GAMMT - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Brothers

The Arcane Palace's marketplace had no other capital; it was a market operated solely by the Divine Temple itself. The resources available were of the highest tier in this world, but access wasn't unlimited—it required authorization.

When Fu Chuan went out, she noticed a note on her identity information indicating her authorization level. It was only Level 1, which technically meant she couldn't purchase the Level 2 skill, Light Stream. But that didn't matter. She wasn't buying the full set. Purchasing it in parts didn't require Level 2 authorization; Level 1 was sufficient.

The beginner's village where she had started wasn't in Jingyang City, so she wasn't familiar with the Arcane Palace here. After all, the Arcane Palace was managed by people from the Divine Temple. Different people, different places—to put it bluntly, resources were still managed by individuals. She needed to find a handler who seemed less troublesome.

Fu Chuan was cautious by nature. Upon arriving at the market area, she walked around with the air of a country bumpkin, quickly determining that this Arcane Palace had a total of seven transaction ports, categorized by authorization level. Anyone could enter, but purchasing items required the proper clearance.

She glanced to both sides, her gaze lingering on a large, face-shaped mirror. She paused for a moment, then walked directly into a Level 2 shop.

"Going in to look? A Level 2 shop?"

"Damn it, he can't possibly have Level 2 authorization. It's taken us years to get to Level 2."

Resources could be bought by family, but authorization couldn't. It was calculated based on dungeon performance. It depended on one's actions. Having guards catch monsters and feed you the kills in a dungeon actually resulted in very low performance scores because the calculation method was quite advanced, taking into account factors like damage output, the final blow, and attack attribution.

Therefore, high-level posers could be easily exposed through this authorization system.

They knew their own limitations. Usually, it was fine since everyone was more or less the same. But suddenly seeing an illegitimate son like Xie Keli, who had just returned, potentially having Level 2 authorization filled them with a sense of injustice.

"He's probably just browsing. He's just there to sell something."

"What would he sell at the Arcane Palace? The selling price is low, and the buying price is high. Even if he's after good items, he can't afford them."

"Could Xie An have given him something good? I also heard that his dungeon mutated into a rare Green Tier one. The people who made it out alive got a lot of benefits. Since he owns the farm, he must have gotten a considerable share, which surely boosted his score."

The three of them exchanged knowing glances, an idea forming in their minds. They followed him inside but couldn't find him anywhere.

Had he left?

In a private room, Fu Chuan had opted out of manual service, instead spending an extra one hundred thousand copper coins for an automated transaction booth. At the cold transaction port, she took out a large pile of items and deposited them inside. The Arcane Spirit would automatically calculate their value.

There were so many items that it took her a while to unload everything until the bin was full. The calculation was quick, though, because in the Arcane Palace's system, these were considered low-level resources. As soon as the light scanner hit them, it was like scanning a QR code—the price popped up instantly.

"The buyback price is really low."

"But a total of 1.7 billion copper coins is acceptable."

Fu Chuan sighed. If she had taken them to an auction house, she could have easily sold them for 1.9 or even 2 billion, especially since it was the exam period and many students and parents were buying resources at a premium, driving prices up.

However, places like that were a mixed bag, and information could easily leak. Her "Fu Chuan" identity was also quite sensitive recently, so it was best to minimize such exposure.

"Calculation complete. Do you wish to sell?"

"Yes, sell."

A hatch at the bottom of the platform opened, swallowing all the items into a channel. Simultaneously, 1.7 billion was instantly deposited into Fu Chuan's linked bank card. Combined with her previous funds, she now had a total of 2.1 billion in her account, which could be considered a huge sum. However, copper coins were the lowest value currency, primarily used by the lower class. People like the Xie Clan never carried copper coins, usually dealing in green coins.

After receiving the money, Fu Chuan opened the recipe and examined the options.

"It's not a potion recipe, but an item recipe. Let me see what the options are..."

Fu Chuan had actually hoped for a potion recipe. The consumption of potions was enormous. Even though she currently had a large supply, she had a feeling that with her current fighting style, she would burn through potions at an alarming rate in the future. Her reserves would quickly be depleted, and she wouldn't be able to afford to buy more.

And unidentified item recipes usually didn't offer many choices.

"I hope the top-tier Green level isn't wasted. What if it's for one of those accumulation items..." Fu Chuan scrolled down the options and found only five choices.

1. Green Tier Teleportation Scroll (Can teleport to any ground coordinate within a thousand-meter range, provided there are no obstacles or tethering effects).

2. Green Tier Sentry Arrow Tower (Trap mechanism).

3. Pet Armor Crafting Recipe.

4. Green Tier Equipment Upgrade Scroll Crafting Recipe.

5. Meditation Amplifying Puppet (Increases the user's meditation state by 20%, allowing for deeper meditation).

They all seemed useful, but Fu Chuan considered that the exam was her top priority. She had to choose the resource that would be most beneficial for it.

