650,000 Briga!
That was the quotation given by the owner, causing Inala and Wittral to stare at each other in silence. It was an exorbitant sum of money.
Property prices were already high on the Southern Veins, but considering the prime location of the building they were looking at, the price was basically a fortune. If converted into Parute Fruits, it was enough to bring approximately 53,000 cultivators to the peak of the Spirit Stage.
"What…do you say?" Wittral asked, somewhat hesitant, "Isn't this too expensive?"
"Yes, but it's not an amount that's impossible for us. That is, if we're truly serious about this place." Inala said and whispered, "We could sell Zinger Eggs. They'll fetch a fortune here. But that'll end up revealing my abilities."
"No, that's risky. Everyone here only has a single Nature. We'll draw too much attention towards us in that case." Wittral shook his head.
"Then, let's just take a loan from a bank." Inala made a decision, "Leave convincing them to me."
"Are you sure?" Wittral asked in worry, "Are you planning to reveal your identity to them or something? Wouldn't that be risky?"
"No, revealing my identity is of no use." Inala shook his head, "There are many people of Royalty descent here. So, it won't be of any benefit. I'll just approach the bank for a loan through the regular channels."
"It hasn't been long since we became Citizens. Is getting a loan possible?" Wittral asked in worry.
Yes, taking a loan from the bank was possible. The interest rates too were reasonable. But that didn't mean anyone could get a loan, 'Without any collateral, how is she planning to convince them to fork out such a large sum of money on her behalf?'
"We're merely refugees that have begun to settle in this place. Neither our earnings are high nor have we displayed anything spectacular to receive sponsorships from people of power." Wittral argued. "How are you planning to get the loan?"
"I'll pledge a cultivation technique as collateral." Inala smirked, "I have plenty of Silver Grade cultivation techniques for Free Humans. I'll put one with a decent value for the bank as collateral. That should be enough to receive their support."
The next day, Inala and Wittral approached one of the well-reputed banks in the city and requested a loan by pledging a Silver Grade cultivation technique.
"Please take a seat while we verify the validity of this cultivation technique." The branch manager led Inala and Wittral to a room and exited with a thick book—detailed with the cultivation technique.
Four hours later, just as Inala and Wittral became bored with waiting, the manager returned alongside a wizened old man and asked, "Does this have a second part?"
"Yes, here." Wittral smiled profusely and handed out another equally thick book. He was assured by the fact that the moment they requested the second half of the cultivation technique, it implied their interest in it.
To avoid any problems, plagiarism, and a bunch of other sticky situations related to such a transaction, Inala only presented the first half of the cultivation technique. The branch manager brought in the wizened old man because of that reason, a scholar knowledgeable about cultivation techniques.
"This is a pretty interesting cultivation technique." The wizened old man muttered after glancing into the contents of the second half of the cultivation technique, "Is this from your homeland?"
"I believe you're from the Rumtara Kingdom."
"We're indeed from the Rumtara Kingdom, but this cultivation technique didn't originate from there." Having practiced the day before, Wittral spewed lies fluently, "My great grandfather brought this with him after travelling the outside world. The mineral necessary for building a Human Avatar using this cultivation technique wasn't available in the Rumtara Kingdom. So, we couldn't make use of it."
"Its mineral is available here." The wizened old man nodded, "Though it's pretty rare, we have the necessary resources to make use of it. So, I'll make a proposition."
"Two hundred thousand Briga." The wizened old man stared at Inala and Wittral, "If you're okay with it, our bank will purchase this cultivation technique for that amount and then provide you a loan for the remainder sum necessary to buy your desired property."
'Amita said we'll be making a profit if the quoted price is over one hundred eighty thousand Briga.' Wittral was internally amazed as he stared at Amita, 'Everything went as she had predicted. The bank is more than happy to buy it.'
'Of course, they gave a better quote than I predicted.' Inala's eyes glistened at the proposal. He purposefully created a cultivation technique for a mineral that hadn't been used to date. With it, the Brimgan Empire would have another new Human Avatar building technique.
