Chapter 240 Five hundred crystals core.

The servants immediately stepped forward and began serving generous portions of food onto everyone’s plates and soon, the quiet dining room was filled with the soft clinking of cutlery and relaxed conversation as everyone enjoyed the delicious meal.

Halfway through dinner, Old Man Hart suddenly reached for a bottle of aged wine and with an excited grin, he poured a generous amount into his own glass before filling another glass for Ivy.

He raised his glass high into the air.

"A toast to you, Mrs. Ivy!" His voice was loud and full of enthusiasm.

Ivy politely lifted her own wine glass.

"Thank you, Grandpa Hart."

"Cheers!"

Old Man Hart threw his head back and emptied his glass in one gulp.

Ivy, however, had no intention of drinking alcohol.

As everyone focused on Old Man Hart, Ivy discreetly activated her System Storage and the instant the rim of the glass touched her lips, every drop of wine silently disappeared into the storage space.

To everyone else, it appeared as though she had taken a normal sip.

Old Man Hart enthusiastically refilled his own glass.

"Another one!"

Without waiting for anyone, he drank another glass... and then another.

Several minutes later...his cheeks had turned bright red while his speech had become slightly slurred.

Finally, he looked toward Ivy with blurry eyes before bursting into laughter.

"Oh my goodness..." he exclaimed, pointing at her with an unsteady finger. "You... you really know how to hold your alcohol.I’ve already had several glasses, and you still look completely fine!"

Before anyone could respond...

Thud.

Old Man Hart gently rested his forehead against the dining table.

Silence.

"..."

"..."

"Grandpa?" Erick called cautiously.

No response.

He reached over and lightly nudged the old man.

Nothing.

A helpless smile spread across Erick’s face as he let out a quiet chuckle before turning to face Ivy.

"Mrs. Ivy," he said sincerely, "it’s already getting late. I’ve arranged guest rooms for both you and Darren so If you don’t mind, I’d like you to spend the night here."

"By tomorrow morning, I’ll prepare the crystal cores for the evolution liquid." He looked directly into Ivy’s eyes, his gratitude completely genuine as he continued. "Charging only ten crystal monster cores for a bottle of side-effect-free evolution liquid..."

He slowly shook his head.

"Even now, I still find it hard to believe. If someone else possessed something this valuable, they’d probably ask for hundreds of crystal cores per bottle but you’re asking for only ten per one."

Why wouldn’t I sell each bottle for only ten crystal monster cores when the System only requires around fifty crystal monster cores to produce one hundred bottles of evolution liquid.

That means after fulfilling the order, I’d still make an enormous profit.

Ninety-five crystal monster cores earned from a single batch...that’s more than enough to exchange for other useful items in the System Store.

Ivy thought Inwardly with a satisfied smirk on her lips.

"You’re welcome, Erick." She finally voiced out while Erick nodded his head in appreciation.

*****

Morning arrived quickly with the golden sunlight which streamed through the villa’s large windows, bathing the elegant living room in a warm glow.

By the time the servants finished preparing breakfast, Ivy and Darren were already awake and both of them were seated comfortably in the living room together with Old Man Hart and Erick.

"It’s wonderful seeing your beautiful face again this morning," old man Hart said with a hearty laugh.

"So..." He leaned back comfortably in his chair as he continued. "Did you enjoy your stay here?"

Ivy smiled warmly.

"I certainly did. I honestly slept like a baby. Thank you very much for your hospitality, Grandpa Hart."

Old Man Hart waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, don’t mention it. You’re always welcome here."

Just then...two servants entered the living room.

Each of them struggled slightly as they carried a heavy woven basket which were completely filled with crystal monster cores.

The colorful crystal shine brilliantly, illuminating the room with dazzling rays of red, blue, green, yellow, and purple.

The servants carefully placed the baskets on the table before Ivy and Darren.

Even Darren couldn’t help widening his eyes.

"So many..."

Erick stepped forward before speaking.

"Mrs. Ivy." He gestured toward the baskets. "There’s a total of five hundred crystal monster cores here. Please accept them as an advance payment for the one hundred bottles of evolution liquid."

Ivy looked at him in surprise.

"Five hundred?"

Erick nodded firmly.

"I know our original agreement was much less but honestly the price you’re asking is far too low."

"Ten crystal monster cores per bottle simply doesn’t reflect the true value of what you’re offering so my grandfather and I discussed it and decided to give you five hundred crystal monster cores first and after the evolution liquid is delivered, our hunting teams will continue collecting even more crystal monster cores and we’ll bring those to you as well."