I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 446: Magic Source Stone

Unbeknownst to him, Song Jian had accidentally flown into a territory inhabited by level-Forty creatures. He was chased by a flock of level-Forty mutant carrion birds and barely escaped back to the Manor Castle.

“Phew, that was a close call. I almost didn’t make it back,” Song Jian said, looking at the slowly dispersing flock of carrion birds in the distance, and feeling a lingering fear.

The flock of carrion birds chased Song Jian all the way to the level-ten creature zone before slowly backing off. If it wasn’t for his wing made of steel that allowed him to fly slightly faster than the birds, Song Jian would be in real danger.

This narrow escape dampened his cockiness after his recent power increase, reminding him that there are still many creatures in the Doomsday City he shouldn’t mess with.

The construction of Manor Castle was progressing methodically. Buildings sprouted up within the alliance’s territory. After the previous alliance battle, few alliances dared to mess with the “City of Hope”.

“My Lord, the Manor has reached its development limit and must be upgraded to a level four Manor!” Upon seeing Song Jian’s return, steward George hurried over with a thick ledger to report.

“Good job, George. The manor has developed so well and so quickly thanks to you!” Song Jian laughed, “Go ahead and upgrade it if it satisfies the criteria.”

In reality, Song Jian had little involvement in the development of the Manor. Aside from gathering special materials when needed, George made all the important decisions. Song Jian would not object to the idea that George single-handedly developed the Manor.

“My Lord, in order to upgrade the Manor Castle to level four, we need to construct a Magic Tower. Only with a level-one Magic Tower can we advance to level four,” George reported, bowing down.

“A Magic Tower? Go ahead and build it!” Song Jian frowned slightly, “Are we lacking certain materials?”

“We can buy most materials from the Starfire shop in City of Hymns. However, to construct the Magic Tower, we need a Magic Source Stone. It’s a controlled matieral that is difficult to procure on the market,” George explained, “Additionally, we need a resident Mage in the Magic Tower. My Lord, it would be best if you could recruit an NPC Mage.”

“No need to recruit a separate Mage NPC. 1 have a Follower who is a Bloodline Wizard. I can station them in the Magic Tower.” Song Jian laughed, “But concerning the Magic Source Stone, I need to ask: how many do we need to construct a Magic Tower?”

“My Lord, not a lot. One kilogram will suffice,” George replied.

“Alright, I got it. You may leave now,” Song Jian said, nodding his head.

Magic Source Stone was something Song Jian had never heard of. He cannot possibly know everything about all the strange things in the game.

“Damn, couldn’t they have a gaming website for easy searching? Now I have to find out about these things the hard way!” Song Jian shook his head in frustration.

When it comes to the Magic Source Stone, the first person Song Jian thought of was Annie from the Silver Moon Commerce. He immediately contacted her and she soon responded to his request.

“Annie, can I inquire about the Magic Source Stone from you?” Song Jian asked. “Magic Source Stone? That is a controlled material. Even our Silver Moon Commerce can’t legally sell it. If you are caught selling over ten grams of Magic Source Stone, you will be executed!” Annie exclaimed.

“I am just asking, where does this Magic Source Stone come from?” Song Jian initially planned to buy directly from Annie, but upon hearing her words, he promptly abandoned the idea.

“Well, of course, 1 can tell you that. The Magic Source Stone is not a mineral, but rather a gastric calculus of a certain creature. You can only obtain the stone by killing this creature…” Annie chuckled.

“Let me guess: this creature is not easy to kill, right?” Song Jian grumbled.

“Hehe, of course! The creature is called the Demonic Bat. An adult Demonic Bat is as strong as a level-thirty Elite Boss. What’s more, they are gregarious creatures, usually seen in herds numbering in the hundreds or thousands. Even the most daring adventurers would think twice before messing with them.”

“Hiss- Thousands of level-thirty Elite Bosses….” Song Jian took a deep breath, “That’s hard to believe. I’m wondering how the very first Magic Source Stone was obtained.”

“Hehe, naturally you wouldn’t want to face such terrifying groups head-on,” Annie laughed, “When the Demonic Bats have stayed in a place for a while, they’ll give up their nests and move on to another location. You can usually collect some Magic Source Stones in these abandoned nests. Note that Magic Source Stones are not just used for constructing Magic Towers. They can also improve your physical condition, extend your lifespan, and enhance your skills. Some people even consider them a more solid currency than Doomsday Coins!”

“Oh, really?” Song Jian looked surprised and then lowered his voice to ask, “Are you saying that no one takes the risk to smuggle these? I believe there is a price for any good. Can you tell me how much Magic Source Stones cost on the black market?”

It took Annie quite a while to answer, “If 1 had Magic Source Stones, I would never sell them for Doomsday Coins. Usually it’s a barter system. But if you really want a price tag, I guess one gram of Magic Source Stone for one hundred thousand Doomsday Coins would be a fair price.”

After these words, Annie hung up.

Song Jian was left with a shocked expression. One gram of Magic Source Stone for one hundred thousand Doomsday Coins!

When George said constructing a Magic Tower required one kilogram of Magic Source Stone, Song Jian didn’t think much of it. Now he realized that even selling off his own territory might not be enough to afford one kilogram of Magic Source Stone.

“That’s equivalent to one billion Doomsday Coins! My God, can anyone really afford to upgrade their safe house to a level four Manor?” Song Jian couldn’t help but grumble.

Ding Ding Ding-

Just then, his communication device rang. It was Annie. He quickly answered.

“By the way, Song Jian, I forgot to tell you earlier. The Demonic Bats infect nearby creatures, resulting in similar species. I remember you once sold some ‘Bat Wings’ materials. I’m guessing that those were dropped by relatives of the infected Demonic Bats. If you go and look around the place where you found the creatures that drop ‘Bat Wings’, I believe you’ll find something worthwhile,” Annie said, hanging up immediately after she finished her sentence without waiting for a response.

Curled up in thought, Song Jian stared at his cut-off communicator. “Annie’s implying that the Bat Wing Zombies were infected by the Demonic Bats. So, if I go to the place where Bat Wing Zombies appear, I should certainly find the Demonic Bats, right?”