Chapter 53: Becoming A Millionaire, Cursed Spirit Hunter License
[Balance: $1,100,000]
"That’s a lot that we expected, Lord of Shadows," Yuna said, excited.
I nodded.
I had estimated maybe seven hundred thousand dollars, tops. This was too much.
I immediately went into the transaction history to see what got me so much money.
- Rank 2 Amulet: $200,000
- Rank 3 Cursed Spirit Info: $500,000
- Bonus Reward (Environmental Corrupter type Classification): $400,000
Environmental Corrupter type Cursed Spirits were anchored to specific physical locations.
They often lured people in with attractive loot, only to trap and consume them.
If you knew what you were dealing with in advance, you could enter carefully and extract the materials inside without triggering a disaster.
It made information about Environmental Corrupter-type Cursed Spirits valuable.
Still... four hundred grand for that?
’They’re definitely trying to buy my loyalty.’
’The portal I used should’ve made them think I’m a big shot Exorcist. It’s why they want me to keep doing business with them.’
A faint smile appeared on my face.
It had been a good plan to use the portal, and sell the Amulet from Daelthorn. It did wonders for my image.
’Now that I have money, time to buy the ingredients I need.’
I clicked into the [Market] tab and began looking for Rank 1 alchemy ingredients.
Rank 1 materials usually cost between ten to fifty thousand each. Anything below that was Rank 0 and typically too weak to be useful unless I was experimenting.
After a full night of thinking, I had decided to buy cheaper ingredients instead of expensive ones.
I decided that so that I could stay budget friendly.
This was not my cheapskate personality acting up, definitely not.
First, I brought ingredients for a Catalyst. I needed a Catalyst urgently.
1. Moonflint Shards – $35,000
2. Crystallized Toad Bone – $42,000
3. Ashroot Vine Dust – $15,000
4. Blackened Amber Gel – $28,000
4. Runesteel Powder (Small Pouch) – $31,000
’With these ingredients, I should be able to create a Rank 0 Catalyst that can last me fifty uses.’
Satisfied, I brought ingredients for Species Evolution Potion.
1. Mist Ivy Extract – $11,000
2. Condensed Salamander Blood – $14,000
3. Violet Quartz Threads – $17,000
3. Ironwyrm Tendon (Preserved) – $38,000
4. Dryad Bone Slivers – $19,000
Evolving one’s species could only be done through consuming Species Evolution Potion.
The contents of the potion, and their compatibility with your race decided which race you would evolve into.
After a successful evolution, you needed to master the Traits/Class/Techniques/Skills you received from the new species.
Only after that you could drink another Species Evolution Potion to evolve again.
I moved on to general-use ingredients I might need to create some potions later:
1. Fairy Dust (Grade B) – $22,000
2. Mana-Fused Copper Ore – $13,000
3. Sootscale Rat Hearts (x10) – $24,000
4. Blightmoss Spores – $16,000
5. Firefang Pith – $18,000
6. Glimmerwood Bark Chips – $21,000
7. Unstable Arcstone Fragment – $25,000
8. Siren’s Tooth (Cracked) – $29,000
9. Basilisk Eyelid (Dried) – $27,000
10. Numbing Jelly (Vial) – $15,000
I was smiling, thinking about the potions and items I could create with these materials.
But then, I saw my balance.
I had only $100,000 left.
’...this many ingredients are enough for today. I can buy the other ingredients later if I need them.’
I wasn’t worried about someone realizing I was an alchemist.
Not all of the items I bought were herbs or suspicious-looking powders.
Some were metals, monster body parts, or mana-sensitive minerals.
Nothing I bought would instantly scream "alchemy" if anyone got nosy.
I hit "Confirm Purchase" and selected the delivery method.
The delivery system allowed me to choose where and when the package would arrive.
I picked an abandoned building in the next city and set the time to 2:30 a.m, almost sixteen hours from now.
’I can’t pick up the items now, since mom is here. So, I can only go out during the night.’
While I was checking the purchase, I noticed something odd.
There were no delivery fees.
I scrolled up, confused, and saw a glowing badge next to my username: VIP User.
"...Huh," I muttered. "Since when?"
Being a VIP was good news, I could buy better quality of goods that were not shown to normal users.
’It has to be because of the portal I used when handing off the amulet.’
’Looks like I’ve impressed them a bit more than I thought.’
With the shopping out of the way, I clicked back to the homepage and paid $10,000 to apply for the Cursed Spirit Hunter License.
A simple prompt popped up confirming my application and mentioned that the test would be held one week from today.
Further details would be provided on the day of the test.
"A week?"
I frowned at the screen.
That felt like too little time.
If the test involved taking down a tricky Cursed Spirit, I wasn’t confident I would pass.
My current strength wouldn’t cut it.
I needed to grow stronger within a week if I wanted to pass the test.
’Becoming a 4-star mage in a week is out of the question.’
For a 4-star mage, I needed to spend millions to buy enough gold.
I didn’t have that kind of money. Not unless I risked selling more information, and even then, that kind of action would put a target on my back.
I had seen several times what happened when a person let their greed take over, and revealed their secrets to others.
There was no way I would walk on the same path as those people
Selling potions to earn money within a week was off the table too.
Without an alchemy certification, I couldn’t officially put any products on the market.
Most black markets were strict about those rules since consuming uncertified items was risky business.
No matter how I looked at it, only one path made sense for now: Evolve to Draconis Excitari and then go out at night, use Shadow Eater, and gain stats.
I leaned back in my chair and exhaled.
’Alright. That’s the plan for the week.’
With everything sorted on the site, I shut down the desktop and rejoined the rest of the house.
Lunch was already on the table.
Dad came home around that time.
’He’s back,’ I thought, smiling a little.
But the smile disappeared the moment our eyes met.
’...I need to run.’
I tried to move away, but it was already too late.
"My cutie pie! I missed you so much! Come here and give Daddy a kiss!"
Before I could escape, he grabbed me in a bear hug and kissed my cheek.
Then he started rubbing his rough beard all over my face.
"Dad, it stings. Move away."
"No, I missed my cutie pie a lot. Let me hug you more."
He finally let me go after I looked like my soul had left my body.
We sat at the dining table after that.
I took the seat next to Mom, far away from Dad.
Mom smiled at us, clearly amused, and began serving the food.
Dad looked at me for a second, his usual loud voice filling the room.
About halfway through the meal, he suddenly changed the topic.
"We’ll be moving tomorrow," he said, looking straight at me.
"Moving?" I asked.
"Yes," he nodded. "We’re returning to my family’s estate."
Mom didn’t look surprised, which meant she already knew.
"O-okay?" I said, trying to sound confused.
Truthfully, I was confused.
He must be talking about main estate of House Daelthorn.
Why were we going there?
"You should tell Seris and pack anything you want to bring. We’ll leave tomorrow," Dad said.
"...I see." I kept my voice quiet and acted like I was sad about leaving my friend.
But inside, my thoughts were racing.
’So, we’re going to Daelthorn’s main estate.’
The Daelthorn main estate was the core of the family, filled with powerful Exorcists.
’Why are we going to live there?’
Even though I didn’t know the reason, I wasn’t upset.
If anything, I was excited.
The estate would be filled with strong individuals. Exorcists would be everywhere.
It was the perfect place to use Shadow Eater and gain stats.
’And it’ll help me find Dad’s enemy faster.’
There’s a saying: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Naturally, I believed in that.
So, moving to House Daelthorn’s main estate was good news for me.