Chapter 9: Blackstone Mine Area
2024-08-09
Chapter 9: Blackstone Mine Area
Ten days later.
In the meditation chamber, Su Nan sat cross-legged on the ground.
In the void invisible to the naked eye, countless energy particles, as if being pulled by an invisible force, rushed into his body.
Deep within the sea of consciousness, the Star Ring was mostly solidified, with only a tiny bit remaining translucent.
As the energy particles continued to fill it, this last bit of illusion also visibly disappeared.
The moment the last bit of illusion solidified, the entire Star Ring suddenly burst into brilliance and trembled slightly.
“It worked!”
Su Nan opened his eyes, a genuine smile of joy spreading across his face.
It had been nearly half a year since he started cultivating the Star Ring Meditation Method, and he had finally built his first Star Ring.
Coming out of his joy, Su Nan immediately looked at the panel.
【Spiritual Power 3.60/Constitution 3.25】
“Spiritual Power increased by 0.78, and Constitution increased by 0.31!”
Su Nan nodded with satisfaction.
Even with the help of the Lower-Grade Revitalization Potion, it would take him about a month to increase his Spiritual Power this much.
The boost from building the Star Ring was indeed significant.
In terms of Constitution, Su Nan now surpassed Probationary Knights.
However, he was still far from the 8-point Constitution standard for official Knighthood.
After all, he hadn’t cultivated any Breathing Techniques.
“If I cultivate a Breathing Technique now, my progress shouldn’t be slow.”
Breathing Techniques and Constitution were mutually beneficial.
The faster the progress in Breathing Techniques, the faster Constitution would increase.
The same applied in reverse.
With Su Nan’s current Constitution, he might be able to cultivate a Breathing Technique to a small degree within a month.
However, while this was true, he didn’t intend to do so.
Wizards had plenty of ways to enhance their Constitution; there was no need to waste time and energy cultivating Breathing Techniques.
He would rather spend that time increasing the learning progress of his Magic Techniques/Skills.
Su Nan’s mind moved, and he opened the Magic Technique list.
【Master’s Hand】
【Sleep Curse】
【Acid Spray】
【Flash Technique】
Thanks to the enhancement effect of the Lower-Grade Revitalization Potion, his Magic Technique learning efficiency had increased by several times.
In just two months, not only had he successfully mastered the Sleep Curse, but he had also learned Acid Spray and Flash Technique.
He was currently working on the learning progress of the Unlock Technique.
“The knowledge domains involved in Wizardry are mostly profound and require a lot of time to master.”
“This is also the main reason why many talented Wizard Apprentices take centuries to become Wizards.”
“However, as long as there are enough resources, this time can be greatly shortened.”
Su Nan muttered to himself.
The reason why Starlight Continent had been abandoned by Wizards was precisely because of the decline of the elements and the scarcity of resources, leaving Wizards with no hope of increasing their power. Ꞧ
If it weren’t for his Golden Finger, the Synthetic Magic Cube, it would be a pipe dream to become a Wizard in today’s Starlight Continent.
“Level 2 Star Ring Meditation Method upgrade requires 3,000 proficiency points, which is about four months.”
“If I can keep the supply of Lower-Grade Revitalization Potions constantly, I can be promoted to Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice in two years at most.”
Su Nan made an estimate. The cost of making a Lower-Grade Revitalization Potion was about twelve gold coins.
Later, with increased proficiency, he should be able to reduce it to about ten gold coins.
Twenty gold coins a month.
“It seems that Blackstone City’s monthly tax revenue is only forty or fifty gold coins, so this expense is not small.”
Su Nan had considered synthesizing Lower-Grade Revitalization Potions, as it might significantly enhance their effect.
Unfortunately, at Blackstone City’s current income level, he couldn’t afford to buy a large amount of materials at once to produce enough Lower-Grade Revitalization Potions.
“I’ll discuss it with Big Brother.”
Su Nan got up and left the meditation chamber.
