The Advantage Is Mine!

In a world with supernatural power, the most direct way to defeat an enemy was to increase one's own strength.

For example, if Ian wanted to crush the mountain folk and enter their sacred ground to obtain information on the Sky-Fall Starship, he only needed to advance to the Third Energy Level. Then he could easily steamroll all the rebel mountain folk—though he might not be able to defeat the Steelwing Dragon flock, the Dragon-Worshiping Cult and the Mountain King would help him hold those enemies back.

But the reason it was the most direct method rather than the simplest one was because advancing was simply too difficult.

Even though Ian was extraordinarily gifted and his cultivation in psionics was already close to meeting the Pre-Epoch Civilization's standards for the "Third Energy Level," if he wanted combat strength truly befitting the Third Energy Level without exposing the Undead Monarch's inheritance, he had to gather all the materials for either a Fairy or the Immovable Fortress Third Energy Level "Stone Lord" magic potion.

Third Energy Level materials were not easy to find.

For First Energy Level Magic Beast materials, a single ingredient generally cost between one hundred and three hundred Taler. It was indeed expensive, but not difficult to buy everything needed—the truly costly parts were the additional services surrounding the magic potion, such as an alchemist's fees, the nutrition needed for training, the guidance and shaping of an Origin Seed, and so on... Not to mention formulas, which were strategic information that no one would reveal lightly.

For the Second Energy Level, material prices generally hovered around one or two thousand, with even the cheapest costing over seven hundred Taler... It did not sound like much, but that was only for one ingredient.

Once the final price was added up,