Chapter 82 - 81: [Feather Fall Skill]

Chapter 82: Chapter 81: [Feather Fall Skill]

After seeing off the beautiful and elegant Ms. Jelica, Gaode returned to his room humming a happy tune.

He had assumed it would take at least a few days for his "advertisement" to gain traction before bringing in his first customer. Who would have thought good fortune would strike so quickly? And such a massive stroke of luck at that—a massive order worth fifteen Sean Gold Coins. All he had to invest was a trivial amount of time.

"A great start, a good omen!"

Gaode even began to look forward to receiving more customers. However, by the time he "got off work" at five o’clock, a second client still hadn’t shown up.

"My reputation still isn’t high enough..." Gaode muttered to himself.

Still, he hadn’t just sat around waiting idly. During this time, he spent a little while using his Repair Skill+ to complete part of the restoration work on the magic necklace Ms. Jelica had left behind. Afterward, he drank a Basic Magic Potion and began his daily practice of the Guiding Technique, continuing until his body was brimming with Mana once again.

After advancing to a Second-class Mage Apprentice, both his cultivation efficiency and duration had vastly improved compared to when he was a First-class Mage Apprentice. As a result, the majority of the basic Magic Power provided by a single Basic Magic Potion was absorbed by Gaode during this one session. Any residual, unabsorbed Magic Power would completely dissipate by the next day. This was exactly why a Second-class Apprentice could consume a whole batch of Basic Magic Potions in just three days, averaging one small bottle a day.

But this increased "consumption" also led to faster progress in his Guiding Technique. By the time he finished, it was already time for dinner. Adhering to the principle of striking while the iron was hot, however, Gaode pushed through to complete his practice of the Apprentice Meditation Technique before finally making plans to eat.

Famished, he naturally had no desire to cook for himself. So, he grabbed his keys, locked the door, and left the house, making his way back to the small restaurant diagonally across from Mrs. Misu’s home.

Since he had missed the usual dinner rush, the small restaurant didn’t have many customers, and Gaode once again snagged a window seat on the second floor. As before, he enjoyed his dinner while observing the street below from his vantage point. At the same time, he pondered how exactly he was going to extract information about the "recommendation letter" from Mrs. Misu.

Should he just cut straight to the chase and violently interrogate her?

That was obviously a terrible idea. Although Mages were a cut above the rest—several cuts, actually—this was not some barbaric wasteland; laws existed here. Moreover, he was merely a Mage Apprentice, not a full-fledged Mage. If a mere apprentice dared to commit such an egregious crime in the city, he would be asking for a death wish. Let alone a Mage Apprentice, even a First-Ring Mage or a Second-Ring Mage wouldn’t easily dare to run amok within the city limits.

What if he lured Mrs. Misu out of the city and interrogated her then?

That had a slight bit of merit, but unless he was completely out of options, Gaode really didn’t want to resort to such methods. Besides, would a woman who had lived independently for over a decade truly be that easy to fool? If you always treated others like idiots, you were usually the real idiot yourself. Furthermore, could he even guarantee the authenticity of any information extorted that way? She might just feed him a lie to screw him over.

Beat around the bush and try to glean clues?

That wasn’t very realistic either. When it came to something as important as an "exam-exempt recommendation letter," Mrs. Misu was undoubtedly exceptionally cautious. How could she possibly let slip such vital information to him so easily?

Gaode mulled it over and realized that the most viable approach was actually to use his identity as Mage Seda’s apprentice to approach Mrs. Misu and earn her trust. But this was only relatively viable. Upon closer inspection, he found there were still many potential loopholes that could easily backfire; he needed more information to iron out the details. Most importantly, Gaode couldn’t be certain that Mage Seda had never mentioned using his apprentices as test subjects for potions to his wife.

Although Mage Seda most likely kept his wicked deeds a secret to maintain his image in front of her, what if he hadn’t? If Mrs. Misu knew that Mage Seda used his apprentices for potion testing, she would understand that all of them must absolutely despise him. In that case, any apprentice showing up at her door would undoubtedly harbor malicious intentions. Under that premise, no matter how silver-tongued he was or how convincingly he spun his tale, Mrs. Misu wouldn’t believe a single word...

Finishing his dinner, still empty-handed in terms of a solid plan, Gaode decided to pay the bill and head home.

Over the following week, Gaode’s life was exceptionally peaceful. He divided his time between repairing the damaged magic necklace, practicing his Apprentice Guidance Technique and Meditation Technique, and constructing the Magic Models for his four newly acquired 0th-Ring Magic spells. At the same time, he actively gathered information about Saint Sean City in preparation for his eventual journey there. He also periodically dined at the small restaurant, keeping an eye out for any suspicious figures. If the mastermind who had forced Mage Seda to flee all those years ago was still around, rashly exposing his own identity would likely invite immediate persecution from that shadowy enemy—long before he even had a chance to worry about whether he could earn Mrs. Misu’s trust.

During this period, two or three other customers sought him out, either drawn by the "advertisement" at the Artisan Guild’s entrance or by the promotional banner hanging outside his door. However, the moment they heard Gaode was still working on an item and they would have to wait in line—coupled with the fact that he looked far too young—they all opted to "seek a better expert."

Although helpless, Gaode understood their reasoning. Just like on Earth, only a top specialist’s appointment was worth a patient’s time to wait in a long line. If a regular doctor’s queue was too long, people would simply find another doctor. Right now, he was still classified as a "regular doctor," and one who looked suspiciously like an "intern" at that. But Gaode wasn’t in a hurry. As long as he built up his reputation and became a "specialist," a steady stream of business would naturally come knocking. Bremen was a massive city with no shortage of Repair Craftsmen, but those who could genuinely be called experts were undoubtedly few and far between. With his Magic allowing him to "cheat" the system, overtaking his competitors was only a matter of time.

Ninth of the Sunlight Moon.

As the final stroke of the Magic Rune on the necklace’s central gemstone was traced, a brilliant, pale green Magic Spirit Light suddenly flashed before swiftly fading away. Gaode let out a long breath, and the swirling magical radiance in his hands dimmed in tandem.

"Done!"

He gazed at the beautiful necklace in his hand, which now emanated a brilliant blue-white radiance. The largest aquamarine gemstone at its center had been fully restored; there was absolutely no sign of the crack that had once marred it. The Magic Runes on its surface blended seamlessly with the gem’s natural color, completely masked by its dazzling brilliance. Unless one looked closely, the traces of the runes were completely invisible. This allowed the necklace to possess Extraordinary Power while still retaining its breathtaking aesthetic appeal. It was a clear testament to the superb skill of the Alchemist who had crafted it.

Of course, when evaluating the quality of an Alchemy Creation, its appearance was always an optional bonus. The most crucial metric was always the inherent magical abilities it possessed. Judging by that standard, this necklace was still well above average. Gaode focused his Spirit on the item, and a stream of information fed back into his mind:

[Possesses a Mild Magic Gathering and Energy Storage Effect.]

[Comes with a one-time, auto-triggering 1st-Ring Magic: Feather Fall Skill.]

[When you fall at least 20 feet while wearing this necklace, your descent will be reduced to a floating speed of 10 feet per second, rendering you immune to fall damage.]

[Upon landing, the necklace will break.]