"This exam is so serious, even requiring a preliminary screening in Jingyang City just to qualify for the Beluke Province exam. The difficulty will probably be much higher. This means the demands on an individual's innate talent and aptitude will be greater. External factors like equipment might not be as important. Only skills, pets, and personal attributes—these internal, inalienable qualities—will be what truly matters. Equipment is secondary. Anyway, during the exam period, the practical combat part comes last. By then, I'll probably be able to see some tricks from the students with deep backgrounds. I can buy and equip gear then. For now, I need to focus on meditation."

Fu Chuan really wanted to upgrade her Spider Silk Ring, but she didn't have enough capital. She could only focus on improving a few areas; she couldn't afford a full-scale upgrade.

After some thought, Fu Chuan chose the Meditation Puppet over the pet armor.

"The healer is a flying pet and doesn't need to participate in combat, so its survivability is already high. I can put off its defense for now. As for my mental power... although it has improved, it's only at the normal level for a 15th-level Arcanist. It's average. I need to enhance it further."

After selecting the Meditation Puppet recipe, Fu Chuan checked its material requirements, made some calculations, and began placing an order.

Arcane Spirit: "Order details are as follows:"

Three sets of the skill book Light Stream, totaling 830 million.

100 Pet Experience Pills, 300 million.

Fifty Insect Marrow Crystals, 500 million.

Stun, Terror of the BOSS... 200 million.

23 types of materials, 400 million.

...

"Total calculated cost is 2.27 billion copper coins. Do you wish to pay?"

It wasn't enough. She was over budget!

Fu Chuan wanted to upgrade all her skills to level 15. Since Light Stream was a massive drain on mental power, if she exhausted all her potions in a critical situation, she would have to rely on less costly skills like Azure Radiance Feather and Stun for a protracted fight.

She had seen many high-level players who, after leveling up, would pour all their resources into newly learned skills, abandoning their old ones. She strongly disagreed with this approach.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, low-level skills had their own advantages. There were only the worst players, not the worst skills.

But... she couldn't afford it. Not enough money?

Fu Chuan hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly placed Flowing Gold on the platform to have its price calculated.

Arcane Spirit: "Flowing Gold, 200 million copper coins. Do you wish to sell?"

Of course, Fu Chuan agreed. With the two hundred million credited to her account, she paid for the entire order, only to find her account balance had dwindled to a mere five million copper coins.

My god, she was so poor that she only had five million copper coins left. The anxiety was overwhelming.

Fu Chuan immediately received the resources she had ordered and learned all the skill books. "Hey, wait a minute, did I forget to buy something? The Reaction Furnace."

The thought made her a little dejected. She looked at her five-million-copper-coin balance with a sense of melancholy, then opened the alchemy Reaction Furnace category to check the inventory.

There were many types of Reaction Furnaces. Item furnaces, like the one for the Meditation Puppet, were one category. As soon as she filtered the results, a full page appeared before her. The very first one was a Blue Tier Cloud Reaction Furnace, priced at 3 billion copper coins.

Not only could she not afford it, but her authorization level was also too low.

She scrolled down. The prices were all in the hundreds of millions. Fu Chuan silently scrolled to the bottom.

The last one, four million. The price was right.

Arcane Spirit: "A novice practice Reaction Furnace. Suitable for you. Only four million copper coins."

This robot really didn't know how to talk, did it? Fu Chuan replied, "Thanks for the comfort."

Arcane Spirit: "Based on my analysis of your tone and expression, you do not seem to have been comforted by me. It's alright, because you lack the authorization for the more expensive furnaces anyway. So you don't need to be depressed about not having money, because you also lack the authorization."

The baby locust crawled onto her shoulder, its scorpion tail swaying back and forth. It said in a crisp voice, "You seem to be right. My sister really wasn't comforted by you. So don't try to comfort her next time."

Arcane Spirit: "Understood. However, I must remind you that this Reaction Furnace is prone to exploding when used by a novice."

Fu Chuan: "..."

There was so much to unpack, but she didn't know where to start.

"So if I buy it, it's likely to blow up on me? And there's a manual... wait, is this an 'Explosion-Proof, Life-Saving, Hand-Preserving Manual'?"

"Do I dare use this thing? Should I try to negotiate?"

"I'm short on cash. Should I borrow some? It's so hard to borrow money these days. Can I be that shameless?"

While reflecting internally, Fu Chuan bought the novice Reaction Furnace and left.

Walking through the main hall, she was still flipping through the Reaction Furnace and its manual... absentmindedly. She didn't even notice when she dropped something later.

---

A short while later, she walked out of the Arcane Palace. Just as she passed an alley, she glanced left and right, looking as guilty as a thief. To others, she looked like someone carrying a great treasure, anxious and insecure, and rather pathetic...

