On the night of March 13th, in the study on the second floor—
"Flower shop."
Nora wrote the words in the center of her notebook and circled them.
Then she drew several lines extending outward, writing at the ends: "Meditation Potion," "Explosive Potion," and "Healing Potion."
Ron rested his chin on his left hand, leaning sideways as he watched Nora list out his various businesses.
After pausing for a moment, Nora tilted her head, feeling that this format wasn't very clear. She flipped to a new page and rewrote everything—
[Nether Orchid seed]
— Direct use
— Meditation Potion
[Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum]
— Direct use
— Neutralizing Agent → Explosive Potion
[Scalevine]
— Direct use → Long-term use → Increasing defense
[Scalevine Leaves]
— Direct use
— Healing Potion
[Spice Pine]
— Hot pot restaurant seasoning
— Pine-needle tea → Nourishing yin and boosting yang
— Resin liquid → Body conditioning
— Others
[Chameleon Radish]
— Cultivation farm → Element Cards → Magic Duels → Magic Battle Arena → Magic Duel tournament
[Heartvine]
— Daily use
— Factory
[Puppet Tree]
— Long-distance communication
…
"Boss, a lot of these plants have really useful effects. Why doesn't the flower shop sell them?" Nora asked curiously.
"That's exactly why I don't dare sell them casually," Ron replied with a shrug.
The first three plants had been sold publicly because the system required it, and at the time, Ron truly needed wealth points.
But later on, as his wealth grew sufficient—and since some plants had rather game-changing effects—he chose not to release them.
Take the resin from Spice Pine, for example. It could heal hidden injuries in warriors, greatly increasing a sixth-tier warrior's chances of advancing to the legendary rank.
If that effect spread—and was exaggerated by interested parties—it would undoubtedly attract massive attention and greed.
Of course, he could sell it openly like before, treating all buyers equally.
But if that led to a surge in legendary-tier warriors, it could cause serious consequences.
In contrast, Nether Orchid seed and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum were useful to mages and warriors, but their effects became minimal at higher levels.
Thus, they mainly increased the number of mid- and low-tier mages and warriors—something that actually contributed to the empire's stability.
As for the other plants, each had its own reasons. Since Ron no longer needed to rapidly accumulate wealth, there was no need to release everything at once.
Keeping them for personal use was the smarter choice.
"As of today, how many people have registered for the Magic Duel tournament?" Ron asked, wrapping an arm around Nora's slender waist as he leaned closer.
Nora obediently leaned into his embrace. "It's already exceeded 1,000. By March 20th, it might reach over 1,500 participants."
Ron stroked his chin, a bit surprised by how popular the tournament had become.
Honestly, if not for Professor Hicks stirring things up and forcing him to "spend big" at the Magic Academy, things wouldn't have gotten this hot.
Originally, he thought having two to three hundred participants would already be decent.
Now that it exceeded 1,000, they would definitely need a preliminary round to filter out most participants—otherwise, the tournament would become too bloated.
"Move the preliminary round up to…" Ron flipped through a calendar. "March 22nd."
"The 21st is Sunday. After summarizing the weekly ranked matches, starting the next day, suspend ranked matches, duels, and arena battles. The magic battle arena will be requisitioned as the preliminary venue."
"With over 1,000 participants, each person will be randomly matched for 10 matches—a single game decides the winner. Rankings will be based on points calculated using the duel system."
"The top 300 advance to the main round."
"Anyone tied with the 300th place score also advances."
Based on Nora's estimates, participants might exceed 1,500.
That meant the first stage alone would eliminate about four-fifths of the players.
Still, giving everyone 10 matches and ranking them by performance was already quite fair.
Statistically, it was far less likely for someone to face only top-tier opponents in all 10 matches than to face weaker ones.
At least for the truly strong players, it was unlikely they'd be eliminated at this stage.
"Try to finish the main round before April."
"After entering the main round, matches will move to the tournament venue on Moonview Street. Each participant will play 20 matches—best of three."
"Final rankings will determine the top 128, who advance to the knockout stage."
Ron's hand rested on Nora's waist, unconsciously tracing along it.
Nora shifted slightly in his arms, but seeing him continue speaking, she stayed still.
"All players who enter the knockout stage will receive prize money."
"The main round should be completed within a week."
"During this time, the venue will be open for free, allowing spectators to enter and watch matches."
Ron took Nora's hand and placed it on his thigh, idly playing with it as he continued:
"Once the knockout stage begins, we'll start selling unified tickets—sold by day."
"For example, if someone buys a ticket for April 15th, they can only enter and watch matches on that day."
"The knockout stage will consist of three rounds: 128 to 64, 64 to 32, and 32 to 16. Best of five, single elimination."
"Keep it within five days."
"The top 16 advance to the round-robin stage."
Ron's right hand moved upward from Nora's waist and finally rested on her long purple hair.
Feeling the warmth, Nora lowered her head obediently and placed her other hand on his thigh as well.
"In the round-robin stage, each player will play 15 matches. Rankings will be based on points, and the top four advance to the finals."
"This stage will last about eight days, held on the largest arena on the top floor."
"Five matches in the morning, seven in the afternoon, three in the evening. The schedule can be adjusted depending on match duration."
As Ron spoke, his hand drifted toward Nora's dark cat ears.
"Mm—" Nora trembled slightly, her ears standing upright. "B-Boss…"
Ron pretended not to hear, continuing to gently stroke her ears while talking:
"By the end of the round-robin stage, it should be around April 20th. Then we enter the finals."
"The finals are simple."
"Four players face off—winners advance to the championship match, losers compete for third place."
"Whether it takes two or three days depends on the situation."
By now, Nora was clearly no longer paying attention. After Ron touched her ears, she became restless, her cheeks flushed.
As soon as Ron finished speaking, she quickly broke free and hurried toward the door, clutching her skirt.
"B-Boss, I'm going to take a bath first!"
Watching her flee, Ron glanced at the system panel that popped up beside him, thinking how rare it was to complete a daily task like this.
Unfortunately, the reward was rather underwhelming—a dynamic skin: "Hip Sway."
Without much thought, he applied it to the Harvest Goddess skin on the system interface.
On the panel, Hervesta—dressed in a light green gown—gently swayed her slender waist and winked at Ron.
The mix of charm and playfulness made Ron raise an eyebrow.
This system really knows what it's doing…
Trying to tempt me into buying more dynamic skins, huh?
Hmph.
I can see right through you.
With that kind of money, wouldn't it be better to tease my own Nora?
After admiring the Harvest Goddess for a moment longer, Ron decisively closed the system panel—firmly suppressing the urge to spend.