"The bounty was posted by the Magic Research Society. It mainly involves knowledge exchange. The number 27 after the name is its code here at the Traveler's Rest, and the number in front of the listing is the task ID." Delira followed Anser's gaze and explained with a smile.
"27 is also the task category code. The Magic Research Society can occupy an entire section of the crystal task board by itself—ordinary organizations don't get that kind of treatment."
"What kind of organization is the Magic Research Society?" Anser asked. He had only heard of the Wizard Guild and the Mage Association.
"It's a society formed by spellcasters. Its headquarters seems to be on the continent of Faerûn on Toril—similar to the Wizard Guild. I've heard it has several legendary spellcasters, but it mainly recruits Wizards, not Sorcerers." Delira said meaningfully.
"Actually… I'm a Wizard," Anser said calmly.
"That joke's a bit cold." Delira clearly didn't believe him.
A Sorcerer's talent could be sensed. With Anser's Charisma so high, he had to be a Sorcerer—becoming a Wizard was just too far-fetched.
Anser didn't argue. He raised his hand and pointed at the first task. "Has anyone taken that bounty?"
"Probably." Delira sounded uncertain; she hadn't been paying attention to these.
Although she was also a spellcaster, orthodox Wizards didn't think much of hybrid classes like hers. Combined with her race, she had almost no connection with organizations like the Wizard Guild.
"I'll take this bounty." Anser stepped toward the window beneath the crystal task board.
"Hey," Delira quickly caught up and teased, "you didn't steal your mentor's manuscript, did you? That doesn't count—you need authorization from the original author."
"Heh, prejudice." Anser waved his hand and walked straight to the quiet counter.
Inside sat a young human man in a white mage robe. Seeing someone approach, he immediately turned and asked in Common, "Taking a task or turning one in?"
"Taking a bounty. ID 27-1039." Anser reported the number corresponding to the listing.
"Mm… hmm?" The young attendant glanced at Anser, then lowered his head to check the task register carefully, then looked back at him again. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Sir, are you sure you want to accept the spell model bounty issued by the Magic Research Society?"
"Yes. Is there any restriction?" Anser asked.
"No restrictions. Anyone can take it, no registration required. However, this task requires on-site delivery and evaluation. The representative of the issuing party is currently in Room 27. Will you complete the bounty now or after some time?" The attendant was very patient.
He was just a servant of the Traveler's Rest, not the owner—he couldn't afford to offend any adventurer who came here.
"Now." Anser nodded decisively.
"Do you have an identity badge?"
"No."
The attendant took out a platinum card from below and handed it to Anser. "Here. Number 9528. You can write your alias on the back. If it's lost, your points will be reset to zero and cannot be recovered—you'll have to get a new one…"
Anser was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the process to be so simple—no information needed to be registered.
He took the card and immediately sensed a trace of magical fluctuation. It was a magic item. On the front was a simple sketch of an astral spelljammer beast, and in the lower right corner was a string of numbers: 9528.
"I've already notified Room 27. Just follow the spirit." The attendant tapped the glass bottle beside him. A blue female spirit drifted out, looking half-asleep.
It grabbed the task slip from the attendant's side, floated past the counter, and drifted toward the other side, looking drowsy, almost like it was sleepwalking.
Anser hurried to follow.
Delira followed as well, burning with curiosity, practically itching to find out more.
The spirit moved along one side of the hall, passed through a door into a spacious corridor, then found Room 27 near the inner section and rang the bell.
A moment later, the door opened silently, revealing a large room of several dozen square meters. It was luxuriously furnished—carpets, sofas, tables, chairs, bookshelves, wine cabinets… everything was exquisite, and the materials looked extraordinary.
As soon as Anser stepped inside, he immediately sensed the active yet stable magical energy in the room. The magic within his body also became lively.
'No antimagic field in the room—nice design.' He nodded inwardly.
Behind the desk, an elderly man with white hair and beard raised his head. His gaze passed over the spirit and Delira, then landed on Anser, his eyes filled with confusion.
The spirit casually tossed the task slip onto the desk, then drifted to a sofa in the corner of the room, curled up, and fell asleep.
"Please, both of you, have a seat. You can call me Jiandar."
The old man seemed used to this. He gestured for them to sit, picked up the task slip, raised his brows slightly, and looked at Anser. "You're a Wizard?"
Anser sat across from him, took out a spellbook from his dragonhide pouch, didn't open it, and focused to cast.
"Unseen Servant" (in Netherese)
After the incantation, an invisible, mindless, shapeless Medium force appeared on the carpet, pressing it down into a shallow indentation.
'Go pour me a cup of water.' Anser issued a mental command.
The unseen servant slowly drifted over, placed a teacup in front of Anser, then lifted the teapot and filled it.
Jiandar and Delira both focused their senses, their expressions growing more and more astonished. A first-circle spell wasn't rare—but casting it purely with Magic Power so skillfully was extremely uncommon.
In truth, Magic Power casting had always existed—but it was exceedingly rare. With the Weave being so convenient, why bother with something inefficient like this?
A creature's lifespan was limited—no one could afford to waste time. Advancing to higher tiers faster was the proper path.
That was why, even after weeks since the bounty was posted, the Magic Research Society had only received dozens of spell models. Most of them were difficult to cast, let alone stable—the results had been far from ideal.
Seeing their reactions, Anser smiled inwardly. Today's deal would probably go through.
"Wizard Jiandar, what do you think?"
"Excellent. What's your name, and who is your mentor?" Jiandar stroked his beard, smiling.
"My name is Drizzt. I didn't learn this from a mentor. Let's talk about the price." Anser needed a lot—a lot—of money, to get some legendary equipment and local specialties.
Delira's mouth twitched. She looked at Anser speechlessly. Even picking a fake name, he couldn't bother trying—he just used the name of the dark elf protagonist from epic tales. Seriously…
Jiandar's expression didn't change. It was unclear whether he hadn't heard of it or simply didn't care. After thinking for a moment, he said: "As long as it can be cast normally, a first-circle spell model is worth one thousand pounds of gold. If it can reach the level you just demonstrated, I'll add another thousand pounds of gold."
"Additionally, you'll become an official member of the Magic Research Society. Your spell models will be protected as knowledge. Every time someone purchases one, you'll receive twenty percent of the revenue—for a hundred years."
Anser's eyes lit up. "How many members do we have?"
"About a hundred or so." Jiandar smiled slightly. "Spellcasters outside the society can also purchase our spells, as long as they sign a confidentiality agreement."
Anser took a deep breath, as if seeing himself drowned in gold.
'Wait… calm down. I only know a dozen spells.' He steadied himself. His strength was still low—he couldn't be too high-profile.
He opened the dragonhide pouch, took out an Alarm scroll, and placed it on the table. "Wizard Jiandar, this is an Alarm scroll I just copied. Take a look."
Jiandar carefully unrolled the scroll. His eyes grew brighter and brighter, and a smile spread uncontrollably across his face.
During this period, the Magic Research Society had received some decent spell models—but none were as refined, concise, and aesthetically pleasing as this one. Its maturity was extremely high—it didn't look like something constructed on the fly.
'Perhaps it's from some traditional Wizard lineage that insists on Magic Power casting… I knew it. I knew it…'
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