Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 487: Resources in Crisis

About half a month later, the Magic Castle and Arcane Tower of Silvertop City were completed.

Su Mu originally wanted to finish the Void Power Array in one go, but unfortunately, he ran out of resources.

Logs and stones are barely enough to sustain them, but gold coins are becoming scarce, and rare resources are in huge shortfall. Second-tier resources are out of the question, and alchemical dust is completely exhausted.

Aside from basic resources like gold, logs, and stone, each Void Power Array requires 50 rare resources and 10 alchemical dust.

Kuraki's greatest asset right now is its gem resources. Not only do Silvertop City and Kuraki's supply depots produce gems, but there are also two low-level gem mines, making it relatively abundant. However, even so, the daily output is only 4 gems, which is practically a drop in the ocean compared to the consumption.

As for mercury and sulfur, the 300 units of each resource that were compensated during the Isildur truce agreement came in very handy now; otherwise, it would have been questionable whether the Arcane Tower could even be completed to the second ring.

Kuraki has one refining room and one mercury bottle treasure, producing 2 mercury per day; sulfur can only be produced by the sulfur ring, producing only 1 per day; crystal is also in a bad situation, only able to be produced by Kuraki's special material warehouse, and the North has recently accepted a crystal mine, producing 2 crystals per day.

For ordinary city construction, this level of rare resources is basically sufficient, since resources can be exchanged through the market. Currently, there are many trading channels for timber, and prices can be kept relatively low.

However, this is only possible when there are enough gold coins. Now, to build special buildings, you need millions of gold coins, and even with Kuraki's gold coin production level, it would take a month or two, which makes it a bit difficult.

"It's really no use, Your Grace. If we build another Void Power Array, we'll have to stop recruiting soldiers, which is absolutely unacceptable."

Recruiting soldiers is the most fundamental principle that cannot be stopped, otherwise how can we continue fighting?

Recruiting soldiers is a major problem. Now that the number of cities has increased and the effectiveness of troop types has improved, gold coins are flowing out like water. Even with advanced dream-like financial management techniques, it's still not enough.

"We must explore new ways to make money and occupy some more resource-rich areas, otherwise it will really be a bit insufficient."

While Su Mu was in the city, he practiced advanced dream-like financial management techniques every day. And there was good news: Forrest, during the construction of Silver Top City, received a promotion and mastered a new development skill.

Forrest demonstrated his skills in the construction of Silvertop City and gained mysterious knowledge of architecture and alchemy, +1 Knowledge, and comprehended the Mysterious Resource Technique.

Basic Mystic Resource Technique (Governing): Creates one Mystic Treasure Bag daily using magic, containing 1 (4) unknown rare resources (currently only crystals and gems).

Forrest said he got the inspiration while observing the alchemy workshop, and that he participated in the construction of the treasure shop, which greatly helped in the production and utilization of resources.

He had always dedicated himself to the study of resource trading, because Forrest himself was shrewd and dreamed of one day being able to directly conjure new resources. So Cedrus showed him the alchemical texts on the concept of turning things into gold, which greatly inspired him. Combined with his years of experience managing the town's finances, this allowed him to develop new skills.

Mystic Resource is somewhat similar to heroes with resource specializations, but unlike a specialization, Mystic Resource is full of uncertainty, somewhat like a living windmill.

In other words, Forrest doesn't know what resources the treasure bag will contain. Crystals and gems are relatively common in castles, so either one would be fine. However, the demand for rare resources is now too high, and if any particular resource becomes even scarcer, there's no way to control it, which is a drawback.

After seeing the mysterious resource technique, Su Mu suddenly thought of his Chaos Wisdom Technique and Money Luck Technique. Combining the two would allow him to perfectly control the chaotic fluctuations.

As the ruler of Forrest, Su Mu can use the Hall of Eight Kings to transmit certain magic and guide the skills of the heroes.

So Su Mu tried it out in the magic guild, and he actually succeeded.

