[Spiritual Potion - Purity : 56%
An elixir brewed by George Lionheart with utmost focus.
Consuming this elixir will replenish the drinker's magical power by 3 points]
A single spiritual potion could be sold for 7 magic crystals in the Abyssal Bone forest. Although the demand was high, there were many beginner alchemists who would focus on this particular recipe because it was especially easy to refine, and the ingredients were cheap. As long as your success rate in refining the potion was superior to 2%, you would make a profit, since a hundred sets of ingredients only cost roughly 15 magic crystals.
[Beep! Current Success Rate: 4.9%]
George was wealthy. Better still, the only limiting factor in his path to accumulate tens of thousand of magic crystals was time. Brewing potions took an awful lot of time. He could only attempt to brew ten to twelve potions a day.
Still, George could already make more than 500 magic crystals a year as long as he dedicated enough time in brewing potions, with his current success rate. The thing is, the more he brewed potions, the higher his success rate would become. Hence, George knew that he was already a magical crystal mine. That's the main reason why magus families would go and offer thousands of magic crystals to any talented alchemist.
George made a choice upon joining the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, the choice not to expose his alchemical talents. After all, George did not want to be tied to a magus family yet. One of the reason was that he did not need one yet. Marrying Bicky, for instance, would allow him to quickly gain control of a declining magus family, and that alone would allow him to earn decent assets which would further enhance his growth in the future. As for earning her love, the woman was rejected by a random acolyte twice already, and every time, George was there to comfort her. She was already in half in love with him.
If alchemists were a rarity in the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, they were even rarer in the mundane world, especially in a city of knights like Melvinger City. Lady Emma Billing gasped upon seeing the stash of potions.
George moved behind her and whispered in her ears: "You know what this represents, right?"
Lady Emma Billing stayed silent, allowing George to touch her shoulders gently
"With it, you could gain massive influence in the Melvinger Magical Society...I made sure to lie some bait in the past month, inviting some of them and gifting them one or two potions in exchange for information and magical ingredients. However, I decided that the Billing Household possessed the capital to become...let's say...a partner"
Lady Emma Billing instantly turned to face George, with a piercing gaze: "We are the wealthiest noble family in Melvinger Family, and the officials have already been bought by my household. Anything we sell, we will be able to escape taxes already"
George smiled upon seeing her fervent need of approval: "However...Can you even sell them? I mean, this many potions would be worth at least 120 magic crystals in Melvinger city. I am sure you have noticed that the purity is very high"
Lady Emma felt a bit of fear at this point, fear that George would not choose her family: "We definitely can...Although my father is the only one aware of my magical talents, I have been working in the Billing Industry as an appraiser. Over the years, the household has accumulated enough magical ingredients and magical crystals to pay for it..."
George shook his head: "I am only looking for magic crystals, though..."
Lady Emma started to shake, afraid that this opportunity would not come twice: "I...You were interested in negative energy stones, right? I can pay you in negative energy stones!"
Emma put her hand on his cheek, in an attempt to seduce him. After a good minute, George pushed her back at once and whispered: "I expect full payment before dawn. If you can do that, the stash is yours. The price will be set at 20 negative energy stones, and 60 magic crystals, or 120 magic crystals. We will discuss further sales later on..."
Lady Emma had a yearning gaze, but stopped herself, and bowed: "I will make sure you will not be disappointed..."
After bidding farewell to the Billing siblings, George calmed his spirit, and decided to meditate. As the night gently fell onto Melvinger City, George smiled as a group of knights entered his mansion at night. Naturally, the soldiers guarding the villa welcomed them, and James received them properly.
They were carrying a chest with the crest of the Billing Household. After bowing slightly, they left.
George was a bit surprised.
[Name - Knight (??) | Status - Healthy | Gender: Male
Attributes : Strength - 2.3 | Dexterity - 1.8 | Vitality - 2.2]
[Name - Knight (??) | Status - Healthy | Gender: Male
Attributes : Strength - 2.5 | Dexterity - 2.0| Vitality - 2.5]
[Name - Knight (??) | Status - Healthy | Gender: Male
Attributes : Strength - 2.8 | Dexterity - 1.8 | Vitality - 2.9]
Ten knights with such attributes were a force to reckon with. Most noble families only had a handful of knights, yet the Billing Household could casually send ten knights with such high standards of strength on a delivery.
'Seems like I have discovered a golden mine...'
The Billing household was yearning for influence, and George presented them with goods that would allow them to slowly gain control of the wandering acolytes in the Melvinger Magical Society through Emma. With her skills, George knew that she would also be able to make a profit out of the sell of the potions. Selling them at 11 or even 12 magic crystals was completely doable, considering the rarity of potions and their unusually high purity. Even though it was far above the market prices, many wandering acolytes who lacked magical items would definitely do everything in their power to purchase them when they encountered some, even if it was above their purchasing power.
Debts would turn into servitude, and the Billing Household would grow.
In the shadows, George would grow much wealthier...