Chapter 65: The Deal with the Ansel Family
Seeing Donald silent earlier, Ferdinand thought he was hesitating, fearing that the purpose of this trip might fail, which made him nervous as well. If the essence potion crafted by this genius mage could be more than ten times as effective as Moonlight Wine, it would not only be beneficial but also highly advantageous for his father’s cultivation. Once his father succeeded in reaching that legendary realm, it would bring benefits to the Ansel Family beyond measure, making any cost worthwhile. Legendary warriors who surpassed the Golden Limit were considered the strongest beings below the divine tier in this world. They had lifespans of nearly a thousand years; for those like elves, who were immortal, this figure could even be much higher. It was thanks to the support of these legendary warriors that the Ansel Family survived the disaster thousands of years ago and remained stable for hundreds of years. However, as the overall strength of the continent declined and the older generation of legendary warriors passed away one after another, no such warriors had emerged in the family for hundreds of years. If they could produce one or two more legendary warriors now, their strength would grow even greater, perhaps even giving them a chance to pursue higher levels. At the thought of this, Ferdinand was filled with excitement, his gaze toward Donald growing even more intense. Seeing the look in the heir to the marquisship, Donald felt uneasy, thinking the other man had such interests! Nobles often had dissolute private lives, so such situations were common. Unaware that his gaze had triggered such thoughts, Ferdinand eagerly asked Donald, “I wonder how much of an effect your potion can have? And how many times more effective is it than Moonlight Wine?” Donald explained, “Moonlight Wine is actually a mixture of two ingredients. When consumed directly, its effect is a hundred times that of the diluted version, with additional benefits. The white wine component is a purification potion produced through alchemy, which can restore and concentrate mental energy, as well as cleanse curses and other negative effects. It greatly aids a mage’s cultivation, and repeated use can even enhance the mental potential of ordinary people, endowing them with the talent to become mage apprentices. As for the red wine, it isn’t an alchemical product but a naturally occurring essence of the moon. Apart from the elves, only I can collect it. This moon essence can instantly restore stamina and magic power, replenish life force, and heal most physical injuries—making it extremely useful for both warriors and mages.”
Upon hearing what Donald had described, Ferdinand was speechless.
“…Such effects can only be achieved by advanced alchemical potions from the Ancient Magic Empire era, especially purification potions, which can change a person’s innate abilities. In today’s terms, they are extremely rare and top-quality potions, with each one selling for tens of thousands of gold sols!”
Donald continued, “For now, I can provide an additional three sols worth of Moon Essence per month. The production of purification potions is higher, but it still doesn’t exceed five bottles! I’m not sure if this will be enough for Lord Marquis. If not, we’ll have to wait until my domain is built, as production can increase further then!”
Ferdinand said with a pleased expression, “It’s sufficient for now. But of course, the more of these precious potions, the better. I wonder if you need anything. If it’s for building your domain, as a reward, I can offer you a lot of help. As for your secrets, my Ansel family will keep them strictly confidential!”
“I can handle the construction of the domain. These two items can be exchanged for magic cores and elemental crystals that are helpful for my cultivation.”
Ferdinand breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
“As long as it’s magic cores and elemental crystals, that’s easy. Unless it’s rare high-grade elemental crystals or magic cores above level eight, our family can provide everything else!”
Donald thought for a moment before adding, “Additionally, I hope your family can do me a favor!”
“What is it?”
After exchanging a few words, Ferdinand said after some consideration, “It’s not too difficult, but it will take some time. After all, the Marquisate and North County aren’t close. But I’ll discuss it with my father once I return. I think it can be done within half a month!”
Hearing this, Donald smiled and said, “Then I’ll leave it to you. Everything here is still in its infancy, so there’s not much to offer in terms of hospitality. But there are some uniquely flavored dishes. After dinner, I also have some small alchemical creations. I wonder if you’re interested!”
Ferdinand didn’t respond directly but smiled as he walked into the dining room with Donald.
Before dinner started, Ferdinand remembered something and asked Donald, “Donald, were there any other guests at your manor before I arrived?”
“Why, did you encounter them?”
Ferdinand nodded and said, “On my way here, I was spied on by someone using mental power, so I had a small confrontation with them. It ended in a tie!”
After hearing Ferdinand finish speaking, Donald gave him a careful look. “It seems your strength, Ferdinand, is far stronger than I expected! Do you know who those people are?”
