novelraw Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Legendary Staff
“Sealed?” Lina raised an eyebrow. “Could it be that this hat is also a containment item?”
“Yes,” the shopkeeper nodded. “But it currently hasn’t exhibited any harmful properties. Both the Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association have classified its danger level as E-grade, and they’ve permitted us to sell or transfer it.”
“I see…” Lina nodded. Magic item shops like Arcane Heart didn’t just sell conventional magical equipment; they also offered some special containment items.
The Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association had a detailed set of standards for such saleable containment items, but one of the most important rules was that all containment items could only be sold to officially certified witches and wizards.
Lina left Annie downstairs in the main hall to browse around and followed the shopkeeper up to the second-floor vault.
The decor here was extremely minimalistic. Rows of metal cabinets stood on both sides, each door neatly labeled with containment item tags, and every cabinet bore records of periodic monitoring and maintenance.
The shopkeeper led Lina to the third cabinet and took out a key from a storage ring.
The cabinet door slowly opened, revealing what appeared to be an unremarkable black standard witch hat, devoid of any extra decoration.
She introduced it in a low voice, “This containment item is numbered E-3999, named 【Narrator’s Hat】.”
“It does not possess any living characteristics. The Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association have yet to determine its material composition. Its durability is astonishing—even large-caliber magic-powered machine guns cannot leave a scratch on its surface.”
“When worn, the set effects corresponding to magic robes of epic quality or below are automatically activated. However, it itself does not provide any stat bonuses other than physical defense.”
“This containment item occasionally creates illusions in the wearer’s mind. According to testers, it depicts a world completely different from reality—like a boundless ocean. Beneath it lies a mysterious gray-white rotating symbol, along with a large number of cryptic characters. To this day, no one has been able to decipher their origin.”
Lina nodded as she listened.
Setting aside the side effects of this containment item, its effect seemed powerful at first glance, but was actually somewhat underwhelming.
By itself, it was a blank item. During the transitional phase when one couldn’t complete a three-piece set, it could serve to activate set bonuses.
In the game, the base attributes of equipment would automatically collapse when viewed on the panel, which often created the illusion that three-piece set effects were extremely important.
But in reality, for equipment below legendary grade, very few three-piece set bonuses could outperform simply equipping one additional item of the same quality—forcing in a blank item just to complete a set was hardly worth it.
However, what Lina cared about was something else: this hat had high physical defense!
If it couldn’t be used as a hat, maybe it could be used as a shield!
“Oh right, after you wear this hat, its appearance will automatically switch to match the corresponding set’s hat, so there’s no need to worry about its looks.”
Lina carefully took out the hat and weighed it in her hand.
So light! It felt as if it had no weight at all!
The material felt like ordinary canvas, yet the entire hat had no loose threads or seams—it was perfectly seamless, flawless as a single piece.
“How much is this hat?” Lina asked.
“You can purchase it directly for thirty gold dragons. Alternatively, if you spend over one hundred gold dragons in the shop, we can give it to you for free as a complimentary item.”
“By the way, the spending amount is calculated based on your actual payment. In other words, it must exceed one hundred gold dragons after discounts to qualify,” the shopkeeper said unhurriedly, as if she had seen through Lina’s little scheme.
Damn it! So it was that kind of wordplay!
Lina calculated silently:
She definitely still needed to buy a proper witch hat—about 40 gold dragons for a decent one.
Although the standard-issue staff from the Witch Association wasn’t bad, weapons were different from armor; she still needed to pick one that suited her. The Association’s could serve as a backup.
She should set aside around 30–50 for a staff.
Then there were consumables like common potions, magic imprint paper, and other miscellaneous materials—another 30 gold dragons…
Adding it all up, even after discounts, it really would exceed one hundred!
Lina nodded with a pained expression. “Mm, got it… Let’s head downstairs first. I’ll pick out some other things.”
After returning to the first floor, Lina saw Annie curled up on the sofa in the hall like a little cat, eyes closed as she napped peacefully.
