Two months later, in the castle chamber:
The magic crystal gathered around suddenly disintegrated.
Then pure mana abruptly gathered around Maximus, condensing into his soul.
"Huff," Maximus exhaled.
"Finally, a Tier 2 Great Mage!" Maximus exclaimed with satisfaction.
"Having higher talent isn't really a joke," Maximus sighed, looking at his panel.
[Maximus Shadowcrest:
Tier 2 Great Mage: Level 1
Potential: Rare (37/1,000)
Wives: 2
Children: 2]
In the beginning, he had trash talent.
After reaching Tier 1 Official Mage, his training speed became as slow as crawling.
Even with a god-tier meditation manual, after more than a year, he only reached Tier 1 Official Mage Level 5.
However, after having a child, his talent upgraded.
It took him just over two months to reach Tier 2 now.
"Now that I've reached Tier 2, it's time to go to the imperial city."
Since his wife had been attacked, he had been thinking of setting up an intelligence organization.
The solution he thought of was buying slaves.
Training people from a young age would take a long time.
To do this without arousing suspicion, he considered disguising himself.
His Tier 1 strength previously was too weak to use higher-tier items for disguise.
So he wasn't in a hurry, but he waited until he reached Tier 2.
...
A few days later, Maximus got ready to go to the imperial city.
"Come back earlier, husband," Hazel said.
Although they didn't know what Maximus was up to, they trusted him deeply, only hoping for his safety.
"Hmm, of course, how can I forget my family?"
Maximus smiled and pinched Liam and Lily.
"Ba...ba..." Lily and Liam swatted at his arms, giggling as he pinched their cheeks.
"Hey, you two are really cute," Maximus couldn't help but add a kiss.
"What about the other two babies? You should say goodbye to them, husband."
"Of course, how could I forget?" Maximus said, gently rubbing Hazel and Erica's bellies.
During these two months, they became pregnant again.
Maximus could only give a thumbs up to his system for making his seeds so fertile.
"Wait for father, babies. I will come back soon," Maximus muttered to the unborn children.
"Ahem," Luna also pretended to cough, as if wanting to be noticed.
"Oh, I will come back soon. Come give me a kiss," Maximus said, turning to Luna and Livia.
"Shameless," Luna blushed and hurriedly looked away.
"Oh," Livia didn't react in time and received a kiss from Maximus.
"Hehe, I was just saying goodbye," Maximus smiled, seeing their blushing faces.
Their defenses were already breaking down; with just a little push, he could have them as his wives.
"Hmph, scumbag!" Luna retorted, looking at Maximus kissing her sister.
Luna didn't know if she should be jealous or what.
"Y-yes, scumbag," Livia stuttered, echoing her sister's words but unable to make eye contact with Maximus.
"Husband, you haven't even given us a kiss yet, and you're already eating from another plate," Erica mumbled.
"Oh, your treat is different," Maximus said, embracing them and giving them a deep kiss.
"Hmp... enough, husband, there are kids," his wives complained.
Liam and Lily looked at them with wide eyes.
Luna and Livia on the other hand were too embarrassed to look.
"Hehe, then wait for me to come back."
"Hmm."
...
One day later, in the Faerie Kingdom's imperial city:
Maximus traveled nonstop and arrived within a day, a journey that usually took a week.
Thanks to the mana recovery potion, he seems to have unlimited mana.
As for why he hadn't used it before to use higher-tier alchemy for disguise?
It was because his mana reserves were simply too limited.
To enjoy virtually limitless mana, he needed to continually consume mana recovery potions.
He can't just chug in a the potion while he walk right?
Donning a Tier 2 alchemy mask, he confidently entered the city.
"I hope the Wastle Caravan is here," Maximus muttered.
He intended to buy slaves, so he hoped the Wastle caravan had arrived.
After all, they were the sole traders within the entire Sunburnt Plateau who dare to sell slaves.
"It should be here; they come twice a year, and it's already been six months since the last visit," Maximus reassured himself.
As he walked through the city, he noticed the prevailing somber atmosphere.
"It must be due to the death of the crown prince," Maximus thought.
Although the death of the crown prince didn't appear to have an immediate impact.
Various nobles already began maneuvering behind the scenes to support their preferred prince or princess.
King Magnus hadn't made a move yet, still mourning his deceased son.
"I hope the peace will last longer," Maximus muttered.
After all, his system didn't require fighting and killing.
He could grow stronger over time.
