The three-day deadline hadn’t arrived yet.
The next afternoon, Wyatt and his friends messaged William, “William, all three of us have sensed the existence of energy.”
At that moment, William was assessing Alice’s progress in learning alchemy. He replied to the message, “Just wait to register tomorrow,” and then he didn’t give it further thought.
He had already done enough for Wyatt and his friends.
“Master, I’ve memorized everything,” Alice said, sitting opposite William, her eyebrows curved into crescents.
William was leaning in his wingback chair, reading Peter Atkins’s “Physical Chemistry.” He found modern physics and chemistry to be quite comprehensive.
Could technology really not overcome supernatural powers?
Well, that wasn’t necessarily true!
Look at Jhin, who was doing quite well.
“You’ve memorized it, so what? You want me to praise you?” William glanced at Alice, wondering how she could be proud with such limited aptitude.
Alice grinned and cooed, “Please, just a little praise?”
“Heh, you really are a cutie!” William was fast learning the art of backhanded compliments. In some contexts, calling someone ‘cute’ could be interpreted as an Irony.
Alice burst into exaggerated laughter, “You really praised me! I think you’re quite cute too.”
William slowly closed his book and stood up, “Let’s go. I’ll buy you an alchemy furnace.”
“An alchemy furnace? Where do we buy something like that?” Alice paused, then asked, “An antique market?”
William almost burst out laughing.
How naive could Alice be?
An alchemy furnace, typically engraved with mysterious symbols and runes and blessed with magic, was not something one could find at an antique market.
What a joke!
“Recently, the Soulmancers have set up a market where things can be exchanged. You should be able to find one there. You can trade this for it.” William casually pulled out a small glass bottle and tossed it to Alice. “If you find a suitable one, use this to trade.”
Alice quickly caught the glass bottle, curiously fiddling with it.
“This bottle is so pretty! Does it contain some special magical item? Like those in ‘Harry Potter,’ capable of storing memories or showing the future? Or like those mythical bottles that capture dreams?” Alice excitedly said, “Using such a magical thing to trade for an alchemy furnace feels like a bit of a loss!”
Finally, William couldn’t help but knock her on the head, “Are you silly?! There’s a pill inside!”
“Ouch!” Alice cried out in pain, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked pitifully at William, “Don’t knock me silly.”
“Hmph!” William, too lazy to elaborate, glanced towards the corner of the yard at the hedge and said, “You go and tidy up the ‘fertilizer’ that Amy applied; I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Ugh…” Alice was on the verge of tears, dismayed that she had to do such a task.
After William had already left, Alice, wearing a mask, reluctantly began turning over the soil.
“Seraphina! You think you can do whatever you want just because you’re busty? Eat shit!” Initially frustrated, Alice suddenly found excitement in the thought that the Eternal Vine would eventually become Seraphina’s body. She even giggled foolishly while turning the soil.
She even imagined a scenario where, after Seraphina reshapes her physical body, would she have a strong, unpleasant odor?
“Later, I can proudly tell her, ‘You were nurtured with our poop and pee,'” Alice thought, bursting into excited laughter again.
“Hmm, she didn’t really get knocked silly, did she?” William pondered upon hearing the manic laughter from the yard, wondering if anyone could find such joy in handling feces.
After more than ten minutes, Alice finally came out.
William looked at her strangely and asked, “Tired?”
Alice removed her mask, a meaningful smile on her lips. “Not tired. I’ll take care of this job from now on.”
“You like it, that’s good.” What else could William say? Such an unusual hobby was indeed rare!
William and Alice entered the newly emerged land.
Alice was well-known, and no one dared to provoke her along the way.
Before this new land emerged, the Soulmancers already had their marketplaces. Now, they have rebuilt one here, as the Soulmancers are gathering in this new land to seek collective development.
Because currently, no magical barriers are set up around the perimeter of the New Continent’s marketplace, anyone can enter. It’s mostly frequented by those who aspire to become Soulmancers.
Before entering, William had warned Alice not to speak carelessly and not to reveal her novice abilities. If she saw anything she didn’t understand, she should just keep quiet.
Otherwise, once she enters the marketplace, she would look like a fool, asking questions here and there. A careful observer would easily spot the problem.
The Soulmancer’s market was built like a small town.
The town had only one street, with lofts constructed on both sides of the road. These lofts were shops belonging to the various large Soulmancer organizations.
In these shops, it was generally impossible to buy fake goods, as they represent the authority and reputation of their Guilds. Selling counterfeit goods would be an embarrassing matter if word got out. .𝒎
There were also many people setting up stalls along the roadside. These included Soulmancers not affiliated with any Guild and powerful individuals from Guilds exchanging items they no longer needed for other things.
Essentially, it was a simple resource exchange.
The most frustrating part was the lack of a common currency like crystals described in novels for Soulmancers to use in transactions. Ordinary human currency was even less acceptable.
This often led to situations where Soulmancer A wanted something from Soulmancer B, but Soulmancer B was not interested in Soulmancer A’s items, leading to a failed transaction.
Mostly, Soulmancers put up items they no longer wanted, so they weren’t too picky about what they got in return. Typically, the party initiating the trade would offer additional items as compensation.
William and Alice stopped in front of a loft named “Mystic Attic.”
The name sounded like a mysterious place, but it was actually the busiest spot in the market. It was a shop owned by the Pantheon Guild, specializing in selling pills.
While there was no universal currency like crystals for Soulmancer transactions, the divine pills produced by the Pantheon Guild were as valuable as gold in the secular world, serving as a solid currency.
Upon entering, the shop’s manager, a Demi-God level Soulmancer with some clout in the Pantheon Guild, looked at William and asked with a smile, “Sir, are you interested in any divine pills? If so, you can collect the corresponding materials nearby. It’s just that it will take a hundred times the materials.”
“I’m not here to buy pills,” William said. “I’m looking for an alchemy furnace.”
𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