When Larson came out again, he was holding a maroon overcoat.

When he spread the clothes in front of Jess, he was extremely careful in his movements, as if he was afraid of breaking it.

What is this thing? Jess was a bit nervous.

"This..."

"Flame-smoked cloak." James Larson said.

James picked up the clothes and said, "The raw material of this overcoat is a huge fire-scorched dragon that is active in the Badlands and south of Loch Modan. Do you know what a fire-scorched dragon is?"

"I know." Jess said, "A monster that lies on the ground like a crocodile and has a large sail on its back."

"That's right." James said, "The fire-scorched dragon was first discovered by the Bronzebeard dwarves. Because it often uses its reddish complexion to ambush travelers near the Badlands. Even though it is more than ten meters long, it often succeeds in ambushing. The dwarves call it 'cunning'. Ironforge is busy with the battle with the Dark Iron dwarves and has been helpless against it for many years."

"Decades ago, King Bararian sent a team of hunters to help the dwarves of Thelsamar hunt down this giant beast and restore the normal connection between Ironforge and Stormwind. The dwarves made some armor and coats from his scales, skin and back sail and gave them back to Stormwind as a thank you. This piece of clothing is one of them."

"Since this is a cloak from decades ago, it is inevitable that there will be damage. This one has been repaired. Its previous owner wore this clothes and fought against trolls. A troll's spear pierced a hole in the position of this shoulder. But after repair, it is hardly noticeable. Our leatherworker is also the best in the kingdom." James flipped through this cloak back and forth and said, "However, the resistance to fire inherited from 'cunning' is still strong. At the same time, it can also enhance the mage's fire magic. It is a treasure for fire mages. The biggest drawback may be that it will be a bit hot to wear in summer, Mr. Jess Setho."

"This is too precious..." Jess looked at this robe and didn't know what to say.

"Saying precious is very precious, but it's not to an unimaginable extent." James said as he put away the clothes and folded them up.

"About how much is it worth?"

"It can probably be sold for 3 gold coins in Dalaran. Because this piece of clothing has indeed been repaired, many people will think that its performance is discounted compared to the original. It is inevitable."

Although Jess has seen the 7 gold coin mage robe burned by the red dragon, so his acceptance is very strong. But for the cloak that the king is going to give him, 3 gold coins still exceeds his expectation.

Even if it is given to him, he won't be willing to wear it outside.

Jess tentatively asked, "If it is broken again, can you help repair it?"

"This cloak needs to be repaired with magic, Mr. Setho." James said, "The specific price depends on the degree of damage. Repairing a hole like this will cost about 30 silver coins. But this piece of clothing is definitely not as easy to break as you think. After all, it is also made with magic by the dwarven rune tailors."

Jess didn't hear anything else. He only remembered 30 silver coins.

"Can it be used as a rain cape?" he tentatively asked.

James laughed and said, "Unless it's wyvern acid rain falling from the sky, maybe it can erode a little color. Don't forget that fire-scorched dragons are monsters that live around magma."

He carefully wrapped the clothes with a piece of cloth that he didn't know what it was but looked very expensive and handed it to Jess. Then he stuffed a letter into the gap.

"This is all the things that Master Andomas entrusted me to give you. As long as you take it away, my task will be completed."

Jess quickly said thank you several times. He picked up the package. At this time, he saw that the wax seal on the letter above was a golden lion head.

Walking out of the clothing store and coming to the garden, Jess found a step and sat down. He tore open the envelope.

"Mr. Jess Setho,

Realizing your wish and sending you into the Wizard's Sanctum is far from enough to express my gratitude. Because you brought an inspiration to all the soldiers of Stone Fortress and even the residents of Lakeshire at the most difficult time of the kingdom. And this hope in the darkness is priceless.

Every mage in the Wizard's Sanctum wears attire that suits their status. I know that as a young craftsman who came all the way from Lordaeron and has shed blood for the reconstruction of New Stormwind must not have much spare capacity to purchase such outfits. So, on my own initiative, I took out a magic overcoat inherited from my grandfather, King Barathion, from the royal mage treasury as further thanks. I hope it can help you adapt to your new life in the kingdom as soon as possible.

May the wound on your hand heal soon. In the name of the Holy Light.

—King of the Stormwind Kingdom, defender of the royal city and lord of Stormwind Keep, Varian Wrynn."