The long, bustling street was filled with fluttering banners and streams of people.
There were all kinds of shops on both sides, from magical materials to magical plants, from magic tricks to spells, from weapons to armor, from specialized research to potion analysis … Walking in the shops, it was as if the mysteries of the wizarding world were peeled off bit by bit and revealed to everyone.
However, when you thought you had seen all the mysteries, you would find that it was only the tip of an iceberg above the surface of the sea. You would never know what kind of colossal creature was growing out of this tiny iceberg under the dark sea.
He walked along Moshi Street and compared the prices of various materials. After determining the price range and the quality of the materials, he made sure that they matched his requirements before making his purchase.
His stroll took him more than an hour. During this time, Angor noticed that there were many restrictions placed on the shops.
For example, there were some shops that clearly stated that only Adepts could enter.
Most of these shops sold spell books, or high-level transactions that only adept-level adepts had access to.
Of course, Angor was not qualified to enter such shops. Angor was curious, but there were magic arrays placed at the entrance of these shops to check his strength. Anyone who tried to break in without reaching wizard level would be severely injured at best, or even killed to death at worst. As for the severity of the punishment, it depended on whether the shop owner was merciful or not.
There were many similar restrictions apart from the difference in strength level.
For example, Angor saw an exquisite villa shrouded in a thin layer of mist. A shop sign that read "Starry Garment River" was hanging on the door. Under the sign, there was a line of words: No male form allowed.
It would be fine if the sign only said "no male form". Did it mean that he could enter as long as he turned into a woman?
As Angor wondered, he saw a beautiful woman walking out of the shop and turning into a burly man.
Angor was speechless.
What's the point of such a strange requirement? Angor was even more curious about the items in the shop. But he did not know how to shapeshift. Could he use an illusion to create a woman's form?
The answer was no.
Angor asked the Eye Watcher at the door. After receiving the same answer, he could only leave in embarrassment.
Such a strange requirement for a man could not be more demanding. Either he had to inject a bloodline that could change his gender, or he had to use shapeshifting spells. However, shapeshifting was extremely difficult. Apart from wizards who had a long lifespan to study it, there was no way an apprentice could do it.
There were many other strange requirements like this. For example, no humanoid lifeforms, no age below 200, no Rune Sorcerers, and so on.
These were all strict requirements. There were also some shops that had relatively soft requirements.
For example, there was a potion shop with a Eye Watcher at the door... You only needed to express "praise for Vander Waal school and disdain for other schools" to enter the shop.
There was also a comprehensive shop that catered to alchemists. You had to answer some necessary tests before you could enter.
These soft conditions could be adjusted within a certain range. Even if there were many wizard-level items inside, as long as you met the conditions, apprentice-level items could also enter.
He was now standing in front of the shop that catered to alchemists. The sign was called "Fingernail Alchemy Shop".
. The name sounded strange, but the shop was large enough to attract alchemists. Angor walked in.
The Eye Watcher at the door was a puppet made of incense wood. Compared to the puppets made by Bogula, this one was not as detailed. If it was fatter, it would look like a treant.
The Eye Watcher first asked which branch Angor belonged to, Tooling or Apothecary. After confirming that Angor was an enchantment alchemist, the Eye Watcher took out several supplementary runes and asked Angor to identify them.
"These are the most common supplementary runes for Elemental Runes. You can use them to —" Angor was about to explain when the Eye Watcher interrupted him. "Correct. You don't have to explain the details."
Angor answered the names of the remaining runes, and the Eye Watcher let him go.
If Angor had an information card from Floating Mech City, the Eye Watcher could register him there, and he would not have to answer any questions when entering the shop.
Angor did have such cards. One was given to him by Sunders, while the other was registered under a different name, "Baron Milk". The former did not have any special features, so it could not be registered. As for the latter, the Eye Watcher would use Angor's shameful name to register the card. Angor considered for a moment and said he did not have one.
Angor entered the shop. As he looked around, he noticed that many alchemists were looking at him.
They were a group of apprentices in alchemy robes. They sat on wooden chairs and chatted with each other while glancing at Angor.
Angor did not know what they meant.
A hoarse, old female voice reached his ears while he was still trying to figure out what was going on.
"Welcome, young alchemist."
Angor turned around and saw a short old woman who suddenly appeared in front of the counter.
The old woman was about the same height as Shan, reaching Angor's waist at most. She was a little chubby and wore a blue dress decorated with jewels. Her silver hair was neat and tidy.
Another distinguishing feature of the old woman was the fan-shaped hairpin that looked like a peacock spreading its tail on the back of her head. This hairpin was very big, about half the size of her head. The "peacock plume" on it was especially special. It was a piece of brightly colored fingernail.
