"Accept it? Of course I accept it!"
Daniel kept a calm expression on the surface, but inwardly, he was bursting with joy.
He never expected the Multiracial Commerce League to be this generous.
Given his current strength, he had plenty of confidence in himself. One million gold coins a day? That was practically free money!
"I have no issues on my end. I'm ready to sign the contract at any time."
Hearing this, Manager Harry let out a deep breath of relief.
He promptly pulled out a pre-prepared Soul Contract and signed it with Daniel.
There was no need to question the credibility of the Multiracial Commerce League.
Shortly after receiving the 2 million gold coins, Daniel made a straightforward request: to exchange them for bark from the Elder Tree of the Elves.
Upon hearing this, Manager Harry was momentarily stunned.
"Honored Prince Daniel, may I ask whether you prefer processed Elder Tree of the Elves bark or unprocessed?"
"Huh?"
Daniel furrowed his brows. This was the first time he had heard such a distinction.
"What's the difference between the two?"
Harry bowed slightly, his demeanor that of a consummate professional.
"Your Highness, perhaps you're unaware, but the bark of the Elder Tree of the Elves contains vast amounts of life force. Naturally, it should be considered a top-tier material."
"However, the raw life force within the bark is entangled with plant-specific energy, which isn't easily absorbed by elves or humans. That's why the bark sold on the market is typically processed to remove this incompatibility."
"If I may presume, you're likely looking for the processed variant, yes?"
Daniel almost nodded instinctively but caught himself just in time.
The Tome of Materials he consulted earlier hadn't specified that the bark had to be processed.
So... was there any need to go through that extra step?
"What's the price difference between the two?"
"Oh, it's significant," Harry replied with a nod. "Unprocessed Elder Tree bark only costs 200,000 gold coins. After all, as you may know, purifying any kind of energy requires at least a demigod-level expert. And hiring someone of that level... is very costly."
Daniel nodded, but his thoughts were already racing.
If unprocessed bark could still fulfill the Tome's requirements, then wouldn't that save him a massive 800,000 gold coins?
"Does your Commerce League have any in stock? Take me to see it."
"As you wish, Honored Prince Daniel. Our Multiracial Commerce League boasts one of the most extensive inventories in existence."
...
Daniel could never have anticipated just how vast the Commerce League's warehouse would be—it was practically the size of a small town!
Many of the stored items were so rare and obscure that he had never even heard of them.
When a massive warehouse door was opened, what lay beyond made Daniel's eyes widen.
A literal hill of bark was piled before him—an astonishing sight.
Manager Harry revealed a proud smile as he introduced the goods.
"Honored Prince Daniel, these are all Elder Tree of the Elves bark. The ones with a rough and weathered aura are unprocessed. Over there in the corner, you'll see the processed variants."
Following Harry's pointing finger, Daniel indeed spotted a separate area of bark pieces—smaller in size, shimmering faintly with a golden glow.
If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never have believed that both types were the same material.
Daniel then glanced toward the processed bark. As he did so, a description panel popped up before his eyes.
[Item: Elder Tree of the Elves Bark (Damaged)]
[Description: Contains diminished life energy and cannot condense a Tear of Life. Its effects are significantly weakened. However, its purified life force is more suitable for regular lifeforms.]
"Huh?"
Daniel narrowed his eyes, a gleam of sharp light flashing in their depths.
He hadn't expected that the Tear of Life was related to the Elder Tree bark at all.
Even more surprisingly, the item description indicated that it could be condensed from the bark!
If that was true, then his God Rank Skill [Ode to Life] might be possible to synthesize in advance!
The realization made his heart pound.
His gaze then turned back to the massive pile of unprocessed bark.
To his amazement, even among bark that appeared largely identical, two different descriptions emerged:
[Item: Elder Tree of the Elves Bark (Withered)]
[Description: Has lost most of its life force. Cannot condense Tear of Life. Effect is significantly weakened.]
[Item: Elder Tree of the Elves Bark (Fresh)]
[Description: Rich with vibrant life energy. Can condense Tear of Life. An extremely rare and precious material.]
"Huh?"
Daniel's eyelids twitched. His heart brimmed with joy, but he didn't show it outwardly.
He pointed to the pile of bark and asked casually,
"I'd like to purchase some. Is it possible for me to handpick them myself?"
Harry hesitated slightly, clearly confused.
To his eyes, aside from the newness of some bark versus the old, there really wasn't much difference.
But the Multiracial Commerce League operated under one ironclad philosophy: The customer is a deity.
Naturally, he had no reason to reject the request.
"As you wish, Honored Prince Daniel. You may select freely."
"Great. I'll take that one, and that one... and that one..."
By the time Daniel walked out of the Commerce League, he was absolutely loaded with spoils.
Inside the storage ring that Manager Harry had thoughtfully provided, lay ten pieces of unprocessed Elder Tree of the Elves Bark.
Even after the purchase, Daniel still had 200,000 gold coins left over.
He quickly found a quiet, secluded place and began extracting the Tear of Life.
Just as he'd hoped, the material could indeed be extracted directly from the Fresh Elder Tree bark.
And after extraction, the bark would transform into:
[Tear of Life] + [Elder Tree of the Elves Bark (Withered)]
Even so, it could still be used in the synthesis of Ode to Life!
Moments later, Daniel opened his Skill Menu, his face glowing with satisfaction.
[God Rank Skill: Ode to Life (3-Star)]
Effect 1: Max HP +200,000
Effect 2: HP regeneration +3,000 per second
Effect 3: Killing different types of monsters increases Max HP:Small monsters: +100 HP (once per type)Large elite/BOSS monsters: +10,000 HP World Rank BOSS: +100,000 HP
Ecstatic. Overwhelmed. Euphoric.
Seeing the skill's effects, Daniel could barely contain his excitement. He almost jumped on the spot.
At long last—he was no longer a glass cannon!
Just this one skill had raised his HP from 3,000 to 203,000—nearly a 68x increase!