The balls were classified by habitat, and the salamander was with the fresh water and soil hybrids, together with frogs, some birds and a few more.
“Bomber frog…” Velvet read one out loud. “That one sounds so badass… And it eats the same as the fire salamander.”
She had read various texts on different balls, and most small carnivores fed on ‘All-purpose worms’.
Those sold at ten auris the ball with hundred, but, by feeding them anything, they reproduced, becoming a stable source of food.
“I don’t want to become a farm…” She complained.
“Are you that sure? A true mage owns more than that.” The cloaked person next to her said.
“Really? Weren’t some mages saying that a true mage was the one that consumed a demon?”
“That body fashion club? A bunch of losers.” The cloaked shadow, who Velvet guessed was the shop’s owner, waved their hand with uninterest.
“Oof, that’s harsh. What part of owning pets makes one a 'true' wizard?”
“That’s just the start. A true magician is one that can travel to the ends of the world having all needs covered. A whole moving workshop on themselves.”
“So,” Velvet continued. “They need a whole alchemy lab, with a garden and a collection of magical beasts from which to obtain materials and food.”
“Exactly, even then, you’re only focussing on magical needs. Transport, lodging, self care…”
“Hm, what do you sell for transportation?”
“I only deal with small beasts.” Before Velvet could say something, the owner continued. “You’re only interested in fire, amphibious beasts?”
“For the moment, yes. Unless you have something that mixes well with paper. Or something that gives me fairy dust.”
“Fairy dust comes from pixies, and those aren’t considered beasts, but I have something similar.”
“Something that feeds on All-purpose worms?” Since she had to buy those already, at least they would be milked for all their worth.
“The Space-leaping toad. You can take some blood from it every ten days, and it works almost the same.”
“... How am I supposed to take the blood?” Was the owner implying she had to hold down a teleporting toad and cut it a bit?
“... Oh, you’re very new.” They seemed to notice her lack of knowledge. “These balls that hold them inside are made to take care of that. As long as you care for the ones inside, you only need to pick the materials once they’re ready.”
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“And about feeding, does it also go automatically?”
“The All-purpose worms need to be fed from the outside, but anything works for them. The others, you can make a formation to connect them. Or pay someone to make them for you.”
I don’t know how to make formations. She thought for a bit. “If I buy a fire salamander, a bomber frog, a space-leaping toad and one ball of All-purpose worms, can you include teaching me how to make that formation on the price?”
“Add another one from that shelf, and I’ll include the step by step guide.”
“Why that shelf in particular?”
“They are the ones too difficult to sell.” That was just a fancy way to say old or sick. Velvet bit back the comment she was going to make.
In the end she decided not to hold anything back. “Do you sell those to anyone who asks for the formation?”
“Yep!” He said shamelessly.
She went to look at the shelf, concluding that her previous guess was right. The contained creatures were old, hybrids, or had some deformities.
“Why are hybrids here?”
“They cannot reproduce.”
Velvet had already noticed that the creature’s price not only varied for age, but for gender too. It made sense, in case someone wanted to breed and raise them.
Velvet looked at the hybrids, since she wasn’t interested in breeding animals for now.
A bicolored salamander, a spider with feathers, a snake with fish scales, a chinchilla covered in slime…
“Choose the spider.” She heard Hyde speaking in her mind.
“Why? Are you lonely?”
“Spiders don’t get lonely, don’t be stupid.”
“Don’t be secretive then! Why do you want it?”
“The formation. It says you can collect the webs from it, so if you give it to me, I can copy the formation and collect my own webs. I could even gift some of them to you if you behave.”
“See? It was that easy. I always behave. I am the epitome of ladylike behavior!” She finished, going back to talk to the seller.
“I want the feathered spider.”
“Good choice!” He picked all the containers that Velvet had selected, putting them on the counter. “A fire salamander, a bomber frog, a space-leaping toad, a feathered spider and one ball of All-purpose worms. 180 auris.”
Feeling the pain of that number, Velvet paid. The owner pulled out some mechanism, a big box with a round magnifying glass on top, and two holes on the sides to insert the arms.
“Alright, come here. Look.” He grabbed the five balls, putting them inside the box. Grabbing the one with the All-purpose worms, he started explaining. “This one is going to become the central piece, since it’s gonna feed everyone. See these symbols?” He applied some magic, and, with the help of the magnifying glass, both him and Velvet could see the tiny symbols with ease. “You grab this one, and stretch it. Then, you grab… lessee… the bomber frog, and join the extended symbol with this one. They are made to be sewed with magic, so we do that… Are you getting it?”
Velvet nodded, watching how he sewed the two balls.
“Prove it. Put the fire salamander now.” He took out his hands, beckoning Velvet to continue.
She put her hand inside, applying some magic. The symbols appeared, and she started stretching the one that was supposed to connect them.
“Go slow, first learn the movements, you can practice them later.”
Being corrected, Velvet started taking her sweet time threading the symbols.
It's similar to normal sewing, but using the mind instead, while the fingers keep the formation open.
Once the two balls were joined by that magical thread, the owner spoke. "Now do the rest. Keep stretching that part and combine the remaining containers. Ideally, you want to make a bracelet."
"I understand..." She kept chaining the balls. It seemed she was slow but steady, since the owner left her to do it alone and went to attend the other customers, until she obtained something that could be called a bracelet.
"What's this box called?" Once she was done, the owner came back to check.
"A formation microscope." He seemed to think a bit. "Don't bother buying one, though. Most shops already have them to be used when you need to install whatever you bought." He took and checked the bracelet, nodding. “A bit clunky, but will hold.”
He gave it back, not changing any part of Velvet’s work.
"Good to know." Velvet slid the bracelet onto her wrist, where it became affected by the concealment spell, becoming part of the cloak.
Saying goodbye to the pet shop owner, Velvet decided to go see the alchemy shops. Maybe there was some sort of competition like the Arena, and she could see how it worked.
This time she didn’t plan on participating anyway, just observe the ones that did. Alchemy was not on her skill list, so, unless it was free to participate, she was sitting this one out.