Chapter 11

Today, I came to the first town's southern district to rent some land, but before that, I needed to prepare the funds.

I prepared 30 potions, 15 pills, and tried to prepare 5 antidote potions. Well, even if they only buy the potions, it would be fine.

Today, I also feel an odd gaze, but I slip through with quick steps thanks to the enchantment and head towards where Magi was yesterday.

I found Magi setting up a stall at the same spot, so I called out to her.

"Magi, hello!"

"Yun-kun! Thank you for selling me the potions yesterday!"

She thanked me right away.

"The potions you sold me. When I sold them at a fair price, people from the front lines came and bought my weapons and accessories as well. I thought it might not work out yesterday."

"Oh, I see. Then, can you buy them today too? I have them ready."

"Sure, sure. I'm technically a weapon and accessory shop, but I want to be versatile, so I sell them at the stall as well."

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

I put the items on the trade screen. When I showed the potions, pills, and antidote potions I had prepared, Magi looked surprised and happy.

"Wow, thank you for bringing such a large amount of items. The pills are the best recovery items available in this town right now. They have a high recovery rate. And the antidote potions, well, in the beta version, only those with good synthesis skills could make them, but in the official version, it's rumored that no one is going into that field, so there's a shortage of status recovery potions."

"Is that so? Then, I guess I'm lucky."

"Sure, sure. So, potions for 35G each, pills for 70G each, and antidote potions for 70G each, totaling 2450G."

"Wait, wait. The price of the potions is higher than yesterday. They were 30G each."

"Yesterday, I bought them at 60% of the price, but today, I'm buying them at 70%. You see, selling them will promote my shop, and they will definitely sell, so I think it's a fair price. Plus, you need money, right?"

Magi smiled like a Cheshire cat. I was about to argue, but I really needed the money. I had to see the farm, the portable furnace, and the higher-level synthesis kit, and I knew this wouldn't be enough.

"Well, if you insist, I can give you 60% of the price..."

"Sorry! I'll take the price you offered!"

"Sure, sure. Your honest reaction is endearing. But it was also funny to see you flustered."

No, I'm a guy. But, it's just a game, so it's fine.

"Then, let's trade."

"Sure, sure. Here's the money. I'll buy any items you make to improve your skills as well."

"Thanks. Oh, right. I almost forgot. Can you look at these items?"

I showed Magi the high-quality iron ore and gemstones I made yesterday through the window.

Her expression turned serious, and she spoke with a frown.

"...Yun-kun, where did you get these?"

"Where? Just in the usual western forest."

"No, the gemstones, if you polish them carefully, they can become medium-sized, so it's good to have them. If you improve your skills, the failure rate will decrease, and you can even succeed in making medium-sized ones, so it's not a problem."

Oh, that's good to know. Eventually, I'll be able to process gemstones with a skill.

"The problem is the high-quality iron ore. To mine high-quality iron ore in the west, you need to go deeper, near the third town—Reinmeisil's mine. And to mine it, you need the rare drop from the Sandman at the quarry or the drop from the higher-level mob, the Golem. Don't joke about defeating them alone. The Sandman is as strong as the Big Boar in the east."

I don't know about the Big Boar.

"No, no, that's not it. It's through alchemy, a higher-level conversion."

"Ah, I see. If you made it through alchemy, that makes sense."

Oh, she believes me.

"So, what do you want to do? If you don't need them, I'll buy them. High-quality iron ore and regular iron ore are completely different items, and you can't make an ingot with just two pieces."

"Really?"

"Yes. You need five pieces to make one ingot. For weapons, you need three ingots for a sword, and five for a greatsword or a two-handed sword."

"In that case, since I can make one high-quality iron ore from ten regular iron ores, I need fifty iron ores to make one ingot. That's a lot of work. But is high-quality iron ore valuable?"

"Not really. It just gives a slight bonus to the abilities of iron weapons. It's not worth buying up all the iron ores to make them, as it would result in a huge loss. For me, even having one ingot is only useful for making accessories. For rings, you need one ingot, and for bracelets, you need two."

"I see. Then, please buy them. And if I make more, I'll bring them."

"Sure, I'd like you to do that until they become available on the market. I'll be happy to make high-quality accessories."

I put the high-quality iron ore on the trade screen. The money I received was 400G, what!?

"Magi, are you serious!?"

"Well, regular iron ore is 100G each, and high-quality iron ore is 200G. If sold to NPCs, it's half price, but since they're not available on the market yet, this is a reasonable price. Plus, it includes a commission for bringing them to the market."

"I see. Magi, you must have a lot of money."

"Um, I made a lot in the beta, so I can probably buy a shop soon."

I muttered, "I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous."

"Well, well. You made a profit, so it's all good."

"Yes."

It's not entirely satisfying, but it's good that I have more money. I now have about 3420G. But I underestimated the minimum price of the farm.

"Are you buying a field? The cheapest one is 3000G."

"Huh?"

A man wearing a straw hat said this. He's an NPC who explains the fields and how to cultivate them.

"Right now, there are almost no buyers, but the land value will rise eventually. It's better to buy it now."

I don't know why I'm being told such realistic things in a game. However, the fields in the southern district are as large as three baseball fields, but almost no one is there.

"Understood. I'll take the cheapest one."

3000G disappeared from my inventory. Ah, my money.

"Here, this is the deed to the land. The location written on it is your field. To cultivate the field, you'll need tools like a spade or a hoe. That's an additional 300G."

Don't joke around!

My remaining money is barely enough! But I can't plant the herb seeds without the tools.

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"Thank you."

In the end, I bought it. I'll think of it as an advance investment. Yes, an advance investment, an advance investment. I made about 2000G from herbs. I can recover the cost quickly.

I had to think this way to keep going.

Revised and completed.