In games, you often hear the term "money-making" come up in discussions. This is especially true for games that require a lot of in-game currency to progress. In MMORPGs, for example, you need the game's currency to buy items, making money-making strategies a hot topic.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. This is for our future, you know."
Thanks to our fun field trip, our levels have happily maxed out at Css 1. Now, what we need next is to increase our skill proficiency, acquire new skills, and upgrade our equipment. There's a lot to do.
Even though we have some time before entering the academy, I don't think we have that much leeway.
After somehow managing to fend off Dent and Pidd's skeptical gazes and their probing questions, we made it back to town safely. Now, it's time to focus on what we need to do next.
And of course, what we need to do is hunt Mochi.
"But honestly, I'm getting tired of it.""Yeah, isn't there a better way?""Well, there is, but when you think about safety..."
I cp my hands together and grab my usual bamboo spear, drawing attention, but the girls' reactions are lukewarm. The key to the Mochi Dungeon, which once sparkled in their eyes, now gets the same disgusted look as bell peppers served at dinner.
"If we prepare properly, it's not impossible."
I understand how they feel.
For gamers, optimizing leveling efficiency is a constant battle against boredom. No matter how efficient it is, endlessly repeating the same monotonous actions is mentally exhausting.
Even if there's a goal and a sense of accomplishment, acting out of inertia will eventually hit a wall.
In the game world, you can afford to take some risks to increase efficiency or even lower efficiency to explore other areas. But unfortunately, this is reality.
If you get hurt, you might end up with a lifelong disability, or worse, you could die.
Prioritizing speed and fun over safety isn't something we can afford to do at this stage.
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**Nel** Css 1 / Level 50 Basic Stats: HP 80 / MP 20 BP 0 EXBP 0 Skill 1 / Skill Slot 4 Spear Mastery Css 2 / Level 84
**Amina** Css 1 / Level 50 Basic Stats: HP 40 / MP 60 BP 0 EXBP 0 Skill 1 / Skill Slot 4 Staff Mastery Css 2 / Level 83
**Liberta** Css 1 / Level 50 Basic Stats: HP 60 / MP 40 BP 0 EXBP 0 Skill 1 / Skill Slot 4 Spear Mastery Css 2 / Level 94
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We've managed to secure the strongest stats for Css 1, but with our current weak equipment and skills, the Mochi Dungeon is still the most efficient option.
If we could at least learn some active skills and upgrade our equipment, we'd have more options.
"Really!?""Yeah.""Then let's do that! I'm so tired of Mochi every single day.""I'd like to, but Nel, can you tell us our current financial situation?"
But to do that...
"Our party funds total 3,200 Zeni.""That's not enough."
3,200 Zeni is roughly equivalent to 320,000 yen.
Leveling up and enhancing the "Proof of the Weak" for each of us was a significant expense. Even the weakest items cost a lot to enhance once you reach +30.
On top of that, we had to stock up on potions, so the money we earned from Mochi hunting has dwindled, leaving us with just this much.
"Wait, even this isn't enough?"
To Amina, 3,200 Zeni is a fortune. But to me, who knows the market prices in the game, it's barely a drop in the bucket.
"To move to the next stage, we need at least 100 times this amount.""A hundred!?""300,000 Zeni... That's a lot."
Earning that much from Mochi Cores would take an absurd amount of time.
"Should we sell that?""If we sell it, it'll cause a huge commotion. That's out of the question.""But 300,000 Zeni... How long will it take to earn that much from Mochi?"
Amina gnces at the corner of the stable, where a box containing the Golden Mochi we obtained from the Golden Mochi Dungeon is buried.
It's our most valuable possession. Selling it would solve our money problems in one go.
But if we release it onto the market, it would draw too much attention, and people with ill intentions would come after us.
Nel understands that rationally.
"That's..."
At the same time, she also understands how difficult it is to earn that much money.
"Liberta, isn't there anything we can do?""What can we do...?"
Even in the FBO era, money-making strategies started slow and then suddenly accelerated, leading to a point where you no longer had to worry about money.
"If only we could get that one skill, our money-making would skyrocket."
There are various ways to make money across the continents, but if you want to do it safely and efficiently, there's only one option.
