“Dead again,” Loviki muttered, letting go of the joystick and slumping over the game console in defeat.
Flora sat beside her, holding a cup of tea with a slight smile playing on her lips.
Ever since they got the game console, Chen Mian's room would occasionally transform into a temporary game room during their post-dinner downtime.
Loviki was currently trying to beat Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, showing all the potential of an “internet-addicted teen.” However, she possessed none of the talent for gaming that she had for magic and swordsmanship.
She had been playing relentlessly for seven days, yet she was still stuck on the fifth stage.
“Loviki, you've used up all your attempts for today,” Chen Mian said, unable to help but chuckle at her thoroughly defeated expression.
“...Oh.”
“A new dungeon has recently appeared in the Hella Kingdom, and I plan to check it out. If you two want to tag along, make sure to pack whatever you need. If nothing goes wrong, we'll set off in a few days.”
“I'm going!” Loviki instantly perked up at the mention of exploring a dungeon.
“Flora should come too. We can look for some new magical crops while we're at it,” Chen Mian said with a nod.
“Okay!” Flora's lips curved upward, her eyes shining bright.
She wasn't worried at all about whether the dungeon exploration would be dangerous.
Although her magic was still far from its peak, she knew Chen Mian was strong—much stronger than both of them.
“Once we're in the dungeon, you're not allowed to just step in whenever you feel like it,” Loviki said after a moment's thought.
“Fine. If we run into any troublesome magical beasts, I'll just toss them in front of you.”
...
On the day the teleportation array lit up, Luolin squatted beside it and stared at it for a long time.
“Stepping on this will take us to Linyu Port?”
“Yeah,” Chen Mian replied from beside her.
“We won't drop into some weird place?”
“No, the other side connects to a small cottage that I've already bought.”
“Luolin, go call everyone from the village. Only those whose life aura has been recorded by the magic circle can use the teleportation array.”
“Okay!” Luolin quickly ran toward the village.
In less than fifteen minutes, everyone had gathered in front of the teleportation array, their eyes fixed on the glowing, intricate magic circle on the ground.
“One by one,” Chen Mian said, standing beside the magic circle and gesturing with his hand. “Stand in the center. You don't need to do anything.”
Sari was the first to step forward.
He walked to the center of the magic circle, his back straight as a board, but his hands were tightly gripping his trousers.
The runes of the magic circle flashed for a brief moment before settling back into silence.
“Alright, next.”
Sari looked down at his hands. “That's it?”
Chen Mian nodded. “Your life aura has been recorded by the magic circle. As long as I don't erase it, you can use it whenever you want.”
Melo was the second to step up. She closed her eyes the moment the magic circle lit up, only to realize nothing had happened when she opened them. “That was fast.”
Soon, everyone, including Flora and Loviki, had been recorded.
“Alright, let's test it out now.” Chen Mian walked to the center of the magic circle. “Luolin, Melo, Sari, you three come with me to Linyu Port. The rest of you wait here first.”
“I'm going too!” Loviki took a step forward.
“Even if you go, you'll only be able to stay in the cottage.”
“Why?”
“You were recognized the last time you went to Linyu Port. If you're with them and get recognized again, it'll be a bit troublesome.”
Loviki opened her mouth, only to realize she couldn't refute his words. The last time they had gone shopping at the market, some adventurers had quickly tipped off the Lawrence Family. It hadn't caused any real trouble, though, as they had already returned to the apartment before anyone from the family arrived.
“Fine,” she muttered, pouting.
Chen Mian was the first to channel his mana, vanishing from the magic circle. The other three immediately stepped onto the array right after him.
When Luolin opened her eyes, she found herself standing inside a small stone room.
The floor was engraved with the same intricate magic circle patterns, a magic lamp hung overhead, and the faint clamor of a market could be heard from outside the door.
“We're here,” Chen Mian said, pushing open the wooden door.
Sunlight flooded in, and the bustling noise of the market instantly filled their ears.
Luolin stood at the doorway, staring blankly at the stone-paved street outside.
