Chapter 172: [Magic Tricks] and Indifference

[Name: Lu Wei]

[Profession: Crafty Merchant (Unique)]

[…]

[Skills: Magic Pool (-/-), Stealth Lv1 (31/50), Light-guided Arrow Lv1 (37/100), Long Stride Lv0 (0/10), Magic Tricks Lv0 (0/50)]

[Divine Blessing: Magic Goddess’s Blessing]

[Professional Talent: Precise Identification, A Little of Everything]

[…]

[Professional Promotion Conditions:]

[1. Earn one hundred Gold Coins through genuine, mutually acknowledged transactions. (54.82/100)]

[2. Master at least three Skills from other Professions. (3/3)]

[3. ??? (Unlocks after completing conditions 1 and 2)]

————

[Long Stride: A Ring One Transformation Magic, a Professional Skill for Mages, Bards, Druids, and Rangers]

[Casting Requirements: Physique ≥ 8, Intelligence ≥ 12]

[Casting Range: Touch]

[You touch yourself or another creature, increasing the target’s movement speed by up to 3 meters/second for the spell’s Duration. Casting this spell on the same target multiple times stacks its Duration.]

[Magic Power Consumption: 1 Magic Power per cast]

[Duration: 20 minutes]

[Skill Level Enhancement increases the Duration of a single cast, the number of targets that can be simultaneously affected, and the maximum speed bonus.]

————

[Magic Tricks: A Ring Zero Transformation Magic Trick, a Professional Skill for Mages and Bards.]

[Casting Requirements: Perception ≥ 8, Intelligence ≥ 8]

[Casting Range: 3 meters]

[A small magical knack for beginner Casters to practice with. Within the Casting Range, you can create one of the following Magic Effects: 1. Create an illusory, harmless sensory effect such as a soft sound, a puff of wind, a smell, or sparks.]

2. Instantly light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire (instantaneous effect).]

3. Instantly clean the surface of an inanimate object no larger than 1 cubic foot (instantaneous effect).]

4. Instantly chill or warm an inanimate object no larger than 1 cubic foot (instantaneous effect).]

5. Create a colored mark, insignia, or symbol that adheres to an object or a surface.]

6. Create a small, non-corporeal item.]

[Magic Power Consumption: 0.5 Magic Power per cast.]

[Duration: 10 minutes. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at once.]

[Skill Level Enhancement can increase Casting Range, extend Duration, and reduce the Magic Power required for Casting.]

…

…

“Is seeing necessarily believing?”

“Watch closely!”

“Sword, come forth!”

An hour later, in a small alley not far from the Black Market, a one-man show of *Sky-shocking Demon Robbery Group 4: Unworldly Traveler* was underway.

Lu Wei wielded “Flame” in his left hand and “Thunder” in his right, muttering incantations under his breath.

Then, he slammed his hands together—

“POOF~”

With a faint, muffled sound, a small, finger-length pink sword suddenly fell to the ground.

Immediately after, a fresh fragrance filled the air, and the once-filthy stone bricks on the ground instantly became much cleaner.

The pink sword, however, had vanished without a trace, leaving only a coin-sized, five-pointed star symbol where it had landed.

That’s right.

For the past hour, Lu Wei had been entertaining himself here like a country bumpkin.

But you couldn’t really blame him.

After all, 90% of people who learned [Magic Tricks] for the first time reacted this way—they couldn’t wait to try out all the different effects.

The remaining 10%, the more mature ones, were more patient. They would usually wait until the middle of the night to practice secretly under their blankets.

In any case, as the first Professional Skill learned by most [Mages] and [Bards] after a successful Reincarnation, [Magic Tricks] was certainly fun enough.

In a way, you could say it was educational entertainment.

But it was, after all, just a “Trick” with no Ring Tier, so you couldn’t expect much in terms of power.

You could simply think of it as a “Magic Performance” that didn’t require any props.

Amusing, but mostly fake.

If this were his previous life, Lu Wei could probably have become the world’s greatest magician with this skill alone.

But in this world… let’s just say he probably wouldn’t have to sweep the floors anymore.

‘It has absolutely no combat capability.’

‘But it’s definitely great for picking up girls.’

‘No woman can resist an illusory rose born from flames.’

‘Or a man who can light a candle from a distance.’

‘It can even be used for…’

Hmm?

Suddenly, Lu Wei’s eyes lit up as if he’d thought of something.

The next second, he held his breath and focused intently on his palm.

Before long, a round object slowly materialized out of thin air.

Then, its color changed from white to gold.

Next, the image of a lion symbolizing courage and royalty gradually appeared on its surface.

And with a few final, minor adjustments…

“It’s done!”

A moment later, a “Virtual Currency” coin lay there in Lu Wei’s palm!

After admiring it with great satisfaction for a few moments, he “tossed” the gold coin onto the ground.

“…”

“CLINK~”

Because his timing was off, the clinking sound was delayed by a second.

It was as if there was lag.

But with a bit more practice, he should be able to get them basically in sync.

That way, as long as the other person didn’t touch the gold coin, Lu Wei could pull off a true “five-finger discount.”

‘Excellent. I can use this as a backup in special situations in the future.’

‘I’ll skip it for everyday use, though. If I get caught, I’ll probably be beaten to death.’

Waving his hand to cancel the Casting, Lu Wei muttered to himself, shaking his head with a pleased expression. He was clearly very satisfied with this Skill.

In fact, through his “practice” just now, he had unknowingly completed the 50 castings required to raise [Magic Tricks] to Level 1.

The Casting Range increased by a tiny bit, and the Magic Power Consumption decreased by a tiny bit.

And yet, up to this point, he hadn’t even opened the skill panel for [Long Stride].

If Skills had feelings, this would surely be a crushing defeat of the lofty, unapproachable beauty by the plain Jane.

“Why! I’m clearly the more noble Ring One Magic! Why won’t you even give me a single glance! You only have eyes for that Ring Zero slut!”

Yep, that was probably the feeling.

In the “cold palace” of the skill bar, [Long Stride] couldn’t for the life of it figure out where it had lost.

Even though Lu Wei had now opened her panel, he just gave it a cursory glance before closing it indifferently.

‘It just lets you run a bit faster. How boring.’

Pursing his lips, he showed no intention of trying it out and turned to leave the alley.

12 gold for [Magic Tricks], 15 gold for [Long Stride], plus the commission for Sebas, the two Skill Books had cost him a total of 28 gold.

His savings had once again dropped below 10 gold.

But none of that mattered.

Right now, the “Master at least three Skills from other Professions” condition for his Professional Promotion was already met.

He was still about 43 gold short of the “Earn 100 Gold Coins” goal.

Relying on the general store alone would probably take at least two months.

Lu Wei definitely couldn’t wait that long.

So…

‘I wonder if I can just inflate the transaction volume.’

‘I’ll find Bai Ya when I get back and give it a try.’