Chapter Twenty-Six: A Small Profit

“Health Recovery Pills, seventy silver coins each. I’ll take them all.”

Just as Ye Chen was about to trade with the player who had offered sixty silver coins, a loud voice suddenly rang out from the edge of the crowd, and a player carrying a longsword pushed his way to Ye Chen’s side.

It was Dragonstar, who glanced at the Health Recovery Pills and Power Pills on the stall and grinned at Ye Chen. “Brother Nightdust, you’re not being very fair. Didn’t we agree that if you got something good, you’d think of our Dragonstar Guild first? How could you have instant recovery pills and not let me know?”

Ye Chen smiled calmly. “Well, even if I didn’t call you, you still found out, didn’t you?” As he spoke, he looked around the crowd. No one else was bidding, not even the player who had just offered sixty silver coins. That one looked disappointed, clearly unwilling to go any higher.

He checked his backpack: there were two hundred and thirteen Health Recovery Pills in total. He was about to start crafting more advanced instant recovery potions, so he needed to sell off these lower-grade ones. Ye Chen looked at Dragonstar and said, “There are two hundred and thirteen in all. Are you sure you want them all?”

Dragonstar’s eyes lit up. He nodded quickly. “All of them, all of them! There’s never enough of these, only too few. I’ll take as many as you have. Hurry up and trade, I’ve brought the money.”

Ye Chen’s smile widened. “Good, that’s straightforward.”

He opened the trade window and placed all two hundred and thirteen Health Recovery Pills inside. Dragonstar, equally forthright, put in one hundred and fifty gold coins, one more than the actual amount. Ye Chen smiled, accepted the trade, and clicked confirm.

Dragonstar took the pills, his face glowing with satisfaction. “Thank you, Brother Nightdust.”

“I should be thanking you,” Ye Chen replied, shaking his head with a laugh. The gain of one hundred and fifty gold coins put him in a great mood, his smile radiant. He pointed to the Power Pills on the stall and asked, “Is your guild interested in these?”

Dragonstar looked at the Power Pills, a spark of intrigue flashing in his eyes. He gave Ye Chen a meaningful look and said, “Of course we’re interested. Who wouldn’t want attribute-enhancing potions? And as far as I know, in Fierce Mountain City, only you, Brother Nightdust, can produce them.”

He probably guessed something, but Ye Chen didn’t mind. He smiled and said, “Then name your price. These cost quite a bit to make. Anything under fifty silver, don’t bother offering.”

“One gold coin each. How does that sound? Is that price satisfactory, Brother Ye Chen?” Dragonstar grinned as he named his price, and his words silenced the nearby players who had been discontented about the direct trading. One gold coin per pill—that was an astronomical price for Power Pills. None of them could afford to offer more.

“More than satisfactory. Let’s trade.” Ye Chen placed forty Power Pills into the trade window, keeping thirteen for the studio’s physical-class girls. Unlike Health Recovery Pills, he couldn’t produce advanced versions of these in the short term, and ten points of strength could be crucial at times.

The trade completed, forty more gold coins in hand. This time, the profit was slim—barely enough to recoup the recipe cost, maybe not even cover the materials. Yet Ye Chen didn’t mind; he’d expected this. Now that the recipe was paid off, future batches would only need to cover the cost of consumables.

As an alchemist, Ye Chen knew that special pills like Power Pills were essential. Advanced Power Pills granted thirty points of strength, and higher-level ones could grant sixty. Such items would fetch outrageous prices, especially for defensive classes with pitiful attack stats—a single high-grade pill could boost their damage by half. They’d pay anything for that.

Ye Chen also had bigger plans. He intended to master every type of alchemy recipe, and once he leveled up and had money, he’d open his own shop and monopolize the market. Then, he’d be earning gold every day.

With their transaction completed, the crowd gradually dispersed. Ye Chen turned to leave, but Dragonstar called him from behind. “Brother Nightdust, wait a moment!”

Ye Chen stopped and looked back. “Brother Dragonstar, is there something else?”

Dragonstar grinned, lowered his voice, and leaned in. “Brother Nightdust, you’re a hidden secondary profession, aren’t you? Don’t deny it. I’ve never heard of any other profession making Power Pills, and you can’t tell me you got all these through quests.”

Ye Chen studied Dragonstar. This guy had indeed guessed the truth. But it wasn’t something he could hide for long, and it didn’t matter. When he opened his shop one day, he’d be advertising it anyway. Ye Chen smiled and nodded. “That’s right, you guessed correctly. Anything else?”

Dragonstar, though already confident in his guess, was thrilled to have it confirmed. His smile grew even brighter, and he said warmly, “From now on, sell your alchemy products to us first. We can negotiate the price—higher than the market is fine. Dragonstar Guild isn’t short on money. And if you’re willing to join us, I promise you’ll be our chief alchemist. Not just Tiger’s Roar, but the entire Tiger Clan wouldn’t dare give you any trouble. If they do, we’ll declare all-out war with them. And there are perks—our guild has lots of girls…”

Ye Chen looked at the earnest Dragonstar and smiled. A hidden profession could be crucial to a guild’s development, giving them a competitive edge. Dragonstar’s attempt to recruit him was unsurprising, but Ye Chen couldn’t truly join Dragonstar. He had his own group of girls and belonged to a game studio called Azure Feather.

He waved his hand, cutting off Dragonstar’s offer. “I’ll pass. I should mention, I’m not exactly a lone wolf. I’m a member of Azure Feather Studio—we’re organized too. Appreciate the offer, though.”

Dragonstar paused, sizing up Ye Chen with a strange gleam in his eyes. “You’re from Azure Feather Studio? The Azure Feather Studio led by Sword Beauty? The one made up entirely of women? Are you… are you the legendary support staff in the beauty studio?”

“Damn.” Ye Chen stared at Dragonstar in disbelief, exclaiming, “How did you know?”