Langpu's Magic Shop

Suddenly, Charlotte noticed an enormous dark shadow appear in the sky. *Boom!* The Draconic Ogre Mage landed with a heavy crash! Draped over his massive, six-meter-tall body was a robe stitched together from various wizard robes. The staff clutched in his hand looked comically slender by comparison. He still wore those gold-rimmed spectacles, and his expression at that moment was somewhat disappointed. "Why is it you bunch of paupers..." "Scram! Don't get in the way of me catching outside adventurers." "Another 3rd-circle spell wasted on this..." Langpu glanced at the sheep that Charlotte had turned into. Seeing that he was one of those "Starfallen," the ogre's brow furrowed slightly, and he waved his staff. "Dispel Magic!" A shimmering ray of magical aura shot from the staff and struck Charlotte the sheep. *Poof!* Charlotte instantly transformed from a sheep back into a human. Subconsciously, he cast an Inspect. [Draconic Ogre Mage - Langpu] [Faction: Cinder Nest] [Basic Abilities: ???] [Challenge Rating: ???] [Favorability: -10 (Mild Dislike)] *He really is a high-level wizard! I've finally found one!* Charlotte roared wildly in his heart. Looking up at this massive ogre decked out in magical gear, he felt as if he were looking at the future of the wizard class. Hope sparkled brightly in his eyes. "Please!" "Lord Langpu, I want to learn magic!" Langpu shot him a contemptuous glance and gave a cold snort. "Don't use your shoddy spells to inspect me. You think you can see through me with parlor tricks like that?" "A wizard apprentice who doesn't know a thing?" "Utterly laughable!" Now that Langpu had acquired numerous spells, he was swollen with pride and had long forgotten the miserable days when he only knew Fireball. "I'm heading back to the wizard tower. Don't waste my time in the future. Thralls of the Cinder Nest can just enter through the side door—stop sneaking around out here and getting in the way of my profits." "What a stroke of bad luck." After cursing for a moment, Langpu prepared to cast Fly and leave. Seeing his spellcasting mentor and the guiding light of his class progression about to depart, Charlotte threw caution to the wind, leaped forward, and clamped his arms around Langpu's massive leg. "Lord Langpu, please teach me magic!" Charlotte yelled at the top of his lungs, clinging tightly to Langpu's leg, his eyes burning with unyielding determination. At this moment, he carried not only the convictions of his dead party members, but also the will to restore the glory of wizards! Therefore, he had to cling tightly to this massive thigh! "Damn human..." "Get off me!" Langpu bellowed in a panic. He wasn't particularly adept at using Fly in the first place, and dragged down by Charlotte, he tipped to one side and landed clumsily back onto the ground. Furious and red in the face, Langpu spat, "How can you humans be so foolish, so insolent, so disgusting..." Yet Charlotte only held on for dear life, insisting with utter conviction, "Lord Langpu, please teach me magic!" "Even if you beat me to death, I'll just come back! You know I can revive!" "Let go first." Even though Langpu had held a high position managing the affairs of the Cinder Nest for years and had met all kinds of characters, being clutched by the leg still left him caught between tears and laughter. These humans brought in by his master were truly peculiar—not just because of their infinite revivals, but also because of their bizarre personalities. Charlotte finally released his grip and hurriedly asked, "Then will you teach me magic?" Langpu deliberately pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his golden pupils narrowing slightly. "It's not entirely out of the question." He rubbed his thumb and fingers together. "It's just that for such precious knowledge, you need to pay a negligible amount of coin and contribution." "You should know what I mean." Charlotte's face lit up with overwhelming joy. [Draconic Ogre Mage - Langpu's personal shop is now open to you.] [You must reach 3,000 Cinder Nest Faction Contribution to unlock Langpu's Magic Shop.] Langpu's Magic Shop: Mage Hand Scroll — 10 Gold Coins Light Scroll — 10 Gold Coins Shield Scroll — 30 Gold Coins Fly Scroll — 100 Gold Coins Fireball Scroll — 100 Gold Coins Wall of Fire Scroll — 300 Gold Coins ... "Th-this is..." Hundreds of colorful magic scrolls unfolded before Charlotte's eyes, ranging from the lowest-level cantrip, Mage Hand, all the way to the lofty 4th-circle spell, Wall of Fire. The sight left him utterly dazzled. Charlotte felt as if he had ascended to heaven. Even in the face of the daunting price tags listed beside them, he wasn't frightened in the slightest, because he saw the future— Restoring the glory of God Wizards is our bounden duty! Watching Charlotte's flushed, ecstatic expression, Langpu found it rather strange. He wondered if his prices had been set too low. Was there still room to mark them up? *Wait, that can't be right. I already multiplied the market price several times over.* *I really need to consult Master on how to squeeze these fellows more efficiently...* Langpu pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and thought to himself. ... That night, a heated thread popped up on the player forum. "Wizards are finally rising up! The third uninspectable NPC and wizard class mentor, Draconic Ogre Mage - Langpu, has appeared! New zone Dragon Valley is unlocked!" Naturally, this thread came from none other than Charlotte, guild master of Magic Coin. "Wizards? Even a dog wouldn't play that!" "Just look at that pitiful value for cost; it doesn't even hold a candle to sorcerers. My sorcerer comes with innate spells—how is that not better than buying them with gold? Supporting a single wizard must take an entire guild, doesn't it?" "Doesn't feel as good as a draconic bloodline sorcerer's natural scale armor and fire elemental affinity." Singo was fiercely flaming people on the forum. Because his enemies had recently camped his doorstep, he could only hole up inside the safest place around—the tax collector dormitories—to avoid giving up first blood. "Just having an infinite spell list means wizards are guaranteed to beat sorcerers in the late game!" "Sorcerers just turn into turrets in the late game, while God Wizards stay invincible." "Restoring the glory of wizards is our bounden duty!" "Class change, everyone!" "It's only because gold is scarce right now. Just wait till mid-game, and we'll beat you, Sing-dog, like a dog." "Wait, did you guys even look at the prices? The highest 4th-circle spell scroll is 300 gold coins a pop. Even if I packaged and sold myself, I couldn't afford it..." "How much? Three hundred?!" "I'm out, I'm out. It's a whale class; free-to-play plebs can't afford this." "It's not that wizards are unplayable, it's that sorcerers are just more cost-effective." "LF teammates to grind contribution quests together! Wouldn't it be sweet if we all turned into draconic bloodline sorcerers?" As the discussion went on, the thread's tone gradually shifted. Charlotte stared fixedly at the screen, his expression growing increasingly twisted. "One day, I'll show all you class-discriminating bastards what a true God Wizard is!" "Mage Hand!" With Charlotte's gesture, a translucent hand forged of magic materialized out of thin air—this was the cantrip scroll he had emptied his life savings to buy. "I can finally cast spells!" Tears streamed down Charlotte's face, while behind him, the members of the Magic Coin guild celebrated wildly.