Chapter 9: A One-Sided Acquisition

Chapter 9: A One-Sided Acquisition

Although Su Nan had decided to take on the Hundred-Armed Monster, it was no easy feat. The creature was on par with a Third Circle Legendary Knight, and he needed to be fully prepared.

With the current strength at his disposal, Su Nan wasn't entirely confident he could defeat the monster.

Fortunately, the Hundred-Armed Monster likely wouldn't surface to the surface anytime soon.

From the conversations of the dogheads, it seemed the monster had sent its minions out to raid due to a lack of food. After Su Nan's massacre, the cave was now filled with corpses, which should keep the monster fed for a while.

During this time, he could prepare a strategy to deal with the monster.

Su Nan already had some ideas in mind.

The unexpected incident didn't disrupt his schedule.

After attending Kei's wedding, he continued to focus on meditation and studies.

After consuming a third-tier intermediate Transcendent Potion, his meditation efficiency had significantly improved.

Now, he could gain over 1800 points of proficiency in the Star Ring Meditation Technique each day.

Su Nan estimated that by the Winter Harp Moon next year, he would be able to construct the eleventh Star Ring.

At that point, his mental strength would reach around 34, allowing him to upgrade to a third-tier superior Transcendent Potion.

In terms of physical strength, after consuming the Dragon Blood Fruit synthesized by the Magic Cube, Su Nan's constitution had soared to 30 points.

In terms of constitution, he was now on par with a Grand Knight.

With this, Su Nan's mental and physical attributes met the standards required for fusing the Magic Pattern Core.

The only things missing were the proficiency level in the "Magic Item Creation" skill and the materials for the Magic Pattern Core.

After months of practice, he had used a large amount of materials to create numerous alchemical-grade magic items and lesser magic stones. He was now only a thousand points of proficiency away from reaching level 4 in the skill.

For the materials, Su Nan had recently discovered four substitutes, leaving him with only seventeen rare metals to collect.

Additionally, the concentration of the Hidden Dragon's sub-dragon bloodline had steadily increased.

It had risen from less than 8% to over 10% in just two months.

"The bloodline concentration is easier to increase when it's low," Su Nan thought, glancing at the Hidden Dragon basking in the sun in the open field.

It was unclear whether it was due to evolving into a sub-dragon or awakening the Flame Breath ability, but the Hidden Dragon now enjoyed basking in the sun more and more, a habit typical of dragons.

Shaking his head, Su Nan turned his gaze to the red-eyed crow flying overhead.

Before hatching the red-eyed crow, he had specially modified the egg, infusing it with a trace of dragon blood.

As a result, the hatched red-eyed crow was much larger, covered in scales, and had a higher intelligence.

A normal red-eyed crow couldn't even match an Apprentice Knight, but the one with dragon blood could now suppress two to three Apprentice Knights in direct combat.

If not for the red-eyed crow's weak foundation, which couldn't handle too much dragon blood, Su Nan could have further enhanced it to the Knight level.

"Unfortunately, living beings can't be synthesized and enhanced using the Magic Cube, or it would be much simpler," he mused.

However, this modification had finally pushed his "Biological Modification" skill to level 3.

"Tonight is the gathering at the Forest Cottage."

Su Nan walked to the workshop and stayed there until evening before returning to the meditation room to retrieve the key to the trading house.

As soon as the key became usable, Su Nan activated it.

In a flash, he found himself in the familiar wooden cottage.

The bright moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a gentle and beautiful glow, and the rustling of leaves in the breeze could be faintly heard.

Looking around, Su Nan saw that Night Owl, Red Heart, Rose, and Skeleton were all present.

There was also an additional person.

The person wore a simple silver mask with no decorations, and the table in front of them was inscribed with the word "Wand."

"The fifth member," Su Nan thought to himself.

"Today's gathering has six members in attendance, making it the most crowded in recent years," Night Owl said with a chuckle from the head of the table.

Rose and Red Heart both subconsciously glanced at Su Nan.

They had come to this gathering solely because of Su Nan, hoping to trade for more resources from him.

"By the way, Wand, let me introduce you. This is the new member of the Forest Cottage, Player."

Wand nodded at Su Nan, his voice steady and confident.

"Welcome to the Forest Cottage."

"I heard from Night Owl that you killed Hebe. Well done!"

"I've always believed that everyone must follow the order. Disrupting the order will ultimately harm everyone's interests."

"This is the principle the Forest Cottage has always adhered to. Hebe's recent actions have severely violated the initial agreements we all made. Even if you hadn't killed him, we were planning to expel him from the Forest Cottage."

