"Well, that is a lot," Karl said, a hint of strain entering his voice as he leaned back in his chair. One hundred and fifty thousand silver coins was not an amount that could be spent lightly, even for a family as wealthy as the Sonnenbergs. Spending that much money on a single project would force them to reconsider many of their other priorities. The old man immediately began reviewing their current plans in his mind, searching for places where funds could be redirected.
One of the largest expenses waiting for them was the loyalty contract program. So far, only around four thousand of their ten thousand recruits had signed such contracts, which was far from ideal. The family intended to have every single recruit sign one eventually, ensuring that the guild's future remained stable and secure. With one hundred and fifty thousand silver coins, they could purchase at least another fifteen hundred contracts and move significantly closer to that goal.
"Yes, I know it's a lot," Arin admitted, his voice carrying a pleading tone. "But the results would make our guild much stronger in the long run." Although he understood the family's financial concerns, he could not stop thinking about the opportunities this magic circle presented. The improvements described in the book were simply too great to ignore. In his eyes, this was the sort of investment that could change the future of the entire family.
"Right, then let's hear how our financial situation is looking," Karl said after a long moment of thought. He turned toward Bennie, the family's treasurer and the person who understood their finances better than anyone else. Whenever money was involved, everyone instinctively looked to him for answers. If anyone could determine whether this project was feasible, it was him.
Bennie sighed heavily before pulling several papers from a folder beside him. "Currently, we earn approximately twenty thousand silver coins per month through the sale of our bows and the harbor we established," he explained. "Unfortunately, thirty percent of that income goes directly to the state in taxes." He paused briefly before continuing, as though hoping the numbers would somehow improve if he delayed speaking.
"We still need to purchase large quantities of food and pay salaries to both our recruits and family members," Bennie continued. "Those expenses amount to roughly five thousand silver coins every month." After all the calculations were finished, the family earned around nine thousand silver coins in actual profit. It was an impressive amount by ordinary standards, but nowhere near enough to casually spend one hundred and fifty thousand silver coins.
"As for the treasury itself, we currently possess a little over three hundred thousand silver coins," Bennie said. "I haven't counted every copper coin or the currencies below that, but they won't make much of a difference." The room immediately grew quiet at those words. Although the treasury was substantial, everyone understood that money had a habit of disappearing much faster than it was earned.
"If we decide to implement your plan, we'll need to plunder our savings," Bennie said with a weary expression. "And on top of that, we still need at least another hundred thousand silver coins for loyalty contracts if we want to keep our promises." Once both expenses were paid, the family would be left with a much smaller financial cushion than anyone found comfortable. They would still be wealthy, but one major emergency could quickly become a serious problem.
"After that, we'll be walking on thin ice," Bennie concluded.
As he looked at the figures in front of him, the treasurer could not help feeling a sense of despair. Only a few days ago, he had believed their treasury to be enormous, large enough to deal with nearly any crisis that could arise. Now, however, he regretted that they had not accumulated even more wealth. The possibilities described by Arin were simply too enticing to ignore.
Bennie understood something that many people overlooked. In the new world, wealth alone meant very little if it could not be converted into strength. If the family wished to retain its influence and have a say in the future of humanity, then they needed to remain powerful. Otherwise, they would eventually be cast aside by those who were stronger than them.
The reason the Sonnenbergs had survived for so many centuries was simple. They had always been strong enough to make their enemies hesitate before acting against them. Whether through military strength, economic power, or personal influence, they had ensured that any attack against them would come at a steep cost. Weak families disappeared from history, while strong ones endured.
"So you mean that we'll have to postpone the construction of this forest?" Arin asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. He had been looking forward to seeing the magic circle completed almost from the moment he finished reading the book. The idea of transforming the Crimson Forest into something even more extraordinary filled him with excitement. Even so, he understood that the family needed to consider the bigger picture.
"Don't worry," Karl said with an amused smile. "I already have an idea about how to obtain the money, so you don't need to concern yourself with that." Seeing the rapid changes in expression on his grandson's face was surprisingly entertaining. "For now, continue explaining how this magic circle works."
"Yes! Great!" Arin exclaimed, immediately brightening.
"To set up the magic circle, we need to plant special trees at every point where the hexagram intersects with the outer circle," he explained while opening the tome once again. "The important part is that these trees must be capable of enduring the attributes we want to absorb from the mana in the atmosphere." This section of the book had been his favorite by far, and his enthusiasm became obvious the moment he started explaining it.
"The best options are all listed here for us," Arin said, tapping one of the pages. "If we choose correctly, many of these trees can eventually produce fruits and treasures that we can use ourselves." The thought of an entire forest filled with magical resources still felt almost unbelievable to him. It was as though the book had handed them the blueprint to a paradise.
"Okay, but I still don't follow what you mean," Karl admitted with a confused expression.
"The different trees absorb the portions of mana that contribute to the nature attribute we want to create," Arin explained patiently. "They take in those specific attributes and refine them further, making them much purer." He flipped to another page filled with diagrams of various plants and their affinities. "For example, we need the lightning attribute, so I recommend using Lightning Bamboo."
According to the book, Lightning Bamboo had tremendous potential for future evolution. It could eventually branch into many different species of spiritual bamboo, each possessing unique properties. For now, however, its greatest value lay in its ability to absorb and release refined lightning energy. By combining plants like that, the family could gather a large variety of useful attributes for cultivation.
"Okay, but how does this nature mana spread throughout the magic circle?" Karl asked as he studied the diagram Arin had drawn. "I can see the points where the mana is absorbed, but I don't see where it gets released." The old man tapped several locations on the sketch, genuinely interested in understanding the mechanism behind the formation.
"Right on the money, Grandpa," Arin replied with a grin. "According to the book, the trees release the refined energy naturally, and it mixes back into the ordinary mana in the environment." That process alone would improve the forest somewhat, but the effect would be spread too thin to create the results they wanted. Fortunately, the author of the tome had already solved that problem.
"To make the formation truly effective, we need a special tree in the center of the hexagram," Arin explained excitedly. "Its only purpose is to absorb all of the refined attributes released by the surrounding plants, combine them together, and transform them into pure nature mana." Once that process was complete, the tree would release the newly created energy back into the environment. Just imagining the entire Crimson Forest flourishing under such conditions made Arin's heart race with anticipation.