Chapter 93: Today, You Won't Get a Single Thing

Chapter 93: Today, You Won't Get a Single Thing

In the workshop.

The recently shut down mana crystal forge was still emitting a warm mist. At the workbench, Su Nan carefully placed the last protective ring into the cube and selected synthesis. In the next second, the synthesis interface flashed, and a brand new Extreme Protection Ring emerged.

Su Nan took out the ring and slipped it onto his right pinky finger. Looking at the five Extreme Protection Rings on his right hand, he smiled in satisfaction, feeling much safer.

"As long as I don't get hit by an attack that exceeds 1000 defense, these five rings can take turns protecting me."

"5000 defense points are enough to withstand over fifty second-level spells."

Even a weaker third-level wizard apprentice would likely not have enough mental energy to cast fifty second-level spells in a row, demonstrating the formidable defense provided by the five Extreme Protection Rings.

Calmly, Su Nan looked at his left hand, where only his index and middle fingers wore the Doom Ring and the Storage Ring, respectively, leaving the other three fingers empty. He planned to create three more Doom Rings to utilize those fingers.

"Materials are all used up; I need to buy new ones."

Su Nan ran his hand over the rings, casting the first-level spell, "Disguise Aura," which instantly hid all seven rings. This way, he wouldn't reveal his possession of numerous magical items, and it would also prevent enemies from discovering them during battles and preparing in advance.

Su Nan then opened his interface. As expected, his "Magic Item Creation" skill had broken through to level 3, with over 1000 additional proficiency points. He was still about 5000 points away from reaching level 4. Su Nan estimated that to upgrade "Magic Item Creation" to level 4, he would need to invest materials worth at least 10,000 gold coins. Indeed, every wizard (apprentice) was built on a mountain of resources.

Leaving the workshop, Su Nan headed straight to the meditation room for his daily routine. Just two days ago, he had successfully constructed the tenth star ring. The 11th-level star ring meditation technique now required 500,000 proficiency points to upgrade to the next level. At his current pace, it would take about 11 months to construct the eleventh star ring.

After meditating, Su Nan continued his usual spell learning and casting practice. By the time he finished, it was already night.

Su Nan returned to the meditation room and took out the key to the trading house. He had already checked this item with the cube, confirming that it hadn't been tampered with. However, the key was still in an unusable state, indicating that the trading house hadn't opened and the gathering hadn't started.

Su Nan wasn't in a hurry and sat patiently, waiting. Over the past half-month, he had carefully considered the matters of the forest cabin.

To trade for the resources he needed from other wizard apprentices, he first needed to have something valuable to offer. Su Nan was confident that he had more resources than 99% of the other apprentices.

First, there were potions. Without the synthesis cube, other apprentices found it difficult to gather the materials needed to make potions. First and zero-level potions were manageable, but the materials for second and third-level potions were invaluable.

Moreover, without enough practice materials, their potion-making skills might not even reach the level required for second and third-level potions.

The same applied to magical items. Su Nan didn't lack for potions or magical items, which were precisely what any wizard apprentice needed. However, he didn't plan to trade with potions or magical items. He had a more suitable item—mana stones!

Compared to the high-cost potions and magical items, mana stones, which cost less than two gold coins to manufacture, were undoubtedly more suitable for trading.

As he pondered, the time slipped into the dead of night, with the silver moon hanging high in the sky. Suddenly, Su Nan felt a change in the key in his palm. Upon closer inspection, he found that the key was now usable.

Taking a deep breath, Su Nan put on the mask and injected mental energy into the key, activating it. In the next second, a sensation of weightlessness swept over him. When he came to, he found himself seated at a long table in a simple wooden cabin. The walls and floor were covered in intricate runes. The cabin contained nothing but the long table and over a dozen chairs, identical to the interior of the trading house he had seen before.

At the moment, four others were seated around the table, all wearing masks and cloaks, their faces and figures obscured.

At the head of the table was a person wearing an owl mask, with "Nightowl" inscribed on the table in front of them. To the right of Nightowl was someone wearing a crimson dragon mask, with "Heart" inscribed on their table. Two seats to the right of Heart sat a person in a skull mask, emitting a gloomy aura. Even from a distance, Su Nan could feel the intense negative energy emanating from them. "Bones" was inscribed on their table.

Su Nan sat to the left of Nightowl. Three seats to his left was a person wearing a rose mask, with "Rose" inscribed on their table.

The moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a gentle, gossamer-like glow over the entire wooden cabin.

