Chapter 258: A Good Deal

Chapter 258: Chapter 258: A Good Deal

[Blacktiger Ford]: Don’t worry, the trade contract won’t have too many clauses. Just one: you have to give me thirty percent of the potions you make with this crucible, no strings attached. How about it? A great deal, right?

A great deal?

Pretty Guardian stared at those three words, almost laughing in exasperation.

’How could Blacktiger Ford even say that?! Where’s the deal in that? Does he think I’m some kind of idiot? A one-time buyout is obviously a much better deal than an endless supply!’

Pretty Guardian immediately expressed her dissatisfaction: "No! Let’s just do a normal trade. You name a price, and we’ll make it a one-time sale."

Seraphina Sinclair’s reply was also quick:

[Blacktiger Ford]: No one-time sales.

Pretty Guardian: "..."

’He’s targeting me!’

’This guy has his eyes on my potions but doesn’t want to trade runes for them. That’s why he’s insisting on this kind of deal.’

[Pretty Guardian]: ...Master, I really can’t. Your terms are too harsh! That’s thirty percent of my potions! Do you have any idea how many resources it takes to get used to a new crucible and make potions? This is basically robbery!

Seraphina Sinclair read the reply, easily imagining the other person fuming, but her own expression remained unchanged.

’The fact that she replied means there’s room to negotiate. Otherwise, given her personality, she probably would have just ignored me by now.’

So, Seraphina Sinclair continued to play hardball:

[Blacktiger Ford]: You can choose not to trade. Or, you can trade for the unrepaired crucible. It just needs an E-level repair kit to fix. Do you have one?

The other side fell silent instantly.

’A repair kit? In this environment, anyone willing to list such a rare material is only looking to trade for weapons!’

’I only have one weapon, and I desperately need it for myself. How could I possibly trade it for a repair kit?!’

’Besides, potions aren’t like runes. They’re more for support effects and don’t have much offensive power, so they’re almost impossible to sell.’

’On top of that, I’m not Blacktiger Ford; I don’t have the confidence to expose myself like he does.’

’And Blacktiger Ford is the only one who knows I’m a Pharmacist. Opportunities to buy a crucible are rare. If I pass this up, I might not get another chance.’

Thinking about it, Pretty Guardian suddenly felt that trading future potions for a crucible that was guaranteed to be at least E+ Level, and possibly even D-level, seemed like a can’t-lose deal.

’But the price... I can probably haggle it down a bit more.’

[Pretty Guardian]: Twenty percent of the potions.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Deal.

Pretty Guardian: "..."

’I offered too much.’

’He agreed way too quickly! He was probably only planning to ask for twenty percent from the start and just said thirty to get me to haggle!’

’That damn Blacktiger Ford!’

Pretty Guardian cursed him a few times in her head. When she looked up, he had already sent over the trade contract.

[Pretty Guardian]: What’s the rush? What about a time limit? It can’t be permanent, right? Also, I’m only promising twenty percent of the potions made with *this* crucible. Anything made with other tools doesn’t count.

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow.

’She’s pretty thorough. This request was within my expectations.’

[Blacktiger Ford]: The time limit... let’s set it until you find your next alchemy tool of an equal or higher grade. That’s fair. And of course, it only counts for what’s made using the crucible.

Pretty Guardian quickly calculated in her head.

’Find another E+ Level, or even higher-grade, alchemy tool?’

’Easier said than done!’

’That time limit is practically the same as permanent.’

’But "practically" isn’t "absolutely." At least it leaves a sliver of hope.’

’Twenty percent... it hurts, but for high-quality potions...’

’It’s just a trade contract! I’ll sign it!’

Pretty Guardian slapped her thigh and signed her name on the contract.

Only then did Seraphina Sinclair take out the E-level repair kit and use it on the damaged alchemy crucible.

A soft white light enveloped the crucible, and the cracks on its surface slowly mended and vanished before her very eyes.

A few minutes later, the white light dissipated. The crucible was as good as new; its dull color had deepened, and an imperceptible glimmer now seemed to flow across its surface.

[Alchemy Crucible (D-level)]

[Description: A tool that was broken and then repaired, though it could never be restored to its original grade. A classic, three-legged crucible cast entirely in matte bronze. Its surface is engraved with mystical transmutation circuits, and a faint light seems to breathe and flow across it. Using it to create potions appears to be twice as effective and may even improve the potion’s grade!]

’It really did get promoted to D-level! And it even has some extra effects.’

Satisfied, Seraphina Sinclair traded the repaired crucible over.

[Pretty Guardian]: !!! D-level! I got it! Don’t you worry about your share of the potions in the future.

Even though she’d been "scammed" out of twenty percent of her future earnings, Pretty Guardian couldn’t hide her excitement now that she had a real D-level alchemy crucible in her hands.

’This time, it wasn’t a loss!’

Reading the other party’s message, Seraphina Sinclair also felt that this round hadn’t been a loss for her either.

After dealing with the crucible, Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze fell upon the jar of [Processed Powder].

’An unknown powder that can be used to draw runes directly...’

Her fingers started to itch with anticipation.

Taking out rune paper and a rune pen, Seraphina Sinclair carefully scooped out a bit of the silver powder, mixed it with gasoline, and stirred it evenly.

She calmed her mind and focused her spirit, recalling the strokes and path for drawing a Fire Drawing Rune, and slowly put pen to paper.

The moment the tip of the pen touched the rune paper, something strange happened!

The silver powder, as if it had a life of its own, began to spread and crawl wildly across the rune paper, completely straying from the Fire Drawing Rune’s structure.

Seraphina Sinclair tried to guide it with her spiritual power, but she felt a strong sense of rejection and chaos.

"FWOOSH—"

With a soft sound, the rune paper spontaneously combusted, instantly turning into a small pile of ash without producing any effect whatsoever.

A failure.

Seraphina Sinclair looked at the ash on her desk but didn’t feel discouraged.

’A powder with unknown effects obviously can’t be controlled using existing rune drawing methods.’

She pondered for a moment and decided not to try again.

’This kind of D-level material is precious; blind experimentation is just a waste.’

’Perhaps it requires a specific rune, or more advanced drawing techniques, to be used effectively.’

Carefully putting the powder away, Seraphina Sinclair finally had a moment of free time.

The regional channel was still bustling, but there were noticeably fewer purchase requests. Instead, it was filled with posts from survivors expressing their relief, their fear of powerful monsters, and... a new round of discussion and speculation about the two masters, Blacktiger Ford and Artemis.

"Master Blacktiger’s runes were top-tier! Too bad they’re all gone..."

"What’s the deal with Master Artemis? Is there really no news at all?"

"You think... something happened to them?"

"Don’t say that! How could a master fall so easily!"

"I bet they’re hoarding good stuff and don’t want to share anymore. So much for the ’nice guy’ act, huh?"

"They’ve shared so many times, and the one time they don’t, you guys start pointing fingers? If I were a master, I wouldn’t share either!"