In the Registration room of Lothmire City, after enduring a series of inquiries from the guard, Maximus was finally presented with an identity token.
"Here's your identity token, sir," the guard said, producing a freshly minted token.
Examining the token, Maximus found nothing out of the ordinary—it merely recorded his soul and mana signature, along with basic information.
"This token is necessary for accessing any establishment within the arcane continent, but in the wilderness, it's not required," the guard explained.
Maximus understood that this token essentially served as an identification device.
The guard escorted him out of the room, and at last, Maximus stepped foot inside the vibrant city of Lothmire.
As he breathed in the mana-infused air, he sensed its potency, surpassing that of the sunburnt plateau he had previously inhabited.
Taking in his surroundings, Maximus observed a diverse array of individuals traversing the city's streets and soaring through the skies on magical and advanced vehicles—reminiscent of his previous world, but more advanced and magical
He marveled at the fact that the city's inhabitants were, at the very least, official mages or knights.
Even the earlier guard possessed the strength of a sky knight, leaving Maximus astounded.
In the sunburnt plateau, such strength was exclusive to kings or the wealthy elite, and even then, it was a rarity.
Yet here, individuals of such caliber roamed freely, blending in with the populace.
It's indeed the most prosperous continent in the world.
Letting out a sigh, Maximus shook his head and began exploring the city, intending to scout the area.
His plan was to initially earn money by reselling system potions in small stores and affiliated businesses associated with the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce.
After all, the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce served as an alliance of merchants.
When it came to commerce, the chamber held a monopoly. Joining means you need to pay yearly taxes and shares.
Of course, one could choose to operate independently, like many of the prominent families and alliances such as the Mage and Knight Alliance.
Joining the Etherium Gold Chamber alliance was not mandatory, as they would have faced opposition from the world if they imposed such force.
However, as the primary suppliers in the world, if you didn't join their alliance and have weak strength and resources.
Be prepared for bankruptcy, although the Chamber can't use force, they can use despicable but formal business war tactics, like cutting off your supply of materials or lowering prices.
Therefore, unless one possessed sufficient strength, it was best to comply and pay the necessary taxes like an honest businessman.
While walking around, Maximus came across a store named Elva's Potion Shop, which had a refreshingly down-to-earth name.
As he entered, a steward greeted him with a slight bow. "Welcome to Elva's Potion Shop, sir," the steward said.
"I'm here to sell potions. Do you accept them here?" Maximus inquired.
He was somewhat embarrassed to sell potions to a shop that also sold potions.
It's like coming to a mall to sell clothes at a cloth shop
But upon further thinking he realized that it wasn't unusual for shops to recycle products, especially smaller establishments.
After all, their primary role was retailers, not manufacturers.
Perhaps they had an alchemist skilled in potion-making, allowing the shop to survive, but they still needed to purchase potions from other alchemists.
"Of course, sir. We also offer a recycling service for potions, although at a discounted price," the steward replied.
"I primarily want to sell mystic potions," Maximus stated.
Mystic potions were for mystic mages while elemental potions were suitable for nascent mages and elemental mages.
As for why there weren't nascent potions and below, it was because in Tier 1 to Tier 3, mages mainly needed to draw mana from the atmosphere, which was sufficient to advance to a nascent mage.
The steward led Maximus to a private room and called for the person in charge of inspections.
"I've heard this gentleman plans to sell mystic potions," an old man with the strength of an elemental mage approached them.
"That's correct," Maximus nodded.
"I'm Vane. May I see your potions?" the old man, Vane, asked slowly.
"Here you go," Maximus said, taking out a mystic potion.
Vane carefully inspected the potion, his eyes widening in shock. "This... High-quality potion!"
Though there were many alchemists capable of producing high-quality potions in the arcane continent, Lothmire City, being on the periphery, rarely received such potions.
"How many are you planning to sell, sir?" Vane asked, his excitement evident.
"About 100 mystic potions," Maximus replied.
He only had around 10 million gold points, and each mystic potion cost a hundred thousand gold points.
"100!" Vane was easily taken aback, possibly due to his age, Maximus mused.
