The Exchange Center was simple but vast. Kai's interface now had five main categories:
[Basic Manuals | Tools | Materials | Concept Seeds | Blueprints]
Each item glowed, tagged with a value. Some required 50 points. Some 200. One blueprint cost 5,000. There
were also locked sections marked "Intermediate Tier" and "Restricted Knowledge: Authorization Needed."
He couldn't afford much.
But a few items were within reach. The "Rustbound Chisel" cost 5 CP. "Basic Talisman Line Guide" cost 10.
"Structural Wood Joinery" was 15.
Before he could choose, the System prompted again:
[New Mission Available: Identify 3 Common Pill Failures in Street Stalls.] [Reward: Basic Pill
Structure Manual + 15 CP]
Kai squinted. Alchemy. He knew next to nothing. But this was opportunity.
He wandered into the Pill Row of the outer district, where low-tier pill vendors lined the streets. Most were
failed apprentices, dropouts, or bold commoners mixing crude ingredients in cracked cauldrons.
He bought nothing. Just stood, listened, watched.
A man shouted, "Qi Recovery Pill, two for five stones!"
A customer sniffed, took one, and spat. "Too bitter. Not enough condensation!"
Kai noted it. Too bitter—failed condensation layer. That's one.
Another stall: A young woman selling Appetite Expansion Pellets. Her customer looked dazed after eating
one.
Too strong. Overpowered spirit herbs. Failed balance of essence. That's two.
Finally, an elderly cultivator tested a Focus Pill and his face twitched.
Muddled effect. Probably mixed core ingredients without proper sequencing.
Three.
[Mission Complete. +15 CP. Manual Unlocked.]
Kai sat back under a tree, fingers tingling with anticipation as a scroll appeared in his vision. He opened it.
The Basic Pill Structure Manual didn't just teach recipes—it explained pill theory. Ratios, formations,
condensation rings, and thermal control.
With this… maybe he could start something new.
And somewhere deep within the Exchange Center, a single tab blinked faintly:
[Factory Design Concepts: Locked – Tier I Authorization Required]
He didn't notice it yet. But the world was already bending toward what he would build next