The morning had been surprisingly uneventful. Julian Thorne arrived at the Alchemy Building as usual, but since his Alchemy skill had reached the Intermediate level, grinding low-level materials here wasn't exactly cost-effective. He planned to quit in a few days and rent an alchemy lab outside of Vickers University.

  Even though the experience gain was meager, slacking off wasn't in Julian's nature. After browsing the forums for a bit in the lab and crafting some low-level potions for a measly few hundred experience points, Rosie arrived to take over. They even had lunch together, a testament to their good working relationship.

  Then, of all people, Sherlock showed up again to collect the firearms. Seriously, was this guy, the Captain of the Sun Wardens Third Squad, the only one who could get things done? Did he not have any subordinates? Who knew why they were working him to the bone.

  "Five handguns, two rifles, a total of 111 Victors," Julian said, handing the firearms over to Sherlock.

  Sherlock took the guns, counted them, and then handed Julian a stack of cash. "Count it."

  "No need. This isn't a one-time deal, is it?" Julian's heart was singing, but he feigned indifference, casually tucking the money into his inner suit jacket pocket with a faint smile.

  "You're right about that." Sherlock also smiled, handing Julian a bag of bullets. "Here are 50 rounds. The processing fee is 10 Rosens per round, as you suggested. If you have any new firearms in the future, bring them along with the finished bullets to the Westlin General Store in the west of the city. Someone will be there to receive them. As you know, we'll be quite busy in the coming days."

  "No problem." Julian readily agreed, taking the bullets. The official organization was generous indeed. These 50 rounds were worth almost another 50 Victors, significantly fattening his wallet.

  In the currency system of the Kingdom of Bryston, the Vini was the lowest denomination, and the Victor was the highest. One Victor was equal to 10 Rosens, and one Rosen could be exchanged for 10 Vini.

  50 Victors was a small fortune.

  The next issue, however, was that Julian could only produce potions and bullets in the alchemy lab attached to the university's alchemy store. This lab was often rented out, and the supply of materials was limited, making mass production impossible. After much consideration, he decided to move his plan forward and rent an alchemy lab outside the campus.

  He tore open a weather prediction stick, revealing one red line and one light red line. This indicated that there would be severe weather in the afternoon, such as heavy rain or snow. The worst-case scenario was acid rain, but that was unlikely.

  Julian rented an umbrella from the store and headed out of the university.

  Speaking of umbrellas, there was a story behind them. In the game "Apocalypse", Julian never quite understood why people often rented umbrellas when they were readily available. He posed this question to an NPC in the game, who answered without hesitation, "Umbrellas are expensive!" At first, he thought the NPC was being silly, but later he learned why people in the world of "Apocalypse" borrowed umbrellas. It turned out that umbrellas were a luxury item. One of the wealthiest merchants in Darkland City made his fortune selling umbrellas.

  As for transportation in "Apocalypse," there were quite a few options. In Darkland City alone, there were public horse-drawn carriages and intercity trains. Later in the game, in the Northern Lands, there were even aerial vehicles like griffins and airships.

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  A curious blend of fantasy and science, he mused.

  The public carriages in Darkland City were pulled by two strange creatures resembling Kodo beasts, which people called Horned Horses. They were a standard Northern creature, and the carriages could seat more than a dozen people. They could be hailed at any time, making them quite convenient.

  Five minutes later, a public carriage passed by, and Julian flagged it down.

  "To Blair Bookstore in the Old Town," Julian told the driver.

  "Blair Bookstore? This carriage doesn't stop there. You can get off at the Red Viola Leaf Tailor Shop and walk for five minutes to reach Blair Bookstore," the driver replied.

  "Alright," Julian nodded indifferently.

  "3 kilometers, the fare is 6 Vini," a woman in her thirties on the carriage said, extending her hand towards Julian and giving him a flirty look. "Don't think you can get a free ride just because you're handsome."

  She was the conductor, responsible for collecting fares.

  "Okay." Julian took out 6 Vini from his pocket, handed it to her, and took the ticket she offered in return before boarding the carriage.

  The carriage was mostly empty, likely due to the Kingdom of Bryston's sluggish economy in recent years.

  Julian sat down and closed his eyes to rest. He had two objectives for this trip to the Old Town: first, to purchase materials and rent an alchemy lab; and second, to find a hidden gem.

  Ten minutes later, the carriage arrived at its stop.

  Getting off the carriage, Julian followed his memory and arrived at a shop called "Blair Bookstore."

  The owner was a portly middle-aged man, around forty years old. He was currently wearing a monocle and sitting on a recliner, reading a newspaper. The shop was crammed with stacks of old books.

  This should be the place.

  Julian's heart settled, and a smile appeared on his face. "I heard from a friend that you have a set of alchemy books by an author named Windgoon?"

  "Windgoon?"

  The owner sat up from his recliner, took off his monocle, and thought for a moment. "I believe so, but I'll have to look for them."

  This "Blair Bookstore" was the only used bookstore in the entire Old Town. Business wasn't great, but it had a vast collection of books. Naturally, the owner couldn't remember the exact location of every set.

  Julian nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

  Half an hour later, the owner returned, carrying a stack of dusty books. "Here they are, a set of five. Are these the ones you're looking for?"

  Julian picked up a book and flipped through it, confirming that it was indeed the set written by Windgoon. His heart leaped with joy, but he maintained a neutral expression. "This is it. How much?"

  "This set is from the old Kingdom of Faric period. The lowest I can go is 20 Victors," the owner said, his small eyes twinkling. He had actually acquired this set for only two Victors, but seeing Julian's eagerness, he shrewdly quoted a price that was just painful enough without being completely unaffordable.

  Julian's lips twitched. He turned to leave. The owner panicked and grabbed his arm. "Then how much are you offering?"

  "I can offer one Victor at most."

  "What? One Victor? Why don't you just rob me? These are old books from the Kingdom of Faric period!" The owner became agitated, as if Julian had offered a deeply insulting price.

  "Three Victors. Not a single Vini more."

  With that, Julian turned to leave again, counting his steps in his mind: one, two, three...

  "Wait!" The owner, after a moment of internal struggle, stopped Julian. "Five Victors, the lowest! You have to leave me some profit, right?"

  Julian immediately stopped and turned around. "It's a deal."

  The owner: ...

  In the end, it was a win-win situation. Julian left the store, clutching the stack of old books like a precious treasure.

  The author of this set of alchemy books, Windgoon, was an alchemist from the old Kingdom of Faric period who developed his own unique system of alchemy. He combined engineering and alchemy to create various alchemy golems, sealing them in special cards, kind of like in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

  If this guy were in modern times, he'd be a genius like Seto Kaiba, founding a Windgoon Entertainment Group and creating a virtual duel system. He'd be taking off in no time.

  But he had to go and get obsessed with life alchemy, trying to give his alchemy golems life.

  This attracted the attention of the six nations, who joined forces to eliminate him. In the end, Windgoon disappeared without a trace.

  In his past life, a Player had found a clue that Windgoon had hidden his alchemy in a set of old books using a secret code.

  That Player acquired the books and deciphered a special type of alchemy, but he wasted it by only creating mechanical pets. Though it did make him quite a bit of money.

  Julian, arriving two years earlier, had managed to get his hands on the books before any Player could.

  Finding a secluded spot, he stashed the books in his Inventory and headed straight for the trade district.