Chapter 96: Selling the Magic Core

Chapter 96 Selling the Magic Core

"Can't even the head of the Dreamwalkers' Guild do anything?" Li Wei asked.

Tanya could not answer his question.

Not just the guildmaster—any full member of the Dreamwalkers’ Guild could wield force within dreams.

The order inside the dream bubble was maintained by strength alone.

Tanya said, "As long as you don’t provoke the Dreamwalkers, you’ll be safe here at least."

That was all she could say.

Li Wei nodded. "I understand."

Rules, after all, were merely constraints imposed by those who made them upon those beneath.

Tanya said, "I shall take my leave now. Perhaps we’ll meet again."

With that, the stone slab beneath her feet lifted and carried her back to the trading isle.

Li Wei pondered a moment, then decided to visit the intelligence isle first.

"To the intelligence isle."

The slab beneath him rose into the air.

The flight was perfectly steady, without the slightest tremor or sway.

It felt exactly like standing on solid ground.

In the blink of an eye, Li Wei arrived at the intelligence isle.

The largest hall on the isle was a public area, yet he saw few people around.

He stepped inside and found numerous stone tablets erected throughout the hall, each inscribed with information for trade.

Li Wei walked slowly along.

"Seeking a third-tier warrior class advancement potion formula."

"Seeking alchemical purification method for 99999-purity mithril metal. Reward will be generous."

"Does anyone know why Flying Blossom City changed rulers? Where did the former lord go?"

"I possess a fourth-tier assassin class advancement potion formula. Will trade for a fourth-tier mage class advancement formula."

...

Few were truly exchanging intelligence.

Most sought potion formulas, alchemical secrets, herbal recipes—even magical constructs were in demand.

Li Wei noticed one message that seemed somehow related to himself.

"Has Flying Blossom City really changed rulers?"

He gazed at the words, deep in thought.

He recalled the crystal flower tucked away in his drawer.

So far, the mysterious crystal flower sent along with the reader’s letter had caused no trouble.

But if the ruler of Flying Blossom City had changed, would the crystal flower still work?

The letter had said: carry the flower to Flying Blossom City, and you would receive the highest honor.

After a moment’s reflection, he shook his head, dispelling the thought.

"Forget it. What does this have to do with me? I’d never bring that crystal flower to Flying Blossom City, not even if I died trying."

He would rather abandon the so-called highest honor than risk carrying that enigmatic crystal blossom.

Who knew whether it would bring fortune or disaster?

"Oh? Someone is seeking a core from a Rock Wyvern? No level restriction. Price negotiable."

Having wandered the intelligence isle without finding any leads on Dreamwalker advancement, Li Wei turned and left for the trading isle.

Upon entering the public trading hall, he saw many familiar listings.

Most of the content carved onto the stone slabs had already appeared on the intelligence isle—

including the request for a Rock Wyvern's magic core.

After circling the hall, Li Wei eventually returned to stand before the tablet bearing the Rock Wyvern request.

He reached out and touched the stone, leaving his own message.

So long as both parties remained within the dream, those who left messages on the same tablet could sense each other’s presence.

"Hmm? Lucky—I see they’re still in the dream."

Following the sensation, Li Wei walked forward.

After a short while, he spotted the person who had left the message—and his heart gave a slight jolt.

Unexpected, yet inevitable.

It was Tanya.

When Tanya saw Li Wei, surprise flickered across her face.

Then she suddenly remembered something—Alan had said the Rock Wyvern was slain by a powerful fire mage, and its core taken by that very mage.

Could it possibly be this man?

Doubt stirred in her mind.

If he too was in Maple City, then meeting within the dream realm wasn’t unlikely at all.

Tanya said, "This is surprising. Was it you who killed the Rock Wyvern?"

Li Wei knew what she meant.

He replied, "I saw your request for the Rock Wyvern’s core. How much are you offering?"

Seeing that he wouldn’t elaborate, Tanya glanced around and said, "Let’s talk in one of the private chambers."

"Mm." Li Wei nodded.

They moved to a small side room.

Tanya said, "For a second-tier Rock Wyvern core, I’ll pay one hundred gold coins."

Li Wei paused, considering.

A first-tier core usually went for ten to twenty gold.

Second-tier cores ranged from thirty to fifty, depending on the beast.

Prices varied according to the unique properties of each monster’s core.

Even among the same species, cores from low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, or peak monsters differed in value.

But above all, the remaining energy within the core mattered most.

The core of magic is the energy nucleus of a magical beast—an crystalline heart formed from all the creature’s accumulated magical power.

Using magic depletes the energy stored within this nucleus.

If one fails to swiftly slay the beast, and its nucleus is drained of power before death, the resulting core loses most of its worth.

Even an exhausted nucleus holds some value, but only a tenth of its original price.

The standard for judging a nucleus’s worth lies in how much energy remains: more than seventy percent is acceptable.

Seventy percent is the threshold—below it, value drops; above it, value rises.

The earth elemental’s nucleus in Li Wei’s hand still retained nearly ninety percent of its energy.

Its value would be significantly higher.

He said, “At least two hundred gold coins. This second-tier nucleus I hold is brimming with power—over ninety percent energy remains.”

Upon hearing this, Tanya’s eyes widened in surprise.

A nucleus retaining ninety percent energy meant that Li Wei must have killed the beast instantly.

Otherwise, any prolonged battle would have consumed far more of its inner power.

Her estimation of Li Wei’s strength rose sharply once again.

From what she knew, the earth elemental that had appeared in Dark Vale was as strong as a low-level third-tier magical beast.

A mage capable of felling such a creature in a single strike must himself be at least high-level third-tier—perhaps even at the peak.

Suppressing her inner shock, she began to haggle with Li Wei.

“Two hundred gold is too steep. That’s enough to buy a third-tier earth elemental’s nucleus.”

“I can go up to one hundred and twenty.”

“Two hundred. No bargaining,” Li Wei replied firmly.

Right now, demand far exceeded supply—this was the only earth elemental nucleus in existence, and it was in his hands.

After several days of inquiry, Li Wei now understood why such a frenzy surrounded this particular nucleus.

It turned out that in crafting extraordinary potions, the earth elemental’s nucleus played an irreplaceable role.

Tanya felt troubled. Two hundred gold exceeded her budget.

She merely wanted to use the nucleus to trade with Allen for something of great personal importance.

But two hundred gold was already far beyond the value of that item.

Seeing her hesitation, Li Wei said, “Take a day to think it over. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, he withdrew from the dream.

Returned to the safehouse.

What Tanya called an anchor point.

Dream anchors were the sole passage through which every dreamwalker could traverse between reality and dreams.

Lose the anchor, and there would be no return to the waking world.

There are two more chapters scheduled for this afternoon and evening. First subscriptions are just over four hundred, not yet five hundred… Starting tomorrow, I’ll resume daily updates at seven in the morning. For now, maintaining two updates per day will stabilize the schedule while I accumulate some reserve chapters—then I’ll unleash a burst of content later.

(End of Chapter)