'I can't think of anything else I need to do here in the city so I should head back to the fortress for now. Ben thought as he began to cast his Zoom spell and teleported to the Pharmacist structure.'
'Athena, I need your help with finding pill recipes. I would like you to display any pill recipe in the store I can make with my current spirit plants and herbs.'
*Ding!* [One moment, please. I am currently filtering all pill recipes.]
After a short pause, a list of purchasable pill recipes was displayed for Ben to review. He found a number of the recipes were focused toward magic. It appears the large patch of spirit plants he had found in the forest ruins were all centered toward the aiding of magic or mana.
'I suppose this makes sense those druid people were very magic oriented. All those years they lived in the forest allowed them to discover which plants could aid them in their magic development.'
Athena displayed a list of twenty-two pill recipes Ben could purchase and begin producing with the currently available spirit plants and herbs. He purchased seven of these pill recipes and added them to the Pharmacist for immediate production.
[Magic Magnification]: This pill can increase the host's intelligence stat. An increase in intelligence will provide more Mana while also increasing magic damage. Loses potency when reused.
[Mana Infusion]: This is a high-grade mana recovery pill. It can replenish large amounts of mana in a short amount of time.
[Perspicacity Portal]: This pill increases the host's wisdom stat. An increase in wisdom will provide smoother more natural use of magic. Spell cast times and expended mana will decrease for each spell. Loses potency when reused.
[Springtide Rejuvenation]: This pill reshapes the body, revitalizing the blood, and imbues the skin with new life. An elder with a face full of wrinkles can regain the appearance of their thirty-year-old self.
[Impetus Advancement]: A cultivation stage advancing pill with a one-time use only. A cultivator will experience an instant breakthrough of a full stage after using this pill. This pill will lose its effect after one use and any further ingestions will be a wasted effort.
[Expurgate Toxicant]: This pill can cleanse the body of most poisonous. It may not be effective enough to cure high-grade poisons.
Unrelenting Potential: A pill that enables a cultivator to double their strength or more in a short period of time.
'These are some impressive pills. The only one I really have no use for is the Springtide Rejuvenation pill. I may not have any use for it but if I were to sell this at my store I could make a fortune from these pills. It might be even better to copy the web novels and auction off these pills in limited amounts. If word spread of these Springtide Rejuvenation pills women would travel thousands of miles to purchase them and I think a few men would be also interested.'
As Ben began to think about possibly auctioning his pills he began to wonder if there was even an auction house in the city? If there wasn't it would be another opportunity for him to create another business.
Not only could he make money off of selling his own items but he could sell items for others and make a commission off of the sales.
The one pill Ben was truly looking forward to though was the Impetus Advancement pill. If the description was true he could break through from stage five level two up to stage six level two.
The other pills were just extras that he and his troops could use during combat or emergency situations.
When he was done with the pills Ben made a quick stop at the Carriage Manufacturer. He had currently had made fifteen carriages exactly like the first one he had gifted the king. He set the Carriage manufacturer to produce another thirty carriages which would all have his noble crest on the doors and on the front and back of each carriage.
His next stop was at the Leather Products Manufacturer. Ben used the measurements from the carriage designs to make leather horse collars, bridles, harnesses, and extended reins. He currently had plenty of saddles, reins, and stirrups but he had no way to attach a horse to a carriage.
He also made a mental note to drop off a set of the carriage horse gear for the king. He knew the palace would have harnesses to pull carts but the sizes and lengths would be different.
Before he went any further Ben performed an inspection of the Warehouse to see how the musical instruments were coming along. When he found there were a couple of each of them made already he decided to walk over to the Musician Guild to recruit the musicians for the party.
He recruited a Pianist, Cellist, Violinist, Flutist, Timpanist, Trumpeter, Tubist, and a Bassoonist all at level five.
If a weaponsmith recruit at level five had the skill of a master artisan weaponsmith Ben assumed that level five musicians should have the skill of Earth's top orchestra performers.
