Chapter 449: Return to the Stone Carving Forest
Just as Marcus was enjoying the moment and feeling rather pleased with himself, two more notifications suddenly appeared.
Ding! [Player Icefall has joined Monarch Squad]
Ding! [Player Firebrand has joined Monarch Squad.]
Marcus blinked. What? The twin sorceresses had joined Monarch Squad? That was the last thing he expected. Icefall had never shown much interest in him, and Firebrand seemed more likely to argue with him than join his group, yet somehow both sisters had become members.
Puzzled, Marcus looked over.
Anya was holding Firebrand’s hand while speaking to her softly. Nearby, Chloe had already opened the squad interface and processed their applications.
Marcus immediately understood. So that was the reason. It wasn’t because the sisters suddenly thought highly of him, it was because of Anya. Still, when his eyes landed on Firebrand, he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
Icefall’s expression remained as unreadable as ever, but Firebrand looked genuinely upset. There was a trace of sadness in her eyes whenever she glanced his way, as though he had done something unforgivable, as though he had broken her heart.
Marcus felt wronged. He searched his memories and still couldn’t figure out what crime he had supposedly committed. I’m a law-abiding citizen. He had never bullied her. If anything, he’d helped the sisters more than once, yet Firebrand’s expression made it look as though he owed her an explanation. The whole situation left him baffled. Why are you looking at me like that? What exactly did I do?
Unable to help himself, Marcus gave her a friendly smile.
Firebrand froze for a moment, then, as though she’d been caught off guard, she quickly lowered her head and shifted closer to Anya, refusing to meet his gaze.
Marcus became even more confused. What is going on with her? After thinking about it for several seconds and getting nowhere, he decided it wasn’t worth the headache. Business came first.
Refilling his wine cup, he raised it toward Old Vine. "Old Vine, I’ve still got some equipment below level forty-five. The stats are decent. Put those up for auction tomorrow too."
"No problem, Stone."
Old Vine clinked cups with him and immediately got to work. The feast was cleared away, and the old merchant began organizing and evaluating the equipment Marcus had brought. As for the Guild Creation Token, Old Vine was especially confident. The opening bid would be set at three hundred million gold coins.
"Don’t worry," Old Vine said with a grin. "Tomorrow night you’ll just need to show up and collect your money."
With the old man’s guarantee, Marcus felt completely at ease. After saying their farewells, he left the auction house with the women. Before heading out to level, they spent some time in the city replenishing supplies and purchasing combat necessities.
Earlier, back at the manor, Marcus had collected another batch of Super Health Potions from Alana and distributed some to everyone. Based on her current production speed, Alana could craft roughly three hundred and fifty Super Health Potions each day. Since beginning work for him, she had already produced a total of 9,501 bottles.
Marcus nearly laughed every time he checked the number. That was an enormous stockpile. Even with twenty potions stacking into a single inventory slot, the quantity was becoming difficult to store. Alana had already expanded the warehouse multiple times using gold from their earnings.
Naturally, Marcus had considered selling them. In fact, he knew exactly what would happen if he did. The moment Super Health Potions reached the market, players would scramble to buy them. But after thinking it through, he decided against it, at least for now.
The major guilds would benefit the most from an early release. With a massive supply of superior healing potions, they could level faster, challenge stronger monsters, and secure better equipment. That wasn’t good news for Marcus. Strengthening potential rivals before he absolutely had to made no sense. Only a fool would spend resources helping his competition grow stronger.
He would wait. Once players approached level fifty and large-scale guild warfare became common, that would be the perfect opportunity. By then, demand would be far greater. Guilds fighting over territory and resources would desperately need every advantage they could get, prices would rise naturally, and competition between guilds would push them even higher. At the same time, more conflict meant more opportunities for Marcus himself. The plan was simple. Make money while everyone else fought.
The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became. Call it opportunistic if you want, but Marcus preferred to call it good timing.
That said, he wasn’t completely unwilling to test the market. Before leaving, he handed one hundred Super Health Potions to Old Vine for auction. It would serve as a useful trial run. Super Health Potions restored five hundred health points per second, three hundred more than the Large Health Potions sold in shops. According to Old Vine’s estimate, each bottle should sell for at least fifty gold coins.
That was an impressive profit margin. The materials required for two Super Health Potions, excluding the rare ingredients Five-Leaf Goldgrass and Crystal-Tear Berry, amounted to only three Large Health Potions worth less than thirty gold coins in total. Even using conservative calculations, each potion would generate at least thirty gold coins in profit. As long as Alana could maintain production, the income would be substantial.
The most exciting part was that her crafting skill had already reached fifty-six percent proficiency. Once she advanced to Level 2, the benefits would be enormous. Not only would the upgraded version restore eight hundred health points per second, but her crafting speed would also increase significantly. That meant even more profit. Marcus was looking forward to it.
After settling everything with Old Vine and leaving the auction house, the group finally prepared to depart. Marcus opened the Monarch Squad interface and activated the squad bonus, increasing everyone’s attributes by ten percent. Then he mounted his Flame Charger and led the group out of the city.
Their destination was the Stone Carving Forest. The familiar location brought back memories. It was where he and FreshwindElara had spent time leveling together earlier in the game. This time, however, they weren’t planning to stay there. The Stone Carving Forest was merely the path forward. Beyond it lay the Magma Abyss.
The last time Marcus had reached the area, the Blue Mist Barrier had prevented him from entering due to his level. Things were different now. This time, he intended to go all the way in and discover what secrets the Magma Abyss held.
At the moment, leveling was his highest priority. He wanted to reach level fifty as quickly as possible. Several important quests remained locked behind that requirement, along with opportunities he had been waiting on for a long time. The sooner he reached fifty, the sooner everything could begin. Marcus had no patience left for delays.
"Move out!"
At his command, the group urged their Flame Chargers forward. The mounts accelerated across the road as they headed toward the Stone Carving Forest once again.
FreshwindElara had already blended naturally into the group and followed without hesitation. What Marcus hadn’t expected was that Icefall and Firebrand were coming as well. The twin sisters rode beside Anya and Chloe, accompanying the party toward the Magma Abyss.
It seemed that joining Monarch Squad wasn’t merely a formality. For the time being, they intended to stay.
