Chapter 007: Wand Theory (2)

Du Fan had a thought and after pondering for a moment, he said, “So you mean that wands of that level already possess various attributes, making it less important whether they suit one or not?”
“More or less,” nodded the magic apprentice. “But it’s not just wands—every kind of magic item, even warriors’ weapons and gear, follows the same principle. Ordinary items are naturally the best fit for one, while for high-end items, there’s no need to worry too much about whether they suit you or not.”
At this point, the magic apprentice couldn’t help but scowl, seemingly displeased.
Seeing his expression, Du Fan couldn’t help but smile slightly, though he thought to himself that he had no idea what category his Phantom Wand fell into or whether it suited him.
With this in mind, Du Fan formed a plan. Keeping a calm expression, he said casually, “I’ve really never heard of your theory before… Well, I happen to have a wand on me, but I’m not sure if it suits me. How about you take a look and tell me?”
The magic apprentice, seeing that Du Fan had talked nonsense for a long time without any intention of buying anything, yet now wanted him to evaluate his wand, showed no sign of dissatisfaction—instead, he seemed pleased and quickly replied, “Sure! The thing I love most in life is evaluating various magic items. You see, magic items from different eras, crafted by different alchemists, each have their own characteristics… Evaluating others’ magic items teaches one a great deal.”
Hearing this, Du Fan felt somewhat amused yet puzzled. Still, he fumbled around in his storage ring for a moment before taking out the Phantom Wand and handing it to the magic apprentice.
Upon seeing the dark blue Phantom Wand, the apprentice’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He ran to the back of the counter, took out something that resembled a magnifying glass, and placed it in front of his eyes. Then he examined the Phantom Wand closely. The more he looked, the more surprised he became. Finally, he couldn’t help but glance at Du Fan and ask, “Sir… how did you get this wand?”
Du Fan touched his nose and replied casually, “Well… I just bought it from a weapons shop outside.”

“A regular weapon shop? Not the trading place inside the Mage Guild?” The magic apprentice’s mouth fell open wide enough to fit several eggs inside. “Good heavens! Although the quality of this wand isn’t great, the magic array attached to it is truly rare! It can shorten the casting time of spells. Sir, do you realize how important that is for a mage? Sure, many great mages can cast spells without a wand or use instant casting, but you should know that the power of such spells is already greatly reduced in those cases. The same mage, when using a wand, can unleash spells whose power is countless times greater than those cast without a wand or via instant casting! So, a wand that can shorten casting time is incredibly valuable to mages…”
At this point, a faint smile appeared on the magic apprentice’s face as he said, “Respected priest, may I discuss something with you?”
“What is it?”
“Your wand… could you sell it to me? How about I trade you five… no, ten wands in exchange?”
“No,” Du Fan laughed. “I brought it here for you to appraise, not for you to think of other things!”
“Ah, what a shame,” the magic apprentice sighed. “I had hoped to study the magic array on this wand in detail… But since you’re unwilling, then forget it…”
With that, the magic apprentice returned the wand to Du Fan.
Du Fan took the wand and waved it a few times before saying calmly, “You still haven’t told me if this wand is suitable for me.”
The magic apprentice smiled and said, “Something of such top quality isn’t even considered suitable or not—it already has the best feature of all: shortening spell casting time… But, respected sir, I think I should give you some advice. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, never show this wand to others. To those who don’t understand, it’s just an ordinary item. But if you meet someone who knows their stuff… well… wouldn’t a mage kill to get their hands on it?”
Kill to steal treasures!?
Du Fan inwardly smiled bitterly. He never expected to be warned about this as well. With his experience, he could tell that the magic apprentice was genuinely concerned for his own safety when reminding him of these things. Such people were truly rare in this era!

Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but feel a slight stir in his heart. He said, “I’ll definitely pay more attention to the issue you mentioned… By the way, we’ve been talking for so long, but I still don’t know your name.”
“Oh!” The magic apprentice nodded and said, “My name is Jimmy… I’ve been at the Magic Guild headquarters for almost ten years, but I’m not very useful. My magical power hasn’t improved much over the years, and I haven’t even managed to pass the exam to become a first-level mage. However, the masters in the guild think I have some knowledge of alchemy and magic artifacts, so they assigned me to take care of this store.”
As he spoke, the apprentice named Jimmy let out a long sigh.
Jimmy?
Du Fan silently remembered this name. This guy was a magic apprentice with comprehensive knowledge. If he really needed to learn alchemy in the future, having him as an assistant would be quite good…
With these thoughts in mind, Du Fan’s expression remained calm as he said, “Jimmy? What a nice name. I’m Du Fan, from the Green family.”
“Ah? Du Fan?” Jimmy frowned for a moment before suddenly looking at him with reverence. “You must be the legendary Priest in White. I know you!”
Du Fan smiled slightly and asked, “What do you know about me?”
Jimmy replied with reverence, “Honorable Du Fan, you’ve managed to master combat energy and magic in less than a year. Moreover, even that genius from the capital fell at your hands. You’re truly a genius… I suppose you’re here at the Magic Guild to take the mage rank assessment, right? What rank do you plan to aim for?”
Du Fan gave a wry smile and shook his head. “It’s nothing. I was just lucky.”
Jimmy laughed and said, “Honorable Du Fan, please don’t be modest… By the way, I forgot—since you’re here for the mage assessment, you probably need to buy some magic items. I’ll definitely recommend the best ones for you.”
Seeing Jimmy’s expression, Du Fan couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, I’m here to find a crystal ball… It’s said that every mage has one, but I don’t have a single one. How can that be acceptable?”
“You… such an important person, yet you don’t have a magic crystal ball?” Jimmy was shocked.
Du Fan nodded. “Don’t you know? I’ve only become a mage for a short time. Not to mention a crystal ball, I haven’t even come across the systematic magic theories yet.”

“This… how is that possible?” Jimmy’s expression grew even more astonished. “How could you have never come across magic theory? Then how did you achieve such mastery?”
Du Fan smiled. “Well, if you’re asking me, I don’t know either!”
Jimmy immediately realized he had said too much. On the Roland Continent, the methods of cultivating combat energy or magic were incredibly varied. Even among the mages in the Mage Guild, each might use different magic manuals. Thus, magic manuals could be considered mages’ greatest secrets. By questioning Du Fan like this, it was equivalent to asking which manual he was using—something that would be seen as an insult to a proper mage!
Fortunately, Du Fan was a latecomer to magic and didn’t have those peculiar temperaments of traditional mages. Otherwise, just for Jimmy’s words alone, any mage—even a first-level one—could have killed Jimmy on the spot. Moreover, in such a situation, breaking the rules of the Mage Guild would still be justified!
Jimmy was scared for a while. Only after confirming that Du Fan didn’t seem angry did he cautiously ask, “I see… So which school of magic do you specialize in?”
“Does it matter?” Du Fan asked.
“Well… of course it does,” Jimmy nodded. “For example, I have a fire-type magic crystal ball here. Combined with your wand, it will make your fire magic more effective… As for the wind-type magic crystal ball, it allows you to float in mid-air without using any magic energy. This gives you a huge advantage when facing close-combat warriors. Oh, and there’s also the water-type magic crystal ball, which lets you detect the flow of water beneath the ground. I’m sure you know there are water currents beneath the earth’s crust…”