48 Aspects

While Adam was gently massaging his forehead in an aggrieved manner, Berger was intently inspecting the potions the youth had brought.

After a few minutes of scrutiny, Berger shook his head with slight disappointment. "This batch of Broken Oath is identical to the ones already in the market."

Deep down he was expecting Adam to once again bring a new recipe for the potion, but he was simply wishful thinking. Apart from that, he was quite impressed by Adam's progress in herbalism.

"You seem to have improved a lot, boy." The old gnome nodded in approval.

Adam replied smugly, "Of course! I'm a genius, kekeke!"

However, inwardly he was thinking, How can my herbalism not improve when I have thousands of years worth of experience in my head?

Berger simply rolled his eyes at the youth. He didn't care to admonish such behavior, after all, Adam had every right to be arrogant. In fact, even his own rate of progress couldn't match Adam's.

He kept the five crystal vials away and got to business. "4 platinum coins a piece."

Adam nodded in understanding. Strength potions were less valuable than healing potions, so naturally they would cost less.

But money wasn't what he was here for today. He had already sold quite a lot of healing potions in the past month and his net worth was close to 150 platinum coins now.

He took out an ancient-looking black tome from his satchel and placed it on the counter. Then, he spoke with shining eyes, "Sir, I finally managed to learn the language required to read this book."

"Oh?" Berger was pleasantly surprised. He spoke with raised eyebrows, "I didn't expect you to learn the language so quickly."

Adam made a distressed face. "It was very difficult to learn it. I had to spend a lot of coins in the Savant Tower to be able to learn this language. It's completely unlike the common language we speak in the Southern Federation."

"Of course it's difficult to learn, you fool!" Berger scolded. "How can you even compare the Mauri Language to the common language of the secular world?"

By now Adam was used to the grumpy gnome's constant scolding. Thus, he asked curiously, "Old Sir, what sort of background does this language have? I remember you said you found this tome in an ancient ruin back when you were young. What type of ruin was it?"

Berger smoked from his pipe and patiently explained, "Legend has it that the Mauri Language was jointly created by the ancient Mind Dragons and the first gnomes. That is why you'll see traces of Draconic and Gnomish languages in it. It is also essential for all Magi who deal with the spiritual aspect of magic."

"Whoa!!" Adam was so fascinated by this new piece of knowledge.

He had learned at the academy that dragons were an ancient race. They were very powerful and magical creatures, but also very reclusive in nature.

One could only come across a dragon if they were extremely fortunate. So it was a surreal experience to learn something that was said to have been created by dragons!

But there was one thing he didn't quite understand. Hence, he asked, "Sir, how did gnomes get involved with the Mind Dragons?"

Berger's face revealed great pride as he replied, "Us gnomes have the highest affinity to Illusion Magic compared to any other species in the world. So it is only natural that my ancestors would work with the Mind Dragons in creating this secret language."

Adam nodded his head in understanding. He began rubbing his chin, deep in thought. A few moments later, he asked, "You mentioned the spiritual aspect of magic, can you please explain? And how does it relate to Illusion Magic?"

If it was earlier, Berger would have smacked Adam on the forehead and told him to ask the teachers in the academy. But now things were different.

Since Adam had shown interest in embarking on the path of the Illusionist, Berger didn't mind disclosing some important knowledge. After all, Adam was a great seedling. Not only did the kid have great talent in herbalism, but also in the School of Illusion.

The gnome began, "There are 8 Schools of Magic as you already know. These 8 schools can be further divided into 2 aspects - the physical aspect and the spiritual aspect."

Adam hurriedly took out his grimoire from his satchel and began taking down important notes. Seeing this, Berger didn't mind.

He continued, "The Schools of Invocation, Alteration, and Warding fall within the physical aspect. Whereas the Schools of Illusion, Enchantment, and Divination fall under the spiritual aspect."

"Sir, then what about the School of Summoning and Necromancy?" Adam asked, puzzled.

Berger puffed smoke out of his mouth and explained, "These two Schools of Magic are special. They belong to neither aspect, but at the same time, they belong to both aspects."

"What do you mean?"

"Hehe," Berger smirked. "I'm afraid those five vials of Broken Oath can only buy you so much information."

Adam's lips twitched and he thought to himself, This cheap bugger!

But in the end, he decided not to buy the rest of the information. He'd be taught this at the academy anyway. He had come here to trade for information regarding spirit familiar but he got sidetracked.

Now he had to trade something else with the old gnome to get what he was actually here for.

Adam combed through the memories of the Hebralist powerhouse and finally found something that would be of great interest to the gnome. He grabbed a parchment paper from his satchel and began writing on it with a feather quill.

Berger glanced at the parchment paper, wondering what the brat was up to. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he spoke in pleasant surprise.

"Oh? Interesting!"

After writing down the entire recipe in detail, Adam handed the parchment paper to the old gnome. He smugly asked, "Hehe, what do you think?"

Berger read the whole recipe and began laughing. "Hahaha! Not bad, not bad at all."

What Adam had given Berger was a wine recipe. The powerhouse's memories contained tons of wine recipes. Adam picked a random one and gave it to the old gnome who loved indulging in wine and tobacco.

He looked up at Berger, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Sir, I'd like your help setting up a ritual to contract a spirit familiar!"