Chapter 15

After a night of calm reflection, I realized that if I bought the herbs from the NPC stock and turned them into potions, each herb would cost 2G, and two herbs would cost 4G. Converting them into potions would then sell for 35G to Maggie.

In other words—easy money. Even though I only had 130G, which was a bit tight, I figured I could at least afford some herbs. With that thought, I hurriedly ran in the afternoon.

I should have gone in the morning. No, that wouldn't have worked. I have to take care of the house, you know. I need to replenish groceries and all that. The weather looks bad, so I have to dry clothes indoors today. And in the summer, there's always the worry of sudden thunderstorms, so I spent a lot of time setting up the game to link with the local weather information so that alarms would go off during the game if needed. I'm actually quite a tech noob.

Anyway, I was running full speed from the forest where I logged out yesterday. Thinking about it, I have SP and have obtained the Speed Boost sense, so I can run faster.

My current senses have improved significantly from yesterday's big boar hunt.

Current SP: 5

【Bow Lv13】【Hawk's Eye Lv18】【Speed Boost Lv1】【Magic Talent Lv15】【Magic Power Lv18】【Alchemy Lv5】【Enhancement Lv16】【Synthesis Lv11】【Mixing Lv11】【Production Sense Lv7】

On hold:

【Taming Lv1】【Crafting Lv5】

It's fast, really fast. The status-up senses that Miu and Sei-nee gave me are indeed convenient. It's like having a permanent enchantment. Moreover, if you take actions that align with the sense, it will grow.

For example, if you attack, the required damage count accumulates; if you defend, the damage taken accumulates; if you run, the distance covered accumulates.

Looking at the growth methods, it seems similar to the armor sense. For back-line roles, defense-related senses are somewhat underappreciated because they don't receive attacks. On the other hand, tank roles can take hits to increase their defense and reduce damage, thus improving their senses.

Hmm, the sense composition is quite complex. I've seen templates for production roles, and even blacksmiths, who do physical labor, have attack sense because hitting metal counts as an attack.

Anyway, while thinking, I arrived at the central square. There should be an NPC vendor here.

"Excuse me, do you have any herbs?"

"Sorry, but the herbs are all sold out. They were used to make potions."

"…Huh?"

The lowly man had a humble look on his face. No, this isn't about how realistic the NPCs are in modern games!

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, many people bought them to make potions. Even the beginner potions are out of stock. It's a bit of a problem because people who need them will be in trouble."

No way. They must have been bought out by resellers, anticipating that two people would make potions together. Moreover, at the stalls on the other side of the square, I could hear the word "herbs" being mentioned.

I left the NPC vendor and headed to those stalls.

"Herbs cost 5G each. Beginner potions cost 20G!"

"What!?"

Those herbs are just basic materials! They cost the same as beginner potions, and making a beginner potion costs 40G. Selling them to Maggie at the right price would result in a loss.

Only the stall owners who are overcharging can make a profit.

Still, people were happily buying herbs and potions. Why are you all so happy? It's unreasonable. I saw this scene in various places.

I felt a bit uneasy. I decided to go to Maggie to deliver and complain.

I confirmed that I had messaged Maggie beforehand and headed to the usual spot.

"Maggie, listen to me."

"I know. It's about the herbs, right? Even I was surprised."

"That's overcharging. It's like a declaration of war on people like me who are short on money!"

"Don't get so angry. It ruins your cute face."

I was quite dissatisfied, but Maggie seemed to find my pouting face adorable.

While I was complaining, I finished the delivery.

The items I delivered to Maggie were 30 potions and 15 pills at 70% of the price, totaling 2100G. Hmm, it's a bit short to buy the production kit.

"Hmm, I want more money."

"Hahaha, then why don't you try selling the potions yourself? You could get three times the price now."

That's true. If I did, it would be about 6000G. Since I made them myself and added the drying process, the potions have slightly higher effects, so I have confidence in selling them.

"I'll pass. I don't want to become a reseller. Instead, can you check the items I've collected? There might be some that can be sold."

I put the unused items on the trade screen.

The bat's membrane, the wild dog's fur, fangs, and meat, and the herbivore's fur, plus the large fur I made through alchemy. I have quite a lot of fur.

"Hmm, they're all pretty ordinary. Maybe two for a penny? But, can I ask one thing? Did you make the large fur from that?"

Maggie was grinning at the large fur.

"Yes, I'd prefer to keep it a secret."

"Sure, sure. Hmm, I see. Then, can you use that to make the other items the same way? I'll color them and buy them."

"But why only this one?"

"Ah, maybe I can tell you a bit about it? Fur and membranes are used in tailoring to make leather armor and coats. The problem is, the fur from the mobs around here is small, so it's hard to make large armor. At best, you can make partial protection. You can make composite leather, but it's brittle, even though it's easy to make. It covers more areas, so it's less likely to hit vital spots, but the durability is extremely low."

I see, unlike ingots, leather armor and coats are made from a single piece of fur. Composite leather sounds like something used in furniture.

"Anyway, now the tailors and leatherworkers are making composite leather, but they want to make top-quality items. So, I'd be happy if you could give them to me."

"Hmm, I'll make them now."

There are people around, but everyone is glowing and making potions or synthesizing. I don't think there's a problem with alchemy, and I can do it without taking out items.

"Okay, I'll go."

"Sure, go ahead."

I made the items change with a flash of light. I don't like the lack of visual feedback, so I always take them out and see the changes.

Anyway, the items that were worth two for a penny were neatly converted.

Large membranes × 3, large dog fur × 3, large fur × 7, large fangs × 3. Hmm, the dog meat became useless. What is it used for?

"I'm done."

"Wow, you did it. Show me, show me."

The trade screen opened again. I put the alchemized items on it.

"Thanks a lot. How much should I pay?"

"I don't know. Please pay the right price."

"Well, the NPC's 70% is cheap in this case. Also, keeping it a secret means the value won't drop. Hmm, how about I overcharge and exploit you?"

"Why do you say such unnecessarily erotic things? 70% is fine."

"Ahaha, you're not greedy, Yun-kun. Well, to be honest, I don't know the price either, so I'll ask my contacts. But, is this okay?"

The amount of money on the trade screen is 2500G, which is a lot! It's more profitable than potions.

"Every time I trade with you, I'm surprised."

Mainly in terms of money. The high-quality iron ore yesterday and the fur and membranes today.

"I'm always surprised too. You have an interesting sense composition."

That's mainly in terms of items, right? I understand.

"Still, how can you be so interesting despite having underappreciated senses?"

"Well, I'm a niche character."

"Ahaha, you're really filling the gaps in people's thinking."

"Please don't tease me."

Now, I'm feeling rich. This means a profit of 4500G. Finally, I can buy a portable furnace. Normally, people who get blacksmithing or crafting senses buy a furnace for 800G and gather iron ore in the western forest to make items. I took a roundabout way.

It's the fourth day since I started the game, and it feels like it took a long time to get here.

"Okay, the trade is complete. Is there anything else?"

"Oh, right. Yesterday, I found copper and tin in the east. Can I synthesize them into bronze ingots?"

"Ah, that. I tried it with a friend during the beta."

"How was it?"

"Bronze isn't very good. It looks nice, but it doesn't have high defense. It's good for practicing the crafting sense, though, better than copper."

So, it's better than copper but not as good as iron. And my crafting sense is low.

"By the way, you can also buy bronze ingots from NPCs, and once you make one, you can use it."

So, once you make one, it's a good item. It's a bit disappointing. I was so happy to collect them.

"Well, keep practicing."

"…Okay."

It seems my crafting path will be challenging.

Revised and completed.