Next, he glanced at the old woman's hand.
As he expected, the nails on her hands, which did not match her age at all, were the same color and style as the hairpin.
"Greetings, madam." Angor bowed. He could not see through the old woman's power level. If she was not trying to hide it, she must be a wizard.
"You want to know why they're staring at you?" The little old lady stretched out her finger, revealing her bright red fingernails, and pointed at the group of alchemy apprentices sitting on the side.
When they saw the old lady pointing at them, they immediately turned their heads away and went on with their own business. Judging from her reaction, the little old lady's identity was definitely not simple.
"I'd love to hear it." Angor remained calm.
"They overheard your conversation with Neha. By the way, Neha is the Incense Puppet at the door. " The old woman gestured for Angor to sit at the counter. "There are many alchemists in Floating Mech City, but they all know each other very well. They're all curious about an alchemist who suddenly showed up."
"I see."
The old woman's eyes suddenly lit up. "Especially since there aren't many alchemists who study enchantment. Among us, there's an alchemist who almost touched the Mystery level. I heard he's also an enchantment alchemist. "
Angor chuckled but did not say anything.
The old lady didn't point it out. Instead, she introduced herself, "I don't even remember my name. Everyone calls me Granny Fingernail. I'm the owner of this small shop. What do you want from my shop?"
Angor was surprised to hear the old woman's words.
"Do you know Iron Granny?" Iron Granny also introduced Angor in the same way when he first met her.
Granny Fingernail: "Iron Granny from Iron Fortress? I've heard of her name, but never met her. "
Angor nodded. It was just a guess anyway, so he did not doubt it.
"I'm looking for some materials. Do you have them in your shop?" Angor listed out the materials he needed. Most of them were rare magical materials that he did not know about outside.
Granny Fingernail gave Angor a strange look. "You're quite ambitious, young man."
Among the materials, there were Tooling and Apothecary materials, and they all belonged to different schools. No wonder Granny Fingernail would say something like that.
Angor did not know what to say. He simply nodded with a smile.
"There are many rare materials here. I won't sell them to other apprentice alchemists. It's such a waste. But if it's you, I guess … I heard Mithra is teaching you Apothecary, right? No wonder you're here, "Granny Fingernail explained.
Judging from her words, Angor knew that his identity was not a secret to her at all.
And she knew that Mithra taught him Apothecary? Sunders never asked about it, which meant Granny Fingernail was a friend of Mithra's. With this in mind, Angor became even more respectful toward Granny Fingernail and began to wonder who this woman was.
Soon, Granny Fingernail took out two single-use space capsules from the counter. "This is for Apothecary, and the other is for Tooling."
Angor nodded and checked the capsules with his spirit feelers.
A few minutes later, Angor had an idea and asked about the price.
"13590 magic crystals. I'll give you 13500."
As soon as the price was announced, the Apprentice Alchemists who were eavesdropping all widened their eyes. Even if they were skilled and didn't lack magic crystals, 10,000 magic crystals wasn't an amount they could afford! Many high-tier alchemy items were not even worth that much.
Angor did a quick calculation and found that it was about the same price. He planned to buy these materials separately from other shops to avoid attracting attention. However, the materials provided by Granny Fingernail were the best he had ever seen.
In the end, Angor chose to buy them from Granny Fingernail. The price was reasonable, and the quality was excellent. He had no reason to refuse.
Angor's one-off payment made the apprentice alchemists even more suspicious about his identity. Now, most of them were sure about his identity.
Angor even heard someone mentioning his name in a respectful tone.
It seemed he was not that infamous in the alchemy circle. But it made sense. People in the alchemy circle would know more about each other.
"Is there anything else you need, sir? I have many valuable alchemy manuals from famous alchemists. Of course, if you want to learn something specific, I can also provide them, "Granny Fingernail said.
Alchemy manuals? Those were the most valuable items of an alchemist. Why would they sell them here?
Angor asked around and found that the manuals were not for sale. If he wanted them, he would have to trade for them with his own knowledge.
Angor had a complete alchemy system, including many ancient alchemy schools, but he did not have any manuals that recorded his experience. However, he also asked about the requirements and found that most of the manuals were too advanced. They were all about the core knowledge of a certain school, so they were not worth it.
He could slowly accumulate experience anyway. At worst, he would take a few wrong steps. The general direction would not change, and he would eventually get back to the right path.
With that in mind, Angor gave up on the idea of buying the manuals.
However, he did need something else. It was not knowledge or materials, but some tailoring tools for making alchemy clothes.
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