Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 82: Strange things to live in
"Kuku." Rean's deep voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Huh?" Kuku responded instinctively.

"If I ever trust you again, I'll be a complete idiot, a total idiot!"

While venting his anger at Kuku via the mental link, Rean carefully hid behind a trash can in the alley.

Many of the passersby outside the alley were carrying weapons and moved with the ferocity of a storm.

"." Kuku, who also clearly had a bad temper, didn't retort on the spot, obviously because he felt a little guilty.

"Strange! There's nothing wrong with it! It's my formula! There's no reason for this! It's been like this for so many years." He was completely baffled, not knowing where things had gone wrong.

As a master alchemist, Kuku was very confident.

These days, he casually "collected" some materials and concocted some simple magic potions and alchemical solutions, which worked without any major problems during testing.

So, full of confidence, he set up a stall in a corner of the Mage Street with Rean.

"Alchemy masters make medicine on-site, process materials supplied, only 15% handling fee." Behind the sign is Kuku, who is already standing with his hands on his hips, looking smug and waiting to collect the money.

He had already inquired and found out that alchemy and potion making currently charge at least 20% of the labor cost, and the higher the grade of the potion, the higher the charge.

Although his current condition is not good, he is unable to prepare many high-level magic potions that require spells, special techniques, and special environments.

But even just mass-produced low- to mid-range potions and alchemical elixirs should be enough to make a fortune.

At first, events seemed to confirm Kuku's expectations.

After the first few bottles of low-level alchemy potions (Kuku: Big Sale, Half Price!) were snapped up, someone decided to give this "Potion-Making Automaton" a try.

The result? He received a bottle of high-quality medicine that far exceeded the average!

Instantly, the onlookers erupted in excitement.

Adventurers and warriors are always short of logistical supplies. Even if it's just a 5% or 10% reduction in fees, it adds up to a large surplus.

Soon, Kuku was surrounded by customers, and even adventurers had crossed the street to come.

At first, he did make money, and quite a lot of it.
"Boom!"

Until, a pot of mid-level magic potion just exploded directly in the pot.

The foul-smelling medicinal mist, carrying the scent of herbs and fish, spread out, causing people to quickly move away, yet they were still choked and coughed violently, with some unlucky ones even vomiting on the spot.

This was clearly unsettling. Someone even tried the potion they had just concocted!
"Something seems off about the taste," he frowned, unsure of what he was doing.

"The taste is right, and the effect seems right too... Uh, why are hairs growing on my hands?!" It seems that feeling is no longer necessary.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The taste and effects are correct. Do you know how many potions and alchemical elixirs I've taken?" But one unlucky guy who had a dozen potions made at once suddenly panicked.

"Ahhh, what are you saying? You're on fire! You're burning!" People around him quickly moved away from the unfortunate guy whose hair was on fire!
Chaos began to spread, and when the first group of people who bought the potion arrived with weapons, the scene descended into complete chaos.

On the bustling street, there were things with long hair, things that turned blue or green, and things with burning hair. The steam from the fryer hadn't dissipated yet, and the scene suddenly became quite comical.

"Get out of here when the wind gets strong!" Kuku was extremely experienced in dealing with this situation.

The situation looks like it's about to turn bad, might as well run!
Greasy, rotten, and smoky—the three essentials; they run incredibly fast, like oil on their feet.

If Rean hadn't reacted quickly and slipped away before the smoke cleared, he might have ended up in jail three or four times.

But now, he's stuck in the alley and can only wait for the angry crowd to disperse on its own.

"This was an accident! A small accident."

Kuku, still stubborn in another trash can, remained unfazed; the kobold remained confident.

Kuku pondered repeatedly, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.
"I know! It's the materials! I'm not wrong! The materials have gone bad!"

Kuku, we've finally found the answer.

This doesn't mean that those who handle processing supplied materials brought fake materials; they're not that stupid.

Rather, all the materials of this era may be corrupted for Kuku from the past.

"A thousand years? Several thousand years? Or even longer?"

