[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 14: The Costly Ten Gold Coins

 Chapter 14: The Costly Ten Gold Coins

Kun’s father, Marquis Lawrence, was a renowned peak third-tier powerhouse within the kingdom.

He advanced to a third-tier great warrior at twenty-six, reached the peak of the third tier by thirty, and had already brushed against the threshold of a higher realm. He was hailed as the most likely candidate in the past three hundred years to step into the fourth tier.

Even Dawn had once admitted inferiority before him—an undisputed prodigy among warriors.

Otherwise, with Dawn’s pride, he would never have spent nearly a decade serving as a combat instructor to a group of children in the Arlan family.

In the prime of his life, Lawrence firmly believed he was only half a step away from crossing that insurmountable chasm. To him, the fourth tier was already within reach—something he could grasp at any moment.

But in Kun’s eyes—perhaps the first person on Everbright Continent to enter the Heroic Realm through his own power rather than bloodline awakening—

If the journey to the endpoint were one hundred meters, then an ordinary third-tier had only walked ten.

Dawn might have reached thirty. His father, perhaps thirty-five.

Neither had even come close to halfway.

That was how vast the gap between the third and fourth tiers truly was—so vast it inspired despair.

And yet, most third-tier experts in the world had only glimpsed that distant gate, never realizing how far away it truly stood, despite seeming within arm’s reach.

Because of a trivial magic stone, ten gold coins, and a private deal with the Royal Mage Association, Marquis Lawrence had missed the very method of advancement that lay right before him.

The kingdom, in turn, had lost a chance to rise into an empire.

Those ten gold coins might well have been the most expensive in the history of Everbright Continent.

There were no exceptions—everyone had to pay for their mistakes.

A snowball tossed from a mountaintop ten years ago—what monstrous avalanche had it become today?

No one cared.

Because they never knew what they once had the chance to gain—or what they had lost.

—

As Kun repeatedly raised his bid, the gold coins in his pocket dwindled at a visible pace.

Spring planting seeds—mission accomplished.

The auction didn’t have a full hundred tons of green wheat seeds available. Across two rounds, Kun secured a total of fifty-five tons.

All of it came from the domains of other great northern lords. At this time of year, grain was at its most valuable, so the final prices were about ten percent higher than expected.

To make up the remaining shortfall, Kun also purchased twenty-five tons of red wheat seeds, five cartloads of Twinleaf Moonlight Grass, and ten jin of wild horseradish seedlings.

Red wheat was as common as green wheat, but their uses differed.

Green wheat bran was typically used as feed for slaves and livestock. Black bread was made primarily from coarse green bran mixed with a small amount of whole wheat.

Because of the high bran content, it turned dark black when steamed—and sometimes even contained bits of gravel or insect remains. By all accounts, it tasted awful.

Once the bran was removed, green wheat could be processed into flour—used for white bread in wealthy households, as well as a variety of refined pastries.

Red wheat could also be used as feed, but it was difficult to digest, so nobles rarely consumed it.

However, it had another, far more popular use—it could be brewed into alcohol. The northern “Scorchblood Wine” was especially famous, beloved by adventurers and mercenaries alike.

Of course, nobles preferred a more refined drink—ice wine made from frost-bitten green grapes aged in ancient oak barrels. Only such delicacies matched their status and taste.

As for the rough, coarse Scorchblood Wine, it was sold to taverns, inns, and restaurants.

Naturally, ordinary people weren’t allowed to brew alcohol privately. Otherwise, how would the nobles fill their coffers?

—

Twinleaf Moonlight Grass was a common medicinal herb in the north, used to treat minor wounds and stop bleeding.

Animals would consume it to accelerate healing, and many mercenaries carried dried portions of it on their person.

Kun happened to possess a formula for a healing potion that used this herb as its primary ingredient.

Though considered a low-tier potion within the alchemical system, it was still a magic potion—far more effective than any ointment or herbal decoction.

—

As for wild horseradish, it was a spice—pungent and intensely stimulating. Most people found its flavor overwhelming, but for those who enjoyed strong sensations, it was a delicacy.

Kun hadn’t bought it just for his own taste—well, not entirely.

The main reason was simple: it sold for an outrageous price in the capital.

Absurdly expensive.

So expensive that even Kun couldn’t understand why.

A single high-quality plant—one gold coin.

And it was still in high demand.

There was even a saying in the capital: A feast may lack meat, but never horseradish.

If a noble managed to acquire a few premium specimens, they could use them to host higher-ranking nobles—a rare opportunity in the rigid hierarchy of aristocracy.

Kun figured that if he didn’t capitalize on this, if he didn’t plant thousands upon thousands of kilograms and drive the price down to that of cabbages, he’d be unworthy of the title “Abundance Mage.”

—

Fifty-five tons of green wheat cost eleven gold coins.

Twenty-five tons of red wheat—seven gold coins.

Five carts of Twinleaf Moonlight Grass—one hundred sixty silver coins.

Ten jin of wild horseradish seedlings—the most expensive of all—cost him a full six gold coins.

To afford those seedlings, Kun had to dip into the allowance Old Tett had given him.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to pay for such costly stock.

—

As for farming tools, Kun only symbolically purchased one hundred black flint axes, one hundred double-pronged hoes, and one hundred round-headed shovels.

Nowhere near enough for the entire Fengrao Domain.

But there was no helping it. Rumors of impending war between the kingdom and its neighbors had tightened restrictions on iron goods, making such tools scarce.

