An Owl's Rise

Now realizing what the list of items Melisandre had given her was a list of items that might help her evolve into the next rank, Evelyn looked it over far more carefully.

The list had nineteen different items ranging from beast cores from other beasts with a wind affinity to rare magical plants.

Of course, these nineteen items were not all necessary for a normal zephyr owl to evolve but were known items that were used as catalysts for numerous different possible paths of evolution for the species of owl that Evelyn's parents were.

'Looks like the most any of these known species need it just three items. But that does not really help me since I could need twenty for all I know.' Evelyn thought still not really understand the mechanics of how evolution worked for beasts past the fiend beast rank.

For a fiend beast there had never been a recorded need for more than three items necessary to cause an evolution.

"So, am I going to need to go out an collect everything on this list until I get a hit?" Evelyn asked thinking she was going to have to go on an incredibly long quest to do so.

In response Melisandre just laughed and shook her head, finding the idea quite amusing.

"Well, you could certainly try, but I imagine that would take a very long time to accomplish as some of those items are not common. No, what would make the most sense would be to exercise the credits you have earned. You will find that money can move even mountains." Melisandre said as she rubbed her fingers together and wore an evil smirk.

'I see, this is why she wanted me to earn so many credits.'

Now understanding Melisandre's intention, Evelyn began asking her how she could go about purchasing these items.

"You should already be able to find all of them at the Roost since they are in high demand for a number of fiend beasts that want to evolve. And if not, you can submit a request at the mission hall along with an appropriate reward. This way, with enough credits, you can even entice a higher-ranking owl to get something for you that would normally be out of your grasp." Melisandre explained.

Nodding her head, this made sense to Evelyn.

With enough money it was possible to pay the best at any job to do it for you rather than getting your hands dirty yourself.

'This is how the Roost operates. I cannot do everything on my own, but with enough credits I can get an army of other owls to work for me.'

Evelyn had earned an unfeasible amount for a fiend beast and now she had something to spend it on.

"To start, I suppose I need to know how much these items cost. It is possible I could need any of them, right?"

"Yes, that is the case. And I suppose with what you have earned you can probably afford them all. I believe that the most expensive item the gale pearl might cost between seventy to a hundred thousand credits. Depending on current market supply and demand of course."

Though while Melisandre said this causally, Evelyn's eyes bulged hearing that just one of these items might cost her a hundred thousand credits.

"Oh, but you do not need to worry. Most of the items on that list are only around three to fifteen thousand credits. All in all, I do not believe it should be more than four hundred thousand or so to simply purchase them all." Melisandre said like it was no big deal.

However, for Evelyn this would amount to her spending a large chunk of her earning in one go.

"No need to worry. This is what credits are meant for. You would not believe what it cost me to get information on the item I showed you just a little while ago. But in the end, it was completely worth it. You can always get more credits, but when there is something you need, it is best to just spend what you have without holding back." Melisandre said with a proud look as if she was extoling the greatest of wisdom.

But for Evelyn it just sounded like Melisandre was bad with her money and would blow it all in one go without a care for keeping anything in reserve.

'I suppose I would still have over two hundred thousand left even after this, and my stall can probably make around twenty thousand a day even at a low estimate. If I can get even one item that might be used for my evolution it would be worth it.'

In the end though, while Evelyn thought it was not a great idea to use so much money at once, she could not resist the allure of getting closer to reaching the awakened rank.

After coming to this conclusion Evelyn asked Melisandre what the best way for her to purchase all of these items was.

"That is a bit tricky to answer. Most of the magical plants can be purchased from the alchemy hall. But for others, I would imagine that the market hall will carry them. They should have things like gale pearls for sale there along with other rare items. Though it is possible none are currently in stock. In case you cannot find something, immediately posting a job request with a fairly sizeable reward will be your best bet" Melisandre said while stroking her chin in thought.

Hearing her suggestion Evelyn thought back to when Anneli was taking her around the halls and telling them about them.

The market hall was one she glossed over and did not even show Evelyn the inside of.

All she knew was that it was a place where goods not related to alchemy, inscriptions, or magical crystals which strictly were under the jurisdiction of their respective halls was sold.

'That is probably where Anneli and Katrina buy the meat we are always eating. While they may use alchemy on it, the meat itself is not actually an ingredient, so it is not sold in the alchemy hall. I imagine that there are probably numerous other goods sold there as well.'

Now having her path before her Evelyn began making plans to go around and purchase all the items on the list Melisandre had given her.

Though as she was toiling around with when to go, Melisandre seemed to read her mind and interjected.

"I think you should wait around another week before taking some time off. This way you can show that you are not going anywhere and build up a more stable customer base. It will also get you more credits to use in the event you need them. Then you can simply close down shop for a couple of days and gather the items you need. I would have it done for you, but it is important that you learn to do certain things on your own."

Thinking over Melisandre's advice, Evelyn concluded that in this instance she was right and decided to do as she said.

"Good, now we can go and have dinner. I am starving and have missed Anneli and Katrina's cooking."

Their discussion now over, Melisandre and Evelyn head to the kitchen for a delicious meal, before retiring to their respective room.

…

Quickly the next week went by where Evelyn sold her good in the alchemy hall until it closed and then practiced her magic for a few hours before going to bed.

But once the week had gone by, instead of opening her stall as normal, Evelyn took the day off and made her way to the market hall to purchase the goods she needed.

When she entered, she found that it was similar to the alchemy hall in terms of there being stalls set up everywhere.

However, in terms of what was being sold, there was a huge difference as there were hundreds of different types of items for sale. With some stalls honestly just being a random assortment of things.

'Stay focused Evelyn. Just stick to the list and ignore everything else. If you get caught up trying to understand what everything you see here is, you will not get anywhere.'

Making sure to concentrate on her goals, Evelyn went around in search of the items that she needed and slowly but surely began buying them up.

'Gah, one hundred eleven thousand!'

Staring at the last item that she needed to purchase, Evelyn was taken aback by how stupidly expensive it was.

The most costly thing she had bought up to this point was a part of a magical plant called a whispering vine seed cluster, which had cost her forty-two thousand credits.

Now she was going to have to shell out more than double that for the gale pearl which Melisandre had already informed her was the rarest and most expensive item on her list.

Unfortunately, at this point she was committed, and even though the item she needed was currently above its normal market value, she still handed over the massive amount of credits to purchase it.

Once the transfer was made, she had spent in total and astound four hundred thirty thousand credits. Reaching the upper end of what Melisandre estimated.

Taking the gale pearl Evelyn could feel the wind magical energy inside of it and could tell that it was a league above the other items she had bought.

'Now all I need to do is follow Melisandre's directions and try to attune my magical energy to them. Then she said I would get an instinctual knowledge that it would work for my evolution if it was compatible.'