He encountered Old Gaile on the way, and upon inquiry, learned that Kei was currently in the study. He then turned around and went straight to the study.
However, when he found Kei in the study, he discovered that the latter was also sighing and looking glum.
Looking up and seeing Su Nan, Kei suppressed his gloom and forced a smile, asking, “It’s you, Su Nan. You’ve been shut up in the courtyard for days. Why are you willing to come out today?”
“Big Brother, I have something to discuss with you.”
Su Nan went straight to the point, directly stating his matter about purchasing materials.
Upon hearing this, Kei’s face showed a wry smile.
“There are still over fifty gold coins left in the account. I was originally planning to use them to buy armor, but since you need it, take it first.”
Su Nan glanced at Kei, and recalling his earlier worried look, he immediately understood.
“Is the territory short of money?”
Kei didn’t hide it and sighed, saying, “Recently, the number of knights in the territory has increased, and the food expenditure has increased significantly. Next month, we have to start farming, and we need to buy tools and seeds, which all cost money. The expenditure is indeed quite high.”
“Are there any ways to increase revenue or reduce expenditure?”
“Reducing expenditure is not an option. If the territory wants to develop, saving money is impossible. Whether it’s arming the army or developing the economy, we need gold coins.”
Kei had always had the idea of building up his strength to retake Shining Light Territory, so he naturally couldn’t be content with being a lazy bum.
“As for increasing revenue, I have an idea. I plan to reopen the Blackstone Mine Area!”
Blackstone Mine Area?
Su Nan’s expression shifted slightly.
He remembered that Blackstone City used to be famous for its production of Blackstone Iron.
Blackstone Iron was a high-quality metal that only needed simple refining to have the hardness of refined iron. It was a good material for forging armor and weapons.
The name Blackstone City came from this.
It was because of Blackstone Iron that Blackstone City became one of the most prosperous cities in Gold Rock Province.
However, later something happened, leading to the abandonment of the Blackstone Mine Area, and Blackstone City gradually declined.
“Speaking of which, why was the Blackstone Mine Area abandoned back then?” Su Nan asked in confusion.
There was no special reason why the successive lords of Blackstone City would abandon a money-making tree that could continuously produce gold coins.
“According to the old soldiers in the city, it was because of a monster that appeared in the mine area.”
“Monster?”
Kei was prepared for this, and he took out a piece of parchment and spread it on the table.
It depicted a jet-black panther, but with clear stone patterns on its body and a metallic sheen, as if it were a creature entirely made of gold and stone.
“The previous lords called this monster the Iron Swallowing Beast. They feed on Blackstone Iron ore, and their bodies are as hard as Blackstone Iron, with the combat power comparable to that of a beginner knight, making them very difficult to deal with.”
“Are there many of these monsters?” Su Nan asked.
Although knight-level monsters were terrifying, they shouldn’t have caused the successive lords to back down.
If all else failed, they could just spend a few hundred gold coins to hire a Great Knight to deal with them.
Unless the number of monsters was extremely large, or there were other reasons.
As expected, Kei continued, “There aren’t many monsters, probably only twenty or thirty. The key is that Iron Swallowing Beasts are very cunning. Once they sense danger, they will burrow into the rock wall and escape. They are very fast, and even Great Knights can’t stop them.”
“Without clearing these monsters, the mine area can’t be operated normally.”
Monsters that burrow?
Su Nan raised an eyebrow. This was indeed difficult to deal with.
——Of course, this was only relative to ordinary people.
“If that’s all, there might be a way to deal with them.”
The words that came out of Su Nan’s mouth startled Kei. It took him a while to react, and he excitedly stood up.
“You have a way to deal with the Iron Swallowing Beasts?”
Su Nan pondered for a moment, “We can try.”
Although Su Nan didn’t make a hundred percent guarantee, it was already enough to make Kei overjoyed.
You see, the thing he was most worried about during this period was the lack of gold coins. If he could reopen the Blackstone Mine Area, all problems would be solved!
(End of Chapter)