Tools of the Trade

But Muse had more pressing matters to attend to. This brief moment of warmth was merely a small interlude.

On the Nolanda continent, Mages were powerful not only because of the diverse spells they could cast but also due to the myriad strange yet extraordinarily potent magical equipment, alchemical potions, and spell items they carried.

To put it simply, a competent Mage venturing out would, at the very least, be equipped with a robe and a staff—two essential pieces of magical gear. Those with sufficient wealth might also carry smaller items like necklaces or rings, along with no fewer than three spell scrolls, a full set of alchemical potions, and possibly multiple consumable spell items.

This complete set of equipment would cost at least 30,000 gold coins—a testament to why spellcasters like Mages were often dubbed "Lords of Magic." Their strength was built on a foundation of gold.

Though Muse was now a formal Arcanist, without adequate magical equipment and spell items, his combat ability was barely enough for self-preservation.

What Muse urgently needed now were practical spell items, ideally some magical equipment as well, and spellcasting materials were an absolute must.

While Muse could expend more arcane energy to operate complex spell models and cast spells without materials, using spellcasting materials allowed him to conserve a significant portion of that energy—ranging from one-fifth to half, a remarkable savings!

Take his current state as a Level 1 Arcanist, for example. Muse had roughly 10 points of arcane energy. Casting a 0-level cantrip required either a 0-level spell slot or 1 point of arcane energy, while a 1st-level spell demanded a 1st-level spell slot or 3 points of arcane energy. With spellcasting materials, however, a 0-level cantrip would cost only 0.5 points, and a 1st-level spell just 2 points.

Thus, Muse preferred to keep a stock of commonly used spellcasting materials on hand.

His current plan was to sneak out and purchase some spellcasting materials. Hurrying back to his room, he instructed his personal maid, Mina, to busy herself outside. Then, he opened his wardrobe and rummaged through it.

Eventually, he found a voluminous robe with a large hood, reeking of an unshakable scent of perfume and powder. It was easy to imagine this was something the old Muse wore to sneak off for secret rendezvous with some young lady.

The corner of Muse's eye twitched, but with no better alternative at hand, he resigned himself to using this garment for now. At least it could conceal his figure and most of his face—a wise precaution when his strength was still limited.

Suppressing his aversion to the overpowering scent, Muse donned the robe. However, such a distinctive odor could easily mark him to anyone paying attention. Deciding to remedy this, he opted to cast a cleaning spell to remove the fragrance.

With a low chant, Muse precisely channeled his arcane energy. As his mental energy completed the spell model, the arcane power flowed smoothly. A cool breeze emanated from his hand, swirling around the robe. After a moment, it carried away the dust and scent. Muse dispelled the spell with a wave, sniffing the air—the fragrance was now faint beyond detection.

"Not bad," Muse thought with satisfaction. "My memory of spell knowledge and metamagic techniques hasn't rusted."

Next, he cast a minor invisibility spell. Though this 0-level cantrip only distorted light for a rudimentary cloaking effect, it was sufficient for his current needs—more than enough to slip out unnoticed.

Muse gently pushed open the window and leapt out, landing on the courtyard soil with a faint footprint.

After advancing to a formal Arcanist, his physical stats had improved to:

Strength: 1.0

Agility: 1.0

Constitution: 0.9

Spirit: 11.5

Though still unimpressive, Muse cast a featherfall spell on himself, enabling swift movement for a time while leaving nearly imperceptible footprints.

Thus, he stealthily made his way out…

Meanwhile, far to the north, in the Mage Federation—the land of Mages—a towering mage tower stood.

A small steel golem, controlled by the tower's spirit, moved slowly, cradling a crystal ball in its hands. Within the orb, a red glow of magical light flickered.

Soon, the tower spirit reached a door and stood silently in wait.

Before long, the door blazed with dazzling magical aura. Runes ignited one by one, weaving together to form layered shields that enveloped the door. Amid faint tremors, they seemed to be resisting something.

But the phenomenon came and went quickly. The magical shields dimmed, and the flickering runes faded away.

At that moment, a faint magical glow flashed across the waiting tower spirit, as if transmitting some message inside.

Moments later, the door swung open.

A figure, blackened from head to toe, stumbled out, exuding a mysterious scent of roasted meat.

"Cough, cough." This human-shaped charcoal spat out a puff of black smoke, wiping their face to reveal discernible features. With a grumble, they said, "Ember, didn't I tell you not to disturb me during experiments? Can't whatever it is wait until I'm done?"

"My apologies, Master, but per your pre-set instructions, this message—marked with the magical signature of a 'big benefactor'—warrants your attention," the tower spirit replied calmly, raising the crystal ball.

The blackened figure froze, then gave an awkward chuckle after a moment's thought. "Oh… right. Heh."

Taking the crystal ball, they closed their eyes to sense its contents, then muttered with a grimace, "Ugh… another person wanting my help. I hate trouble… Nope, not going. I've got tons of experiments to finish…"

With that, they tossed the crystal ball back to the tower spirit and turned to head back inside, ready to seal the door and resume their work.

At that moment, the tower spirit interjected, "Master, given that the tower's supplies and funds are running low, I must advise you to carefully consider this matter."

The figure halted mid-step, spinning back around to stare wide-eyed at the tower spirit. "I thought we still had plenty! What happened?" they demanded.