Some medicinal herbs and monster materials haven't changed much, but the properties of some materials have changed over a long period of time.

Some evolve naturally, while others are deliberately cultivated by professionals. Their appearance and taste may remain unchanged, but their inner qualities are completely different.

This means that if we continue to use the old prescriptions and preparation methods, some medicinal materials will no longer be effective, while others will have several times the effect or unknown mutations.

At the same time, the same medicine may have different effects.

The orcs who take the medicine are actually different now. With the change of human race, allergies, drug suitability, and tolerance are constantly changing, and the same drug also needs a lot of clinical trials to adjust.

The prescriptions and the alchemist's abilities are not ineffective; they simply need to be tested and adjusted.

Kuku, however, clearly doesn't have that time.

"The plan is scrapped."

Originally, Kuku didn't plan to keep processing materials; no matter how hard the workers worked, how much could they earn?

He can't make high-level magic potions or high-level alchemical potions right now. Only high-tech contract manufacturing can make him a lot of money. He can only earn a meager fee for low- and mid-level products.

His original plan was to first build up his reputation and then attract professional alchemists to come and take a look. He wasn't there to smash up the shop; he was there to make a deal.

Then, he will put on the airs of an expert and sell some medicine formulas to his peers. "Intellectual property" is the real premium. A formula for a mid-level medicine can sell for several hundred or several thousand gold coins.

But now it's not a question of whether or not you can scam money; it's that these formulas from the past were probably unexploded bombs.

Kuku needs time to verify the value of the treasures from the past, and the current Kuku is not even capable of verifying the most valuable high-level recipes.

He also knew the solution: the materials had changed, the users had changed, so the formula naturally had to change as well.

Having figured everything out, Kuku sighed. It seemed he wouldn't be able to make money this way.

Moreover, he needs to carefully consider his past "knowledge" before using it.

At this moment, Kuku looked at Rean, who was cautiously hiding behind the trash can, and had a new feeling.

"They're still alive! They're tough! We can raise the stakes!" Hoping the kobolds will repent? Impossible.
He simply ignores failures and becomes even more proud and arrogant about occasional successes!

Kuku vaguely sensed the root cause of Rean's problems these past few days, but it seemed there was no time to adjust.

Fortunately, thanks to Rean's resilience and Kuku's quick thinking, the most dangerous part of the process was successfully navigated. At least "Dragon Vein Awakening" has been proven to be feasible. Uh, thinking of Rean's massive blood loss, Kuku decided to adjust the dosage of the medicine.

"Don't rush, I have a Plan B! Let's make big money! We!"

Kuku, who was inside the trash can, suddenly spoke, while Rean, who was behind the trash can, slowly turned his head.

Those eyes watched him silently, without saying a word; you figure it out yourself.

Do you think I'll still believe you?
"Hehe! Don't rush, this time the technology is mature! And we'll only sell it once! Selling to the poor is not as good as selling to the rich, selling to the rich is not as good as selling to the nobles, selling to the nobles is not as good as selling to royalty."

Now it dawned on Rean: Kuku was planning to take advantage of a rich sucker and eat his fill in one go.

"You mean, Dania?!" Who else could it be but royalty?

"She craves power. And I can give it to her!"

Rean fell silent. Was this appropriate? He was the one who had offended her.

He just made a tough statement and then went over to sell his stuff, saying, "Want some? Top quality stuff." Isn't that a bit shameless?

"Tuition fees!" Kuku used his ultimate move.

Rean hesitated. It seemed like he really couldn't afford the student loan. It wasn't a one-time expense; he would need money for his studies afterward.

I don't want to be middle-aged and still have to pay huge student loans on time, regretting that I was so stupid to take out a loan to go to school when I was young.

"Equipment! Can't even afford armor! What kind of stinking canned food (knight) is that!"

Rean sighed; this was a heavy blow.

Paladins with and without heavy armor are like two completely different classes; he hasn't felt safe walking down the street these past few days.

"Spellcasters charge money! Lots, a huge amount! A bottomless pit!"

This has also been verified; 130 gold coins are just a beginner's pack.