Moreover, though weak, it was still at the Silver Grade. Hence, it had tremendous value. That was why the bank quoted twenty thousand more than the cultivation technique's price, since they wanted to claim it before any of their competitors got wind of it.
"We're happy with the arrangement." Inala smiled as he and Wittral signed a bunch of documents that were coded into their respective Citizen IDs. This way, as long as Inala flashes his ID anywhere in the Brimgan Empire, his ownership of the purchased property and the associated loan with the bank would be displayed.
Once he finishes payment, the property will truly become his.
It only took him a few hours to slap together a cultivation technique using Mystic Skill Creator, all thanks to the large volume of data he had available in him. He knew plenty of cultivation techniques created and refined by the Ganrimb Kingdom, not to mention the variety of techniques Fhoong Brimgan had learnt for reference in his time at the Brimgan Empire.
Using those as a reference, he could easily derive a Silver Grade cultivation technique. Honestly, if he didn't wish to lay low for the time being, he could easily amass a lot of wealth by selling cultivation techniques.
'There's a lot of risks associated with that. Too many people of importance would pay attention to me in that case. That's needless, since I only need to get into Arlfarah Mansion.' He thought. All other necessary arrangements could be made through his Empyrean Zinger army.
The bank paid the full amount to the property owner who was more than happy to receive such a large sum. The transfer of ownership was completed successfully as Inala and Wittral stared at the details being engraved on their Citizen IDs.
It was evening by the time they returned to the property that had now become theirs. Wittral entered it and observed the haggard interior. He casually cleaned a spot on the floor with Subtle Terrain Domination and took a seat, patting the area before him, "Take a seat, Amita."
The duo sat on the floor, facing each other as Wittral pulled a piece of wood and carved it into a sculpture, outlining a 3D model of the building that he was thinking of making, "How's this design?"
"The staircase should be more hidden." Inala said and pointed at a spot, "This place looks congested. Use it for decoration. Let's keep the table as part of the floor and create water streams like a circuit that runs across the place."
The duo discussed and finalised the design for a six-storey building with intricate craftsmanship. They planned to create it solely out of Prana Bomb, since it was the hardest material they could use that was the cheapest.
They could produce as much of it as they wanted, as long as they had sufficient Prana. And by layering it with a mineral of their choice, they could create the perfect colour and texture for an ambient tea house.
Just leaving it as a surface made out of Prana Bomb was risky, since that would alert the reincarnates. Hence, fusing another mineral would be perfect, similar to an alloy. With Subtle Terrain Domination, that was as easy as breathing.
Morning, the next day, the duo exited the Brimgan Empire on a carriage and headed towards the closest Pranic Beast region, intending to gather all resources necessary to construct a luxurious tea house.
The carriage was the size of a truck, spanning a length of twelve metres and a breadth of three metres. It had a large cargo space and could be transported to any City in the Brimgan Empire from its gates through the railway.
Hence, they were only in charge of driving it from the entrance to the designated area. Wittral had commissioned a team of drivers for that, four Body Stage cultivators. They had enough Prana reserves to move the cargo-filled truck back and forth for a single journey.
Renting the cargo and the four drivers from the associated company cost them 180 Briga, which was fairly reasonable, considering the services provided.
The four drivers were seated in the frontmost compartment while Inala and Wittral were seated in a private compartment above them, watching the truck leave the Brimgan Empire and proceed into the wilds through a beaten path.
Pranic Beasts began appearing within a few minutes but were scarce and had pitiful strength. Most had been hunted a day earlier, and hence, their numbers hadn't been replenished yet.
It was why Inala and Wittral set off in such a hurry, for a Raid had been conducted in the place just a day before. Raids happened at least once a month, so a couple of days following that was the safest to explore the region outside the Brimgan Empire.
Their truck wasn't alone as Inala observed many trucks moving alongside them, each heading to their respective destination. He casually observed his surroundings and counted more than thirty such trucks, 'The Brimgan Empire is built different.'