Chapter 303 – Exchange Point

“Don’t worry, these are just normal reactions. They’ll disappear on their own soon. My experiment has been very successful, and you have no reason to doubt it.”

Punk stared into Anya’s eyes as he spoke each word deliberately.

After Anya described all the symptoms that secretly worried her—such as her declining memory where things that used to take minutes to memorize now required over an hour, or her persistent insomnia where even when she did sleep, she was plagued by meaningless nightmares—Punk offered his “explanation (deception)” in an extremely confident tone!

However, when Anya mentioned the nightmares that came with every sleep, Punk—who had been listening with an appearance of indifference—interrupted her account.

“Wait, nightmares? What kind of nightmares are you having?”

“I… I don’t know what the nightmares are about. It’s just… just a feeling of something terrifying continuously seeping into my body, with some horrifying sounds echoing in my ears…”

Anya struggled to recall the content of the nightmares, but it seemed she couldn’t remember more.

“Sounds? Seeping?”

After hearing Anya’s description, Punk couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Based solely on these two points, it was difficult to analyze anything concrete. After all, what was eroding Anya’s soul was a Legendary-level existence that even Punk couldn’t fully comprehend. The so-called sounds could be some form of magical language, or they might simply be hallucinations caused by the instability of Anya’s soul.

In the end, Punk decided not to speculate randomly. There was still plenty of time anyway. If Anya got “broken” from this, he could always spend some time finding a new “host” and start over. For now, he just needed to ensure Anya maintained her efficiency in generating positive emotions.

So Punk told Anya in an absolutely decisive tone:

“Don’t overthink it. You’re just unsettled from arriving in an unfamiliar place. Take this potion—drink five milliliters each time before bed.”

Having said that, Punk expressionlessly took out a large bottle of bubbling pink potion and handed it to Anya.

To ensure Anya’s emotional state, Punk had prepared in advance. This bottle of “Happy Reminiscer” potion with enhanced euphoric effects was specially concocted for Anya. Having just heard about her insomnia, Punk had quickly used alchemical magic to add a portion of “Sleepflower” to the potion.

The “Happy Reminiscer” was originally a potion used by some mages to stimulate memories and recreate happy experiences. Now with additional stimulant components added, Punk could guarantee that any creature below Formal-Level would forget all unhappiness after drinking this potion—its effects certainly stronger than narcotics.

Of course, Punk didn’t consider the damaging stimulation the potion would inflict on the brain and even the soul.

After “solving” the problem, Punk provided some guidance on Anya’s meditation technique. As a Master-Level powerhouse, Punk was more than qualified to instruct Anya in this area. In the end, Anya happily left carrying the Storage Necklace filled with the “Happy Reminiscer” potion.

Indeed, to prevent Anya from looking too conspicuous carrying a large bottle of potion, Punk simply gave her the Storage Necklace he had obtained from Princess Trelinka.————————Divider——————

While Anya was having an easy time away, Punk, who remained in the Mage Tower, was feeling considerably less at ease.

What troubled Punk now was actually quite mundane—money… or more accurately, Exchange Points!

Indeed, Punk had already begun worrying about Exchange Points.

His current improvements to the “Soul Worm” spell required purchasing Flesh-Crawling Worms for experiments, but these creatures were far from cheap—especially since Punk’s experimental methods were rather crude, resulting in a high mortality rate for the Flesh-Crawling Worms!

Every time he saw the few Flesh-Crawling Worms in the “Specimen Research” room that had died from unable to withstand the dual experiments on their souls and bodies, Punk felt a pang of distress—those were all Exchange Points, vast amounts of Exchange Points!

To make matters worse, after concluding his “one-on-one guidance” sessions with Anya, Punk helplessly realized he had acquired another major drain on his Exchange Points.

He planned to administer the “Windchime Potion” to Anya to suppress the instability in the young girl’s soul, primarily because this Master-Level potion had extremely mild properties, making it safe even for ordinary people to consume.

However, its biggest drawback was also glaringly obvious—in one word: expensive!

This was despite Punk’s own expertise in alchemy. Otherwise, if he had to commission someone to brew the potion… one only needed to look at the pitiful mages who provided their own materials and still paid exorbitant fees to Punk for potion brewing to understand how costly it could be.

Overall, even with Punk’s current collaboration with Ben Lajie—where they didn’t hesitate to sell potions to the Red Robes, essentially “trading with the enemy”—the amount of Exchange Points earned was barely keeping up with Punk’s current expenditures. After all, Ben Lajie’s customers for potions weren’t always available, but Punk’s needs for Exchange Points were countless.

So…………

“This is troublesome. If this continues, even with the initial Exchange Points from selling Magic Equipment as a foundation, whether it can sustain a hundred years of research is another matter entirely.”

Puck frowned with displeasure as he looked out the window.

It was currently the middle of the Sprouting Season, the rainiest time in the Grey Mire Swamp. The swamp was as unpredictable as a temperamental child, with torrential rain and light drizzle alternating several times within less than an hour, yet never giving way to clear skies.

Through the thin curtain of rain, Punk gazed into the distance. The Mage Towers in the Thought of Truth mentor district shimmered with brilliant magical auras in the sky, with the light beam from the central “Central Tower” piercing straight into the heavens. Occasionally, flashes of lightning spiraled down along the beam, looking like swimming serpents weaving through the torrential rain.

“Where there are people, there are conflicts? It’s more accurate to say where there are resources, there is struggle. Countless powerful individuals pursue the path to Legendary status, while countless Legendary beings rack their brains to escape the threats of the River of Fate”…………

As Punk watched the occasional lightning serpents flicker across the horizon and listened to the deafening thunderclaps close at hand… he sighed inwardly while retrieving a cup of chilled fruit tea from his Storage Ring.

The tea was still cool when taken out from the Storage Ring, but by the time it reached Punk’s lips, it had warmed to his preferred temperature of around five hundred degrees—a pleasant “warm” state.Taking a small sip of tea, Punk felt the tangy juice bloom on his tongue, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

On the path to becoming Legendary, no one could remain stable and secure. The so-called “farming” was merely preparation for better combat and plundering. In the pursuit of transcending all and roaming freely through the void, any professional could and would only exist in two states—fighting… and preparing to fight!

It seemed now…

Setting down the half-finished tea, Punk let out a soft sigh:

“Ah… even with this small portion of Netheril’s legacy, I am no exception”!

Please give me your votes, everyone, support me mwah~ (^з^)-☆

(End of Chapter)