[System: "Only after the main quest is completed can the system trigger the next upgrade task. Otherwise, the system level cannot increase, and the Host's user experience cannot continue to improve. Therefore, converting a side quest into a main quest is a necessary operation."]
"…" Ron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Honestly, I really don't think it's necessary."
Your system is already level 6, right?
And yet all you keep giving me are interface skins that are useless except for spending money.
There are already dozens of weird skins lying in my skin inventory, and not a single one of them actually looks good.
What's the point of upgrading?
You might as well give me something practical.
Ron sighed and shook his head. Seeing that the system ignored his complaints, he simply crushed all fifty or sixty skins in his inventory.
In the end, he obtained a little over a hundred skin fragments.
"…"
With a drop rate of 1–5, the result was only about double the output?
Ron's face turned completely dark.
After that, he no longer had the mood to exchange them for a random skin. He simply closed the system panel and stormed out of the shop.
Snow was falling heavily over the streets of the Royal Capital.
As Ron walked down the street, passersby frequently turned their heads to look at him.
Even those who didn't recognize Prince Ron couldn't help but be drawn to that handsome and charming face.
After all, beautiful things naturally attract admiration.
Ron soon arrived at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, where the gatekeeper led him inside to meet the Dean of Instruction and the Head of the Experimental District.
Before this, Ron had already finished negotiations with both the Royal Capital Magic Academy and the Royal Capital First Military Academy.
Matters such as free sponsorship of various school events, as well as establishing special scholarships and financial aid funds, had already been finalized through signed agreements. They only needed to be gradually implemented.
But Ron's visit today wasn't about those matters.
He intended to cooperate with the Magic Academy in another area.
"Invest in a laboratory?"
The Dean of Instruction raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised by Ron's proposal.
"Yes, investing in a laboratory." Ron nodded with a smile. "From what I understand, most of the academy's laboratory funding comes from imperial allocations. But some laboratories are also funded by dukes or marquises who invest large sums."
"Oh, the actual situation may differ slightly from what you imagine, Prince Ron," said the Head of the Experimental District beside him.
"When great nobles invest heavily in laboratories, they're actually investing in the mage talents inside those laboratories."
"Many research-oriented mages, after completing their training, want to establish new laboratories to study their own research topics."
"But because those topics haven't been approved by the academy, they can't obtain academy funding. That's why they seek investments from major nobles."
"To be honest, such experiments rarely produce anything impressive."
"Those nobles mainly do it to maintain good relations with the academy. And since the funding required isn't very large, they treat it as a small gamble."
"As for someone actively approaching us to invest…"
He looked at Ron.
"Frankly speaking, Prince Ron, you are the first."
"After all, if the academy considers a project promising, we would fund it ourselves. Outsiders wouldn't have a chance to participate."
The Head of the Experimental District was clearly the type of person who spent all his time doing research. He spoke bluntly without considering whether his words might offend someone.
Fortunately, Ron didn't mind. He patiently explained:
"I may not have expressed myself clearly."
"What I mean is that I will personally choose the experimental topics, and I will provide the materials and funding required for the experiments."
"It's just that I don't know many research-type mages, so I hope the academy can help me recruit interested mages to conduct the experiments. Of course, I will offer generous compensation."
"You will choose the experimental topics yourself?" the Experimental District Head asked in surprise.
"To be honest, Prince Ron, you are currently only a third-tier mage. I'm afraid you may not yet have the ability to select appropriate research topics."
"Ahem…" The Dean of Instruction gave him a subtle look.
"Prince Ron, what he means is—if you're interested in magical experiments, you might first study and learn the relevant knowledge before considering investments."
"After all, you are now Professor Simmons's specially appointed teaching assistant, so you can consult him at any time."
In reality, Ron's "special teaching assistant" title was mostly symbolic. But if he shamelessly approached Professor Simmons, the old professor would probably still be willing to guide him.
However, that wasn't Ron's goal.
"You should both know that, because of the goddess's blessing, I've obtained many special plants with unique properties."
"When I receive these plants, the goddess allows me to understand their most basic effects."
"But figuring out how to use them in deeper ways—for example, turning the Nether Orchid into a meditation potion, or using the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum as a stabilizing agent—those are things I must explore myself."
"That's why I want to invest in a laboratory here and ask the academy's excellent mages to research new uses for these plants."
"In short, when it comes to compensation, I definitely won't treat them poorly."
The two finally understood Ron's intention.
He wanted to use the academy's mage resources to develop new applications for his magical plants.
The Dean of Instruction and the Experimental District Head exchanged glances. Finally, the Dean spoke:
"We don't really have any issue with that. After all, we are an institution for educating mages—profit is not our primary objective."
"However… if possible, we hope that any results produced by the laboratory could be licensed for use by the academy."
"Given the miraculous nature of your plants, they may produce materials useful for many other experiments. Of course, the details can be discussed further."
The two sides then entered a friendly negotiation phase.
The exact process wasn't worth detailing.
In the end, Ron left the academy with a bright smile, personally escorted to the gate by the Dean of Instruction. The dean even arranged a carriage to send him to the convent of Stan City.
Sitting in the carriage, Ron thought to himself that he really should bring Guy from the City of Chaos to the Royal Capital.
Otherwise, negotiations like this would consume far too many brain cells.
As for investing in a laboratory, it had actually been a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Whenever Ron obtained a new plant, he could only imagine possible uses from his own perspective.
For some plants that weren't too sensitive—like club-leaves or Scalevine—he could ask Harper to research them.
But constantly asking for favors wasn't ideal.
The Chaos Magic Academy in the City of Chaos was a neutral force and never accepted direct laboratory investments.
Want access to research results?
Sure—donate money.
Whoever donated the most got to share the results.
But if you wanted to invest in a laboratory directly, that was impossible.
The mages of Chaos Magic Academy valued their freedom and refused to be tied to any faction.
That was why Ron had turned his attention to the Royal Capital Magic Academy instead.