Chapter 181: Chapter 110: Are the Topics This High-End?

Wei’en watched the dark figures leave in twos and threes. After a moment of thought, he said, "If we’re not participating, does that mean we can start our trading now?"

"Yes," Flanta said respectfully. "I have two friends who would like to consult with you on some matters concerning magic potions."

"Consult, you say... Alright, let’s go."

Wei’en took one last look at Tren and Nana on the high platform. As it happened, he wasn’t interested in fusing contamination traits.

’Although the process of becoming a Mutated Mage sounded similar to that of Extraordinaries who possessed Extraordinary Bloodlines, there was a fundamental difference.’

’At first glance, the results for both seemed the same. In reality, however, an Extraordinary Bloodline was dominated by the contamination trait, resulting in a more thorough fusion.’

’A Mutated Mage, on the other hand, used their own origin to draw in contamination traits for partial modification. This method was more targeted and less prone to loss of control.’

With these thoughts in mind, he turned and followed Flanta toward a nearby stone pillar, where two dark figures were already waiting.

Flanta made the introductions. "His Excellency Faceless, these two Wizards are Lance and Sico. They are both elites among the new generation of Wizards in our Blood Spirit School..."

"Faceless."

Sico nodded. "His Excellency Faceless, a pleasure to meet you."

"Please grace us with your instruction, Your Excellency Faceless," Lance said flatly.

Wei’en sized him up with a glance and chuckled. "Of course."

After the brief introductions, the four of them moved to the other side of the stone pillar, with their backs to the high platform.

Wei’en sized up the three Blood Spirit School Wizards before him. One had an origin of 19, another 35, and the last had reached 36. All of them were Official Mages of the Blood Spirit School.

"I was wondering, are you on the flesh-strengthening path, or...?"

"Modification."

"Modification."

"Modification."

"..."

Wei’en’s mouth hung open. ’These three are truly great Wizards, daring to contribute their own bodies to the cause.’

Flanta took the initiative to explain, "Your Excellency Faceless, you may not be aware, but within our Blood Spirit School, only through flesh modification can we use the Dawn Church’s Holy Professionals to rapidly increase our strength."

"As for the Wizards on the strengthening path, they can only painstakingly go through all sorts of training to get stronger. It’s just too time-consuming..."

"Flanta, I’m sure His Excellency Faceless is aware of such common knowledge. There’s no need for such a long explanation," Lance interrupted.

"...Yes." Flanta fell silent for a moment before nodding.

Wei’en glanced between them, forming a general assessment of their relationship. "I heard from Flanta Mage just now. He said you are all masters when it comes to magic potions?"

"Masters?" Sico laughed. "I wouldn’t dare claim that. I’ve only just begun to study magic potions. I haven’t even been able to craft a single perfect-grade Magic Potion yet."

Lance also shook his head. "Sico and I have only just started learning about magic potions. For someone like you who can create perfect-grade potions—even if they are basic Magic Potions—your achievements in the field far exceed ours."

He even shot a glare at Flanta, clearly displeased with what he had said.

Wei’en paused, then also looked at Flanta and asked quizzically, "When you invited me, didn’t you say a Master of Magical Potions would be here? It wasn’t them?"

"Well,"

Flanta looked at him imploringly. ’His Excellency Faceless, if you say things like that, I’m a dead man.’

Lance and Sico exchanged a look. Neither of them was a fool; they had also detected the dissatisfaction and contempt in Wei’en’s words.

"It seems we’ve been presumptuous."

With that said, they turned to leave.

"My apologies. Please, wait a moment. I think you may have misunderstood."

"Hm?"

Wei’en moved a bit closer to Flanta and explained, "Flanta Mage and I are good friends, so we speak very directly with each other. I didn’t mean anything else by it."

"In truth, I’m just a beginner in potion-making myself, same as you two. We can only improve by communicating more with each other."

"Oh, is that so?"

Hearing this, the dark shadow on Lance’s face dissipated somewhat, and his gaze toward Flanta was no longer so cold. "Apologies, Your Excellency Faceless. We misunderstood."

"Yes, we were definitely overthinking it. Flanta, you should have told us you were such good friends with His Excellency Faceless sooner. You made us think..."

"Uh, my mistake, Sico Mage." Flanta finally understood the intention behind Wei’en’s words. He was grateful, but also secretly terrified.

’If Lance and Sico had really left the tower in anger, the only fate awaiting him would have been the grim misfortune of being devoured...’

"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, I suggest we don’t waste any more time. If there’s something you need, please, just say it."

Clearly, Wei’en had put on a little performance to show his support for Flanta, first creating tension and then smoothing it over.

For one, he would need Flanta to act as a wealthy patron and buy his Magic Potions for a long time to come.

For another, he could also use this opportunity to elevate his own status in their eyes. After all, a Wizard who was frank, straightforward, and skilled in potion-making was easy to accept.

"Here’s the situation. Sico and I are both conducting research into fleshly transmutation. To ensure we don’t lose control during the process, we both use a type of Magic Potion called a Stabilizer Potion."

Lance explained, "If it’s possible, we’d like to purchase some Stabilizer Potions from you."

"Well..." Looking at the sincere expressions of the two Wizards, Lance and Sico, Wei’en shook his head. "I’m sorry, but I haven’t done any research on Stabilizer Potions. I’m not even familiar with the formula..."

"We can provide you with the formula,"

Sico hurriedly added, "As for Stabilizer Potions, Wizards from other schools don’t know much about them. Only we Wizards of the Blood Spirit School use them frequently."

"However, the crafting process is extremely difficult. Even some of the Magic Potion Masters in the school have a hard time producing a perfect-grade version, so..."

’So that’s their plan,’ Wei’en finally understood. ’Consulting and discussing potion-making was never the point. The important thing is perfect-grade Stabilizer Potions.’

"You need a lot of them?"

"A great many!" Lance said with certainty. "It’s not just us. Many on the flesh modification path who want to advance to Great Mage need Stabilizer Potions."

"And the price for one Stabilizer Potion?"

’If it’s really as he says, this could be a pretty good business.’

"Poor-grade, 10 gold pounds. Excellent-grade, 20 gold pounds. Fine-grade, 50 gold pounds. Perfect-grade, 100 gold pounds!"

gold pounds??

Wei’en felt his breath catch in his throat, even though he didn’t actually need to breathe in the Nightmare Realm World.

"What’s the price for one set of materials to make a Stabilizer Potion?"

"One set of materials costs about 20 gold pounds. The reason perfect-grade Stabilizer Potions are so expensive is because the success rate is too low. Even the best Alchemists only have a 25% success rate."

’One perfect-grade potion out of every four attempts is a pretty good success rate.’

"I can give it a try, but I can’t guarantee success. And I’ll probably burn through a lot of potion materials in the initial stages."

"Of course, we’ll provide them." Seeing him agree, Sico said eagerly, "Lance and I will provide 10 sets of materials for free..."

"20 sets!" Lance cut in. "However, there is one condition we hope Your Excellency will agree to."

"What condition? Feel free to speak plainly, Your Excellency Lance."

"As long as you can provide us with three—oh, no, two—perfect-grade Stabilizer Potions, we will bear the cost of all the materials."

’Three perfect-grade potions?’

Wei’en didn’t even have to think about it before agreeing instantly. "No problem. I agree."

’20 free sets of materials... holy shit, wasn’t he about to cry his way to the bank with 1600 gold pounds?’