[After being corrected by the power of the Chaos Wisdom and the Curse of Fortune, the Mystic Resource Spell can now be narrowed down to one item (one basic item and two intermediate items), requiring monthly re-guidance.]

The spell power support from a level 5 magic guild is too strong. Su Mu only needs to cast a few spells to have a continuous supply of spell power. This is simply a blessing for all magic heroes.

"Let's start with crystals. After all, the output of gems is decent. We need to try to balance the various resources."

"Yes, my lord!"

If my prediction is correct, the intermediate-level Mystic Resource Technique will increase sulfur and mercury, allowing for the expansion of other resources, so there shouldn't be any worries. As for second-tier rare resources, Su Mu doesn't dare to think about it for now; he'll have to see how Forrest performs, as it might not be that simple.

It must be said that Forrest's speed of improvement in construction is faster. If conditions permit, Su Mu even wants to open a few more cities and promote Forrest.

With the construction of the Silver-Top City Council completed, the construction of the cemetery city was put on the agenda, and Su Mu felt it was worth planning.

But now he was more concerned with something else: the production of gold coins. So he summoned Cedrus and questioned him in detail.

"What do you think of the Alchemy skill? Is there any hope that the heroes in Silvertop City can master it?"

Sedros was a little embarrassed: "It doesn't seem to be available at the moment. How about I look into it and give it a try?"

His alchemical skills are probably the highest, and he belongs to the astrologer profession, combining combat and support abilities, making him a suitable candidate.

To develop power, it's not always enough to be good at fighting; someone has to accumulate resources. As the de facto ruler of Silvertop City, Sederlos has an inescapable responsibility for this.

“You can give it a try. Vera and the new hero can also give it a shot. After all, Silvertop City can’t rely on Kuraki for funding forever; it has to be self-sufficient.”

Tower Heroes does indeed have this kind of expertise, and perhaps he really can develop a Midas touch.

The treasure shop is now complete, and the blueprints for the Void Power Array and the Forbidden Library are all available. All that's missing now is resources and money. Su Mu doesn't expect them to be particularly skilled in combat, but they should at least have their own specialties.

[Treasure Shop: Connect to unknown travel worlds, where you can buy treasures and sell them.]

Resource consumed: 10000 gold coins.

Special Effects (Advanced Civil Engineering): There is a chance to obtain a miniature treasure unique to the tower, as well as special Tier 2 resources (alchemy dust is guaranteed, quantity unknown).

It refreshes weekly; additional refreshes require 2 refresh attempts (each rare resource requires 2 refresh attempts, i.e., powers of 2).
Additional resources: 50000 gold coins, 5 of various rare resources.

[Treasure Shop Item List: Centaur Battle Axe (Level 1 Treasure), 4500 Gold Coins;]

Dwarf King's Shield (Level 1 Treasure), 4500 Gold Coins;

Crown of Divine Beasts (Level 1 Treasure), 2250 Gold Coins;

Alchemy Dust (6 portions), 8000 Gold, 3 Logs/Gemstones.

Pandora's Box (treasure), 10000 gold coins.

The new treasure shop mainly sells level 1 treasures, which are not very useful. The truly useful item is alchemy dust, which is much cheaper than what merchants would buy from.

Many heroes are unaware that the price of treasures in the shop is actually linked to the market quantity. If there are too few treasures in the market, the price of treasures will rise. This is why boundary stones are spread over Silvertop City, so that they can obtain the bonus from other identical earth spirits and enjoy the benefits of a larger market, causing the price of treasures in the shop to drop sharply.

The market quantity of Kuraki is already quite considerable, so the Treasure Shop is not considered a rip-off.

However, Su Mu did not plan to refresh the order list on a large scale, since there would be plenty of time and opportunities in the future.

There is another important matter at hand, which Su Mu has not forgotten: this month is the month of Brilliant Crystal, and he must expand some resource areas.

(End of this chapter)