Chapter 57: 57 Selling Price of Spell Scrolls

Chapter 57: 57. The Price of Spell Scrolls

The building before them was about as tall as those of other guilds, roughly five or six stories, but its design was rather distinctive.

The Silva Magic Energy Guild's building had a cylindrical exterior, constructed entirely from blue-gray stone, carved with reliefs of magical beasts and mysterious symbols and patterns, exuding an aura of mystery.

Luo Ning examined it closely and even discovered the spell patterns of the basic magic spell, Gentle Wind. Unexpectedly, these spell patterns were being used as murals.

The building had a golden spire, like a slender golden needle thrusting straight into the sky, imparting an immense sense of solemnity and sanctity.

"My lord, I sense fluctuations of magic."

Ellron looked up. "They seem to be coming from the platform on the top floor."

Luo Ning nodded. He seemed to perceive a hint of it as well, but not as clearly as Ellron.

"Let's go in and see."

With that, Luo Ning led the two of them inside.

Upon entering, Luo Ning was immediately astonished by the scene inside the building.

The exterior was constructed from blue-gray stone, but the interior floors were built from wood. Along the inner walls, a staircase spiraled upward, reaching straight to the top of the building.

Standing on the first floor, Luo Ning looked up and could see rows of bookshelves on each level. The air carried a faint scent of parchment, yet also a delicate fragrance and a gently blowing breeze.

Magic crystal lamps were generally rare, but in this building, they adorned every corner as if they cost nothing.

Particularly the enormous chandelier in the center—its brightness and design were no less than top-tier luxury modern lighting fixtures. It was unclear how many gold coins would be needed to purchase it.

Magnificent. Extraordinary.

"Please come in, gentlemen. What can I do for you?"

Such familiar words nearly gave Luo Ning a sense of temporal dislocation.

Luo Ning examined the attendant before him. The person wore a light blue robe, with a purple crystal pattern embroidered on the left chest—the emblem of the Silva Magic Energy Guild.

"Hello, I would like to purchase magic crystals and magical beast leather," Luo Ning stated his purpose directly.

"Sir, please follow me."

Led by the attendant, Luo Ning entered a small room on the first floor.

The room had no windows, but the magic crystal lamp on the ceiling illuminated the space brightly.

Soon, an elegant gentleman in a tailcoat knocked and entered. Luo Ning understood: the attendant earlier was merely a messenger, while this person was the sales manager.

Upon entering, the man performed a gentleman's bow. "My name is Hook. I am delighted to serve the three gentlemen!"

As Hook entered, he saw only Luo Ning seated, with Ellron and Macken standing behind him, and realized this young man was the key figure.

And black eyes, silver hair...

Hook's eyes flickered. "May I ask if you are Baron Luo Ning of Forest Hill Town?"

Luo Ning was somewhat surprised but did not conceal it. "How did you recognize me?"

"Black eyes and silver hair are distinctive traits of the members of the Black Mountain family. As a resident of the Black Mountain territory, I naturally know!"

Perhaps due to preconceived notions, Luo Ning had always assumed he had black eyes and black hair, failing to notice the uniqueness of his hair color.

Hook's demeanor was exceedingly humble: "The attendant said Baron Luo Ning wishes to purchase magic crystals and magical beast leather. What grade do you require?"

"Grade?" Luo Ning was somewhat puzzled.

Hook immediately showcased his skills as a "salesman," beginning a detailed introduction of magic crystals and magical beast leather.

Simply put, magic crystals have five grades: purple, yellow, gray, white, and nearly transparent.

This grade is determined by the extent of energy depletion within the magic crystal.

Purple basically represents full energy; yellow indicates 50% to 90%; gray indicates 30% to 50%; white indicates 10% to 30%; more transparency indicates lower energy in the crystal, until eventually only an empty shell remains.

Different grades correspond to different prices.

Luo Ning toyed with Pedro's magic crystal in his pocket; it was purple, indicating its internal energy was still quite full.

Regarding the grade of magical beast leather, it was straightforward—classified by the level of the magical beast. Higher-level beast leather commanded higher prices.

Since Forest Hill Town was close to the Black Mountain Magical Beast Range, future encounters with beast slaying were inevitable, so Luo Ning inquired about the processing of magical beast leather.

Hook answered every question without reservation, holding nothing back.

In fact, the processing of magical beast leather was not particularly special, similar to that of sheepskin, cowhide, etc.

"My lord's territory is near the Black Mountain. If you have the opportunity to slay a magical beast, if convenient, you may entrust it to me. I will offer you a very suitable price!"

As a businessman, Hook spoke directly to the lord of Forest Hill Town. As long as there was profit, he cared not whether the person had inheritance rights or was a useless noble.

