Chapter 604: There Goes My Money Again ( PS Bonus - )

Chapter 604: There Goes My Money Again ( PS Bonus Chapter )

He put the seal back inside the box.

"How much does it cost?"

Miranda showed her usual business smile.

"For an ordinary customer? Very expensive."

"And for me?" Lian tilted his head slightly.

"A little less than very expensive."

"I guess that’s how you became one of the most successful merchants in the world."

"Exactly, that’s the reason I’m still successful in business." Miranda shrugged slightly.

Lian looked at the box for a few seconds and then said,

"If I’m going to spend this much, at least give me a better discount on the potions."

She was silent for a moment, then her smile grew a little wider.

"Now you’re finally learning how to negotiate properly."

Their bargaining did not take long.

Miranda knew very well how much of a discount was reasonable to keep an important customer, and Lian had no intention of wasting too much time over a difference of a few units in price.

It should not be forgotten that he had around 200 million dollars in his account, more or less, and unfortunately, since he did not live a luxurious life either, the money had remained untouched the entire time.

In the end, the purchase was completed.

Advanced healing potions, mana recovery potions, multipurpose antidotes, emergency medical equipment, and several consumable resources suitable for healing his colony members.

And of course, the Mana Reservoir Seal.

After receiving the items, he examined the seal for a moment and then stored it with the rest of his equipment.

Miranda was confirming the final purchase report at the same time.

"By the way, Lian."

"Yes?"

"When you travel to the Land of First Dawn, you’d better be more careful than ever."

Lian became a little more serious, this was exactly the same warning Professor Aldric had given him.

Despite everyone describing it as a land that was like paradise, that man believed something was wrong with that place and that they needed to be careful.

"Have you heard anything?"

Miranda looked at him for a moment.

"I don’t have any specific information I can sell you, but all I can say is that you should be careful, the origin of that place is unknown, and anything unknown is dangerous."

He thought for a few seconds and then nodded.

"I understand."

"Good, I don’t want to lose one of my customers."

Lian stood up.

"Until next time."

"Goodbye for now."

He left the office, but as he exited the building, he looked back at the official shop of the Awakened Association once more.

A woman who managed one of the Black Market Towers while also holding a managerial position in the Association’s official shop.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

She really has an unusual talent for business.

He became even more curious about her story, wondering how one person could achieve something like this when it should not even be legally possible.

When he returned to his dormitory, most of his preparations were complete, and his potions had been restocked.

He had emergency equipment, and the Mana Reservoir Seal could also be useful in long battles.

However, one thing remained, he sat down on the chair behind his desk.

Then he opened the system window, and his gaze remained on his Fragment balance for a moment.

[Fragments: 561]

This was the reward from his recent achievements, he could save the Fragments for the future, but he had wanted to combine several overlapping skills for a long time.

Especially now that his fighting style had become clearer than before.

Lian relied more on his fists, physical strength, and close-range skills.

The Indestructible Body had also greatly improved his abilities in this kind of combat.

However, there were still two areas he could improve.

Understanding enemy movements better and having a direct, focused strike that could break through defenses.

He checked his skill list.

Then he selected the first three skills.

[Predator’s Instincts]

[Night Eyes]

[Echo Adaptation]

All three were useful in different parts of combat.

Predator’s Instincts helped him detect dangers and enemy movements earlier, it even helped him see the flow of blood, while Night Eyes improved his vision in dark conditions.

Echo Adaptation was useful for recognizing and adapting to repeating patterns.

But if he could combine all these effects into a single skill, the result would probably be much more effective.

He activated the combination option.

[Three skills have been selected for combination]

[Predator’s Instincts + Night Eyes + Echo Adaptation]

[Possible Result: Primordial Predator’s Perception]

[Combination Cost: 260 Fragments]

[Proceed with the combination?]

Lian selected the confirmation option without hesitation, a few moments later, a faint blue light appeared before his eyes.

He felt some of the information from the three skills being rearranged in his mind, rather than his senses suddenly becoming stronger in an uncontrollable way.

Instead, he felt that the information he received from his surroundings was now being processed through more coordinated paths.

