Chapter 117: Amy's Time to Shine

Chapter 117: Amy’s Time to Shine

At the entrance of the base, the sounds of neighing horses and shouting people filled the air.

A group of guild members were unloading boxes from the wagons, sweating profusely from the effort.

nearby, a steward was shouting loudly, "Be careful! Move gently! These are valuable goods. If you break anything, you won't be able to pay for it with a month's salary!"

Among the crowd, there were over a dozen exceptionally tall and muscular individuals, with thick body hair and distinct animal features. They carried heavy boxes with ease, one under each arm.

Muzhao watched this scene and nodded to himself.

It seemed like a wise decision to take in these beastmen. They could serve as guards and laborers, enduring hardships without complaint. One salary could hire the equivalent of two or three workers, making it a very cost-effective choice.

After the Beastification Disaster, beastmen could no longer stay in the Starry Sky Principality. They were despised and driven away wherever they went.

Thus, the beastmen migrated to neighboring countries.

A significant number of them ended up in the Thornflower Principality.

Thanks to Ota’s plea, Muzhao decided to take in a group of beastmen, which initially caused some controversy within the guild. However, it now seemed like the right decision.

As he was pondering, a rumbling sound caught his attention.

The base gates slowly opened, and towering clay golems emerged, each carrying multiple stacked boxes that looked incredibly heavy.

When they reached the caravan, the clay golems gently placed the boxes on the ground, but the thud still made the guild members gape in amazement.

"These big guys are so strong!"

"I bet those boxes weigh a ton!"

"I heard they’re called golems."

"So amazing!"

The guild members whispered to each other, pointing and marveling at the clay golems. Especially the new recruits, who stared with wide-eyed curiosity.

"Sir Xie Man."

Muzhao’s eyes lit up as he saw a figure walking out of the base, and he quickly went to greet him.

Compared to the young and inexperienced Xie Man from a few years ago, the Xie Man standing before him now exuded a calm and steady demeanor, commanding respect.

"Long time no see, President Muzhao."

After exchanging pleasantries, Xie Man pointed to the boxes piled on the ground and said with a smile, "These are the metals for this transaction. They have all been smelted into ingots. Have your people count them, and if everything is in order, we’ll proceed with the agreed price."

After successfully developing the mineral veins around Dark Lake City, the Firefox Guild’s transactions with Su Nan expanded to include metal trades, in addition to potions.

With five mineral veins (including the silver mine in the cave) and the high efficiency of the clay golems, the monthly production of iron, copper, and precious metals was astonishing. The Flashing Fields alone couldn’t consume all of it, so most of the metals had to be sold externally.

Muzhao nodded and turned to instruct the steward to have the men count the supplies. Then, he turned back to Xie Man and carefully said, "Sir Xie Man, I received a letter from Lord Su Nan, mentioning an increase in potion transactions. About that—"

"Master has already informed me."

Xie Man smiled. "Starting today, the base will sell twice as many potions as before. I wonder if the Firefox Guild can handle it?"

"Of course, no problem!" Muzhao said firmly.

Joking aside, even if they couldn’t handle it, they would have to force themselves to.

Ever since the potion trade route was established, the Firefox Guild’s profits had soared.

The potions sold by the base were highly sought after in the Thornflower Principality, always in short supply.

With a monopoly on this business, the Firefox Guild was raking in profits.

In such a situation, Muzhao would never let others horn in.

Not to mention, the Firefox Guild’s capacity could easily handle twice the amount of potions. Even if they couldn’t, they could develop agents to sell part of the potions, taking a cut of the profits and still making a fortune.

Any sensible person would know what to do.

"That’s good to hear. Finding another trustworthy business partner would be quite troublesome," Xie Man said with a smile.

"Sir Xie Man, rest assured! The Firefox Guild can handle any amount you send our way!"

Muzhao patted his chest, making a firm commitment. Then, he cautiously asked, "A few days ago, I wrote back to Lord Su Nan, mentioning the possibility of acting as an agent for wizard potions. What did Lord Su Nan say?"

The wizard potions Muzhao referred to were not the diluted potions, but the genuine article.

