Magic Farm 79

Chapter 79: Communication Sphere

“A friend you’ve never met?” Gareth repeated, curiosity piqued. “Is it a pen pal, then?”

He couldn’t help but add, “As expected of a mage—still keeping up with such an ancient and romantic way of staying in touch.”

Qi Yu shook his head. “Not a pen pal. We talk every day.”

“So, an online friend,” Mia chimed in casually.

Qi Yu lifted his head, fixing the two with a strange look.

Though his face was hidden beneath his cloak, the intensity of his gaze was impossible for the keen senses of a warrior to ignore.

Gareth asked, “What is it, Mage?”

Then he realized something. “You haven’t told us your name yet!”

“I’m Qi Yu,” Qi Yu replied, explaining his odd reaction from before. “It’s just… you two using the word ‘online friend’ together feels a little strange to me.”

The siblings weren’t surprised at all by this; instead, they burst out laughing.

“It fits perfectly with what we know about mages—especially those reclusive ones from remote places,” Mia said. “You’re always so traditional and old-fashioned, clinging to ancient hobbies and rituals.”

Qi Yu admitted smoothly, “Well, I am a mage who only just left the countryside.”

He asked humbly, “I don’t know much about the world outside. Could you tell me about it?”

Since it was their break, Gareth and Mia took the opportunity to give him a brief introduction to the outside world.

The lives of professionals and ordinary people were vastly different.

Professionals—especially those with high potential, like mages, warriors, and alchemists—lived lives much as Qi Yu had imagined.

They had their own professional systems, and through cultivation could gain great power and long life.

A professional’s daily life was essentially cultivation, adventure, and the pursuit of strength. Everything boiled down to one ultimate goal: to attain transcendent power.

Ordinary people were different.

Lacking talent, they could spend their whole lives without ever stepping into that wondrous, magical world.

But ordinary people had their own way of living.

Energy crystal cards were useful but prohibitively expensive, so alternative energy sources had been developed—steam, electricity, and the like.

Exotic beast meat was delicious and nourishing, but also costly, so ordinary people focused more on developing the flavors of common ingredients, and cooking methods became ever more elaborate.

Ordinary people didn’t have the ability to travel a thousand miles a day like professionals, so they invented tools for long-distance communication.

Perhaps because their lives were short, their creativity was all the more astonishing.

“Nowadays, aside from your Mage Association, which is rather… well, traditional, actually, many of us professionals love to buy things invented by ordinary people,” Mia said.

She took something out—a small sphere that glowed faintly blue, fitting neatly in her palm like a delicate toy.

She held the glowing sphere out to Qi Yu.

Qi Yu, not understanding, took it from her.

Mia nudged her brother with her elbow, and Gareth produced an identical little glowing sphere.

“Now, say something to it—anything at all,” Mia said.

Qi Yu had a vague suspicion. He spoke solemnly into the small sphere, “I want to dig up lots and lots of magic crystals.”

Two identical voices rang out.

One came from Qi Yu, the other from the sphere in Gareth’s hand.

“Communication tool, professional edition,” Mia said with a bright smile. “Isn’t it interesting?”

Qi Yu held the sphere, asking instinctively, “How far apart can these be used?”

Mia replied, “This one’s made by the Dawson Trading Company. In theory, as long as there’s enough energy, any distance is fine. If you’re going really far, though, it’s best to bind them.”

Would it work inside the survival game as well?

Qi Yu was curious.

He voiced his desire: “Do you have any spares? I’d like to buy one.”

The siblings exchanged glances.

As it happened, they did.

These communication spheres were sold in pairs, and they each kept a spare set in case of emergencies.

Since they’d struck it rich with the magic crystal vein and planned to go straight home after mining, selling a pair to Qi Yu was no problem.

“This pair cost me a hundred gold coins, and they’ve never been used,” Gareth said, producing a set of small spheres.

He taught Qi Yu how to use them: there was a small mechanism on the side of the sphere that opened up to reveal a slot for an energy bead.

“Channel your mental energy into the sphere. The first time you do, it binds to you.”

Once a pair of communication spheres were bound, only the two bound users could use them.