He was surprised to see the musicians appear all wearing formal tuxedos. With shiny black leather shoes and combed back meticulous hairstyles they could step onto any stage no matter how prestigious the venue right after they were created.
Ben led them over to his Keep and set out instruments for them to practice with even though he highly doubted they needed practice. He also put out beds and a few tables and chairs for them on the second floor.
While they tuned their instruments and settled in Ben went off to find his Chancellor Rayner. Ben asked Rayner to show the musicians in the keep around and teach them how to use the different buildings and menus around the fortress.
He couldn't stop to spend the time on showing these guys around for half a day so he passed the job off the Rayner.
Rayner went over to introduce himself and Ben went over to the Stables by himself. He needed to buy one hundred and twenty-seven horses to pull thirty-eight carriages and carry fifty mounted knights to Goldcrest in a few days time.
Ben made the Stables public access so that anyone could remove the horses from the stalls and then he transferred all the horses leather gear and armor over to the Stables storage.
There was now enough weapons for each of the mounted knights in the Armory along with any gear they would need for their mounts.
Ben brought out one of the horses and walked it over to the training grounds. The horse seemed to understand when Ben brought it out and it walked calmly alongside him without needing to be led there.
On the training field, Ben introduced the new horse to the mounted knights. He showed them the saddle, reins, stirrups, horse armor, and how to attach it all to the horse.
General Justinus was informed of the horses at the stables and the weapons in the Armory that he had permission to issue out after the quick demonstration.
Once he was done with the instructing the troops how to bridle and saddle the horse, Ben gave the horse to General Justinus and walked over to one of the many concrete towers and went inside. He climbed the staircases up to the wall level and walked out onto the wall.
Now he was alone and could only hear the wind as it blew up and over the wall. Ben sat down on the battlements and opened the Warehouse. He removed the first of the few already made Impetus Advancement pills and swallowed it.
As he circulated his Qi through his meridians he could feel a tremendous amount of Qi flood out of his dantain. His circulation went from a slow stream to a raging river.
He could see his notification icon was flashing but he chose to ignore it until ten minutes had passed and his Qi returned to normal.
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Three!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Four!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Five!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Six!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Seven!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level Eight!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Five: Level nine!]
[Notice] [You have advanced in cultivation! Cultivation Stage Six: Level One!]
'If only it were always this easy to advance a stage! I can't complain though I just saved months of cultivating and received a nice boost to my attributes. I was thinking about heading over to the Gym but it looks like I can put that on hold and work on my magic for now. By jumping a full stage I just gained +47 to each of my attributes!'
Ben remained up on the wall and swallowed a Perspicacity Portal pill and a Magic Magnification pill next.
The Magic Magnification pill gave him a permanent boost of +25 to his intelligence and the Perspicacity Portal pill gave him a permanent boost of +35 to wisdom along with -20% on cast times and mana use.
The minus twenty percent to mana use was a huge bonus for him. With the sudden increase in his intelligence and the decrease in mana use, he wouldn't have to be so concerned about using his Zoom spell from now on.
"Status!"
