A crisp chime echoed in Lance’s mind.
The price tag made him click his tongue.
"Three thousand Credits for a single [Low-Grade Military Alchemy Potion], and it only covers one day of cultivation for a [Gold Rank] powerhouse? That means a Gold Ranker burns through over a million Credits a year just on food."
Lance ran the numbers. The old adage rang true: Books are cheap. War is expensive.
In the world of the Awakened, without massive financial backing, even a genius would eventually slam headfirst into a resource wall.
Of course, [Gold Rank] elites didn't typically swill this low-grade slop. They preferred [Intermediate Alchemy Potions] or even [High-Grade Mana Meals].
An Intermediate potion cost a staggering 100,000 Credits, but the energy within was far purer. One vial could keep a normal civilian alive for a year. For a Gold Ranker, it fueled a whole month of hard training.
Dollar for dollar, it was actually cheaper than chugging thirty low-grade vials.
As for a million-credit annual food budget? To those at the top of the pyramid, that was pocket change.
The Human Federation had a population of hundreds of billions, yet there were fewer than ten thousand registered [Gold Rank] powerhouses.
When you're one in ten million, you don't worry about grocery bills. Every single one of them sat on assets worth tens of billions.
Most of them dined on [High-Grade Mana Meals] worth hundreds of millions per serving. The potency was so terrifying that a single meal could sustain a Gold Ranker for a decade without needing another bite.
However, the energy density was so extreme that even a Gold Rank physique couldn't handle a full serving at once. They had to sip it like fine wine.
All of that was far beyond Lance’s current reach. For now, he wasn't qualified—nor did he need—to touch that high-end stuff.
"Confirm order. Priority shipping, please."
Lance didn't hesitate. He authorized the payment.
[System Alert]: Order generated. Automated Logistics System has accepted the dispatch. Estimated delivery to your personal receiver: 10 minutes.
The notification chimed almost immediately.
Lance shook his head. The pace of life in the interstellar era was insane. As long as you were inside the Urban Defense Ring—even in the slums—the drone network guaranteed ten-minute delivery.
He walked to the corner of the living room, where a waist-high metal hatch was embedded in the wall. Standard issue for every apartment: the [Pneumatic Receiver].
"Ding-dong! Your priority package has arrived. Please retrieve it!"
Five minutes later, the smart home AI chimed, and the metal hatch slid open.
A sleek black box stamped with the Federal Quartermaster logo sat inside.
The receiver connected to the building's massive pneumatic tube network. Delivery drones dropped packages at the roof's sorting hub, and air pressure shot them instantly into individual units.
Of course, the tubes only worked for small items. If you ordered a fridge, some clunky loader bot would have to haul it up the stairs, clanking all the way.
As for the big shots living in the floating island mansions? Their private shuttles landed directly on their personal pads. They didn't deal with tubes.
Lance took the black box to his room and tore open the packaging. A test tube glowing with a faint, eerie red light rested in shock-absorbent foam.
The [Low-Grade Military Alchemy Potion]. The object of every grunt's love and hate.
"Rumor has it the raw materials are refined from the blood and flesh of Tier 1 monsters. A single corpse of a standard [Tier 1 · 1-Star] beast yields at least ten potions. Looks like once the exams are over, I need to hit the wilderness. Hunting is pure profit."
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Ambition flickered in Lance's eyes as he held the expensive vial.
"Wait. Can the System fix this?"
A thought struck him. He immediately activated the scan function, staring intensely at the liquid.
[System Alert]: Item Scanned: [Low-Grade Military Alchemy Potion].
Defects and Impurity Exploits detected: 5,451!
Execute Patch Program?
The familiar prompt appeared. Lance grinned.
"Over five thousand loopholes?"
Lance raised an eyebrow. That was fewer than his genetic defects, but significantly more than the [Basic Military CQC]. This meant the patched product would far exceed the quality of the [Titanium War Body]. It might not reach the level of a God-tier Talent, but it would definitely rival a [High-Grade Mana Meal].
"Worth a shot. I get two fixes a day anyway. Use it or lose it."
Lance made the call.
"Fix."
[System Alert]: Command confirmed. Initiating Matter Reconstruction Sequence...
HUMmmm—!
A golden light, visible only to Lance, descended from the void, wrapping around the crimson vial.
A moment later, the light faded. Lance’s eyes widened. The liquid, originally bloody and murky, had undergone a fundamental shift. It was now crystal clear, radiating a soft, divine golden glow.
[System Alert]: Patch complete!
