Of course that was impossible!
He might not know how to brew a fireproof potion, but surely not every mage in the entire kingdom was incapable of doing so!
Thus, Gray gave a mysterious smile. “If you need a fireproof potion, I have a way.”
Lynn quickly asked what the way was.
“Buy it.”
Lynn was a bit puzzled. “But I didn't see any for sale in the association's shop, which is why I wanted to find Mentor Minari.”
“Just because it's not in Wingen Town's association shop doesn't mean the entire kingdom doesn't have it. As far as I know, the association's shop in the royal capital stocks most basic potions.”
At this point, Gray was utterly self-satisfied.
Minari, I've won again!
Gray smiled. “When do you need the potion? For goods purchased from the royal capital, as long as we use a teleportation array, they can basically be delivered within three days.”
Although the cost of activating a teleportation array once was countless times more expensive than a fireproof potion, to Gray, it was pocket change.
“Uh...” Lynn was somewhat speechless. “But I don't have any money.”
Gray guided him patiently. “I can buy it for you, and you can just treat it as a debt.”
Lynn grew vigilant. There was no such thing as a free lunch. For Gray to treat him this way, he probably wanted quite a lot in return!
Although one didn't itch with too many lice, and one didn't worry with too many debts, still...
While Lynn was hesitating, Gray asked another question: “What do you need a fireproof potion for?”
Lynn replied, “I plan to enter the interior of a volcano, so I need a fireproof potion to resist the heat.”
“The interior of a volcano?” Gray frowned. “But a fireproof potion can basically only be used on the outskirts of a volcano. If you want to enter the center, relying solely on a fireproof potion won't hold up.”
Lynn was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the Wererat's information to actually be false—to think that he couldn't even enter the volcano relying solely on a fireproof potion!
Since a mage like Gray was right here, Lynn asked, “Then how can I enter the volcano?”
Hearing this question, Gray frowned in worry. “Wanting to enter a volcano is a bit difficult for you. Even for me, I have to constantly maintain a warding spell to go in, and even then, I can't stay for too long.”
Gray pondered for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion: he still had to rely on Minari...
As Minari's senior and angel investor, Gray knew that Minari had an advanced recipe for the fireproof potion. After drinking that new type of potion, even if one couldn't swim in magma, they could still touch it for a few seconds.
But Gray was somewhat unwilling to just let Lynn go to Minari like this. Think of something! What is the point of my wealth otherwise! Could it be that I'm going to lose to Minari again just like this?!
But no matter how much he thought, Gray couldn't think of anything that would allow a newcomer like Lynn, who wasn't even an official class-holder, to enter a volcano.
Ultimately, Gray could only let out a long sigh. “If you're not in a hurry, go back for now and come back in a few days. Minari should have a way, but when she's researching her alchemy, no one can disturb her.”
But Lynn didn't leave. He wasn't finished yet; he hadn't asked about the moon dust fungus yet.
“Mentor Gray... actually, there's one more thing I'd like to ask for your help with.”
Hmm?
Hearing that Lynn still needed his help, Gray perked up again. “What is it? Just say it.”
Thus, Lynn told Gray about how he had obtained glowing mushrooms and now wanted to collect moon dust fungus.
Gray was a bit surprised upon hearing this. “Glowing mushrooms? Isn't that a specialty of the Underdark? When did you go to the Underdark?”
“I didn't enter the Underdark. I found them on the surface.”
Well, the underground river was actually considered part of the surface, whereas the Underdark referred to an even deeper, entirely different ecological layer with a completely different environment.
“The surface?” Gray was even more astonished. “Then your luck is truly...”
Gray was speechless.
Glowing mushrooms had extremely demanding growth requirements and were almost never seen on the surface, while those in the Underdark were occupied by powerful monsters or intelligent races. Therefore, this item rarely circulated in the surface world.
For Lynn to be able to gather glowing mushrooms in a safe environment like the surface, Gray truly didn't know how to describe his luck.
“Are you collecting moon dust fungus because you want to make a Moon Potion?”
Moon Potion was a recipe humans had learned from the elves, corresponding to Moon Fungus Cake.
Lynn shook his head in denial. “I plan to make “Moon Fungus Cake.””
“You even know elves? Not many elves know how to make “Moon Fungus Cake.””
Gray hadn't known that his favored student had such connections.
“Then you must seize this opportunity. The effect of Moon Fungus Cake is much better than that of Moon Potion. For a first-time consumption of Moon Potion, if the absorption is good, it can generally help an apprentice increase their Intelligence by one point. But if it's the cake, the effect might double or be even more exaggerated.”
Hearing this, Lynn's eyes lit up. Just eating something could increase his Intelligence by two points?! This far exceeded his expectations.
Lynn had originally thought that being able to increase it by one point, or even just stimulating the acceleration of his Intelligence growth, would be amazing enough.
Gray added, “However, if you need moon dust fungus, you'll probably have to wait a while. You basically can't buy it in the Kingdom of Vallenia, and if it's shipped from elven territory, it will take even longer.”
Lynn quickly explained, “I heard that there is moon dust fungus in the barony southwest of Wingen Town, so I came to you, hoping you could help me purchase some! I'll pay for it!”
“The barony to the southwest?” Speaking of this, Gray recalled for a long moment before remembering. “That barony... wasn't it stripped by the royal family long ago? In his father's generation, due to a military defeat, they were stripped of their title. It's just that because it's adjacent to Wingen Town and thanks to their ancestors' legacy, the kingdom didn't reclaim their self-built castle. However, the territory has long since stopped belonging to them. It has now been converted into a cemetery.”
Stripped? Lynn's brow twitched. Why was everyone giving him false information?
Since the Baron had been stripped of his title in the previous generation, then according to the landlady Aurora's statement that the Baron would occasionally use moon dust fungus to entertain guests, the time she saw the moon dust fungus must have been during the previous generation!
Was this the elven concept of time?! He didn't even know if there was still any moon dust fungus in that barony now. He still had to go see for himself.
Seeing Lynn's sudden change in expression, combined with the information that Lynn knew an elf, Gray guessed some of the reasons and comforted him: “It's fine. Go try your luck near the “barony” first. I'll order a batch of moon dust fungus for you now. If you still can't find any in half a month, you can just come to me to get it.”
Lynn was a bit embarrassed. “This... isn't that a bit inappropriate?”
“It's fine. If you don't end up needing it, I'll just have the family chef cook it up and eat it. It's also been a while since I last ate moon dust fungus. Back when I was studying at the academy, I used to eat it quite often.”
Gray revealed an extremely wealthy and confident smile.
For a moment, Lynn had a slight hallucination, feeling as if an old bat was flashing an old-money smile at him, saying in a deep voice, “I'm rich.”
Rate on N.U.