___________________________
[STATUS]
[Host]: Ben King
[System Level]: 21
[Health]: 1380/1380
[Mana]: 1680/1680
[Strength]: 150
[Agility]: 136
[Stamina]: 167
[Intelligence]: 168
[Wisdom]: 172
[Vitality]: 138
[Charisma]: 123
___________________________
[SKILLS]
[Running: Level 9]
[Spriniting: Level 8]
[Enhanced Hearing: Level 19]
[Sword Mastery: Level 6]
[Hand to Hand Combat: Level 4]
[Pain Reflection: Level 3]
[Chameleon: Level 16]
[Silent Movement: Level 6]
[Bowman Sniper: Level 6]
[Victus Zoologist: Level 8]
[Poison Resistance: Level 5]
[Analyze: Level 7]
[Echolocation: Level 6]
[Mercantile Skill: Level 5]
[Iron Grasp: Level 7]
[Herbalist Aura Vision Level 9]
[Penmanship: Level 1]
[Grappling Level 2]
[Night Sight: Level 5]
[Acrobatics: Level 2]
[Photo Reading]
___________________________
[SPELLS]
[Mana Manipulation: Apprentice Level: 6]
[Mana Ball: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Mana Shield: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Enhance Form: Apprentice Level: 8]
[Slave Command: Apprentice Level: 2]
[Mending Touch: Apprentice Level: 7]
[Mana Javelin: Apprentice Level: 5]
[Sleep: Apprentice: Level 1]
[Zoom Spell]
[Raise Earth: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Lower Earth: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Ensnare: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Barkskin: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Weather Control: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Reverse Gravity: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Wind Control: Apprentice Level: 1]
[Firebolt: Apprentice Level: 5]
[Lightning Bolt Apprentice Level: 1]
___________________________
[CULTIVATION STAGE]
[Stage Six: Level: Two]
[Current stage provides +5 to attributes per level]
[Current stage +100 QI per stage and +10 QI per level]
___________________________
[CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES]
[Immortal Strengthening Technique: Stage 5: Level 2]
[Whirlwind Maneuver: Level 10]
[Aura Assault: Level 2]
[Cultivation Reader: Level 1]
___________________________
[Classes]
Druid Class: Provides boosts to healing, weather, animal summoning, nature, and elemental based spells.
___________________________
[PROFESSIONS]
[Sign Maker Level 1]
[Graphic Designer Level 1]
[Carpenter Level 6]
[Furniture Maker Level 5]
[Interior Designer: Level 1]
[Metallurgical Engineering: Level 1]
___________________________
'Time to see what I can do with my magic now!'
Ben stayed up on the battlements all night casting firebolt and lightning bolt until the sun crept up over the eastern trees.
[Notice] [Spell: Firebolt has increased! Adept Level: 2!]
[Notice] [Spell: Lightning Bolt has increased! Apprentice Level: 6!]
'I feel like I have so much more control over my magic after I ate those two pills. Casting spells are beginning to feel like it is second nature to me now.'
Ben turned around to look down at the fortress settlement below him. A few earlier birds were beginning to wake up and walk the streets already.
After he looked over the small settlement below and couldn't think of any pressing matters that needed his attention here so Ben cast his Zoom spell and teleported to his estate in the Goldcrest noble district.
There were only a few days left until his party so he decided to stock the palace kitchen. He put out jars of spices and stocked the walk-in cooler and freezer with beef, pork, chicken, lamb, fish, vegetables, fruits, loaves of bread, wine, tequila, vodka, rum, brandy, and whiskey.
'I could stock the kitchen with the canned foods from the Cannery but I think it would be better to let the cooks prepare it all from scratch. There are plenty of different meats, vegetables, and fruits to make just about anything in here now.'
Ben checked in with his Steward Hughes and Sergeant Stokes and found everything was running smoothly.
"All has been well so far my lord. The slaves are doing their assigned jobs when there is anything that needs to be done. It is peaceful and everyone's morale is high. Everything we might need is always available at the market so the estate treasurer hasn't had to make any purchases." Steward Hughes reported to Ben.
"All I have to report is the occasional visits of the local nobles and their servants. Some of them come by to admire the palace and gardens but they have stayed off the property without causing any incidents." Sergeant Stokes explained.
Ben just shook his head and told Sergeant Stokes to ignore them unless they attempt to enter the property. The gates are all locked so they would need to climb the fence to do it.
There was no one currently out front so Ben jumped over the fence and found he needed to reexamine his strength once again. After taking that pill and jumping up a full stage in cultivation his stats had all made considerable gains.
When he jumped over the fence he cleared it by about ten feet and landed on the other side of the road. He had only wanted to lightly jump over it and had almost catapulted himself across the entire road attempting it.
'That was close I almost ended up landing on the neighbor's lawn across the street! I should go out and do a few jumps and run around some when I have the time later to get a feel for the changes my body went through from my breakthrough.'
Ben thought about adjusting to his new strength as he walked toward his store and went inside.