The faint sound of the curtain moving beside the window, the change in the airflow, and even the movement patterns of the tree branch’s shadow on the ground... everything seemed clearer.

But more important than the clarity of his senses was the connection between them.

For a moment, he followed the movement of a small leaf behind the window, as the wind changed direction, the leaf began to spin.

From its initial movement, he was able to predict the likely path of its continued rotation more quickly.

Of course, this was only a simple test.

In a real battle, enemies could act against their previous patterns or use skills that left no usual signs.

But this increase in his analysis speed was valuable to Lian.

A new window appeared.

[Skill combination successful]

[New Skill: Primordial Predator’s Perception]

[Rank: Divine]

[260 Fragments consumed]

[Remaining Fragments: 301]

"Not bad."

He could imagine how useful this skill would be alongside [True Sequence].

One was for examining the structure and sequence of energy, while the other was for analyzing physical signs and movement patterns and reacting more quickly.

Of course, neither of them meant that he could see the future.

But he did not need that either, if he could gather more information about his enemies and use it more quickly, that was enough.

After a while, he turned his attention to the second combination.

This time, he selected three different skills.

[Suppressing Palm]

[Iron Fortress Charge]

[Cataclysm Pulse]

Lian looked at them for a few seconds, all three were related to direct strikes and physical force in terms of their nature.

However, each of them covered a different part of combat.

Iron Fortress Charge strengthened the force of movement and impact.

Suppressing Palm could be both a massive attack and a precise, focused strike.

And Cataclysm Pulse could turn the force of impact into a destructive wave.

If these three skills were combined into a single attack, they could concentrate a large part of his current physical power at one specific point.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

He selected the combination option.

[Three skills have been selected for combination]

[Suppressing Palm + Iron Fortress Charge + Cataclysm Pulse]

[Possible Result: Disaster Suppression Fist]

[Combination Cost: 280 Fragments]

[Proceed with the combination?]

"Confirm."

A short flow of mana moved through his right arm, and Lian curled his fingers for a moment.

He felt that the new skill’s structure had been designed to coordinate the force of his body’s movement, the suppressing pressure, and the destructive impact wave at the same moment.

However, unlike an ordinary punch, using it properly required the right timing and angle.

If the enemy moved out of the way before the impact, a large part of the gathered force would be wasted, and its mana cost was also higher than that of a simple strike.

Even so, against a target that could not easily escape or had no proper defense? The result could be devastating.

He decided not to test the skill in his room for now.

The last thing he wanted was to have to explain the broken wall of his dormitory.

A few seconds later, the system window appeared.

[Skill combination successful]

[New Skill: Disaster Suppression Fist]

[Rank: Divine]

[Potential: Holy]

[280 Fragments consumed]

[Remaining Fragments: 21]

Lian kept his gaze on the last number.

561 Fragments.

540 Fragments spent.

And only 21 Fragments remaining.

He leaned back in his chair for a moment and then let out a short sigh.

"Well, I’m almost broke again."

Of course, unlike someone who truly regretted his decision, a faint smile could be seen on his face.

Two new combination skills, one for perception and analysis, and the other for releasing his body’s immense power in a direct strike.

And considering the new physical strength he had gained after being refined in the Dragon Blood River, the second combination could be very effective in future battles.

Most importantly, his new offensive skill had Holy potential!

The skill ranks were Common, Great, Divine, Holy, and Eternal, and now he had another offensive skill with Holy potential.

Lian closed the system window.

Now almost everything was ready, he only had to wait for the expedition to begin.

The day passed quickly, and at the start of the next day, the young Vorhelm left the dormitory building.

The evening light fell across the academy’s stone-paved grounds, and a gentle breeze moved the branches of the trees beside the path.

There were still few students around.

However, when he approached the central training ground, he noticed a small gathering along one of the main paths.

Several students were standing at a certain distance from each other and talking in low voices.

Something about the way they were standing caught Lian’s attention, they had gathered around someone.

Not with wild excitement, but with caution and respect.

He looked through the crowd and then saw a familiar face.

Roderick.