Chapter 28: The Long-Haired Octopus Flower

```

...

"Not selling."

Sell what? He doesn't even know the formula, and can the Power of Synthesis substitute?

Tough!

His casual hawkishness wasn't afraid of attracting covetous glances.

The main issue was the flaw in the Enlightenment Reagent.

It was only useful for Basic Wizard Apprentices, and not as valuable as one might think, with profits not even making up a tenth of this small black market's.

Hence, collaborating with Marian became the best choice.

And could also take care of Wild Wizards with malicious intentions.

After collecting twenty Magic Stones and fifty pounds of Mountain Copper as compensation, Lin Suo casually stuffed them into his pocket.

He put the Mountain Copper into his carry bag, and headed out... wandering through this spacious sewer.

There's an abundance of materials here, and nearly everyone you could meet is a Wizard; chatting with them and hearing about the exploits of impressive folks from the outside world could be quite enlightening.

Considered his second source of information, aside from the tavern.

He walked past a stall.

Lin Suo suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"How much for this stomach pouch?"

The stall owner immediately started his pitch.

"This stomach pouch comes from the Demon Beast Frog of the Monster Salt Swamp. That big fella is not easy to kill, gave me quite the struggle."

"What uses does this stomach pouch have?"

"Storage, look at the bags the Wizards are carrying around. Many are made from the stomach pouches of Demon Beast Frogs. They have some space properties, though they don't reduce weight."

"Like this pouch here, should be able to hold items of about one ren in size, any more and it might burst. Best not to exceed two hundred pounds in weight."

"Understood."

"Would you trade it for some Enlightenment Reagent?"

The stall owner's eyes brightened up. Recently, during several black market events, Enlightenment Reagent had virtually become a must-buy cultivation resource for any Basic Wizard Apprentice.

Solid currency.

"Selling!"

Seeing his straightforward agreement, Lin Suo made another request.

"Okay, but you have to tell me about the Demon Beast Frog's habits and weaknesses."

"Planning to hunt them yourself?"

"Exactly."

The stall owner thought for a moment, then decided there was nothing worth concealing. The Monster Salt Swamp was a common haunt for Koster's group of Wild Wizards.

Where they obtained most of their Demon Monster materials.

Many people knew; there was no need to hide this.

"Alright..."

With the deal done, Lin Suo was very satisfied. After strolling some more, he also bought a leg from a Giant Horn Black Mountain Goat and a corpse of a Three-eyed Octopus.

Mainly for eating.

These creatures are different from Demon Monsters and Demon Beasts.

Demon Monsters possess intelligence, full of spirituality, capable of casting witchcraft.

Whereas Demon Beasts are more bizarre, originating from mysteries, said to have come from another world during a celestial alignment three hundred years ago, and still not entirely eradicated.

As for the Three-eyed Octopus and the Giant Horn Black Mountain Goat.

They are local creatures mutated, often presenting traits reminiscent of regular wild beasts, thus also known as Demon Beasts.

Their bodies contaminated by Magic Power.

Some body parts can be used to make Magic Potions.

Like grinding the giant horns into powder, the three eyes.

Lin Suo didn't buy these parts, mainly aiming to eat them.

The prices were very cheap.

After making a full round, Lin Suo left the black market, and as expected, two more Wild Wizards followed him.

Lin Suo didn't care.

Just out of the sewer entrance, those few fellows attempting to pull a fast one were stopped by Fierce Bear Udier's men.

After zigzagging through the city for a while,

he went to collect this month's fifty thousand gold and finally returned to the bookstore via the back door.

Feeling relaxed.

Humming a tune.

Preparing to make dinner.

Cucumber Salad, Black Fungus, Boiled Sliced Meat, Pan-Fried Spare Ribs, Steamed Sea Fish, Crab Meat Porridge, Seafood Casserole, Grilled Eel~

```

```

A table was filled to the brim.

Fortunately, Koster is a thriving port city, where spices and seasonings from all over the continent could be bought.

With Lin Suo's cooking skill, he could also mix the most palatable seasonings himself.

Having such a feast once... twice... thrice a day!

It was a bit of a petty bourgeoisie lifestyle.

Full of flavor.

The only pity was that the staple food here was wheat, with mostly wild rice which tasted ordinary; being a true citizen of the Celestial Empire, he allocated a plot for his own use.

Setting up a superior strain of rice for cultivation wasn't a big problem.

That, he could do when he was less busy.

Then there was the matter of the title.

Lin Suo made a secret decision that after purchasing witchcraft skills this time, he would save money. Owning one bookstore was not enough to build connections with the Koster nobility – his "talent" was not sufficient.

Therefore, he still needed other industries to bolster his facade.

Thinking about these matters.

Time always flew by especially fast.

Like autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, Lin Suo ate and drank his fill and prepared to make lamb hotpot and roasted octopus tentacles for dinner that night.

Night fell.

While he was cooking.

The familiar "ding-ling-ling" sound rang out; one could hear the sound before seeing the person, like the oriole's song amidst lush greenery, under the moonlight from afar.

"Rhein?! Rhein?!"

Lin Suo helpless, quickly stashed away the lamb leg and octopus, and instead laid out an array of fruits, busying himself with cutting them.

The small kitchen on the first floor wasn't too spacious.

Before long, a charming little golden head with two large eyes peeked out, eyes brimming with delight.

"Rhein! Vegetarian again~"

"Do I have a share?"

"Yes, you do."

A moment later, in the living room area.

A table of vegetarian dishes was laid out. Lin Suo felt waxen and had no appetite, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Lea, what brings you to me today?"

"Um, gua-ji~

It's Grandpa Deer Horn Vander. He said that he found a clue inside the ruins excavated earlier, asking if you want to go together. Gua-ji~"

Upon hearing this, Lin Suo lowered his head in thought.

He still felt that, due to his lack of background and being in want of nothing now, it was best to lie low until he advanced to a full-fledged wizard.

When his experience was sufficient, and his power strong enough.

Then seeking more benefits would not be too late.

For now, where others stood taller, marching forward voluntarily could lead to unwanted associations of sycophancy.

Within the Nature Association, there were factions, too.

People of Koster were particularly sensitive; better to let it be.

With the Magic Cube at hand, he could eventually become somebody notable. The so-called opportunities of legend weren't actually important to him.

Having almost no bottlenecks in advancement, he lacked nothing.

To plod along, following the path he liked, was the best route for him.

Therefore, he declined.

Valia was his only friend and knew him quite well. Seeing how he reacted, she didn't say much more, enjoyed her meal heartily – lately she was bringing him fruit every day.

Between the two of them, if there was any meaning to it, perhaps there was some.

But to talk about affection, it was still too early.

At least Lin Suo didn't have any; the grudges between the Nature Language family and Koster didn't matter to Valia, but her family behind her probably cared.

Now with Chairman Deer Horn Vander in between, acting as a mediator.

Once the ordeal with the Moon God Royal Family Fragment was over, his connection with the Nature Language family would probably end.

Deer Horn Vander's family could be considered for exchange.

Of course, all these things had to wait until he acquired status and broke through to the First Rank Wizard realm before discussing them, so he wouldn't be under anyone's thumb.

After seeing off the elf girl.

Lin Suo sat for a while and then closed up the house.

Unconsciously heading to the kitchen, he dug out the two ingredients he bought during the day and frowned.

"They're somewhat extraordinary materials, might as well try synthesizing..."

In the underground laboratory, a hundred meters below.

Learning from the previous lesson with the carriage, Lin Suo prepared to add another ingredient, the Enlightenment Flower, to see if the Power of Synthesis really had the effect of creating life.

"Synthesis!"

```