Chapter 99

I gaze absent-mindedly at a book, gently stroking the fox cub perched on my knee. The warm light streaming in from the skylight bathes me, making me squint in its warmth.

"---Welcome. Please come in, to [Atelier]."

Next to me, where I quietly read a book at the counter, Kyoko, the NPC clerk, greets the customer at the entrance. I turn my gaze to the new customer.

I don't have the ability to discern their equipment or level, but I can sense their aura. When I'm in the store, I usually talk to good customers, but I don't recognize this man's face. However, his expression tightens as he spots me. Given that he hasn't even asked about the product samples or explanations, I can guess he's one of those types, and I inwardly sigh.

"Excuse me, are you the player Yun of this store?"

His words are quite polite, but his assertive tone suggests he already knows about me.

"Yes, but? What do you want? If you need consumables, I can only provide up to five of each type."

I say this and return my gaze to the book. If he came out of curiosity and is willing to buy something, I can still treat him as a customer. But recently, there have been more of this type of player.

"Yun, will you join our guild, [Green Fall]?"

"I refuse. Go away."

Again, this. I inwardly sigh and avoid his gaze. This is a rejection. Go away, don't talk to me, don't bother me. For whatever reason, I want to continue being a free player.

The man who came this time—

"Please, just consider it!"

He's the second worst type. Just hearing his voice makes my peaceful afternoon turn gloomy. I impulsively think about quitting the game, but quickly shake off the thought. There are good friends and fun people too. Good customers who come to the store don't necessarily spend a lot of money, but they tell me interesting stories about their adventures.

One tells me about silly events during night hunts or beautiful scenery. Another shares unexpected water spots or fishing spots. Another passionately talks about the greatness of their weapon, its romance and love, and the ingenuity to compensate for its weaknesses.

I enjoy listening to these stories over a cup of herbal tea. But compared to them, every word from the man in front of me makes my heart heavy.

He talks about the size of his guild, the number of members, the types of players gathered, and their aim to be the top. He also talks about my usefulness, style, and advantages, ignoring my will.

I've become accustomed to dealing with these types of players. I either escape to the workshop or reject them and ignore them.

"---So, please."

I finally raise my head from the book and look at him. I meet his eyes steadily, showing that I won't be swayed. He flinches under my gaze but continues to persuade.

"...What a waste. So—"

"So, what? There's no point or benefit in joining a guild."

"We are always in battle! If you make recovery items for us, your alchemy sense will level up more easily."

I can't help but think he's an idiot. Sure, it might be a benefit for him, but it's not a benefit for me. Constantly consuming potions? That's normal for combat classes. I suspect he came to me because the highest-level potions from NPC stores aren't enough for him. I know there are more players like this appearing.

As a result, we alchemists, who were previously in the shadows, are getting more attention. They either want us to become exclusive to their guild or sell in limited quantities. Some guilds even monopolize the highest-level potions in new towns and resell them, which I admire for their skill.

Other factors include the fact that I have two rare young beasts, Zacro and Rui, and that I publicly claim Miu and Sei as my siblings. I also suspect that information about my top ranking in a previous official event has leaked.

"Enough. Kyoko, from now on, don't sell to this player. And if members of the guild [Green Fall] come, warn them that they'll be banned if they do it again."

"Understood. Please, sir, I'm sorry, but you need to leave."

She smiles charmingly, but it feels out of place and a bit scary. Her polite demeanor doesn't match the current atmosphere, making it seem insincere. However, he doesn't yell at the NPC and leaves the store, looking a bit dejected.

"Sorry. I was asked by the sub-leader. But, it's a poor excuse, isn't it?"

I watch his slightly melancholic back and sigh deeply.

"Rui, Zacro, what should I do?"

This situation started about a month ago and has rapidly increased, making me feel exhausted. I stroke the fluffy black fur of the fox and the silky white mane of the horse, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Welcome, Sei."

Kyoko greets Sei, who stands there alone today.

"Hey~. You seem a bit down. Are you okay?"

"...I'm not okay."

"Figures. Miu was worried about you."

They say rumors last for seventy-five days, so if it's true, this will continue for another month and a half.

"Maybe you should take a break from the store for a while, Yun?"

"But... I have cases that only I can handle..."

Actually, I feel like the number of cases that only I can handle has decreased recently.

To be precise, the NPCs have grown. Kyoko, the NPC, has a sense of her own. Initially, her sense was inferior to players, but she has two unique NPC senses: [Farmer] and [Customer Service]. As she is employed and gains experience, her internal experience points increase, and she automatically acquires necessary senses. Currently, she has [Simple Appraisal] in addition to the first two, and there are no issues with buying and selling items.

"...I don't have any. Seriously, maybe I should go into hiding for a while. A solo wandering journey might be good. But, even if I hide from the store, they'll find me, and if they follow, it's no good."

