Kapitel 26: Buying Things

Usually, the job was about three hours per day. Then, the Magus or Familiar would come back the next day and continue to empty the Pillars. Only when they finished the equivalent of three pillars would they receive their 33 Academy Credits. So, it was truly not a job worth doing since you would take two to three days to finish the task once!

However, less than one hour after Linfel started the task, all nine Pillars were completely empty. If you take the time Aelua took to demonstrate the process, Linfel hasn't been here for more than two hours yet.

"Phew..." Linfel could see the very impure Yellow Magic Energy dissipating in the surroundings. That made him feel this was quite a waste. Unfortunately, he still couldn't integrate that Magic Energy into his core to increase his Level.

After finishing the job, he went to the back of the facility, where Aelua seemed busy working on some other equipment. One of the containers that stored the Semi-Transparent Yellow Magic Energy was also attached to them. "These numbers... they seemed quite easy to read... Has there been any further mutations to the Space around our planet?" Aelua murmured to herself.

"Aelua, I finished the job," Linfel called her attention.

Aelua immediately displayed a wide smile and came out of the room. "Great! Let's take a look!"

She went to every receptor and checked to see if the Pillars were really empty. Then she checked the containers and was even more satisfied. "I know I said some Magic Energy sensibility was necessary, but I didn't expect you to be this good. You were able to capture more of the Semi-Transparent Yellow Magic Energy than even myself."

Following that, she took out her MCOM and went through a few options. A moment later, she turned the screen to Linfel. "As promised, 100 Academy Credits! You can check your MCOM and go back to the Missions Hall. The terminals there will deposit the value directly into your account."

"I don't have an MCOM yet," Linfel answered. "But I'm going back there indeed. I'm happy to do business with you, Aelua. So, I can come back tomorrow, right?"

Aelua instantly nodded. "Absolutely!" She then remembered something. "Oh! By the way, there is no need to go to the Mission Hall anymore after today. I only posted this job there because I was looking for someone capable... and you are definitely many times better than just capable. Tomorrow, you can come here straight away after 1AM. As soon as you finish your job, I'll transfer another 100 Academy Credits into your account directly."

"That's even better!" Linfel was happy to hear that. "Anyway, I'm taking my leave then."

"Just one second," Aelua stopped him, though. "This little business of ours... try to not mention it outside, okay? I don't want people to have the wrong idea that I'm now paying 100 Academy Credits for this job. Don't worry; it's not that we are doing anything outside the rules. It's just that it would be annoying to convince others of the reasons." She also didn't want Linfel to be bothered since she might lose him. Especially since she would make more Academy Credits in return with Linfel's help.

Linfel didn't see a problem with that. "Very well." Finally, he left the building.

Aelua's smile increased as she collected all the containers. "Hahaha! This is great! Come with Mama, my babies. We have a lot of research to do..."

*Bang!*

*Snore...*

Or so she wanted. Too bad she was terrible at keeping a healthy schedule, so she collapsed to the ground and slept right there. It wouldn't be before the cleaners arrived that she would finally wake up again. Well, that was already routine there.

Linfel took the Academy's Public Transportation and went back to the Missions Hall. He accessed the Terminal and quickly found the Mission he had taken a few hours ago. It was now marked as concluded, and it also had a mention of a bonus added. 'Great! I finally have some Academy Credits!' He quickly accepted the reward, and it was added to his Academy Account.

In a great mood, Linfel exited the Mission Hall, already knowing exactly where he was going. 'Alvin and Felia will be down for a few more hours at least. In that case, time to go buy an MCOM for me.'

An academy of this size definitely had its own commercial district, this one located on the southeast side. Linfel took another 26 minutes to get there through public transportation. 'So bright...'

Even though it was late at night, the district was filled with lights as many Maguses and Familiars walked around. There were even a few teachers and Academy Employees in the mix. Linfel passed through the shops. He stopped by some helping terminals and made a through research of the place. A few hours later, he finally found what he was looking for.

-Ratax Magic Technology Store-

He entered it and was immediately attended by a Familiar. "Hey there, friend. How can I help you?"

"I'm a new Familiar and need an MCOM," Linfel went straight to the topic.

The Familiar nodded. "No problem. But be aware that as a new Familiar, you will need your Master's concentration to acquire an MCOM."

"I'm independent," Linfel added.

"Oh!" The Familiar was taken aback for a moment. Independent Familiar were already rare, let alone new ones. Well, that mattered not during the sales. "In that case, please follow me."

Linfel was shown many models of MCOMs specialized for Familiars. Because Familiars didn't use clothes, they didn't really have pockets and things like that. That said, the MCOMs made for them were actually tiny Magic Diagram Rune Chips.

"Will it not be affected if we battle or move abruptly?" Linfel asked, curious.

"Not at all!" The Familiar answered. "Look at my core."

Linfel paid attention. Suddenly, the Familiar's core changed a little as a small CHIP appeared on the surface.

"Since we can change the shape of our Cores, we can mold them around the MCOM itself. Unless the Core itself is broken, the MCOM should be just fine," the attendant explained. "Easy, no?"

Linfel bitterly smiled. He... can't change the shape of his Core.

Around an hour later, Linfel left the store with an MCOM... made for Maguses. He used his Magic Energy to carry it around, making it look quite weird. The MCOM itself was pretty much the same size as Linfel's Core, after all.

