Compensation from the Sacred Spring Trade Guild (please keep reading)

Should I accept or not?

The Sacred Spring Trade Guild's reputation was trustworthy, and an Order contract did indeed fly out and land before Kroya.

The mark representing the other party on the contract... was actually the Sacred Spring Trade Guild's seal. It glittered, radiating terrifying mana fluctuations.

In fact, the power contained within it almost rivaled the power emanating from the Order contract.

So the Sacred Spring Trade Guild is this powerful? Kroya marveled, then decisively left his mana imprint on it.

Contracts truly were a magnificent creation. Without them, trust would have been impossible to establish in many matters.

The Sacred Spring Trade Guild clearly understood that without contracts, many ventures would struggle to take even their first step, let alone develop further.

Once the contract was complete, it shone and flew back into the sacred spring's outlet. The female voice softened as well. "Thank you for agreeing to cooperate with us.

"Before you enter the Deep Blue Illusion, please choose a codename for yourself. We will address you by that codename from now on."

A codename?

Kroya considered it for a moment, then answered, "Astral Spirit."

One of his greatest trump cards was the Astral Body Inscription Technique, so he might as well use Astral Spirit as his codename.

"Very well, honored Astral Spirit... please enter the Deep Blue Illusion now.

"The potion master you will be speaking with uses the codename Seagull."

Her voice faded, but the spring water gushing from the sacred spring grew more rapid. Seemingly boundless, it soon covered everything around him.

The ground became flowing, deep blue spring water.

The sky became a vast, boundless expanse of stars.

Everywhere he looked, all he could see was deep blue spring water flowing in every direction.

A strange, ancient, eternally unchanging presence permeated this place.

A slender woman stood nearby and waved to Kroya. "Astral Spirit, over here!"

As Kroya walked forward, he discreetly glanced down, only to discover that his entire body was a hazy mass of deep blue mist. He looked like some kind of elemental creature.

At most... he had hands, feet, a torso, and a head.

Aside from that, there was nothing human about him.

Then why wasn't that woman concealed?

He found it odd, but showed nothing as he walked straight up to her and spoke with a smile in his voice. "Hello, Lady Seagull."

The moment he spoke, he discovered that even his voice had become an utterly neutral, inorganic sound, like something produced by a robot or a machine.

Yet it could still convey a smile. That was truly remarkable.

"Hello, Master Astral Spirit."

Seagull smiled back, then got straight to the point. "I currently work in the Sacred Spring Trade Guild's Potion Identification Department. I was the one who examined your potion.

"Based on my assessment, the magical spring water in it contains a trace of ocean mana, but its quality is average.

"However, it contains abundant sunlight and life force, which seem to have been purified and refined through some special method. Stranger still, their mana fluctuations are completely identical!

"I have never seen a method like this."

At this point, a puzzled look appeared on her face. "May I ask whether you mixed it casually? Such high-grade life force shouldn't be blended with magical spring water of such a low grade.

"If I were you, I would choose the pure blue spring water produced by the guild or the evergreen spring produced on the Elves' Evergather Island. That should bring out its effects to the fullest.

"I would also choose a higher-quality crystal."

Kroya: "..."

I'd love to have pure blue spring water or the Elves' evergreen spring too, but are those things I can actually get my hands on?

The former was said to be one of the best spring waters for potion-making, capable of blending with potion ingredients of almost any attribute; the latter was the manifestation of nature and life force.

He could not afford either even if he sold everything he owned.

His tone remained as composed as ever. "Oh, I merely mixed that using some spring water my apprentice brought me. I was testing whether low-grade spring water could hold and blend with this kind of mana."

Seagull smiled in understanding. "Just as I thought... then, Master Astral Spirit, would you be willing to supply the Sacred Spring Trade Guild with this potion on an ongoing basis?"

"For a potion of this quality, I am willing to pay twenty grade-one magic crystals per bottle. If you can provide something of a higher quality, I am willing to purchase it at a higher price after appraisal."

T-twenty per bottle?!

Wasn't that waterlight essence only ten per drop?

He immediately sank into thought and gave her no answer for quite some time.

Seagull waited. At first, she was still smiling, but later her expression shifted several times between confusion and surprise. Suddenly, she bowed deeply to Kroya.

Her voice was full of apology. "I'm sorry, Master Astral Spirit... forgive the presumptuous question, but did you previously sell some waterlight essence to us?"

"Hmm?"

What was this about? Were they trying to reopen the deal?

He immediately sounded displeased. "I was under the impression that the Sacred Spring Trade Guild had always enjoyed an excellent reputation."

In truth, he felt a little uneasy as he said this. If they really intended to break the contract and revisit the transaction, it would be troublesome indeed.

Kroya's response left Seagull feeling helpless. It seems he already knows we misjudged the price. If we don't make this right, we'll lose a major client!

She inwardly cursed the newcomer who had only just joined the Water Element magical materials identification department.

What kind of newcomer mistakes flawless waterlight essence for pure waterlight essence? Utterly idiotic!

There was a tenfold difference in price between the two, and payment had to be settled in grade-two magic crystals. Supposedly, extracting it required an extremely specialized array, a closely guarded secret of the Mage Association.

Could this master have just advanced within the Mage Association?

She was curious, but the guild kept its customers' information absolutely confidential. Even a god could not breach the Deep Blue Mana Core.

There was no possibility of the information leaking.

Seagull hurriedly said, "Our guild was indeed at fault in this matter. The person in the magical materials identification department at the time was a newcomer, and he incorrectly assessed the value of your materials.

"We deeply apologize for the trouble this caused you. The guild has already held him accountable.

"Our guild will compensate you with a total of thirty-seven grade-two magic crystals, and we will also give you a Magic Spring Jellyfish. It is the newest species our guild discovered in the Water Elemental Plane.

"Its body can merge into any water vein and turn the spring water into an absolutely pure Water Element magical spring.

"Its level isn't high, but it is an interesting little creature."

After she finished, she bowed deeply once more. "We hope you can forgive us."

Kroya... well, Kroya was already numb. Grade-two magic crystals required a hundred grade-one magic crystals to exchange for a single one. The mana within them was both purer and far greater, and they were generally only used as currency by mages of level five or above.

That was equivalent to receiving thirty-seven hundred magic crystals for free, with some kind of Magic Spring Jellyfish thrown in as well.

Then what should I do with these magic crystals?

He immediately thought of the Tower Spirit he had been hesitating over earlier, but dismissed the idea after only a moment.

Something that offered no visible return in the short term did not suit his current situation. What he needed most right now... was a Magic Field and magic plant seeds.

Only then could he obtain a steady stream of magic crystals and develop sustainably.

The Sacred Spring Trade Guild... should have a large-scale Magic Field Array, right?