Chapter 52: Market II

After walking for several minutes, Ryan finally arrived at Myrioge Greenheart Alchemy Workshop.

The workshop occupied a three-story building near the market’s central district. Several wooden signs displaying different medicinal herbs hung above the entrance, and the faint smell of herbs drifted from inside.

Unlike the noisy market outside, the interior was relatively quiet.

A few customers were discussing ingredients with the staff, while two Potionists in long robes were examining a collection of medicinal plants near the counter.

Ryan approached the receptionist.

"Hello. I saw your acquisition request for Ancient Bloodleaf. Are you still purchasing it?"

The young woman behind the counter looked up.

"Yes, we are. Do you have some available?"

Ryan nodded.

"How much are you offering for each leaf?"

The receptionist hesitated briefly before answering.

"That depends on the condition and the amount of life energy preserved in the leaves. If they’re of sufficient quality, our workshop is willing to offer a good price."

"Then I’d like to have them evaluated."

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

She called one of the staff members and explained the situation. Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a green robe came out from a room behind the counter.

He had short brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a small green badge pinned to his chest.

"I’m Gareth, the workshop’s senior Potionist. I heard you have Ancient Bloodleaf for sale."

Ryan took out a small container from his spatial ring and placed it on the counter.

"Yes. I have twelve leaves, but I’m only considering selling ten."

Gareth’s eyes widened slightly.

"Twelve?"

He carefully opened the container and examined the leaves inside.

Ancient Bloodleaf was a rare ingredient that could be used in several advanced potions. Its life energy made it particularly valuable for preparations involving vitality, recovery, and the restoration of damaged tissues.

However, finding intact leaves was difficult. Most adventurers who encountered ancient plants either damaged the leaves while collecting them or failed to preserve their energy properly.

Gareth took out a special assessment device and examined each leaf individually.

After a few minutes, his expression became increasingly serious.

"These are in excellent condition. Their life energy is also remarkably well preserved."

He looked at Ryan.

"May I ask where you obtained them?"

"From a dungeon."

Ryan offered no further explanation.

Gareth studied him for a moment but didn’t press the matter. Adventurers weren’t obligated to reveal the details of their dungeon explorations, especially when rare materials were involved.

Instead, he returned his attention to the leaves.

"Considering their condition, I can offer you eighty thousand Tower Coins per leaf."

Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly.

He hadn’t expected the price to be so high.

However, he didn’t immediately agree.

"Why is your workshop purchasing so many of them? Is there a particular potion you’re trying to prepare?"

Gareth looked surprised by the question.

"You’re quite observant. Yes, we’re currently working on a batch of Level 6 Crimson Bloom potions. Ancient Bloodleaf is one of the main ingredients, and ordinary substitutes aren’t suitable for the recipe we’re using."

He paused before adding, "Unfortunately, our current supply isn’t enough. That’s why we posted the acquisition request."

Ryan understood.

Crimson Bloom is an powerful version of health potion.

Ancient Bloodleaf contained concentrated life energy, making it useful for potions that restored vitality. Depending on the recipe, it could also improve the body’s ability to recover from injuries.

Since the workshop was producing advanced recovery potions, its demand made sense.

"Would you be interested in purchasing other rare ingredients as well?" Ryan asked.

"That depends on what you have."

Ryan considered showing him the other materials stored in his spatial ring, but decided against revealing everything at once.

Instead, he took out a small vial of Corrupted Tree Sap.

Gareth’s expression changed as soon as he saw it.

"Corrupted Tree Sap?"

He quickly picked up the vial and examined its contents without opening it.

"Where did you find this material?"

"I acquired it during one of my dungeon explorations."

Gareth remained silent for a moment before looking at Ryan again.

"This isn’t ordinary Corrupted Tree Sap. Someone has already processed it to reduce its unstable energy. Although the corruption remains, the material is much easier to handle than the raw variety."

He carefully placed the vial back on the counter.

"Do you intend to sell it?"

"That depends on your offer."

Gareth rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Corrupted Tree Sap isn’t easy to use, even for experienced Potionists. However, the processed variety has several applications in specialized alchemy. Our workshop might be interested in purchasing it, provided the material passes a more thorough inspection."

Ryan nodded.

"Then you can examine it first."

Gareth called for another staff member and instructed him to bring a more advanced assessment device.

While they waited, he returned to the Ancient Bloodleaf.

"If you sell us ten leaves, we can pay eight hundred thousand Tower Coins immediately. If you decide to sell the Corrupted Tree Sap as well, we’ll evaluate it separately."

Ryan considered the offer.

Eight hundred thousand Tower Coins was a considerable sum, and he still had two Ancient Bloodleaf leaves left for his own use.

Since he had no immediate plans that required all twelve, selling ten was reasonable.

"All right. I’ll sell the ten leaves."

Gareth nodded and instructed the receptionist to prepare the payment.

A few minutes later, Ryan received eight hundred thousand Tower Coins in his account.

He checked the transaction notification before putting away his identification card.

It was a straightforward deal, and he hadn’t needed to reveal anything about the dungeon where he obtained the ingredients.

Soon, the staff member returned with the assessment device.

Gareth carefully examined the Corrupted Tree Sap again, this time using the new device to measure its energy composition.

The results appeared on the screen.

After reading them, he frowned slightly.

"This is interesting."

Ryan glanced at him.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong with the material itself. In fact, its condition is better than I expected. However, the energy composition is unusual."

Gareth turned the device toward Ryan.

"The sap contains traces of both life energy and corruption. Usually, these two forces interfere with each other, making the material unstable. But in this vial, they’ve reached a relatively stable state."

He looked at Ryan with renewed interest.

"Did you use a special method to process it?"

Ryan shook his head.

"I bought it from another adventurer. I haven’t tried processing it myself."

He had no intention of explaining that he already possessed the knowledge required to handle such materials. There was no need to reveal more than necessary.

Gareth accepted the answer.

"Then the adventurer who sold it to you must have had some experience with corrupted materials."

He thought for a moment before continuing.

"Our workshop is willing to offer two hundred thousand Tower Coins for the vial. However, because its properties are unusual, we’d like to retain the right to conduct further research on it."

Ryan considered the offer.

Two hundred thousand wasn’t a bad price, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to sell the material yet.

He had obtained several portions of Corrupted Tree Sap from the Serendipity Spring of Elves, and its potential uses were still worth investigating.

"Thank you for the offer, but I’ll keep it for now."

Gareth didn’t seem offended.

"That’s understandable. Rare materials are often more valuable to their owners than the price we can offer. If you change your mind, you can return here at any time."

Ryan stored the vial away.

Before leaving, he asked, "Do you have a list of ingredients your workshop is currently purchasing?"

"Certainly."

Gareth instructed the receptionist to bring him a copy.

The document contained several dozen materials, along with their approximate prices and minimum quality requirements. Most were ordinary ingredients, but a few caught Ryan’s attention.

Some were materials he had already encountered during his dungeon explorations. Others were rare resources that he had never seen before.

He carefully memorized the more valuable entries.

If he encountered any of them in future dungeons, he would know that they could be sold for a good price.

After thanking Gareth, Ryan left the workshop.

His first visit to Myrioge’s ingredient market had already earned him eight hundred thousand Tower Coins, and he had learned more about the local demand for rare materials.

Not bad for a short trip.

Ryan glanced at the remaining list in his hand.

There were still several places worth visiting, including specialized ingredient shops and an auction house that dealt with rare dungeon resources.