Filthy Rich

There's good news.

Jake quickly glanced through the blueprint. As expected, crafting a cleanse talisman was harder. But not by much.

Creating basic talismans was like doing 1+1=? questions.

Creating level 1 advanced talismans was like doing first year calculus.

Level 2 advanced talisman was like fourth year calculus.

Carefully reading over the blueprint again, Jake nodded. Difficult. But doable.

Also, the Iron Sparrow Guild had most of the materials needed in stock. For the missing materials, the Artisan Tower had them in stock.

There's also bad news though. A single material was missing.

Infernal Crystals.

These materials could only be found inside of rocks. Looking from the outside, they just looked like normal rocks.

Inside a mine, sitting among myriads of other rocks, how would a normal explorer find these materials?

They could break open rock by rock. If they were lucky, maybe they'd even find more valuable crystals.

But accidentally bump into an infernal crystal? The experience would be like a grenade exploding in your hand. Not the most pleasant experience.

Chip off the coating carefully? If this crystal was exposed to air, it would dissipate quickly.

High risk. Low demand. Not worth that much. Who would build a detector device to look for these things?

Without specific devices, who would carry out a bag full of rocks from the realms? What if all of those rocks contained nothing?

So when there's a demand, the simplest solution was to bring a detector into the realm.

Being able to see through the rock covers, detectors could easily spot the crystals in demand.

Though... Which sane detector would enter a realm willingly?

"Master Collins, could we have a chat about this?" Nick Rogers bit his lips. He looked rather hesitant.

"Sure." Jake nodded.

"When you are ready to create the cleanse talisman, please notify me." The branch master warmly nodded.

"I'll remember it." Jake returned an affirmative nod.

Since there would be no result today, the crowd quickly scattered off.

Some people wanted to have a personal greeting with Jake. However, being considerate of the time, they chose to wait.

A moment later...

A cabinet in Nick Roger's office slid open.

Jake and this young guildmaster walked out.

Wearing a tired expression, Nick Rogers waved his hand. The butlers quickly left after a bow.

Nick Rogers took a look at Jake, making his final decision.

Walking up to a large oil painting of a vase, the young guildmaster took out his wand.

With a tap, that oil painting flipped open, revealing a safe.

Opening that safe, the young guildmaster dragged out a black duffle bag.

Carefully putting that bag onto his desk, Nick zipped it open.

Jake widened his eyes. It's a bag full of yellow-tier monster cores. Each core was packaged in a net foam. Kind of reminded Jake of pears in grocery markets.

"Here are all the yellow-tier monster cores we've saved up over the years."

"There's 26 of them."

Jake replied with an affirmative nod. This had to worth at least 2,000 Click Points!

Jake knew that the Iron-tier guilds were rich. However, this? A little unexpected.

'Looks like I'm still underestimating the wealth of these guys... Filthy rich.'

Nick Rogers opened and closed his mouth a few times, carefully choosing his words.

"I know what I'm asking is outrageous..."

"However, I'd still like to make this offer."

"Master Collins, we need your help... with retrieving infernal crystals. We don't have any time left to find a reliable detector now."

"If you accept, success or fail, these yellow-tier cores are yours."

"If you can make a cleanse talisman for us... We are willing to give you one yellow-tier core every 3 months, for as long as the Rogers family exists."

"I know going into the yellow tier realm here would be dangerous."

"Hold on." Jake raised a hand. "Can't you send out a purchase offer? Or buy an infernal crystal online."

Nick Rogers blinked a few times. Lightly shaking his head, the young guildmaster bitterly chuckled.

"I will also do that... However..." Clearly, Nick did not believe that he could receive this material in time.

"And by the yellow-tier realm here... You mean."

"Yes. There are mine sites at bandit camps in the yellow-tier realm here. Nobody is interested in excavating these sites though. So the mines are definitely still loaded with crystals."

Jake nodded. Reasonable. Nobody wants to carry a load of rocks out of the realms. And no sane detectors would wish to enter the realms.

"Master Collins, there is really no safety concerns." Nick Rogers clearly misread Jake's reaction.

Safety concerns? What safety concerns? As an iron-tier, Jake was basically at the peak of battle prowess in this city.

"We will send in our strongest, and our most loyal," Nick Rogers gritted his teeth a little saying the last three words. "Explorers to protect you."

Jake raised his brows. 'Still unranked though. You want unranked explorers to protect me? An iron-tier?'

This felt a little ridiculous to Jake.

"They know the path very well. None of the monsters in this realm could threaten them."

Jake nodded. 'Oh. Since they know the way, I wouldn't mind a guide.'

"Also, when it comes to people. I'm sure no sane explorers would dare to stand in your way."

Which was a fair statement. Who here dared to attack a formal member of the artisan guild? They'd probably try their best to protect Jake, in hopes of earning appreciation from Jake.

Jake nodded a little, squinting his eyes in thought. There's no hurry. No need to make fast decisions.

As a certified artisan now, Jake could care less about the yellow-tier cores. With this newly gained identity, Jake could easily gain these cores through doing orders.

There's an endless demand to advanced talismans after all. These powerful artifacts could easily affect the battle of ranked explorers. Which ranked explorer wouldn't want an 1-Up?

Though... The crafting process would always be laborious to Jake.

Also... Thinking of Nathaniel's dishonest pay, Jake's gaze gradually turned cold.

After all, Jake was just an explorer, not a saint.

Nathaniel ruined Jake's good mood. Jake didn't want to wait in returning the favor.

'Since you want to save Badger so much, I'll be glad to help. Lets see how 'happy' you are, after I succeed.'

'Also, Badger and Nick Rogers seem like much better business partners.'

'Filthy rich, but very generous with payments. Even paying my early every time.'

'Since I took your materials, I'll solve your problems.'

'Also, a steady income of yellow-tier monster cores would be nice.'

'With the help of those guides, we would be able to avoid the field boss territories.'

'As long as we do not enter the final boss room, or encounter field bosses, as an Iron-tier, I am practically invincible there. No safety concerns.'

'These 2,000 Click Points should be easy money.'