Chapter 43 – Aggressive Sales Pitch

Mo Lan sprinted the entire way and caught up with two young witches who had fallen behind the main group at the foot of the mountain.

“Iris! Alba! Want a card that lets you see your exact Magic Power values? Just 50 Mana in one-time magic power per card! You won’t need to replace it even at Peak level!”

Iris and Alba stared at her in utter confusion.

“What card?”

“What magic power values?”

“What one-time magic power?”

Mo Lan pulled out her own Status Card.

She had already temporarily switched the text on the card to Witch Script.

“This card was made with your Manifested Gift, Moira?” Iris and Alba examined the card with curiosity.

“Yep! Just 50 Mana in one-time magic power, or the equivalent in magical energy!” Mo Lan said.

But Iris and Alba shook their heads. “The ability to see your exact magic power values is certainly nice, but we can’t afford it.”

Back during their Talent assessments, their measured magical energy had been:

One had the equivalent of 52 Mana, and the other had the equivalent of 55 Mana.

Those numbers probably hadn’t changed much. Yesterday, they had signed contracts for Apprentice-level Golden Pen Technique and Grimoires, so their remaining magical energy was certainly less than fifty Mana now.

Even if it was one-time magical energy, they couldn’t afford it.

“No problem!” Mo Lan whipped out a contract. “You can pay in installments! Each day of deferral only costs 1 Mana in interest! The more installments you choose, the less you pay per day — it won’t affect your daily studies at all!”

Iris and Alba peered at the contract closely.

“The undersigned agrees to pay 50 Mana in one-time magic power, or the equivalent of 50 Mana in one-time magical energy, to purchase one {Status Card — Apprentice — Unbound} from the Sorceress Mo Lan.

Each card upgrade requires paying the Sorceress Mo Lan 50% of the upgrade’s energy cost in magic power or magical energy.

All energy consumed during the card’s use shall be borne by the user.

If energy is insufficient, installment payments are available. For each day of deferral, 1 Mana in magic power or the equivalent in magical energy is charged as interest. Early repayment does not reduce interest.

Suggested installment plans:

1. Two installments: 26 Mana per day in magic power or equivalent magical energy.

2. Three installments…”

With installments, they actually could afford it.

“So what do you say? Want to buy?” Mo Lan said. “My magic power is limited — I can only make so many cards per day. If you don’t buy today, you’ll have to wait!”

Iris and Alba, who had been a little hesitant, exchanged a glance. They were both tempted, but: “Which installment plan should we pick?”

“Obviously the longer the better! For example, with the fifty-installment plan, you only need to pay 2 Mana per day!

It looks like a lot of interest, sure, but those 2 Mana? Just eat a few extra Breadfruits and you’ll recover them. Isn’t that basically the same as no interest at all?”

Mo Lan pushed hard. “The key point is, paying this tiny amount per day won’t affect your magic studies at all.

There are only two spots left for the fifty-installment plan — you’re lucky you ran into me first. After this, the shortest plan available today will be six installments.”

The real reason was that the energy stored in the Book of Cards’ Purple Gemstone was only enough to make two cards.

Mo Lan didn’t want to dip into her own magic power. Every extra Mana she used today meant 1 less Mana recovered tomorrow — just thinking about it made her feel like she was losing out.

Hearing this, Iris and Alba made up their minds immediately. “Then we’ll take the fifty-installment plan!”

“Coming right up!” Mo Lan quickly wrote two contracts using Golden Pen Technique, then presented them with the utmost enthusiasm.

The energy stored in the Book of Cards’ Purple Gemstone decreased by 20 Mana, condensing into two {Status Cards — Apprentice}.

Mo Lan’s magic power increased by 4 Mana, and for the next 49 days, she would receive 2 Mana worth of energy from each of them — Iris and Alba — every single day.

Iris and Alba were already at Apprentice level, so they could bind the cards right away.

Once bound, seeing their crystal-clear magic power values, they felt it was worth every bit.

At the very least, they no longer had to spend every day scrutinizing their energy Halos, trying to guess how much dimmer or brighter they’d gotten.

“If you have any questions about the cards, feel free to come find me! Take your time — I’m heading off first!”

With that, Mo Lan dashed ahead to chase down the other young witches.

Every single young witch she encountered got the full sales pitch.

Now that the Purple Gemstone had no spare magic power left, her pitch changed accordingly:

“Installment interest is too high and not worth it? How could that be! Let me tell you — I don’t even recommend plans longer than five installments anymore. Why? Because making cards costs me magic power too!

Every extra card I make cuts into my reserves, and after midnight, tomorrow’s recovery will be reduced as well. It’s a total loss for me!

Don’t believe me? Look at my magic power — it’ll take days to recover!

Five installments max. Any more than that and you’ll have to wait a few days until I’ve recovered enough to be willing to sell. Otherwise it’s just not worth it for me.

The young witches I just passed all bought one. If you don’t want it, I’ll just move on!”

Many of the young witches had never even been to a market before — when had they ever seen anything like this?

If you don’t buy now, you have to wait?

Everyone else already bought one?

It’s just a bit of one-time magic power you can recover by munching on a few Breadfruits! And this card can be used all the way up to Peak level!

Buy! Absolutely buy!

Mo Lan worked her way from the tail end of the group all the way to the very front, pitching to everyone along the way.

Every single young witch she passed bought a Status Card.

They all chose the five-installment plan, paying the equivalent of 11 Mana in magical energy per installment.

She spent 10 Mana to make each card, netting an extra 1 Mana on the spot — and for the next four days, she’d receive 11 Mana per day on top of that.

After every first-year witch had bought her card, Mo Lan’s magic power reserves hadn’t decreased — they had actually increased, going from 184 to 206.

Meanwhile, the young witches she’d left in her wake were all gnawing on Breadfruits with pained expressions.

A new trend even sprang up: eating Breadfruits while watching their cards, tracking their magical energy as it climbed.

And honestly, seeing that magic power number tick upward made the Breadfruits taste even better.

Half an hour before class began, the third-year witches descended on their broomsticks, landing in the plaza outside the Castle.

That was when a young witch with an ingratiating grin on her face rushed up to greet them.

The upperclassmen’s names she had memorized on the first day of school were finally paying off.

“Grace, good morning! Want to buy a card that shows your exact magic power values?”

“Nellie! Ha! Of course I remember your name! I also remember you’re especially good at fire magic! Want to take a look at a card I made with my Manifested Gift? It’s been a huge hit among the first-years — every single one of them has one now!”

“Gurira! I remember you mentioned last time that you didn’t know how much longer it would take to break through the Apprentice stage. This card shows your exact magic power values! You can see at a glance how much more you need — want one?”

…

(End of Chapter)