Chapter 165: Looks Like Farming Is the Only Way

  Alex initially thought that ohe deal with Nanalie was finalized, he could simply have her purchase the spirit crystals, then sit bad enjoy his newfound resources. But...

  "Is this all?"

  Looking at fewer than ten spirit crystals in front of him, Alex's expression darkened.

  "I'm really sorry..."

  Seeing Alex's rea, Nanalie hurriedly apologized.

  "When I went to the Alchemists' Guild, I found out that spirit crystal purchases are restricted by quotas. Since I'm only a junior alchemist, I only get this much each month..."

  "..."

  These meager spirit crystals were practically useless. Alex figured he’d probably earn more huntis in the Frostwood Wilderness. To make matters worse, the quality of these crystals wasn’t great either. Rough calcutions suggested they’d only provide a few dozen points of crystal energy.

  "Money ’t solve this problem?"

  Alex was genuinely surprised. He had always believed money could resolve almost any issue, but from Nanalie’s expression, it seemed like this system was truly ironcd.

  "Alright then..."

  Alex had no choice but to accept this reality.

  "So, how we obtain a rge quantity of spirit crystals?"

  "Well... I would o be promoted to at least a Level Five Alchemist..."

  From Nanalie’s expnation, Alex finally uood the Alchemists' Guild’s adva system. There were two ways to level up as an alchemist.

  The first was through produ. An alchemy workshop could produce a specified quantity and standard of potions annually, which the guild would purchase. The alchemist would earn points, and onough points were accumuted, they could be promoted.

  The seethod was innovation. An alchemist could create a new iion with signifit market or practical value. After evaluation by the guild, this could result in a promotion. Moreover, if the iion gained widespread adoption by other alchemists, the creator would receive additional points.

  "That’s... plicated..."

  Alex was momentarily at a loss. He had assumed that seg the workshop’s certification would allow him to leverage his wealth to achieve his goals. Clearly, the system had already been desigo prevent such exploitation. Simply buying and selling wasn’t going to work.

  So what now? Farming fress, of course.

  Relying solely on fulfilling the guild’s produ orders was out of the question. Not only was the workshop severely under-equipped, but even if it were funal, Alex estimated that it would take Nanalie, w alo least one or two years to level up.

  That left only oion: create an inal iion and submit it to the guild for evaluation to fast-track her promotion.

  But... that wasn’t going to be easy either.

  "Aral secret formu?"

  Naared bnkly at Alex, her face betraying a hint of surprise.

  "Sorry, but our family doesn’t have any aral formus. My mother was just an ordinary alchemist..."

  That made sense. If Nanalie’s family had some kind of unique formu, she wouldn’t be in this dire situation. Alex had briefly eaihe idea that she might have some protagonist-level luck, but it seemed she was just another supp character in the grand scheme.

  "Then we’ll have to e up with an iion ourselves? That’s not going to be easy..."

  As Alex flipped through the Alchemists’ Guild directory, he frowhe alchemists in this world had already ied everything imagiions, ons, transportation, and even power reactors. In modern terms, the field was riddled with patent barriers, making even reverse engineering a near-impossible task.

  Wait a minute!

  Alex’s eyes lit up as he flipped back through the "patent pendium" he had just browsed. He quickly reviewed it again and realized something.

  On the surface, it seemed like the alchemists had covered everything. But there was one field they had barely touched—agriculture!

  Withiire alchemist directory, Alex found only two agricultural iions. One was akin to fertilizer, and the other resembled pesticides. To his surprise, when he asked Nanalie about it, she proudly informed him that both iions were created by her mother!

  No way!

  Hearing this, Alex was utterly stunned. Fertilizer aicides were groundbreaking products, the kind of innovations that could make someohe wealthiest person in the world. How could Nanalie’s family end up in such dire straits? Was this some kind of joke?

  Seeing Alex’s incredulous expression, Nanalie looked embarrassed and quickly expihe situation. Only then did Alex uand the reason.