Ferdinand quickly asked further, so Donald briefly explained the situation. Of course, he omitted the details of his own battle with the sorcerer, avoiding revealing his own circumstances.
After listening to Donald’s account, Ferdinand slapped the seat and said coldly, “Those lackeys of the Three Glorious Gods are as annoying as vampire insects. If it weren’t for concern over the reactions on the continent, I would gather men to keep them in the North forever!”
“Why worry about those mere pawns of the Hand of Justice? Whether they succeed in their mission or not, they will eventually return to Sendel on the other side of the continent.”
Vampire insects were pests similar to mosquitoes and bedbugs in Donald’s past life, with numerous species. Like magical beasts, they could also mutate under the influence of elemental energies. It was said that some of these insects had taken root in the main material world from the Abyssal Plane over the years due to magical disasters.
Hearing Ferdinand describe the Hand of Justice as vampire insects showed just how disgusted he was with them. Even after thousands of years, these family forces that had existed since the ancient magic empire never held a favorable view of those responsible for the collapse of the Banai Empire.
After the dinner, Ferdinand received the items provided by Donald.
Three small vials of undiluted Moon Essence and five vials of Purification Potion—both of which were instant recovery potions. The Moon Essence combined the effects of life potion and magic potion, needless to say. The Purification Potion could restore and purify mental energy, as well as remove curses and negative status effects; it was considered an extremely rare type of potion in this world.
As for the small item Donald had mentioned earlier, it brought Ferdinand a great surprise. What Donald produced was actually the rarest artifact of spatial alchemy—a targeted teleportation scroll!
It should be noted that in an era when spatial magic had declined, such scrolls were rarely seen in the market. According to statistics from the Kingdom Mage Association, there were fewer than fifty spatial mages across the entire continent, most of whom were apprentices or mages from other schools practicing alongside spatial magic. Truly advanced ones were even rarer.
The value of a targeted teleportation scroll could no longer be measured in money. Even among small kingdoms and local noble forces, it was likely enough to exchange for an hereditary knightly fief.
The so-called targeted teleportation scroll is actually the intermediate magic item, the return scroll, from the Book of Truth. Manifested through the Book of Truth in conjunction with the laws of this world, its effect allows a user to designate a coordinate as the destination. By tearing the scroll anywhere within a 100-kilometer radius, the user can be teleported back to that location within three seconds. During this three-second teleportation, the user is protected by a defensive spell array and remains invincible; attacks below the gold rank cannot disrupt the teleportation process.
What differs this scroll from those in games is its range limitation, as the user must consciously designate a location within the teleportation range as the coordinate. However, its advantage lies in the ability to teleport back to the main base or any arbitrarily specified location, and it also allows other party members to be teleported along, making it more flexible and convenient to use.
The magical artifacts manifested from the Book of Truth differ slightly in principle from the teleportation scrolls made locally in this world. Donald explained these differences to Ferdinand, who was overjoyed.
Although “random teleportation” and “targeted teleportation” differ by just two words, their effects are completely different.
Mages at the bronze rank can access short-distance teleportation spells, but to use targeted teleportation, they must reach the silver rank.
Only alchemists and summoners at the silver rank or above can create teleportation scrolls. Although silver-ranked mages can learn and use targeted teleportation themselves, they must reach the gold rank to transcribe it into a spell scroll. This is a restriction on mages when transcribing scrolls—they can generally only successfully transcribe spells one rank lower than their own. There are no such restrictions for using scrolls, as long as their mental strength meets the standards.
Alchemists, on the other hand, have no such restrictions and can even create scrolls beyond their own rank. Summoners, due to their knowledge of summoning creatures and spatial structures, can also create scrolls and items related to both summoning and teleportation, both of which involve the application of spatial laws.
The scroll provided by Donald is far superior to the one preserved in their family, which was created hundreds of years ago by a master alchemist. Those scrolls only included random teleportation spells, with a range of no more than 10 kilometers. The scroll given by Donald already approaches the effects of an ancient alchemical artifact that has long been lost.
“Donald, you truly astonish me. Though I’d like to continue our conversation, I can’t wait to deliver these potions to my father, so I must return to my family!”
This time, Ferdinand came to North County with only two family guards; including himself, he had at most the strength of three Bronze Swordsmen. Considering these items to be too important and fearing any accidents, after bidding farewell to Donald, Ferdinand rushed back to the Northwest Province overnight with what he had gained from this trip.