I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 36: Special Magic Power

"So Gauss, what brings you here today?"

"Don't tell me you want to buy a magic wand?"

Andni noticed how he had been staring at her wand almost immediately after entering, his face full of longing.

"Senior, may I ask about the price?" Gauss inquired cautiously.

He called her "senior" because he naturally assumed that Andni, a halfling with an entire room full of collections, was no ordinary person—most likely a professional.

"Second from your left, that short one is the cheapest—20 gold coins."

"Yikes... that's expensive."

Expensive indeed.

Andni's casual quote made Gauss suck in a sharp breath.

20 gold coins meant he'd need to complete at least 280 missions like the one he just finished to afford it—and that wasn't even counting his daily living expenses.

Mages truly were a noble class.

Even their weapons were terrifyingly expensive.

"Expensive? That's just the cost price. Even if you had 20 gold coins, I wouldn't sell it. These are for my personal use, not for sale."

Andni revealed the truth with a bright smile.

"Do you want to buy anything else? Or perhaps you have something to sell? I can appraise it for you."

Gauss hesitated for a moment before pulling out the Life Magic Stone from under his clothes.

"Senior, could you tell me how much this Life Magic Stone is worth?"

"Come closer, I can't see properly." Andni sat up from her wicker chair and beckoned him over.

Gauss approached while holding the stone.

Andni leaned in and lightly tapped it with one pale finger.

Gauss sensed an unusual fluctuation in the air.

Before he could properly register it, the fluctuation vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"A Life Magic Stone of ordinary quality with slight energy loss. My offered buying price is 2 gold coins and 40 silver coins." Andni stated the price decisively.

2 gold and 40 silver—about the same as what Daphne had estimated.

"Senior, if I wanted to commission a magic wand using this Life Magic Stone as partial payment, how much more would I need to prepare?"

"Do you have a base wand staff prepared already?"

"No."

"Then including testing and customization fees, you'd need at least 1 more gold coin on top of this stone."

"And I mean at least—the final amount depends on the price of the base staff material that suits you."

1 gold coin...

Compared to the shocking 20 gold, this seemed almost acceptable.

Just about the price of a house.

His current savings were around 19 silver.

Assuming each mission maintained a 7 silver profit, minus approximately 2 silver for living expenses per mission cycle... that meant he could save about 5 silver per cycle.

Roughly 16 missions.

But this was considering no unexpected gains—in reality, adventure earnings could sometimes be higher.

Still... it felt like such a long time.

Money was truly hard to earn.

Andni reclined in her chair, propping her chin as she watched Gauss counting on his fingers before finally making a bitter face—which only made her smile wider.

Perhaps Gauss's distressed appearance reminded her of her own penniless state many years ago when she first started adventuring.

Most rookie adventurers were like this.

Adventuring sounded exciting, but once it became actual work, the headaches would gradually pile up.

Weapons, armor purchases and upgrades, maintenance costs, daily meals, healing potions, essential survival tools...

Countless expenses made many adventurers wish they could split their silver and copper coins in half to stretch further.

Sometimes, after working hard on a mission, they'd return to find their reward wasn't even enough to cover weapon and armor repairs.

That bitter taste was something even present-day Andni never wanted to experience again.

Fortunately, she had saved enough to retire.

After calculating, Gauss looked back at Andni.

"Senior, I'd like to sell this Life Magic Stone and purchase a base wand staff suitable for my magic flow."

After consideration, he realized keeping the Life Magic Stone would just gather dust—better to exchange it for money to buy a wand base.

First, he could start adapting to the base staff early, saving time when he eventually saved enough to upgrade it into a full wand.

Second, an adapted base staff could also improve spellcasting efficiency—not as much as a proper wand, but still significantly better than barehanded casting.

Getting the base staff now would boost his combat ability quickly and help him practice Magic Missile faster.

"Of course." Andni nodded in agreement.

"Follow me."

She hopped off the wicker chair and padded barefoot toward another room, Gauss following closely.

Pushing open a wooden door, Andni led Gauss into what appeared to be a storage space.

Display shelves around the room held various materials.

After searching briefly, she pulled out several wooden staves of varying lengths and carried them in her arms.

"These are the most common base wand staffs."

"See which one suits you best?"

Andni brought Gauss back to the main hall and placed the staves one by one on the table.

"How do I test them?"

"Simple. Pick up any staff and try channeling magic through it. If you feel resistance, it's not suitable."

"If the flow is smooth, that means the staff matches you—the smoother, the better."

Gauss nodded—the test did sound straightforward.

He crouched and reached for the closest dark brown staff on the low table.

The twisted staff was about half a meter long.

After briefly weighing it, he closed his eyes to concentrate.

Following a short meditation, he began channeling magic from his body, slowly infusing it into the staff.

The moment his magic left his body and touched the staff, a repelling force immediately pushed back.

He tried applying more "force," this time breaking through the staff's resistance as his magic seeped inside.

However, the flow remained uneven, as if countless tiny beings inside the staff were fighting his magic.

Gauss withdrew his energy and returned the staff to the table.

"How was it?"

"Not very compatible." Gauss shook his head.

"Then try the next one."

Andni wasn't surprised—the probability of finding a perfect match on the first try was indeed small.

Still, she had selected the most common materials this time.

Based on her experience, most mages could find a suitable base among these.

Gauss nodded and picked up the next staff.

A while later, he set it down with another headshake.

"Try the next one."

This process repeated five or six times.

When he placed down the final staff, disappointment showed on his face.

"None of them worked?" Andni pinched her chin, deep in thought.

"That's quite rare. It seems your magic is... special."

"So what should we do now?"

"Let me think..." Andni closed her eyes in contemplation.

After a long pause, she reopened them.

"I remember now—I have a few very special treasures!"

"Very expensive?" Gauss worried even selling the Life Magic Stone might not cover it.

"Cheaper than these. They're just unconventional staffs rarely needed, so I stored them away." Andni stood up. "Wait here—I'll be right back."