Chapter 307: Exchange

The Oath of Love essentially bound two people together—so long as one remained alive, the other wouldn’t truly die.

But what did “truly die” mean?

Helag wasn’t entirely sure, but he knew he wouldn’t be using this wizard tool.

He had no idea how the Oath of Love was created, but it seemed to be pushing the limits of a first-level wizard tool.

After browsing through the options, Helag decided to exchange for the Scapegoat Doll.

It was the most valuable item for him at the moment, offering the best cost-benefit ratio.

Of course, the main reason was that he couldn’t afford anything better.

After finishing his search through the wizard tools, Helag checked out the wizard array materials.

As a first-level wizard array master, it was embarrassing that he didn’t have any materials related to arrays.

“Book of Arcane: First-level wizard array material. Can be used to set up most first-level arrays and a few second-level arrays.”

“Exchange Requirements: 50 Magic Stones and 5 Contribution Points.”

Though the Book of Arcane was a first-level material, it could still be used for a small number of second-level arrays, though its effectiveness would be limited.

Using first-level materials for second-level arrays generally meant they wouldn’t last long, as the materials would wear out under high stress.

Helag noted that this was the cheapest array material available—everything else was more expensive.

“Arcane Dagger: First-level wizard array material. Can be used to set up most first-level arrays and some second-level arrays.”

“Exchange Requirements: 100 Magic Stones and 10 Contribution Points.”

The Arcane Dagger had only one word different from the Book of Arcane, yet its contribution point cost was double.

Helag guessed that the Arcane Dagger was of much higher quality, allowing for more second-level arrays to be set up.

Though the difference seemed small, the price gap was significant.

Helag decided to buy ten copies of the Book of Arcane, enough to last him for a while.

After completing his purchases, Helag glanced at his remaining contribution points and felt a pang of poverty.

“Historical Contribution Points: 360.”

“Remaining Contribution Points: 90.”

“Miss Alice, I’ve made my selections,” Helag said, putting down his communication stone.

Alice nodded. “Alright, give me a moment.”

She pulled out her own communication stone and tapped on it for a while.

Then, she placed her basket in front of Helag, and suddenly, it was filled with items.

“Here are the things you selected. Take them,” Alice said.

Helag looked inside and saw the spell model books for Life Bud, Immovable Stone, Water Skin, and Dark Gold Armor, along with ten thick red books, and a small, unimpressive straw doll.

The Scapegoat Doll was no bigger than the palm of his hand, its rough appearance making it look like something a child had made.

Helag stored the spell model books and the Book of Arcane in his spatial ring, while he fiddled with the Scapegoat Doll in his hand.

“You just need to drop your blood on it to complete the binding process,” Alice reminded him.

Helag nodded and stored the doll in his spatial ring.

He wasn’t about to bind it here.

After all, Helag wasn’t sure what kind of being Alice was or how powerful she might be.

His blood contained the power of the Ancestor of Thunder, and if Alice noticed something unusual, it could spell trouble.

Abyssal cultists only worshipped entities from the Abyss Plane, but if his bloodline was discovered, he would likely be treated as an evil god from the Abyss.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” Alice asked with a smile.

Helag shook his head. “No, I’m out of contribution points for now. I’ll save the rest for next time. Thank you for your help, Miss Alice!”

He knew better than to spend all his contribution points at once. Every point had to be used wisely.

The remaining 90 points would be saved for his next visit, when he could exchange for even better items.

Helag planned to return once his historical contribution points surpassed 600, hoping to find more valuable things then.

Until that time, he would save as much as possible.

Alice slung her basket over her arm and smiled. “In that case, you can leave now. You can’t stay here too long.”

Helag nodded. “Understood.”

He turned and left. The place felt a bit eerie, and he didn’t want to linger any longer than necessary.

As he walked away, Helag had the distinct feeling that Alice was watching him the entire time.

When he reached the entrance, the path was still paved with the Screaming Stones.

Helag glanced back, but Alice was nowhere to be seen. The empty hall behind him looked completely normal.

“Ooooh~”

The Screaming Stones let out their strange, satisfied sound as Helag stepped on them, causing him to frown in annoyance.

When he reached the black metal gate, it opened automatically, waiting for him to leave.

Helag didn’t waste any time and walked through, the gate closing behind him.

The humanoid figure from earlier didn’t appear, nor was there any sound.

Helag wasn’t sure if the figure in the gate was Alice. Their voices were identical, but he had a feeling they weren’t the same person.

But that wasn’t his concern for now, so he didn’t dwell on it.

Helag walked a short distance and saw that the carriage was still there, with the driver fast asleep at the reins.

“Wake up, it’s time to go,” Helag called out.

The driver woke up immediately, scrambling to get down from the carriage. “Ah, you’re back, sir! Please, get in. We’ll leave right away.”

Helag climbed into the carriage, and the driver quickly took his place and started the journey back.

***

Back at home, Helag went to his study and took out the four spell model books he had just purchased.

“Deep Blue, scan and record these four first-level spells, then begin constructing the corresponding spell models.”

“Task logged. Now executing…”

“Spell models for Life Bud, Immovable Stone, Water Skin, and Dark Gold Armor have been recorded. Please choose the construction order.”

Helag thought for a moment. The order didn’t really matter—they were all the same to him.

“Follow the order they’re listed in,” Helag instructed.

“Task logged. Estimated time: four hours and fifteen minutes. Estimated mana consumption: 53.2%.”

In Helag’s mind, Deep Blue began working, using his mental energy to construct the spell model for Life Bud.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

While Deep Blue worked on constructing the spell models, Helag opened the books and began reading through them.

Deep Blue could help him quickly build the spell models, but understanding and mastering them was something he had to do on his own.