After thinking for a mont, Gade continued, "Active in the waters around the Eastern Blue Coast... there should only be these four. Perhaps there are other pirates in the deeper parts of the ocean. However, going further east beyond ten thousand miles leads to the vast Storm Seas. Anyone below the Saint level would be taking an imnse risk, with a slim chance of survival."
The Storm Seas were a region plagued by constant strong winds, torrential rains, and frequent lightning storms. The harsh natural conditions, coupled with the terrifying magical beasts that road the ocean depths, posed a significant threat to anyone below the Saint level. As a result, few dared to venture into those waters.
Rhett nodded slightly.
Suddenly, he asked out of the blue, "What do you know about Sea Cow Island? Have you heard of it?" He looked directly at Gade.
"Sea Cow Island?" Gade was taken aback for a mont, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before he quickly regained his composure. "I didn’t expect Count Rhett to know about Sea Cow Island. Not everyone along the Eastern Blue Coast is even aware of that place."
Rhett raised an eyebrow. "I heard about it from soone else."
Gade paused briefly, his expression unchanged, and said, "Sea Cow Island is about three hundred kiloters off the coast of the Eastern Blue. It's ho to a chaotic marketplace, an underground black market, slave trading, and all sorts of people—a real mix of characters."
"And... what about information brokers?"
"Of course, they’re there too," Gade hesitated and then asked, "But... why do you ask?"
Upon hearing this, Rhett gazed calmly at him, remaining silent for a long ti before finally speaking:
"When you return, I want you to post a ssage for ."
Gade didn’t refuse outright. Instead, he looked curious and asked, "What information are you seeking? Perhaps I can help you directly."
"You couldn't possibly know."
Rhett shook his head. "I want to gather information on where to find bloodline potions, be it on the Eastern Blue Coast or overseas."
In an instant, both Haviel and Gade were shocked, their pupils contracting sharply as they exchanged glances.
"Hiss." Gade drew in a sharp breath. "Count Rhett, with all due respect, I can't accept this request. You're right—I have no idea where to find bloodline potions. But I also wouldn't dare step foot on Sea Cow Island and post such a request. That would attract far too much unwanted attention. No amount of money could convince to do that!"
"Is that so?" Rhett smiled. "What about two hundred gold coins and a bottle of Boiling Potion as your paynt for simply posting the request? How does that sound?"
At these words, Gade's expression changed instantly. Even Haviel twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself how wealthy this lord must be...
At that mont, Gade felt a surge of excitent. The gold and the Boiling Potion were incredibly tempting for a second-level knight like him! Under Haviel's envious and almost crazed gaze, Gade’s face twisted in conflict. After a long mont of struggle, he finally took a deep breath and said, "Very well. Since you have such high expectations and trust in , I will accept the task."
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear," Rhett thought to himself, then activated his system.
"Would you like to start a text simulation? Each year of simulation costs 5 Fate Points."
"Yes, simulate one year."
[Kinlon Calendar 476, December 15th]: The bard who visited your territory in April returned with a friend from the Eastern Blue Coast. You learned from them about the legends of Deep Sea Fishn and the situation overseas. In the end, you entrusted them to post a request on Sea Cow Island to gather information on Saint-level bloodline potions.
[Kinlon Calendar 477, April 5th]: Back on the Eastern Blue Coast, Gade, lured by the generous reward, ventured to Sea Cow Island and posted the request.
[April 6th]: On his way back, he was targeted by the Fishbone Pirates and brutally killed.
[December 3rd]: While practicing magic in a small valley within the Dark Marked Eagle Range, you encountered the tall woman you had crossed paths with before—one of Blackstar's companions. She was gravely injured and in terrible condition. After saving her, she revealed that she had been pursued by an evil alchemy organization, which she suspected was linked to the headquarters of those possessing the Blood Spirit. After saying this, she fell into a coma due to her severe injuries.
[December 6th]: The tall woman awoke after three days and recounted her ordeal: ever since she and Blackstar had advanced to the fourth level, the enemies they faced had grown stronger. Recently, they tracked a group of evil alchemists to the Whitescar Ridge, only to fall into an ambush. Both were seriously injured and forced to flee separately, losing contact in the process. With Blackstar's current whereabouts unknown, the tall woman, sensing your power as a Fifth-Level Archmage, requested your help. You agreed.
[December 7th]: On the way to provide assistance, you took the opportunity to ask about her and Blackstar's origins. However, the tall woman, with a troubled expression, claid she couldn't reveal anything. You then applied pressure, even threatening to abandon the mission if she didn't tell you. Disappointed, the tall woman left on her own.
"End simulation."
As the screen faded, disappointnt flashed in Rhett's eyes.
In this simulation, Gade accepted the task but ended up dead?
Of course, Rhett wasn't foolish enough to waste money on Gade, a man whose questionable morals had already indirectly caused trouble in a previous simulation. He had simply co up with a new use for his abilities—testing whether he could get information for free.
So, when Gade agreed to post the request on Sea Cow Island, Rhett decided to use the simulation to see if the task would yield any useful information—whether or not Gade would successfully uncover anything about bloodline potions.
Though his goal hadn't been achieved, Rhett had now seen the future and decided to change his approach.
After taking a sip of blueberry juice, he smacked his lips and said: "I’ve changed my mind. Considering how dangerous it is overseas, I've decided to cancel this request for your safety."
"This..." Gade’s previously excited expression froze. Swallowing hard, he forced a smile. "Count Rhett, I'm not afraid of danger..."
But I don’t want to waste my money! Rhett thought silently.
Whether or not Gade had successfully obtained any information on Saint-level bloodline potions in the simulation, Rhett no longer needed to involve him.
After all, if the information was available, why commission soone else? And if it wasn't, why waste ti and resources?
