Chapter 31 Fair Trade
Two days later when Adam opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. He got up from the small single bed and found that the clothes he was wearing had become smaller. To be more precise, he had become taller.
"Where am I?" He got to his feet and looked around. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror in a corner of the room.
"I-Is that really me?!" He screamed in shock.
He had grown a couple of inches in height, and his body had become lean and muscular. Surprisingly, Adam's complexion had also improved. His skin was similar to that of a newborn baby now.
Looking into the mirror, Adam caressed his jaw and muttered in disbelief, "Just what the hell happened?"
His jawline had become more defined, along with his cheekbones. His eyebrows were straight like an arrow. Overall, the body remodeling had brought him unexpected changes.
Although the transformation didn't turn him into a pretty boy, at the very least his looks had become much more decent compared to before. One could even say he was very pleasant to look at now.
Truth be told, any improvement from his previous self could be said to be pleasant-looking. Now, after the transformation, he couldn't be considered handsome, but he couldn't be considered ugly either.
As Adam admired the new changes to his body, he couldn't help but click his tongue in slight regret. "Too bad the Body Cleansing Essence Oil can only be used once."
A few minutes later, he exited the guest room and made his way downstairs. There, he found Berger in his usual spot—at the counter—reading a thick book.
Berger raised his head and looked toward the youth. "Eh, so you've finally woken up. How do you feel, boy?"
Adam replied cheerfully, "Sir, I feel amazing! The body remodeling did wonders."
"Hmm." Berger nodded. "Indeed. With the help of your water solution, the effects of the essence oil have increased by more than thirty percent. It would be strange if you didn't feel amazing after the transformation."
Adam approached the counter and asked expectantly, "Sir, now can I get a discount?"
"Hmph!" Berger snorted. "You really are cheap."
Adam could only laugh sheepishly.
"Observing the whole process of your body remodeling has been very beneficial to me." Berger began as he smoked from his pipe.
Adam's eyes turned bright. "Does that mean you'll—"
"However!" Berger cut him off. " I will never give away things for free. It is a creed I live by. And so I'll give you a discount of 100 gold pieces and sell all the equipment and the ingredients for 350 gold pieces. How about it?"
Adam's eyebrow twitched and he screamed in his heart, Old foggy, and you call me cheap?!
Besides, including the 3 platinum coins, Adam's net worth currently was around 350 gold coins and some change. If he were to buy all the items on the list he made, he would only have a handful of silver and copper coins left with him.
As he was struggling to come to a decision, Berger added, "Another creed I live by is the law of fair and equal exchange."
Adam looked at Berger with hopeful eyes, waiting for the old gnome to state his proposal.
"The recipe for your water solution has opened a lot of doors for me in regards to herbalism. My arrogance had clouded my judgment, thinking that common ingredients found in everyday life could not be of help to herbalism, which is a magical endeavor in and of itself.
"But I couldn't be more wrong! That is why, along with all the materials you've listed, I'll give you this." Berger grabbed an ancient-looking book from the shelf behind him and kept it on the counter.
Adam asked excitedly, "Sir, what is this?"
"Didn't you want to know more about the Spirit World?" Asked Berger while puffing out a smoke ring from his mouth. "I found this tome in an ancient ruin when I had gone adventuring in my youth. However, to read this, you'll have to learn the secret language that Magi use."
"Secret language? What's that?" Adam asked with great curiosity.
POW!
Berger smacked Adam on the forehead with his smoking pipe. He scolded, "Ask your professors at the academy, you fool!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" Adam replied with a wronged expression.
"Additionally, I'll also give you this." Berger tapped his forehead with his finger and extracted an ethereal white thread from his head!
He then flicked the glowing white thread in Adam's direction.
"W-What the heck!" Adam retreated a few steps back, but in the end, the white thread still managed to burrow its way inside his head. He was about to inquire about it but all of a sudden an influx of information appeared inside his brain!
Adam was speechless. Only after a few moments did he snap back to his senses and spoke excitedly, "Rank 1 Illusion Spell!?"
The ethereal white thread that Berger had extracted from his head actually contained his own knowledge about a Rank 1 Spell!
"You have surprisingly high spiritual power for someone your age. This spell from the School of Illusion will suit you well," Berger spoke nonchalantly as he continued smoking.
Adam was about to ask what the School of Illusion was but he wisely stopped. He was afraid that the grumpy old gnome would smack his head again and tell him to ask the professors at the academy.
After having received such valuable information about a Rank 1 Spell as well as a book containing knowledge about the Spirit World, Adam was more than happy with the transaction. He grabbed his money pouch, counted the coins, and handed it to Berger.
"Sir, I'm very satisfied with the transaction," he said gratefully. Although he was only left with a few silver and copper pieces, he wasn't unhappy in the least. He believed that all the things he had received from Berger were much more valuable than a measly 350 gold pieces.
"Hmm." Berger nodded lazily. "Now grab your things and get lost. I have to get back to my experiments."
Adam bowed sincerely. "Thank you once again, sir."
Suddenly, he thought of something and asked expectantly, "Sir, in the future, are you willing to trade arcane knowledge with me in exchange for my herbalism knowledge?"
Berger was moved. Just a simple water solution made of commonly found ingredients had inspired him so greatly. He couldn't help but be curious about the herbalism knowledge imparted to Adam by his 'teacher'.
After pondering for a while, the old gnome nodded. "Very well. The trade will depend on the quality of information you provide. But rest assured, I will always maintain the attitude of facilitating a fair and equivalent exchange."
Adam was ecstatic. Now he would be able to exchange the herbalism knowledge he had absorbed inside the white lotus for arcane knowledge from Berger!
"Great!" The youth replied cheerfully. "I'll see you soon, Sir Magus."
With that, he grabbed the ancient tome as well as all the ingredients and equipment he had listed earlier and left the store.
He couldn't wait to go back to his dorm room and begin brewing potions!
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