I Refuse To Be A Mage - Chapter 5

Ji Chi felt that his roommate was simply a Western version of Monk Tang. When he was just an observer, he could be driven half to death by his personality, but when he truly enjoyed this kind of compassionate treatment—

Hehe, he’s really thoughtful and considerate~

Like hell!

Ji Chi now only felt overwhelming guilt. If it weren’t for the fact that he currently had no offensive skills and exposing his wealth would only bring trouble, he would have wanted to deck out his little roommate from head to toe with orange equipment.

Your big brother is really rich! Trust me, please—

Ji Chi roared inwardly while maintaining an expressionless face.

He said nothing, just walked quickly to the academy gate, found a small centaur carriage, swiftly pulled out a gold coin with nimble hands, and quickly instructed, “Two people, to Central Street.”

The centaur beast-man pulling the carriage first looked at the gold coin with burning eyes, then shook his head in embarrassment, “Sorry, going to Central Street only costs two copper coins. One gold coin is too much, I can’t make change.”

Are you really this honest in real life! Do you know how much it costs to use a teleportation array once in the game? One hundred and eighty! Gold coins!

Ji Chi didn’t know how to react for a moment.

Evan was chasing after Ji Chi from behind, panting heavily as he caught up. “Why… did you suddenly walk so fast…”

Soon, he spotted the gold coin in Ji Chi’s hand with his sharp eyes, smiled knowingly, and pulled out two copper coins from his money pouch, placing them in the centaur’s palm. “To Central Street, thank you.”

After the two sat side by side in the narrow carriage, Evan saw Ji Chi still clutching the gold coin in his palm and pushed him, “Don’t daydream, put it away quickly. Gold coins are too precious and can easily be robbed.”

Ji Chi came to his senses, slowly put the gold coin warmed by his body temperature into his pocket, and looked down at his empty palm. “I was just thinking about how to make money.”

How to reasonably bring out so many gold coins, Ji Chi added in his mind.

Evan showed a “that’s right” expression of relief and shared without reservation, “You can use your own magic to make money, and it can also serve as practice for your magic proficiency! Like me with light magic, I seal it in crystal stones to make light amulets and sell them. Many believers and adventurers need them.”

“I remember you have fire magic…” Evan thought for a while, his eyes lighting up. “You could make fire bottles to sell! I saw many rangers looking to buy them on the street last time. A fire bottle with sufficient fire elements can sell for one silver coin! Selling ten fire bottles would earn you one gold coin!”

Ji Chi didn’t want to save money slowly; he just wanted to get rich quickly.

He was silent for a moment. “What do you think about selling potions?”

Evan looked at him in surprise. “Potions? Uh… high-quality potions do sell for very high prices. Even ordinary potions cost several gold coins per bottle…”

Evan guessed that Ji Chi might have one or two potions left by his family that he wanted to sell directly, so he gently reminded him, “Good potions are very rare. Selling them directly for money is a loss. You should keep them for now. If you don’t have enough money, I can lend you some.”

“Actually…” Ji Chi thought for a moment, turned to look at him, his dark eyes showing rare seriousness, “I am an alchemist.”

“Hahahaha!” After hearing him finish, Evan not only wasn’t surprised but leaned against the carriage wall and laughed, as if he had heard some ridiculous joke. “Then I’ll tell you a secret too—actually, I’m a melee warrior!”

Evan really couldn’t hold back his laughter. In his understanding, a person’s profession talent was given at birth and absolutely could not be changed.

Although racial skills existed, they only made certain races learn potion-making faster than others, but that was far from being professional.

However, what Evan never expected was that after hearing his teasing, Ji Chi seriously thought for a moment. “What a coincidence, actually I also know some swordsmanship.”

“Pffft hahahaha—” Evan’s waist, which had just straightened, bent down again, and his legs went weak, almost kneeling on the ground. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. “I always thought you were very serious before, but I didn’t expect you to be so funny, haha!”

Ji Chi closed his mouth and looked at him silently with a ghostly expression.

Evan laughed and laughed, glanced at Ji Chi’s expression, gradually stopped laughing, and said somewhat helplessly, “Ah… is it, is it true?”

Ji Chi stared at him for a while, curved his lips into a smile, and turned to look at the street scenery. “Just kidding with you.”

Evan was stunned, then burst into laughter again. “Don’t worry, I’m very skilled at making light amulets! The method for making fire bottles should be similar to amulets. I can first teach you how to condense elements in containers, so you can also earn some money with your own magic! And also…”

Evan’s non-stop chatter echoed in his ears, but it didn’t annoy Ji Chi at all. He was even getting used to such noise.

It’s just that he was way too easy to fool, wasn’t he?

****

As expected of beast-men known for their speed, the centaur delivered the two to the edge of Central Street in just five or six minutes.

“Vehicles aren’t allowed to go further ahead. You can get off here. If you want to return to the academy, you can also catch a ride around here.” The centaur stopped at a street corner, turned back to knock on the carriage door, and reminded them.

“Alright, thank you very much.” Ji Chi lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage first.

He looked up, and his eyes showed deep shock.

