That night, Dan Feng lay in bed, his expression somewhat helpless.
At the moment, he had reverted to his human form—human form was more convenient and prevented him from accidentally damaging things due to not controlling his strength properly.
Just earlier, while practicing spear techniques, he had been utterly crushed from all sides. It was all because he had told the High Elder 'Dan Feng' to use his full strength against him, resulting in a miserable defeat.
"It seems fully mastering this spear technique is still a long road ahead," Dan Feng sighed.
"Forget it, time to sleep." With that, Dan Feng used wind magic to extinguish the candle flame on the table.
Meanwhile, Roxy was in a rather different situation from Dan Feng.
She was currently organizing her belongings nonstop. First, she carefully washed the magic stone she had obtained from the labyrinth several times, then examined it closely.
Having just survived a brush with death, she hadn't had the chance to properly look at this magic stone before—this was the first time she had carefully observed this water magic stone.
The water-blue magic stone was very beautiful. Under the candlelight, it took on a slightly greenish hue.
"Tomorrow I'll go get a custom magic staff made. Once the staff is finished, we can head to Rosenberg, the second city of the Basheran Duchy, to complete the commission," Roxy thought to herself while taking out all her savings.
This would cover the processing fee for the staff, though the exact amount would need to be confirmed in detail at the shop.
...
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window of Dan Feng's room and fell across his face.
In this way, Dan Feng slowly awoke from his sleep.
He sat up gradually from the bed, then got up to wash and freshen himself.
After tidying his appearance, Dan Feng changed into casual clothes.
Leaving the boys' dormitory, Dan Feng leisurely headed toward the girls' dormitory.
There weren't many people on the morning paths—classes were still several hours away, so most students at Ranoa Magic University were still asleep.
After walking for a while, Dan Feng noticed a small figure with water-blue hair slowly approaching from the distance—it was Roxy.
Roxy was carrying a handbag and a piece of kraft paper. Dan Feng guessed blindly that the kraft paper contained his portion of the sandwich.
When Dan Feng reached Roxy, she promptly handed him the kraft paper in her hand.
"Breakfast is a sandwich!" Roxy said with a bright smile as she looked at Dan Feng.
Dan Feng quickly finished the breakfast Roxy had prepared for him, then asked what she planned to do next.
"Will you come with me to get a custom magic staff made?" Roxy asked Dan Feng. Naturally, he was willing.
The two of them then headed toward the main gate of Ranoa Magic University.
Their destination was the weapon shops on the commercial street—only there could one have a personal magic staff custom-made.
Once in the commercial street, the two decided to check out various weapon shops first, comparing prices and quality before making a final decision.
"Roxy, did you bring enough money?" Dan Feng asked Roxy. If it wasn't enough, he could cover some of it.
"Absolutely enough! I've been living very frugally, so I've saved up quite a bit," Roxy said, puffing out her rather flat chest. She seemed quite proud of her saving habits.
Dan Feng found her demeanor a little amusing. After all, both of them were fairly thrifty types—aside from necessary expenses, they saved most of the rewards from commissions.
Soon, Dan Feng and Roxy arrived at the first weapon shop.
"The cost for a custom magic staff? Probably around fifty Ranoa gold coins," the middle-aged, pot-bellied man said unhurriedly. His slick demeanor made it obvious at a glance that he had likely ripped off plenty of people before.
Hearing the price, Dan Feng replied calmly, "That's way too expensive. Even crafting a good sword doesn't cost fifty gold coins." There was a trace of skepticism in his voice.
The shopkeeper, however, paid no mind to Dan Feng's questioning and even showed a hint of disdainful smile. He curled his lip and said, "How can a swordsman's weapon be compared to the noble weapon of a magician? A magic staff is the symbol of us magicians—its value naturally can't be measured by the price of ordinary weapons."
Dan Feng felt utterly speechless at the shopkeeper's words, but he also knew arguing further would be pointless. So he took Roxy by the hand and turned to leave the shop.
In this way, Dan Feng and Roxy's first weapon-shop scouting trip ended abruptly—for no other reason than this shop's price being completely unreasonable.
The magic staff Roxy had bought outright in Zant Port had only cost around four Ranoa silver coins, yet this shop had the audacity to demand fifty Ranoa gold coins. The difference was like heaven and earth.
However, Dan Feng and Roxy did not give up. They continued inquiring at other weapon shops along the street about prices and quality.
Yet the results were deeply disappointing—either the custom staff prices were exorbitantly high, or the craftsmanship was extremely poor. They simply couldn't find one that offered reasonable pricing along with good workmanship.
"Sigh."
Roxy let out a sigh, then said to Dan Feng, "How about we check the workshop district? There might be places that do custom weapons there."
"Let's keep looking for now. If we really can't find anything, we'll head there."
After that, Dan Feng and Roxy continued wandering through various weapon shops. Finally, they found one that suited them.
This weapon shop was located in a very out-of-the-way spot—not on the main road, but in a quiet, rarely frequented alley.
The owner inside was a bald old man who looked as kind and benevolent as the principal.
"Boss, the weapons displayed in your shop all look quite good. May I ask how many gold coins it would cost to custom-make a magic staff?" Dan Feng asked in a calm tone, but his wording was very polite, so it didn't come across as rude.
Hearing a voice, the owner quickly rose from his chair and said, "Do you have your own magic stone?"
"Yes!" Roxy took the water magic stone out from her handbag.
The owner thought for a moment about the price. Due to his remote location, business was usually poor—only a few regular customers ever came by—so he wanted to keep Dan Feng and Roxy as clients.
Thus, he quoted, "Hm... If you provide your own magic stone, then the processing fee will be twenty Ranoa gold coins."
"Rest assured, everything made here is guaranteed quality. All the weapons displayed in the shop are made by me personally," the owner added.
Afterward, Roxy explained the appearance she wanted to the owner, then handed over the water magic stone she had nearly paid for with her life. The owner told them to come back in three days to pick it up—he promised it would definitely surprise them.
It is worth mentioning that just before Roxy paid, Dan Feng mentioned that they were students from Ranoa Magic University and could help promote the shop. Because of this, the owner reduced the price by one gold coin.