Stability would be most advantageous for him.
Half an hour of walking brought him to the Wastle caravan.
This time they had new products.
"Hello there, how can I assist you?" a portly man inquired as Maximus approached.
"Just browsing," Maximus replied casually.
He then used his system to identify individuals suitable for forming his own intelligence organization.
Seeing Maximus wander around aimlessly, the portly man didn't grow impatient but faithfully followed him.
After a few minutes of investigation, Maximus had made his selections.
One Tier 3 earth knight and thirty Tier 2 great knights.
He paid no attention to Tier 1 candidates, as they were easier to train.
"I'll take... No. 3, 12, 51, 144..." Maximus recited a string of numbers corresponding to their cells.
The portly man's eyes widened, stunned by the seemingly endless series of numbers.
"How is it? did you remember?"
"Of course, I remember everything," the portly man nodded vigorously.
What a joke.
He might forget his own name, but when it came to money—his sole purpose to be born, he would never forget.
"Oh, then I want them all."
"Sure, sure," the portly man agreed, directing his men to assist him.
"Do you have accommodations? Would you like us to send them directly?"
"Yes, I'll be staying at the Oakwood Hotel. Please send them there."
"Very well, we'll make sure they reach you."
"And how much will this cost?"
"It will be 650,000 gold coins," the portly man calculated.
"Hmm, then I'll pay after you've delivered them to the hotel," Maximus stated.
Truthfully, he didn't have enough money.
After all his expenditures, he only possessed 200,000 gold coins.
Fortunately, he was in the imperial city, with a strong disguise reselling items relatively will be easy.
...
After promising the man in the Wastle caravan that he would pay later.
Maximus found the largest shop selling potions and alchemy items.
"Hello, sir. What can I get you?" a shopkeeper asked.
"I'm here to sell potions."
"Sure, please follow me to another room."
Soon, a steward led him to a private room.
"I'm here to sell Tier 1 and Tier 2: spirit potions, mana recovery potions, and healing potions," Maximus explained as he presented crates of potions.
"So many?" the steward was taken aback.
"Excuse me, I can't handle this transaction. I need to call my manager."
"Hmm."
Soon, a more authoritative man emerged.
"Are you the one selling these potions?" the man inquired, his gaze fixated on the potions.
Although they could buy potions from Berrun City, traveling back and forth was dangerous.
Additionally, the cost there was in magic crystals.
While gold could be exchanged for magic crystals it wasn't stable.
Without proper channels, either the exchange rate was very expensive.
Or there were too few magic crystals available for exchange.
"Yes."
"Do you accept gold coins?" the man eagerly asked.
After all, if they were being sold in magic crystals, his excitement would be in vain.
"Yes, but I will only accept gold coins issued by the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce," Maximus specified.
He mentioned this because some kingdoms created their own currencies.
The common mortal currency—copper, silver, and gold—was primarily issued by the Etherium Gold Chamber of Commerce.
It was a world-class organization that spanned the entire Etherium Realm.
Its currency was universally accepted throughout all the mortal kingdoms in the world.
"Of course, of course," the man nodded.
"My name is Keth, by the way," he introduced himself.
"Michael," Maximus offered a false name.
Keth didn't delve further and began counting the total number of Maximus's potions.
"Middle-grade potions? Good," Keth nodded.
Most of the potions they bought in Berrun City were low-grade, riddled with impurities.
Middle-grade potions were quite expensive.
But if they were using gold coins then it would be different.
After all, they were backed by the Faerie Kingdom.
Taking out millions of gold at once is possible.
After a few minutes, Keth finished counting and inspecting the potions.
"How much is it?"
"It's 4.5 million gold coins," Keth stated.
"Hmm, that's fine," Maximus agreed; the price was fair.
It was more expensive than the price in Berrun City but cheaper than the same type of potion sold in the current city.
After all, they still needed to turn a profit.
"Great!" Keth couldn't help but stand up.
He immediately instructed his assistant to prepare the payment.
"Here is our payment, Excellency Michael," Keth said, presenting a storage bag.
After Maximus accepted the bag and inspected its contents, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Great doing business with you," Maximus smiled.
"Hahaha, do come again, Excellency Michael," Keth said, equally pleased with the profitable deal.
After Maximus left the shop, he visited various stores in the city to sell these potions.
Unfrutanely, they're not that rich, with very little background so overall, he only earned 2 million gold.
"Now, there's enough money to form the intelligence organization."