A huge thanks to GreenKitea and NyxVervaine for the kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters!

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Qiyu followed Sean and his son out of the mages association and arrived at the nearest store owned by the Borg Chamber of Commerce. 

New location unlocked √. 

“Please have a seat.” The Borg Chamber of Commerce was just as lavish as the rest.

This opulence was most evident in their decor.

Everything was resplendent in gold; compared to the elegance of the mages association, it was a bit dazzling. 

But Qiyu liked it.

He loved everything bright and dazzling. 

Gold coins, for example, were quite cute.

Perhaps because it was located near the mages association, this shop specialized in selling magical items.

When Qiyu walked in, he secretly compared prices and found that the mages association store still offered better deals. No sooner had he sat down than a waiter approached carrying a tray.

On the tray lay a pale blue bag.

Qiyu had seen Leslie hand Ryan a bag just like this one earlier.

“Leslie was inconsiderate and treated Master Yu with disrespect. This is a small token of our appreciation from the Borg Chamber of Commerce. Please don’t think too little of it.”

Is this the reward for the quest? Qiyu took it, and a message appeared on his personal panel:

【Simple Storage Backpack: Rough Alchemy Item, backpack capacity 30.】

It’s not as good as the basic backpack provided by the system.

After all, the basic backpack has ten slots, while this Simple Storage Backpack—strictly speaking—has only one slot with a fixed capacity of 30. Still, it’s quite convenient for everyday use.

【Received 5,000 gold coins, White Jade Fruit (Blue) x2.】

【White Jade Fruit (Blue): A magical plant fruit; consuming it grants random attribute points.】 It’s actually something that grants attribute points.

Qiyu was surprised: “Is this the reward?”

The Young Master is quite valuable.

He eyed Leslie up and down, wishing he could shove him back into the Black Rock Mountain Range and make him escort him all over again.

Leslie：？

He felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine.

Chairman Sean smiled and said, “The five thousand gold coins are the reward for the escort commission. The two white jade fruits are my personal gift as a father, to thank you for saving my child.” 

Chairman Sean is a good person.

Qiyu accepted the token of gratitude; it was what he deserved.

Qiyu took out a basic backpack and placed it on the table next to him. Then he looked at Sean and his son.

The two looked calm, seemingly puzzled as to why Qiyu had suddenly reached out to brush his hand across the table. Qiyu sighed with a hint of regret: “Ah, I guess it’s not going to work after all.”

He was actually hoping to make a little extra profit.

A basic backpack is simple enough—it only requires 30 stalks of sisal grass. If I could craft them and sell them to the natives, wouldn’t that be more useful than this alchemical backpack? 1

“Master Yu…”

Qiyu whispered, “My real name is Qiyu; ‘Yu’ is the alias I use when traveling.” 

He hadn’t expected to stay in Gold Hole City this long, let alone complete his professional certification at the mages association.

Sean could find out his registered name at the mages association with just a quick search. Since that was the case, he might as well bring it up himself.

Sean’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest as he smoothly changed the subject: “Qiyu, I seem to recall you mentioning… emerald crystal coins?” Even if Sean hadn’t brought it up, Qiyu would have brought it up himself.

He nodded: “Yes, I’m from the Star Forest. In our region, we still use emerald crystals for trade.” 

Sean’s eyes lit up: “From what I gathered earlier, you wanted to exchange emerald crystal coins for gold coins?”

Qiyu nodded again: “Yes, I’m leaving Gold Hole City tomorrow, and I need to stock up on supplies before I go. If it’s convenient, I’d like to exchange the emerald crystals I have for the local currency.”

Sean said, “Qiyu, this is truly fate.”

He cleared his throat, raising his voice slightly: “The Borg Chamber of Commerce is the largest guild in Gold Hole City. Whatever supplies you need to purchase, just let me have Leslie accompany you, and we’ll definitely give you the best price.”

Changing the subject, he added, “You can also sell your emerald crystal coins to the Borg Chamber of Commerce first.”

He asked, “I hear you’re from the Forest of Stars. I suppose you’re familiar with… the Elven race?”

To be honest, he didn’t know anything about them at all.

But Qiyu remained silent. From what he’d observed, these natives seemed to have minds of their own and were quite adept at filling in the blanks in their own minds to imagine what they wanted.

Sure enough, Chairman Sean smoothly interpreted the silence as tacit agreement.

“It’s like this,” he said. “The Elves were once the rulers of this world. But rumor has it they grew weary of the strife between the races and decided to return to nature.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Qiyu a few times.

Unfortunately, Qiyu was wearing a mage’s robe, so he couldn’t make out anything.

He continued: “Though the Elves have withdrawn from the world, they are still revered by countless people. Elven art, craftsmanship, magic… all of it has a devoted following, especially among the nobility.”

“Is that what you meant?”

Qiyu asked bluntly, “Are the items from the Star Forest very valuable?”

