Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 165: Chapter 164: It seems that I can only start by farming

Fang Zheng originally thought that as long as he settled this deal and let Nanali buy those Spirit Crystals, he could happily sit at home and top-up. But then…

“Is that all?”

Seeing fewer than ten Spirit Crystals in front of him, Fang Zheng’s face darkened.

“I’m very sorry…”

Seeing Fang Zheng’s expression, Nanali hurriedly apologized to him.

“I only found out when I went to the Alchemists’ Association that the purchase of Spirit Crystals is subject to quota restrictions, and as a Novice Alchemist, I can only get this many each month…”

...

“…………”

What use are these few crappy Spirit Crystals? Fang Zheng thought he could probably find more by sweeping through the Snowy Forest of Linhai for Demon Beasts. Moreover, the quality of these Spirit Crystals wasn’t great; a rough calculation showed they might only add a few dozen points of Crystal Energy…

“Even money doesn’t work?”

Fang Zheng had never seen a situation where money couldn’t solve the problem, but judging by Nanali’s expression, it seemed it really wouldn’t work this time.

“Well then……”

Fang Zheng could only helplessly accept the result.

“So, how can we get a large number of Spirit Crystals?”

“This… I at least need to upgrade to a Level Five Alchemist or higher…”

From Nanali’s explanation, Fang Zheng finally understood the ranking system of the Alchemists’ Association. There were two ways to upgrade in the Association; one was purely through production, crafting a specified standard and quantity of potions in the Alchemy Workshop over a year, which the Association would then buy. Afterwards, you accumulate points, and once you reach a certain amount, you can increase your rank.

The other method was through invention. An alchemist’s fundamental job was to research and invent, and if an alchemist could invent something completely new with significant market and practical value, they could also be promoted after the Alchemists’ Association’s evaluation. Moreover, if their invention was widely used and produced by other alchemists, their points would further increase.

“This could be troublesome……”

After hearing Nanali’s response, Fang Zheng was momentarily speechless. He originally thought that having the credentials would allow him to do as he pleased with money, but it seemed the other side had already experienced similar situations and had tightly sealed all loopholes. Relying purely on buying and selling was no longer possible, so what to do? Might as well farm and upgrade.

Merely taking on commissions from the Alchemists’ Association definitely wouldn’t work, not to mention that this Alchemy Workshop was poorly equipped, and even if it weren’t, Fang Zheng gave it serious thought. Having Nanali, a girl, toil away here, it might take a year or two just to hope for a rank upgrade.

What remained then was to create a new invention, and then send it for evaluation at the Alchemists’ Association to quickly move up the ranks.

But…… that wouldn’t be easy either.

“Ancestral secret recipe?”

Watching Fang Zheng, a hint of surprise definitely crossed Nanali’s face.

“Sorry, we don’t have any ancestral secret recipes; my mother was just a regular alchemist…”

That made sense; if this lady had some ancestral secret recipe, she wouldn’t be in such a pitiable state. Fang Zheng initially thought she might have some protagonist’s fate, but now it seemed she was just a passersby female lead.

“So, we must create our own inventions? This definitely won’t be easy……”

While flipping through the Alchemists’ Association’s catalog in front of him, Fang Zheng also frowned. These alchemists were madly inventive, covering everything from potions, weapons, to transportation and power furnaces; in Fang Zheng’s world’s terms, as far as the eye could see, there were patent barriers everywhere, making it impossible to even think about creating a knock-off reverse engineered product… Hmm? Wait a minute!

After flipping through the “Patent Encyclopedia”, Fang Zheng’s eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly opened the book again and flipped through it a second time, and then Fang Zheng discovered something.

On the surface, it seemed like the alchemists’ inventions covered everything under the sun, but there was one area they had almost not touched!

Agriculture!

In the entire alchemists’ catalog, Fang Zheng found only two agricultural inventions, one was similar to the effect of fertilizers, and the other was similar to the effect of pesticides. What surprised him was that when he asked Nanali about these, she proudly informed him that both were her mother’s inventions!

No way!

Hearing Nanali’s response, Fang Zheng was greatly surprised; these were pesticides and fertilizers, and they were unique in this world. He didn’t believe it if you weren’t the world’s richest person having developed these! How could you still be struggling? You must be joking, right?

