Black Market Deceiver

Qin Chuan took the Teleportation Array from Clear Wind City to Beili City, then first went to check on the shop.

Ilena's potion-making was tied to the brewing of Talent Potions.

In the shop's back courtyard, the slaves he had bought earlier were stirring the black gelatinous substance in the crucible, where bubbles occasionally rose.

Judging by its appearance alone, no one would believe this stuff could restore health.

But with a little packaging and alteration, it would not affect sales.

By now, this had become the shop's flagship product, with Gold Coins pouring into Qin Chuan's pockets.

According to their previous agreement, Ilena could receive half the profits from the ointment. She had practically become a Little Rich Woman too, able to freely purchase materials for potion-making research.

Boom.

With a small explosion, a plume of black smoke rose. Ilena emerged in a sorry state with Exploded Hair, her little face smudged like a Calico Cat's as she said in frustration, "What exactly went wrong?"

Qin Chuan asked curiously, "What potion are you preparing?"

Ilena brushed the soot from her body and replied, "A Spirit Stimulation Potion. It can speed up Mana Recovery. Quite a few customers have already asked whether we have this product, so I was thinking of improving it."

The ointment Ilena had prepared before was a health-restoring consumable, useful for melee classes. But ranged classes, especially magic users, did not have many chances to lose health. What they needed more was mana restoration.

And Mana Potions were far more expensive than Health Potions.

There was undoubtedly a huge business opportunity in this.

Qin Chuan casually said, "Try adding some Icecap Grass. It can clear distracting thoughts and help the mind focus, so it should aid mana recovery."

Ilena's eyes lit up. "That's right! How did I not think of that?"

With that, she rushed back to the site of the explosion, dispersed the smoke, and resumed her research.

Before long, Ilena returned with a small bottle of Azure Liquid, unable to suppress the excitement on her face. "It worked!"

She then looked at Qin Chuan and asked curiously, "Shadow Mister, have you studied potion-making as well?"

Qin Chuan shook his head. "No. I only heard about the effects of Icecap Grass from someone else."

In his previous life, making Big Mana Potions with Icecap Grass was an essential skill for Alchemy Players, and they had earned plenty of Gold Coins from magic users.

And this formula had actually been taught to players by Ilena.

Of course, not the current Ilena, but the Ilena who had become an Advanced Potion Scholar.

Qin Chuan did not understand potion-making. He was merely a transporter of potion formulas.

Unaware of this, Ilena said with some emotion, "The person who came up with this method must be a genius. I really hope I can meet them and discuss potion-making knowledge."

Qin Chuan thought, Isn't that easy? Just look in a mirror.

But he only kept that to himself.

At this point, Ilena had preliminarily completed the Spirit Stimulation Potion. Once it underwent further improvements, it could be put on the shelves and generate an endless stream of income.

Naturally, Qin Chuan was happy to see that happen.

After taking a lap around the shop, checking the Accounts, and confirming there were no problems, Qin Chuan leisurely headed to the Black Market.

In the tavern's back courtyard, Kamael Master was already carrying out the final Finishing Work. With the remaining materials, he and his two brothers had forged ten Dark Gold-rank pieces of equipment. They all required Level 50 and had decent attributes.

Qin Chuan picked out three pieces and put them into the Guild Warehouse, then tossed the rest into his Ring. Later, he would melt them all down with Shadow Reforging to strengthen the Death Shadow Set.

He intended to make Full Preparation before Level 60, raising both his attributes and Equipment Skills so that he could better complete his Third Job Advancement.

As he pondered this, the Tavern Attendant came to the back courtyard and informed Qin Chuan that Idith had returned.

When he reached the second floor, Qin Chuan smiled. "Mentor Idith, you really are a busy man."

Idith looked Qin Chuan up and down and sighed. "Your Strength Improvement Speed is becoming difficult for me to comprehend."

After sensing him again, Idith grew even more surprised. "You carry the scent of a Deceiver."

Qin Chuan nodded. "I was fortunate enough to obtain the Deceiver Sub-class."

Idith thought for a moment, then said with some confusion, "The Deceiver class seems to have little connection to Shadow Power."

He added, "Generally speaking, a Sub-class provides some assistance to the Main Class. Take my Necromancer class, for example. It specializes in poison, Corpses, and Souls. It helps with assassinations by allowing me to identify Fatal Weaknesses more accurately."

Qin Chuan replied, "Deceivers are proficient in Disguise. That also makes it easier to Approach Target, doesn't it?"

Idith considered it for a while and felt that it seemed to make some sense.

But Deceivers themselves did not possess much Combat Ability. Even if they stood right in front of the target, it would still be meaningless if they lacked the strength to defeat them.

However, considering that the person before him was a Ruthless Person capable of slaughtering dragons, Idith felt this could not even be called a problem.

Idith asked, "So you came to ask me to help you find a Deceiver for Job Advancement?"

Qin Chuan could not help praising him. "As expected of Mentor Idith. You guessed it immediately."

Idith waved his hand. "Forget the polite talk. I do know a Deceiver, but that fellow has an Eccentric Temperament. If he tricks you, don't blame me."

Every Deceiver had a name on a Wanted Poster. Deception had become instinctive to them. One had to stay on Full Alertness when dealing with them, or the slightest carelessness would lead them straight into a trap.

Qin Chuan had naturally prepared himself for that and nodded. "Rest assured, Mentor Idith. I understand."

Idith took out a Seal and pushed it in front of Qin Chuan. "Leave the tavern and walk two hundred steps to the right. There's a stall there, and its owner is the Deceiver. For the sake of this Seal, he probably won't torment you to death."

Qin Chuan's mouth twitched as he could not help asking, "Mentor, what level of Deceiver is that person?"

Idith answered casually, "He's not very impressive. He's only a High-level Trickster who has completed Three Advancements."

Players' Job Advancement system also applied to NPCs. They were usually classified as beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert.

Qin Chuan had complained about this more than once in his previous life. He had never expected that NPCs in Apocalypse World could not escape Rank Evaluation either.

But having a High-level Trickster in the Black Market was definitely good news.

It meant Qin Chuan could at least complete Three Advancements without obstruction and earn himself an Advanced Title.

As for the Fourth Advancement, that would have to wait until Level 100. It was still far away.

Composing himself, Qin Chuan said, "Thank you for the information, Mentor Idith. It saves me a lot of trouble."

Idith waved his hand. "Trivial Matter."

After a brief pause, Idith said hesitantly, "If that fellow asks where you got the Seal, say you stole or Robbed it. Don't say I gave it to you. You're a Deceiver and an assassin anyway, so a worse reputation won't matter. In our Black Market, the worse your reputation, the higher your prestige."

"..."

Qin Chuan suddenly had a Bad Feeling and asked cautiously, "Mentor Idith, do you owe him money?"