  Although this world’s enviro resembled Earth’s, it was far more fertile. The soil was so rich that crops thrived without the need for fertilizers. As for pests... there was a small magical beast specialized in dev pests, which farmers kept as a y, much like livestock. Because of this, pesticides barely had a market.

  More importantly, while the iions of Nanalie’s mother—fertilizers aicides—were effective, they were prohibitively expensive. Nanalie’s mother, perhaps a perfeist, had meticulously crafted her iions using high-quality materials. While these fertilizers aicides were incredibly beneficial and non-polluting, their cost was astronomical. Farmers who used them wouldn’t make enough in a year to break even, essentially losing money.

  "Sigh..."

  After listening to Nanalie’s expnation, Alex frowned, unsure of what to do. He could pull advaeology from the Ironblood World, but he khis wasn’t some medieval fantasy world where people were easily awed by gadgets. His time in the Sky Arena had taught him that the intellectuals of this world were highly knowledgeable. Fooling them would be harder than trying to trick Earth’s medieval peasants.

  If he introduced a pletely new system of products that deviated from the current framework, suspi would be iable.

  And based on Nanalie’s expnation, the typical go-to tricks for otherworldly transmigrators—like introdug fertilizers aicides—wouldn’t work in this world. If Alex wao break through the alchemists’ “patent barriers,” he’d have to innovate in hardware. But agricultural hardware wasly an easy field to tackle...

  "Sigh..."

  Alex sighed again. Farming frades seemed like a worse prospect than sying magical beasts on the frontier. At least out there, you could deal with the cold and pitch a tent for shelter...

  Wait a minute!

  Suddenly, Alex’s eyes lit up.

  Why had he overlooked this?

  Agricultural maery might be tricky, but what about greenhouses?

  "Nanalie," Alex called out.

  "Yes, Lord Ezio? Do you have any instrus?"

  Hearing Alex’s voianalie immediately straightened her posture, responding with a mix of resped nervousness. She wasn’t clueless—she knew Alex’s questions earlier were aimed at improving her alchemist rank to secure a rger spirit crystal quota. Nanalie was now on edge, worried that Alex might deem the endeavor unworthy and abandon her. Without his support, she wouldn’t be able to pay the Alchemists’ Guild fees, ae mother’s workshop would be repossessed.

  "What do farmers d the winter here?"

  "Winter?"

  Nanalie was caught off guard by the seemingly random question but thought for a moment before answering.

  "During the winter... most people don’t have much to do. Some go hunting in the mountains in groups, but the majority stay home, waiting for spring to arrive..."

  "What if they could farm during the winter? Would they be ied?"

  "Farm during winter?"

  Nanalie’s jaw dropped in astonishment. After a moment, she nodded vigorously.

  "Of course! Most people have nothing to d winter. Hunting in the mountains is dangerous, and many don’t want to go but feel they have no choice. And... everyone needs some kind of ine."

  No matter the world, farmers were often the most disadvantaged. While this world’s farmers lived better thah’s medieval serfs—thanks to fertile soil and abundant harvests—they still earned very little. Acc to Nanalie, maed to risky mountain hunts during wio gather goods to sell.

  If a solution for winter farmied, it would undoubtedly be weled!

  But...

  " we create something like that?"

  Nanalie looked unsure. ging climates was something only legendary mages could achieve, and she was just an alchemist!

  "Of course, and it’s quite simple."

  Alex’s fidence left no room for doubt.

  Greenhouses were straightforward. The Ironblood World had tless resources on the subject, and with alchemy, he could create a fantasy version of a greenhouse. There was nothing particurly challenging about it.

  But...

  Looking at the young woman before him, Alex sighed.

  Other transmigrators started their journeys with high-tech advas, but here he was, starting with literal farming.

  For someone who trolled millions of Zerg and was waging ielr wars, wasn’t this a bit... lowly?

  (End of chapter.)

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