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In the end, I handed over the recipe from the «Intermediate Spirit of Light» to Miriuss-senpai. In exchange, she’s going to whip up the «Four Seasons' Hotpot» for us at a dirt-cheap price. It’s a five-serving meal that grants 24 hours of «Cold Resistance» and +100 HP.
We also struck a deal where Eden takes a cut of the profits from any external sales. I left the nitty-gritty details, like deadlines and exact percentages, to Celestine.
Since it turns out we’ll be needing «Cold Resistance» fairly often, this was a huge win. Plus, winter was just around the corner, anyway.
Now then, it was time to talk about the business of our new shop, «Eden Store».
Since the start of Dungeon Week, the place was absolutely swamped, and sales blew our wildest projections out of the water.
Turns out, from what I'd picked up, we'd really underestimated Hannah's reputation. People had been lining up day after day, practically breaking down the doors to get their hands on "Hannah’s Potions."
She truly surpasses our imaginations.
There was also a part from her party members. Three of them, including Hannah, were «Alchemist» who'd been supporting her. They all had been making their own potions too, which built up a loyal audience from the time they're at «Mart». That customer base followed them straight to the «Eden Store», which explained the constant crowds.
People weren't just coming for Hannah’s specific potions anymore; they’re coming for the entire party’s lineup.
"Whoa! Look at the variety of «High Potions» and «Boost Potions»! This place really does have the best selection in town!"
"I love that you can actually buy in bulk here without anyone giving you the stink-eye."
"Excuse me! I’ll take two hundred High Potions, please!"
"I’m here to sell! I’ve got a batch of «High-Grade Herbs»!"
"Coming right up!"
The real clincher, though, was the inventory. When it comes to mass production, no job could hold a candle to an Alchemist. Yet, oddly enough, there were no major Alchemy guilds at this academy. Alchemists were just that breed in general.
In another time, to prevent only one shop from becoming focal, there would usually be a purchase limit imposed. You know, like "only 10 units per customer."
Apparently, there was a huge scandal a while back when potions completely vanished from the market, and ever since, the public had looked at bulk-buying with scrutiny.
However, they had a new "ray of hope" in the academy now. In Hannah's shop, anyone could purchase any units without fear out stock running out.
The words spread around like wildfire; seeing the nearly endless inventory gave everyone a sense of security, plus there was also the interest in checking out newly opened store. Various reasons superimposed and the shop became an overnight sensation.
Well, that's Hannah for you.
Furthermore, with the terrific amount of ingredients she'd required, she had also signed contracts with several «Gatherer» category job holders. A lot of students with the said jobs were struggling to make ends meet, but now they had a stable source of income, so the support for Hannah’s party was through the roof.
And it was all possible due to Hannah's self-produced «Mana Stones». While «Mana Stones» were one of the common drops and dime a dozen, they’re still monster drops, which usually keeps the supply bottlenecked. But for Hannah, she'd have access to an inexhaustible supply of it. It was the main reason behind her production capability.
I wonder what height Hannah would take the «Alchemist» to? Either way, I would keep watching over her!
"Yes, we get it, you're worried about Hannah, Zephyr. But she's capable of more than what you can expect, so enough about her, and put your focus on us.|
"A-ah, right. You do have a point."
I had been staring at the shop from a distance when a voice called out from behind me. It was Sierra.
She looked as beautiful as ever today—wait, focus.
She wasn't alone. Lana, Ester, and Karua were right behind her. Everyone from my vanguard party was here.
It’s been a few days since Dungeon Week started. And today, we're going to challenge the lower floors of rank 10 dungeon «Twilight Altar» to acquire our fifth and final «Conqueror's Mark».
"We finally made it this far. It feels like it’s been a long road."
"Indeed. They say the final boss here is the strongest in all the Intermediate dungeons. Please stay on your guard, Lana-sama."
"I know, I know! But I’m just so excited!"
"Mm. After this... lots of curry. Promise."
"Yeah, it’s a promise. I’m going to treat you to some curry that’ll blow your mind."
"My hypeeee... is through the roof."
The team’s morale was soaring. Karua was so pumped she was even mangling her words a bit.
Kukuku. As a fact, I asked Mirius-senpai for her support earlier in exchange for a recipe. I also gave her a «Silver Chest» recipe for a discount on their cooking. And one of the menu items I asked for was *special curry item* for Karua. This one had a different kick than the usual curry from «Curry Iron Pan». I was looking forward to that moment, too!
"Alright, let’s move out!"
" " "Ohh!" " "
We set off for the intermediate-high dungeon entrance area.
We’ve been coming here every day lately, so the building was starting to feel like a second home. As we walked in, the seniors were watching us with the usual mix of awe and trepidation.
"Hey, look... it’s Eden."
"They’re back again! Are they seriously trying to clear the «Altar Dungeon»?!"
"That's the «Rank 10», the absolute apex of the dungeon. It's really hard to believe freshmen are... wait, maybe—"
"But what if they actually cleared it? W-What would be left of our....."
"Hehe~. Brave-kun is looking dashing as ever~. Hmm, did he change his equipment?"
"It's not just him. The entire party lineup has a bit of change in their equipment.. seems like a better version of their previous set."
"I wonder where they managed to get them?"
"Rumours are they've got dwarf blacksmith locked in their guild, and even signed contracts with other production job members to work exclusively for them."
"And on top of it is Alchemist Wizard Hannah-chan. Remember her? She's the one who got an advanced job in the production category. I heard she just opened a shop too."
"A-ah, yeah, I have heard about her. ...Wait a minute. Does that mean the key to faster dungeon exploration is to have an advanced production job?"
"What? Nah, there's no way... I mean, right?"
"Dungeon's exploration is what combat jobs are for. If they're not strong enough, there's no way any equipment, however competent they're, can bridge that gap. It's definitely correct to use «Advanced Job Ascension Ticket» on combat jobs first."
"Heh..."
"But—"
"Hmm?"
"What if both combat jobs and production jobs are advanced-tier? Wouldn't that combo be more potent?"
"...Aha...hahaha?"
"Seriously, where in the world does «Eden» get all those tickets—!"
Uh-huh, the chatter of the crowd was getting to a point I didn't want right now.
I did think about the scarcity of tickets, but that's still a secret.
Anyway, the procedure was complete, so I immediately led everyone to the dungeon.
"We're going to take our shortcut to jump straight to the 40th floor!"
"Seems fine."
We emerged to an altar that looked more like a gladiatorial arena. A giant magic circle was carved into its floor, glowing with a light that cut through the perpetual gloom of the dungeon.
We circled around the entrance gate to the four glowing magic circles and stepped onto the one for the 40th floor.
It was the only intermediate dungeon where carriage was unusable, so it took us two days during Dungeon Week to get this far. The dungeon only had altars, with no pathways. The only way to move ahead was by clearing the monsters out of the present altar.
As a fact, due to this procedural advancement, the dungeon had been referred to as «Battle Tower» in the game.
It would be the same thing today; bash out the monsters to our heart contents!
Today, we were going to clear the final ten floors and take down the boss.