Su Nan raised an eyebrow, realizing the Forest Cottage was more principled than he had anticipated.

It made sense, considering the wizard apprentices of the Forest Cottage had connections to noble factions and even royal families.

For these people, stability is the most important thing.

If everyone starts acting recklessly, like Hebe did, pursuing personal interests at the cost of the entire nation, the situation would eventually spiral out of control.

After hearing Wand's words, Skeleton let out a cold snort but didn't say anything.

Night Owl shook his head and said, "The person is already dead. What's the point of discussing this now?"

Wand chuckled lightly, "Night Owl, I know you want to find more wizard apprentices to join the Forest Cottage so everyone can exchange more resources. But the candidates need to be carefully selected. Someone like Hebe would only bring trouble to the Forest Cottage."

Rose and Red Heart both nodded in agreement.

They had to admit that Wand had a point.

For instance, the recent beastification disaster orchestrated by Hebe could easily be mistaken by outsiders as a plot by the Forest Cottage.

When that happens, the enmity Hebe incurs would also be directed at the Forest Cottage.

They certainly didn't want to take the blame for Hebe's actions.

Night Owl nodded with a wry smile and said, "Alright, I'll be more stringent in my selection from now on."

"Thank you," Wand nodded slightly to Night Owl.

Su Nan watched the entire exchange, his eyes flickering with thought.

From Wand's words and actions, he sensed a familiar noble demeanor.

That kind of elegance and poise, instilled from a young age and deeply ingrained, was impossible to mimic.

Others might not notice, but Su Nan could tell at a glance that Wand was of noble birth.

"Rose, Wand, and me—quite a few of the wizard apprentices here are of noble lineage."

Su Nan thought to himself.

"Let's not waste time on idle talk. Let's start today's gathering," Night Owl clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"Who wants to go first?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rose eagerly said, "I'll go first."

She then placed three boxes on the table and said to Su Nan:

"Here are 356 mid-to-low-grade gems, worth about 6,800 gold coins. Additionally, there are four of the rare metals you need, and 54 wizard tomes. All together, I'll trade them for 100 magic stones. How about it?"

Su Nan's eyes lit up, and he began to inspect the items.

Gems were a strategic resource, and he needed as many as he could get.

Of the four rare metals, one had already been replaced by a substitute, but the other three were still needed.

This brought the number of missing materials for the Magic Pattern Core down to 14.

As for the wizard tomes, Su Nan selected them carefully, discarding the dozen or so he already had, and accepted the rest.

After some haggling, Su Nan paid 98 magic stones.

The value of the first transaction at the gathering was surprisingly high.

Night Owl, Red Heart, and Skeleton, who had seen Su Nan's generosity before, remained relatively calm.

But Wand, who hadn't attended previous gatherings, couldn't hide his astonishment.

When did the scale of the trades become so extravagant?

Hundreds of gems and magic stones in a single transaction!

Especially magic stones, which were rare. How did the player manage to get so many?

Wand began to understand why today's gathering had managed to bring together six people, a rare occurrence.

It seemed he had missed a lot by not attending the last gathering.

Next, Night Owl and Red Heart also brought out gems, wizard tomes, and rare metals, though in smaller quantities compared to Rose.

Su Nan didn't mind and accepted everything, adding five new rare metals to his collection.

When it was Skeleton's turn, he surprisingly presented a micro soul crystal to Su Nan.

"Last time, I acted impulsively. I apologize for my rudeness. This is a token of my apology. I hope you can forgive me."

Red Heart and Rose exchanged surprised glances.

They rarely saw Skeleton showing weakness.

Clearly, the allure of magic stones was too great, forcing even Skeleton to lower his guard.

Night Owl, however, remained calm, as if he expected Skeleton's behavior.

Su Nan gave Skeleton a long, hard look before accepting the soul crystal.

He didn't know Skeleton's true intentions, but he didn't care.

He joined the Forest Cottage solely to use the platform to acquire more resources.

As long as Skeleton didn't cause trouble and provided benefits, he didn't mind doing business with him.

A minor conflict was nothing in the face of significant gains.

Both he and Skeleton shared the same mindset.

Seeing Su Nan accept the soul crystal, Skeleton breathed a sigh of relief and quickly added:

"I have five more micro soul crystals. I'll trade them for 15 magic stones. How about it?"

Su Nan didn't hesitate, "10!"

He knew he had to drive a hard bargain!

"13!"

"11!" Su Nan countered, "Final offer, 11!"

Skeleton was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth, "Deal!"

