Chapter 1020: Didn’t I Throw This Away?
“Oh?” Jayad and I looked at him with interest. The shop assistant spoke with such confidence, it seemed he had something good.
“That walking stick perfectly fits the customer’s request for plainness and simplicity. It was an unexpected acquisition for our small shop, but it’s too precious to be displayed. I’ll go fetch it for you two to see.” The shop assistant gritted his teeth and walked back into the inner room.
What did he mean? Why so mysterious? How precious could a walking stick be to be treated like the shop’s treasure and not dared to be displayed?
Then, when he brought it out, I finally understood why he valued it so much. It was a Magic Apparatus, the plain walking stick’s surface flowed with a crystal-clear luster.
It was indeed a very precious shop’s treasure for such a small shop to have a Magic Apparatus, but why did the energy emanating from this Magic Apparatus feel so familiar?
“This… isn’t this Older Brother Jayad’s aura?” I asked doubtfully. Jayad exclaimed, “Isn’t this the tree branch I threw away the other day? How did it change?”
“Huh?!” The shop assistant was also stunned by our conversation. He instinctively tightened his grip on the walking stick in his hand.
At this moment, Jayad spoke in a strange tone, gently saying, “Tell me, how did you get this walking stick?”
The shop assistant was taken aback by his words, his eyes suddenly unfocused. He honestly replied, “Someone came to our shop and said he found a glowing tree branch at the city gate. He didn’t know what it was, so our boss bought it for thirty copper coins and turned it into a walking stick.”
After saying this, the shop assistant suddenly came to his senses and covered his mouth. He realized he had accidentally revealed the whole story, even the acquisition price. He would never have said this before; he didn’t know why he slipped up just now.
“Older Brother Jayad, is this the tree branch you threw away that day?” I asked. After Older Brother Jayad’s Silver Sword was damaged, he went to train with Lorna. That morning, he casually broke off a tree branch to use as a weapon. Afterwards, he told me he actually wanted a walking stick as a weapon.
This was also why I suddenly wanted to give him a walking stick as a Halloween gift today. Although the Amadeus greatsword was very powerful, it was too conspicuous. When going out normally, especially if not specifically for combat outside the city, carrying such a greatsword would attract a lot of attention.
For example, Older Brother Jayad didn’t bring his greatsword today. He had only planned to meet Safah, but unexpectedly got involved in the Dawn Church’s sports meet. He didn’t need to carry a greatsword; it would be a burden, and he was afraid it would be stolen if he left it behind.
In contrast, a walking stick was very convenient to carry, and it wouldn’t look out of place wherever he took it. This was also the reason why walking sticks initially replaced swords.
“That’s right, it should be the one I threw away. However, they seem to have flattened it a bit, painted it, and added a head. I didn’t expect to see it here again,” Jayad said awkwardly, looking at the walking stick.
“Then why did you throw it away? It’s already a Magic Apparatus?” I said. Can a Magic Apparatus be thrown away so casually?
“I don’t know. It probably wasn’t a Magic Apparatus when I discarded it, and I only used it for half a day,” Older Brother Jayad said.
We were all stunned. Although I knew that an item permanently kept and frequently used by a strong individual would be infused with their magic and become a sentient Magic Apparatus, like the Amadeus greatsword I bought for Older Brother Jayad.
But those Magic Apparatuses were formed from years of being worn and used regularly. How could Jayad break off a tree branch casually, use it for half a day, and have it turn into a Magic Apparatus? This was unscientific, or rather, unmagical!
The shop assistant also felt awkward. He hadn’t expected that what the other person had discarded as trash was now considered the shop’s treasure, and he had tried to sell it to the original owner! How embarrassing.
Of course, we wouldn’t buy it. Otherwise, wouldn’t we be big spenders? I was just thinking, if I had known Older Brother Jayad could turn a wooden stick into a Magic Apparatus in just half a day of casual use, why would he have thrown it away? He could have just taken it home and continued using it.
However, the Halloween gift still needed to be given. I tactfully moved past the awkward topic, telling the shop assistant to put away this “shop’s treasure” and choose another one.
After this small accident, I finally understood what kind of walking stick Older Brother Jayad wanted. He wanted a simple-looking walking stick with no decorations, of the same thickness from top to bottom, and not one with a rounded or pointed end.
Then, it needed to be made of good wood, with good magic conductivity – high-quality wood. Simply put, what he actually needed was a Scepter for casting Divine Spells, but he didn’t want the gaudy, gemstone-embedded Scepters from the Church.
I explained these requirements to the shop assistant, and he finally understood our needs. While there weren’t many such walking sticks, the shop still had some. He immediately brought out a selection for us to see.
This time, Jayad chose a boxwood walking stick. This walking stick was a bit longer than an ordinary cane, basically uncarved, only coated with a wood-colored paint, and its style was one of primitive and natural restoration.
Because it was longer, it couldn’t be used for support like other walking sticks; instead, it was held in the hand, making it more like a hiking stick or an off-road stick.
“Not bad.” Jayad swung it a bit, then tapped the ground with it, revealing a satisfied expression.
The main value of a walking stick was actually in the wood. We spent thirty silver coins on this walking stick, which was less than the cost of this outfit.
Although the boxwood walking stick was more suited for an adventurer to carry, Jayad, dressed in a tuxedo, holding it didn’t look too out of place. Instead, he looked more like a noble gentleman with a long history, who was old-fashioned and low-key.
We walked out of the doorway. I asked, “Older Brother Jayad, can a wooden stick like this really be used as a weapon? Even if it needs a medium for casting spells, wouldn’t it be better to buy a Scepter with embedded gemstones?”
According to what was recorded in the Magic Academy textbooks, a Staff needed to be compatible with its owner. The Staff’s material, length, core, the shape of the carvings on the head, and any hanging ornaments all needed to correspond to the owner’s personality and magic attributes to achieve the best effect.
Therefore, Archmage staves were all custom-made for themselves. Even if one inherited or found someone else’s Staff, they would constantly modify it according to their own needs during use until it perfectly matched them.
The same applied to Scepters used for casting Divine Spells. Could such a seemingly rough wooden stick really be used as a medium for Divine Spells?
“No problem. It’s precisely because it’s just an ordinary wooden stick that it has infinite possibilities,” Jayad said, speaking somewhat mysteriously. “By the way, Parul gave me a Halloween gift, and I don’t have anything to thank her with. How about I perform some magic for Parul?”
“Older Brother Jayad knows magic tricks?” I became interested at once. I hadn’t heard about this before.
“Mm, I just felt like I could do some small tricks. Watch this.” Jayad raised the wooden stick, and colorful, vibrant flowers instantly bloomed from its head.
