Base of Operation II

"Alright, System, I'll take the risk and accept the Sunrise sect as my first base of operations."

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, the Sunrise sect is now the host's Base of Operation!]

Base of Operation: The Sunrise Sect.

Current Leader: Claire Marigold.

Level: 1

Debt: 450,000 Gold Coins.

Number of Members: 34.

Status: Declined.

Legend: 0/1000 (Crappy old sect.)

"System, what is this Legend, and what the hell is that debt amount?!"

[Legend is a type of evaluation points for the Base of Operation. The BOP must reach the points limit to upgrade to the next level. As for your second question, the Current Leader can provide you with the answer.]

The system didn't even wait for him to close the interface but ejected him.

"Fuck!" he cursed the system in his mind, and the scene in front of him resumed.

"Sect Leader Claire, Elders, I have an idea on how to get five hundred thousand gold coins."

"You do?" Elder Mark's face showed a surprised expression.

"I'm going to create an Alchemy enterprise." He said calmly. But in his mind, he was excited about creating something huge in this world and finally starting to earn real coins.

What's the point of being a 5-star Alchemist if he couldn't get rich?

"Slow your horse, hu... Ghost, we need to talk." His excitement was brought to a stop by Gaya's voice, as everyone turned their gazes from Michael to Gaya.

"You are a 5-star Alchemist who can concoct pills with 90% purity. What does that tell you?" The Elders seemed to have a sudden realization upon hearing her question, but Michael just grinned proudly.

"I'm awesome." Gaya rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder.

"It means you are the number one Alchemist among all four kingdoms of the Elen Continent." The grin on his face grew even brighter, but the Elders looked more frightened than delighted about this. After seeing that he had no idea what she was talking about, Gaya let out a deep breath and explained.

"It means you've surpassed the Alchemy King Gabriel Keswick."

"I see your point." Michael realized what she was trying to say and why the Elders were afraid.

"If he finds out that you can concoct purer pills than him, the best-case scenario is he'll try to eliminate you. The worst-case scenario is he would enslave you, forcing you to brew potions and concoct pills while he reaps the benefits of your work. That's what I would do." Although her last statement shocked them slightly, they had bigger concerns now.

"Aelia is right." Elder Miles sighed and concurred with Gaya.

"Either way, you're in trouble, Ghost." Gaya was genuinely worried about his safety, not because she cared about him but because if he died or was enslaved, she wouldn't get the magical pills to heal her meridians. So, for her sake, she had to do and say everything in her power to keep him safe.

"I assume you have a solution for this." Michael understood Gaya well enough to know that her concern for his safety was ultimately driven by her desire for more pills from him.

"Although Gabriel can't guarantee a one hundred percent success rate when brewing potions and concocting pills, his outcomes are eighty-four percent pure. So, you must not exceed eighty-four percent purity. Then, you'll be in second place, and knowing him, he's too proud to bother with the second-best, or at least he won't kill or enslave you."

"How do you know him?" Elder Reiner suddenly asked, as even many influential cultivators would go to great lengths to secure an audience with Gabriel, let alone a mortal girl like Aelia.

"I mean I heard about him during my travels, so Ghost, I suggest you aim for a purity level between sixty to seventy-five percent." She swiftly changed the topic back to Michael before the Elders delved too deeply into her life.

"Are you kidding me? Eighty percent is the lowest I can go. It's mentally and physically impossible for me to concoct or brew anything less pure than that." The Elders and Claire began to voice their concerns, but after seeing the determined look on his face, they fell silent.

"It's settled then. Aelia, tomorrow we'll set up our first shop." Michael said before turning his gaze back to Claire.

"Sect Leader Claire, give the heart-healing pills to Elder Sandra. They won't cure her Black Bite, but they'll stop it from getting worse and make her feel better."

"I wish we had the gold to help you start the shop, Ghost, but..." Elder Mark's voice trailed off, and the other two elders looked a bit embarrassed.

"It's fine, Elder Mark. I can handle everything. From now on, we'll change our sect's future for the better," he said as he walked away from the scene, with Gaya following him. This left the Elders and Claire to tend to Elder Sandra and contemplate their next steps.

**********************

It took them a couple of minutes to reach the home designated for Michael.

"Are we in the right place?" Gaya tilted her head in confusion as the house in front of them looked different than it had an hour ago. The cobwebs and dust on the windows and walls were nowhere to be found. Little green saplings had replaced the dead plants on the lawn. Moreover, there was noise coming from inside, along with a mouth-watering aroma of cooking.

"Did we leave the door open?"

"No, shit." Michael walked towards the house when a familiar face came out to greet them both.

"Young Master, Young Miss." It was none other than Raylene, and she had two glasses of lemon juice on a tray.

"Thank you for cleaning up the place, Raylene."

"It's the least I can do for you, Young Master. I should have told you before taking the liberty of cleaning the place." Raylene smiled as Michael took the glass and scanned it before he drank it, just in case.

Gulp!

Considering the lemons she used to make the drink were bought from the shop and had Arch energy infused at the molecular level of the lemons, the juice was rich in fragrance and taste. Seeing Michael gulp down the drink, Gaya grabbed the second cup and chugged it before he could drink it himself.

"That was refreshing. Raylene, how would you like to earn some gold coins?"

"Bastard is going for it... hehehe." The smile on Raylene's face froze as she heard him, while Gaya giggled inside, having some nasty dirty thoughts. After all, what else could she do to earn some gold coins, rather than pleasing him physically? She knew that he was a youth, and Raylene was a good-looking woman.

"Young Master..." Raylene's body trembled as Michael quickly realized that she was thinking something else.

"Soon, I'm planning to open up a few shops, and I'd like you to come and work for me as a cook, Raylene."

"Oh?!" Raylene let out a short squeal and deeply exhaled as Gaya frowned.

"Let me know what you think later, Raylene."

"Yes, Young Master, I will work for you." Raylene was relieved, realizing that he was not going to ask her to be his mistress, as it was not unusual for a powerful youngster like him to have many mistresses.

"Good, now go and take care of Cindy. We'll eat later." said Michael. Raylene nodded and hurried back inside the house to put the tray and glasses away.

A few minutes after Raylene left, Gaya and Michael settled into the comfy sofa to discuss their plans for tomorrow.

"Are you going to tell me?" Gaya asked skeptically.

"Tell me what?"

"What made you suddenly change your mind and help that old woman? I saw you, human. You would have brewed the potion to cure the old woman for free, but you had no intention of buying the items yourself at first. However, I saw you change your mind after a few seconds. So, I'll ask again, what made you change your mind?"