Sean paused for a moment, then laughed heartily. “That’s exactly right.”

Realizing that Qiyu was a straightforward person, he cut to the chase: “I’d be willing to pay five gold coins for one emerald crystal. Would you be interested in the trade?”

Qiyu: “Sure.”

In truth, he didn’t actually have any emerald crystals on hand—after all, this was the Barter Phase 01. Speaking of bartering…

“Items from the Star Forest are very valuable. Do you accept wood?”

Chairman Sean: “Of course we do. The Borg Chamber of Commerce operates across the region, and we have businesses in the capital as well.” 

“That’s truly amazing,” Qiyu said happily. “I currently have 349,650 units of wood—I’ll sell it all to you.” 

Chairman Sean: ??? That’s a bit…

However, after Qiyu showed him the quality of the wood, he agreed to buy it at a rate of 10 units per gold coin. The Orange Edge Guild had offered a purchase price of 10 units per emerald crystal. 

President Sean was willing to exchange 1 emerald crystal for 5 gold coins, which seemed like a loss.

But Qiyu wasn’t sure if he’d be able to return to Gold Hole City next time, so he needed gold coins right now to buy supplies.

There was also one more crucial reason: his storage backpack was almost full! 

These 349,650 units of wood were taking up 300 slots in his storage backpack.

From the first batch of screaming lily of the valley, a total of 450,000 units of wood were sold. 350,000 were in his backpack, and the remaining 100,000 were stored in two warehouses on his territory. The wood from the second batch of screaming lily of the valley had not yet been withdrawn from the trading board.

After selling all the wood, Guild Master Sean kindly rounded the amount up to a neat figure for him: 35,000 gold coins. 

To return the favor, Qiyu sold him the 403 emerald crystal coins from his backpack, rounding off the change to get 2,000 gold coins.

By now, including his salary from the mages association and the reward for escorting Leslie, he had a total of 78,000 gold coins. He felt as if he had turned into a golden man.

Qiyu gazed happily at the sparkling little mountain in his backpack.

He pulled out two fragrant peaches and handed them to Sean and his son: “These are a specialty of our Star Forest—emerald crystal peaches. They’re a gift for you.”

“What a wonderful scent,” said President Sean as he solemnly accepted them and sniffed them carefully. “They’re truly sweet and enchanting.”

He looked at Qiyu eagerly: “These emerald crystal peaches—I wonder if you have any left over to sell?” Hiding behind his hood, Qiyu let out a sly smile.

It was true that he’d given them two peaches to eat, but it was also true that he’d done so on purpose. If a single piece of wood could be sold, why couldn’t these emerald crystal peaches be sold as well?

While Sean was still focused on his work, Leslie couldn’t wait to slice one open with a knife and take a bite. Qiyu pointed out, “Yes, there are still some left, but not many.”

After accounting for the ones he’d given away at the mages association and those he’d eaten himself, the two-day harvest from the emerald crystal peach orchard still left 200 to sell.

“I’ll pay 10 gold coins each!” Sean decided. He already had a brilliant idea in mind.

“Mr. Qiyu, I was wondering if you happen to have any other specialties from the Star Forest that you might be willing to sell?”

Qiyu：？

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a nightmare pumpkin.

Chairman Sean looked at this unassuming object: “What’s this?”

Qiyu replied solemnly, “A magical mutant plant native to the Star Forest—the nightmare pumpkin. It’s a rare mutant plant that emerged from the legendary disaster rain. Eating it will plunge you into 15 consecutive days of nightmares, during which your mental health will also deteriorate.” 

“This one!” Before Chairman Sean could even speak, Leslie, who was eating a peach, piped up, “I’ll buy this one for Matthew and Kinley to eat.” 

Matthew and Kinley were the Young Masters of the two merchant houses in Gold Hole City—and they’d never gotten along with Leslie. Upon learning there were a total of 13 of them, President Sean bought them all for 30 gold coins each.

While Qiyu marveled inwardly at how wealthy Chairman Sean really was, he pulled another evil honeydew melon out of his backpack. However, since he hadn’t tasted the evil honeydew melon himself yet, he decided to sell only 20 of them. 

President Sean also offered 30 gold coins per item.

The three types of fruit could be sold for a total of 2,990.

Qiyu gained a new understanding of just how wealthy the indigenous people were. 

Chairman Sean was overjoyed: with such specialties from the Forest of Stars, he could hold a unique “Forest of Stars Specialty Auction” in Gold Hole City—no, he would set out for the Royal City that very night.

Wouldn’t those nobles, who were so eager for elven goods, be scrambling to pull gold coins out of their pockets? 

“Actually, I have another kind of fruit…”

Qiyu pulled a bright red fruit out of his backpack.

Chairman Sean/Leslie: “What? Is—is there more?”

Facing their stunned gazes, Qiyu cleared his throat and solemnly introduced himself:

“I seem to have forgotten to tell you—aside from being a mage, I’m also a farmer from the Star Forest.”