He then returned to Alvin's room, who had just woken up a few minutes ago. Alvin quickly approached Linfel and pressed his shoulder... Or the ethereal form of them. "Linfel, please tell me everything went okay. You are not being searched for murder, right?"

Linfel's mouth twitched. "Fuck off! I'm not that clueless!"

Alvin sighed in relief. Well, the first thing he did when he woke up was to look into the news. Sure enough, there was nothing mentioning Linfel in there. "Good, good..."

Felia, however, noticed the MCOM Linfel was holding with his Magic Energy. "What about this MCOM? Did you find it on the ground?"

"I bought it," Linfel spoke.

Felia and Alvin looked at each other before looking back at Linfel. "Were you fooled? This is a Magus MCOM, you know? It is not very practical for Familiars."

Linfel obviously knew that. "Yes, yes, yes... The Familiar who attended me in the store spoke the same thing. Don't worry, I didn't buy the wrong one. Give me a moment."

Linfel then put the MCOM on the ground and manipulated his Magic Energy. Out of nowhere, many Magic Energy Runes began to appear. These runes then floated and attached to Linfel's Core, disappearing right after.

Those runes had nothing to do with the Diagram Runes of the Magic World. Instead, they were Runes from the past, usually made with Primordial Energy. When Linfel tried to use them for the first time back in Alvin's home, they didn't work. Still, he gave it a few more tries and found a workaround. "As I thought, the lack of power and the difference in type of energy makes the Primordial Energy Runes pretty much useless. All I managed to create was a small Spatial Store of a little over half a meter inside my core."

Before Alvin and Felia could ask what Linfel was talking about, Linfel created more of those runes and placed them all over the MCOM. Following that, he used his Magic Energy to grab the MCOM, which touched his core... and began to disappear inside in a weird way. It was as if the MCOM was slowly falling into a lake, creating several ripples that spread around Linfel's Core. Just like that, the MCOM disappeared from this world.

"This..." Alvin and Felia were shocked. "W-What did you do to the MCOM? Where is it?!"

"Hum?" Linfel looked at them as if he were looking at two idiots. "Isn't that obvious? I just created a tiny Spatial Store in my core. Is there a reason for all that ruckus? And it ended up being a pretty shit one as well. Primordial Runes truly aren't meant to be used with Magic Energy, that's for sure."

"Are you kidding?!" Alvin's eyes were so wide it looked like they were going to pop out. "You can create a Spatial Inventory! A FUCKING SPATIAL INVENTORY! This is something no one can do before reaching at least Level Six as a Magus or Familiar! The only way someone below this level can have a Spatial Inventory is if a high-level Magus creates one for them, and they are freaking expensive! They are worth several times more than creating a Familiar already at Level Two like Saimon did!"

Felia nodded, just as shocked. "Here in the academy, probably only students with backgrounds like Milia would have the connections and the money to have such a Spatial Inventory created in their Cores. And yes, I truly meant connections! Unless you are willing to pay even more, just the normal price won't get you a Spatial Inventory."

"Are they that rare?" Linfel narrowed his eyes. "I truly used some of the most simple primordial runes from the past, you know? I noticed that only these very simple runes still work in this world. Any better than that, and the runes can't even take shape. Just so that you know, pretty much any idiot could create a Spatial Store... errr... You call it Spatial Inventory, right? Anyway, it's truly nothing worth mentioning at all."

Alvin sat on his bed, already feeling tired even though he had just woken up. "Linfel, this is big! Just like I told you to not mention your ability to clean Magic Energy, you should also not tell anyone you can do such things. That will definitely expose your secret as a Wisp."

Linfel quickly nodded. "Alright, I won't. Seems like it was the right decision to wait to come here before doing that."

*Plin!*

Alvin then received a message in his MCOM. Yet, it was a number he had never seen before. Looking at the message, he turned to Linfel. "You... can use your MCOM while still inside the Spatial Inventory?"

"Oh! You got it?" Linfel was happy. "I didn't know if the MCOM would receive the signal while in there. Seems like it did. Very convenient."

Felia shook her head. "Master, forget it. We will go crazy if we keep feeling impressed by everything this guy does."

Alvin could only accept that. "Yes, you are right... hehehe... he can use the items inside the spatial inventory... hehehe..."

Felia tried to put those thoughts away. "Well, Linfel... At least you can pretend you are using an MCOM made for Familiars."

Linfel agreed. "That's exactly what I was intending to do when I bought it. Besides, because the Familiars' MCOMs are so much smaller, they are also a lot more expensive. That's why I opted for this method."

"Expensive?" Alvin quickly remembered something. "Right! I saw the model of your MCOM. It's a Ratax Model VAA812. It costs at least 90 Academy Credits. Did... you steal it?"

Linfel felt wronged. "Fuck you! I, your grandfather, am I proper and upright Wisp! I've never stolen anything in my life! I just completed a Mission last night and got 100 Academy Credits. That's all."

"A mission for 100 Academy Credits?" Felia and Alvin found it strange. "Were you lucky enough to take a Mission that none of the upper-ranked classes wanted?"

"Not really," Linfel then explained what happened during the next few minutes. "And that's how I got 100 Academy Credits. I also found a very good source of Magic Energy for free, so I'll be going there every night from now on."

Alvin couldn't help but say. "You said many times your Wisp Race was the weakest... I'm starting to doubt that was truly the case."