Chapter 59: Chapter 58: Initial Cooperation

Ronin had entered the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce to shop, but that didn’t prevent him from gathering plenty of information along the way.

And Hook, eager to close the deal, told him practically everything he knew and was permitted to share.

Besides the prices of various goods, Ronin discovered something interesting—Demon Cores.

As he understood it, a Demon Core was the source of a Magical Beast’s Magic Energy, functioning much like a battery. After Hook’s explanation, he gained a deeper understanding of their purpose.

Demon Cores were crystalline. Even when ground up, they remained granular and could still react with Mana, which was why they could be used as an ingredient in Mana Ink.

Furthermore, when a Mage used their Spiritual Power to perceive an intact Demon Core, they could sense the Magic Patterns within it.

These Magic Patterns were the key to a Magical Beast’s ability to use Magic, and also the origin of how early Mages came to master them.

When a Magical Beast could use multiple types of Magic, its Demon Core would often contain many different Magic Patterns. These patterns were sometimes tightly interwoven, and a Mage would need to deconstruct them. This was one of the routine research tasks for a Mage.

This research greatly increased a Mage’s chances of mastering a spell, and it was far more effective than simply practicing from a Spellbook.

Ronin, however, wasn’t particularly impressed.

After all, he mastered spells after just a few practice runs with a Spellbook. To him, learning Magic didn’t seem all that difficult.

’Perhaps this is the difference between a genius and an ordinary person.’

The conversation continued like this for a long time before they finally returned to the topic of shopping.

Ronin didn’t waste any time. He immediately asked to purchase five purple Magic Crystal Stones, twenty-seven bottles of Second-level Magic Ink, six sheets of Second-level Magical Beast Hide, and the *Small Flame* and *Fireball Skill* spellbooks.

The Magic Crystal Stones were for his “first charge.”

The Magic Ink and Magical Beast Hide were pre-prepared materials that the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce sold for Mages to craft Magic Scrolls.

A 10-milliliter bottle of Magic Ink cost 6 Gold Coins and was, on average, enough to inscribe one Second-level Spell Scroll.

A sheet of Magical Beast Hide cost 15 Gold Coins and could be used to make an average of five Magic Scrolls.

The two spellbooks were comparatively cheap, costing roughly half the price of a scroll of the same level, for a total of only 10 Gold Coins.

The purchase of these four items came to a grand total of 762 Gold Coins!

The bulk of the expense was the Magic Crystal Stones, with the five stones valued at 500 Gold Coins. The Magic Ink came to 162 Gold Coins, while the hide was a smaller portion, costing only 90 Gold Coins.

Ronin now had a total of thirty bottles of Magic Ink. Combined with the six sheets of Magical Beast Hide, he could craft thirty Magic Scrolls. He calculated he could earn back 510 Gold Coins; though he spent a lot, his earnings would not be small.

Seeing such a large order, Hook’s eyes practically lit up with gold stars. He was so ecstatic he almost wanted to call Ronin his grandpa.

Of course, Ronin had to haggle a bit. In the end, he knocked 32 Gold Coins off the price and managed to get a fine Feather Pen and a book on crafting Magic Scrolls thrown into the deal.

As Hook escorted Ronin out, every clerk on the first floor was abuzz. They all gazed at Ronin with the most ardent expressions, especially some of the attractive female attendants. They only regretted not having an opportunity, or else they would have wanted to leave with him.

Hook saw Ronin all the way out of the chamber of commerce building.

“Lord Ronin, then it’s settled. One month from now, at the beginning of October, I’ll arrange for a merchant caravan to visit your territory!”

“Haha, you are more than welcome!”

Ronin smiled and extended his hand, giving it a couple of enthusiastic shakes while the other man was still in a daze.

The suggestion for the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce to visit Mountain Forest Town had actually come from Hook. Ostensibly, it was to pick up the newly crafted Magic Scrolls, but his real motive was to continue selling Magic Ink and Magical Beast Hide to Ronin.

After all, even if Ronin crafted thirty Healing Spell Scrolls over the next month, the chamber of commerce’s profit would only be a few dozen Gold Coins.

But if they could sell more Magic Ink to Ronin, their profits would be much higher.

