The Rise of the Black Plain

Quickly two days passed.

Minos and Abby had visited some places indicated by Rose, but they hadn't had any luck in the time that had passed. In all the organizations they had visited, the deadline that the young ruler of the Black Plain received was beyond the time he had to obtain this medicine.

Consequently, they had not yet done any business.

They were going to the other places that remained for them to complete their visits to the organizations listed by that alchemist.

Not all trading points were within Dahlia, so they still had a chance of getting this order before leaving this region.

But if their luck didn't change, then young Stuart was willing to use his medium-grade crystals to convince some local alchemist to sell one of his medicines.

Such a thing would not be cheap, as these alchemists had a reasonable profit rate on selling pills, having no interest in reselling medicines. However, for the right amount of crystals, anyone would be willing to part with material goods...

And Minos would do his best to get this resource. After all, this was directly related to his strength and the future of the Black Plain. In this case, even 'burning' a certain amount of medium-grade crystals, something valuable in the region, would be worth it to him.

His time was short, and in a maximum of two and a half years, he was sure he would already be at level 50. Hence, he couldn't wait any longer to get such a resource!

...

A few kilometers away from the urban region of Dahlia, there was a mountain with numerous plantations subdivided at different levels of altitude.

The place was very well organized, and if someone looked from above, one would see that from one point to the other of each level curve, the plants seemed to increase in terms of maturation...

And in those places where the most matured plants were, several people dressed in white clothes and with hats on their heads picked the fruits of those more grown plants, slowly, without any hurry.

Finally, at the base of this mountain, a large wall surrounded the entire place, demarcating that area around the plantations of the forest areas that existed in that place.

However, in the heart of this region, a wide stone road passed this property. It continued north until it reached Dahlia, which was visible from this location despite being several kilometers away.

And on this road, a couple wearing golden masks had just gotten out of a carriage and headed for the interior of that property.

That was one of the locations described by the alchemist Rose, where Minos could manage to do his business, the base of the Lillian family, a noble power from this region!

Such an organization could not be considered as strong as a prominent noble family like the Nash family. Still, it could undoubtedly be recognized as wealthy.

And, based on what Minos had learned from Rose, this property has more than 100,000 plants classified as King-grade, that guaranteeing a near-daily supply of new medicines of that classification!

However, this location certainly had a problem, which made things more difficult for Minos. Which was the fact that they were much more demanding in their negotiations, demanding a minimum amount for each business...

Below this amount, they would not waste their time in conversations and would just give good luck to their 'customers'...

That's precisely why Minos and Abby hadn't come to this place before. They wanted to try places where they could order the product they wanted without committing to bigger deals.

But when you run out of options, what's left is to appeal to what's left, even if that's not exactly what you want...

And that was the case with young Stuart at that time!

Anyway, after some time, the two were finally taken to a place where negotiations were held in this location.

"Hi, you can call me Joseph. How should I address you two?" A man who looked to be in his thirties, dressed in a black suit, spoke to the couple just before he took a seat in an armchair opposite Minos and Abby.

"You can call us Mr. and Mrs. Stuart." Minos said quickly.

He didn't need to hide his last name. After all, how was this man going to know about a small family of just one member?

Not to mention that with the two of them wearing masks, no one would believe that such a name was valid...

And after a moment with the two of them, greeting each other, then that Lillian family dealer got right to the point. "OK, so what business does Mr. Stuart want with our family? Are you aware of our rules?"

"Yes, I am." Minos answered him.

He had heard from Rose that this family would only negotiate deals with values ​​above 30,000 medium-grade crystals.

"My interest is in King-grade medicines of any kind, and I need to receive them within 24 months."

"24 months?" He said in surprise. "It's complicated for us to deliver in such a short time... Are you sure you can't wait any longer?"

"I don't mind waiting any longer to receive the rest of the order, but at least one King-grade medicine has to be in my hands within that period."

"Oh? So that's it…" Joseph understood Minos' motive and smiled. "Well, delivering just one unit is not difficult to do within that period, but as for the others, it will take longer."

"So, what will be the amount traded?"

Minos then smiled under his mask and said. "The amount equivalent to the minimum value for trading in this place."

"So that's it, hehe. Well, 30,000 medium-grade crystals can pay for 4 King-grade medicines in our family. Are you aware that we do not deliver small quantities like this? And do you have to pay half the amount now and the other half when you take out the 3rd unit?" He said, getting up from that place and heading towards a large cabinet in that office.

"I know that." Minos answered him calmly.

"Good!"

After that, the man came bringing some papers for Minos and said. "We use a Soul Contract in every negotiation we make. That serves to if you give up on your order later, we will not refund your crystals, and we will also charge you a fine."

"It's a matter of protection for our family. We cannot lose legitimate business because of deals gone wrong."

"Anyway, here are all the points of the contract for you to know. Read them, and if you agree with all this, we will schedule a day and time to visit a spiritual judge. As for the payout, considering our levels and the value of the deal, I recommend you have about 16,000 medium-grade crystals by then."

"OK."

After that, Minos quickly read the contract and Abby, agreeing with all the points there.

He wasn't worried about that, as, on his part, he wouldn't back down from the deal.

As for the fact that he made a negotiation over the amount he needed, he had already spent four days in this region and had already visited all other organizations!

Consequently, if he didn't get this deal now, he would already have to pay an amount well above that negotiated to get this item through some alchemist.

But with the agreement he made, he could pay the amount below that charged to the medicine unit of that classification and would still have these resources for him to invest in the Black Plain in the future.

At the very least, it wouldn't be a waste!

With that, after some time, the couple had left that place with the date set to sign the Soul Contract, which was the day after tomorrow. After that, they would make the payment and then wait for about 15 months until the first medicine could be collected.

As for the others, they would be collected at intervals of one year each, each of which had to be picked up from the same place where Minos had made the deal!

'Ahh, after I settle this matter further, I'll finally be able to go home…' Minos thought to himself, as he had a glint in his eyes, as he departed from that place.