Chapter 61 Dragon Blood Leaf Powder

Benny was momentarily taken aback. "Customer, your information... is quite up-to-date."

"That batch of goods only arrived yesterday."

His gaze fell on the platinum membership badge of Lijin Secret Language pinned to Locke's chest. "Yes, those Catgirl Slaves are priced at about 50 Magic Stones each."

"After all, they possess Ancient Bloodlines. Many wizards have shown interest in Ancient Bloodlines—it's a popular research direction..."

"If they weren't mortals with bloodlines too diluted to extract anything pure, the price would be several times higher."

Benny lowered his voice. "Even Formal Wizards might take an interest in them."

Locke pondered for a moment. He had obtained 900 Magic Stones from Lijin Secret Language and had just spent 30. Never before had he been so wealthy.

Magic Stones were no longer the scarcest resource for his future self, whereas Catgirl Slaves with Ancient Bloodlines were rare and hard to come by—priceless treasures that couldn't be bought even with money.

If he missed this opportunity, he might never get another chance, even if he had the Magic Stones later.

Spending a hundred Magic Stones now to buy two Catwoman Queens would be a good deal.

Extracting Ancient Bloodlines was indeed difficult, but with his Synthetic Magic Cube, there might be a breakthrough.

The Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat was an exceptionally powerful ancient creature, revered as a divine beast in some mortal worlds of antiquity. If he could extract blood of sufficient purity from them, it would be an enormous gain.

Even if he couldn't achieve it immediately, it could serve as a research direction. Missing this purchase would be a pity.

In the Wizard World, it wasn't every year that a great empire fell.

Locke said to the dark elf attendant Benny, "Here are a hundred Magic Stones. Let's sign the contract. I want two Catwoman Queens."

Delight flashed across Benny's face.

Locke reminded him, "On the condition that they truly possess the diluted bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat."

Benny replied, "Guaranteed genuine."

"Honored guest, please follow me."

There was a reason for Benny's excitement.

Although slaves with Ancient Bloodlines were rare, extracting and utilizing those bloodlines was extremely challenging.

As a result, wizards' enthusiasm for such goods was polarized—those who needed them were highly interested, while those who didn't were utterly indifferent.

Locke had tasted the benefits of Ancient Bloodlines before, hence his eagerness. Another wizard might not share the same sentiment.

They might even think a mortal slave could never be worth 50 Magic Stones.

This wasn't like the Black Wizard's underground slave trade, where one could buy wizard apprentices with Magic Stones.

Locke followed Benny into a room next to the shop. The space was semi-enclosed by a Shadow Screen and curtains, forming a private area.

The floor was cleaner and more orderly, furnished with simple furniture.

Clearly, this was where the high-value slaves were kept.

Benny said to Locke, "Esteemed guest, you may choose any two Catwoman Queens here."

Locke glanced around and saw seven iron cages, each holding a catgirl.

Unlike the barely clothed slaves outside, these catgirl slaves were dressed in luxurious formal gowns—midnight blue with silver gradient hems.

Around their necks were silver collars embedded with rubies, and atop their heads sat delicate silver princess crowns.

These catgirls had fluffy white cat ears and tails with faint orange stripes—proof of their ancient Bloodline.

They possessed both the wildness of animals and the elegance of young maidens, their eyes filled with fear and tension as they looked at Locke.

Locke examined their tails. Sassari the Dark Elf had mentioned in the All Things Class how to identify slaves with ancient Bloodlines to avoid being deceived by unscrupulous merchants.

After confirming there were no issues, Locke pointed at a pair of twin Catwoman Queens and said with dissatisfaction, "Have them remove their gowns. I need to verify their physical integrity."

Benny quickly instructed the two catgirls to comply, smiling at Locke. "Esteemed guest, our slaves are guaranteed to be of the highest quality. The reason they are dressed so formally is simply to showcase their status and assure customers of their genuine ancient Bloodline."

"Please rest assured."

Only after thorough inspection did Locke sign the contract with Benny and crush the Rune stone, binding the two catgirls to him.

Walking down the street with two Gray Dwarves, six minotaurs, and two blushing catgirls, Locke didn't stand out too much.

It was common for Second-Class Wizard Apprentices to travel with servants, let alone someone like Locke—a Breeder Assistant with social standing equivalent to a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.

After leaving the Slave Warehouse, Locke entered an alchemy workshop. He paid a hundred Magic Stones and handed over the hide of a Berserk Rhinoceros, commissioning a standard mid-grade Enchanted Item—Berserk Rhinoceros Hide Armor.

Wearing this armor would enhance his defensive capabilities.

Locke arranged to collect the item in two weeks.

Their transaction was contractually guaranteed and certified by Lilith's Cottage. Under normal circumstances, the merchant wouldn't dare breach the agreement.

Shops in the Chimera Market were expensive, requiring tens of thousands of Magic Stones just to rent one.

Most merchants had taken out specialized loans (similar to student loans) to secure their shops, so they wouldn't risk losing everything over a mere mid-grade Enchanted Item.

Locke then purchased some magical resources from various stalls in the Chimera Market, such as Dragon Blood Leaf Powder—an item that, when mixed with Badan West Wood Powder, could boost meditation efficiency by 50%.

Though pricey, Locke had previously been unable to afford it. Now, he bought it outright along with Badan West Wood shavings.

He purchased a month's supply of Badan West Wood shavings for 150 Magic Stones, and a month's supply of Dragon Blood Leaf Powder for 200 Magic Stones.

Previously, he had always been short on Magic Stones, so during the three months after learning the basic Meditation Method, he couldn't use Badan West Wood Powder for meditation every day. Without it, his meditation efficiency was extremely low.

As a result, Locke's spiritual power only increased very slightly over those three months, rising from 76 to just 85.

The rate of improvement was only half of what normal meditation would yield.

Normally, with such frugal meditation, he would have only gained about 4 points of spiritual power in three months. But thanks to the Rose Ruby, he received an additional 5-point boost.

This was the resource dilemma many Second-Class Wizard Apprentices faced.

For a wizard apprentice to perform full meditation, they needed to spend at least 150 Magic Stones per month—a cost not everyone could afford.

(End of Chapter)