And seeing Fang Zheng’s expression, Nanali was obviously a bit embarrassed, then she explained a bit, and only then did Fang Zheng understand the reason.

This world, although similar to Earth’s environment, had much better conditions, with exceptionally fertile soil such that crops planted in it grew exceedingly well without the need for fertilizers. As for pests… the Main World had a type of Little Monster that specifically devoured pests; every farmer had one, just as essential as having cattle, and as a result, the market for pesticides was also small.

And more importantly, Nanali’s mother’s two inventions, although effective, were very expensive!

Perhaps Nanali’s mother was obsessive, so she perfected both inventions, using very high-quality materials to make fertilizers and pesticides that, while beneficial and pollution-free, were terribly expensive! If farmers bought them, they wouldn’t even earn enough in a year to cover the costs, essentially losing money!

“Sigh…”

After listening to Nanali’s explanation, Fang Zheng furrowed his brows, unsure of what to do next. Though he had access to a plethora of high-tech products from Ironblood World, Fang Zheng was well aware that the Main World was not like many fantasy worlds of medieval cultural level depicted in novels. He had also gained substantial insights into the “intellectuals” of this world during his time in the Sky Arena—it would be harder to fool them than to fool natives of the Middle Ages.

If a completely new system of products, different from the existing one, was introduced, it would be surprising if no one suspected anything.

According to Nanali, the flashy pesticides and fertilizers favored by transmigrators had no market in this world. It seemed that to break through the “patent barriers” created by alchemists, he had to work on the hardware side— but agricultural hardware wasn’t easy to handle…

“Sigh…”

Fang Zheng sighed again, feeling that farming here was less appealing than fighting demon beasts on the frontier; it was just a waste of time, and he had to bring a tent because of the cold weather… Huh?

At that moment, an idea suddenly struck Fang Zheng.

Right, how could he have forgotten this!

Common agricultural machinery might be challenging to handle, but wouldn’t greenhouses be an excellent direction?

“Nanali.”

“Yes, Master Ezio, what do you need?”

At the sound of Fang Zheng’s voice, Nanali quickly straightened up and respectfully asked what he wanted. She wasn’t foolish; from Fang Zheng’s earlier questions, she knew he was aiming to elevate his rank as an alchemist to secure a larger Spirit Crystal allocation. Currently, Nanali was very nervous because their arrangement was just a gentleman’s agreement. She truly feared he might deem her not worth the effort and leave— if that happened, she would utterly fail to afford the fees due to the Alchemists’ Association, and then her mother’s workshop would be…

“What do the farmers here do during the winter?”

“The winter?”

Nanali hadn’t expected such an odd question from Fang Zheng, but after thinking, she answered.

“In winter… there’s not much to do. Some people go hunting in groups, while most stay at home waiting for spring to arrive…”

“If they could farm during the winter, would they be willing to do so?”

“Farm during the winter?”

Upon hearing this, Nanali’s mouth fell open in surprise. After a moment, she nodded vigorously.

“Of course, as everyone really has nothing else to do in the winter. Hunting in the mountains is dangerous, and many people aren’t willing to do it. They go only because there’s nothing else to do and… they need to have some harvest.”

No matter the world, the farming class always had the hardest life. Compared to the serfs of the Middle Ages, the farmers in the Main World were much better off; the world’s fertile soil made growing crops more effective than using fertilizers, so they didn’t have to worry about reduced production or disasters. Nonetheless, the incomes of farmers in the Main World were still very low. According to Nanali, many took the risky hunting trips in the mountains during the winter to gather more mountain goods to sell and earn some money.

If there really were something that could enable farming in winter, the farmers would undoubtedly crave it!

But…

“Can we create such a thing?”

Nanali clearly lacked confidence; changing the climate was something even Legendary Mages found challenging, and she was but an alchemist!

“Of course, and it’s quite simple.”

In response to Nanali’s doubts, Fang Zheng was completely unphased.

Greenhouses – such a simple concept. Ironblood World’s Earth had plenty of data; he just had to copy that, and then use alchemy to create an Otherworld version. What could be difficult about that?

However…

Looking at the young girl in front of him, Fang Zheng sighed helplessly.

Everyone else starting in another world was tackling high technology, but here he was beginning with actual farming?

For someone who controlled a million Zerg and was currently engaged in interstellar warfare, might this be too low-key?