"One Divine Awakening Flower is 280 Gold Coins, so three are 840 Gold Coins."
"100 milliliters of Merak Water is 250 Gold Coins, so 500 milliliters is 1,250 Gold Coins."
"The Antidote Potion formula and the Stamina Potion formula are both 300 Gold Coins, for a total of 600 Gold Coins."
"Everything together comes to 2,690 Gold Coins."
The bald man skillfully worked his abacus and quickly gave him the total.
Pei Ze nodded and requested fifty portions each of the materials for Ferocity Potions, Antidote Potions, and Stamina Potions.
The materials for the three types of potions were similarly priced, coming to a final total of 2,620 Gold Coins.
"That's 5,310 Gold Coins in total. Let's round it down and call it an even 5,300 Gold Coins," the bald man said with a chuckle.
Pei Ze paid readily. After receiving his items, he placed them all into his dimensional bag and turned to leave.
After the transaction, his Gold Coin count had plummeted, leaving him with just over a thousand.
'I can still brew another batch of potions before the trial begins. I'll sell them and buy another Magic Item,' Pei Ze thought to himself.
The trial had strict restrictions on Magic Items.
Magic Items of Glimmer-grade and above were prohibited.
Only Alchemical-grade Magic Items could be used, with a maximum limit of three.
He currently only had the dimensional bag and a Protective Ring, so he could carry one more Magic Item.
Lost in thought, Pei Ze soon arrived at the edge of the district.
He was just about to leave the district when a hoarse cry suddenly rang out, tearing through the night's silence like a sharp blade.
CAW!
It was the sound of Wuyu from his wrist.
The moment the sound rang out, a powerful warning surged from the depths of Pei Ze's mind.
Without a second thought, he threw himself to the side.
In the very next instant, a cold glint silently streaked over his head. SWOOSH! It plunged into the ground not far away, burying most of the arrow deep in the earth. The fletching on the exposed end was still quivering.
'An ambush!'
Pei Ze's expression changed drastically. With a flick of his wrist, he was already clutching a Strangler Vine seed in his palm.
At the same time, four figures in black robes, their faces hidden behind masks, appeared without a sound. They blocked Pei Ze's path, two in front and two behind, cutting off his escape.
"Well, well, you're quicker than you look!"
The leading black-robed man sneered.
The familiar voice made Pei Ze's gaze harden.
'It's the guy who just bought all my potions!'
Pei Ze glanced around, and everything became clear.
'Looks like they've had their eyes on me since the first time they bought potions. Showing up so quickly this time, buying everything… they must have planned to rob me on the way back all along.'
His eyes turning cold, Pei Ze discreetly used the Eye of Omniscience.
The information he received was somewhat surprising.
All four of them were actually Grand Knights!
And as Pei Ze sized up his enemies, the four black-robed men stared coldly back, their gazes fixed on Pei Ze's lips and hands, their bodies tense and ready to strike at any moment.
This detail alone showed that they had experience fighting Wizard Apprentices more than once.
Unless a Wizard had mastered skills like silent or instant casting, they had to use incantations to perform Magic.
Experienced warriors could identify the Magic a Wizard was about to cast based on the incantation and react accordingly.
They could even interrupt the Wizard's incantation, causing them to suffer a magical backlash.
Therefore, when fighting a Wizard, experienced Knights would always watch their opponent's lips.
For a moment, Pei Ze and the four Grand Knights were locked in a strange stalemate.
"Leave the dimensional bag, and we'll let you go!" the leader of the black-robed men suddenly said.
Pei Ze narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Seeing this, the black-robed man's tone grew colder. "I suggest you don't put up a pointless struggle. A mere Second-level Wizard Apprentice is no match for us!"
Pei Ze finally spoke, his voice light. "If that's the case, why don't you just attack?"
The black-robed man fell silent.
Pei Ze sneered. 'Of course, he could see that these guys had no intention of letting him go. They were just trying to make him hesitate, creating an opening for their comrades.'
"A Peak Knight-level archer, huh? Quite rare."
Pei Ze glanced at a distant rooftop shrouded in darkness, then turned his gaze back to the black-robed men with a smirk.
"You're waiting for your partner to make a move, aren't you? What a coincidence. So am I."
As if in response to Pei Ze's words, a short, sharp scream suddenly echoed from the distance.
The four Grand Knights' expressions changed dramatically, their faces filled with shock and suspicion.
'They had been staring at Pei Ze the entire time, never once looking away. When did he make his move?'
However, they didn't have to wonder for long.
A wisp of black mist suddenly shot in from the distance, landing on Pei Ze's shoulder and solidifying into a jet-black crow. Its eyes glowed faintly in the night as it stared coldly at them.
"A magic pet!"
The leader of the black-robed men spat out the words through gritted teeth.
The moment he saw Wuyu appear, he knew his other comrade was most likely dead or close to it.
Thinking back, it must have been this Crow Magic Pet that had issued the warning, allowing their target to dodge the sneak attack.
'But what he couldn't understand was how the magic pet of a Second-level Wizard Apprentice could instantly kill a Peak Knight.'
'Even the magic pet of a Third-level Wizard Apprentice would have difficulty doing that.'
Pei Ze smiled faintly and reached up to stroke Wuyu's head.
Under the cover of night, Wuyu's mist-form ability was at its most effective.
Even someone as strong as a Grand Knight would have trouble noticing the movement of a wisp of black mist without any prior warning.
The moment Pei Ze realized he was being ambushed, he had silently sent Wuyu off in its mist form to take out the hidden archer first.
Compared to the four Grand Knights in front of him, the archer had actually been the greatest threat.
The black-robed man took a deep breath, suppressed his shock, and then barked out a cold command: "Attack!"
The instant the word left his lips, he charged at Pei Ze, radiating killing intent.
His three accomplices snapped back to their senses and, without a word, charged Pei Ze as well.
Facing the pincer attack, Pei Ze's expression remained perfectly calm.
Instead, it was Wuyu on his shoulder that shrieked and flapped its wings. A torrent of mist suddenly poured from its body, rapidly forming into numerous Fog Crows that swarmed the surrounding enemies.
The sudden development startled the four Grand Knights.
One of the Grand Knights instinctively swung his sword at an approaching Fog Crow, but the blade passed right through its body, leaving behind only faint, thread-like wisps of mist.
"!!!"
The Grand Knight's eyes widened in shock. In that moment of distraction, a pair of gleaming, sharp claws lunged for his face.
Caught off guard, he only had time to turn his head slightly. The next second, a searing pain shot through his cheek as the claws tore off a large chunk of flesh, sending a spray of crimson blood into the air.
"AAAGH!!"
The Grand Knight let out a bloodcurdling scream as warm blood instantly gushed down one side of his face.
Wracked by pain, he erupted with his fighting aura. The cold light of the Longsword in his hand flared as he swung it wildly, finally shredding the Fog Crow to nothing.
Seeing this, the other three men's faces turned pale in unison.
'These crows can actually injure a Grand Knight?!'
As this realization dawned on them, they looked at the swarm of crows filling the air, and a chill shot up their spines, making their scalps tingle.