Central Street was a straight, wide road that seemed endless. It was located in the center of the seven profession academies and was the hub where all professions and races gathered to communicate and trade.

This place concentrated all the high-value transactions of the entire Saint Trilley Empire. No one dared to cause trouble here because Central Street was under the jurisdiction of the direct school of the seven profession academies—Saint Trilley Combat Academy.

Ji Chi had seen this main academy in the game introduction. Rather than calling it a school, it was more like a neutral force formed by multiple races. Previously, when Ji Chi had made enemies, he would habitually go to the academy’s territory to hide because those patrols didn’t care about your faction—they only cared whether you violated the rules.

Central Street was the same. Although dark magic creatures weren’t very welcome, Central Street didn’t restrict their access. During dusk and night, this place almost became the domain of dark creatures.

Evan sidestepped to avoid a fairy’s transparent wings while moving his backpack from his back to his chest, coming to Ji Chi’s side. “Shall we go to Thor’s Tavern? It’s a restaurant run by a great mage, and they offer discounts to Magic Academy students.”

Ji Chi wasn’t familiar with these small details, so he nodded and followed Evan into a small alley beside the main street. A tavern sign flashing with purple lightning was at the very end of the alley.

Evan pushed open the tavern’s heavy wooden door, and the aroma of food and alcohol wafted toward them.

“Welcome~ Oh, Magic Academy students, and new faces too. Are you this year’s freshmen?” A graceful young woman stood at the bar on the left side, wiping a crystal-clear glass with a clean white silk cloth.

“Yes, ma’am. Could I have a berry pie and vegetable stew? And also a honey tea.” Evan glanced at the menu board hanging on the wall and eagerly rattled off a string of dish names—he was starving.

Ji Chi looked seriously at the menu board. The ingredients in this world were similar to his original world, but the flavors weren’t very rich, and the cooking methods were limited to just a few types. So he didn’t dwell on it. “Vegetable salad, grilled short ribs, and a forest black tea, thank you.”

“Haha, alright, alright. You just finished Madam Emma’s class, right? When I finished her class, I was so hungry I almost started gnawing on magic grimoires.” The woman saw Evan’s dejected appearance and giggled, then turned to instruct the kitchen to start preparing the meals.

“Oh, this is… an Eastern little mage?” The woman turned back after giving instructions, her gaze lightly sweeping over Ji Chi and settling on his black hair and black eyes with some curiosity. “I heard that this year the Magic Academy has an Eastern repeating student. That wouldn’t be you, would it?”

Ji Chi hadn’t expected that he had actually debuted with this identity, and felt somewhat complicated. “That’s me…”

Evan worried that this Magic Academy senior might be unfriendly to Ji Chi, so he quickly stepped in front of Ji Chi to defend him. “He repeated for a reason. He’s actually very capable!”

The woman laughed and waved her hand, signaling them not to be nervous. “I know, I know. I’ve encountered repeating students from the Magic Academy before too.”

She showed a nostalgic expression. “He was also very capable. Do you know? Reize eventually became the most outstanding graduate of our class. He should be at least a four-winged angel by now, right?”

“An angel?” Evan was surprised. “Aren’t angels born as beginner-level light mages? How could he repeat?”

“He’s not a pure-blood angel. His mother was a human thunder mage, so he could use both light and thunder elements.” The woman looked envious. “Sounds impressive, right? He later became truly impressive, but before he was 17, he couldn’t use any magic at all.”

“Wow… dual-element magic…” Evan sighed. “He must be an angel blessed by the God of Light.”

The woman covered her mouth and laughed. “Indeed. Even the Angel Kingdom, which never wanted to acknowledge mixed-bloods, took him back. I heard that as soon as he returned to the kingdom, he became a candidate for lower-level angel, and he was only 19 then, right?”

While they were chatting, Ji Chi found a waiter and pulled out that gold coin from his pocket again. “We’ll pay together for both of us.”

Waiter: “Alright, the total amount is eight copper coins. Your change is nine silver and two copper.”

Ji Chi caught the handful of small coins and calculated in his mind: one gold coin equals ten silver coins equals one hundred copper coins. The math was quite simple, and prices weren’t high either.

Evan finished chatting and turned back, only then discovering that Ji Chi had already paid for the meal. “Huh? Why did you pay for my meal too? Didn’t you say you wanted to save money?”

Ji Chi picked up a piece of freshly served berry pie and stuffed it into his chattering mouth. “This is an Eastern custom—you must treat your roommate to a meal when school starts.”

Evan puffed out his cheeks, chewing the hot, sweet berry pie, half-believing. “Really?”

Ji Chi raised his black tea and gently clinked it against Evan’s cup, curving his lips. “Really. Please take care of me in the future, Mr. Evan.”

Evan was stunned, then smiled warmly and also clinked his cup, “Please take care of me too, Mr. Ji Chi.”

The relaxed environment, delicious food, and a compatible friend—Ji Chi cut a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. The rich aroma of fat and spices stimulated his taste buds and nerves, and his eyes were full of smiles.

If this transmigration was truly the will of some deity, he was willing to worship it for the rest of his life.