Making Money Is Hard

Chapter 24: Making Money Is Hard

"There was actually a spell like this..."

Gao De already had a certain understanding of spells. He knew spells could produce all manner of miraculous effects; astonishing destructive and lethal power was only one part of them.

Yet he had never imagined that spells could be so versatile as to improve one's craft.

"Divine Guidance." Gao De silently took note. If he could escape his current predicament, he would definitely find a way to obtain the spell formula for Divine Guidance someday.

Without question, Divine Guidance was a must-learn spell for Elixirists, alchemists, and all other extraordinary craftsmen.

As for now, he should figure out how to make money!

With two major tasks finished, Gao De continued sitting cross-legged and began his training for the day.

Of course, he knew that whether it was the Guiding Method or the Meditation Art, cultivation required the accumulation of time. A major breakthrough was absolutely impossible in the short term.

At least, there would be no breakthrough before the next drug trial.

And if he failed to resist Mage Seda by then, his current training would merely be a waste of time.

Unfortunately, that was the most likely outcome.

By that logic, was there no need to work hard now?

But Gao De understood even better that no matter what happened, it was no reason to slack off in training.

For everyone, as long as they consciously wished to become a powerful mage, there could be no laziness or rest in cultivation.

It required astonishing perseverance.

Yet for every mage, it was also the most basic thing.

Gradually, Gao De emptied his mind, drew in his consciousness, and immersed himself in the Guiding Method.

Silently, the abundant magic power drifting everywhere in the world flowed into Gao De's body under the guidance of his Mental Strength, then was refined bit by bit into mana.

Although casting spells consumed mana, controlling their release also required the involvement of Mental Strength.

Thus, because he had cast Repair and repaired the Guidance Ring, Gao De's Mental Strength was not at its fullest when he began training.

In less than two hours, his Mental Strength consumption reached the critical threshold of forty percent, and the efficiency with which he guided magic power began to plummet.

Gao De decisively stopped practicing the Guiding Method and switched to the Apprentice Meditation Art.

Only after the forty percent of Mental Strength he had consumed was fully restored under the effects of the Meditation Art did his training for the day officially come to an end.

When he checked the time, it was already close to midnight again.

"The sixth lotus petal is about to manifest as well. Compared with the previous owner of this body, my cultivation speed with the Guiding Method hasn't changed much, but the speed of my Meditation Art cultivation seems to have increased considerably. Is it because my soul crossed over?"

Gao De pondered silently. "Talent in cultivating the Guiding Method depends on one's physique, on the affinity between the body and magic power."

"Talent in cultivating the Meditation Art, however, depends on the soul. Is my soul talent stronger than the previous owner's?"

Most likely, that was the case.

But whatever the reason, an increase in his Meditation Art cultivation speed was always a good thing.

"Time to rest." Feeling satisfied, Gao De dragged his exhausted body out of the workroom and returned to his room to sleep.

The next day.

Awakening Month, fourteenth day.

Afternoon.

After Gao De finished preparing today's batch of Novice Spider Venom, his work for the day had come to an end.

However, there was an additional task, one that had originally belonged to Ilan.

The medicinal garden's potions had accumulated to a certain stockpile. It was time to send them to Phil's Herb Shop.

As it happened, Gao De was already planning to head into the city today to return the repaired Guidance Ring.

He counted the types and quantities of elixirs in this shipment.

Novice Stamina Potion, ten batches.

These were elixirs prepared by Mage Seda. In the entire medicinal garden, only he could prepare Novice Stamina Potion.

Novice Spider Venom Potion, thirteen batches.

These were Gao De's fruits of labor, and one of those batches belonged to him.

Gao De's current daily workload was preparing one batch of Novice Spider Venom—three small bottles.

With his methods, every batch of Novice Spider Venom he prepared yielded an extra half ounce.

One small bottle of Novice Spider Venom contained two ounces, meaning that after four days, Gao De could produce one additional small bottle of Novice Spider Venom.

Twelve days had passed since the last shipment, and the Novice Spider Venom he had accumulated for himself amounted to exactly one batch.

