"The materials for the Devil Fruit are very rare, so I can only make one every two days at most. Plus, I start school the day after tomorrow, so I probably won't have time to come to Xilin Grocery Store again for a while," Zhou Ning said with a shrug.
What Zhou Ning said was true; making Devil Fruit required a large amount of herbs, and the Golden Oak Herb Shop's supply simply wasn't enough if he made them freely. He had to control the output appropriately.
"I'll take all the Devil Fruit made during this period. We'll have one transaction every Saturday; I'll send someone to pick them up. Is that alright?" Keen looked at Zhou Ning with an inquiring gaze.
"No problem," Zhou Ning nodded.
"Pleasure working with you," Keen extended his hand and shook Zhou Ning's.
After negotiations, Zhou Ning and the Sun Keepers reached a procurement agreement for the Devil Fruit.
The Devil Fruit, which cost less than 200 vikta to produce, was sold by Zhou Ning for 700 vikta, with a net profit of nearly 300%.
This was the benefit of a monopoly.
He wasn't being too greedy; in fact, Keen's willingness to pay 700 was already beyond his expectations. He truly lived up to his reputation as 'Brother Scale' among future players, always fair in his dealings.
Because in the eyes of NPCs, the reference value of this item could only ever be compared to an extreme potent super potion of the same level. Even an extreme potent super potion only sold for 600. Although he was losing a bit for now, he had no choice until he found a more reliable sales channel. In a few days, Zhou Ning planned to try his luck at the extraordinary gathering.
Keen even paid a 500 vikta deposit, which boosted Zhou Ning's cash flow to over 2000 vikta, giving him a considerable amount of capital.
The two discussed the transaction details further, then Keen changed the subject, pulling out an invitation from his in arms and saying with a smile:
"Wayne, this Sunday is Allan's coming-of-age ceremony. He wants to invite you to the dinner party. Are you free?"
"I should be free," Zhou Ning thought for a moment before replying.
After all, Little Fatty had been through thick and thin with him, and Zhou Ning had a good impression of him. It was also a good opportunity to get familiar with the nobles of Blystone Kingdom. Zhou Ning was still very curious about the blue-clothed noble he saw that night.
Seeing Zhou Ning accept the invitation, Keen smiled and said, "Then I'll see you on Sunday. Allan will be very happy you're coming."
...After leaving the Xilin Grocery Store, Zhou Ning didn't go straight back to his dorm. Instead, he took a public carriage to the other end of Old Town.
There was a blacksmith shop there called "Iron Forge," which was very famous in the game.
He had considered it: when he fought Elvis in the Mirror World before, he lacked a handy and durable sword. Although his combat usually focused on ranged attacks, there were many types of combat, and there were ways to limit ranged attacks in the game world. For example, water magic had a powerful amnesia spell that made people forget how to perform ranged attacks.
And this meant that Zhou Ning had better buy a sword to keep on hand, so he wouldn't be without a melee weapon when he needed one and be forced to wait for death.
Pushing open the door of the "Iron Forge," Zhou Ning felt the paper money in his pocket and walked in.
The blacksmith shop had the same layout as in the game: a row of swords lined the wall on the left, firearms, bullets, daggers, and other items were in the glass display in the middle, and a row of long spears was on the right.
"The weapons here are all pretty ordinary; they lack a certain... spirituality," Jasmine suddenly chimed in from his mind, complaining.
Zhou Ning's mouth twitched slightly, too lazy to bother with her. This was a classic case of 'why don't they eat meat porridge'.
Everyone knew these weapons lacked spirituality. Weapons with spirituality were at least epic-grade, alright? Would they still be displayed here?
He scanned the left side but didn't see any particularly good weapons. Instead, a male shop assistant came over and politely asked:
"Sir, what would you like to buy?"
This was a shop opened by a Northerner, and the shop assistant was also a Northerner—at least in appearance, with red hair and a height of two meters, looking very robust.
In the game "Apocalypse," Northerners were most famous for two things: forging and pirates. Two of the three great Pirate Lords in the game had Northerner blood.
Facing the male shop assistant's question, Zhou Ning pondered for a moment and said, "I want a one-handed sword, weighing around 11 pounds, sturdy. Do you have any recommendations? Price is not an issue."
The shop assistant nodded, led him forward, and pointed to a one-handed sword hanging in the corner, saying, "This sword was personally forged by Master Marian, infused with a bit of meteoric iron. It's 49 vikta and 9 currency. Would you like to try it?"
Almost 50 vikta... Zhou Ning was startled by the price, but he had money now, so it wasn't unaffordable.
He nodded slightly to the shop assistant: "Okay."
Zhou Ning took the sword from the shop assistant's hand, tried swinging it, and found it surprisingly comfortable to use. Information also popped up on his panel:
Exotic Item: Meteoric Iron Rapier
Quality: Purple
Damage: 18-36
Attack Speed: Very Fast
Attribute: Agility +2 (additional)
"Exotic item?" Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes, stroking the rapier, and instantly decided to buy it. "I'll take this one."
"Alright, sir, please follow me to pay over there." After the deal was made, the shop assistant's smile became much more genuine, and he led Zhou Ning towards the counter.
After paying a heartbreaking 50 vikta, Zhou Ning walked out of the "Iron Forge" with the Meteoric Iron Rapier. After crossing a few streets, he arrived at a downward staircase.
In the game, there was a large underground market below here. Many staircases in Old Town led to it. Most of the goods here were inexpensive herbs or materials, and the main selling point was various strange Mysticism-related items. Many old citizens or collectors struggling to make ends meet would also choose to sell antiques from various eras here.
The unknown wondrous item Zhou Ning mentioned earlier had appeared here.
At this moment, Zhou Ning didn't hesitate and walked straight down the stairs.
After pushing open the door, a dazzling glare of gaslight immediately met his eyes.
After a slight adjustment to the gaslight, Zhou Ning scanned his surroundings. Just like in the game, there was indeed a sizable underground market here. Small stalls were intertwined, stretching for over a thousand meters. This market would continue until around 10 PM, and it was currently peak time. People were constantly converging from all directions, entering the market.
There were many people in the market at this time, mostly young people who championed individualism and a mysterious atmosphere. They moved with the crowd through the various stalls, stopping occasionally to examine and discuss, making it very lively.
After adjusting his hat, Zhou Ning stepped into the market.
In his previous life, that unknown wondrous item had appeared some time after the game started and was bought by a Blystone noble. A player happened to witness the entire process and posted it on the forum.
Therefore, the probability of this item appearing tonight would not be very high; at least, Zhou Ning did not expect to buy it immediately. Coming tonight was just to try his luck along the way.
As a buyer, Zhou Ning didn't immediately look for what he needed.
Instead, he moved with the crowd. He had to admit, the Mysticism atmosphere here was quite strong. Stalls were filled with items like moonstone, citrine, Crosses, and talismans, all cheap and plentiful.
However, according to Zhou Ning's observation, none of them were actually useful.
A herb stall, though, gave him a pleasant surprise. The medicinal herbs were very cheap, especially the vipergrass needed for felix felicis potion, which was even cheaper than at the Golden Oak Herb Shop after an 80% discount.
Although the quantity wasn't large, it was an unexpected gain. Zhou Ning paid, carrying a bag of herbs, and walked cheerfully to the next stall.
A moment later, he stopped in front of a stall selling old books.
Because he unexpectedly spotted a familiar name on one of these old books: Windegun.
That is, the legendary Alchemist who created Puppet Alchemy.