The shopkeeper's surprise wasn't due to the rarity of the white leaf orchid.

After all, someone running a shop in the magician's trade market was likely well-versed in various magical herbs and wouldn't be easily astonished by a single specimen.

His reaction stemmed from the fact that this white leaf orchid was incredibly fresh.

If planted in soil rich in magical elements, it could thrive for a long time.

Fresh white leaf orchids were indeed rare. This herb grew deep within the Misty Forest, and harvesting it was no easy task.

After being picked, it often took several days, even weeks, to leave the forest.

During this time, the orchid, having been out of the soil for too long, would lose its freshness or even wither away. Plus, transporting it to the capital required additional time.

Only a powerful Archmage could quickly extract it from the Misty Forest after harvesting or use Life magic to keep the orchid alive.

However, at the level of an Archmage, who would bother going through so much trouble for a mid-tier herb like the white leaf orchid? Thus, fresh specimens were rarely found on the market unless high-level alchemists were willing to invest heavily in cultivation.

“Are you sure you want to sell?” The shopkeeper’s tone turned respectful.

In his eyes, the customer, who emitted no magical aura, suddenly seemed enigmatic.

He thought to himself that this might be a powerful Archmage hiding their true abilities, explaining why he couldn't sense their magical elements.

“Of course, what else would I come here for?”

The shopkeeper quickly bowed and invited Karien to sit in the back room.

“No need,” Karien waved his hand and asked, “What price can you offer for this white leaf orchid?”

After a moment of contemplation, the shopkeeper examined the wooden box carefully before responding. “This orchid is quite fresh, but it was harvested a bit too roughly, resulting in multiple broken roots.

While it can still be replanted, it won't grow anymore... umm... I'll offer you 14 gold coins.”

Fourteen gold coins were about what Karien expected. On the market, a typical white leaf orchid sold for around 10 gold coins, and a fresh one could fetch double or even triple that amount in some places. However, purchase prices were always lower than market prices.

That said, this offer was still significantly lower than what he anticipated.

Karien remained silent, watching the shopkeeper. Feeling a bit uneasy under Karien's gaze, the shopkeeper hesitated before saying, “Fifteen, I can’t go higher than that, considering the risk involved with this orchid.”

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Clearing his throat, Karien replied, “If you’re only considering purchasing one, then let’s settle on that price.”

The shopkeeper perked up, realizing from Karien’s words that he might have more than just one viable orchid. It was hard to believe anyone would risk their life in the depths of the dark forest just for a single specimen.

“How many do you have? If they’re in similar condition, I’ll take them all at a negotiable price!” the shopkeeper said excitedly.

Karien decided not to play coy anymore and slowly took out several large wooden boxes from his pack, casually tossing them onto the counter as if he were selling cabbages rather than herbs.

“Hey, be careful!” The shopkeeper watched nervously, fearing the herbs might get damaged.

He picked up one of the boxes and opened it, revealing over twenty white leaf orchids inside. Although some leaves were squished, all were still fresh and alive.

Carefully extracting the orchids, the shopkeeper examined them and counted silently.

“There are a total of one hundred forty-six, with eight severely damaged. The rest are in decent condition,” he said, looking up with a beaming face. “Esteemed customer, I’ll buy them all at 17 gold coins each. How does that sound?”

After a moment’s thought, Karien replied, “If you’re only considering this one purchase, let’s finalize the price.”

The shopkeeper was taken aback. Was this implying that there could be a long-term supply? His breathing grew heavier at the thought.

If Karien could indeed provide fresh white leaf orchids consistently, it would change everything.

Astute merchants know that while individual sales can yield limited profit, long-term business relationships are the path to wealth.

“C-Could you provide regularly?” The shopkeeper stuttered, barely able to contain his excitement.

Karien nodded, “If all goes well, I should be able to. Of course, it depends on you.”

Implying that it depended on the shopkeeper's sincerity.

After a moment of thoughtful tapping on his nose, the shopkeeper finally responded, “Here’s the deal: for today’s purchase, I’ll pay 18 gold coins per unit.

If you can supply me again in the future, as long as the quantity and quality are acceptable, I can even go up to 20 gold coins!”

Being a businessman, the shopkeeper wasn’t naive enough to believe Karien outright. However, he recognized the need to show sincerity to secure this channel, hence his offer of 18 gold coins, which would ensure he wouldn’t suffer a loss.

“Agreed.” Karien tried to appear indifferent, though he was inwardly excited about the prospect of earning 2,628 gold coins.

After a sigh of relief, the shopkeeper asked, “Esteemed customer, how should I address you?”

After a few seconds of silence, Karien replied, “Just call me Mr. Sixteen.”

“Understood, Mr. Sixteen. How would you like to settle the payment? If it’s in gold coins... it might be a bit troublesome.”

Karien paused, realizing that in this world, paper currency was not yet a thing, or at least not widely distributed.

If he were to use gold coins, two thousand plus coins would weigh a lot, considering each coin weighed around 15 grams. Just the thought of carrying a heavy bag of gold coins through the streets felt unsafe.

Not having paper currency was indeed a hassle...

After mumbling this to himself, Karien said, “Let’s settle in elemental coins.”

Elemental coins were a genuinely valuable form of currency. While most transactions in this world used gold, silver, or copper, many mid- to high-tier magicians also traded in elemental coins.

These coins were crafted by churches or the state, where magical engravers inscribed arrays on special materials, absorbing and storing magical elements to create a unique currency. Each elemental coin contained a standardized amount of magical elements.

As long as you input your mental energy, you could release the stored magical elements for use by magicians, similar in effect to magical crystals.

The difference was that while magical crystals varied in elemental content and could only be used once, elemental coins could be recharged and reused after their magical elements were consumed.

“Very well, we accept transactions in elemental coins here,” the shopkeeper replied.

“We have both dark and light elemental coins available, as well as earth, fire, water, wind, and thunder elemental coins, although those last ones are limited in quantity.”

After thinking for a moment, Karien asked, “What’s the current exchange rate for wind elemental coins?”