Free Web NovelChapter 39: Chapter 39: The Decision
"Hmm..." Radak found himself in a difficult situation.
The two creatures Andre brought back each had their own strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s start with the Earth Elemental Bear. Its combat power is immense, but its drawback is that it consumes a vast amount of Elemental Crystals. However, its growth potential is also far greater than the Ice Cold Nether Serpent, which is still just a Snake Egg.
But the Ice Cold Nether Serpent had an advantage the Earth Elemental Bear couldn’t match: it was cheap to raise.
The cost of raising them was a ratio of roughly one to ten, maybe even more.
But the Ice Cold Nether Serpent could generally only reach the level of a Level 2 Wizard at most. Compared to the Earth Elemental Bear’s potential to reach Level 4 Wizard, its prospects were truly worrying.
However, the amount of Elemental Crystals the Earth Elemental Bear required was a huge problem. Even if he liquidated his entire fortune...
Radak couldn’t guarantee that he could even feed the Earth Elemental Bear until it reached its growth period. freewebnøvel.com
But the Earth Elemental Bear had another very distinct advantage over the Ice Cold Nether Serpent. After death, its body wouldn’t decay. Instead, it would directly transform into an equivalent amount of Elemental Crystals.
In other words, no matter how many Magic Stones or Elemental Crystals the Earth Elemental Bear consumed, they would all be preserved after its death.
Even if it wasn’t successfully raised, one could still harvest an equivalent amount of Elemental Crystals. It could contribute to his path as a Wizard even in death.
"Which one do you want to keep?"
After pondering for a moment, Radak ultimately left the choice to Andre.
Andre scratched his head, at a loss for words.
He wanted both, but with his current assets, he could only afford to keep one.
After thinking for a while, Andre still couldn’t make up his mind.
In terms of both combat power and future assistance, the Earth Elemental Bear was the top priority.
But the cost of the Earth Elemental Bear was so high that it practically canceled out the Ice Cold Nether Serpent’s drawback of only being able to become a Level 2 Wizard. It could be said that both had their merits.
After thinking a little longer, Andre finally decided to keep the Earth Elemental Bear and sell the Ice Cold Nether Serpent.
’Although this feels a bit like I’m letting down the Forest Water Python who entrusted her child to me.’
’But the Forest Water Python never said I had to raise its child to maturity. She only asked me to take it out of the Secret Realm so it could hatch.’
He had already brought the Snake Egg out of the Secret Realm. As for whether the Ice Cold Nether Serpent inside would hatch, that depended on whether the serpent itself was still alive.
’What if the Ice Cold Nether Serpent has already died in the egg? I would have lost a primeval Earth Elemental Bear and the Ice Cold Nether Serpent as well.’
Faced with this uncertainty, Andre pursed his lips, activated his Eye of Truth, and examined the Snake Egg.
But there was no light coming from the Snake Egg, which indicated a terrible outcome.
After seeing this, Andre took a deep breath, put down the Snake Egg, and petted the Earth Elemental Bear beside him.
"Now that you’ve made your choice, I’ll take this Snake Egg."
Radak nodded, placed his hand on the Snake Egg, and took it away.
"I’ll sell this Snake Egg and do my best to exchange it for Elemental Crystals for you, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to get any!"
After taking the Snake Egg, Radak looked at Andre’s somewhat dejected expression and spoke.
Andre nodded, showing he understood.
Of course he knew how precious Elemental Crystals were.
"This Crystal you brought back from the Secret Realm will, at most, only make this little guy a bit taller. Don’t even think about it being enough for it to grow up."
"In the past, I would have absolutely advised you against keeping the Earth Elemental Bear, because it requires too many resources to raise."
"But in ten years, the expedition will begin. You can raise it in other worlds. Who knows, you might even find a world dense with the Earth Element."
Radak said, holding his Magic Staff and pointing at the Crystal Andre had placed on the table.
"Teacher, could I trouble you to exchange this Crystal for Earth Element Crystals as well?"
Andre turned and handed the Crystal to Radak, who nodded.
"Exchanging one type of Elemental Crystal for another is relatively easy. You should prepare yourself. Rest for two days, and in three days, we’ll begin constructing your Magic Heart."
Radak didn’t refuse Andre’s request, placing the Crystal directly into his Storage Ring.
With a flash of white light, Radak vanished from before Andre.
Andre looked at the Earth Elemental Bear lying beside him and scratched his head.
’If this little guy hadn’t been running all over the Secret Realm, I might have been able to find the area where it was born.’
’I could have brought back everything from that region to offset some of the costs.’
Because the Earth Elemental Bear is an Elemental Creature, the place it was born would generally be an area dense with Elements—one of the Wizard World’s important sources of Elemental Crystals.
But not long after this Earth Elemental Bear was born, it started running around everywhere. And because of the nature of the Secret Realm, the little guy spent hundreds of years constantly on the move, looking for food, completely forgetting where its home was.
"Elemental Creatures sure have it good. Their lifespans are easily over a thousand years. A thousand years! You’ve already lived for a few hundred, and you’re still in your infancy."
Andre picked up the Earth Elemental Bear, complaining as he looked at the little creature that resembled a plush toy.
The Earth Elemental Bear didn’t understand what a complaint was. It was, however, very displeased with being picked up and put down, and it roared directly at Andre.
Andre had experience dealing with the Earth Elemental Bear’s roars.
He took out a Magic Stone and stuffed it into the Earth Elemental Bear’s throat, plugging its mouth. Then he took out more Magic Stones and built a small nest for the bear. He placed the Earth Elemental Bear inside it.
When the Earth Elemental Bear saw a pile of dark things that could increase its Power appear before it, it stopped roaring. It spat out the Magic Stone Andre had stuffed in its mouth and began to crunch on it.
The Magic Stones, which were normally so hard they required special tools to carve, were like cookies in the Earth Elemental Bear’s mouth. With every bite, Magic Stone dust flew out.
Andre sighed in relief seeing the Earth Elemental Bear hugging a Magic Stone and gnawing on it.
The Earth Elemental Bear was usually noisy, but as long as it had food, it would quiet down and focus on eating.
It wouldn’t do anything else until it had finished eating the entire Magic Stone nest before it.
Andre closed the door to his room and took out the rest of his haul.
This process took a full hour.
After the last item was taken out, his room was piled high with things, leaving no place to stand.
The majority of this haul was Magic Stones, followed by various minerals, and finally, the rarest of all, Magic Plants.
Andre sorted through everything one by one, placing the Magic Plants and minerals into his Storage Ring.
He turned, and from under his bed, he pulled out the wooden box Radak had given him for making Witchcraft Scrolls. From inside, he took out a carving knife, infused it with Magic Power, and increased its hardness.
He shut himself in his room and began separating the Magic Stones he had dug up in the Secret Realm, carving them into a standard size.
If he didn’t process these Magic Stones into a standard size, their value would be arbitrarily reduced when he went to use them, under the nice-sounding name of a "processing fee."
