Chapter 130: The Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce

When Andy returned to the dormitory, Catherine excitedly told him about her studies in witchcraft arrays, speaking with great admiration for her instructor’s profound mastery of the subject.

Andy mused that she clearly had never heard the legends of Alexandre Dumas; if she had, she would know what a true master of witchcraft arrays looked like. However, considering Catherine was still quite young, Andy decided not to mention Dumas to her.

Since Catherine had exhausted her transformation duration during her daytime classes, Andy slept soundly without any worries. Early the next morning, he headed to several of the capital's trading markets.

Andy spent time browsing the extraordinary goods market, purchasing various potions designed to enhance meditation efficiency. Beyond the basic clarity potions he had used before, he also acquired mind-sharpening and tranquility potions. These were common items on the market, so Andy had little trouble securing them.

With the potions in hand, the only thing left was to head to a meditation room to see just how much his efficiency would improve. He had long since learned that there were three meditation rooms within the academy, and he chose the one located in the outer courtyard, which was closest to his dormitory.

As he entered, he crossed paths with several students leaving the room, who were engaged in a lively discussion.

"I really don't want to leave," one said. "The effect of the meditation room is incredible. An hour here is more effective than ten hours of meditating outside."

"I know, right? I don't want to leave either, but it's just too expensive. It costs eight and a half contribution points per hour. I spent a whole month grinding for those points, and they were gone in less than a day."

The group continued to complain about the fees as their voices faded into the distance.

Andy entered and approached the attendant, stating his intention to use the room. The staff member explained that all meditation rooms were of the same standard, with a flat rate of ten contribution points per hour.

"Wait, isn't it eight and a half points an hour?" Andy asked curiously, recalling what the student had just mentioned.

The attendant explained, "They are members of a two-star club, so they enjoy a fifteen percent discount."

Andy already knew that members of ranked clubs received corresponding discounts on contribution points. He had been planning to find a way to join a club once he had resolved his meditation efficiency issues.

Since the rate was ten points, so be it. It was his first time, and he only wanted to experience the benefits of the room to better plan his cultivation progress. He swiped his card and the timer began.

Once inside, Andy consumed several potions and began his meditation. With the boost from the potions, he felt his spiritual power become unprecedentedly active. The surrounding environment seemed to subtly resonate with his consciousness, and he could almost feel his spiritual power growing in real-time.

Upgrading through "potion-popping" was truly satisfying. He only stopped once the effects of the potions wore off. After silently calculating the time and gauging his spiritual power, Andy wore a faint smile.

There was still plenty of time left, so he continued.

Andy drank a few more bottles and began another session. Over the next few days, he alternated between purchasing potions at the market and renting the meditation room. Although his magic stones and contribution points were dwindling, he hadn't felt such significant progress in a long time. The gratification was addictive, and since he still had a fair amount of magic stones left from his previous trading efforts, and his card still held enough points for a few more days, he was content.

However, as he continued to use these common potions, Andy noticed their effects diminishing; he realized his body had developed a resistance. It seemed he would need to find other types of potions.

Acquiring new varieties proved more difficult, but Andy eventually succeeded, albeit at a much higher cost. By this time, the requests he had posted at the mission hall also yielded results, allowing him to procure potions not found on the open market. This bought him a few more days of progress.

He returned to the market in the Mixed Arts Courtyard to trade for more contribution points, then resumed his regimen of potion-fueled meditation until he inevitably developed a tolerance to those as well. He then went back to posting missions or scouring the markets for new supplies.

Eventually, he reached a point where it became nearly impossible to find suitable potions. Everything on the market was either something he had already used or rare items with sky-high prices.

Realizing this, Andy sought advice on how to acquire other auxiliary meditation potions. According to Fura, Stein had used hundreds of different potions for his "potion-popping" method. Andy had only used about a dozen; it was impossible that no other options existed.

He happened to run into "Skinny Monkey" while posting a mission at the hall and called him over for advice, offering the customary tip. Skinny Monkey had a good impression of Andy and readily shared everything he knew.

According to him, there were two ways to acquire these rarer potions: either commission them privately from a trusted alchemist or purchase them from the Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce in the capital.

Since Andy didn't know any alchemists, he asked for more information about the Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce. Andy might not have been familiar with the name, but he had long heard of its other guise: the Dark Night Circus.

It was said that the Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce was a massive organization spanning multiple planes, and in every region, they adapted to local conditions by acquiring existing organizations to act as their commercial agents. In the Dolon Continent, they had selected the Dark Night Circus, one of the three major wizard organizations, which already possessed a solid commercial foundation.

Originally, they had operated under the name "Dark Night Circus" throughout the continent, but due to recent shifts in the upper management of the Dark Moon Chamber, they had begun to unify their public identity under the "Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce" name. Despite this, many locals still referred to them by their old name.

Andy understood this well enough—it was merely the relationship between a parent company and a subsidiary.

The Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce was located in the southeastern corner of the capital, separated from Grim Academy by the entire city. Since it was getting late, Andy decided to wait until the next day to see what he could find.

Thinking of the Dark Moon Chamber, Andy recalled that someone had once invited him to join the Dark Night Circus, but he had declined, believing the prospects at Grim Academy were better. Now, it seemed the Dark Night Circus had quite a powerful background—a massive merchant guild spanning planes sounded much more promising than his current path at Grim Academy!