Have you ever been a witch? Take this fireball!

Chapter 30: In Debt on the First Day of School

"Oh, right, there's also tuition, ten gold coins."

Leon reached out his hand to Dorothy.

Dorothy's good mood from receiving the magical item vanished instantly.

Dorothy pulled out ten gold coins and handed them to Leon, still feeling a pang of regret.

Lyon had finished his business and left, yawning.

Elor immediately grabbed Dorothy's arms with both hands.

"Congratulations! From today onwards, you are a member of the Apprentice City. Come on, I'll take you to buy a magic book and some equipment."

With that, Elor dragged Dorothy out of the square.

"Hmm." Dorothy looked at Elor beside her.

At this point, because Dorothy was too short, Elor had changed from crossing his arms to putting his arm around her shoulder.

The two maintained an arm-in-arm posture.

Dorothy felt that Elor suddenly became more familiar with her.

Is it because I'm already a member of the City of Apprentices?

The place to buy things is in the shopping street.

When they arrived at the shopping street, Elor and Dorothy parted ways, without the previous affectionate behavior.

"You can buy two magic books when school starts."

"A book called 'Basic Magic Science' contains comprehensive information, from sensing magic power and teaching meditation methods to condense magic power, to various methods of using magic power, such as magic power perception, magic power shields, and manipulation, etc."

"The other option depends on your preference; basically, you should choose one from elemental magic."

"I recommend fire elemental magic. It's less affected by environmental factors, has great power, and is more convenient when going on adventures."

Elor snapped his fingers with his left hand.

A small flame burned on her finger.

Dorothy didn't care about any of that.

"How much..." Dorothy asked in a low voice.

"Um?"

"I said, how many gold coins do these things cost...?"

Elor reached out her fingers.

"Basic Magic is cheap, only five gold coins, while books related to elemental magic can only be bought with credits. I'll lend you this one."

"Next are the magic wand and the magic robe. The cheapest deadwood wand will do, which costs about fifteen gold coins. You need to prepare two sets of magic robes for changing and washing. One set costs fifty gold coins, so two sets will cost one hundred gold coins."

"besides……"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Dorothy quickly interrupted Elor.

"Why are magic robes so expensive?" she wondered.

Elor explained, "Because the materials used to make magic robes are very expensive, and ordinary magic robes are enchanted with magic shields, which are even more durable and convenient than a warrior's armor."

"All right……"

Since there's magic involved, it's understandable that it's a bit more expensive.

Dorothy thought of something else.

"Since there's magic, aren't there any cleansing spells or similar on the magic robes?"

Elor nodded.

"Yes, but they'll be very expensive. If you do the math, you might as well just buy two magic robes without the Cleanse spell."

"..." Dorothy bit her lip and didn't say anything more.

Elor continued, "One hat is enough. It's enchanted with a calming spell, which will help you enter a meditative state faster during training. It will also help stabilize your magic power when you use magic. One hat costs forty gold coins."

It worked very well; it would have been even better if the last sentence hadn't been mentioned.

"Before you learn the convenient spatial folding magic, you'll need to buy a sturdy magic belt to carry more items, such as wands, potion bottles, and crafting kits. It costs two silver coins."

"Also, as a magician, how can you not have your own magic record? You can write down the magic you learn and the things you research in it. The notebook, ink, and pen will cost a total of five silver coins."

"..."

Dorothy could no longer hear what Elor was saying at the end.

All she knew was that her gold coins were constantly decreasing.

When the two returned to Elor's residence.

Dorothy's purse was empty.

Dorothy shook her purse.

Ding-a-ling~

Dorothy's fingers trembled as she counted the gold coins that had fallen onto the table.

"one two three……"

Three gold coins, five silver coins, eight bronze coins...

This is all the money I currently have.

Moreover, he still owed Elor a credit.

Even when the credits are cheapest, it still costs fifty gold coins.

"First day of apprenticeship in the City of Apprentices... the result was debt..."

"Hehe, ha."

Dorothy gave two bitter laughs.

"Why are you smiling so awkwardly? Even if you're broke, you won't starve in Apprentice City. I'll take care of you."

Elor went to the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, and brought them over.

Dorothy took the water and drank it all in one gulp.

"Thanks."

Dorothy had no intention of living off a woman, so she looked up at Elor and asked:

"How do you make money in the City of Apprentices?"

"Make money in the City of Apprentices," Elor thought for a moment.

"Trading credits among apprentices, selling materials at low prices, and doing jobs like copying spellbooks and making spell scrolls for the Apprentice City—but those jobs generally only require advanced degrees, which aren't suitable for you."

After all, Dorothy doesn't have magic right now; she just has magical powers.

"If you want to make money now, you can only learn one spell within a month to gain the qualification to go out, register your identity at the Mage's Guild, and take on missions with mercenaries."

"There are no suitable jobs for you in the current apprenticeship city."

Elor analyzed a whole bunch of things.

In the end, it was decided that it was more appropriate to let Dorothy do the mercenary mission.

Dorothy couldn't help but cover her face with her left hand.

"If I had known, I would have stayed in the Giant Spider Forest for another half month and hunted a few more magical beasts."

Dorothy regrets it!

And I can't leave the area for another month?

wrong!

Dorothy suddenly looked up at Elor.

"Will I be able to apply to leave once I learn the first spell?"

"Yes, judging from your aptitude, you should be able to master it in about a month."

Elor nodded.

"Let me make this clear first: it's not enough for you to be able to use it to master it; you have to be proficient in it."

"Hmm." It makes no difference to Dorothy, either way.

I don't know if level 10 is enough.

If there's enough time, she should be able to leave in ten days at most!

Dorothy is now eager to go out and earn money.

Otherwise, if I really troubled Elor here for a month, I don't know how much I would owe her!

If the debt keeps piling up, I won't be able to pay it back.

What should I do if Elor threatens me?

Dorothy will never be a slave, not even if she's provided with food and lodging!

"Elor, now that I'm a member of the Apprentice City, can you teach me magic?"

Upon hearing this, Elor's eyes lit up, but she still shook her head slightly.

"It's possible, but it might not be possible recently."

"Huh? Why?" Dorothy asked, puzzled.

Elor spread her hands helplessly and said, "Because I promised Professor Lyon that I would be his magic teaching assistant, there is a lot of preparation work that I need to do before the start of the semester."

"Oh, I see. It's alright, you can go ahead and do what you need to do."

Dorothy understood that this matter was also related to her, since it was Elor who went to ask Leon for help.

Although Elor couldn't teach Dorothy magic, she made other promises.

"When you learn magic and apply to go out, if you have time, I can go with you."

"My mercenary rank has advanced from Dust and Sand to Iron, which means I can take on combat missions. We'll split the money 50/50."