You could also use them unbound, and as long as two people held the spheres, they could communicate. But with mental binding, the connection was more stable.

Qi Yu examined it curiously. “Any attribute of energy bead will work?”

“Any kind,” Gareth confirmed.

Qi Yu took out a hundred gold coins for them, but Gareth didn’t accept.

Looking a bit embarrassed, he asked, “Could we trade this pair of communication spheres for two strength blessings instead?”

Magic power wasn’t much use here, so if he could save a hundred gold coins, Qi Yu was more than happy.

He put the coins and the communication spheres back into his backpack, feeling quite pleased. When he returned to the Forest of Stars, he’d send one to Shen Ben Wuxiang—this would make it even easier for them to stay in touch.

Wait a minute.

Suddenly, he realized something was off.

I have five and a half friends: Shen Ben Wuxiang, Duo Ju, Tu Mu Old Bro, Ning Jing Zhi Yuan, Bu Gan Zheng Kai Yan, and Needs a Bit of Money to Save Himself.

So why, when I got the communication sphere, was my first thought to give it to Shen Ben Wuxiang?

Qi Yu was puzzled.

But, not one to dwell on things, he found the answer within a minute:

His conversations with Tu Mu Old Bro and the others were mostly about the survival game or trading, but with Shen Ben Wuxiang, aside from those topics, he was also the chef who made him the most delicious food in the world.

And now, whenever they had time, they would often chat about daily life, too.

So he concluded: giving the communication sphere to Shen Ben Wuxiang would make it most useful.

After a short rest, the three, now recovered, resumed mining.

Qi Yu cast a strength blessing on both of them, and another on himself.

The spot he chose this time was, in a way, quite strange.

Because the magic crystal ore vein contained magic crystals within, simply sensing the concentration of magical elements was useless—the entire area was as saturated with magic as if he were standing inside an elemental array.

If it weren’t for the time limit, Qi Yu would have liked to stay here and cultivate for a while.

The last few times, he’d picked his spots based on intuition.

This time, if he had to describe it, it was still intuition—just much stronger than before.

It was like a sixth sense: when his gaze landed on a certain spot, it was as if a voice in his mind shouted, “Here! Dig here!”

Without hesitation, Qi Yu followed his instincts.

He swung the Heart of the Greatwood staff for an hour, panting for breath.

The mountain wall before him now had a massive pit, big enough for a person to stand in.

Inside, it was still nothing but gray rock, without the obvious elemental fluctuations that usually came before magic crystals appeared.

Not far away, the siblings seemed to be having a good haul.

Gareth glanced over, said something to his sister, and walked over.

“You’ve dug pretty deep here,” he said, inspecting the wall closely and shaking his head. “Doesn’t look like there are any magic crystals. Maybe try another spot?”

Qi Yu replied earnestly, “I think there are magic crystals inside.”

Gareth was only trying to help. After all, they’d only met today, and seeing Qi Yu insist, he left him to it.

Qi Yu kept digging, pushing further in for another two hours.

Gareth called out, “Time for a break.”

Qi Yu was about to say he wasn’t tired, but Gareth raised his voice a bit. “It’s twenty-four hours! There’s no day or night in here—we’ve been inside a long time. Don’t overdo it.”

He was actually a little worried the mage would collapse from exhaustion.

That remark reminded Qi Yu of the time he’d carved magic scrolls until he passed out.

This time, he took the siblings’ advice and sat down to rest.

“I’ve noticed you’re a bit stubborn. Both in strength and in personality,” Gareth said, slicing open a loaf of bread with his dagger and offering it to Qi Yu. “Want some?”

Qi Yu shook his head. “I’ve got food.”

As he spoke, he found a chunk of fallen rock to use as a table, then took out a bowl of rice, a bowl of braised pork ribs, a bowl of boiled shrimp, and a plate of cold cucumber salad from his backpack…

The siblings sitting across from him: ???

They stared at the steaming, fragrant, and colorful meal in front of Qi Yu, then looked down at their own bread and jerky. Suddenly, their food tasted bland and unappetizing.

Wait, was this right?

Mia wanted to pull her hair out: You spend a fortune on these long-lasting, preservation space storage items, and you use them to store food?

Damn rich mages!