Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: High-Grade Mana Stones, Securing a Supply Slave (Not Really)
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There's an old saying.
A well-fed ghost has a fine complexion.
From that perspective, maybe feeding Molrang good stuff on the regular would lead to even better shards.
In fact, phrases like "raised on the good stuff" are marketing gold all the time.
'Not a totally baseless idea.'
I'd already confirmed ages ago that the more mana stones it ate, the higher the odds of top-quality shards.
So naturally, the solution that popped up was: 'What if I fed it even better mana stones?'
I might not eliminate the stickiness entirely, but I could slash the chances of it happening, right?
'Worth testing.'
Slide.
I pulled a mana stone from the drawer. It was the prettiest one I had on hand.
There's actually one common misconception non-hunters—y'know, regular folks—have.
[Mana stones are pure mana solidified into crystal form.]
It gets tossed around like common knowledge, surprisingly enough, but it's dead wrong.
Sure, they're aggregates of mana from monsters, but the process mixes in all sorts of impurities.
The more impurities, the lower the mana purity, obviously.
No official grading system exists, but academic consensus holds that mana grade drops too.
I held up the mana stone to the lamp.
"Hmmmmm..."
I could see flecks of impurities floating around inside the little crystal.
That's how most mana stones were.
And that's why this class came into play—
'The lapidary class.'
Awakeners skilled enough to work mana stones beyond plain old gems.
The stones they crafted were pure mana crystals, truly.
Of course, for various reasons, the market for high-grade stones as the mainstream hasn't opened up yet...
Anyway!
I was gonna feed Molrang some top-shelf mana stones.
Tap tap.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Knock knock! You home?
To that end, I shot off a message.
The recipient was a user I'd traded with before: 'LapidaryDarling.'
The only lapidary-class user I knew of.
Not like we knew each other in person or anything—just that I'd seen a few of his community posts.
For the record, the mana stone powder coating the outside of the Molrangtory came from a request to him.
I couldn't grind mana stones myself, after all.
I did think about tossing one in the blender once, but nah, that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.
If I'd gone through with it, I'd have locked down this year's Darwin Award for sure.
·LapidaryDarling: Hey. Need more mana stone powder?
·WantToRaiseDragon: Could use some of that too, but...
·WantToRaiseDragon: You do mana stone processing on the side too, right?
·LapidaryDarling: Yup. That's how I keep food on the table...
"Keep food on the table," huh.
I always noticed chatting with LapidaryDarling—he had this old-school way with words.
Not that it bugged me. Kinda fun, actually?
·WantToRaiseDragon: lololol So you sell high-grade stones too? How much for those?
·LapidaryDarling: Varies by grade... S-grade's 10 million per gram.
".........Huh?"
Ten million per gram?
My jaw dropped on its own. Diamonds could take a hike.
No way in hell I'd buy that with my own cash, even if it killed me.
Even if I had an S-grade mana stone in hand, I wouldn't feed it to Molrang.
Molrang?
Maybe reading my mind, Molrang shot me a pitiful look.
"...No can do."
Some things were just a hard no.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Wait, that stuff actually sells????
·LapidaryDarling: Rich folks buy 'em as jewelry.
·LapidaryDarling: Never sold any myself, honestly. Probably gotta be S-grade lapidaries for that. My rep's a bit thin.
·WantToRaiseDragon: What about making them?
·LapidaryDarling: Can do it, sure. Takes a looooong time, though.
Gotcha.
So he had the skills, but not the trust factor.
Fair enough—I'd want an S-grade lapidary's S-grade stone too. Price being what it is.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Where do monster mana stones rank, then?
·LapidaryDarling: Usually D or E-grade. C-grade once in a blue moon.
Ding!
LapidaryDarling sent over a mana stone grade chart via message.
Unofficial, of course—just something lapidaries passed around among themselves.
"B-grade's worth at least triple a D-grade."
·WantToRaiseDragon: Hey, how much for B-grade???
·LapidaryDarling: 5,000 to 10,000 per gram.
Cheap-ish, but still pricey.
Though it had dipped to a line where investing made sense.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Whew... Gimme 100g of B-grade.
·LapidaryDarling: For real? Like, for... making inventories or something?
·WantToRaiseDragon: Who knows.
·LapidaryDarling: Ah, sorry. None of my business.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Nah, all good. How much I sending?
Alright, LapidaryDarling, hit me with your price.
Good thing he seemed honest. If he'd lowballed upfront, I'd have smashed the vase over it.
Anyway, fifty grand? Or a hundred?
If he said a hundred, I'd haggle.
Feeding a hundred grand in mana stones every day? Insane.
Ding!
Took about three minutes for the reply.
Phew, probably a hundred, right?
