This magic apprentice was very old and didn't take good care of himself. There were many wrinkles on his face. There was some white hair on his temples. Most people in Qin Yin had black or brown hair. The white couldn't be hidden.
However, this old apprentice's clothes were very clean. He used a cleaning spell on himself and was almost spotless.
Seeing the docility in the old apprentice's brown eyes, Salin first despised him, but then he couldn't bear it. This person would never be able to become an official sorcerer. If Salin hadn't discovered the Magic String Potion, he would probably be in the same situation 30 years later.
Not everyone had that kind of opportunity, and not everyone had that kind of courage or recklessness.
If one couldn't form the Magic String, they would never become a respectable sorcerer. Many people changed professions and learned swordsmanship. Some even became thieves to make a living.
"What can you do?" Salin didn't ask Rex. They came to Alchemy City to find out Jason's whereabouts. The Glucos family couldn't send people to Alchemy City to gather information. Salin didn't need to explain this to him. To find someone, it was better to ask the local tyrant.
For example, in Ceylon City, if you wanted to find someone quickly, you had to find a kid like Dick. Before becoming a thief, Dick could do almost anything. He was stronger than Salin and could also do part-time work.
"My lords, are you going to stay here for a long time or leave in two or three months?" the old apprentice asked, smiling.
"We haven't decided yet, but we're planning to stay here for a long time."
"If that's the case, let me introduce myself. I'm Sumano, a high-level apprentice."
"Salin." Salin didn't introduce anyone else to Sumano. This old apprentice was just a passerby. At this age, even a god couldn't change his future. Sumano was destined not to have any relationship with someone like Rex. There were many magic apprentices in Kushui Prefecture, and 80% of them weren't even 18 years old.
Sumano was still smiling. "Lord Salin, if you're going to stay here for a long time, do you plan to buy a house or rent one?"
"Oh? What's the difference? "
When Salin asked, Sumano's stomach growled. He smiled awkwardly and took the initiative to say, "Sir Salin, I can explain everything to you. Can I have a cup of ale?"
Salin nodded. "Lead the way. Don't be too expensive. I can only afford gold coins."
Sumanno bowed and made an inviting gesture. His footsteps were light as he led Salin and the others through a narrow alley on the side of the street. They came to another road. As they walked, he said, "Sir, although this is Alchemy City, there are some similarities between it and other cities. For example, the items near the city gates were at least ten percent more expensive.
Salin did not reply. This was the first time he had walked into that kind of alley. On both sides of the alley were incomparably huge buildings, and when he raised his head, he could only see a line of sky. Moreover, the foundation of the walls on both sides was similar to the walls of ordinary towns. The materials used to build the walls were also substitutes for steel rocks. Apart from the fact that they couldn't be engraved with magic arrays, there was no difference in their sturdiness.
The buildings on both sides seemed to be collapsing towards the center. If a magic trap was set up here, even a Great Magician would have a hard time escaping.
This city was different from any that Salin had seen before. It was as if it had been moved here from another plane. It was completely different from the human cities that Salin knew.
Sumanno led the five of them through more than a dozen streets before stopping in front of a tavern.
"Sir Salin, is this place okay? One person can only spend a dozen gold coins at most. "
Salin nodded in agreement. A dozen gold coins was all an ordinary person could earn in a year. In Alchemy City, it was only the cost of a meal. Before he met Jason, he didn't even dare to think of such a life. At that time, his biggest dream was to go to the Whale of Ceylon to eat, preferably once a month.
In the Whale of Ceylon, as long as you didn't order whales or sea magical beasts, one gold coin was enough for other dishes. Thinking back to the first time he was in danger, it was only because of a single gold coin. Salin sighed emotionally and followed Sumanno into the tavern.
Salin had stayed in Qinyin for a period of time, and he knew the customs of Qinyin. Ale was more expensive, because the Qinyin Empire valued agriculture and imposed heavy taxes on ale. If a noble dared to make beer to evade taxes, he might even be stripped of his land. Such things had happened before. A viscount even went to war with the empire's army because of this. One could imagine what happened to him.
So, Qinyin's tavern was actually a restaurant, and the alcohol they served was mainly fruit wine.
A waiter came up and led the six of them to a place to sit. Salin didn't see the menu, and the waiter handed them a thick book.
"What's this?"
