A Fortune

Colin and George VIII agreed that on the first of every month, George VIII would send someone to Will City, bringing materials and taking away the finished Basic Strength Potions Colin had made.

July 1st was a Wednesday. Colin had specifically asked the school for leave and stayed home. Smith and Linda had both gone to work, leaving him alone in the house.

That morning, Colin sat in a chair in the living room and waited. On the coffee table before him were a cup of black tea and a plate of round cookies Linda had made.

The Empire's nobles drank black tea with sugar, but Colin did not have that habit. When drinking in private, he preferred it plain. Suddenly, Colin heard the sound of carriage wheels. The carriage stopped, followed by a knock on the door.

"Is Mr. Colin in?" a middle-aged man's voice called out.

Colin set down his tea, got up, and went to open the door. Before him stood a tall middle-aged man with brown eyes and brown hair.

"Are you Mr. Colin?" The middle-aged man removed his black bowler hat, bowed, and asked.

"Yes. Were you sent by Mr. George?" Colin nodded before asking.

"Yes. My name is Rhode. I'll be responsible for contacting you from now on." Rhode held his hat to his chest and spoke very humbly. Colin nodded and glanced outside. An inconspicuous carriage was parked by the roadside, with a coachman seated on it.

"Come in." Colin withdrew his gaze, stepped aside, and invited him in.

"Yes, Mr. Colin." Rhode remained very humble. Colin bent down, took out a pair of guest slippers from the shoe cabinet, and set them down. Rhode removed his shoes and put on the slippers. The two then entered the living room one after the other.

Colin invited Rhode to sit down and asked, "The journey must have been tiring. You must be thirsty. I'll make you a cup of black tea."

Rhode had already learned about the Russell family's circumstances. He was not surprised that Colin personally attended to his guests. Of course, he did not dare drink the tea either.

Not only was Colin an alchemist, but even if he had been an ordinary noble, Rhode would not have dared. He was a commoner.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I'm not thirsty." Rhode, who had just sat down, immediately stood again, holding his hat to his chest as he spoke humbly.

"All right. I'll go upstairs and get the potions." Colin did not insist and merely smiled. Rhode bowed again before sitting down nervously.

Colin went upstairs, retrieved eight Basic Strength Potions from the attic, and returned to the living room. He arranged the potions in a row on the coffee table.

Rhode looked over the potions without inspecting them. He stood up, bowed to Colin, and said, "Please wait a moment."

"All right." Colin nodded politely. Rhode then left the Russell family home and returned shortly afterward. When he came back, he carried two wooden boxes, one large and one small, against his chest, with a black cloth bag hanging from his waist.

Rhode set the two wooden boxes on the floor, took the black cloth bag from his waist, and bowed to Colin. "Mr. Colin, these are materials for thirty batches. After deducting the cost of the materials, this is thirty-four Gold Coins. Please accept them."

According to their agreement, each batch of materials cost one gold coin, while each finished potion sold for eight gold coins.

A restrained smile appeared on Colin's face as he reached out and took the black money bag. The beautiful Gold Coins inside made a delightful clinking sound.

Though Colin looked restrained on the surface, he was actually very pleased. To put it bluntly, this was the first time in his life he had seen so many Gold Coins. Smith, the financial officer, and Linda, the house tutor, earned roughly this much combined in an entire year.

Seeing this, Rhode bowed to Colin again before carefully opening the small wooden box. Inside were wooden slots, just large enough to hold the round potion bottles upright, with soft hay packed around them. Rhode carefully placed each potion upright, closed the box, and picked it up.

"Mr. Colin, I'll be taking my leave now. I wish you a pleasant day." Rhode bowed carefully. The things inside were far too valuable. If he dropped them, he could never afford to compensate for them.

"I wish you a safe journey as well." Colin stood and nodded slightly.

Colin then saw Rhode off and closed the door. Only then did he happily return to the living room and open the bag of Gold Coins. A dazzling golden gleam immediately flashed out, and Colin could not help narrowing his eyes as a smile spread across his face.

Colin then carried the Gold Coins and materials upstairs to his bedroom, opened the ladder to the small attic, and carefully stored them inside.

Afterward, Colin sat down in his chair, facing the desk and window. The glass window was open, and a gentle warm breeze blew against his face. Colin stared blankly out the window as the system interface appeared before him.

Colin Russell

Profession: Novice Knight.

Vitality: 5(+1)

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 6(+2)

Agility: 6

Bloodline: Black Bear Bloodline (Ordinary) Note: Requires 1 Bloodline Point to upgrade.

Bloodline Effects: Strength +2, Vitality +1

Skills: Roer Military Swordsmanship (Perfect), Horsemanship (Proficient), requires 1 Skill Point to upgrade, Basic Alchemy, Basic Strength Potion Crafting (Perfect)

Unassigned Attribute Points: 0 Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Attribute Point.

Unassigned Skill Points: 0 Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Skill Point. Note: Skill Points can also be used to learn skills.

Unassigned Bloodline Points: 0 Note: 2 Energy can be converted into 1 Bloodline Point.

Energy: 4 Note: Energy can be converted into Attribute Points, Skill Points, and Bloodline Points. Unused Attribute Points, Skill Points, and Bloodline Points can also be converted into Energy.

Note: All items possessing magical power can be used to collect Energy.

Status: Healthy.

Colin looked at the system interface before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Of the thirty batches of materials, two had failed during crafting, while the remaining twenty-eight had all become Basic Strength Potions. He had sold eight to George VIII, while the other twenty had all been used to collect Energy.

Of the previous six points, one had gone into Strength, one into Agility, two into upgrading his bloodline, and two into upgrading Roer Military Swordsmanship. The remaining fourteen points had raised Roer Military Swordsmanship to Perfect, increased Vitality, Intelligence, Strength, and Agility respectively, and left him with four Energy.

"Given my current physical qualities, I can completely contend with Brian. Yet a little over a month ago, my physical qualities had been third-rate within the class..."

Colin happily closed the system interface.

After thinking it over, Colin took a gold coin and slipped it into his pocket before going downstairs and leaving the house. He soon left Wright Street, arrived on Marquis Kent Street, and entered a market. He bought a large plucked and cleaned chicken, wrapped in paper. After returning to Wright Street, Colin bought a bottle of red wine produced in Veer from a wine shop near his home. Having money really did feel great—he could buy whatever he wanted. Colin hummed a little tune as he walked with light steps.