"What kind of question is that? Who doesn't want money?"
"Well... Young Master, there are some people who don't like money but prefer magic artifacts instead!"
"What? There are?"
Luther explained, "Of course, in the Mill continent, artifacts are the best way to constantly improve your strength. There are two associations in Black Wind Castle. The first is the Magic Association for Mages, and the second is the Swordsman Association for Swordsmen. Those associations are run by rich entrepreneurs who collect magic essence from mages and swordsmen in exchange for money."
The so-called magic essence was an artifact that mages and swordsmen obtained by killing rare demonic beasts. The demonic beasts would drop different types of magic essence according to their level.
Rare demonic beasts were part of a different set of levels. They could not be measured by one or two stars so they were ranked using specific names.
From low to high, the ranks were rare, chief, domain master, legend, and myth.
Each rank drops valuable artifacts. Even the weakest rare demonic beast would require a few mages and swordsmen to fight it.
As for the domain master level and above, archmages and above are required to defeat it. In regards to the legend level, no one in the entirety of the Mill continent would dare to fight such creatures. The leader of the fiery dragons in the Flying Dragon Valley was a legendary demonic beast that remains undefeated一no one dared to go against it.
Lastly, the demonic beasts that were categorized in the myth level had never been seen before. However, it was rumored that there was a mythical demonic beast in the Nine Elven Springs called the Heaven-swallowing Giant Python. However, it was rarely sighted so there were very few rumors about it.
On the Mill Continent, the ultimate goal of the mages was to go to the Flying Dragon Valley to fight against the legendary dragon leader. It must be known that legendary artifacts can only be obtained by defeating legend-level demonic beasts that were almost impossible. Therefore, every mage yearns to be the first to obtain that legendary artifact.
Of course, that was simply a dream for the current Lin Qi. With his current strength, he could not even defeat a star-grade demonic beast, let alone those rare demonic beasts.
Now, he had to think of a way to get some more money.
With that in mind, Lin Qi asked Luther, "Do you have any magic essence?"
Luther spread out his hands and simply said, "When I occupied that mountain stronghold, I only came across low-star demonic beasts. I never dealt with demonic beasts above the rare level."
Lin Qi rolled his eyes and looked particularly helpless. "Then you're talking nonsense! How can I exchange magic essence for money?"
Luther nodded solemnly. "I was sure you had some, Young Master!"
"Well..."
After saying that, Lin Qi looked at the group of mages and swordsmen. Then, he took a deep breath and said, "If it were those people, they would at least have one or two magic essences!"
However, he could not just steal them. He only had a gourmet system. No one would exchange something so precious for food, right?
Unless...
If they were in a dire situation, he could take advantage of that and they would have no choice but to exchange magic essence for his special dishes.
"Lin Qi!"
At that moment, Yu Meng walked over and asked Lin Qi, "Do you still have sweet potatoes?"
"Yes!"
Lin Qi subconsciously handed the sweet potatoes to Yu Meng. He did not ask her for money, but Yu Meng immediately handed him ten silver coins.
"We are companions. Do I really need to charge you?" Lin Qi smiled and pushed the ten silver coins back.
However, Yu Meng did not want to accept Lin Qi's kindness, so she insisted that Lin Qi accepted the money.
Seeing Yu Meng's stubborn expression, Lin Qi reluctantly took her silver coins. He then asked, "Yu Meng, has the Yu family ever formed a team to fight against some rare demonic beasts?"
"Why are you asking this?"
Yu Meng asked curiously as she ate the sweet potato.
'When has Lin Qi ever been interested in those kinds of things?'
"No reason!"
Yu Meng sighed." The Yu family has always been an aristocratic family of mages. Since my grandfather's generation, we have been going to various places to fight demonic beasts. There were also rare demonic beasts found, but we stop at the chief-level demonic beasts. As for those above that, the Yu family has never challenged them."
"What about the rare level?"
"The rare-level ones are easier to find. Last year, I followed my two elder brothers to fight against a demonic beast of that rank."
Hearing that, Lin Qi suddenly became excited and asked, "Well... After the fight, were there any rare-level artifacts... Such as magic essence or something like that?"
"Of course there was. The Yu family has many rare magic essences. With the essence, we can create some magic tools!"
Then, Yu Meng took out a pouch from her pocket and said, "This is the magic pouch that I created with magic essence. Although it doesn't have any fancy effects, it's very convenient."
"How is it convenient?"
"This pouch is a dimensional pouch. It can hold many spare items. It's just good for keeping things. It doesn't help in actual combat!"
Lin Qi wanted to inspect the dimensional pouch, but Yu Meng suddenly retracted it and said, "This is my personal bag!"
Luther whispered to Lin Qi, "If the dimensional pouch is sold at the Magic Association, it should be worth about 200 gold coins!"
"What? That is so expensive!"
Lin Qi's eyes widened in surprise. He had sold the sweet potatoes for only dozens of gold coins that morning. He had not expected that the small pouch was worth 200 gold coins.
If he could get that pouch, he would not have to worry about upgrading the system in the future.
With that in mind, Lin Qi wanted to persuade Yu Meng. Of course, he would not steal it. Instead, he wanted to use his delicious food to make Yu Meng give up the pouch.
However, the Magic Sweet Potatoes were no longer unattainable to Yu Meng. Moreover, she had just bought them for ten silver coins. She would not exchange the dimensional pouch for them.
Then, Lin Qi immediately went back to his room and opened the system to see if he could find some dishes that would attract Yu Meng.
While looking through his options, he accidentally found a dish that could be cooked in level two. It could even increase the level of one's magic.
However, there was a limit. A person could only eat it once, and it would lose its effect after that.
Nevertheless, that dish could actually increase one's magic level by one rank. If he were to use it to exchange with Yu Meng, she would definitely consider it.
However, the ingredients at the bottom of the recipe made Lin Qi stop in his tracks.
"This thing requires night light grass?"
That kind of grass could only be seen at night in the New Moon Forest, and it was often surrounded by many demonic beasts. It was not an easy thing to get.
However, wealth and honor came from danger. As long as he could obtain the night light grass, Yu Meng's dimensional pouch would be as good as his.