"I think we will have opportunities to cooperate!"

Luo Ning indeed needed to prepare for future sales channels. As he spoke, he pointed to Ellron beside him.

"This is my follower, the light attribute magician Ellron. This purchase of magical beast leather is prepared for him."

Luo Ning smiled. "Although he is currently only a mid-level magician, he should be able to produce spell scrolls for healing spells. I would like to ask, what is the market price for such scrolls?"

As Luo Ning introduced him, Hook's eyes grew increasingly bright. He hadn't expected this handsome man with grayish-white short hair to be a light attribute magician.

"Magician, please forgive Hook's impropriety!"

He stood up and bowed to Ellron, then perhaps considering courtesy, also bowed to Macken.

"May light be with you!"

Ellron nodded slightly, simultaneously casting a Boost spell upon Hook.

The light fell upon Hook, making him feel as though bathed in spring breezes, invigorating his spirit.

Truly a light attribute magician!

Hook turned to Luo Ning. "My lord, second-level spell scrolls generally sell for 10 to 20 gold coins on the market. Light attribute mid-level magicians are rare, which also makes healing spell scrolls scarce, yet their effects are excellent. Therefore, our guild sells healing spell scrolls at the fixed price of 20 gold coins."

Luo Ning was inwardly astonished.

20 gold coins—it sounded not much, merely two digits.

But one must know, a typical mid-level knight's monthly salary was less than 2 gold coins; accumulating a year's wages might buy one healing spell scroll.

No wonder such items were seldom seen.

"What about other spell scrolls, like Wind Blade spells?"

Luo Ning followed up with questions. He himself would soon learn Wind Blade spells, intending to produce scrolls for them in the future.

"Wind Blade spells belong to second-level magic. They, along with Fireball spells and several others of similar potency, are priced at 18 gold coins by our guild."

Wind Blade spells were priced slightly lower than healing spells.

Considering light attribute magicians were rarer than those of earth, wind, water, and fire attributes, this pricing was reasonable.

"So, if Ellron produces healing spell scrolls to sell at your guild, what price would you offer for purchase?"

20 gold coins was the selling price; the guild would not purchase from Luo Ning at that price, hence there would be a discount.

"The Silva Magic Energy Guild is the largest magician guild in the Auduin Kingdom, serving tens of thousands of magicians within the kingdom annually! We always provide the greatest concessions and various convenient services to esteemed magicians."

Hook spoke with pride and humility.

"If an ordinary person were to come here to sell spell scrolls, we would purchase them at eighty percent of the market price."

He paused for a moment, then spoke with a face full of smiles: "But for a person of your noble status, I am willing to exercise my authority to raise the acquisition rate to its absolute maximum. The chamber of commerce will purchase them at eighty-five percent of the market price!"

"This is also the greatest concession the Silva Mana Chamber of Commerce can offer! Of course, if you have spell scrolls of the seventh rank or higher for sale, our chamber of commerce will help you sell them free of charge, and we will not take a single one of the gold coins obtained!"

A seventh-rank spell scroll was something that only a Grand Archmage could possibly craft.

How many seventh-rank Grand Archmages were there in the Kingdom of Alduin?

Such figures were individuals whom even Belora Silva had to respect and treat with deference. For the items they crafted to be brought to the chamber of commerce for sale was itself an act of giving face to Belora.

This sort of arrangement, helping people sell for free, seemed like a loss on the surface, but in truth, relying on the prestige brought by such high-level spell scrolls vastly increased the chamber's dominance.

Rhonin held only a single seventh-rank scroll in his hands; he certainly would not sell it to the outside world.

"The price you mentioned is quite fair."

Eighty-five percent meant seventeen gold coins per scroll. It appeared the chamber of commerce was earning three gold coins, but in reality, once the taxes paid by the chamber to Mumacity and the cost of renting the shop were deducted, it was estimated the other party would not earn much.

Even if Rhonin wanted to bargain, there was not much room to do so, so fortunately he did not waste any time.

Having fully understood the matter of the spell scrolls, Rhonin then inquired of Hook about the cost of materials for crafting them.

This primarily involved magical beast hides, mana cores, and mana ink.

After a round of calculations, crafting a second-rank spell scroll carried a cost price of roughly nine gold coins.

In other words, the net profit from crafting a Heal spell scroll was eight gold coins per sheet, a net profit of forty-seven percent.

Even if there were a few crafting failures along the way, this business would not lose money.

Following the ironwood workshop, this was the second stable revenue project for Mountainwood Town, and it held great promise.

Thank you to the master "Gothic Swastika Foot Soldier" for the reward, master you have spent too much~ Thank you to all the masters for the various tickets~

(End of this chapter)