78: Chapter 78 Rune Cave

Su Jiuchuan looked at the dark, chunky lump of metal before him. It was only the size of a watermelon, yet it weighed a hundred pounds. This was Black Iron, extremely hard in texture.

Right at this moment, the System suddenly popped up a dialog box.

[Special metal of this world detected—Black Iron. Should the simulator use Black Iron for counting?]

Huh? It can do that?

Su Jiuchuan thought about it. Currently, a single simulation cost a hundred thousand taels at every turn. Although gold and silver were not particularly valuable to a Martial Artist, such a massive amount of gold and silver disappearing out of thin air would likely trigger a currency crisis in this world sooner or later.

In the end, he still selected 'Yes'.

[Current money points: 200,008. Converted to Black Iron points: 200.]

This one-hundred-to-one ratio was actually quite fair.

[Black Iron detected. Would you like to top up?]

Yes.

[Top-up successful. Current Black Iron points: 300.]

Su Jiuchuan nodded. At this rate, there was only one month left before the outbreak of the Spirit Tide. When that time came, Black Iron, as a strategic material, would probably be even harder to obtain. He had to get his hands on as much as possible now.

But how could he earn Black Iron as quickly as possible?

Of course, continuing to take on missions was a good way, but the frequency couldn't be too fast. He remembered that in his simulated life, because his performance in talisman crafting was too outstanding, he was sent to Phoenix City to die.

Suddenly, he thought of a place where he might find what he needed.

Su Jiuchuan turned and walked toward the Talisman-Making Cave; that was the place he had thought of to make money.

Although the Materials inside the Talisman-Making Cave were just the most ordinary ironware infused with a tiny bit of Black Iron, such Materials could at most withstand the energy of three-stroke or four-stroke runes. Just like how Black Iron weapons could at most withstand nine-stroke runes. Once it exceeded this range, the success rate of talisman crafting would be very low. Even if successfully drawn, the material would be destroyed after the runes were activated.

This was also why Mei Gaojie had felt so pained when she took out that Ten-Stroke Talisman in the Secret Realm; it had become a single-use consumable.

Three-Stroke Talismans and Four-Stroke Talismans were relatively weak runes, such as Cleansing, Slowing, or Sharpness runes. While they might be of some help to ordinary soldiers, they were practically useless against more powerful monsters.

Su Jiuchuan's idea was to buy a batch of cheap weapons, inscribe them with Five-Stroke Talismans, and treat these weapons as single-use consumables. Selling them or keeping them for his own use would both be good options.

Just as he walked into the Rune Chamber, someone happened to be pushing a wheelbarrow out. The barrow was filled with all kinds of broken weapons, including snapped halberds and cracked short swords. They all looked like failed products of talisman crafting.

The person pushing the wheelbarrow was none other than Li De, the servant who had sprinkled water on Su Jiuchuan's oxhide during the admission that day. As soon as he looked up and saw Su Jiuchuan, he quickly buried his head even lower.

Su Jiuchuan naturally recognized him as well, but he did not flare up immediately, choosing instead to observe him closely.

Huh? Something's not right.

Ordinarily, this wheelbarrow should only contain failed talisman-crafting items, so how did he catch a glimpse of several intact runes through the gaps in the pile of discarded weapons?

Su Jiuchuan remained silent, planning to find an opportunity to see how he could deal with this fellow.

Just then, a commotion was heard coming from inside the Talisman-Making Cave, and he walked in.

A man who looked like a scholar was currently arguing with a fat manager dressed in black.

"Manager Li, I clearly completed my fifty talisman weapons. Why do you say I'm still short by two?"

"He Ming, don't be unreasonable. I only received forty-eight successful talisman weapons. If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to report this to Master Yan," the fat manager sneered.

"You... You..." He Ming was extremely furious, but he seemed to be very afraid of Master Yan. In the end, he could only stomp his foot and turn to leave.

Manager Li watched his retreating figure and chuckled. Most of the students who ended up in the Talisman-Making Cave were people with no background, those who had violated the Academy's rules, or many who failed to pay their full tuition within a year. He wasn't worried about any future trouble from these people.

"Who are you?" Manager Li only just noticed Su Jiuchuan standing at the entrance of the cave and barked a question.

Su Jiuchuan quickly cupped his hands and said, "I am a student of the Talisman Department. I came to the Rune Chamber to see if I could purchase some weapons."

Manager Li was startled, wondering if this person had found out something. He then said coldly, "This is the Rune Chamber, not some grocery store. We don't sell weapons here. Leave immediately."

Su Jiuchuan didn't press the matter. He nodded and turned to leave.

Coming out of there, he happened to see He Ming standing near the entrance, slamming his palms against the stone wall, clearly venting his frustration.

"Brother He," he walked up and cupped his hands.

He Ming quickly reined in the anger on his face, looking at him warily, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Like you, Brother He, I am also a student of the Talisman Department. I happened to overhear your conversation with Manager Li just now. It seems that Manager Li has pocketed your talisman weapons?"

Hearing this, He Ming became furious and said harshly, "That Manager Li is merely running amok by relying on being a distant relative of Master Yan. Once I become a Talisman Master, I will definitely make him pay!"

"Oh? What exactly happened to make Brother He so angry?"

Since He Ming was still in a fit of anger, he recounted the entire sequence of events in full detail.

As turned out, He Ming was also a Grade C student. Because he failed to pay one hundred pounds of Black Iron within a year, he was sentenced to hard labor in the Rune Chamber. He had to work here for ten hours every day until he completed fifty talisman weapons, and if he failed to craft one, he had to compensate with a successful one.

In this manner, He Ming had worked in the Rune Chamber for a full three months before finally scraping together fifty talisman weapons. He thought he would finally be free, but to his surprise, Manager Li went back on his word and insisted on only counting forty-eight.

Hearing this, and recalling Li De's sneaky behavior just now, Su Jiuchuan immediately formed a plan in his mind.

...

Three days later, Li De pushed another wheelbarrow of discarded weapons out of the Rune Chamber.

"Stop!" Su Jiuchuan suddenly appeared in front of him and smiled. "I heard that the Rune Chamber discards a large number of ruined weapons every year, which happen to be useful for filling the soil in my teacher's herb garden. Why don't you sell them to me?"

Hearing this, Li De panicked and quickly said, "Not selling, not selling! These are not for sale."

"Well, I don't want all of them. I'll just pick a few decent ones to till the soil with; that will do." Having said that, Su Jiuchuan slowly walked toward the wheelbarrow.

Pushing the wheelbarrow, Li De retreated repeatedly, muttering, "No... No..."

"How dare you come to the Rune Chamber to make trouble!" Suddenly, an angry shout came from inside the Rune Chamber. The chubby Manager Li rushed out and barked, "I will report this to Master Yan and have you punished for the crime of disrupting order!"