Su Nan turned his head and glanced out the window, seeing the night sky beyond. However, he knew that this was just an illusion. At the moment, he was in a different dimensional space, far removed from the material world.

"Only five of us are here today. It seems everyone is quite busy."

Nightowl scanned the room, his tone light and teasing.

"Let's not waste time with small talk. As you all know, from today onwards, we have a new member joining us. Let's welcome—"

Nightowl paused and looked at Su Nan.

"Player." Su Nan spoke the alias he had prepared.

As he finished speaking, the table before him seemed to etch itself with the word 'Player' as if an invisible engraving tool had traced it out.

Nightowl pondered for a few seconds, as if trying to decipher the meaning behind the alias. Unfortunately, he was destined to be puzzled.

"Then let's welcome our new member, Player."

Nightowl led the applause.

Heart and Rose raised their hands and lightly clapped.

Only Bones remained motionless, as if he hadn't heard Nightowl's words.

Nightowl didn't mind and turned to Su Nan. "With you, there are now eight of us in the Forest Cabin, but most of the time, not everyone is present. After all, we all have our own things to do."

Su Nan nodded in understanding. He was just as busy every day.

"Then let's not waste any more time. Let's start today's trading."

"Wait!"

Bones suddenly interrupted Nightowl.

Nightowl looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?"

Bones glanced at Su Nan and said, "According to the rules, new members must demonstrate their capabilities to prove they have the resources to participate in our gatherings. After all, no one wants to waste time trading with someone who has nothing to offer."

Nightowl shook his head. "That's not necessary. I can vouch for Player. His resources are no less than ours."

A joke, perhaps. Others might not know, but he had personally investigated Su Nan and was well aware of his capabilities.

Could someone who had created the Black Rock Cavalry and the Stone Golem Army possibly lack the resources for trading?

He wouldn't believe it for a second!

Hearing Nightowl's words, Heart and Rose both looked at Su Nan with surprise, clearly wondering why he had earned such a definitive endorsement from Nightowl.

In the Forest Cabin, no one knew each other's true identities.

Only Nightowl, the founder of the Forest Cabin, knew the identities of all the members.

All members who joined the Forest Cabin were personally invited by him.

Bones, however, wasn't swayed by this. He coldly said, "That doesn't mean we can break the rules."

Nightowl's eyes narrowed slightly behind his mask.

The atmosphere became tense.

"Apologies, Lord Su Nan. Bones and Herb had a good relationship. To convince the others to make an exception and allow you to join, I had to reveal that you killed Herb. This might be why Bones is being difficult."

Nightowl's voice was a whisper in Su Nan's ear. Clearly, only Su Nan could hear these words.

"Nightowl is the organizer, but he has little control over the other members of the Forest Cabin. He's not lying; this is indeed a very loose organization."

Su Nan silently considered this. This was actually good news for him.

He nodded subtly at Nightowl and then said, "Then let's follow the rules."

He swept his hand over the table, and ten gray crystals appeared out of nowhere.

"Is this enough to prove my capabilities?"

Bones sneered and fixed his gaze on the crystals, but then he froze in place.

At the same time, a low exclamation came from beneath the mask of Rose, who sat beside him.

A smooth, feminine voice, undoubtedly belonging to a female wizard apprentice.

"Mana stones!"

The ten gray crystals Su Nan had produced were indeed mana stones!

Nightowl instinctively sat up straight and stared at the mana stones in front of Su Nan. "May I take a look?"

Su Nan gestured for him to go ahead.

The trading house was bound by the laws of oath and covenant, which even the owner could not alter. Therefore, there was no need to worry about anyone stealing his items.

Nightowl extended his hand, and one of the mana stones floated up and landed in his palm.

Su Nan's eyebrows raised slightly.

Silent spellcasting?

Or a magical item ability?

If it was the former, Nightowl was quite powerful indeed.

After examining the mana stone for a moment, Nightowl returned it to Su Nan and nodded. "These are indeed mana stones. Although they are lower-grade, their quality is excellent."

The others in the room seemed to trust Nightowl's judgment. Hearing his words, Rose and Heart's gazes turned intensely focused on the mana stones.

Bones fell silent, no longer speaking.

The Starlight Continent had long since lost its natural mana stone mines. The few mana stones that remained were mostly from a thousand years ago, and they were extremely rare.

Mana stones had a wide range of uses. Whether it was for setting up arrays, crafting magical items, or even creating puppets, and some special potions required them as well.

Without mana stones, many things simply couldn't be done.

In the current Starlight Continent, mana stones are undeniably precious materials for any wizard apprentice.