Those diluted potions were rare treasures for ordinary knights, but for grand knights, their effects were somewhat lacking.

Only the undiluted, genuine wizard potions can pique the interest of grand knights. Developing this group as clients will expand our profits.

Xie Man smiled and said, "Master has agreed to your request, President Muzhao. From now on, we will provide a certain amount of zero-rank potions to the Firefox Guild each month. However, there are two conditions."

Muzhao's spirits lifted, and he eagerly replied, "Please, go on!"

"The first condition is that the zero-rank potions provided to the Firefox Guild cannot be sold in the Starry Sky Principality. If our potions are found in the Starry Sky Principality, regardless of the reason, the agency for zero-rank potions will be terminated immediately."

Muzhao hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "No problem!"

As the president of a large guild with connections spanning multiple countries, he had always kept a close eye on the situation in each nation. He understood the delicate relationship between Flashing Fields and the Starry Sky Royal Family. A war might break out in the near future, and it was understandable that Flashing Fields did not want to aid their potential enemies.

Xie Man's request was not difficult to fulfill, as long as they strictly controlled their trading partners. After all, the wizard potion market was intended for a high-end clientele, and the number of buyers would be limited. With some extra effort, it was certainly achievable.

"The second condition is that all transactions for zero-rank potions will only accept payment in gems of equal value."

Muzhao was taken aback but quickly recovered and agreed without hesitation.

While he was curious about why payment had to be in gems, this condition was undoubtedly simpler than the first and certainly not worth refusing.

"Then, let's have a pleasant cooperation, President Muzhao."

"During the next transaction, we will deliver the first batch of zero-rank potions."

"Thank you, Sir Xie Man."

With the main purpose of his visit achieved, Muzhao was in high spirits. As he shook hands with Xie Man, he subtly passed a small bag of gems.

Xie Man glanced at it but did not refuse, smiling as he accepted it.

The base was currently mass-producing various golem puppets, and the gems needed to create soul cores were in short supply. This was why Master had insisted on payment in gems.

The small bag of gems would be enough to create over a dozen soul cores, earning a significant amount of contribution points.

Two hours later, both parties completed the goods exchange.

As he watched the caravan depart, Xie Man ordered the clay golems to move the items back to the warehouse. He then left the base and headed to the 4th Magic Plant Garden.

The 4th Magic Plant Garden had been opened three months ago, and today was the day the first batch of magic plants matured. He needed to harvest them and bring them back to the base.

With more and more students learning to create zero-rank potions, the base's demand for various basic materials was increasing.

To address this, Master had opened two more magic plant gardens.

One was near Flashing City, and the other was in the underground world.

It was rumored that the 5th and 6th Magic Plant Gardens were currently selecting locations and preparing for construction.

Since joining the base, Xie Man had witnessed all its changes. He could feel the base's prosperity and growth.

Perhaps in the near future, the base could transform into a wizard tower, as described in the books.

He hoped to witness that day with his own eyes.

In the underground world, in the city of Dark Lake.

In the central palace, in the study.

The quiet study was filled with a faint, soothing fragrance, the aroma of calming flower tea.

Su Nan sat at his desk, diligently sketching and writing, with a cup of calming flower tea by his side.

The tea, infused with calming flowers, helped to focus the mind and enhance concentration, which was beneficial for experimental research.

However, its more common use was to aid in meditation. Only Su Nan, who owned three magic plant gardens and was in the process of building two more, could afford the luxury of using calming flowers to brew tea.

After a long while, Su Nan put down his quill and drained the cup of tea in one gulp.

Setting the cup aside, he looked at the new design on the desk and smiled with satisfaction.

After months of research, he had finally combined gem puppet and golem miniaturization technology to design a new puppet.

The new puppet's body, muscles, bones, and internal organs were primarily made of diamond, with secret silver used for the blood vessels and tendons. The heart was crafted from a high-level rune gem, supplemented by various rare metals and base materials like silver and gold.

The final puppet would not only have an indestructible body but could also harness the power of energy particles through the high-level rune gem.

Additionally, it would be inscribed with multiple cantrips, first-level, and second-level spells, giving it the ability to cast spells.