He would have to find another solution.

—

“The next item—one hundred slaves from the Six Elders Guild. Starting price: one gold coin. Minimum increment: one silver coin. Begin bidding. One gold—once, twice—three times. Passed.”

A hundred slaves, loosely bound with thin hemp rope, were led onto the stage by a burly man. Moments later, they were led away again—no one had bid.

“What the hell? The kingdom’s famed slave traders have fallen this low? Where’d they even get this lot?”

“They’re all skin and bones—look at those ribs! My sheep have more meat than that.”

“Probably snatched from some forest tribe. Old, weak, sick—what use are they? You’d have to feed them like masters. And they dare ask one gold coin?”

Li Tianyun’s expression shifted.

These… were people?

Kun remained expressionless. He had long grown accustomed to such sights.

On Everbright Continent, treating slaves as less than human was commonplace. In fact, to its people, a world without slaves—like Blue Star—was the abnormal one.

The Fengrao Domain needed population—but it needed young, able-bodied laborers.

These slaves were either too old for heavy work, or mere children—mostly girls.

Moreover, in Kun’s long-term plan, slaves could never exceed half the population—and that ratio would decrease year by year.

Eventually, there would be no slaves at all in his territory.

—

He had no lofty ideals about emancipation.

He simply wanted to live more comfortably on his own land.

—

Li Tianyun had once joked—though Kun didn’t fully understand—that if he truly accomplished this, then the so-called Fengrao Domain might finally live up to its name.

—

But right now, Kun lacked both money and confidence.

He couldn’t afford to feed idle mouths.

So he didn’t raise his bid.

—

After the slaves were taken away, the next item was a massive magical beast egg—half the height of a person.

While size didn’t guarantee a high-tier creature, it was generally true that large beasts were rarely weak.

This egg had relatively low risk, so the starting price was high—eight gold coins.

In the end, it was purchased at base price by the noble youth Kun and Li Tianyun had encountered earlier—the one with the monocle.

In fact, every magical beast egg presented at the auction had been bought by him.

At first, a few bidders had tried to compete, but no matter how high the price climbed, he always outbid them by just a little—utterly determined.

Auction organizers hated such people.

Once bidders realized they couldn’t win, they stopped competing altogether—leading to valuable items being sold at minimum price.

No one was foolish enough to provoke someone so wealthy and confident.

Why risk offending such a person over something as trivial as a beast egg?

Were they planning to live an extra life?

—

With his main objective complete, Kun lost interest in the remaining items. He raised his hand twice out of habit, but unsurprisingly, won nothing.

—

The final item was a person.

A demi-human—though in human lands, they were simply called that. More accurately, a beastkin.

A female beastkin, clad only in scraps of cloth that barely concealed her body—yet did nothing to hide her striking figure.

With triangular ears and a slender tail, she appeared to be of a feline lineage.

The rarity of such a specimen sent the crowd into a frenzy. As the auctioneer revealed she was also a low-tier warrior, the price skyrocketed.

Kun glanced at her once, then looked away.

“Let’s go.”

There was nothing worth seeing.

Beastkin like her were favorites among nobles. Kun remembered that his father kept two such attendants—a lop-eared rabbitkin and a fire foxkin.

Both beautiful.

Both mages.

—

Kun found them irritating.

Servants who acted like masters—arrogant within the manor, yet submissive before his elder brother, the heir.

Selective humility.

Survival instinct, perhaps.

Understandable.

But unacceptable.

—

“Where to next?” Li Tianyun asked, cradling his beast egg.

“The Mage Guild in Lovos City.”

“The Mage Guild? For what?”

“To see if I can recruit a few apprentice mages for the Fengrao Domain.”

Kun tugged at his white mage robe and suddenly grinned.

“Preferably the kind that doesn’t ask for pay.”

—

The fire in the earthen hearth had long since died out.

Little Joel’s ears had turned purple from the cold. He exhaled a breath of white mist into his hands and rubbed them hard, but it brought no warmth.

“Cough… cough…”

Hearing his mother coughing inside the room, Joel—young yet already the pillar of the family—let out a quiet sigh.

If he’d known the firewood wouldn’t last, he would have gathered more last night.

But the nearby woods had already been stripped bare. To find more, he’d have to go farther—and venturing too far at night meant a high chance of encountering wild beasts.

“Brother, I’m hungry.”

A little girl in patched clothes tugged at his sleeve, her pale face full of hunger, her eyes clear like a fawn’s.

Joel’s own stomach growled in response.

The faint aroma of food drifted in through the cracks of the door and window. He swallowed quietly, casting a wistful glance outside.

He had heard tax officials proclaiming that the new lord was recruiting workers—offering wages and two meals a day.

For a place where no farming was possible, no game could be caught, and food stores were nearly gone at winter’s end—this was a blessing.

But his gravely ill mother had warned him again and again:

Even if she starved to death, he must not go.

These were nothing but lies from greedy lords.

Like bait on a hook.

His father had believed the previous lord’s promises of better earnings—and left.

He never came back.

Many men in the village had suffered the same fate—sold as slaves to neighboring lords.

Some were even seized in broad daylight.

Now, no one dared go out.

The more the new lord boasted of generous treatment, the more suspicious people became.

By the goddess above—last time, mere promises were enough to lure people away.

This time, with wages and food?

What was he planning?

There had to be a scheme.