Chapter 36: The Rune Forge—Crafting In-Game Currency!

The Guangqiu immediately felt guilty.

It stammered, “Um…this…”

“And look at Edgar. He’s covered in wounds too, but he didn’t wake up from the noise!”

Leaf Zhi pointed to Edgar, resting in another corner.

The other had used whatever bricks the town had to make a makeshift personal rest chamber in the corner.

Even with the loud noise on Leaf Zhi’s side,

There was no reaction from him at all.

Leaf Zhi turned and questioned:

“As the only one among the three of us without a single scratch, don’t you feel ashamed?”

“When you encounter problems, look for the cause within yourself first. Maybe your work was too easy during the day, so you can’t sleep at night!”

Xiao Ming froze on the spot.

“Is…is that so?”

“Of course!”

Leaf Zhi declared firmly.

“I don’t need your help either, so go back to sleep now!”

Xiao Ming lowered her head in shame, all arrogance gone from her.

“Sorry for disturbing your work.”

Then she obediently returned to the palm of the statue.

Leaf Zhi turned back and continued with what he was doing.

He had lived for 700 years and knew a bit of every magic. Alchemy was no problem at all.

But even the best housewife can’t cook without rice.

Back on the Rinwind Plains, those two foolish acolytes had broken his Storage Pouch.

Now, he had very few magic materials left.

Materials usable for alchemy were even more pitifully scarce.

After picking and choosing, he could only create an alchemical item that transformed dirt into a hard copper-like disc.

Leaf Zhi named it the “Rune Furnace.”

The Rune Furnace had three material input ports.

After passing through the reaction chamber and Conversion Matrix, they each led to three different exits.

The alloy discs produced from the three exits varied in size and pattern.

From small to large, their values were 1, 10, and 100.

The outer shell was done, but there was one final step.

Activate the Conversion Matrix in the center of the furnace.

A golden-red light gathered in Leaf Zhi’s palm, casting his hand bones in a bloody hue.

He shouted, “Seal!”

The entire furnace shook violently, its color changing from pure black to brass.

“Cough, cough!!!”

Leaf Zhi’s body scattered to the ground with a “pop,” turning into a pile of white bones.

Three seconds later.

The bones reassembled.

Leaf Zhi supported himself against the wall and straightened his head, sighing helplessly.

“Sigh, it really was too much.”

He brought up the System Panel and saw his Lifespan had dropped by two days.

[Lifespan: 6 days 19 hours 56 minutes]

His already scarce lifespan had decreased by nearly a quarter.

Leaf Zhi glanced at it like it was just a string of ordinary numbers, then closed it.

He also calculated the magic consumed just now.

“Using Magic Fireball to save three Players only reduced my time by ten minutes, but making an alchemical item cost two days…”

“Hmm, I should use magic more sparingly.”

Looking at the short and stout Rune Furnace, Leaf Zhi opened the console.

The currency function above had successfully dropped to 100 Divine Power Value!

Leaf Zhi’s eyes lit up. “Not bad, two days weren’t wasted! It converted into 400 Divine Power Value!”

He immediately purchased the currency function.

And began experimenting at once!

Ten minutes later.

Leaf Zhi picked up a freshly minted piece of Game Currency.

On the front, “100” was engraved, while the back bore a stylized chibi skull.

Both edges of the coin were serrated, with decorative patterns etched on top.

“Looks like currency used by the evil faction,” Leaf Zhi commented.

“But…who cares! As the designer, I like it!”

Anyway, because of his Undead status, the Watchers were already branded as the evil faction.

At the same time.

Leaf Zhi’s Game Panel popped up.

[New Game Currency: 100!]

“Wait! The name is really just Game Currency?”

Leaf Zhi hurriedly opened the GM Console and changed the name.

“It’ll be…Undead Coin—no, Magic Gold Coin! After all, it’s a product of magical alchemy.”

Leaf Zhi stored the Magic Gold Coin with a value of 100.

Then, hugging the half-human-sized Rune Furnace, he crossed most of the Church.

He knocked on the temporary wooden door of Edgar’s room.

A moment later.

The door opened.

Edgar, fully dressed, appeared before Leaf Zhi.

“Leaf, it’s not work time yet.”

The outside sky was a misty blue.

It would be at least two hours before the Land of the Gods fully rose!

Leaf Zhi replied shamelessly.

“Even so, didn’t you still wake up?”

“And, dear Edgar, you need to get used to the time difference now.”

“When there are more Players, they won’t care what time it is—they’ll knock on your door 24 hours a day!”

Edgar: “…… I’m starting to think we need a new plan for reviving the Watchers.”

“I refuse!”

Leaf Zhi said decisively.

“Are you sure you don’t want to invite me in to sit?”

Edgar stepped aside.

Since it was a temporary rest area, the room was quite small.

Besides the bed, there was only half a person’s space to stand.

With one person and one Undead inside, it already felt cramped.

Leaf Zhi tossed the heavy Rune Furnace to Edgar and explained its functions.

“From now on, you’re the Fiscal Minister of the Watcher Organization!”

“This thing stays with you. I trust you’ll keep it safe!”

Edgar looked down at the alchemical tool stuffed into his hands.

Though most of the materials were common, its precise structure showed it was extraordinary.

Even if you ignored its functionality, just the craftsmanship made it worth treasuring.

But…

***

“Leader, you should know that four days ago, you appointed me General Affairs Minister.”

Which meant assigning and settling Player tasks.

Now he was being made to manage finances too.

Wasn’t that too much work for one person?

“Ahaha, is that so?”

Leaf Zhi laughed awkwardly.

“Then this stays with you, too. Among the three of us, you’re the strongest, so it’s safest with you!”

This was 100 Divine Power Value!

The three of them were weak and wounded.

Even though Edgar lost much of his power when he defected from the Church,

He had recovered quite a bit over time.

They couldn’t let Leaf Zhi, who only had intermediate mage strength, or Xiao Ming, who had no combat power at all, handle it.

“Soon, task rewards will include Magic Gold Coins. Keeping it with you will make settlement easier, right?”

Leaf Zhi quickly found reasons for Edgar, patting his shoulder with importance.

“Little Ed, the organization trusts you!”

“When we have more staff in the future, I’ll make sure to assign you an assistant first!”

Edgar paused, then finally gave in.

“Fine, but about the assistant—you have to hurry!”

“Of course! As soon as a stray unlucky fellow shows up near Sweetwater Town, I’ll bring them back to assist you!”

Relying on his Undead status, Leaf Zhi could promise anything without blinking.

“Other than that…”

Edgar’s eyes turned wary.

“What else do you want to do?!”

A Paladin, raised on The Knight’s virtues, had been driven to paranoia.

He was even wary of his own superior, showing the look of an overworked employee.

Leaf Zhi couldn’t help but reflect—had he gone too far?