Sellers hold the power on niche stuff like this.
I steeled myself, prepped my haggling line, and checked the message.
·LapidaryDarling: Instead of cash, any chance I could take an inventory? Wanna try one out. I'm juggling D-grade hunter gigs on the side too...
Wha? Jackpot!
A grin crept across my face.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Obviously! lol
·LapidaryDarling: Sweet, that then.
Looked like one Molrangtory satisfied him.
That changed everything.
Right now, he valued the Molrangtory more than B-grade stones?
Balance of power had flipped.
My side was in the driver's seat.
Maybe I could get more than a simple stone deal, so I tossed out a probe.
·WantToRaiseDragon: Wanna do a contract then?
·LapidaryDarling: ???
·WantToRaiseDragon: You supply me stones regularly, and I hook you up with every new Molrangtory version.
·LapidaryDarling: Uh...
He was mulling it over.
But I believed in you, LapidaryDarling.
Basically, it was an invite to join forces.
Like a running mate, y'know?
If high-grade stones really worked, I'd keep using him long-term.
As his exclusive client, that's me staking a claim.
If he was as smart as me, he'd say yes.
If not... oh well. Plenty more lapidaries out there if I shop around.
Ding!
Took longer this time.
Deep in thought, huh?
What'd he decide?
Come on, LapidaryDarling, you in or...
·LapidaryDarling: Yeah. Let's do it. Looking forward to working with you!
Yes!
**
"This is what I get for not going all-in on hunter skills from the start."
'LapidaryDarling,' Shin Ha-young, let out her usual gripe from the back of her modest shop.
She told people she scraped by on lapidary work, but it was mostly hot air these days.
No gigs for over a month now.
Big-guild-backed lapidaries had snatched them all up.
The mana stone lapidary market was already niche. Folks naturally wanted proven names from top guilds.
A-grade and below started getting squeezed out.
Once upon a time, everyone thought high-grade stones would boom, sparking a lapidary craze even among non-awakened civilians...
"Sigh."
All bubble. Bubble. Popped in the blink of an eye.
Plain mana stones worked fine in most fields—no need for premium.
Related research stalled out too, naturally.
Hence the regret: maybe she should've focused on hunting...
A C-grade hunter made way more than her B-grade lapidary self right now.
-Ding!
Then a rare lapidary commission hit Ha-young.
The inventory inventor—the hot topic du jour—wanted B-grade stones.
"Uh...? Is this... him asking to work together?"
The guy was even proposing regular stone supply.
Just a contract for now, but if inventories went fully commercial later?
And if she became the main supplier?
Gulp.
Ha-young swallowed hard.
A lifeline dangled before her.
Grab it tight, and it might pull her through.
Even if he switched lapidaries later...
She had to stick as close as possible for now.
Tap tap.
With shaky hands for no reason, Ha-young replied.
·LapidaryDarling: Yeah. Let's do it. Looking forward to working with you!
Stock phrasing, but the intent was clear.
[Contract execution completed.]
"...Nngh!"
Ha-young quivered with joy, then dove straight into stone processing.
Gotta make him top-of-the-line B-grade, she thought.
Zing.
Light bloomed from her fingertips as the mana stone began to take shape.
Her lapidary powers, which she'd hated looking at lately, seemed beautiful today.
**
Ding-dong!
"Oho~ Fast delivery."
Evening of the day I sealed the deal with LapidaryDarling. A package hit my rooftop door.
I ripped open the box plastered with a huge "HANDLE WITH CARE!" sticker.
Inside...
"Whoa..."
B-grade mana stones. Three of 'em.
The note said 50g each.
The extra 50g? A "looking forward to our partnership" bonus.
That's LapidaryDarling for ya. Attitude's spot-on.
Told you I had an eye for people.
Every pick's a home run.
"Alright, kids, dinner time."
At my call, Molrang and Molcang bounced over excitedly.
Molcang was the name I'd given No. 2 recently.
It's a living thing too—calling it "No. 2" forever felt off.
Not like I'd grown attached or anything. Purely merchant mindset here.
Anyway...
"Dig in."
!!!
One B-grade for Molrang, one regular for Molcang.
Not favoritism. Had to test high-grade effects.
Plan: feed 'em differently for three days straight—one each daily—then check results.
Molrang!
Molrang beamed after gulping the B-grade, sparkles dancing over its squishy surface. Sign of pure bliss.
The stone melted away in seconds.
That's, like, half a mil a pop, right?
I'd never eaten half a mil worth of food.
Slime life is the dream.
Molrang!
"Pfheheh... That good, huh."
Dunno why, but just watching it chow down filled me with this warm fuzziness.
Already hyped for three days from now.
Expecting some insane shard performance?