For Ronin, it was rare for any chamber of commerce to visit Mountain Forest Town.

He could use the occasion of the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce’s visit to publicize his town, which might have the positive effect of piquing the interest of other merchant guilds in Mountain Forest Town.

As for the risks of passing through the Forest Land to reach Mountain Forest Town, that was not something Ronin needed to worry about.

The Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce was the largest magic-focused merchant guild in the Kingdom; its power was self-evident. It would be no problem at all for them to arrange for Advanced Level Knights to handle pickups and deliveries.

Forget Magical Beasts; even Baron Reisen of Sain Territory wouldn’t dare to provoke them lightly.

Watching the three of them depart, the smile never left Hook’s face.

Encountering such a wealthy patron was a true blessing!

’A promotion and a raise!’

Hook grew excited just thinking about it. In his eyes, Ronin was a money tree—and one that he had all to himself.

’A client this big… I have to report this to Lord Jixiu!’

Jixiu Hell was the general manager of the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce’s Pasture City branch. He was a Fifth-level Chief Mage and spent most of his time inside the chamber’s main building.

Hook gathered the receipt and the Gold Coins, then spiraled his way up the staircase to the top floor.

Setting Hook’s matter aside, Ronin had now emerged from the Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce, having completed the main purchases for his trip to Pasture City.

All that was left to buy was wrought iron and farming tools. He also needed to visit the Slave Exchange to inquire about the price of slaves.

As it was now noon, Ronin led Elron and Macken into the tavern where they had arranged to meet Tom and Gallon.

It was called a tavern, but it was really more of a restaurant; it just happened to have a lot of people drinking in the main hall.

The moment he stepped inside, a din of boisterous shouts and calls flooded Ronin’s ears. The place was even more raucous than the morning market.

Ronin glanced around. Most of the people eating and drinking in the main hall were hunters and Mercenaries.

For people accustomed to adventure and hard travel, eating and drinking with their companions was the happiest of times. As such, most of them were particularly boisterous when they drank, speaking in loud voices, with some in the habit of spouting crude language.

They were almost all Free People, with only a very small minority belonging to a special class of slaves who were not required to farm.

Although there were Professional Knights among them, very, very few ever reached the rank of Intermediate Knight.

Even though they were Transcendents, they lacked noble lineage and connections, making it difficult for them to get noticed by the nobility or major powers. Thus, they had no way to join their ranks.

After all, when it came to a Transcendent with a questionable background, most nobles would rather hire them on a temporary basis than accept a pledge of allegiance.

The thought of hiring a few Professional Knights to deal with Sain Territory flashed through Ronin’s mind, but he immediately quashed the idea.

Mercenaries’ business mostly consisted of escorting caravans, accepting specific commissions to hunt Magical Beasts, or protecting certain individuals. To get them to move against a noble’s territory, you would have to pay an exorbitant price.

Even if you paid up, they would still assess the odds of success and the potential risks. If the chances were slim and there was a risk of offending an even greater noble, the Mercenaries likely wouldn’t be willing to throw their lives away, no matter how much you offered.

Furthermore, due to the unreliable nature of Mercenaries, who lacked the loyalty of knights sworn to a territory, Ronin could hire them, and for all he knew, Baron Reisen would learn of his plans before he even made a move against Sain Territory.

Then again, if these Mercenaries earned enough money, achieved a certain level of personal strength, or formed a powerful Mercenary Corps, they would earn the right to sit down and negotiate with the nobility.

It was said that the leaders of the Black Gold Brotherhood and the Polante Thief Gang, both active in the southeastern part of the Wushan Territory, had gotten their start leading a Mercenary Corps.

Now that they had made it big, they not only occupied several cities in the southeast but had also left Wiggin and his people completely powerless against them.

In short, nobles had their world, and commoners had theirs. Most of the time, their paths never crossed.

Ronin paid eight Silver Coins to have a waiter prepare a spacious private room for them, which blocked out most of the din from outside.

He held the five new Magic Crystal Stones in his hand, then took out the one he had acquired as loot from Pedro from his Space Ring.

He had gathered six Magic Crystal Stones. ’Now, it’s time for my first charge.’

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