Aside from attending classes with other students during the day, Annie was also dragged by Lina into her room at night along with Sibyl for extra lessons.
Lina had principles—if they paid extra, she would definitely provide extra tutoring. Absolutely no shady money!
And then every night, she would lock the two pretty girls in the room…
…to make them grind math practice problems relentlessly.
That was also the reason behind Sibyl’s earlier dark circles.
Back then, Fennis had been poor at mathematics and hadn’t even learned a proper offensive spell. Lina didn’t want her disciples in this life to repeat the same mistakes.
Pulling her thoughts back, Lina followed the shopkeeper lightly to the staff display case. At a glance, she took a liking to a wooden staff on the bottom shelf that was nearly as tall as she was.
It leaned quietly in the corner, completely out of place among the surrounding staffs inlaid with luxurious gemstones and carved with intricate patterns.
Its shaft was made from dark “Iron Thornwood,” a magical wood renowned for its hardness and toughness, with strength comparable to alloy.
A dark alloy ferrule with an inverted cone-shaped tip tightly sealed the amplification core at the top of the staff, while the bottom end had a similar metal cone design.
The shopkeeper laid the staff flat and located the double safety clasp on the top metal cone ferrule.
She unfastened it, revealing a cluster of dark red “Crimson Flame Ore” crystals before Lina’s eyes.
“This is an improved version of the Holy War Army Third Legion’s standard ‘Fortitude’ staff. It removes the legion-grade magic runes and connection interfaces required by military regulations, retains the fire-attribute amplification core, and adds a simple enhancement slot.”
The shopkeeper flipped the staff over and unscrewed the metal cone at the bottom, revealing a slightly smaller socket than the one at the top.
“Its quality is ‘Excellent.’ The original price is 35 gold dragons. If you purchase enhancement stones together with it, there will be an additional discount.”
Lina took the staff, gripped it with both hands, and gave it a forceful swing. The sound of it cutting through the air was steady, and the feel was solid—weighty and satisfying.
She tried channeling a faint trace of magic into it. Instantly, the ring of Crimson Flame Ore at the tip lit up with a warm red glow, and the surrounding fire elements became unusually active.
She gently placed her hand above the staff, and its description flashed through her mind:
【Elite Legion Standard Staff · Modified】 (Quality: Excellent)
Magic Attack +70 Physical Attack +30 Base Magic Damage +10% Fire Magic Damage +30% Mana Consumption -20% Enhancement Affix: None
“Not bad, not bad—this is practically a peerless sap! The black bread stick can finally retire with honor!”
Lina put the sap—…ahem, the staff—back on the table and turned to ask, “How much are your enhancement stones?”
“For an Excellent-quality staff, the matching basic enhancement stones range from about 10 to 20 gold dragons,” the shopkeeper explained patiently. “Of course, you can also buy monster cores and process them yourself.”
Lina did a quick calculation. Buying magic cores directly would indeed be cheaper, but those things… the attributes of enhancement stones produced from them were completely random, just like drawing from a gacha.
Excellent-quality staffs or armor usually had one enhancement slot, Fine-quality had two, Epic-quality had three, Legendary-quality had four, and artifacts had four standard slots plus an additional special enhancement slot.
It could be said that in her previous life, Lina had poured more than half her savings into enhancement stones.
Forget it—she couldn’t afford to gamble on loot boxes with her current funds. Better to just buy ready-made enhancement stones.
“Do you have enhancement stones that reduce mana consumption?” Lina asked directly.
“What grade would you like?”
“The cheapest.”
“15 gold dragons. If you take it together with the staff, I’ll bundle them for 40.”
“Alright, pack them up for me… hm? Can I take a look at that staff on the very top?”
Lina’s gaze locked straight onto the oddly shaped staff at the very top of the display case.
“Of course. You really have a good eye,” the shopkeeper said with a smile in her voice.
Without using a ladder, she simply tapped the ground lightly with her toe, her body floating up like a feather. Carefully, she reached both hands through the rippling, water-like invisible barrier at the top of the display case and retrieved the staff.
