Chapter 136 - 135: Make Money! Make Money!

Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Make Money! Make Money!

The official average price for a 0th Ring Magic Formula was 6 Gold Coins each.

Gaode had currently mastered 19 types of Magic, 16 short of the 35 required. Based on this calculation, just purchasing the Magic Formulas would cost at least 96 Gold Coins, and that was only the minimum price. As he progressed, it would become increasingly difficult to find unmastered Magic Formulas for sale, making them much more expensive. Furthermore, Magic Formulas were divided into two tiers: ordinary and Rare. Aside from being difficult to purchase with just money, Rare Magic Formulas were usually priced far higher than ordinary ones.

Therefore, if he wanted to expand his Magic Library to over 35 before advancing to a First-Ring Mage, Gaode had to prepare at least a hundred Gold Coins.

His current savings balance stood at 90 Gold Coins and 19 Silver Coins. It had long since fallen below the hundred-gold mark and was still decreasing at a steady pace.

Although there was no room rent to pay at the academy, meals still cost money. In addition, renting a One Tier Cultivation Room cost 10 Silver Coins for two hours. If the Leakless Water could truly be preserved, its enhancement would extend Gaode’s daily cultivation time to two and a half hours. His corresponding expenditure would thus rise to 12.5 Silver Coins. This could be considered a fixed daily expense.

Furthermore, taking elective courses in the future would require substantial tuition fees, which was another foreseeable major expense.

"I need to make money. Make money!" Running through these calculations, a deep sense of a "financial deficit" crisis instantly washed over Gaode. Finding a stable way to generate income suddenly became incredibly urgent.

What about Magic Potions? Without his own Medicinal Garden to lower raw material costs, the profit margin for concocting Zero Tier Magic Potions would be simply too low; it would just be exchanging hard labor for pennies. He dismissed the idea.

Should he return to his old trade as a Repair Craftsman? This required zero cost and yielded a hundred percent profit. However, even in an environment full of Mages like Cyrus Academy, the total volume of damaged magical items needing repair wouldn’t be very high. So while it was a way to make money, it wasn’t stable and was more akin to one-off deals. Moreover, figuring out how to attract customers was another problem entirely.

One had to make the most of their available resources. After sifting through his options, Gaode realized that under the current circumstances, the most practical way to make money was to work for the academy by taking on assignments provided by the Logistics Department. To be honest, he was also quite curious about what kind of tasks the academy actually offered.

The thought of the Logistics Department suddenly reminded Gaode of something else: he still hadn’t paid the monthly maintenance fee of 5 Silver Coins for his "dormitory." If he delayed it any longer, he feared the academy might blacklist him as a deadbeat. He couldn’t afford to lose face like that. This trip to the Logistics Department was an absolute must.

At the Logistics Department’s Financial Office.

Gaode handed his identity plaque and the 3 Gold Coins he had prepared in advance to an old scholar in the office, who was wearing a Cyrus Academy uniform. He planned to take advantage of his current financial abundance to prepay a year’s worth of maintenance fees.

"Gaode, paying a one-year maintenance fee for Building 30 in District 1, totaling 3 Gold Coins," the old scholar confirmed, taking Gaode’s items while looking down to record the transaction.

"It’s been recorded." A moment later, he handed the identity plaque back to Gaode along with a receipt bearing the Financial Office’s seal.

"Thank you." Gaode, whose savings had just dropped by another 3 Gold Coins, took the items and left the Financial Office, heading straight for the mission hall on the first floor of the Logistics Department. This was his true destination.

Compared to the committee’s course selection hall, the Logistics Department’s mission hall was much livelier, with three counters open simultaneously. Two were for students to accept tasks, while the remaining one was used to record requests and issue missions. Aside from a small fraction issued by the academy itself, the vast majority of tasks posted in the hall came from mentors or even other students within the academy.

"The mission bulletin board is up there. Take a look yourself first, and if you find one you like, go to the counter to accept it," a young female staff member in the hall said to Gaode, pointing at the massive "display screen" hanging horizontally above the counters.

The "display screen" showed real-time updates of tasks that had yet to be accepted. Of course, there were no electronic screens in this world; the "display screen" was actually an Alchemy Machine.

Half of an Alchemist’s primary career trajectory involved crafting Extraordinary items, while the other half involved manufacturing Alchemy Machines. Although the former possessed the word "Extraordinary" and sounded somewhat nobler, the latter was practically equal in terms of both future prospects and financial potential. Its intrinsic value was also completely on par with the former.

If it was hard to understand why these two paths were considered equal, a single sentence could clear it up: Airships were actually a type of Alchemy Machine as well.

Gaode stopped in front of the massive mission bulletin board and looked up, browsing it carefully.

[River Patrol]: Patrol, expel, and hunt Earth Vein Creatures in the Naga River waters beneath Kuli Cliff.

This task operates on a seven-day cycle. Accepting this mission requires completing at least one cycle, with a daily patrol time of no less than five hours.

Completing this task rewards 35 Gold Coins. Additionally, there will be extra rewards for hunting Earth Vein Creatures above the 0th Ring during this process.

This task requires a minimum Mage Level of a 1st Ring Mage.

[Care for Magic Plants]: Tend to Medicinal Garden No. 5 of the Magic Potion Department (primarily Vermilion Grass Flowers, Vera Aloe, and Crimson Nain Roots).

This task operates on a ninety-day cycle. During this cycle, the loss rate of the Magic Plants in the Medicinal Garden must not exceed five percent, the prime quality rate must not fall below ninety percent, and the Magic Plants must demonstrate excellent growth.

Completing this task rewards 27 Gold Coins.

Application requirements for this task: Must have completed *Magic Plant Cultivation*, a branch course under *Magic Potion*.

[Magic Array Maintenance and Repair]: Inspect and maintain the Magic Array and Barrier facilities in the academy’s student residential area (primarily small-scale cleaning Magic Arrays, soundproofing Barriers, alarm Barriers, and temperature-control Barriers).

The task cycle is half an academic year. Maintenance and repair for faults reported by students must be completed within two working days.

Completing this task rewards 36 Gold Coins.

This task requires the completion of at least the third-stage course in *Rune Science*.

[Book Repair]: Go to the academy Library to assist in repairing damaged collections. The task cycle is one month. During this period, a minimum of three hours of work must be put in daily to repair at least three ancient books.

Completing this task rewards 20 Gold Coins and special borrowing privileges for certain collections in the Library.

This task requires...

The tasks hung at the very top of the bulletin board were all issued by the academy. The remuneration for each was actually very substantial. However, they all had prerequisites, requiring either a specific Mage Level or a certain level of academic achievement, mandating the completion of designated courses before one could apply.

Gaode looked through over a dozen task postings and realized, to his dismay, that there was not a single one he could accept. Of course, this definitely wasn’t a "chicken-and-egg dilemma" where one needed work experience to get a job, and a job to get work experience. It was simply because the easy tasks with minimal requirements had long been snatched up by other students.

Gaode continued to read further down. Past the academy-issued missions were tasks posted by the academy’s mentors and students. The content and requirements of these tasks became increasingly bizarre and varied.