Su Nan took the five soul crystals without showing any emotion, but he felt a warm satisfaction inside.

He had been eyeing soul crystals for a long time, but he didn't want to let Skeleton see through his true intentions, so he had been pretending to be uninterested.

Otherwise, even 20 magic stones wouldn't have been enough to get so many soul crystals.

The price of soul crystals was highly elastic.

Wizard apprentices who didn't specialize in high-tier puppet creation rarely used soul crystals and had little demand for them.

However, for those who specialized in puppet creation, soul crystals were invaluable treasures.

Wand's mouth twitched as he watched the proceedings.

Why had all the usual mutual trades turned into one-sided acquisitions by Su Nan today?

Although he grumbled inwardly, he understood.

If he had as many magic stones as Su Nan, he could have turned everyone into his suppliers too.

Wand considered himself quite wealthy.

In past gatherings, whenever he was present, he always brought the most resources.

But compared to today's player, he seemed much less impressive.

He couldn't help but wonder where Night Owl had found such a wealthy wizard apprentice.

"Rod, you're up."

Night Owl's words broke Wand's reverie.

He cleared his throat and swept his hand over the table, instantly adding three bottles of potion, a ring, and a wand.

"Three bottles of Tranquilizing Potion, an Alchemical-grade Protective Ring, and an Alchemical-grade Wand that can cast three Magic Missiles in a row. Anyone interested?"

Wand's gaze swept over everyone, pausing on Su Nan.

To be honest, he was also very interested in magic stones.

If he could, he would have traded these items for magic stones from Su Nan.

However, to Wand's disappointment, Su Nan remained unmoved, as if the items he had put on the table were not even worth his attention.

In fact, they weren't.

The Tranquilizing Potion was a first-tier potion that could help with meditation and sleep, but it was far less effective than the Active Potion in improving meditation efficiency, let alone the Transcendent Potion.

As for the Alchemical-grade magic items, Su Nan already had eleven Glowing-grade magic items and hundreds of Alchemical-grade items stored in his base.

Two more Alchemical-grade items didn't impress him.

Of course, trading magic stones for these items would be a good deal for Su Nan, but he didn't intend to do so.

Monopolizing everything would make him look greedy, and he wanted to leave some room for others.

In the end, the three Tranquilizing Potions were traded to Night Owl, Rose, and Skeleton.

The wand and protective ring were traded to Rose and Red Heart, respectively.

"Does anyone have anything else to trade?"

At the end of the gathering, Night Owl looked around and asked.

Everyone turned their gaze to Su Nan.

He was the only one who hadn't put anything up for sale.

"I don't have anything to sell."

Su Nan shook his head, then changed the subject.

"However, there is something I'd like to purchase."

"What is it?" Rose asked curiously.

"Divine Blood Amber."

Su Nan noticed that when he mentioned Divine Blood Amber, Night Owl and Red Heart's hands involuntarily trembled.

Clearly, they knew about it.

"Do you know the Starlight Sect?" Su Nan asked.

"The Starlight Sect?" Rose tapped her fingers on the armrest. "The state religion of the Starlight Principality?"

Wand pondered for a moment. "I've heard of this sect. It's a strange and radical cult, seemingly connected to deities."

Night Owl cleared his throat. "I know about Divine Blood Amber. It's the Starlight Sect's holy relic. Attacking it is like declaring war on them. Those fanatics will pursue you to the ends of the earth."

"Player, why do you need this?"

Su Nan replied coolly, "It's a secret."

Night Owl shrugged, wisely not pressing further.

Red Heart added, "The Starlight Sect has a significant presence in the Starlight Principality. It's not to be underestimated. Dealing with them comes with significant risks."

In other words, they needed more money.

Su Nan raised a finger and said slowly, "One Divine Blood Amber for 20 magic stones."

This offer made the wizard apprentices present sit up and take notice.

They had traded many resources to get just a dozen or so magic stones, but one Divine Blood Amber could get them 20.

It was a deal worth making!

"Deal, it's settled!" Red Heart was the first to agree.

The others exchanged glances and also nodded in agreement.

They had no qualms about dealing with a cult connected to deities.

Su Nan's eyes gleamed behind his mask.

Don't underestimate the power of five third-tier wizard apprentices. Together, they could probably overthrow a nation!

With these five targeting the Starlight Sect, they would be in for a world of trouble!

Using just some magic stones, Su Nan could significantly delay the spread of the Starlight Sect's faith, weaken their power, and collect Divine Blood Amber. It was an incredibly advantageous deal for him!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end