Chapter 64

Keith found that hunting monsters had never been easier. With Mariane attacking like a madman and Serilla harassing from the shadows, all Keith needed to do was stand in the back and shoot. Although a few spells accidentally hit his Mom at the start, he quickly grew accustomed to her combat style and no longer made such mistakes.

And so, the family of three bonded while hunting monsters all day before returning to New Hope in the evening. Everyone was thrilled with their gains. In a short 8 hours, Keith managed to level up six times, reaching level 430, while Mariane hit level 473 and Serilla level 501.

Upon arriving near New Hope, Keith found a large party going on just outside the town. Intrigued, Mariane called out to someone as they approached and asked what was happening. Apparently, there were too few restaurants to accommodate everyone’s needs, so someone decided to have a barbecue with their team. Once one person took out a grill and another some alcohol, things naturally progressed to create the current scene.

Adventurers usually had chairs and tables in their inventory, so everyone made themselves comfortable as they ate burgers and hotdogs while recounting their experiences during the day.

After thanking that person for explaining, Mariane sniffed the air and followed the smell to a row of people cooking on grills. She walked up and asked, “How much?”

“It’s free,” the man replied and pointed his spatula to a long table filled with freshly cooked patties and hotdogs. “Take what you need.”

A few minutes later, Keith sat before a large bonfire next to his Mom and Aunt. He kept his eyes peeled while he ate, and his efforts paid off when he spotted his sister talking with a group of heroic youths in the distance. Keith quickly finished his food before pulling out a mirror to check his looks. Once he tidied up some wrinkles on his shirt, he strode up to his sister and exclaimed, “Elora!”

The people Elora was talking with turned in his direction. Elora was pleasantly surprised to see her little brother and quickly embraced him in a tight hug. “Keith, I didn’t know you were here.”

“Haha,” Keith smirked. “How could I miss out on all the fun? Are these your team members from Silver Fox?”

A slender woman with smooth silver hair standing across from Elora spoke up as she inspected Keith. “I’m Kate, the leader of Silver Fox. You must be Elora’s brother?”

Keith gave Kate a friendly nod. “Thank you for taking care of my sister.”

A young man beside Kate interjected, “It should be Elora taking care of us.”

“Right, right. Elora’s healing ability is unmatched,” another commented.

Keith suppressed a laugh after seeing everybody grimace at the mention of Elora’s innate ability. After receiving Elora’s love these past years, they had clearly developed some trauma. Keith joked, “Too bad it knocks out whoever she heals.”

Everybody laughed, having experienced Elora’s healing plenty of times. After that, Keith spent the next hour getting to know Elora’s team before returning to his Mom. Observing the night sky, he asked, “Should we head home?”

Mariane waved her hand. “All those security checkpoints are too troublesome. Let’s camp out here.”

Keith shrugged. “Whatever works.”

Many others had the same idea, and soon thousands of large and small tents surrounded the west side of New Hope. When Keith awoke, most people had already returned to the jungle to hunt and explore. Serilla was already up, and when she saw Keith exit his tent, she forcibly woke her sister lest Mariane slept the morning away.

After breakfast, the three prepared to set off when they heard someone shouting in the distance. “Tired of endless bugs buzzing around your head? Get your Super Mega-Giga Bug Repellent Spray here! 2,500 gold a bottle! Only a hundred left!”

Mariane’s eyes lit up, and she quickly rushed to the hawker. “Give me five, no, ten!”

The middle-aged man stroked his beard and laughed as he took Mariane’s gold and handed her ten small bottles of yellowish liquid. “Thank you for your patronage, miss.”

In the distance, Keith was amazed someone dared sell a bottle of bug repellent for so much when the auction house sold them for less than ten gold. Unfortunately, the magic network hadn’t extended to Serenity Canyon yet, which allowed this salesman to make a massive profit.

Mariane quickly sprayed herself with one of the bottles, only to become stunned. Enraged, she slammed her hand onto the vendor’s table and shouted, “You slimeball! Why didn’t you say this smelled like manure?”

The middle-aged man hastily said, “Miss, hang on. The bugs in Serenity Canyon are over level 100, so regular bug repellent isn’t effective. I spent all night trying different recipes before finding one that worked. I guarantee that while the smell is a bit off, no bugs will come within thirty feet of you!”

“Oh yeah? Neither will anybody else!” Mariane raged.

Keith approached to smooth things over, only to gag when he caught a whiff of the leftover particles in the air. Mariane wasn’t kidding when she said it smelled like manure. Seeing his Mom on the verge of punching the man in the face, Keith said, “Mom, don’t worry, you can use a cleanliness ring to remove the smell, right?”

Enlightened, Mariane quickly did as Keith suggested. Now clean, she threatened the man with a raised fist before turning to leave.

“Wait, miss,” the middle-aged man coughed with an apologetic expression. “I’ll pay a good price for any herbs you find in Serenity Canyon.”

Mariane raised an eyebrow. “Why should I give them to you when I can exchange them with the military for contribution points?”

The middle-aged man confidently patted his chest. “As a grandmaster alchemist, money isn’t something I lack.”

“Ok, I’ll keep you in mind,” Mariane waved her hand and walked away.

Just as Keith was about to follow his mother, he suddenly thought of something and turned to the alchemist. “Sir, how will I know you’re giving me a fair deal when nobody knows the value of the herbs?”

Through centuries of extensive research, alchemists had long discovered all the possible uses for the herbs in the Innate Dimension, so their value hardly fluctuated. However, the herbs in the Grandsky Realm were a mystery. Nobody knew which ones were valuable. Even Yara couldn’t help in this regard; she wasn’t an alchemist and couldn’t offer guidance.

In the face of Keith’s doubts, the middle-aged man smiled confidently and answered, “You could say the same for the military. Nobody knows what’s what. So if you want gold, come to me. If you want contribution points, go to the military.”

“Fair enough.”

Keith found it reasonable and caught up to his mother, his mind racing.

Thanks to investing so much into the Farming Simulator, Keith could grow level 400 herbs in less than a day, level 300 herbs in hours, and level 200 herbs in under an hour. The Farming Simulator already brought in massive profits, but what if he started growing herbs found in the Grandsky Realm? How much would he make then?

The only problem with that idea was nobody knew how to price the herbs, so he didn’t know what to grow first to take advantage of the situation. What he needed was luck, and he knew just where to find it.