After taking a bath, there was still some time left before evening.
Colin packed up the crystals he had made over the past few days, ready to head out to the market to sell them.
By the fifth day, the production progress of the Light Brightness Skill Crystals on the Golden Paper had already been pushed to the limit, with a success rate reaching one hundred percent.
He could now make up to about 45 Bright Crystals a day, which equated to approximately one and a half Magic Stones, excluding the cost of the crystals, the profit was 0.75 Magic Stones.
In other words, he was now able to earn a stable 0.75 Magic Stones every day.
It had been four days since his last trip to the market, and he had accumulated 160 Bright Crystals, worth 6 Magic Stones.
He planned to keep some Magic Stones to replenish the raw materials for the crystals when he went to the market later and use the rest to absorb as Limit Breaking Points, to see if he could successfully break through the limits of the Meditation Method.
...
"You're here again," greeted the smiling owner of the Magic Crystal Store.
"Mm, a total of one hundred and sixty. Count them," Colin said as he poured the Bright Crystals from the cloth bag onto a cotton-lined tray in front of the store owner.
Since the first time he set up a stall to sell Bright Crystals, which took him all morning and also required paying the market stall rent.
He had then chosen to sell them directly to stores specializing in Magic Crystals.
The price difference between the two was not big, and it saved him a lot of time.
"Alright, I trust your reputation," the owner said, even though his hands were busily counting.
"Here are 6 Magic Stones for you," the owner said with a chuckle after counting for two minutes and handing the 6 Magic Stones to Colin.
"Take care and welcome to come again."
Colin nodded, took the Magic Stones, and put them in his pocket. Although his face was expressionless, he felt a little thrill inside.
As he walked briskly toward Wizard Territory, he stealthily reached his right hand into the pocket containing the Magic Stones.
With a thought, pale golden particles converged. His attention focused on the Limit Breaking Point section.
...1...2...3...
The black characters slowly ticked by, and before long, the number reached 5, with two Magic Stones still left in his pocket.
But a faint blue outline of light had quietly shrouded the Circulation Meditation Method behind the ↑ symbol!
A burst of joy rose in Colin's heart, and he almost wanted to immediately return to the stone house to start the breakthrough!
'But now is not the time.' Suppressing the excitement within him, he hurriedly arrived at the market and bought raw materials for the crystals.
After looking around, he couldn't find the crystal stall that used to be relatively cheap... It might have closed up.
So he randomly picked a stall closer by, no longer having the patience to spend time bargaining with the stall owner,
He simply used one Magic Stone and some leftover Gold Coins to get a round number, obtaining 80 crystals, then hurried back to Wizard Territory.
After leaving the market, crossing the shops, he entered the range monitored by the Wizard Array of Wizard Territory.
He was still few hundred meters away from the wooden fence at the edge of Wizard Territory.
Between them was a road through the mountains that could be considered smooth and wide. Since it was uphill, steps had been made with stone slabs at the steeper places.
If it weren't for the aid of witchcraft, this mountain road and steps would make the monthly transportation of living supplies a headache.
Walking on the compact mountain road, Colin's face showed hesitation, but in the next second, he put his hand back into his pocket and absorbed the last Magic Stone into a Limit Breaking Point.
He had kept the Magic Stones for the purpose of having capital to buy crystals.
But now he could only make up to 40 crystals a day at most, unless he could break the upper limit. Otherwise, buying more would just mean he wouldn't have to make as many trips to the market.
So it would be better to turn them into his own strength as soon as possible, as his own power was everything.
Soon, the last Magic Stone crumbled to dust, and the character behind the Limit Breaking Point slowly changed to 6.
On both sides of the mountain road was a deep forest, and as he walked, he occasionally saw some wildlife.
The sun was setting, its light growing weak and feeble, almost unable to penetrate the dense foliage.
Strange cries began to rise gradually from the woods on both sides.
Colin tightened his clothes against the strong evening sea breeze. The cries from the forest made him a little jittery, and he quickened his pace.
Although the chirping of insects, birds, and some strange roars rang out from time to time,
He felt the world around him was inexplicably silent.
Along the long mountain path, it seemed as if only his own footsteps echoed.
After a while, he suddenly paused, gradually coming to a stop.
Around the corner ahead on the mountain road, a figure with golden hair appeared, followed by two more people.
"Colin, what a coincidence," greeted the golden-haired figure in surprise.
"Charlie, Wood, and Owen, are you guys heading out this late?" Colin responded with a 'smile,' while continuing to walk forward.
"Wait a second, Colin," Charlie said with a smile, raising his hand as if to stop him, "I was just looking for you."
"Looking for me... What for?" Colin stopped in his tracks, his heart sinking, but his face showing just the right amount of puzzled inquiry.
"It's like this," Charlie approached Colin and patted his shoulder, then shouted back, "Jeff, come over here."
"Alright, boss," another figure emerged from around the corner, the brown-haired Jeff, with a smile on his face and no scars visible on his slightly tanned skin.
Colin was startled, but quickly regained a calm demeanor.
Sensing Colin's shock, Charlie gave a slight smile, which was the effect he intended to have by bringing Jeff over first.
"Although Jeff was the first to leave after class, he later joined the Mutual Assistance Association."
Charlie took the initiative to explain, and then his tone changed:
"Colin, may I take a little bit of your time?"
"I remember you also left early before, so this time I'm looking for you specially to introduce you to the Mutual Assistance Association... What do you think?"
After speaking, Charlie looked at Colin with an expectant smile.
Colin kept his expression neutral, but couldn't help sighing inwardly.
No wonder they chose to stop him here.
Combining the scene he witnessed before in a back alley, he had figured everything out.
Clearly, regardless of whether he listened to what Charlie had to say next, there was only one choice for him: to join the Mutual Assistance Association.
Otherwise, what awaited him would likely be the same fate as Jeff had before.
"...Go ahead." Colin hesitated for a moment and then nodded.