My Magic Has No Upper Limit

"If you keep working hard, I’m sure you’ll be able to accomplish great things in Magic Potion Science."

"I understand. I won’t get discouraged, Instructor Manlin," Zelir replied earnestly.

"That’s good." Manlin nodded.

"Oh, Instructor Manlin, I have one more small question."

"What is it?"

"Well... are there any cheaper, low-level ingredients I could use to practice extraction?"

Zelir said, "Even a single portion of the Magic Plants needed for a Low Level Recovery Potion costs one Gold Coin. If I fail, it’s a complete waste."

"Are there any cheaper plants I can use for practice? That would save a lot of money."

"Hah..."

Manlin chuckled and shook her head. "You’re not the first to ask. Many Alchemists have tried, but the answer is no."

"Every type of Magic Plant has different properties, so the extraction method and process are also different."

"How can you expect to use the extraction method for one Magic Plant on another? The result will inevitably be failure."

"Therefore, if you want to practice Magic Potion Refining, there’s no other way. You just have to spend your hard-earned money to buy the Magic Plants and keep trying, one portion at a time."

"Of course, you could also wait until your Magic Manipulation Level is much higher before you try. Your success rate would be significantly better then."

"I see..."

Zelir sighed internally.

’So there’s no way to save money, huh?’

Zelir had expected Manlin to produce a large cloth sack of Magic Plants, but instead, she simply unfastened a delicate black silk pouch from her waist.

"Here, these are your Magic Plants. Take them."

"This is..."

Zelir froze for a second, then rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn’t mistaken.

’Isn’t that the Storage Pouch Instructor Lena used during the Monster Hunting event?’

"What is this, Instructor Manlin...?" Zelir didn’t quite understand.

"Didn’t I mention it before? The person with the best performance in the Monster Hunting event would receive a special reward. This is it."

Manlin winked, smiling gently.

"What, or do you think someone else performed better than you?"

"No... it’s just that this is far too valuable..." Zelir was still hesitant to accept.

"It’s nothing, really," Instructor Manlin said. "A Storage Pouch is just useful for lightening your daily load."

"It’s not very useful for Mages like us who don’t go out often, but since you’re an Adventurer, a Storage Pouch will certainly be much more convenient."

"Go on, try it. Permeate it with your Spiritual Power, erase the mark on it, and then replace it with your own. After that, you’ll be able to use it freely."

Manlin handed the Storage Pouch to Zelir.

"Okay."

Zelir took the Storage Pouch and followed Manlin’s instructions.

The Storage Pouch felt as light as any ordinary small cloth pouch.

Zelir closed his eyes and tried to permeate it with his Spiritual Power.

Sure enough, he felt a resisting force.

’So this is the Spirit Mark...’

Zelir then increased the infusion of his Spiritual Power, and the resisting force gradually weakened until it vanished completely.

As Zelir’s Spiritual Power continued to flow, the Storage Pouch responded.

It absorbed a portion of Zelir’s Spiritual Power, converting it into a barrier that would resist the Spiritual Power of others.

A strange and wonderful connection formed.

From now on, only Zelir’s Spiritual Power could access it to retrieve and store items. The Storage Pouch was officially his.

Although others could erase his Spirit Mark using the same process, Zelir would be able to sense it the moment it was happening.

It served as a sort of anti-theft alarm.

After successfully accessing the Storage Pouch, Zelir’s consciousness felt as if it had entered a new dimension. He could see the space within.

The storage space inside was quite generous—two meters long, two meters wide, and two meters high. It would be more than enough for his needs for a long time to come.

In a corner of the Storage Pouch, some Magic Plants were stacked neatly. A quick glance confirmed they were all types he could use.

Among them were six portions each of Calming Flower, Earth Root Grass, and Morning Dew Grass—the three Magic Plants required to refine Low Level Recovery Potions.

There were a few other Low Level Magic Plants inside as well.

Zelir focused his mind, concentrating his attention on a Calming Flower, and thought a command.

’Come out.’

The Spirit Mark in the Storage Pouch, connected to Zelir’s mind, quickly responded to his request.

His palm grew cool, and a stalk of Calming Flower materialized in his hand.

The next moment, with the thought ’Return,’ the Calming Flower vanished and reappeared inside the Storage Pouch.

"This is so convenient..."

After finishing his test, Zelir withdrew his consciousness from the pouch and offered his sincere thanks.

"Thank you, Instructor Manlin!"

"You’re welcome."

Instructor Manlin smiled and waved her hand. "Alright, keep up the hard work with your training."

"Yes."

After storing the bag of Gold Coins in the Storage Pouch as well, Zelir walked along the guild’s tree-lined avenue with a spring in his step, feeling cheerful.

’Today is a great day.’

"Good afternoon, Zelir."

