Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"Speaking of the event…" Lian paused for a second, looking around thoughtfully. "Should we not look for a third member?"

"Damn, you are right! We need to hurry—" Rick replied, slightly panicked. He did not want to lose the challenge, otherwise the one who would pay a steep price would be Lian.

Crafting three custom artifacts for Marcus and his two lackeys.

The mere thought disgusted Rick.

"Do not worry, leave this task to me! I will find a kindred spirit who can help us in our mission!"

Lian could not help but smile. "Sure, I trust you. You have a special eye for these things, right?" he said with irony.

Meanwhile, the two arrived at the last store.

Potions and Pills Store.

A simple name.

Potions were almost a common good that everyone carried. In fact, in the upcoming event, the use of potions was limited to three.

Three potions for ten hours of combat. Fair enough…

Pills, on the other hand, had a different use. They served to speed up meditation, allowing one to reach a higher rank in less time.

This could lead to abuse by students, resulting in the ruin of their foundations. After all, improving slowly but steadily was better than improving quickly through the use of magical pills.

But fortunately, an unstable rank due to pill abuse was impossible to experience, as pills no longer had an effect after the first use.

For example, the Mana Pill.

One could only take a Mana Pill once, which directly increased the amount of mana in the body. The other pills, however, were for daily use.

They did not directly improve mana capacity but sped up meditation, thus mana absorption.

But they were not the only pills available on the market.

The variety of pills and potions was quite vast. Moreover, they were differentiated by level. Potions or pills made with parts of higher-rank monsters were more expensive and more effective than those made with parts of weaker monsters.

Lian and Rick stopped in front of the Potions and Pills Store. The shelves were neatly organized, divided into two sections: on the left, rows of vials containing bubbling liquid potions; on the right, jade containers with pills that seemed alive.

"This place looks like it suits us," Lian muttered, observing a vial of blue potion that seemed to vibrate. "We should look for only the best."

Rick nodded, his eyes darting toward the potions. "Yeah, but we need to be careful. We do not have much money…" He grimaced, still mortified about the sword given as a pledge.

Lian huffed. "And whose fault do you think that is? Anyway, we have about 850 gold coins left… let us hope it is enough. We have no clue when the event might start."

Before they could continue arguing, someone approached them. A young woman with a light green robe, edged with silver runes, greeted them with a gentle smile. Her nameplate identified her as Rea, Alchemist of the Guild.

"Welcome to the Potions and Pills Store," Rea said, her voice soft but professional. "Are you looking for something for cultivation, meditation, or perhaps a potion for a mission? We have everything, from Bronze 1 to Silver 2, though Silver stocks are limited due to the war."

Lian cleared his throat, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "We are here to… get information. We want to know what you have for meditation and cultivation, and maybe some potions useful for facing a large number of monsters…"

Rea nodded, pulling out a screen that lit up at her touch. "Perfect. The pills are for meditation and cultivation, as you know. They improve mana absorption or the effectiveness of cultivation techniques, but pills with permanent effects can only be used once, like the Mana Pill."

Rea began pointing out the pills displayed on the catalog one by one. No further explanations were needed from her; everything worth knowing was written on the screen.

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Mana Pill (Bronze 1-5)

Effect: Permanently increases dantian capacity by 10%, allowing more mana storage. Usable only once.

Cost: Bronze 1: 20 gold coins. Bronze 5: 100 gold coins.

Note: A second use has no effect but may destabilize the dantian, causing temporary mana loss. Absorb several days apart from the Vital Pill.

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Calm Heart Pill (Bronze 1-5)

Effect: For 2 hours, increases mana absorption speed during meditation by 20%.

Cost: Bronze 1: 30 gold coins. Bronze 5: 150 gold coins.

Note: Usable daily, but abuse (more than 3 per day) causes dizziness and mental confusion.

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Vital Pill (Steel 1-5)

Effect: Permanently increases dantian capacity by 10%, allowing more Vital Energy storage. Usable only once.

Cost: Bronze 1: 20 gold coins. Bronze 5: 100 gold coins.

Note: A second use has no effect but may destabilize the dantian, causing temporary Vital Energy loss. Absorb several days apart from the Mana Pill.

---

There were many other pills available, but the prices discouraged the duo. Not to mention those of Silver rank. Besides their ridiculous prices, they were also ineffective—or rather—too effective for the two of them. After all, they were still at Bronze rank; taking Silver-rank pills would be foolish.

Lian was very interested in the pills shown by Rea; he wanted to buy them all, but his financial situation, combined with the fact that he had to consider Rick, gave him quite a challenge.

I am currently Bronze 4, and my mana reserves seem close to a Silver 1… I wonder if I can take the Mana Pills from Bronze 1 to 4. Lian had a hand under his chin as he thought carefully.

But thinking would not get him anywhere, so he politely asked Rea about the matter.

"Of course, if you have not taken the Bronze 1 Mana Pill when you were at that rank, you can take it later. However," Rea paused for a second, observing Lian's appearance. "However, it is not worth it. These types of pills should be taken at the right rank; otherwise, the mana increase is not as high as described. Making a quick calculation…"

Rea closed her eyes for a moment, murmuring something to herself. "The dantian capacity increase should be slightly above 1% for a Bronze 1 Mana Pill. It is over 2% for a Bronze 2, 5% for a Bronze 3, and 10%, as described, for a Bronze 4. And no, you cannot take a Mana Pill higher than your rank."