"It’s real."

  Fei Xue nodded with absolute certainty.

  She was Level 35, and with the attribute bonuses from clearing her Brave-rank Trial, her effective stats were roughly equivalent to a Level 45 fighter. That single [Gale-Spirit Pill] had just increased her total Agility by more than five percent.

  In the world of cultivation and combat, such an increase from a single pill was nothing short of miraculous.

  "Fantastic! We’ll take all the Body-Forging, Gale-Spirit, and Blood-Bath Pills you have," Lan Ye declared, slapping her hand on the counter to seal the deal.

  However, even counting the one Fei Xue had just consumed, there were only seven of these pills in total on the shelf. The production rate was staggeringly low.

  "Anything else?" Kael asked in his usual measured pace, looking at the small ceramic bottles lined up on the counter.

  "Manager, you don't seem to have any bows here," Lan Qing'er noted, speaking with the concern of a dedicated archer.

  "No daggers either," You Jiu repeated.

  "Big Brother, where are the shields?" Lan Zi'er came running over, clutching a suit of [Refined Chainmail].

  "..." Kael maintained his stoic expression, but internally, he was fuming.

  All those missed opportunities were potential Spirit Crystals walking out the door! He wanted those items just as much as they did, but the gacha-style restocking system simply hadn't coughed them up yet. He felt a wave of despair.

  "The weapons you seek will be available in the future," Kael said slowly after a long silence.

  The girls didn't doubt him for a second. After seeing weapons that could pierce Class-rank monsters without a drop of Battle Qi, they considered his shop a treasury of divine artifacts. They were sure he wouldn't tarnish his own reputation with a lie.

  "At least there’s a spear here," Lan Ye said, pulling the [Storm Spear] from the rack. Though she was a Knight, she wasn't a Shield-Knight; she was a Charging Knight who specialized in the reach and power of the polearm.

  As the girls inspected each piece of gear, Kael provided timely descriptions. In the end, Lan Zi'er also picked up an [Anti-Magic Cloak]. Real life wasn't a video game; as long as the gear didn't physically overlap, you could layer as much armor as you could carry.

  "Manager, give me two Death-Defying Combos, three Hot-Blood Combos, and two Mana-Surge Combos," Xiao Ya added, having finalized her selection.

  "Xiao Qi, grab that Frost-Snow Pill too," Lan Ye added. "Even if you can't use it yet, we should keep it safe."

  "That will be two thousand six hundred and fifty Spirit Crystals," Kael announced from behind the counter. This total excluded the pill Fei Xue had already paid for.

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  Hearing the final price, Lan Ye’s hand—still clutching the Storm Spear—trembled slightly. It wasn't that she thought the price was unfair; it was just that... who carries that many Spirit Crystals on them?

  Kael tilted his head slightly as he watched Lan Ye’s hesitation. "If you are short on crystals, the shop accepts Mana Cores. A Brave-rank core is worth a hundred crystals. A Class-rank core is worth..."

  [System: One thousand Spirit Crystals.]

  "...one thousand crystals," Kael finished.

  Lan Ye: "..." The rest of the Lan Ye Squad: "..."

  Luckily, there was a "wealthy heiress" in their squad. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to take even half of this haul home today.

  "Big Brother, I'll bring you some different meat next time!" Lan Zi'er giggled, placing two Class-rank Mana Cores alongside Lan Ye’s coin pouch on the counter.

  Kael gave the little girl a surprised look. He hadn't expected her to be the one carrying two Class-rank cores. After a brief stun, he swept the crystals and cores into his register and nodded. "Very well."

  "Goodbye, Kael! I'll see you next time!" Little Na Lan Qinqi waved her new [Frost Staff] enthusiastically as she said her farewells.

  The Lan Ye Squad left the shop, their arms full and their wallets empty.

  Kael watched them leave for a moment before pulling his steamed buns out from under the counter.

  "Is this... Flame Demon Wolf meat? It smells quite good," Kael muttered, inspecting the morsel Lan Zi'er had given him. He ate it along with his buns. It was indeed delicious.

  Given the prices in his shop, Kael felt like a man who "could live for three years off a single sale." After these two groups left, no other customers appeared. Seeing the sky darkening outside, Kael stood up and closed the shop doors.

  He spent the next hour pulling new stock and hauling crates from the warehouse to refill the shelves.

  "Now, let's see how this Combat Strength Training Room works," Kael said, rubbing his aching back as he approached the magic circle of the new facility.

  [System: To activate the Combat Strength Training Room, a new storefront area is required.]

  "..."

  "System, you set me up again!" Kael exploded in anger.

  During the day, he had been wondering how to use the [Store Renovation Voucher] he’d earned from the mission. It turned out the System had planned this all along—tricking him into needing the voucher just to use the facility he had already unlocked.

  This damn System is truly a different breed of devious, Kael thought, his head beginning to throb.

  [System: Host, the System detects disrespectful thoughts in your mind.]

  "No, I just have a headache," Kael grumbled, clutching his temples.

  Besides, where was he supposed to get a "new storefront"? It looked like the training room wouldn't be opening anytime soon. Feeling dejected, Kael decided to just call it a night and sleep.

  Cloud Mist City, Mercenary Guild.

  The Mercenary Guild was a massive organization spanning the entire continent. However, it functioned primarily as a loose network to organize mercenaries and provide a hub for posting quests, rather than directly interfering in local politics.

  The local branches handled the actual boots-on-the-ground affairs.

  "Based on the reports from the squads returning from the forest, you should have a good idea of what’s coming," Mu Qianqiu, one of the guild directors, said while tapping his fingers on the desk.

  Wan Zhongshan sat with his legs propped up on the table, arms crossed and head hanging low. "It's a Beast Tide. I never expected it to happen while the two of us were in charge of Cloud Mist City."

  "Should we post the warning?" Mu Qianqiu asked, gesturing toward the mission hall outside.

  "A report of a Beast Tide coming from the Mercenary Guild might trigger a city-wide panic," Wan Zhongshan concluded. "We’ll let the City Lord’s office handle the announcement. We will post missions to gather mercenary squads to hunt monsters on the outskirts of the city."

  "And the compensation?" Mu Qianqiu asked thoughtfully.

  "Make the City Lord’s office pay for it. The Guild will just take a small processing fee for our hard work," Wan Zhongshan said leisurely.

  "Fine. I’ll go notify the City Lord. It’s about time Qin Ming bled a little gold for the city's safety," Mu Qianqiu nodded in agreement.

  Cloud Mist City, City Lord’s Mansion.

  City Lord Qin Ming was busy processing official documents when a sudden knock came at his door.