Gao De left the medicinal garden once again and headed for the city's commercial district.

By the time he reached Phil's Herb Shop, a light sheen of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

This time, Emil was not accompanying him, so the burden of all the elixirs fell upon him alone.

With more than twenty batches of elixirs on his back, the elixirs alone weighed a pint—1.8 liters. Adding the weight of the potion bottles themselves, it was no small burden for Gao De, who was only thirteen and whose undernourished body had yet to fully grow.

Just like last time, payment and goods were exchanged hand to hand.

The purchase price of Novice Spider Venom Potion was 2 gold per batch, while Novice Stamina Potion was 2 gold and 5 silver per batch. Though both were novice potions, there was still a difference between them.

That was nothing. If it were a Minor Healing Potion, its purchase price could even reach 3 gold per batch.

Among all novice potions, healing potions had always been the most broadly applicable. There was simply no need to worry about sales.

But likewise, the formula for healing potions was also the most valuable. Only certain long-established factions possessed it, and they basically never put it up for sale. On the market, it was the sort of formula with a price but no goods—a thing that could be passed down as a family heirloom.

A total of twenty-two batches of potions brought him a receipt worth 46 gold and 10 silver.

It looked like a lot, but in truth, the profit was nowhere near that high.

He did not know about the others, but for Novice Spider Venom Potion alone, Gao De had observed that if all the raw ingredients for one batch were purchased from an herb shop, they would cost around 30 silver.

In other words, for an Elixirist, the actual profit from a batch of Novice Spider Venom Potion was only around 10 silver—and that was assuming a 100% success rate in potion-making.

If an Elixirist was not skilled enough and failed even once while preparing elixirs, they would have to bear an additional cost of 30 silver.

After painstakingly learning and mastering a formula, then working for most of the day, they could only earn roughly twenty percent in labor fees.

—Unless one possessed a rare potion formula like a healing potion, the profits low-level Elixirists could earn were generally about this much.

Fortunately, Mage Seda had his own medicinal garden.

Thus, some of the herbs he needed for preparing elixirs could be cultivated himself, without needing to be purchased from herb shops, allowing his profits to rise a little further.

This was also something most Elixirists had in common:

They basically all owned their own medicinal gardens, where they planted and cultivated herbs themselves to lower the costs of making elixirs.

As such, a saying circulated among Elixirists—"An Elixirist who doesn't study herbology isn't a good Elixirist."

Tucking the receipt into his clothes, Gao De took his remaining batch of Novice Spider Venom Potion and the repaired Guidance Ring to Pierre's Odds and Ends once more.

"You really repaired it?"

Even though Pierre had been prepared, he could not help feeling astonished when he truly saw the Guidance Ring restored to its original state.

"You'll know once you try it." With slight reluctance, Gao De handed the Guidance Ring to Pierre.

Pierre took the Guidance Ring and put it on a finger of his right hand. After calming himself and sensing it for a moment, he revealed a satisfied smile.

"Your workmanship is truly excellent. If I hadn't known beforehand, I wouldn't even be able to tell it had ever been damaged." Pierre praised him.

"Not bad," Gao De said without false modesty, finally showing his dagger when the map was exhausted. "Boss, you have broad connections. Could you also keep an eye out for me? If anyone else needs a spell item repaired, introduce them to me."

"Easy, easy." Pierre smiled with narrowed eyes.

It was merely a matter of lifting a hand, so naturally he would not refuse.

Besides, as the middleman, even if he did not take an intermediary fee, simply earning a favor from each side would not be a loss.

"The purchase price for the potion is the same as last time, unchanged. The repair fee for the Guidance Ring will be as agreed."

Pierre opened the drawer beneath the counter and took out several gold and silver coins, handing them to Gao De.

The purchase price for one batch of Novice Spider Venom Potion was 33 silver, while the repair fee for the Guidance Ring was 30 silver, for a total of 63 silver.

Looking at the three newly acquired Sien Gold Coins and three Shamrock Silver Coins, Gao De's mood brightened considerably without him realizing it.

Together with the 35 silver he still had saved, his total savings had reached 4 gold and 15 silver.