The Wizard Commerce was the largest vendor in the commercial district, supplying more than half of the materials for the entire Academy. These wizard commerce groups, hailing from various regions and families, congregated in the commercial district, selling all sorts of magical materials, both conceivable and inconceivable. Most low-level wizards had to rely on the commerce to gather materials.
Anna presented Richard with two choices: Chalak Commerce and Seven Luminaries Commerce.
Chalak was known for quality but was pricey, whereas Seven Luminaries suffered in quality control but was cheaper.
Given the current situation, Richard naturally chose to purchase materials from Seven Luminaries Commerce.
The address of the Seven Luminaries Commerce was located on a prestigious street in the commercial district. Every inch of this street was worth its weight in gold; each shop's annual rent was in the tens of thousands of Magic Stones. Even someone like Anna, a wealthy apprentice, couldn't afford to rent here and had to settle for more economical locations.
Richard looked at the dazzling signs all around him, the colorful Magic Stone Lamp signs giving him a sense of déjà vu, as if he were back on Earth.
"Wizards in the Wizard World and ordinary people seem like they're from completely different worlds," Richard mused to himself, then glanced at a nearby shop.
"Seven Luminaries Commerce, this is it," he said.
As Richard walked into the shop, his ears were immediately enveloped in silence.
"Soundproof Magic Array," Richard concluded.
The interior of the shop was not large; it consisted of a counter, a few shelves, and a mechanical female attendant with exposed metal joints.
"Welcome to the Seven Luminaries Commerce, student. What do you need?" the mechanical female attendant asked, bowing slightly to Richard, her voice sweet and pleasing.
"I need to purchase some materials, but here…" Richard glanced at the attendant from top to bottom, having never seen anything like her. She had delicate skin, lively expressions, and a sweet voice. If not for the exposed mechanical joints and lifeless Crystal Eyeballs, Richard might have thought she was real.
"It seems this is your first time here," the attendant smiled slightly at Richard. "All wizard commerce goods are stored in specialized warehouses. If you pay in the store, we will deliver the goods directly to your room or the test zone."
"I see," Richard nodded thoughtfully and then handed over a parchment with his requirements noted down.
On the parchment, Richard mixed in some unnecessary materials to prevent others from stealing his formula.
"Alright, please wait a moment." The attendant took the parchment and then lifted a Crystal Ball to record the parchment's contents.
"All set," the Crystal Ball flashed, "The materials you need will cost a total of five hundred thirty Academy Coins. Would you like to proceed with the purchase?"
"Five formulas, five hundred thirty Academy Coins. Excluding those mixed materials, each formula must be about a hundred Academy Coins," Richard calculated, nodding his head before handing the Academy Coins over to the attendant.
After confirming there were no counterfeit coins, the attendant gave him a contract detailing the transaction.
Contracts were an essential part of transactions in the Wizard World.
After signing the contract, Richard recorded his delivery location.
Once all the information was verified as correct, Richard didn't leave the commerce; instead, he asked the attendant for a list.
"Could you list the Bloodlines you have for sale?"
"Certainly, please wait a moment." The attendant took a Crystal Ball from beneath the counter and handed it to Richard. Upon using Spiritual Detection, a vast amount of information flooded into Richard's mind.
"How many worlds have the wizards conquered… the number of Bloodlines is just too staggering," Richard thought, roughly counting. The data contained tens of thousands of creature Bloodlines, ranging from tiny insects to Giant Dragons and even Elemental Creatures from the Four Elements Plane. This surpassed the Bloodline numbers during the wizard wars.
Among the numerous Bloodlines, Richard finally found the one he needed after searching for a long time.
The second stage of Black Knight Bloodline Alchemy required the Bloodline of a Two-Headed Fiend.
The price at Seven Luminaries Commerce was five hundred Magic Stones.
"Five hundred Magic Stones," Richard pondered, stroking his chin. This amount of Magic Stones was not insignificant for him at the moment. Completing the second stage of Bloodline Alchemy in the short term seemed unlikely.
After leaving the commerce, Richard chose not to return to the dormitory but instead went to an open area in the test zone.
In the center of the area, a short-haired beauty was testing a spell.
Boom!
A cone of flame shot from the girl's hand, instantly turning the metal target she aimed at red-hot, melting it into a puddle of molten iron within seconds.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Ali, you're really talented in the Shape-shifting School," Richard praised, emerging from behind Ali while clapping his hands.
The figure testing the spell was indeed Ali, and the spell she had just used was the Flame Hand, or more precisely, an improved version of the Flame Hand according to the advanced apprentice notes Richard had obtained.
"I'm nowhere near your level. You're now Master Jolod's official apprentice," Ali teased, giving Richard a playful look before suddenly hugging his arm.
"Richard, at this time, shouldn't you be reading?"
Feeling the subtle warmth from his arm, Richard, already accustomed to it, didn't bother pulling his arm away.
"I'm running low on Magic Stones. I'm thinking of earning some Magic Stones soon," he replied.
"Are you taking on a task?" Ali's eyes lit up. "My mentor taught me a lot recently; I might be more powerful than you now."
In the past year, Richard and Ali had taken on several tasks. While the Magic Stone rewards weren't substantial, their teamwork improved significantly.
"Has your mentor decided to make you an official apprentice?" Richard asked in surprise. Over the year, Ali had unexpectedly caught the eye of a wizard studying both Shape-shifting and Curses, and she was currently in the apprentice evaluation phase.
"Not yet," Ali's expression dropped but then quickly brightened. "But she's been much nicer to me lately and not as strict as before."
"Besides," Ali whispered conspiratorially in Richard's ear, her soft breath tickling him, "I've heard my mentor is the student of the real dean of the Black Tower Wizard Academy, not the deputy dean, but the student of the Great Wizard of the Black Tower Academy."
"That's quite impressive," Richard remarked coolly, shifting away. "If you become her disciple, wouldn't that make you the dean's grand-disciple? In the Academy, you'd have free reign."
"Come on, shouldn't you start buttering me up?" Ali teased, making another playful face at Richard. "If you don't, I might just run off with Joseph. He's also an Alchemy Wizard's official apprentice and a Wizard Descendant!"
Richard chuckled helplessly. Ali's popularity within the Academy far exceeded Richard's expectations; there were enough wizard apprentices pursuing her to form a hundred-person phalanx.
Joseph, among her suitors, was one of the most outstanding.
An official apprentice, Wizard Descendant, and part of the Alchemy School.
With these combined conditions, Richard couldn't help but feel this person was somewhat aimed at him.
"Alright, my lady Ali, are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you for dinner and maybe flatter you a bit," Richard extended his hand toward Ali, who accepted it with a smile.
"Of course, I'm free," she replied.