After contemplating for a moment, Vane said, "To be honest, high-quality mystic potions cost 1,000 low-magic crystals."
"However, since we still need to make a profit, we can offer you 850 low-magic crystals per potion."
Maximus inwardly cursed. At the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce, they only recycled potions at 70 percent of the price, and that was with VIP 9 status.
Here, a small shop was willing to buy them at more than 80 percent of the price.
However, Maximus understood that the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce was a large company and the main supplier for small shops like this one.
Moreover, selling potions to small shops would be a hassle as their demand was limited.
On the other hand, he could theoretically sell an unlimited amount of products to the EGCC, which could devour them like a gold-devouring beast.
In this small shop, however, Maximus estimated he could sell a maximum of around a hundred thousand low-magic crystals.
So he still needed to deal with EGCC when selling system products in the future.
"Alright, I accept," Maximus said, taking out 99 more mystic potions.
Vane eagerly examined the high-quality potions, inspecting each one carefully. "They're all high-quality potion, sir," he declared.
Vane handed over 85,000 low-magic crystals to Maximus, who swiftly converted the amount to gold points, totaling 85 million—more than his initial income from selling elemental potions.
"I also sell 50 Tier 5 Soul Mending Potions and 50 Tier 5 Blood Rejuvenation Potions," Maximus added, presenting a sample of each potion.
These potions were considerably more expensive, as they were primarily used in emergencies. Each one cost 300,000 gold points in system mall.
Vane's excitement waned as he inspected the potions. "High-quality potions, too," he murmured silently.
"The original price for these two potions is 4,000 low-magic crystals for the Soul Mending Potion and 3,000 for the Rejuvenation Potion," Vane said with some difficulty.
"Our recycling price is 85 percent of the original, so we can offer you 3,400 low-magic crystals for the Soul Mending Potion and 2,550 low-magic crystals for the Rejuvenation Potion."
Considering the total amount of potions, it would cost close to three hundred thousand low-magic crystals, which exceeded a year's revenue for their shop.
"Alright," Maximus replied, deciding not to push further, and handed over the potions.
Vane numbly inspected each potion to ensure they were authentic; after all, it was a significant amount of money.
"This is your payment, 297,500 low-magic crystals," Vane said, passing Maximus a storage ring filled with magic crystals.
A large transaction like this warranted the use of a storage ring, as smaller-sized rings were quite affordable, costing only a few low-magic crystals.
This reminded Maximus of his previous transaction with the EGCC, where they were stingy enough not to even provide a free storage ring.
Maximus accepted the storage ring and checked if the amount was correct. Concluding the transaction, he was respectfully seen off by Vane.
Although he had emptied their coffers, the profits from this transaction alone would earn them blood in the future. Furthermore, high-quality potions were easy to sell in this area.
Once outside, Maximus sought out other shops to exploit.
Although selling a large number of potions may attract attention, his disguised strength as a Tier 5 Mystic Mage deterred anyone from harming him.
Glancing at the stores outside, he decided against entering the lower-tier establishments, as they likely couldn't afford to purchase much.
After walking for a while, Maximus noticed a larger shop than Elva's Potion Shop earlier. The name of the shop, "Brews and Charms," had a poetic ring to it.
Upon entering, he was greeted by a steward who escorted him to a private room once he expressed his intention to sell alchemy potions.
After a short while, the manager, Hilton, arrived.
Maximus sensed that the manager possessed a strength of a Tier 5 Mystic Mage, just like his own disguised strength.
"I'm Hilton. How may I assist you?" he spoke in a gentlemanly manner.
"I'm here to sell potions," Maximus replied.
Although the shop also dealt with alchemy items such as wands and robes, Maximus decided against selling those.
Dealing with alchemy items was more troublesome compared to potions. Each item had varying prices, making it hard to sell.
Just selling 100 alchemy items for example. Evaluating and inspecting each item would consume a considerable amount of time and effort.
Potions, on the other hand, were hassle-free. Their prices were fixed, and they could simply assess the quality.
Moreover, potions were consumable, which meant customers would need to purchase more in the long run, generating a steady income.
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