The moment it was placed flat on the dark velvet counter between them, Lina immediately leaned in, her eyes magnetically drawn to it.
The staff was slightly longer than the ones she usually used. Its shaft was made from a deep, dark ancient wood, faintly veined with patterns resembling blood vessels.
At the top of the staff, several small flowers bloomed quietly. Their petals had a translucent, icy crystalline texture, yet within the crystal flowed molten, red-gold veins like lava.
At the center of each flower flickered a wisp of deep blue flame—something about that flame gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
She gently hovered her hand above the staff, and its information flashed through her mind:
【Everburning Frostflame Blossom】 (Quality: Legendary)
Minimum Level Requirement: lv68
Magic Attack +4399 Magic Attack +50%. When used, summons a friendly unit 【Flamefrost Orchid】 to assist in combat, continuously applying an irremovable ‘Netherfire’ effect to enemies, reducing all attribute resistances by 90%, magic defense by 90%, and decreasing attack speed and movement speed by 50% Enhancement Affix: None
This base stat panel wasn’t particularly outstanding among legendary staffs—it was even on the lower end. Its offensive capabilities weren’t strong either, but its support ability made Lina’s eyes light up.
A massive 90% reduction to all resistances and defenses, plus a 50% slow! If it had some decent enhancement affixes… this staff could be used as a support weapon all the way into the late game!
The shopkeeper’s voice came from behind Lina:
“Everburning Frostflame Blossom, legendary quality. This staff has no known creator. It is said to originate from the tree of the underworld, personally cultivated by the Queen of the Underworld at the end of the River Styx, and it possesses extraordinary power.”
“It ranks forty-seventh on the staff rankings and holds dual certification from both the Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association.”
“The company acquired it five years ago at an auction for five hundred thousand gold dragons. It is now stored in this branch, waiting for its destined owner.”
Good heavens, five hundred thousand?!
Lina couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. But after thinking it over, the price did seem reasonable. Legendary-quality staffs available on the market generally ranged from three hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand gold dragons.
There were probably only around sixty staffs of legendary quality or above in the entire world. This one ranked relatively low among them, so the price was fairly appropriate.
But whether it was five hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand, it wasn’t something Lina could even consider. What puzzled her more was why the Cavendish family would store such a valuable staff in a small branch located in a border city.
Sigh, if it’s not mine, I won’t take even a shred of it! That destined owner definitely isn’t me…
In the end, Lina chose a witch hat with physical damage reduction enchantments. Together with the staff, enhancement stone, and various other materials, the total came to 147 gold dragons. After using a discount coupon, it amounted to 117 gold dragons and 6 silver lions.
The staff came with a three-year warranty and five free maintenance services, though Lina felt she wouldn’t be using it for that long anyway.
During this time, she also inquired about the prices of the two magic-powered walkers at the entrance and the machine guns mounted on them, but unfortunately, they were not for sale.
All magic-powered walkers in the world were manufactured by Celestis and classified as official secrets.
Because of this, these mass-produced machines—capable of replacing most D-grade and below witches and wizards—had never appeared in large-scale wars.
After all, no madman had ever thought of attacking that legendary city of magic.
“Your complimentary item will complete registration and transfer procedures in two weeks. You can come to the store to pick it up then, or we can mail it to your address,” the shopkeeper said while packing Lina’s purchases.
“Mail it,” Lina nodded. With a pained expression, she took out the money from her storage ring and placed it into the cashier slot on the counter, leaving her information behind.
According to the regulations of the Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association, all containment items had to undergo full documentation at the Association headquarters during transfer, including registration and updates of the responsible party’s information. This was a mandatory procedure.
“Hey, hey, Annie, wake up!” Lina shook Annie awake. The latter opened her eyes groggily, looking confused. “Sister Lina… is it morning already?”
“…This child, she’s completely out of it. Come on, come on, we still have a commission!” Lina grabbed Annie by the arm and walked out of the magic item shop.