These ten mana stones alone are more than sufficient as trade items for a single gathering.

Even if Bones wanted to find fault, he couldn't come up with a valid excuse.

Seeing Bones remain silent, Nightowl chuckled and clapped his hands, saying:

"Since there are no objections, let's begin tonight's trading."

"Who wants to go first?"

As soon as Nightowl finished speaking, Rose on the right side of the long table spoke up: "I'll go first."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Rose's hand swept over the table, and two palm-sized, intricately crafted wooden boxes appeared.

She opened one of them, revealing a dense cluster of green seeds.

"These are Mandrake seeds. You all know the properties of Mandrake plants, so I won't elaborate. I have 121 Mandrake seeds. Is anyone interested?"

Mandrake plants have a hallucinogenic effect and are a common ingredient in many potions.

Back in Stone Bell City's Wraith Manor, Su Nan had encountered many Mandrake plants, but they had all been corrupted by negative energy and were unsuitable for potion-making, so they were burned.

"What do you want to trade for them?" Su Nan asked.

He was planning to start a new magical plant garden and could use some Mandrake seeds.

Rose glanced at the mana stones on Su Nan's table, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "One mana stone, how about that?"

Su Nan nodded. "Deal!"

"Thank you," Rose sighed in relief.

The value of over a hundred Mandrake seeds was slightly less than one mana stone, so this trade was a bit in her favor.

Su Nan stored the Mandrake seeds in the cube, checked them to ensure there were no issues, and then handed the mana stone to Rose.

With the mana stone in hand, Rose seemed much more cheerful, and her voice took on a lighter tone.

She opened the second wooden box and pointed to the potion inside.

"This is a Flame Heart potion, a first-level potion. It enhances physical strength and provides a slight resistance to fire element."

Upon hearing "first-level potion," the other three, excluding Su Nan, showed interest.

Su Nan observed this and nodded inwardly.

As he had guessed, first-level potions were quite valuable to these wizard apprentices.

Nightowl and Heart pondered for a moment, considering whether to trade for the Flame Heart potion, but ultimately shook their heads and remained silent.

Bones, however, took out an irregular gray crystal and said, "One micro soul crystal for your Flame Heart potion."

Rose was immediately intrigued and was about to agree when she heard Su Nan's voice.

"Three mana stones for your Flame Heart potion."

Rose's spirits lifted, and she agreed without hesitation.

"Deal!"

Bones's face darkened, and he glared at Su Nan.

Su Nan paid no attention, handed the mana stones to Rose, and received the Flame Heart potion in return.

The cost of a first-level potion, like the Flame Heart potion, was about 120 gold coins.

—Of course, this was before using the improved Silver Moon Flower, which now made the potion even cheaper to produce.

For other wizard apprentices without the cube, the cost of making potions was higher.

A first-level potion typically cost at least 200 gold coins to produce.

A mana stone was worth about 50 to 60 gold coins, and with the premium for scarcity, three mana stones for a first-level potion was a reasonable trade.

However, this was only reasonable for others.

For Su Nan, it was practically a freebie.

After all, the cost to synthesize one mana stone was less than two gold coins, so three mana stones cost him only a little over five gold coins.

To get a first-level potion for that price was an incredible deal!

"This potion will be perfect for enhancing my physical strength."

Su Nan's lips curved into a slight smile as he stored the Flame Heart potion in his storage ring.

Seeing that Rose had no more items to trade, Nightowl looked at the others.

"Who's next?"

"I'll go," Heart said.

His voice was low and muffled, clearly disguised, making it impossible to determine his gender.

He placed a large skeleton on the table, about ten meters long and five meters high. From its appearance, it was likely a wyrm, dragon lizard, or a similar creature.

"This is the skeleton of a Spineback Wingless Dragon," Heart explained.

Before he could finish, Bones eagerly said, "I'll take it!"

He placed another soul crystal on the table.

"Although the Spineback Wingless Dragon is a legendary wyrm, its skeleton is less valuable than its blood and heart. Two micro soul crystals for your skeleton is a fair deal."

Heart nodded, acknowledging Bones's offer.

Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Su Nan.

Sure enough, Su Nan smiled and said, "Five mana stones, interested?"

"Deal!" Heart said without hesitation.

While soul crystals were valuable, mana stones had a wider range of uses, and she needed them more.

Watching this, Bones was so angry he almost gnashed his teeth, glaring at Su Nan as if he wanted to cast a spell and throw it in his face.

Su Nan gave Bones a sly glance.

Little guy, you dare to mess with me? Today, you won't get a single thing!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end