Just a moment ago, they were deep inside the forest, and in the blink of an eye, they were in a bustling market.
At this moment, she truly experienced the sheer power of a teleportation array.
On the Continent of Cecia, teleportation arrays were incredibly rare. Constructing even one required a massive amount of mana and precious resources, meaning ordinary people never had the chance to use them.
“Let's go,” Chen Mian said, already stepping into the crowd.
Melo and Sari quickly followed, while Luolin jogged a few steps to catch up behind him.
Instead of heading to the Adventurer's Guild or the main street of the market, Chen Mian turned into an inconspicuous alleyway. Deep within the alley was a grocery store with a small storefront, its sign reading “Morris Chamber of Commerce.”
Pushing the door open, they saw a thin man wearing round-rimmed glasses and with meticulously combed hair standing behind the counter, organizing the shelves.
He turned around, and the moment his eyes fell on Chen Mian, the rag in his hand slipped and dropped onto the counter.
“Mr. Chen Mian!”
“Morris,” Chen Mian said with a nod. “I brought some goods. Are you buying?”
Morris scrambled out from behind the counter, his eyes already darting toward the space behind Chen Mian.
Although a cloth covered the bamboo basket Luolin was holding, he could already smell the rich aroma of mana radiating from it.
“I'll buy! Of course I'll buy!” He rubbed his hands together, his voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement. “The golden tomatoes you brought last time sold out in an instant! Merchants from the Royal Capital have been hounding me, asking if there's any more stock.”
Chen Mian nodded to Luolin.
Luolin placed the bamboo basket on the counter and lifted the cloth.
Inside were golden tomatoes, magic tomatoes, Moonlight Grass shoots, and a few clusters of purple pulp berries. Every single piece of fruit was plump, round, and radiating a faint magical glow.
At the sight of the basket's contents, Morris's eyes widened in awe.
He picked up a golden tomato, brought it close to examine it, and then sniffed it. “This quality is even better than the last batch!”
“They're fresh,” Chen Mian said. “Name your price.”
Morris took a deep breath and quoted a number.
Luolin's eyes widened in shock. The number was three times higher than she had anticipated.
Melo's ears perked up, her mouth hanging slightly open. Sari remained relatively calm. Having worked as a caravan guard before, he was familiar with the value of magical crops, though the price of these golden tomatoes was still far higher than he had expected.
“Deal,” Chen Mian said. “We'll deliver goods every three days from now on, and the quantity will be larger than this.”
“No problem!” Morris practically threw himself behind the counter to rummage through his cash box.
When they walked out of the grocery store, Luolin had a heavy pouch of coins clutched to her chest.
“All this money...” her voice drifted, sounding a bit dazed.
“Use it to buy whatever you need,” Chen Mian said, looking at Luolin. “Fabric, tools, seeds—you made a list, right?”
“I did!” Luolin quickly pulled a heavily folded piece of parchment from her pocket.
Over the next hour, Chen Mian led the three of them on a lap around the market.
At the fabric shop, they bought fine linen and cotton cloth, enough to make two sets of new clothes for everyone in the village.
At the blacksmith, they bought hoes, sickles, saws, and several new cooking pots.
At the seed shop, they purchased rice seeds, vegetable seeds, and a small bag of coffee beans that Chen Mian had been searching for for a long time.
Finally, passing by a spice stall, Chen Mian stopped to buy a jar of unfamiliar red powder. The stall owner claimed it was chili powder from the Kingdom of Chaowu and that it was extremely spicy.
“Flora should find a use for this,” he muttered, tossing the jar into his storage space.
Luolin watched his back from behind. Mr. Chen Mian was truly a wonderful person.
He clearly didn't care about money at all, yet he took the time to carefully smell the spices before buying them.
He was ridiculously powerful, yet he was willing to spend his time accompanying them through the market.
And despite saying he would only guarantee their safety, he had ended up taking care of everything from their food and water supply to sewage and even daily necessities.
“Luolin, let's go.”
“Coming!” she called out, jogging to catch up.
Rate on N.U.