With a “Bang!” as the door closed, the purple-haired witch let out a long breath and slumped inelegantly into the chair behind the counter.
After a while, she shifted her body, leaned over the counter, picked up the receiver of a magic communication device, and dialed a number.
“Boss, the hat has already been sent out according to your arrangements… Yes, that little girl.”
“Good.” A low male voice came from the other end of the communicator.
She hesitated for a moment and said softly, “Today, I also saw the young lady.”
“Mm, that was arranged by her mentor. I’m aware of it.”
“The young lady has become friends with her. Their relationship seems quite good.”
“……”
“Boss?” Seeing the sudden silence on the other end, the purple-haired witch quickly checked the connection, only to find nothing wrong.
After another stretch of silence, the voice on the other end finally spoke flatly:
“Impressive.”
“It ranks forty-seventh on the staff rankings and holds dual certification from both the Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association.”
“The company acquired it five years ago at an auction for five hundred thousand gold dragons. It is now stored in this branch, waiting for its destined owner.”
Good heavens, five hundred thousand?!
Lina couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. But after thinking it over, the price did seem reasonable. Legendary-quality staffs available on the market generally ranged from three hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand gold dragons.
There were probably only around sixty staffs of legendary quality or above in the entire world. This one ranked relatively low among them, so the price was fairly appropriate.
But whether it was five hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand, it wasn’t something Lina could even consider. What puzzled her more was why the Cavendish family would store such a valuable staff in a small branch located in a border city.
Sigh, if it’s not mine, I won’t take even a shred of it! That destined owner definitely isn’t me…
In the end, Lina chose a witch hat with physical damage reduction enchantments. Together with the staff, enhancement stone, and various other materials, the total came to 147 gold dragons. After using a discount coupon, it amounted to 117 gold dragons and 6 silver lions.
The staff came with a three-year warranty and five free maintenance services, though Lina felt she wouldn’t be using it for that long anyway.
During this time, she also inquired about the prices of the two magic-powered walkers at the entrance and the machine guns mounted on them, but unfortunately, they were not for sale.
All magic-powered walkers in the world were manufactured by Celestis and classified as official secrets.
Because of this, these mass-produced machines—capable of replacing most D-grade and below witches and wizards—had never appeared in large-scale wars.
After all, no madman had ever thought of attacking that legendary city of magic.
“Your complimentary item will complete registration and transfer procedures in two weeks. You can come to the store to pick it up then, or we can mail it to your address,” the shopkeeper said while packing Lina’s purchases.
“Mail it,” Lina nodded. With a pained expression, she took out the money from her storage ring and placed it into the cashier slot on the counter, leaving her information behind.
According to the regulations of the Witch Association and the Wizards’ Association, all containment items had to undergo full documentation at the Association headquarters during transfer, including registration and updates of the responsible party’s information. This was a mandatory procedure.
“Hey, hey, Annie, wake up!” Lina shook Annie awake. The latter opened her eyes groggily, looking confused. “Sister Lina… is it morning already?”
“…This child, she’s completely out of it. Come on, come on, we still have a commission!” Lina grabbed Annie by the arm and walked out of the magic item shop.
With a “Bang!” as the door closed, the purple-haired witch let out a long breath and slumped inelegantly into the chair behind the counter.
After a while, she shifted her body, leaned over the counter, picked up the receiver of a magic communication device, and dialed a number.
“Boss, the hat has already been sent out according to your arrangements… Yes, that little girl.”
“Good.” A low male voice came from the other end of the communicator.
She hesitated for a moment and said softly, “Today, I also saw the young lady.”
“Mm, that was arranged by her mentor. I’m aware of it.”
“The young lady has become friends with her. Their relationship seems quite good.”
“……”
“Boss?” Seeing the sudden silence on the other end, the purple-haired witch quickly checked the connection, only to find nothing wrong.
After another stretch of silence, the voice on the other end finally spoke flatly:
“Impressive.”