"Good afternoon, Zelir! Nice weather today."

Along the way, other participants from the Monster Hunting event would occasionally call out a greeting, and Zelir would smile and wave back.

He decided to head to the General Affairs Office again.

He wanted to see what his Magic Power Strength was after increasing his Spirit Attribute by twenty-four points.

He greeted the Elder Mage at the front desk. As it happened, no other Mages were being tested, so Zelir went to the Room of Serenity.

Following the familiar procedure, he placed his palm on the translucent Crystal Pillar.

HMMMM...

This time, the stream of light representing his Magic Power shot up inside the Crystal Pillar much faster than before.

It surged upward, easily breaking past the two-meter mark from his test before the Monster Hunting event, and continued to climb.

As it rose higher, the color of the light inside the pillar shifted from blue to purple.

Finally, the light’s ascent slowed, stopping at around the two-and-a-half-meter mark.

’Still a ways to go to reach the three meters required for a Middle Level Mage...’

"Hmm..."

Now that he knew the gap, Zelir had a clear plan for what to focus on next.

’Next time I level up, I won’t rush to increase my Spirit.’

’The analysis for Blazing Flame Shield and Ring of Resistance is about twenty percent from completion.’

’Both are Level Five Magic spells.’

’I’m not sure if my current Intelligence Attribute of 114 is high enough to successfully cast a Level Five Magic spell.’

’I don’t want to dump all my points into Spirit only to find I can’t even cast my defensive spells, and then have to scramble back to level up my Intelligence.’

After testing his Magic Power Strength, Zelir headed to the trading post.

Now that he had money, he needed to convert it into real combat strength as quickly as possible.

As for a Mage’s equipment, he already had a Magic Wand; all that was left was a Magic Robe.

Eighty-odd Gold Coins probably wasn’t enough to buy a good Magic Robe, but it was still a good idea to look around and get a sense of the prices.

Zelir scanned the row of permanent shops with proper storefronts in the back of the trading post, then chose one that looked the most appealing.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

The first thing he saw were several mannequins carved from expensive mahogany.

Draped neatly upon them were Magic Robes of various magnificent styles.

Some were studded with Crystal Stones, others embroidered with complex runes in gold thread. Without exception, the craftsmanship was exquisite.

Moreover, Zelir could clearly sense the Magic Power flowing from them.

A Magic Robe could also enhance a Mage’s abilities, depending on its material and any inscribed Rune Circuits.

Beyond the area with the robes, Zelir was surprised to see rows of vertical display racks.

’They sell Magic Wands here, too.’

"Well now, let’s see which customer with a discerning eye has graced us with their presence?"

A slightly high-pitched voice called out from the back of the shop.

Zelir frowned slightly.

He couldn’t tell the speaker’s gender from the voice alone.

Accompanied by the tinkling sound of approaching footsteps, a curtain was elegantly swept aside by a hand adorned with several jeweled rings.

The shopkeeper finally came into view.

The moment he saw the man’s face, Zelir was finally able to confirm he was male.

It was just that... his appearance was rather conspicuous.

The shopkeeper’s hairstyle was quite peculiar. The left side of his head was shaved clean, so shiny that you could see faint green tattoos on his scalp.

The right side, however, boasted shoulder-length hair that had been meticulously styled into magnificent, wavy curls.

A pair of small sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, making his already eccentric look seem even more unique.

What made the whole image even more incongruous was the shopkeeper’s rather brawny physique.

He was wearing a rather tight-fitting, purple silk ensemble, which did little to hide his bulging muscles.

’Quite... fashionable.’

Zelir racked his brain and could only come up with that one word to describe him.

After seeing Zelir, the shopkeeper’s attitude became even more enthusiastic.

"My my, to be graced by such a handsome young man! Your good looks have brightened up my humble shop."

"Er..."

Zelir glanced back at the door, half-tempted to turn and flee.

"Don’t be shy now! Come, come."

The shopkeeper strode forward, enthusiastically slinging an arm around Zelir’s shoulders and guiding him deeper into the store.

"I’m the owner of this establishment. Just call me Barrett. And what might be the name of this handsome young man?"

"Zelir," he replied, feeling he had no choice.

"Could you be the very same Zelir, the Mage prodigy I’ve been hearing about? Your name is all over the guild!"

Barrett circled Zelir, sizing him up, though for what, Zelir couldn’t tell.

"So, Zelir, what can I get for you? I promise to provide the absolute best service!"

"I’m not necessarily buying anything today, I just wanted to look at some Magic Robes... If it’s not a good time, I can..."

"It’s a wonderful time! Absolutely wonderful."

Barrett cut Zelir off before he could finish.

"I’m certain you’ll be impressed by the outstanding quality of my Magic Robes. Allow me to give you the grand tour!"