"So… what do you think?" Beng asked, eyes gleaming. "Are you joining Skyward Legion? Look—they're promising you any gear you want!"
Mu Lan shook his head firmly.
"No way. Didn't we already say it? We're going to be the strongest—together. When people see us, they'll step aside and say, 'Damn… look at those two. I wish I could be like them.'"
They fell into comfortable silence as Mu Lan finished his final batch of potions. Ten minutes later, his hands were empty—all herbs and vials used up.
He'd crafted:
40 Beginner's Extended Duration Potions6 Intermediate Extended Duration Potions4 Advanced Extended Duration Potions
…for a total of 50 potions.
"If we sell these at our usual prices," Mu Lan said, "1 Gold is practically in our pockets."
"Alright," Beng said, "but what about the Advanced ones? You said you wanted to sell those for credits, right? How much? 1,000 credits? 10,000? Do you even know their market value?"
"Let me ask you this," Mu Lan countered. "At the market, what's the highest credit offer you've heard for 1 Copper?"
"Now that you mention it," Beng recalled, "some guy was shouting '1 Copper for 1,000 credits!' earlier. If that's the going rate… what are we listing our potions for?"
Mu Lan's eyes lit up.
"We sold the Advanced Potion for 5 Silver in-game. Normally, I'd list the Extended version for 10 Silver… but since we're already at the doorstep of 1 Gold, let's think bigger.
If 1 Copper = 1,000 credits, then 1 Silver = 100,000 credits… and 1 Gold = 10,000,000 credits.
So our Advanced Extended Potion? That's worth 1,000,000 credits.
After the 10% commission, we net 900,000 per potion.
Four potions? That's 3.6 million credits.
Not bad for our first real business."
Beng stared, stunned.
"That's… insane. My family doesn't even make 3 million credits a year! And you're just selling four potions? At this rate, we'll be the richest players in the game—and in real life!"
"Exactly," Mu Lan said, standing. "Let's list them and log out. There's something I need to tell you."
Beng nodded slowly. Mu Lan packed up his Alchemy Station, and they hurried to the Player Market. Since all potions were in Mu Lan's inventory, he listed them himself:
Standard potions at their usual pricesThe four Advanced Extended Potions at 1,000,000 credits each
The moment they hit "Confirm," the market exploded.
"Whoa! 1 MILLION CREDITS for ONE potion?!"
"Forgive me, Mom and Dad—I'm maxing out your credit card! I need this!"
"Our Alchemist God has blessed us again! Grab them before they're gone!"
[Ding!]
900,000 Credits deposited into your account.
"Beng," Mu Lan said softly, "we're millionaires now. Let's log out—I've got things to tell you. And we still haven't done our workout."
"Alright."
Just then, a system message flashed across their screens:
[System Notice]
The game will enter maintenance in 10 minutes for 2 hours.
Please log out from a safe zone.
For full details, visit our official website.
See you in 2 hours!
Mu Lan had expected this. Beng, however, was caught off guard.
"Mu—you saw that, right? The game's going down just as we're logging out!"
"Yeah," Mu Lan said calmly. "Let's go. We'll read the patch notes after our workout. We've got ten minutes."
"But Mu—how are you not curious?!" Beng burst out. "You're acting like this is normal!"
Mu Lan met his eyes.
"I've got something bigger on my mind. Once I tell you… my curiosity will come back. For now—let's log out."
"Fine."
They exited the game, immediately headed to the kitchen, and devoured a massive meal. Hours of intense in-game and real-world activity had left them ravenous.
Then, without pause, they changed into training gear and stepped outside.
Their routine:
10-kilometer runSparring drillsPush-ups, sit-ups, squats—the fundamentals, repeated daily to forge unbreakable bodies.
In just one hour, they were drenched in sweat—but stronger than before.
They showered quickly, then met in the living room.
Mu Lan took a deep breath.
"Where do I even begin? Do I start with all these… strange things? Or go back to the very beginning? How I know so much… what I've been through…"
Beng leaned forward, eyes locked on his best friend.
"Start from the very beginning. And don't you dare skip a single detail. If you leave anything out… we're done."
Mu Lan smiled faintly.
"Alright, Beng… I'll tell you everything."