New Trade Route

Late at night, the moon shone bright.

In the meditation room, Sunan sat cross-legged on the floor, gazing at the panel before him.

Sunan Arnester, human male, 17 years old

Spirit 15.23 / Constitution 12.83

Skills

Star Ring Meditation Lv4 (12759/20000)

Potion Making Lv3 (108/6000)

Biological Modification Lv2 (319/3000)

Puppet Crafting Lv2 (1701/3000)

It had been nearly five months since he advanced to a Second Class Wizard Apprentice, yet Star Ring Meditation still needed roughly another third of its proficiency before it could level up.

"The speed at which I construct Star Rings is still too slow."

"Once I get back this time, I'll have to try synthesizing a more effective potion with Lesser Activity Potions."

Sunan pondered in silence.

With his current Constitution and Spirit Power, taking higher-tier potions should not be a problem.

The key was still the cost.

As Potion Making had risen to Level 3, his success rate in making Lesser Activity Potions had increased greatly, bringing down their cost as well.

Now, the cost of a single Lesser Activity Potion was just over 8 Gold Coins.

Synthesizing one low-grade Tier-One Activity Potion, meanwhile, would cost roughly 100 Gold Coins.

"To noticeably improve my meditation efficiency, I'd need at least a high-grade Tier-One Activity Potion. The cost probably wouldn't be lower than 200 Gold Coins."

"Two hundred Gold Coins a month means 2,400 Gold Coins a year, nearly equivalent to half of Blackstone City's annual income."

"If I synthesize Tier-Two potions, the cost will be at least a thousand Gold Coins."

Sunan frowned slightly.

Blackstone City was currently in a period of rapid development. Expanding the army and further developing the Blackstone Mining Area both required vast amounts of money.

Even if Kei did not mind, Sunan could not possibly divert too many Gold Coins for his own use.

After all, the growth of Blackstone City was just as important.

"I still need to find a way to increase income."

Sunan looked at the Activity Potion beside him, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Perhaps he could try selling Tier-Zero Potions.

For example, Brute Force Potions, Healing Potions, and Swiftness Potions.

During the battle to wipe out the Blackscale Lizardmen, the Cavalry Regiment had used Brute Force Potions and Healing Potions, and the response afterward had been excellent.

If these potions were sold, many knights would surely be interested.

Of course, the potions sold externally had to be differentiated from those used by Blackstone City's knights.

For instance, one bottle of potion could be diluted into three.

That way, they could earn even more Gold Coins.

The more Sunan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He simply decided to produce a batch before leaving and let the Fire Fox Merchant Guild test the market.

If the response was good enough, they could expand the scale once he returned.

As long as this trade route succeeded, he would no longer have to worry about the money needed for materials to synthesize high-grade Activity Potions.

"Then it's settled!"

Sunan's spirits lifted slightly as he got to his feet and headed outside.

The deep night enveloped the entire courtyard, making it seem utterly quiet.

Yet only Sunan could sense that Hidden Dragon was lying at the base of the courtyard wall over ten meters away, sleeping soundly.

Over this period, he had performed more than ten blood replacement procedures on Hidden Dragon, forcibly increasing the Dragon Lizard Bloodline within its body by over ten percentage points.

Hidden Dragon's Dragon Lizard Bloodline had now surpassed 35%. Its body had expanded another size, and its physical strength had been enhanced to the level of an Intermediate Grand Knight.

The current Hidden Dragon could fight even a peak Grand Knight.

For that reason, Sunan had decided to bring Hidden Dragon along on this trip to Stone Bell City.

With its invisibility abilities of camouflage and Reality Shift, there was no need to worry about being discovered even if they entered a city.

It could also serve as a mount for the journey.

Two birds with one stone.

As for the original Blackrock Panther, Sunan had casually given it to Brad.

"The Rune Gems are ready as well."

His clash with the Black Sword Knight had already proven the power and practicality of Rune Gems.

Even a Novice Grand Knight could not withstand the might of a single Lightning Rune Gem.

Thus, Sunan had made over a dozen more attack-type Rune Gems over the past few days.

The number of Rune Gems on him had now exceeded thirty.

He was practically a concealed humanoid artillery platform.

Besides Hidden Dragon and the Rune Gems, he also had two trump cards: Spell Scrolls and the Blood Vine Ring.

It could be said that as long as he did not encounter a Legendary Knight, no matter what enemy he faced, he would at least have the ability to protect himself and escape.

"You want to sell potions?"

When Sunan placed the potions he had spent three days making before Kei, the latter could not help but freeze for a moment.

"That's right."

Sunan nodded and pointed at the potions.

"These are all diluted potions. Their effects are roughly one-third of the original, and each bottle costs about 70 Silver Coins to make. We can sell them directly to the Fire Fox Merchant Guild for two Gold Coins each."

Kei's eyes immediately lit up.

Although Blackstone City's income now far exceeded what it had been before, he still often felt that money was never enough.

If they could open up another channel for making money, it would undoubtedly ease their current financial strain considerably.

However, Kei soon began to hesitate again.

"Wouldn't the price be too high?"

They would sell them to the Fire Fox Merchant Guild for two Gold Coins, so the guild's retail price would certainly be even higher.

A Novice Knight, unless he possessed a village fief, would not earn more than 10 Gold Coins in total over an entire year.

Would they really be willing to spend one-fifth or even more of their annual income just to buy a single potion?

"These are troubled times. Wars are breaking out everywhere, especially in the Thorn Flower Principality, where the Fire Fox Merchant Guild is located. Fighting has been frequent there in recent years. If spending a few Gold Coins can buy a trump card that saves your life at a crucial moment, plenty of people will be willing to pay."

Sunan picked up a bottle and gave it a slight shake.

"To be honest, if we had channels in the Thorn Flower Principality, we could handle this business ourselves. The profits would only be greater."

Sunan's words moved Kei.

On reflection, many lords in the Thorn Flower Principality were currently doing everything they could to expand their military forces. If potions capable of enhancing a knight's strength appeared at this time, even if only temporarily, they would probably be fought over.

If you did not buy them, what if your enemy did?

This business had enormous potential!

"Alright, I'll contact Muzar right away."

Kei had always possessed a decisive side to his personality. Once he saw there was profit to be made, he no longer hesitated and swiftly made the decision, immediately sending someone to deliver a letter to the Thorn Flower Principality.

After making the arrangements, he turned back and asked Sunan, "You're leaving?"

"Mm." Sunan nodded.

"Be careful." Kei patted Sunan on the shoulder. "The Starfire Cult failed to assassinate you. They won't give up that easily."

Sunan smiled in response, thinking, They won't need to come looking for me. This time, I'm going out to cause trouble for them.

"You should be careful too."

Kei laughed. "Don't worry. I'll be staying in the Military Camp. If any assassins dare come here, I guarantee they won't be leaving."

After exchanging a few more words of advice, Sunan left the Military Camp.

Not long after leaving Blackstone City, he suddenly felt a chill on his face.

Looking up, he saw that crystalline snowflakes had begun to fall at some unknown point, landing on his face like cold threads of rain.

It was snowing.

Sunan held out his hand to catch a snowflake. The icy crystal slowly melted into a drop of water in his palm.

"The first snow of the Frostfall Moon."

Sunan smiled faintly. With a thought, Energy Particles formed an extremely faint halo over his body, keeping the snowflakes away. Then he leaped onto Hidden Dragon's back.

"Let's go."

Hidden Dragon let out a low hiss, revealed its form, and raced across the wilderness on all fours.