"It's a recipe. You can choose the dish you like according to the picture on it," the waiter explained patiently. Many people came to Alchemy City every year. Not only were there Magicians, but there were also some ordinary people. Most of these ordinary people were nobles, and they came to Alchemy City for fun.
"Oh?" Salin took the recipe and flipped it open. Every page was a magical picture with soft colors. It looked like a Magician had used magic to record the appearance of the dish and left it on the recipe made from the skin of magical beasts. The recipe was thick and heavy, at least a hundred pages long. God knew how much gold coins it cost.
Of course, all of this was earned from the customers' spending. Although there weren't as many nobles in Qinyin as in other countries, there were many rich people. Coming to Alchemy City for fun might be a good choice for many people. There were too many magical sights here, too many spells integrated into daily life. Other than Holy Rock City, Salin didn't know of any other city that was so magical.
In other cities, there would be many wooden signs hanging on the wall as soon as one entered a restaurant, and the names of the dishes that could be made that day were written on them.
This was the function of the recipe. With the addition of magical pictures, it could stimulate people's appetite. What made Salin feel more considerate was that the magic pictures in the recipe also marked the ingredients of the dish and the corresponding monthly price.
Salin glanced at it. He didn't care what was being eaten. He came here to ask Sumanno about the situation in Alchemy City. He glanced at Rex and asked, "Is there anything you want to eat? The ingredients of the dishes here are good. "
"Whatever. Let them recommend." Rex had exquisite requirements for food, but it didn't seem like she couldn't endure hardship when she was far away from Kushui Commandery. Even with a few broken bones in her body, she was still able to fight against the Black Deacon. She was also not picky when it came to food.
"Then recommend something for eight people," Salin said to the waiter. Nelis didn't eat much. She would often collect things that Salin found hard to swallow. Salin ordered two more for Sicar.
The waiter patiently asked if there were any foods that were taboo, and then helped Salin and the others choose a set meal for eight people.
There were desserts, fruit wine, and soup in the set, so there was no need to choose anything else. Salin just ordered a large glass of ale for Sumanno.
The ale was served first. Sumanno didn't drink it. He said to Salin respectfully, "Sir Salin, you can ask me questions first."
Salin saw that Sumanno's glass of ale wasn't small. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him if he drank too much, so he asked, "Sumanno, what's the difference between buying a house and renting one?"
"Buying a house is a big investment, but you can sell it when you leave. After deducting the transaction tax, the money you lose is much cheaper than renting a house. You should have noticed that the houses in Alchemy City are big, but there are less than a million people in this city. Based on the area of Alchemy City, with so many tall buildings, it's not a problem to house three to five times the population. In Alchemy City, the houses you can rent can house 30 to 50 people each. "
"Oh? Isn't that wasteful? "
"Sir, those nobles come to Alchemy City to waste," Sumanno said and sighed. "They spend thousands of gold coins every day," Sumanno said and sighed. He didn't come here to play. He came to Alchemy City after becoming an advanced magic apprentice at 20. 30 years passed in the blink of an eye. When his hair was gray, he still didn't make any progress.
But he didn't want to leave. He liked this city. He couldn't become a Magician, but looking at the magic buildings, the puppets, and the surprised expressions of the players every day was enough for him.
He didn't know what he could do after leaving Alchemy City. It was just that life here was difficult. He had to run around every day and had already given up on studying magic.
"How much do I need to buy a house?"
"You can customize it. It can be built in a day. If you pay the deposit, you don't have to spend money for a day. The seller will arrange it for you. If you don't want a location, two million gold coins will be enough. If you want a good house with a good location, you will need to pay some special materials other than nine million gold coins. "
"So expensive!"
Salin was prepared, but he was still stunned by the number. It was just buying a house. Was it really necessary to spend so much money?
"It's not expensive. If the five of you rent a house, it will cost at least a few hundred thousand gold coins a year. If you buy a house, when you sell it, the tax will be less than 20%. For a house worth two million gold coins, only about 300,000 gold coins will be deducted. For a house worth nine million, 1.8 million gold coins will be deducted. The longer you live, the more it's worth it. "
Salin didn't believe this. The longer he lived, the more it would cost. He spent less on the house, but he spent more on other things. Eating every day was a problem. Moreover, he had to buy magic cores in Alchemy City. Even if the prices here weren't bad, they wouldn't provide you with ordinary magic cores.
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