Gerald grabbed a new shirt and put it on, before going out for a walk. But prior to leaving the city, he paid a visit to a blacksmith. He went there to order two silver bracelets for his Earth Crystals.

The material and work came up to fifty silver coins in total. Gerald did not try to bargain or anything like that, instead, he even paid more. Another twenty silver coins just so his order would have the priority. Now he would get his bracelets in a few hours instead of having to wait a few days.

He also left the required Earth Crystals with the blacksmith so the guy could combine them with the bracelet.

He then left Geldern and went to his usual training spot to the south.

Without wasting any time, he quickly steadied his mind and prepared to cast a spell. He extended his hands and gathered Mana before saying, "Earth Wall!"

The ground lightly shook and not even a second later, a mass of dirt lifted up from the ground and created a wall about two meters high, two meters long, and about one meter thick.

Gerald examined his creation and nodded, "Good, the structure seems stable. It also only uses 2 MP, so it's not too expensive." He took a few steps back and extended his hand, saying, "Fireball!"

The projectile flew towards the Earth Wall and exploded on contact. After the flames subsided, a big hole could be seen on the top part of the wall. Parts were already cracked and it seemed it like could handle only one more Fireball before crumbling.

Gerald observed for a few more seconds before commenting, "Hmm, the structure seems stable until it's attacked. It's about what you would expect from dirt. Not a good material to build a defense."

He took a few Earth Crystals from his pocket and cast another spell, "Stone Wall!"

Once again, the ground trembled but then a wall of stone came out of the ground. It was about the same size as the Earth Wall, just the thickness was halved.

Gerald frowned for a while and complained, "Even though I made it only half a meter thick it already consumed 4 MP." He sighed, "I really need to get more Ether Crystals. This handful of pebbles will never be enough. They are so unpure as well…" he looked at the Earth Crystals with a heavy heart.

He got these crystals from wolves, and because they were really young, the crystals were similarly really bad quality. They took a lot of space, but the amount of Mana they could store was minuscule.

He already came to know a bit more about the different grades of Ether Crystals. These Earth Crystals he had currently, were poor-quality. They were each the size of a thumb and only contained 2 MP. Even just the next grade, low-quality, contained ten times as much Mana in the same volume.

The price of each MP for poor-quality Elemental Crystals was around five silver. Of course, if it was an Earth Crystal, then the price was even lower. They were everywhere and they didn't have much use.

They couldn't really be used in jewelry since not many people liked having brown gems on gold or silver. Besides, the poor-quality gems also took up a lot of space for their minuscule Mana-storing capacity.

There was that Spellcaster from Iron Hawks, Eneth. His staff, for example, had a low-quality Earth Crystal the size of a fist, and it contained 100 MP. Now, if someone wanted to use the poor-quality Earth Crystals to get the same amount of Mana, they would take ten times as much space. It just wasn't practical.

The price, of course, went up with the quality of the crystal. The low-quality Elemental Crystals started at one gold coin for each 10 MP, and that was for Earth Crystals. For some rarer elements, the price even doubled.

Next was the medium-grade. Those cost one gold coin for each MP. It was expensive, of course, but the advantages were great. A fist-sized Earth Crystal would contain around 1000 MP but would also cost around one thousand gold.

That's why only rich people could afford really good equipment if they wanted to be a mage. Everybody else had to work for years, even decades, slowly upgrading their accessories.

Things would, of course, change if they became famous. Then they could then demand high prices if someone wanted to hire them.

Gerald cast the Stone Wall spell a few more times to get used to it. He even tested how the wall would handle if it was slanted. It was all good if the angle was not too great. When the wall was slanted more than forty degrees, it would usually fall over or crack at the base. It was not the sturdiest stone after all.

Still, Gerald considered the results good enough. He didn't have much choice, really. People really didn't like sharing their spells, even if they were widely known.

If he joined the Magic Academy, he could then learn a few spells there. Too bad they were only the simples and weakest spells, so he didn't bother.

After the training, Gerald went to the Crystal dragon Inn, as per usual, and ordered his standard meal. While he waited, he took out a notebook and wrote down his new observations and insights into magic.

He also started his very own Monster Guide book. He drew, to great detail, all animals and monsters he fought up to now.

He recorded their attacking styles and abilities, as well as weaknesses that could be exploited if they even hand any.

While Gerald was focused on his books, a figure was patiently observing him from the door. Suddenly it moved and with large steps, it traversed the hall and bumped into the waiter carrying a tray of food.

"Excuse me…" the figure said and squeezed past the waiter.

The waiter didn't pay him any attention as stuff like that happened often. What he didn't notice, however, was that a dark liquid spread in the beer and quickly mixed with the alcohol. With the dark wood of the mug, the difference was almost impossible to spot.

The figure quickly stored the empty vial in his hand and sat down in a corner, intently observing as the waiter brought the food to Gerald's table. Now all he had to do was wait.

Gerald also didn't notice any difference as he ate. He was eating with one hand and scribbling with the other. Time flew by, and he already ordered the second refill of his beer.

The guy in the corner stared at him intently, silently waiting. He only ordered one mug of beer to blend in with the crowd. Suddenly his eyes enlarged as he stared at Gerald who started to clear his throat and lightly cough.

He took the mug of beer and brought it to his lips to hide his giant grin. He was observing how Gerald struggled to breathe while coughing hard. He drank his beer in excitement until his eyes suddenly bulged out and he nearly choked on the beer himself.

Gerald coughed for a few minutes and the people around him started to get annoyed and were quietly complaining. Then, with one last cough, a ball of black goo flew out of his throat and landed on the table. Nobody noticed except the guy in the corner.

He watched in horror as the black goo suddenly lifted in the air and slowly floated towards Gerald and landed in a vial in his hand. He corked the vial and stored it in his pouch. Then he slowly finished his meal before paying and leaving the Crystal Dragon Inn.

The man in the corner was still shaking in disbelief. Cold sweat was pouring down his back. He quickly stood up and threw a few coins on the table before running after Gerald. He watched in horror as he saw him go straight to the Guild.

Not wasting any more of his precious time, he ran back to the Serrell mansion to report.