Chapter 234: Getting an apartment

She was shocked to hear the items that Alex planned to sell and had to recheck his rank to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things but no matter how she looked, Alex was just a Core rank mage.How did he manage to get his hands on two grade 5 mana cores and why would he want to sell them instead of using them to increase his strength?

Is he an idiot?

"Say, how did you get those mana cores?" The woman asked as she resumed walking, and Alex followed her, replying that he had received them as rewards for coming in first place in the Magic University assessment.

"Oh, you’re a student of a magic university? Which university is it?"

"Brandvel Magic University," Alex replied.

The woman "..."

She was once again left speechless and found herself standing still and gawking at Alex.

"Y-you are a student of Brandvel Magic University? And you said you came in first place in the assessment?" She asked in disbelief.

Who didn’t know about Brandvel Magic University? Even someone like her had dreamed of studying there when she was little but wasn’t able to.

’Has the standard of the university dropped so much that a Core mage can take first place?’ she thought to herself.

Seeing how silent she was, Alex thought that she wasn’t convinced and took out his student ID to show her. The woman confirmed that Alex wasn’t lying; he was really a student at the Brandvel Magic University.

As for how he managed to come in first place, that would forever remain an unsolved mystery for her.

"But why do you want to sell them instead of using them to strengthen yourself? If you use the two mana cores, you might be able to reach the Expert mage rank." She stated.

"I know, but I need the money." Alex shrugged and replied.

The woman’s eyes flashed as she remembered seeing that Alex had registered at the Union branch in Balon City; then, he must be a native of Balon City.

She now understood.

’His family must be poor, and he needs to take care of himself, must be the reason why he wants to sell these mana cores instead of using them,’ she thought to herself, feeling sad for Alex.

"It’s all right, come with me." She said after taking a deep breath.

Some time later, Alex was led to an empty room where the woman asked him to take out the items that he wanted to sell.

Since everything was inside his storage ring and he didn’t need to cast space pocket, Alex didn’t mind another person being in the room as he proceeded to take the items out.

Two grade 5 mana cores and a total of 8 grade 1 magic items and 6 grade 2 magic items.

"That’s all," Alex announced after he brought out everything that he wanted to sell.

The woman nodded and started doing the calculations for the items.

After almost a minute, she was done calculating and told Alex that everything was worth 800,320,000 Zen after all the required charges were removed.

She asked Alex which account he would like the money to be transferred to.

"Umm, my account can’t receive such a large amount yet, could you give me a Union card instead?" Alex asked with an embarrassed smile.

"Fufufu, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll be back shortly." The woman giggled before leaving. She returned some time later with a black card in her right hand which she handed over to Alex.

"Here, make sure not to lose it because anyone would be able to use your money if they find it." She advised Alex seriously while passing the card over to him.

"I understand, thank you." Alex bowed politely, he had a good impression of this person. Her attitude was kind even though he wasn’t anyone important.

Alex left the Union Core centre after receiving his money. He took a cab and asked the driver to go to the neighbourhood that he had already scouted out while he was sneaking out as Mr Chen some weeks ago.


The place wasn’t too far from the university but there was still quite some distance between, Alex felt it was fine to stay there.

The driver nodded and started the journey. Five minutes later, they arrived in front of a large gate that led to the neighbourhood; it was an estate.

The Watchman at the gatepost approached them, it was an old man at the Core rank.

He asked them what business they had here and Alex replied that he was looking to get a place here.

"Oh ok. Hold on for a moment." The old man said before taking his phone out to make a call.

Forty seconds later, the old man kept his phone and allowed them through after telling them that someone would be waiting for them inside the estate.

They thanked him before driving through. Just like the old man had said, a middle-aged man in neat clothes was waiting in front of a tall building after they drove into the estate and was waving at them.

No other cars were entering the estate at this moment, so this person was definitely waving at them. The car drove towards him and stopped by the sidewalk.

"Hello, you must be the one who’s looking to get an apartment." The middle-aged man walked close to the car window where Alex was sitting with a professional smile on his face.

"Yes, I am," Alex replied. After a glance, he noticed that this person didn’t have any mana and was just an ordinary human.

"Good, you can pay for the cab and come with me. I’m certain you’ll be satisfied and won’t need to go elsewhere." The man declared.

Alex came down and paid the cab before following the man.

As they walked, the man said some words about the estate to Alex. He said that it was a neighbourhood where lots of mages lived. Many of them were explorers, some were students, while others were regular workers so Alex didn’t have to worry about the neighbourhood not being safe.

He then asked Alex why Alex wanted to get a place here. Of course, he wanted Alex to get a place here but just needed to know who he was allowing into the neighbourhood; it was part of his job.

Alex explained that he was a student of a magic university and didn’t want to live in the university dorm, but didn’t want to stay too far either; this was a nice location.

"That’s very good to hear. And since you’re a student, I’m sure you won’t be budgeting for a lavish place. What about here? There are several apartments in this building, and most of the occupants are explorers and students just like you.

Don’t worry, the apartments are quite spacious even though there are many of them inside a single building." The man said with a convincing smile while gesturing at the huge building that they had stopped by after walking for a few minutes.

Alex didn’t mind having a less lavish place to stay so he agreed to go check the apartment out.

Both of them went inside the building.

Some time later. After Alex was done checking the place, he was satisfied with it. The living room was wide and already furnished, same for the other rooms in the apartment. There was a big bathroom, a big kitchen, and even a study room.

"So how much is it?" Alex asked.

"Since you’re a student, I won’t charge you like I do with regular clients.

"Five hundred million Zen yearly, a hundred and fifty million Zen for agent fee, as well as caution and tenancy agreement fee."