"Boom rumble rumble..."
Summer rain arrived without warning, instantly becoming a downpour. Gloomy dark clouds swallowed the moonlight and starry sky, leaving only the dull rumble of thunder rolling over the swamp.
Inside the warm, dry tree house, Count Bran was skillfully flipping the Moss Monster on the grill with his beak.
Fat dripped into the fire, making tempting "sizzling" sounds and emitting an alluring aroma.
In the firelight, a somewhat simple-minded little crocodile lay close to the grill, its tail unconsciously thumping the ground, making expectant and content "purring" sounds, its large amber eyes fixed intently on the sizzling delicacy.
"It doesn't make sense!"
Count Bran muttered discontentedly while flipping the roast, his small head tilted, his black bean-like eyes full of doubt about the elves' taste.
"This thing roasted thoroughly, crispy outside and tender inside, is absolutely the most delicious. Those elves living in trees, their noses must be stuffed with pollen, they really don't know what's good."
He used his claw to poke the golden-brown skin of the Moss Monster, looking utterly frustrated.
Little Ka expressed strong agreement, drool almost dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"So Your Majesty, are we really going to trade those precious 'magic leaves' for food? Those are things that can instantly activate shields!"
"In human towns, a single magic scroll that can instantly cast a shield sells for at least twenty shiny Gold Coins, and we're using them to trade for those belly-filling grains and mushrooms?"
"This deal seems like a total loss no matter how you look at it."
Count Bran's tone carried heartache, as if seeing large handfuls of Gold Coins fluttering away with wings.
Little Ka also vigorously nodded his small head, making "mm-hmm" sounds in his throat, expressing agreement with the Count's view.
Chen Yu gently twitched.
"Count Bran, the Dryad territory is an important ally for us against the Goblin Army. They're currently suffering from war harassment, with constant conflicts at their border. Helping them stabilize their rear is helping ourselves weaken our common enemy. How can this be called a loss?"
His tone sounded righteous and full of moral responsibility between allies.
Count Bran keenly sensed something, lowering his voice with a bit of sneaky probing.
"Your Majesty, is this 'helping allies' also carrying other calculations, like tricking that old fossil to help this Count vent some anger?"
"It's just a normal trade, but the cost of these 'magic leaves' is even lower than you think."
"Lower?"
Count Bran looked somewhat confused, "A single magic scroll, just the required special ink and the arcane Parchment that carries Mana, their cost alone is over eight Gold Coins."
"Adding the mage's labor cost, selling for twenty Gold Coins is reasonable. Can magic leaves be even cheaper?"
Chen Yu's transparent brain thought for a moment.
A bottle of the most basic Magic Ink costs six Gold Coins in human markets, while Magic Paper costs slightly less, about one Gold Coin per sheet.
If replaced with specially made spiritual energy leaves, the cost of Talisman Paper could be almost negligible, just a dozen or so copper coins for a large handful.
But what ultimately determines the cost of Talismans is actually the Talisman Master's own skill level.
With his Lv.3 Talisman Drawing Technique, focusing for a day, drawing thirty times, succeeding with six or seven shouldn't be a problem.
Even including material losses, the comprehensive cost of a single low-level Talisman is less than three Gold Coins.
Conversely, if the Talisman Master's Talisman Drawing Technique isn't skilled enough, then the cost of drawing Talismans could be much higher than making magic scrolls.
It's the type with extremely high upper limits and extremely low lower limits.
This is completely different from the magic scroll system, which has relatively fixed production processes and doesn't require high mage literacy, making it more widespread but also different in nature.
"As for cost, one Talisman requires about three Gold Coins in cost." He gave a relatively conservative number.
"Th... three Gold Coins?!"
Count Bran jumped up in shock, his small eyes wide round, as if hearing the most unbelievable thing in the world.
"Your Majesty! You didn't miscalculate, did you?! Something that costs three Gold Coins, with effects comparable to a twenty-Gold-Coin magic shield scroll?!"
Rootwhisper Forest isn't easy to find, and based on his understanding of those vampire merchants among humans, twenty-Gold-Coin magic scrolls could completely be raised to twenty-five Gold Coins, or even more.
Magic leaves costing three Gold Coins sold at prices just slightly lower than magic scrolls would still have advantages. This could definitely make money, and make lots of it!
"So that's how it is, this Count understands now!"
"Gahahaha! As expected of Your Majesty."
"This Count is increasingly looking forward to seeing that old fossil being taken advantage of by us while still thinking he made a killing."
Chen Yu's gel body swayed pleasantly.
"This is just the beginning."
"Beginning?"
Count Bran's eyes shone, as if he could see the national treasury filled with shiny Gold Coins.
"Your Majesty, is there a way to sell more magic leaves?"
"Selling magic leaves is just a small matter. For the Slime Kingdom to truly establish itself, having just warriors and scholars isn't enough. We need one crucial class—mages."
He paused, letting this grand concept settle in Count Bran's mind.
Count Bran's eyes sparkled with curiosity, and even Little Ka looked at his King with amber eyes.
"I plan to implement a program in the Kingdom, we can call it 'Wisdom Enlightenment,' or rather, compulsory mage education for slimes."
"Mage... compulsory education?" Count Bran tilted his head, feeling intrigued by this unfamiliar combination of words.
"Correct."
Chen Yu affirmed: "The core is to establish a Magic Tree Academy in the Fortress that integrates learning, practice, and research. This will be the cradle of our future mages, the core location of compulsory education."
"Gah gah! This is good."
Count Bran's thinking was simple—once the Kingdom has more mages, wouldn't they be able to sell more magic leaves? Then the national treasury would have endless shiny Gold Coins to spend.
What a wonderful thing this would be.
Chen Yu looked at Count Bran's reaction and swayed with satisfaction.
Actually, there was one point he didn't mention—the mages he cultivates are quite different from mages in the traditional sense of Zeyarila. These slime mages would also need to choose one cultivation technique to study during their compulsory education.
Including but not limited to Talisman Drawing, formation setting, artifact refining...
But visions are always beautiful at birth;
to achieve them, they need to go through some hardships.
Currently, only he in the entire Slime Kingdom knows how to draw Talismans. While the Underground Passage hasn't been opened yet, he'll need to work hard these next few days.
Strive to complete one trade before the small Magical Tides arrive, fill the Kingdom's granaries, and let the Poison-stinger Wasp swarm return to normal reproduction cycles.
And also teach Little Flower how to draw Talismans...
In short, one word—busy!
...
The next day.
Just as Chen Yu's diligence was rising, after drawing a few Talismans, he heard good news from the Dungeon.
The passage to Rootwhisper Forest hadn't been opened yet, but the Beetle miners had already secretly dug up the first large Gray Gravel Crystal.
Decisively throwing the Talisman drawing work to the tool slimes, his consciousness returned to the Chubby One's body. In the dimly lit mine tunnel, he instantly saw a clear Gray Gravel Crystal shimmering before him.
So big, so bright!
Indeed, mined ore tastes sweeter when obtained for free.
After returning to the surface, watching the Wasp Guards carry the leaf-wrapped Gray Gravel Crystal back to the territory, Chen Yu decided to take advantage of having some free time to delve deeper into the Obsidian Mining Area again.
Give those Goblins some surprises from the Corruption Morgul.
So that when the Magical Tides come, they won't have nothing to do and come invading his territory again.