CHAPTER 364: CHAPTER 15: SCENIC VIEWS AND HIDDEN WORRIES (2)_2

"This doll is so cute!"

"Buy it."

"This dress looks great, but I worry I won’t have many chances to wear it. After all, I can’t wear it on missions."

"Then just buy it and keep it at home to see it when you have time." Andrew casually wrote down an address and handed it to the shop owner, "Send it to this address."

"Sorry, sir, we don’t offer delivery services."

Before the owner finished speaking, Andrew had already tossed two gold coins and walked away.

The shop owner stood there dumbfounded, staring at the gold coins and Andrew’s receding figure, mumbling to himself, "I meant... normally we don’t deliver. But occasionally, we can make exceptions. Hey, someone, deliver this for me!"

Wearing her new hat and hugging the big doll, Christina happily spun around in the crowd.

"Mr. Duru, aren’t you going to buy something?"

"What I want to buy is up ahead, we haven’t reached there yet. Buy what you like first. You can buy everything you like. If you want, you can buy the whole store. We have enough money."

"Okay!" Christina responded gleefully, but after thinking for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she said softly, "Forget it, I’ll buy a little less. After all, it costs money."

"Silly girl." Andrew reached out and ruffled her hair, "How much can you possibly spend here? Fifty gold coins? A hundred gold coins? Dragon’s money isn’t meant to be saved, but elf’s money is meant to be spent. Specifically, for pretty girls like you to spend."

"Mmm!" Christina nodded vigorously, her smile even sweeter.

All the way, they visited every store, and Christina bought many things, but in total, it was less than five hundred gold coins. A dragon that could be pleased with just five hundred gold coins, probably the only one in this world.

After walking a good distance, Andrew finally entered a magic supplies store. At first glance, it looked like a general store. The cramped space was filled with all sorts of strange items, colored minerals, various roots, plants, bizarre fruits, seeds, bones, feathers, even eyeballs...

Okay, calling it a general store was a compliment. Perhaps a trash heap would suit it better.

One shelf was dedicated to various finished potions, with a huge basin in the center, the liquid inside bubbling. Underneath was a sizzling fire.

The shop owner was a goblin wearing a monocle, dozing off at the counter. Andrew walked in, and it seemed he didn’t notice at all.

After circling the shop, Andrew picked out what he needed, filled a basket, and placed it on the goblin’s counter.

"One thousand gold coins," the goblin said without opening his eyes.

"That expensive?"

"Of course it’s expensive, these are magic supplies, and we’re the only magic shop in Linlopes. You don’t have to buy it." The goblin squinted at Andrew.

Okay, it was indeed hard to buy magical materials in the human world. After all, humans almost never used magic. If not for the many mercenaries in Linlopes, and quite a few elf mages among them, this shop might not even exist.

Taking a deep breath, Andrew reluctantly said, "I also need a scale, do you have one?"

"What kind of scale?" the goblin asked, yawning.

Andrew casually replied, "Dragon scale."

This caught the goblin’s attention, and he glanced slightly at Christina behind Andrew, "Sir, you should ask Miss Christina. She must have the dragon scales you need. Not in my little shop."

Christina stood there, stunned, listening.

Andrew softly said, "I don’t want to pluck her dragon scales. Do you have any wyvern scales? If you do, I’ll buy all these things. If not, I wouldn’t take them even if you gave them to me for free."

The goblin hesitated for a moment, turned around, and rummaged through the junk pile behind him, eventually pulling out a sheepskin-wrapped, palm-sized item and slapping it in front of Andrew.

"Can you use Hydra scales? Only one hundred gold coins, very cheap."

"Hydra scales for one hundred gold coins, are you kidding me?"

"Not kidding, that’s the price. I can guarantee that you won’t find another one in Linlopes. Dragon scales, other than Miss Christina’s, are nowhere to be found."

With a helpless glance at the goblin, Andrew had no choice but to unwrap the sheepskin, holding the scale in his hand to examine it closely.

The palm-sized scale had a pattern like a pearl shell, and in the sunlight, it had a strange luster.

"Alright, I’ll take them all."

"Thank you for your patronage, sir. You probably don’t have that much money with you, right? Need me to send someone to get it with you?"

"That would be best. Here’s the address, you can send someone tonight to deliver the items and collect the money. Here’s a deposit of three hundred gold coins, I’ll take the Hydra scale first."

"Sure."

As they left the magic shop, Christina quietly asked, "You needed a dragon scale, why didn’t you tell me?"

Examining the scale in his hand under the light, Andrew softly said, "A dragon’s scale takes at least fifty years to grow back after it falls off. In the meantime, the wound becomes a dragon’s fatal weakness. I don’t want my partner to have any fatal weaknesses."

...

That evening, the magic shop finally sent someone to deliver the items and collect the money.

Andrew sat alone in the large living room and started processing the materials.

Most mages are also pharmacists. However, they typically only make simple potions. For real potions, you still need a pharmacist. Unless the mage is an immortal creature like a Lich, an ancient Blood Clan member, or something similar. Of course, they might also be an Elf Mage who studied at the Divine Wood Library — like Andrew.

While brewing, adding ingredients including ground Hydra scales, Andrew continuously infused magic power into the bubbling concoction. It took a full four hours. By midnight, Andrew had boiled the broth into a thick paste.

Next, he spread a piece of Phantom Tree bark and smeared the thick concoction on it.

Clapping his hands in satisfaction, Andrew said, "Done!"

"What are you making?" Christina stretched her neck to ask.

"A new face."

"A new face?"

"Don’t blink!" Holding the bark, Andrew took a deep breath, recited an incantation, mentally prepared himself, and then suddenly pressed the bark coated with the thick concoction onto his face.

Immediately, the thick concoction started sizzling, smoking, and emitting spark-like flashes like tiny explosions.

"Mr. Duru! What’s happening to you!" Christina was terrified.

"Don’t! I’m okay!" Andrew quickly stopped her.

After a while, the smoke and explosive lights ceased. Andrew peeled the bark off and washed his face with clean water.

"Phew... done."

Christina was stunned, eyes wide, unable to speak.

The face before her was completely different. Thick, arched eyebrows that looked fierce, a hooked nose, a pointed chin, prominent cheekbones... even the long elf ears were gone, replaced by human-like ones.

Undoubtedly, it was the face of a henchman from a novel, and not a good-looking one at that. Yet it was distinctive enough to be unforgettable.

"Why change your face? It doesn’t look good at all." Christina said gloomily, "I still prefer the original Mr. Duru."

"Yes, I like the original too." Andrew said, equally gloomy, looking in the mirror, "This is the result of substituting with Hydra scales. Are there any good-looking Hydras? No, so a face made from Hydra scales can’t be good-looking either."

After some thought, he decided it would be better to give Christina a plausible reason, even if completely made up. Andrew smiled and said, "Right now, all eyes are on me, including the Guild Master’s speech, attributing your success to my help. I think it’s necessary to break this perception. Starting tomorrow, tell them Mr. Duru has gone far away. I’m your new recruit."