My login point is always set to the workshop of [Atelier] if I don't take a break. Therefore, I have to go out through the store entrance.

A proper hiding is impossible, and I sigh. However, Sei seems to know this and smiles playfully.

"Knowing this might happen, I brought the perfect item... Do you want it?"

"Really! Such an item exists!"

"I have two. Or maybe two are necessary?"

She puts a finger to her lips, acting coy. I want to hear her words as soon as possible.

"Don't be so mean."

"Sorry, sorry. One is an item you can buy for money. A mini portal that sells for a million G."

"Oh, the one that sets up a portal in your personal space."

It's an object-type item that can be placed inside a building you own. It's similar to furniture like chairs and tables, but its effect is the same as a portal. In other words, with a mini portal, you can teleport to the portals of various towns without using the store entrance. You can also return to the store directly via the portal.

"Indeed, it would be too much effort to watch all the towns."

Currently, the first to third towns are open, along with the abandoned village deep in the Horia Cave, the dungeon entrance in the western cave, and a newly discovered town in the south, which has been registered with the help of others. The south has various areas, many types, and high levels. New dungeons have also been discovered, making it challenging for those focused on clearing them.

"And the other one is to use this item as armor."

She shows me a small bottle containing a black, mud-like liquid that moves subtly, which is quite eerie.

"...You don't mean I should drink it, right?"

"No, Yun! This is a rare drop from the Darkman in the southern swamp, [Darkman's Mud], a reinforcement material."

"!? You defeated the Darkman until the rare drop appeared! The boss Darkman!"

Beyond the forest in the southern swamp is a new town, but before that, there's a boss as usual. The boss MOB is the Darkman.

Its features are human-like and literally pitch black. Compared to previous boss MOBs, it seems small and weak. A Golem or Blade Lizard might be stronger individually. However, its fighting style is tricky.

It embodies the power of numbers. From the shadow of the Darkman, ten Shadows, each with different weapons, are born. Each one is not strong individually, but their coordination is high. If you fight alone, you'll definitely be overwhelmed. If you target the Darkman directly, it can blend in.

I accompanied Miu and others to register the southern town, and it was a frustrating opponent. The chaotic battle where you can't instantly identify the real one, disappearing and reappearing, and continuously spawning Shadows. However, if too much time passes, the Darkman disappears, and you can enter the town.

In other words, it's a boss with a time limit. The rare drop is even harder to obtain. Speed is required.

"If you use this reinforcement material on your armor, you can get [Recognition Impairment], which restricts others' information at will."

"Thank you, Sei."

"Whoa, Yun. You don't think I'm giving this to you for free, do you?"

Hearing this, I pause. What will she ask for?

To wear clothes made by an acquaintance? Or to see me, who has the dishonorable title of [Nanny]? Or...

"Yun, don't be so tense. I'm not going to eat you or anything."

"Right, sorry."

"Oh, you're in a bad state."

Sei, looking troubled, clears her throat and starts over.

"This drop was obtained from a guild healer who traded it. The trade condition was to supply status recovery drugs. You have them, right?"

"Yeah, I have antidotes, paralysis, confusion, and unconsciousness, as well as curses. So, eight types of antidotes..."

"Ah, no, no. Not status recovery drugs, but arousal drugs. Especially if you have charm or anger, that would be great."

"...Assassinate someone?"

I imagine a slip damage assassination with poison or a toy with paralysis, and receive a stern look from Sei.

"...Just kidding. But, what are you going to use them for?"

"Of course, there are many uses. You can use them for attacks or in PvP. In this case, it's for forced leveling."

"...Using poison for sense equipment?"

"Yeah. That's right."

It's like a ninja's training. Taking poison to get used to it and build resistance.

"Do you really need to raise specific status resistances? There are magical countermeasures for status effects, right?"

Recovery magic includes status recovery magic. Using it should be fine, I think.

"Yeah, a bit. In one of the southern dungeons, there are monsters that randomly use one of four status effects: anger, confusion, charm, and curse..."

"There are?"

"They cause wide-area status effects. If you can't resist, your allies will... Plus, these monsters are regular MOBs."

"Oh..."

In other words, it's impossible to recover each person individually. If the recovery personnel are affected by paralysis, unconsciousness, or sleep, they can't respond immediately. If they are affected by anger, confusion, or charm, they can't cast spells or might turn against you.

However, there's something that doesn't make sense...

"Don't the meat or specific parts of the monsters cause status effects if eaten raw? Are you not using those?"

The meat of the Big Boar, known as delicious, is different. The meat of the Rock Club, for example, is honestly terrible. You need a cooking sense to detoxify it to make it edible. The detoxification of various materials for potions and pills is one of the research subjects, but I doubt they forgot about it.

"Ah, no, the target