Chapter Sixty-Three: The Awakening Pill

Three prescription slips: the White Tiger Pill for 300 gold, the Intermediate Power Pill for another 300, and the cheapest, the Mind-Clearing Pill, for just 200 gold. All together, they totaled 850 gold. Though Ye Chen felt a pang of pain parting with the money, he gritted his teeth and bought them—he understood well enough that you have to spend money to make money.

Still, this hidden secondary profession was an absolute money pit. In the blink of an eye, his 3,000 gold had shrunk to 1,600. After a quick calculation, he realized that the windfall he'd just earned was now completely gone, and he'd even lost an extra fifty gold. Ye Chen felt like crying but had no tears.

There was no rush to gather the level-three herbs. The more urgent thing was to quickly turn the pills in his bag into cash. Without delay, he messaged Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher, telling him the pills were ready and to come to the Alchemist Guild to trade.

As soon as he stepped outside, Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher was already waiting, but this time his expression was rather bitter. “Brother Chen, I regret ever meeting you. The boss, Wanderer, has given me strict orders—I'm to handle all our trades with you and must come the moment you call. Do you know, I finally managed to sneak into Boss Wanderer’s party to get some experience, but the moment he heard you needed me, he kicked me out without a word and sent me back to town for pills. My precious experience…”

Ye Chen patted Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher sympathetically on the shoulder, smiling. “Don’t be upset. I’ll have something good for you tonight at a bargain price. You’ll earn back all the experience you lost, guaranteed.”

Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher was a decent guy. Considering how many times he’d passed on information, Ye Chen planned to gift him a few Experience Pills to strengthen their friendship—and, more importantly, once he tried them, he’d never want to stop. A potential long-term client, for sure.

“Really? You’re not tricking me, right, Brother Chen?” Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher’s eyes gleamed. If anyone else had said this, he wouldn’t believe it, but who was Ye Chen? A hidden secondary profession, a mysterious master—he wouldn’t lie. Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher was genuinely looking forward to it.

“I’m not tricking you; you’ll see tonight.” Ye Chen smiled, opened the trade window, and put up 500 Blood-Coagulating Pills and 150 Smart Pills.

Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher eyed the rows of pills in the trade window, swallowing hard. Carefully counting them, he gave Ye Chen a thumbs-up. “Brother Chen, you’re unbeatable. You’ve probably earned more in two days than Left-Handed Legend does in a week. I bet that guy hasn’t made as much since the server launched.”

Hearing the name Left-Handed Legend, Ye Chen’s mind stirred. “Does Left-Handed Legend sell mana restoration pills?”

“Of course. That’s his business—both health and mana. His stuff’s even better than the shop’s. You want to buy some?” Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher double-checked each row before putting up the gold, cautious.

“Not those. I mean instant mana restoration.”

“Instant mana?” Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher paused, shaking his head. “No, only level-six alchemists can make instant mana pills. Why? Don’t tell me you…” Suddenly realizing something, he looked at Ye Chen in shock, his eyes full of curiosity.

“Mind-Clearing Pill, restores 300 mana instantly, exclusive to me. If your guild wants some, name a good price.” Ye Chen grinned. Since he had a monopoly, he’d sell high—after all, that’s what monopolies were for.

“You… you’re a real profiteer. No, worse, you’re a night raider! Do you know, because of all these pills we’ve been buying from you, our guild finances are tight. I went to withdraw gold earlier and the treasurer almost flipped out…” As soon as he heard the pill’s effect, Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher’s eyes widened.

“So, do you want them or not? If not, I’ll sell to someone else,” Ye Chen said indifferently.

“We want them! Even if we have to tighten our belts!” Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher gritted his teeth. Though he complained, he was actually delighted. Gold was never really an issue for the big guilds. To get ahead of the competition, their wealthy patrons would always pitch in. With these pills, they’d be stronger, able to clear harder dungeons, defeat tougher bosses, and complete more challenging quests. The gold spent would be earned back sooner or later.

“Good. Go back and gather more gold—the more, the better. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; if you don’t have enough, I’ll sell to someone else.” With the trade complete, Ye Chen saw his gold rise from 1,600 to 3,850 and smiled contentedly.

He had just parted ways with Dragon Soaring Star-Slasher when his communicator started beeping. Checking his friends list, he saw it was Lingyue requesting a call and immediately connected.

“Ye Chen, it’s already eight o’clock. Why haven’t you logged off to eat? You shouldn’t play so hard. Skipping meals is bad for your stomach. I’ve kept your food warm in the microwave; if you’re free, hurry and eat.” Lingyue was always gentle, so kind and caring.

Ye Chen chuckled softly, feeling a warmth in his heart. “I just finished up. Going to eat now. By the way, you’re with Big Sis and the others, right? I’ve just made a batch of Blood-Coagulating Pills and Smart Pills. Tell Big Sis that I’ll send someone to deliver them—everyone gets a share.”

“You made more of those special-effect pills? Oh wow, you have no idea how much they helped today. We cleared the Hard mode of Rocky Forest for the first time and got a lot of great gear.” Lingyue exclaimed softly, then lowered her voice. “Those pills must cost a lot. If you don’t have enough for yourself, don’t worry about giving them out.”

Such a considerate girl. Ye Chen smiled. “I have plenty, and I’ve earned back my costs. It’s only a few for each person—just enough to save your lives if needed.”

…

After ending the call, he logged off to eat. With the girls busy in-game, Ye Chen quickly finished dinner and returned to his room. As soon as he logged back in, the communicator beeped again. Checking the friends list, he saw it was Six-Six Girl calling. Perfect—he’d been looking for her anyway. That Bronze Dagger couldn’t just be left in the bank forever.

Upon connecting, he learned that Six-Six Girl had been sent by Big Sis to collect the pills and was already on her way. They agreed to meet at the South Gate. Ye Chen went to the warehouse, withdrew the Bronze-grade dagger, and looked forward to Six-Six Girl’s reaction when she saw the weapon. For a rogue like her, it should be quite appealing—enough, perhaps, to recruit her as his inside source for wooing girls…