After a moment, Fu Chuan slipped into the alley and took out her communicator to call her driver to pick her up nearby. But before she could say more than a few words, she suddenly saw a young man standing in front of her.

At the same time, she realized her communicator wasn't working. Her voice was being cut off.

A sound-insulating Arcane.

Fu Chuan looked at the person, a sense of fear creeping in. She turned to leave, but two other youths blocked her path.

"Who are you? What do you want?!"

"Why so nervous? You're that Xie Keli who just came back to the Xie Clan, right? My surname is Lan, Lan Chenguang. It's great to finally meet you."

The fair-skinned young man had a particularly polite and friendly demeanor. Fu Chuan's face was a mask of vigilance. "What is it?"

"Nothing much, just want to make a friend. Since we're friends, and with the exams coming up, why don't we exchange some resources?"

Fu Chuan replied sharply and nervously, "No, I'm busy. Get out of my way."

But not only did the three of them not move, they closed in with smiles on their faces.

"Friend, that's not the right attitude. We're all nobles, don't you have a little more magnanimity than that? You won't even trade some resources? Do you think we're robbing you?"

Fu Chuan kept backing away until she was cornered against a wall.

"Of course not. You said you're nobles, so you definitely wouldn't lie to me."

"Then what resources do you want to trade with me?"

Seeing her fear, Lan Chenguang immediately said, "Nothing much, just short on S1 Gene Keys and gems. Green Tier gems and skills would be even better. Look, you don't need to study right now, so why not lend them to us first? As they say, more friends mean more paths. You give me good things today, and I'll give you safety tomorrow. See, you're still coming out ahead. After all, good things will be more effective in my hands than in yours. We're all brothers..."

Fu Chuan couldn't hold back any longer. "Weren't we just friends? Now we're brothers? If I had some other treasures, like something Blue Tier, would you have to call me 'Dad'?"

Was that something a lowly bastard should say?

Was he looking for death?

But this guy was a scoundrel, a little hooligan. And when hooligans encounter someone they can't beat, they usually curse them out and then run.

This person was no different. The moment he finished cursing, he turned and leaped onto the wall, intending to flip over it.

But the three, though smiling, were prepared. One of them instantly formed a spell, and with a flick of his hand, a vine shot out and wrapped around Fu Chuan from behind, yanking her off the wall and onto the ground. He pounced on her, grabbing the back of her collar, ready to strike.

"You dog, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Hand over your things!"

"Gag him."

"Don't worry about it. The Divine Temple's rule is that they don't meddle in disputes outside the Arcane Palace, as long as no one dies inside... This little scuffle of ours, they're not bored enough to care. Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough manpower. Unless we do it right in front of them and offend the Divine Temple's authority, they won't bother."

The three of them closed in, about to hold Fu Chuan down and beat her. Fu Chuan quickly begged for mercy, "Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'll give them to you, I'll give them to you, okay?"

"You dog, isn't this better? Take them out!"

Fu Chuan yielded quickly. The three exchanged glances, smiles spreading across their faces. See, this guy was just as the rumors said—a bully to the weak and a coward to the strong.

The moment he realized he was outmatched, he caved.

"I'll get them, I'll get them. This is all I have."

Lan Chenguang snatched the backpack and opened it, and a pile of things fell out.

There was no S1 Gene Key, but there were over twenty gems and more than twenty skill books.

Holy crap!

The three were somewhat shocked, not expecting Xie Keli to have so many resources on hand.

Initially, they hadn't planned on getting much from him; they just wanted to humiliate him. It was common for children of noble families to fight amongst themselves or bully those below them. They didn't think anything of it and knew that Xie An disliked this person, even loathing him for causing losses to the family...

But with the sudden prospect of profit, and Xie Keli being so cowardly, they didn't even need to exchange glances. Lan Chenguang immediately divided the loot into three parts.

It was quite fair, an even split among the three.

He reached out and patted Fu Chuan's face. "Hey, brother, wouldn't it have been better to do this from the start? We're still brothers from now on. Keep in touch if you need anything. By the way, I heard you were a punk on X5. You've never seen a scene like this, have you? Didn't wet your pants, did you?"

The three of them laughed. Just as they usually did after "greeting" someone, they got up to leave.

But just then.

"Excuse me, did you just say that our Divine Temple only gets involved when we're bored to death?"

The voice was rather steady.

Lan Chenguang, who was holding Fu Chuan's head and slapping her, froze. The other two moved in slow motion like old turtles, their necks seemingly having issues as they struggled to look up.

Then, as if they had a stiff neck, they didn't dare to move.

Because standing on the wall was a masked guard in black and gold armor, looking down on them from above.

His gaze was cold.

"I asked you a question. Answer."

Some people, their voices aren't loud, their speech isn't fast, and they don't look angry at all, but they can scare you to death.

In any case, Fu Chuan smelled the stench of urine. Looking forward, she saw that two of the three young men had wet themselves.

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