Magic Farm 84

Chapter 84: Points Shop, Tier 3 Shelter Blueprint

Mage Association Shop.

Qi Yu opened the shop and found the two skills that had tempted him before: the cultivation method [Earth Guardian] and the martial technique [Phantom Ghost Step].

The two together required 150,000 gold coins.

Qi Yu was about to make the purchase, but paused and decided to search for magic arrays first.

Basic Temperature Control Array: 10,000 gold coins.

Basic Defense Array: 20,000 gold coins.

Basic Repair Array: 20,000 gold coins.

…

There were so many magic arrays, each with a dazzling variety of effects.

Qi Yu was tempted as he scrolled further, and finally found what he was looking for.

“Fundamentals of Magic Arrays Course,” priced at 150,000 gold coins.

[Note: This course was created by Magister Kallen. Refunds are available within two hours of purchase, with a 500 gold coin processing fee.]

A magic array course that could be refunded within two hours if it wasn’t suitable!

Qi Yu’s impression of this Magister Kallen, whom he had never met, instantly improved.

He began rummaging through his backpack.

The Mage Association Shop had a seller’s page, marked by a small basket icon in dark gold.

Qi Yu first placed a single first-level magic crystal stone onto it. The crystal flashed, and a magic crystal stone appeared in the previously empty basket.

[You can receive 20 gold coins. Confirm sale?]

Twenty gold coins?

Wasn’t a single magic crystal stone worth ten gold coins?

Qi Yu exited and opened the purchase page, searching for magic crystal stones.

First-level magic crystal stone: 10 gold coins each.

He suddenly realized—oh, he had a 50% discount privilege.

A first-level magic crystal stone’s original price in the association shop was 20 gold coins.

And when selling, the association shop bought them at full price.

With 11,900 first-level magic crystal stones in his backpack, Qi Yu put up 10,000 at once and received 200,000 gold coins.

He didn’t hesitate and immediately bought [Earth Guardian] and [Phantom Ghost Step].

Fresh gold coins instantly dropped to only 50,000.

He still had 74,963 gold coins left from his earnings in Gold Cavern City, totaling around 130,000.

He kept the remaining 1,900 first-level magic crystal stones for now—after all, ordinary energy towers mainly consumed first-level crystals.

Second-level magic crystal stones sold for 100 gold coins each.

He sold 300 and received 30,000 gold coins.

Spending 150,000 gold coins, he bought the “Fundamentals of Magic Arrays Course.”

Just like that, he’d spent 300,000 gold coins in less than a minute.

Qi Yu finally understood why, when collecting his salary in Gold Cavern City, the staff had said that many mages could spend a year’s worth of association living expenses in their very first month.

For mages, gold coins truly were like the wind.

They blew through and were gone, impossible to hold onto.

Because of the two-hour “refund window,” Qi Yu didn’t dare delay and hurriedly opened the “Fundamentals of Magic Arrays Course” in his hands.

He turned to the first page.

His consciousness suddenly wavered.

When he focused again, he found himself sitting in an unfamiliar room, before a large desk, with paper, pens, and various familiar and unfamiliar items at hand.

A man in a pale golden robe stood at the front. His face was somewhat blurred—Qi Yu couldn’t make it out.

“Welcome to my magic course. I am Kallen.”

Qi Yu was surprised: so this magic array course was actually taught face-to-face?

How was this even possible?

The world of mages was truly wondrous.

No wonder it cost 150,000 gold coins.

“First, we must understand one thing: the core structure of any magic array…”

Qi Yu soon had no time for amazement. This Teacher Kallen gave him no time to adapt, immediately launching into the explanation.

He was completely immersed in this new system of knowledge.

“We’ll stop here for now.”

Magister Kallen seemed to glance at him.

Qi Yu once again felt his mind empty, and found himself sitting in his shelter.

The “Fundamentals of Magic Arrays Course” in his hands was still open to the first page.

Two hours—was that it?

[The current two-hour course has ended. Would you like a refund?]

Of course not!

Qi Yu had been thoroughly engrossed and unhesitatingly chose “No.”

The next moment, day turned to night, darkness falling.

But since it had been raining outside all along, the sky was already dim. Qi Yu had the living room wall lamp on and the fireplace burning, so it didn’t make much difference.

His mind was filled with the new knowledge he’d just absorbed, and he was impatient to continue or to try it out in practice.

At the same time, the immersive experience of the “Fundamentals of Magic Arrays Course” made him very curious about the other two books, [Earth Guardian] and [Phantom Ghost Step].

Would they be taught in a similar way?

Suddenly, the communication orb began to glow.

Qi Yu answered, “Dan Xingyu.”

“You sound really happy—did something good happen?”

Qi Yu: “Mm, I bought several things I’ve wanted for a long time today, and learned something new.”

He didn’t mention the magic arrays—if he learned them, he could surprise Dan Xingyu later.

Dan Xingyu: “That’s definitely worth being happy about, but right now, it’s dinner time.”

Qi Yu: “Mm, dinner!”

[Your friend “Shenben Wuxiang” has sent you a gift.]

A serving of Rift Beast meat soup, a spicy seafood hotpot, a plate of delicate green vegetables, plus sliced watermelon and emerald crystal peaches.

“So lavish!”

And whether it was the steaming meat soup or the spicy seafood hotpot, both were perfect for this kind of weather.

