Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Exchange Agreement

Hope Lane’s streets were mostly named after flowers, and this particular street was called Daffodil Street. It was an area where the rich and the common folk mingled, with various shops lining the road, and occasionally one could spot branches of alchemy workshops.

Alchemy originated from the former Oz Country, a domain greatly mastered by the great witch Dorothy. They developed all sorts of potions, alchemical items, magical arrays, and golems. After Oz Country was destroyed, the alchemy faction joined Ruurna, seeking revenge and resistance against the Verdant Empire. By delving into ancient alchemy, they advanced golem technology, evolving from basic earth golems to today’s army-equipped Guardian Golems, Skywheel Golems, elite Gem Golems, Sacred Stone Golems, and the ultimate war machines, Mage Golems.

These golems were incredibly resilient, functioning like mobile fortresses on the battlefield. In the ‘Battle of Broken Bows,’ they shone brightly, significantly hindering the armoured cavalry of the Verdant Empire and buying precious time for the allied forces. The Mage Golems were even equipped with magical cannons, capable of sweeping across entire battlefields when fully charged.

Lolan Hill stood in front of an alchemy workshop, where two deep blue stone golems stood guard at the entrance. The shop sign displayed a highly three-dimensional shield emblem with sharp, symmetrical edges, next to which read ‘Lake Light Shield.’

The interior of the workshop was predominantly decorated with azure steel, with deep blue steel shelves, light aqua labels and descriptions, and only three shopkeepers present. They did not approach Lolan upon her entry but stood quietly at the cash register and observation points, allowing customers to browse on their own. Only when asked directly would they provide explanations, a style quite uncommon.

Unlike the West Wind, this workshop did not sell flashy, impractical goods but instead displayed various cold, gleaming weapons—swords, shields, halberds, armor, crossbows, combat potions, and even golems.

As she walked between the shelves, looking at these meticulously crafted artifacts, Lolan finally felt like she was living in a fantasy world. Unlike the poorly made items she had seen in West Wind, the weapons and armor here were rated at least silver grade.

【Electric Thrust Sword】(Rating: Rare Silver): Made with a small amount of mithril added to thousand-fold steel, it can convert extraordinary magic power into electricity, suddenly discharging to paralyze opponents, thus breaking through defenses and striking vital points.

【Wave Armor】(Rating: Exquisite Silver): Made with snowflake steel combined with ocean tide stones, it grants the wearer a slight ability to manipulate water, preventing them from sinking in water and aiding in swimming more agilely.

From the craftsmanship of these artifacts, Lolan even saw some traces of the Mercury Dynasty, which wasn’t surprising since Oz Country inherited part of the Mercury Dynasty’s legacy, and its descendants naturally passed down some technologies.

Though the style differed greatly from the Mercury Dynasty, the technical level was still high. These later-day mages seemed to have taken another path.

Finally, Lolan stopped in front of what appeared to be the best item in the store—a crossbow. Its precise parts fit perfectly, with a matte black body and deep blue patterns that outlined its shape and structure. Next to it were matching bolts, displayed in a transparent case with a price tag of 200 Extraordinary Gold.

One Extraordinary Gold was roughly equivalent to ten thousand in her previous life, making this weapon priced at two million. Quite impressive indeed.

Recalling the sniper rifles from Blue Star, which cost around 100,000 to 300,000, Lolan was curious about the origin of this crossbow and raised her hand to summon a shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper, dressed in black, approached her. Lolan sensed that he had Sequence 2 abilities, increasing her curiosity further.

“Could you introduce this item to me?” she asked.

“Certainly, respected guest,” he replied, neither humble nor arrogant, seemingly unconcerned whether she could afford it.

“This crossbow is made of chromium steel. Inside, there are four intricate magical arrays: [Acceleration], [Stabilize Atmosphere], [Sharp Enchantment], and [Magic-Breaking Enchantment].”

“When the bolts are placed in the lower cylindrical magazine and the mechanism rotates, it automatically loads, firing once every three seconds. The bolts are imbued with sharpness of level 4, magic-breaking of level 2, and speed of level 3. These enchantments have been finely tuned by Ruurna’s masters and work seamlessly without interfering with each other.”

“Additionally, when your finger presses the trigger, the [Stabilize Atmosphere] enchantment activates, temporarily solidifying the air around the crossbow, greatly reducing the tremor caused by hand support, making shots more accurate. Even ordinary people can easily kill Sequence 3 Extraordinary Beings within a safe range, posing significant threats to Sequence 4 Beings. If you have the means, I strongly recommend purchasing this weapon. It’s a recent premium product, and its value will certainly rise as its reputation grows.”

“Indeed, it’s quite powerful. Are you from Ruurna?” Lolan remarked, becoming more interested in this neighboring country to the east of Vergha.

“Yes, I am an alchemy apprentice from Ruurna, currently working under my mentor in Vergha for a period of time,” the young shopkeeper replied coolly, as if answering countless times before. Clearly, many people had shown interest in this shop recently, Lolan thought.

“Is such a crossbow common in Ruurna?” Lolan wanted to gauge the strength of the neighboring country.

“No, even in Ruurna, this is relatively new,” the young shopkeeper said, sensing Lolan’s interest in his country and feeling a desire to converse.

“Perhaps you’ve just arrived here and don’t understand certain things, which is normal. The Vergha Trade Union and our Ruurna Kingdom reached an agreement three months ago.”

“Starting this year, all top-tier technologies from Ruurna will be fully open to Vergha. Anything alchemical from Ruurna can be purchased by Vergha’s merchants, whereas previously, many golems and new technologies were not allowed to be exported. Moreover, Ruurna will organize alchemy guilds to set up workshops in major cities of the Vergha Alliance, selling products of the same quality as those domestically and providing various excellent technologies to Vergha.”

“In exchange, Vergha will provide Ruurna with national-level interest-free loans and purchase resources listed as lacking by Ruurna to the extent of 70% within three years and all within five years. Meanwhile, both countries will further collaborate and share airship technology, steel warship technology, and magic crystal gun technology.”

“Therefore, what you see before you is not only the top-tier alchemy technology of Ruurna but also a testament to the friendly cooperation between the two countries,” the apprentice boy pushed up his glasses, his tone filled with pride and satisfaction at being part of the era’s wave.

(End of Chapter)