If you really go down this path, a second-circle spell might start at just a few dozen gold coins. Many high-level spells' casting materials are measured in gold coins.

Compared to other spellcasting professions, mages are not inherently superior in spellcasting ability. Their strength lies in their greater number of spells that can adapt to various environments, all of which require the support of a spell library.

This doesn't even take into account the equipment for magic users. Many people say that spellcasters don't rely on equipment, at least not like combat users who are useless without it. That's only because magical equipment that can help spellcasters is rare and expensive.

"Toys and food! Lana wants them!"

No one should be poor, especially not their daughter. The house needs renovations; little Lana's room can't be completely empty.
"Um, are you sure there's nothing wrong with your goods?" Rean finally asked.

“No problem! It’s already been verified!” Kuku stared intently at Rean, and it was probably obvious who had verified it on him.

Kuku wasn't worried at all that Rean would refuse, after all, he knew exactly who "Li Ensu" was.

"Uh, how do I bring it up so she'll believe me?" Sure enough, Rean was as "flexible" as ever.

"Heroic spirits. You idiot, you're the spokesperson! The spokesperson for heroic spirits!"

After thinking about it, it makes sense. It's normal that I had clearly shown that I had private contact with the heroes before, and that I had some inside information.

Revealing one's special relationship with the Hall of Heroes could elevate one's status among the candidates, making it easier for one to compete with Dania for the right to speak.

"Reveal your existence?" That's both a bargaining chip and a form of proof.

As long as the next heroic spirit is related to dragons, it's easy to sell dragon-type abilities to Dania.

“Okay. But don’t say everything! Keep her guessing, let her come to you and ask for a higher price!” Kuku, having switched her train of thought again, looked smug.

Looking at Kuku's smug expression, Rean guessed that he was also a shrewd businessman (a seasoned con artist).

But here's the problem: how do we get in touch with the princess, and will she really fall for it?

"What you're selling is probably dragon-language magic, right? She's just a princess."

"Dragon language is never something you can just take for granted. As I've said before, the key to dragon language and dragon speech magic is the user's qualifications. It's not something an ordinary dragon can use. Most importantly, it requires a trustworthy dragonborn to provide initial instruction."

The princess always regarded it as a curse and probably never seriously explored its potential.

She clearly didn't know that her dragon blood concentration qualified her to use dragon language magic.

There are indeed some hybrid dragons and dragon descendants in nature that can awaken and use fragments of dragon language and dragon markings, but these are often unsystematic and have rather random effects, making them completely unreliable.

There are some things that Kuku didn't explain clearly: the best dragon vein enlighteners are often blood relatives of the same origin.

The best catalyst is often the blood of a blood relative.

“I’ll give it a try.” Rean thought for a moment, and it seemed like this deal was feasible.

Not long after, in front of the Sudar mansion in the same Huiguang District, stood a young man with a helpless expression.

He thought he wouldn't be coming back for a long time.

"Young Master Rean?! Please come in! Welcome home!"

The maid at the door rushed to greet Rean as soon as she saw him.

They were very enthusiastic; some helped Rean take off his clothes, some brought him water and changed his shoes, and some quickly closed the door. They were probably afraid that Rean would really run away.

"Um, am I... Suliman?"

Having no other choice, it seems that Rean's only way to contact the princess is to seek out Suliman.

"The head of the family is here, and she has always been here. However, please wait a moment, as she is receiving guests."

Rean didn't have to wait long before Sallyman saw him off.

"Huh? Isn't this little brother Rean?" Before Rean could react, a familiar fragrance wafted towards him.

Before Rean could react, a soft, warm embrace was drawn into the arms of the snake-like woman.

"Purple rose?" The scent reminded Rean of the flower.

"Yes, it's me, it's me. I never expected to run into you while visiting a friend. Is this some kind of destiny?"

The magical girl smiled sweetly, her face blooming like a flower, while behind her, Suliman was coldly watching her.

"Auntie! Let him go, let my fiancé go!" Uh, Rean seemed to have heard something rather subtle.

(End of this chapter)