[Low-Grade Military Alchemy Potion] has been optimized and reconstructed into:
[High-Grade Enhanced Mana Potion] (Tier 4 · Mid-Grade · Rare)
[High-Grade Enhanced Mana Potion]: Contains massive, gentle Mana Energy essence. Theoretically sufficient to supply a [Gold Rank] powerhouse for 50 years.
Effect 1: Upon consumption, the Host receives a continuous, endless supply of energy. Estimated conversion to Constitution Stat: 50,000 Points!
Effect 2: While active, Host's cultivation efficiency increases by an additional 200%!
Safety Note: The System has perfectly purged all berserk factors. Safe for consumption by unawakened mortals. Energy will be stored deep within the cellular structure and released slowly.
The notifications bombarded Lance’s neural interface. He stood there, trembling with excitement.
"My God... A Rare-grade [High-Grade Enhanced Mana Potion]? And a triple speed buff for training? This... this is going to launch me into the stratosphere!"
If word of this got out, forget [Gold Rank] fighters. Even [Legendary] or [Demigod] titans would drop their dignity to mug him for it.
But the best part was the safety note: "Safe for consumption by unawakened mortals."
That meant Lillian could handle it.
Lance didn't hesitate. He uncorked the vial, tilted his head back, and downed almost the entire thing.
WHOOSH!
Warm, majestic power flooded his limbs like a gentle tidal wave.
The muscle soreness and mental fatigue from his brutal training session vanished instantly.
Lance stopped only when a thin layer of golden liquid remained at the bottom of the tube.
"Just this sip alone should sustain a [Gold Rank] fighter for five or six years," Lance muttered, wiping his mouth.
He grabbed a clean porcelain bowl from the kitchenette and carefully poured the remaining drops into it. Then, he walked to Lillian’s door and rang the bell.
Click.
The door opened.
"Lance? You need something?"
Lillian looked at him curiously. She noticed the constant vibration that had shaken the apartment all night had finally stopped. It confirmed her suspicion—Lance had been the source of the noise.
"Drink this."
Lance didn't waste words. He shoved the small bowl toward her.
"What is it?"
Lillian eyed the faintly glowing golden liquid. Despite her confusion, her absolute trust in her brother made her take it. She drank it in one go.
"Nothing much. Since I got that 10,000 Credit scholarship, I went to the black market and bought a one-tenth share of an [Intermediate Alchemy Potion]. I drank most of it, but I saved that bit for you."
It was a half-truth. A real Intermediate potion cost 100k, so a tenth was indeed 10k. The black market did sell splits like that.
"What?! That was an Intermediate potion? I just drank two years of our living expenses in one gulp?!"
Lillian’s face fell. She stared at the empty bowl with a look of pure heartache, then stuck out her pink tongue to lick the bottom clean, terrified of wasting a single credit's worth.
Lance laughed. "Don't sweat it. You're a top student at the Royal Prep Academy now, and I'm heading to the Advanced War Academy. Even if I just go back to sparring at the underground ring, my rates are gonna triple. I can make 10k back in no time."
He patted her head. "Besides, that potion means neither of us needs to eat for six months. The time we save on cooking? Priceless."
Seeing her act like a little miser was adorable, but he needed her to relax.
"I guess you're right... Wait, I need to go meditate and digest this! I can't let 10,000 Credits go to waste!"
Lillian shoved the empty bowl back into Lance’s hands, spun around, and bolted into her room. The door slammed shut as she began her frantic cultivation.
Lance stared at the closed door, his expression turning thoughtful.
"I'll feed her resources gradually. Let her transform into a peerless genius without realizing it. That way, when I eventually fix the exploits in her body, it won't look too suspicious."
Plan set, Lance returned to his room to continue the grind.
The night passed in a blur of power-leveling.
[System Alert]: Constitution +1!
[System Alert]: Constitution +1!
[System Alert]: Constitution +1!
Thanks to the [High-Grade Enhanced Mana Potion], his efficiency had doubled again. It now took him only twenty minutes to gain a stat point.
That was 3 points an hour.
By 8:00 AM the next morning, after nearly eight hours of insane grinding, Lance’s Constitution had skyrocketed by over 20 points. Adding in his base stats, his Constitution now sat at a staggering 35.
With the [Undying God-Body] passive multiplier, his actual explosive force hit 10,000 kilograms.
Ten tons of force.
That was comparable to the absolute limit of a [Bronze Rank · 10-Star] warrior.
One step further, and he would condense a Battle Qi seed, ascending to [Silver Rank].
In the slums—and even among the middle class of Silver Moon City—a Silver Rank Awakened was a force to be reckoned with. Someone who could walk sideways through the streets, and no one would dare block their path.
