Saturday morning, Rose left the school early, planning to go to the Mage Guild to purchase the Heart of the Magic Puppet.
Rose had been curious about this Heart of the Magic Puppet for a long time. The strength of Spiritual Power he could currently output wasn't strong enough to penetrate others' Magic Puppets to observe the intricate components inside. He felt a sense of familiarity with this Heart of the Magic Puppet, perhaps it wasn't something new, but something that existed thousands of years ago.
However, only a few Magic Puppets had this familiar feeling; many others did not.
"Sir Rose, do we really need to purchase the Heart of the Magic Puppet from the Mage Guild? Both the school and the Holy Court sell these, and their quality is surely superior to those from the Mage Guild."
Before coming, Hilia checked a purchasing strategy for the Heart of the Magic Puppet and discovered that the outside world had deep tactics. To buy a satisfactory Heart of the Magic Puppet, you had to be on high alert, unlike buying from the school and the Holy Court, where they customize to suit individual needs.
"Most Hearts of the Magic Puppet from the Holy Court and school are of the Divine element. You never know if they've left a backdoor, and besides, you'd need to explain where your gold coins came from. It's better to buy from outside; you'll find a Heart with attributes better suited for you, and it'll be easier to explain."
The Heart of the Magic Puppet differs by attribute, with common ones being Divine, Demonic, and Common Elemental (wind, fire, water, earth).
Different Hearts of the Magic Puppet greatly affect the use of magic by Magic Puppets. For instance, a Divine Heart of the Magic Puppet grants additional casting time and power while using Divine Magic, but if used for Demonic magic, it reduces power and increases casting time. The specific reduction depends on the spell's tier and the quality of the Heart of the Magic Puppet.
"I read in the purchasing guide that many who sell Hearts of the Magic Puppet at the Mage Guild disguise ordinary ones as rare quality and hike the prices, and many are artificial; naturally occurring Hearts are very few."
"I never thought there'd be a distinction between artificial and natural."
This might explain why Rose felt familiar with some Magic Puppets' Hearts and unfamiliar with others.
Artificial Hearts of the Magic Puppet can be used, but their performance pales compared to natural ones, often only 20% to 50% of the performance despite similar quality.
Though the purchasing guide detailed the differences between artificial and natural Hearts of the Magic Puppet, Hilia was a first-time buyer; reading so many guides, would they truly be useful when the time came?
If Hilia were alone, she certainly wouldn't venture out to buy.
"We can only rely on the gods."
"The issue between natural and artificial isn't significant; you just need to choose the attribute suitable for you. Over the past few days, based on your magic learning progress, I've identified your most adept attribute, so rest assured."
"What's my attribute?" Hilia asked expectantly, "Is it Divine? Space? Or perhaps Nature, Thunder, or Moonlight?"
Hilia named several rare attributes, and Rose shook his head at each: "None of these—you are Ice Element, the advanced attribute of Water Element, Ice Attribute."
"Me? Ice Attribute?" Hilia couldn't imagine her most affiliated element being Ice Element.
Ice Element is the advanced attribute of Water Element within the Common Elemental system; it's also considered a rare attribute. While Hilia could accept it, she didn't understand—it wasn't like she was icy at all.
"Affiliated attributes are not related to personality. Don't underestimate the Ice Element—it's one of the seats among the Twelve Main Gods."
"I'm not underestimating it at all."
The nearest branch of the Mage Guild was not far from the Divine Magic Academy—it took about half an hour walking to get there.
If the city didn't ban flying, it would only take about ten minutes on a Flying Broom.
After half an hour, Hilia appeared outside the Mage Guild, curiously observing the busy building.
The Mage Guild occupied a vast area divided into many sections; Hilia's destination today was the sizable Mage Trading Area.
Here, many adventurers returning had items for sale; typically, Mages formed teams and took commissions from the Mercenary Guild. When completing the commission, if they found non-commission items, they'd bring them to the Mage Guild to sell.
Originally, they sold at the Mercenary Guild, but soon everyone realized that the Mercenary Guild only had hot sales for potions, defense scrolls, attack scrolls, and other items aiding adventures; other auxiliary items were hard to sell. Whereas in the Mage Guild, many non-Mercenary Mages preferred buying these.
For example, the Heart of the Magic Puppet certainly wouldn't sell in the Mercenary Guild, as everyone possessed it unless it was incredibly rare. But mercenaries, who kept a sharp edge, were very shrewd and wouldn't overpay.
The Mage Guild was different; there were many greenhouse-raised Mages, and plenty of nobles. With more wealthy people came buyers willing to pay extra.
Inside the Mage Trading Area, they were immediately bombarded with a cacophony of various hawking cries.
"Pure natural Heart of the Magic Puppet, rare Thunder Heart of the Magic Puppet, usable up to Tier Six! Act fast!"
"Anti-fall gem, gives maximum buffer when falling off a cliff so you no longer fear dying!"
"Rotating jet flying device, only as big as a fist and sprays cool flame, come have a look!"
"..."
Rose glanced around, "That so-called pure natural Heart of the Magic Puppet is artificial, labeled 'pure natural.' The anti-fall gem's downside is it can only be used once, and the rotating jet flying device you've seen before—it's what sent the student spiraling into the sky."
With Rose's comments, Hilia, who had become excited, gradually calmed down.
This place was indeed tricky—not deceitful, but they only spoke of advantages while omitting weaknesses; even the advantages were exaggerated, only discussing the theoretical maximum.
The items were too many and too varied to fully assess.
Fortunately, the Hearts of the Magic Puppet had their own specific area, where all sellers dealt in them.
Rose scanned the Hearts of the Magic Puppet with Spiritual Power and fell silent, "They're all artificial here."
"What?" Hilia was stunned, "Doesn't that mean I've come in vain today?"
"Hello there, miss, are you looking to purchase the Heart of the Magic Puppet? I have only pure natural ones at affordable prices. For example, this Thunder Heart of the Magic Puppet is just 50 gold coins; I see it's your first time, so I'm giving a friendly price. Normally, I sell it for 100 gold coins."
The vendor selling purportedly pure natural Hearts of the Magic Puppet saw Hilia pause and instantly called out.
Hilia glanced at it. The Thunder Heart of the Magic Puppet resembled a multifaceted diamond, oval-shaped with links to attach to the Magic Puppet and an interface for connecting the Magic Puppet.
"Are you sure it's natural? If it's artificial, you'd be liable to compensate."
"Of course, it's pure natural, one hundred percent natural!"
"Is that so? Then why is it labeled as created by Tier Seven Mage Harlos, model 'pure natural'?"
"Huh? Haha, the lady recognizes it." The vendor awkwardly put away the Heart of the Magic Puppet, then whispered, "But I do have a natural Heart of the Magic Puppet, and if you're interested, I'm willing to sell."
The vendor hadn't displayed the natural Heart but intended to show it to wealthy nobles or merchants, assuming the artificial-only selling area would help fetch a high price for the natural ones.
Seeing Hilia's extraordinary aura, possibly a Divine Magic Academy student, he thought she was certainly a wealthy figure interested in a natural Heart—this sale would ensure he wouldn't worry about food or drink for three years!
"Show it to me."
The vendor retrieved a heavy box from his backpack and slowly opened it.
When the familiar wave from the Heart of the Magic Puppet came, Rose's eyes narrowed, tinged with doubt and intrigue.
"This Heart of the Magic Puppet... why does it resemble a Divine Format so much? Could it truly be a Divine Format!?"