...His real goal was simply to use his Fate Points to get the information for free!
"I must be responsible for your life," Rhett said, feigning concern while actually eager to cut ties with Gade. He pulled out a small gray linen pouch he had prepared in advance and tossed it on the table.
"This is the paynt I promised you both. Thank you for your efforts, and I hope we et again."
Haviel and Gade exchanged glances.
They both had the sa thought—today's conversation had ended rather abruptly.
However, seeing the generous paynt before them, their dissatisfaction quickly vanished.
This lord was as good as his word, and that was enough. If he had decided to withhold paynt, there was little they could have done.
Haviel, filled with unexpected joy, pocketed his share of the reward and bowed. "Until we et again, Count Rhett."
"Yes, until we et again!" Gade, still upset over the canceled commission, felt like he had been played but didn't dare show it.
After sending the two off, Rhett hurried upstairs to the fifth floor, walked through the corridor, and returned to his room.
He pulled out the blank notebook from the desk, positioned against the wall, and began writing down everything he had just heard.
In just a few minutes, he had filled two pages.
Next, Rhett put the notebook back in place and pulled out another, slightly larger, blank notebook, flipping it open to the first page.
He recalled a promise he had made to Taylors after leaving the Gorge Frontline—to give him a fantastic novel once they returned.
After several days of pondering, he finally decided on the story he would transcribe—Coiling Dragon.
Its grand and wondrous world might not stand out in the later stages of online literature in his past life, but in a world without the internet and devoid of any competition, it would be a masterpiece that could crush everything else!
And so, he began to write:
Wushan Town, a humble village in the Fenlai Kingdom, west of the Yulan Continent's first mountain range, the Beast Mountains...
Five days passed.
During these days, Rhett devoted most of his ti to copying Coiling Dragon. Whenever he had free ti, he stayed in his room, writing.
Rhett finally raised his head from his desk and stretched.
After another night of intense writing, he had finally filled this notebook.
He flipped through it from the beginning to the end, satisfied with the densely packed text covering the pages. By rough estimate, it contained around five hundred thousand words.
"This should keep Taylors occupied for a while!" Rhett thought to himself.
Closing the thick manuscript, Rhett stretched again and gazed out at the distant winter sun, its rays streaming through the window and illuminating the book's cover.
He carefully picked up the manuscript and left his room, heading downstairs to the alchemy lab.
At that mont, Hank wasn't working on the Black Raven’s Sorrow formula because both Taylors and Unica were in the room.
Taylors was at the cauldron, carefully adjusting a pot of boiling, bubbling liquid, deeply focused.
Unica, anwhile, sat in a corner, engrossed in reading an old, black book, her brow furrowed as if struggling to understand the contents.
Knock, knock
To avoid disturbing the others, Rhett gently knocked on the door and softly called out, "Continue what you're doing, Taylors. Co out for a mont."
Taylors glanced at the cauldron, reluctant to leave, but wiped the sweat from his brow and hurried out, complaining,
"Father, what is it? I'm in the middle of making a potion! You might not understand, but you’ve interrupted the growth of a great alchemist!"
"Rember the promise I made to you at the Gorge Frontline camp?" Rhett ignored the grumbling and smiled mysteriously.
"Oh! I rember!" Taylors' eyes lit up after a few seconds of thought, locking onto the thick book in Rhett's hand. "You promised to give a fantasy novel even better than Knight Academy! Is that what this is?"
"That's right," Rhett said with a smile, handing it over. "Open it and see!"
Taylors took the book from Rhett, glanced at the cover, and wore a strange expression as he thought, "Isn't this just one of our regular notebooks?"
Still, he flipped to the first page, and upon seeing the familiar handwriting—despite its neatness and legibility—disappointnt filled his eyes.
"Co on, Father! It's clearly your handwriting! You tricked into thinking this was an amazing fantasy novel!" Taylors muttered under his breath, sulking.
In his mind, his father was indeed a great man, but the title "brilliant novelist" had never crossed his mind!
Rhett said nothing and continued watching.
After flipping through the first few pages, Taylors' expression gradually changed.
Then, suddenly, he let out a soft gasp.
"Huh?" Taylors felt a strange sensation. The opening had drawn him in, and he eagerly turned to the next page.
"The morning sun rose, and all things seed full of life. At this mont, it was the best ti to absorb the essence of heaven and earth and enhance our potential..."
He continued reading, captivated by the vivid description of the small, remote town and the engaging introduction to a new, yet familiar, cultivation system. The story was so compelling that he couldn’t wait to read more!
Unbeknownst to him, ten minutes had passed.
"Hank, I've morized the Water-elent plants you asked for," Unica exhaled, closing her book. She ntally reviewed what she had morized while facing the wall, then turned and called out to the bald man behind her.
"Heh, not bad. This is your first day, so your task was light," Hank said with a chuckle. "Tomorrow, you'll need to morize the Earth and Wind-elent plants as well."
Upon hearing this, Unica's face initially showed fear, but she quickly overca it. With a determined expression, she nodded earnestly. "Understood, Master Hank!"
With a slight skip in her step, she bounced out of the alchemy lab.
anwhile, Taylors, still engrossed in the book, looked up at Rhett with newfound respect, admiration, and even reverence—as if he were gazing at a deity. Holding the manuscript as if it were a treasure, he asked in disbelief,
"Father... did you really write this masterpiece?"
"Oh? Didn't you just say it was my handwriting?" Rhett teased with a smile.
"Oh, I know! What I ant was..." Taylors stamred, struggling to find the right words. After several attempts, he finally managed, "Father, I never imagined you were such a brilliant fantasy novelist! This book is absolutely amazing—so captivating! It's the most refreshing and addictive story I've ever read or even heard of! And you were right—Knight Academy is garbage compared to this!"
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