Golden Mage - Chapter 59
Volume 2, Episode 29
In the continent, there were countless temples that existed. The priests who received the power of the gods and bestowed it upon the people played an incredibly important role in a continent where herbal medicine was not widely spread.
The healing provided by the priests through their divine power could cure almost any injury without leaving a trace. Especially, the power of divine healing for trauma was absolute.
Because of this, there were millions of temples across the continent, and hundreds of thousands of priests were spread far and wide.
One thing that couldn’t be left out in these temples was potions.
Potions were medicines that activated the body’s regenerative abilities to heal injuries, and the main ingredient was Troll blood, purified through the temple’s unique secret method.
However, the supply of potions was always scarce. There was a high demand, but the supply of Troll blood, the main ingredient, couldn’t keep up.
As a result, the price of Troll blood was incredibly high. When one Troll was caught, it could yield around five to ten bottles, each of which cost three gold coins.
Considering that one bottle of potion was sold for five gold coins, it was safe to say that the temples earned quite a lot.
Regardless, due to the insufficient supply, the temples fiercely competed to obtain Troll blood.
The place where potions were most consumed was where their primary customers, mercenaries, resided.
One of the six great empires of the continent, the Dayzek Empire, was a desert empire located deep inland.
Half of its territory consisted of a steppe climate with short grass, while the other half was a pure desert where sand constantly swirled.
People living in the steppe climate could manage a somewhat settled life, but those in the desert climate lived a life that was nothing short of a battle.
As the Dayzek Empire was situated in the desert, the desert known as the Dayzek Desert was a place where daily territorial battles were fought over control of oases.
It was also a place where tens of thousands of mercenaries got hurt and died. Because battles were frequent, there was a high demand for potions, and the price of potions here would often rise to seven gold coins instead of the usual five.
The most influential sect in the Dayzek Empire was the Reynard Sect, which worshipped the goddess Reynard. She was the goddess of abundance revered by the always-harsh desert residents.
The Reynard Sect was widespread throughout the Dayzek Desert, and the largest temple, second only to the capital’s temple, was located in the powerful and influential Opor Duchy of the desert.
Leading this temple was Vice-Priest Burek, the second-ranked among the twelve vice-priests of the Reynard Sect.
There was someone who sought an audience with Vice-Priest Burek.
It was no small matter to meet Vice-Priest Burek, who was a person only accessible to high-ranking nobles, but this person was quite extraordinary, so they couldn’t be simply ignored.
The person was none other than the recent rising star on the continent’s Top 100 Rankings, Devil’s Upper Ranker, Debel.
“Welcome, Debel friend,” said the Reynard Sect members would call someone who was close to the sect. Debel earned this title by making substantial donations to the Reynard Sect.
Debel politely nodded to Vice-Priest Burek, “Thank you for granting me an audience, Vice-Priest.”
“Debel, aren’t we inseparable friends of the sect? I can’t pretend not to know when you come like this,” Vice-Priest Burek replied.
Vice-Priest Burek was a deeply devout person, but he was also very driven by material desires. He accepted Debel’s meeting request because he felt that it was likely related to something concerning money, given Debel’s status as the owner of a magic stone that had recently risen to the Top 100 on the continent.
Debel saw through Vice-Priest Burek’s intentions and seized the opportunity to discuss a business matter.
“I actually have a proposal that would be beneficial for both me and Vice-Priest Burek.”
At the mention of business, Vice-Priest Burek’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Oh? If it benefits both of us, our relationship with Debel friend will become even closer. Well then, don’t hesitate, go ahead and tell me.”
“Thank you for your consideration. The truth is, I know someone who possesses a large amount of Troll blood.”
“Troll blood?”
Vice-Priest Burek’s eyes sparkled. Troll blood was a vital source of income for the temple, contributing to more than half of their revenues.
Vice-Priest Burek controlled his excitement and asked, “To what extent are we talking about?”
Debel replied with a hint of a smirk, “That person has around 300,000 bottles of Troll blood.”
“Wow!”
Vice-Priest Burek couldn’t contain his surprise. 300,000 bottles of Troll blood!
The price of potions in the Dayzek Desert was 7 gold coins each. If they processed and sold all 300,000 bottles, they would make a staggering 2.1 million gold coins. It was a mind-boggling sum that one could rarely come across in a lifetime.
Vice-Priest Burek, still astonished, nodded his head quickly. He didn’t dare to negotiate.
Why would anyone raise the price when they had that much Troll blood?
Unable to grasp Debel’s intentions, Vice-Priest Burek honestly replied, “Um, I’m not sure what your intention is, but the temple can handle at least 10,000 bottles a month.”
In order to make potions, priests had to wield divine magic. Regular priests could only handle dozens a day, but Vice-Priest Burek, with his abundant divine power, could wield divine magic on up to a thousand bottles of Troll blood.
Of course, he wouldn’t be using it every day, so he stated the amount the temple could process in a month.
Hearing this, Debel kept a narrow smile on his face and said, “Hmm, I thought you would be able to handle at least 100,000 bottles. It seems I was mistaken.”
“What do you mean?”
Burek, the deputy head priest, couldn’t comprehend Devel’s actions and asked, “What does that mean, Devel, my friend?”