Qi Yu recalled that it was desert weather on Dan Xingyu’s side. “Is it really hot over there now?”

Dan Xingyu: “It’s hot outside, but at home I have the puppy air conditioner and the ice silkworm robe you sent me—it’s not hot at all.”

Given his personality, he would normally have stopped there.

But perhaps under Qi Yu’s influence, he added, “The puppy air conditioner is really cute, and the clothes are especially useful. I like them both a lot.”

Qi Yu, thoroughly satisfied, began to eat.

Both of them forgot to turn off the communication orb. Dan Xingyu knew Qi Yu’s dining habits and didn’t speak.

The whole meal passed in peaceful silence.

After eating, Qi Yu used Water Ball to wash the dishes.

Only then did he remember his friend couldn’t use magic.

“How do you wash dishes?”

The communication orb was really convenient. If it were the survival panel, he wouldn’t have bothered to ask about something like this, but with the orb, it felt like the other person was right there, so he asked naturally.

Dan Xingyu told him, “I have an alchemical golem that does housework.”

Qi Yu: Wow!

Dan Xingyu: “It can watch the house for me. It does chores, cooks, and washes dishes.”

He added, “Though its cooking isn’t as good as mine.”

Qi Yu hadn’t realized that alchemical golems could be used like that.

His first encounter with alchemical golems had been as enemies in battle, so he’d just assumed they were all combat types.

But thinking about it, with Dan Xingyu doing the cooking, and chores and cleaning handled by magic, he really didn’t have any need for housework help himself.

Suddenly, the survival panel popped up a message:

[Announcement: After days of heavy rain, a large number of rain swifts have appeared in the Forest of Stars. Mutant creatures are gradually disappearing. Rain swifts unable to find prey will attack all life forms. Players, please take precautions and defend your shelters.]

[The higher your shelter’s prosperity, the more likely it is to attract rain swifts.]

[Limited-time points event activated: Each rain swift killed = 1 point. Points shop now open.]

Qi Yu: “Dan Xingyu, did you get an announcement over there?”

“I was just about to tell you,” Dan Xingyu said. “We have a points event for killing mutant creatures.”

The two quickly compared information and found the content was basically the same, just with different backgrounds and different mutant creatures.

In District 88, it was a creature called the earthfire dragon.

Dan Xingyu complained, “I’ve run into one or two earthfire dragons before. Don’t be fooled by the name—it sounds impressive, but they’re actually pretty weak. Their drops aren’t worth much, the meat is tough, and the skin is only good for insulation and waterproofing.”

He suddenly paused.

“Insulation and waterproofing,” Qi Yu murmured. “That might be useless in your area, but in our District 01, it’s a great item.”

Dan Xingyu realized it too: “I’d only seen a few before, so I never thought of it. If the announcement is true and there’s a large number of earthfire dragons, I’ll buy up a batch.”

Qi Yu said, “I’ll be buying rain swifts in the area channel too.”

Because of the announcement, the two didn’t chat further and went to make preparations for the coming crisis.

“Qi Yu.”

Qi Yu responded, “What is it?”

Dan Xingyu said seriously, “We both need to be careful.”

He knew his friend’s strength was certainly not weak, but the announcement had said that the more prosperous the shelter, the more likely it was to attract mutant creatures.

Qi Yu was the first player in the entire server to upgrade to a Tier 2 shelter.

Qi Yu understood his concern and promised, “I definitely will. I value my life. Dan Xingyu, you be careful too—don’t you dare die on me.”

Dan Xingyu: “……”

Your heart’s in the right place, but my friend, you really don’t know how to phrase things.

.

Communication ended.

Qi Yu felt a bit regretful that he couldn’t continue the magic array course, but with the survival game issuing a special announcement, he had to take it seriously.

Qi Yu opened the area channel, and unsurprisingly, it was flooded with posts about the announcement:

[Roach Smells Weird: Oh ho, a limited-time event—it really is a “game” now. Feels like it’ll be fun.]

[Liver Emperor: Rain swifts may not be that strong, but I doubt the survival game would issue an announcement for something harmless. Better be careful.]

[I Love Survival Games: Rain swifts can evolve. We might not only encounter level 1 rain swifts.]

[Roach Smells Weird: oi, game boss, group photo!]

Qi Yu stared at this person’s ID for a long time. This Roach was even more active than Tu Mu Laoge—he practically lived in the area channel.

Even Qi Yu was getting familiar with him.

But what exactly was this “Roach,” and just how weird did he smell?

[Jiangnan Misty Rain Guest: The announcement says the higher your shelter’s prosperity, the more likely you are to attract rain swifts. Game boss, you need to be extra careful.]

Qi Yu: ?

[I Love Survival Games: Thanks.]

He glanced at Jiangnan Misty Rain Guest’s ID—he remembered it, a top-ranking player.

But they weren’t acquainted, so he didn’t know why the other was suddenly being so friendly.

[Grumpy Bro: So when are the rain swifts coming? Are we supposed to just stand guard the whole time?]

[Professional Club: @I Love Survival Games, game boss, do you still have any Screaming Lilies for sale? I’ve missed out several times already.]

[I Love Survival Games: None at the moment.]

The rain kept pouring, and the temperature kept dropping. Even when using Nature’s Whisper, he could sense the plants’ low spirits.

Now, for the plants in his territory, he’d increased from one blessing spell a day to two—morning and evening.