The Frugal Mage

Rayven doubts that he could really save money on this mission. After all, even if they managed to earn 10 gold coins, he could at most get 2 gold coins for his share.

There was no way he'd only have 2 Spells during this mission.

It means that he would have to spend his savings once again.

However, since this was the only way to enter the Dungeon, he decided to take his losses for today.

***

When he rejoined the Gray Ring at the guild's front steps, all four were already waiting, fully armored and armed.

They looked like professionals, and that seemed reassuring. Furthermore, they were all wearing the same cloak with the brand of Iron Fang.

Emma had even brought him his cloak with the same brand…

Emma smiled, seeing Rayven as she briefly checked Rayven's mage staff.

She immediately recognized that it was the common mage staff, but since Rayven was only a new Initiate Mage, it wasn't that surprising.

"Not bad. At least you look the part."

Hale simply gave a small nod, but he looked to the pouch at Rayven's hip as he had guessed that it carried something useful.

"Just stay behind us until the goat shows its horns. You'll have your chance soon enough. Don't waste your mana on those wild animals or even Feral Beasts." Victor said.

Their friend, Josen, could only cast about 14 Spells per day.

Considering how young Rayven was, they could assume that he could cast 10 or so Spells, which was already impressive. Of course, if they have something that could increase or recover his Mana, that would also be great, so he could cast more.

However, those low-grade Mana Recovery Potions cost around 70 to 90 silver coins, and the recovery speed was also slow. They're a bit too pricey, so it was better to just wait out their normal recovery.

In the meantime, as Rayven received the cloak from Emma, he immediately used his Appraisal as he was curious about its effects.

"Appraisal…" Rayven muttered and everyone heard this… It felt like he had made a mistake doing that.

"Ahh! You can use that Spell?"

"Amazing…"

"Isn't that Spell expensive to learn? I heard from Josen that the Spell Rune of Appraisal costs more than a thousand gold. They're rare."

As they said this, Rayven immediately waved his hand…

"No… This is the lowest rank Appraisal. I can only find out a little information about the item. The one thousand gold Appraisal must be some rare ones that can identify even some ancient items." Rayven said as he glanced at the result of his appraisal.

The cloak in his hands was plain brown, stitched tightly at the seams, and cut just long enough to reach past his knees.

At a glance, it looked like something any apprentice mage might wear. But the faint glow that clung to the fabric told him otherwise.

[ Iron Fang Cloak ]

Rarity: Common Enchanted Gear

Status: New

Description: A practical enchanted cloak issued by Iron Fang.

Added Properties:

Enhanced Durability (slows wear, resists cuts and tearing)

Odor Suppression (dampens scent, reduces chance of detection by beasts) ]

"Ohhh… This is really practical… Enhanced Durability and Odor Suppression." Rayven softly muttered as he read through the Appraisal result.

On the other hand, the group of four near him was surprised.

After all, Rayven didn't even use a complete chant to cast the Appraisal Spell. Furthermore, the result came too quickly!

When they were requesting an Appraisal in the Auction House or other weapons shops within the city, not only would it cost 30 to 80 silver coins, depending on the quality, but it would also take several minutes!

"Y-you're right… They added those two properties. This is the first time we confirmed it though. We didn't bother to have it appraised after all." Emma said as she realized that Rayven might actually be those rich Mages and not someone like Josen, who had just been lucky to find a copy of Spell Runes.

"T-that's amazing… Can we hire you if we want to appraise something?" Victor immediately asked, hoping that they'd get a lower fee.

Unfortunately for them, Rayven's appraisal was even more expensive.

"If they can't be appraised by others, you can try me. If I can't appraise it, that's free… However, if I did, it's worth 1 gold and 50 silver."

Everyone was surprised as soon as they heard this. Rayven seemed to be unaware of the cost of an Appraisal within the city, or perhaps he was simply that confident with his spell.

"That's a steep price… However, I'll keep it in mind. If we found some rare item that can't be appraised by those cheaper appraisers, I'll be contacting you."

Rayven nodded as he wore the cloak. Although it didn't have other mystical effects, he had expected nothing more.

After all, Drosk had already warned him that Iron Fang wasn't in the business of mage gear.

Still, durability meant fewer worries about rips or stray claws, and the scent-blocking enchantment was definitely something that they might need.

"All set?" Drosk asked.

Rayven nodded.

"Good. Let's move."

***

The group only rode a carriage for about 20 minutes before they disembarked at a crossroad. They continued to travel on foot eastward.

The quarry wasn't too far, but the presence of Feral Beasts meant they couldn't travel carelessly since the lower rank adventurers only clear this area once a week.

After some time, Victor, the scout of the group, confirmed the presence of five gray-furred shapes darting onto the road.

"Feral Gray Wolves… They look starving." Victor said after seeing their thinner physique compared to others…

"Spread!" Drosk gave his command.

The adventurers moved in unison.

Emma darted to the side, drawing the wolves' attention while Victor stood firm with his blades unsheathed…

Hale, on the other hand, moved in front to welcome the Feral Beasts…

His axe cleaved the first wolf that charged at them.. Then, Emma's arrow made a clean hit through the eye.

Rayven held his staff tightly as he felt that it was a bit heavier than he thought after carrying it for some time…

However, Emma took it differently and immediately waved at him.

"Save your strength, Rayven. No need to waste spells on trash."

"Ahhh… Got it." Rayven replied as he watched the five Feral Grey Wolves get overwhelmed by the four Silver-Ranked Adventurers.