Above the mage

Chapter 24 Making Money is Hard

"There's actually such a spell..."

Gao De already had a certain understanding of magic, knowing that magic could have all sorts of magical effects, and that amazing destructive power and lethality were only a part of its many effects.

But I never expected that the effects of magic would be so widespread as to improve skills.

"Divine Guidance Technique." Gao De secretly kept this in mind. If he could get out of his current predicament, he would definitely try to find a way to obtain the spell formula for Divine Guidance Technique in the future.

Without a doubt, divine guidance is an essential spell for all extraordinary craftsmen, including potion makers and alchemists.

As for now, let's figure out how to make money!

With two major projects completed, Gaode continued to sit cross-legged, beginning his daily practice.

He knew, of course, that both the practice of guided meditation and meditation required time to accumulate, and that it was impossible to make a major breakthrough in a short period of time.

There won't be any breakthroughs at least until the next trial.

If he fails to resist Master Seda by then, his current cultivation will be a waste of time.

But this is precisely the most likely scenario.

So, is it unnecessary to make the current efforts?

But Gao De understood even more clearly that no matter what, it was not a reason to slack off in his practice.

For everyone who is consciously determined to become a powerful mage, there is absolutely no room for laziness or rest in cultivation.

This requires amazing perseverance.

But for every mage, this is the most basic thing.

Gradually, Gao De emptied his mind, focused his spirit, and immersed himself in the guiding method.

Silently, the abundant magic power that permeated the world flowed into Gao De's body under the guidance of his spiritual power, and was then refined into magical power little by little.

Although casting spells consumes mana, controlling the casting of spells also requires the participation of mental energy.

Therefore, due to the use of [Repair+] to repair the Divine Ring, Gao De's mental energy was not at its peak when he began his cultivation.

In less than two hours, his mental energy depletion reached the critical value of 40%, and the efficiency of guiding magic began to decline rapidly.

Gao De decisively interrupted his practice of guided meditation and switched to apprentice meditation.

His training for the day officially ended only after the 40% of his mental energy had been fully restored through meditation.

Looking at the time, it was already close to midnight.

"The sixth lotus petal is about to materialize. Compared to my predecessor, the speed of my cultivation of the Guiding Technique hasn't changed much, but the speed of my cultivation of the Meditation Technique seems to have increased significantly. Is it because of the soul transfer?"

Gao De pondered to himself, "The talent for cultivating the Guiding Method depends on one's physique and the affinity between the body and magical power."

"The talent for meditation depends on the soul, and my soul talent is stronger than my predecessor's?"

That's highly likely.

But whatever the reason, it's always a good thing that the speed of meditation practice has improved.

"It's time to rest," Gao De said contentedly, dragging his tired body out of the workshop and back to his room to rest.

The next day.

The fourteenth day of the Awakening Month.

in the afternoon.

Gao De finished preparing today's batch of basic spider venom potion, thus concluding his work for the day.

However, there was an extra job, which was originally Ilan's job.

The potions in the herb garden have accumulated to a certain quantity; it's time to send them to Phil's Potions Shop.

It just so happens that Gao De was going to the city today to return the repaired Divine Ring.

He took stock of the types and quantities of potions to be sent.

Basic Endurance Potion, 10 sets.

This is a potion concocted by the mage Seda; he's the only one in the entire herb garden who can concoct basic stamina potions.

Thirteen sets of basic spider venom potions.

This is the result of Gaode's work, and one of the sets belongs to him.

Gaode's current daily workload is to prepare one set (three small bottles) of basic spider venom solution.

With his skill, he could produce an extra half ounce for each batch of basic spider venom potion he prepared.

A small vial of basic spider venom contains 2 ounces, meaning that Gaode can obtain an extra small vial of basic spider venom in four days.

Twelve days had passed since the last shipment, and he had accumulated a set of his own basic spider venom potions.

Gao De left the herb garden once again and headed to the city's commercial district.

By the time they arrived at Phil's Potions Shop, a fine layer of sweat had appeared on God's forehead.

This time, without Amy by his side, all the burdens of the potions fell on his shoulders alone.

Carrying over twenty potions on his back, with the potions themselves weighing a pint (1.8 liters), plus the weight of the potion bottles themselves, was a considerable burden for Gao De, who was only thirteen years old, lacked nutrition, and whose body had not yet fully developed.

Just like last time, the money was exchanged for the goods.

The purchase price for a basic spider venom potion is 2 gold, while a basic stamina potion costs 2 gold and 5 silver per stack. Even though they are both basic potions, there is a difference in their prices.

That's not all; if it's a basic healing potion, it can even fetch a purchase price of 3 gold per set.

Because among all basic potions, healing potions have always been the most widely applicable, so there's never a worry about sales.

However, the formula for healing potions is also the most precious. Only a few established forces possess it, and they rarely sell it. It is a formula that is valuable but unavailable on the market and can be considered a family heirloom.

A total of twenty-two sets of potions were exchanged for a receipt worth 46 gold and 10 silver.

It looks like a lot, but in reality, the profit is far less than that.

I don't know about other things, but just considering the basic spider venom potion, according to Gao De's observation, it would cost about 30 silver to prepare one set of the raw materials if all of them were purchased from the pharmacy.

In other words, for a potion master, the profit from a set of basic spider venom potions is actually only around 10 silver, and that's assuming a 100% success rate in potion making.

If a potion master is not skilled enough, every time they fail to concoct a potion, they will have to bear an additional cost of 30 silver.

You work hard to learn and master a prescription, then spend most of the day working on it, only to earn about 20% of the labor cost.

Unless one possesses a rare potion recipe like healing potions, the profits a low-level potion master can earn are generally around this amount.

Fortunately, Master Seda had his own herb garden.

Therefore, he can cultivate some of the medicinal materials needed to concoct potions himself, without having to buy them from pharmacies, which can further increase his profits.

This is also something that most potion makers have in common:

They will generally have their own herb garden, where they can grow and cultivate herbs to reduce the cost of potions.

Therefore, there is a saying among potion masters: "A potion master who does not study herbalism is not a good potion master."

After tucking the receipt into his pocket, Gao De returned to Pierre's General Store with the remaining set of basic spider venom potions and the repaired Divine Ring.

"Is it really fixed?"

Even though Pierre was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but be surprised when he saw the Divine Ring in perfect condition.

"You'll see once you try it." Gao De reluctantly handed the Divine Ring to Pierre.

Pierre took the ring of divine guidance, put it on the finger of his right hand, and after calming himself down and feeling it for a moment, he smiled with satisfaction.

"Your craftsmanship is truly excellent. If I hadn't known beforehand, I wouldn't even have been able to tell that it had been damaged before," Pierre praised.

"It's alright," Gao De said without being modest. "The true intentions are revealed at the last minute. Boss, you have a wide network of connections. Could you also keep an eye out for people who need magical items repaired and introduce them to you?"

"Of course, of course," Pierre said with a smile.

He would naturally not refuse a favor that was easy to do.

Moreover, even without taking a commission, acting as a middleman earns favors from both sides, which is a win-win situation.

"The purchase price of the potion is the same as last time, unchanged. The repair fee for the Divine Ring will be as agreed."

Pierre opened the drawer under the counter and took out several gold and silver coins, handing them to God.

The purchase price of a set of basic spider venom potions is 33 silver, and the repair cost of the Divine Ring is 30 silver, for a total of 63 silver.

Looking at the three newly acquired Sean gold coins and three clover silver coins, Gao De's mood improved considerably.

With the remaining 35 silver coins in his pocket, his total savings reached 4 gold coins and 15 silver coins.

(End of this chapter)