According to Su Nan's design, the final puppet, while not reaching the level of a full-fledged wizard, would be significantly more powerful than a typical third-level wizard apprentice.

Even someone like Herb would be no match for the new puppet!

"The only problem is the cost."

Despite cutting costs, the initial estimate for creating such a puppet was still quite high: sixteen kilograms of mithril, over a thousand standard units of diamonds, about twenty high-level rune gems, and a large quantity of basic materials.

Most importantly, a small soul crystal would be needed as the soul core.

All in all, the total cost would be at least eighty thousand gold coins!

"Diamonds and high-level rune gems can be managed with time. I can synthesize a small soul crystal from micro soul crystals, probably around twenty to thirty should do."

"The real issue is the mithril."

Su Nan currently had two silver mines, both of which contained a small amount of mithril. However, these were small mines, and even if he extracted all the mithril, he would only get about twelve kilograms.

He would need to collect the rest.

Su Nan had already announced his intention to purchase mithril at the gathering in the forest cottage, but he didn't expect it to yield much.

After all, mithril was a precious material, and few wizard apprentices would be willing to part with it.

"If I could find one or two more silver mines, even small ones, it would be enough to gather the mithril."

Su Nan sighed softly and picked up a list nearby.

This was a warehouse inventory list written by Gaili, detailing the flow of materials for the month.

The largest outflow was naturally the various diluted potions.

Even with the substantial profits from the mines, Su Nan hadn't abandoned the potion trade; he had even expanded it.

After all, no one ever complained about having too many ways to make money.

"Opening five magic plant gardens around Flashing City is the limit. Any more would interfere with each other and reduce yields."

"The environment of Dark Lake City is unique and not suitable for planting magic plants, so one garden is enough."

"To open new magic plant gardens, we'll need to find suitable locations in other towns."

The Golden Rock Province was vast, with many places suitable for opening magic plant gardens.

The key was that if the new gardens were too far from the base, they would need to be guarded by a significant number of golems.

Currently, most of the golems Su Nan and the base had crafted were deployed in the underground world, and there was still a shortage even with that. Additionally, a war with the Starry Sky Royal Family was likely to break out soon, which would require more golems to expand the golem army. For now, he couldn't spare any golems to guard new gardens far from Flashing City.

This plan would have to be postponed.

Fortunately, the current supply of magic plants was sufficient for the base's use and potion trade.

"Meow!"

A familiar meow sounded in his ear, and Su Nan felt a weight on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Amy perched there, holding a gray, unassuming stone in her mouth.

The stone seemed ordinary, but Su Nan could sense a very dense concentration of energy particles from it.

"This is... Gray Earth Stone!"

Su Nan took the stone and examined it for a moment, quickly recognizing its origin.

Gray Earth Stone, strictly speaking, was an elemental crystal formed by the long-term accumulation of earth elements, mostly buried deep underground and difficult to discover.

"Where did you find it?" Su Nan asked, surprised.

"I dug it up underground, meow." Amy lifted her head proudly. "I was taking a walk nearby and sensed a dense concentration of energy particles underground. I asked Carolina to help me dig, and we found this."

Su Nan understood, recalling Amy's ability to sense energy particle fluctuations.

"Is this useful to you?" Amy looked at Su Nan expectantly.

"It is." Su Nan nodded with a smile and patted Amy's head.

Gray Earth Stone had many uses. It could be used to make potions, craft magical items, refine puppets, and set up magical arrays, similar to magic stones.

"Meow, that's good."

Amy rubbed against Su Nan's palm, enjoying the attention.

"The underground world is definitely more fun than the surface. If I find anything good, I'll bring it to you."

The little one seemed very excited, as if she had found her calling.

Su Nan chuckled.

He remembered how he had convinced Amy to return to Flashing City.

At the time, he had hoped to use Amy's ability to sense energy particle fluctuations to find wizard legacies or rare materials. However, with various tasks keeping him busy, he hadn't had time to explore. It turned out that his plan had worked out by chance.

If Amy could find some rare materials in the underground world, it would be a great help.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end