Deceptive Consumption!? (Seeking Recommendation Tickets!)

"I've been very proactive already." Ron gave a perfunctory reply, glancing at his wealth total.

Wealth: 161

It had already exceeded one hundred.

In fact, his wealth had reached 121 yesterday, which was more than enough for him to exchange for something.

For instance, he could exchange for one square meter of Cultivation Space, or perhaps a Nether Orchid seed, which would allow him to double his Nether Orchid production speed.

Or, he could exchange for that Seed Germination Technique. After all, he had been a first-tier mage for two or three days now, yet he didn't know a single spell; it was driving him crazy.

However, with his current wealth, he could only choose one of these two options.

As for the former, the current planting speed for the Nether Orchids was sufficient, and he had nearly a hundred plants in reserve, so increasing the production speed wasn't exactly an urgent matter.

As for the latter, although the temptation to use magic was great, a spell like "Seed Germination Technique" sounded rather mediocre just by its name. It didn't sound high-end at all, and it didn't look like anything particularly impressive.

Besides, with the time-acceleration function of the Cultivation Space, he didn't need magic to germinate seeds at all.

On top of that, he possessed a title badge that permanently doubled the effect of the first wood-type spell he learned.

Would it be a waste to use such a feature on a Seed Germination Technique?

Thus, Ron didn't plan on spending his wealth just yet. He decided to save it and use it only when he truly needed to.

In any case, the main quest was still a while away from completion, and it wasn't as if he could sell a hundred Nether Orchids in an instant.

As for the next plant provided by the system, the Golden Red Chrysanthemum, its seeds and cultivation methods wouldn't be available until the main quest was finished.

So, he wasn't in a rush to expand the area of his Cultivation Space.

All in all, Ron was quite relaxed these days. He meditated and exercised, planted Nether Orchids, tended to the Flower Shop, ate roasted meat, read books, and even played cards with Lyle and the others.

He was living a very comfortable life.

Once he finished the main quest and sold one hundred Nether Orchids, he would pocket 2,000 points of wealth. He could spend that however he wanted, right?

So, there was absolutely no need to rush.

Thinking this, Ron returned to his study to continue his evening reading.

The next morning, Ron completed his routine morning exercise and planted a dozen more Nether Orchids.

By noon, he had a simple lunch by himself.

As he dumped his leftovers into the alleyway trash can, he suddenly thought of the homeless child he had seen over the past two days and fell into deep thought.

The Flower Shop opened as usual in the afternoon.

Aside from a few ordinary people who wandered in out of curiosity only to walk out grumbling, Ron welcomed several mage customers.

Most of these people came in groups of two or three. As soon as they entered, they asked to buy Nether Orchids, paying with such decisiveness that it was as if 20 gold coins were nothing to them.

Ron's quest progress advanced rapidly, soon reaching 22/100.

His wealth also quickly increased to 441.

He wondered where all these people were coming from.

"Is this the place?"

"Eckley Street, Ruby District. It should be right."

"This is the only flower shop in the vicinity, so it must be it."

Just as Ron was feeling puzzled, he heard three young men in mage robes walk in.

"This is definitely the place," the first young man said after glancing around the shop. "They only sell one type of flower, they're purple, and the elemental concentration in the shop is so dense. It's definitely it."

"Did you bring enough money? A single Nether Orchid costs 20 gold coins," another young man said.

"Heh, I'm planning to buy two. One for my villa in the east of the city and one for the west, so I don't have to carry it around with me," the last young man said.

Rich kids? Ron guessed to himself.

He sensed them slightly and discovered that the magical reactions from these three were very weak; they likely weren't even first-tier mages yet.

Mage apprentices who had just learned to meditate?

"Welcome. Is there anything you need?" Ron stood up and asked with a smile.

After all, he was running a business, so he had to maintain proper service.

"Ha! What else would we need here? You only sell one type of flower, right?" a young man laughed. "We're from the Magic Academy. We heard you have flowers that can increase elemental concentration and improve meditation efficiency, so we came to take a look."

Ron nodded in understanding. It seemed the news of Mason promoting to a fourth-tier mage had spread?

He led the three to the grid shelf, pointed at the row of purple flowers, and introduced them: "These are the Nether Orchids you're looking for. 20 gold coins each."

"I'll take one."

"I'll take one too."

"I want two."

The three young men only examined them for a few seconds before speaking up immediately.

Judging by their attire and demeanor, they were likely from wealthy families, and a few dozen gold coins probably didn't mean much to them.

Ron collected the 80 gold coins and watched the trio leave the Shop, thinking that the new wealth total of 521 was actually quite romantic.

However, the very next second, Ron exchanged for the [Seed Germination Technique] from the system Shop, and his wealth total instantly dropped back to 421.

As for the Cultivation Space, there was no rush; it wouldn't be too late to exchange for it after completing the main quest.

After thinking it over all night, he still felt it was better to exchange for the [Seed Germination Technique] first.

The main reason was that his curiosity about magic had been urging him on.

Although the internet in his previous world was filled with all sorts of online games, no supernatural abilities had ever existed in the real world.

So, even though Ron had gradually adapted to every aspect of this other world, he still harbored a longing for supernatural abilities like magic and battle aura.

Yet, after promoting to a Tier 1 Mage, he hadn't even used a single spell, which was truly a disgrace to the profession of a mage.

Thus, as soon as Ron exchanged for the [Seed Germination Technique], he immediately opened his Inventory, clicked on the [Seed Germination Technique] icon, and absorbed the magic.

Then, Ron was dumbfounded.

[Seed Germination Technique]: A composite spell formed from prerequisite spells like the Dew Technique and the Soil Tilling Technique; it can cause plant seeds to germinate rapidly. (Must learn the prerequisite spells before it can be cast.)

"What does this mean?" Ron cursed inwardly, "I have to learn other prerequisite spells before I can cast this one?"

"System? Come out and explain yourself!"

[Shop]

[Dew Technique]: 500 wealth points

[Soil Tilling Technique]: 500 wealth points

"Damn it!" Ron cursed out loud, "You greedy bastard, are you trying to fleece me!?"

He now strongly suspected that the system might have been created by a game designer from his original world.

This was just too much of a scam!

How could it be one ring after another?

Isn't this deceptive consumer practice!?

And it was completely absurd that the prerequisite spells were more expensive than the composite spell itself!?

Author's Diary: If you ever get the chance to join a group of contracted writers, you'll discover something interesting—the more powerful the big shots are, the more they love to act like newbies, and they never tire of it even after being exposed. Later, I realized that everyone isn't truly being humble; they're just afraid that if they get complimented too much, some jinx might be hiding among the crowd.

(Hehe, just kidding, don't take it seriously~)