With a suppressed laughter, Devel replied, “I thought I could handle at least a hundred thousand vials, but it seems I was wrong.”
Burek’s mind raced as he processed Devel’s words. Did Devel really possess over a hundred thousand vials of troll’s blood?
Troll’s blood was a crucial source of income that inflated the temple’s wealth.
Quickly, Burek responded, referring to the maximum capacity for processing in the temple for a month, “In our temple, we can accept more than fifty thousand vials per month. But how many vials of troll’s blood does this person you’re talking about have?”
Devel grinned and said, “That person has the equivalent of three hundred thousand vials of troll’s blood.”
“Whoa!”
Burek was taken aback, unable to believe that it was thirty times more than he had imagined.
In the Dayzec Desert, one potion sold for seven gold. If they processed and sold all thirty thousand vials, it would amount to a staggering 2.1 million gold. It was an enormous amount that he could hardly fathom touching in his lifetime.
Devel looked at Burek with a smile and said, “For now, my dear deputy head priest, let’s settle for a hundred thousand vials. Troll’s blood is in demand in any temple on the continent, so I’ll sell it for thirty thousand gold without any discounts. How does that sound?”
Burek couldn’t find the confidence to negotiate. With such a supply of troll’s blood, his influence within the sect would undoubtedly grow stronger.
Although he could handle a hundred thousand vials, with the combined efforts of all the temples under his influence, they could probably manage to handle a hundred thousand vials each month.
After a quick calculation, Burek nodded hurriedly, afraid that Devel might say something else.
“Understood. I’ll take a hundred thousand vials. From now on, Devel, my friend, you’ll be our temple’s most valued customer.”
Devel responded with a subtle voice, “Thank you for your kind words, Deputy Head Priest. From now on, the temple will receive a supply of a hundred thousand vials of troll’s blood every month.”
Burek was not surprised at all. He could only laugh with excitement, thinking about how his influence would grow.
“Hehe! I’ll leave everything to you from now on, Devel, my friend.”
“Haha! It’s impolite for me, who shares such a close relationship with Deputy Head Priest Burek, to accept such words. Excuse me, haha!”
“I guess it will be like that, hahaha!”
Their laughter echoed for a long time.
Burek was elated at the thought of his growing influence, and Devel was content with having established a strong bond with Burek, the deputy head priest of the Reynard sect, which had a significant impact on the Dayzec Empire.
However, Devel didn’t stop there. He traveled to various temples where the demand for potions was high and promised a supply of troll’s blood.
Three hundred thousand vials of troll’s blood.
That would amount to nine hundred thousand gold per month.
The continent’s power balance was in turmoil.
Following the Magic Stones, Devel had brought out another extraordinary product with troll’s blood.
They were the core of the storm in the continent.
Once known as Troll Valley, the place had now been transformed with the construction of a new citadel.
The citadel was aptly named the Gold Tower, representing its dazzling exterior. The master of the citadel was El.
From the top of the tower, El looked down below.
A breathtaking view unfolded before his eyes. A well-organized village housing fifteen thousand residents centered around the tower.
Next to the tower stood a massive structure.
Inside it were countless trolls captured by enchanting magic. Only the ones whose minds had been destroyed, leaving behind just their physical forms, remained.
The villagers would extract a certain amount of blood from these trolls and feed them with the food imported from various places under the direction of Count Rubius.
All the food was specially designed to aid in blood production.
With the combination of the food and the trolls’ unique regenerative abilities, troll’s blood began to flow endlessly.
Initially, there were only around five thousand trolls, but now there were almost thirty thousand.
All this had been achieved in the past six months. Using golems to capture the trolls, El had managed to achieve this feat. Since they were not human to begin with, he felt no guilt.
The trolls that once instilled fear in the people of the Tollian Kingdom were now El’s primary source of income.
During the past two months, El had invested everything in his tower to effectively distribute troll’s blood.
Out of the net profit of nine hundred thousand gold, after deducting the hundred thousand gold going to Devel’s upper faction and the fifty thousand gold for the welfare of the villagers, El had poured seven hundred fifty thousand gold into the tower twice.
As a result, the exterior of El’s tower was more dazzling than any other.
The entire tower was covered in magic metal, allowing for inscriptions of spells at any time. Its surface was plated in gold, giving it a radiant appearance.
Thanks to this, El’s tower was strikingly visible from afar.
And look at the villages constructed around the tower.
El had kept his promise. The villagers were allowed to live where they simply claimed land, so they had the right to happiness, as he had said.
He recruited massive numbers of builders to lay down proper streets and construct buildings firmly. For sanitation, he worked day and night with the builders to lay down water and sewage systems, meticulously planning the arrangement of buildings as in a planned city.
As a result, although the scale was no more than that of a village, El’s tower was splendid and beautiful like no other city.
However, El was not satisfied with this. During his past life as a gamer, he had desired to possess his own fortress. And he wanted to turn it into an impregnable fortress that no one could invade.
For that purpose, El was planning to set up a powerful barrier throughout the valley. Philbert also agreed to El’s plan and was currently working together on it, but considering the vastness of the valley, it seemed it would take quite some time.
If El’s plan was realized and his tower was completed as he envisioned, no one would be able to breach it, making it a place solely for El. A place that would truly be an impregnable fortress.