Ivory Sand monopoly

'Buzzl? This sand...'

There was one thing Nicola had trouble finding, a replacement for Earth's silicon. As far as he knew, silicon was present almost everywhere on Earth to the point where it was the second most common element after oxygen. As a chemist in his previous life, he knew a lot about it. Not only because it was used in experiments, but because silicon was also used for steel refining, aluminum smelting, etc., which could be useful for your forging and creating new equipment.

The problem is that silicon never came in its pure form. Instead, it was mixed with other elements, making it quite difficult to produce. On Earth, silica sand was the most common material. However, the process for extracting the silicon alone was not easy to be done here in the World of Cultivation.

The reason for this was none other than mana! He still didn't know what kind of energy mana is. Electricity existed because of electrons. Could mana be something similar? However, this type of energy could basically interact with everything. Even the photons that light is made of.

Mana swirled around Nicola's hand as he held the sand-filled hand. However, if someone looked closely, they would see that some electrical sparks would pop up every now and then.

"So, did the customer like it?" Nicola nodded, satisfied.

"That's right. Can you tell me what kind of sand it is?" The merchant didn't mind before explaining. "We call it Ivory Sand. You can find a lot of it in our Pilgard City Territory. It's a nice creamy white color, so people often use it as decorations. If you're planning on building something here in town, it might be a nice addition."

Nicola was delighted to hear that. He sought out this merchant because he saw him selling various types of sand. It was not uncommon to find people like him, as even in Mogar you had to build houses. The reason this sand caught his attention is that it actually looked like silica sand on Earth. "That's great! How much does it cost?"

The merchant smiled before immediately offering. "It costs five mid-level mana crystals per 10 kilos. Don't try to trade with me. This is already a great price, as moving it from the surrounding terrain to here isn't cheap. It's also not easy to get, as we need to separate it of common dirt. If it wasn't because the cultivators liked the color, which gave us the idea to sell, we wouldn't even do it."

Nicola laughed before saying. "Good! Give me a minute." Nicola thought for a while, this type of sand would be very good to develop formations, combining the knowledge of producing electrical circuits adapting them for this world, maybe it would be worth it, Nicola decided to bet on it.

"What's your name, friend? Besides, what power did you come from?" The merchant understood that he was likely to get a good deal, so he immediately became even more polite. "Ahem... This friend can call me Marten. I am a member of the Sand Rat Clan. I see you are very interested in our Ivory Sand."

Nicola nodded. "Yes. Tell me. How much of this sand can you produce? Besides, how much do you think is available in your Clan Territory?" Marten was surprised by the question. Still, he quickly pondered this and responded. "Well... If our clan gives all out to do it, we should be able to produce around a ton per month. As for the amount available in our territory... I'm not sure. But I know it's only present in our territory. sect, since I've never seen any other sand sellers with a type identical to ours. If you don't believe me, you can go around and try to find something similar."

Nicola shook his head. "I will be direct. I want all the Ivory Sands present in your Clan Territory."

"What?!" Marten almost fell back when he heard this.

"That would be at least hundreds of tons of sand, are you sure that's what you want? My friend, our sect may not be a great power, but we won't be fooled either." The wererat spoke.

Nicola shook his head. "I'm not making fun of you or your sect. I really want to make this deal. However, there will be a condition."

'I must have a monopoly on that sand as soon as possible. The best way, obviously, would be to involve Banco Pluto.' He tought.

"Condition?" The seller asked.

"All the Ivory sand will be sold exclusively to me. You will not be able to sell it to anyone else. In exchange, I will buy all the sand available there."