"What's that?""Alchemy."
Alchemy—a skill often seen in games, manga, and anime, synonymous with creating potions and other magical items.
It's the number one skill I want Amina to have, but...
"The problem is how to get it."
Alchemy is notoriously difficult to obtain in the early game.
One way is to use a Skill Scroll, which drops from monsters, but... the monsters that drop it only appear in Css 3 dungeons or higher. And the drop rate is abysmal.
With our current equipment, even reaching those dungeons would be suicidal, and we can't afford to take that risk multiple times.
The second way is to buy it from a shop. Normally, if the difficulty is that high, other pyers might sell it, and shops might stock it. But Alchemy is a highly useful skill, and its demand is high.
Which means the price is ridiculously high. In the game era, it cost at least 100,000 Zeni, and that was considered cheap. Normally, it could go for five to ten times that amount.
The third way is through quest rewards. While it's a guaranteed way to obtain it, we don't even know if such a quest exists, and even if it does, it's likely not for low-level pyers like us. We can't even accept the quest at our current level.
The usual clever tricks and workarounds don't seem to apply to this skill for some reason.
"Is there no way?""There is, but if we want to do something immediately, the only option is the Skill Scroll. But who knows how much it would cost in the shops..."
Honestly, if we could just get this skill, we could make as much money as we want. It's that important.
"Then it's time to show off my merchant skills!! Let's go!!"
Nel grabs my hand and drags me outside without hesitation.
"Wait, what!?""Today's shopping day!!""Yeah!!"
It seems they really don't want to hunt Mochi today. If they're not in the mood, forcing them to do it would be inefficient, but it's pretty obvious they just want to sck off.
Well, I guess it's fine to have days like this.
There are a few shops we haven't visited because we thought we couldn't afford anything, so today we'll scout them out.
"Hehehe, I'm going to haggle as much as I can!!""Please, just don't get us banned from the shop.""How rude, I wouldn't do that."
Ever since she started dabbling in reselling, Nel has developed a taste for the thrill of buying low and selling high. But if she haggles too much and gets us banned from an important shop, it would be a disaster.
"Don't worry, Liberta. Even Nel wouldn't cause trouble for the shops."
I don't think she would, but the way she's pulling my hand and marching forward with such determination makes me a little nervous. Amina reassures me, so I decide to trust them for now.
Skill Scrolls are usually sold by pyers in online mode through stalls or in official Skill Scroll specialty shops.
If there were other pyers in this world, they might be selling them in stalls, but I haven't heard any rumors about that. If there were pyer-run shops, they'd be selling incredible items and would be the talk of the town. I haven't heard any such rumors, and Nel wouldn't miss them either. Judging by the direction we're heading, it seems we're going to a specialty shop.
"Wow, there are so many adventurers.""Well, adventurers are the ones who need them the most, so it makes sense."
We arrive at a rge shop that looks familiar from the game, much bigger than the one run by Nel's father, Zinc. There are a lot of people coming and going.
"Hmph. My shop will be even bigger than this one day!""I'm sure you can do it, Nel."
The shop's prosperity is proportional to its size, with a constant stream of customers entering and leaving. It's a testament to how high the demand for their items is.
This doesn't look promising.
Some of the adventurers are leaving with scrolls in hand, but there are also those who compin about the high prices and leave empty-handed.
The tter outnumber the former.
While encouraging Nel as she dreams big, I quietly pat her back to urge her inside, resigning myself to the fact that this is just a market survey.
It must be unusual for three kids to come in, as we attract some attention for a moment, but it quickly fades.
Soon, everyone goes back to their own shopping.
"Ugh, it's so expensive."
And we're no different. Since we came here with a purpose, the first thing we head to is the bckboard with the prices listed.
There are no dispy cases, just counters like in a bank, with several clerks handling transactions.
The crowd gathers around the bulletin board, and we, being small, squeeze through the gaps to get a spot in front of it.
The inventory is listed on a bckboard on the wall, with prices written in chalk.
"I knew active skills were in demand, but they're really expensive."
Looking at the prices on the board, I let out a big sigh. The average prices are much higher than they were in the game era.
"Well, I expected as much."
Reality is harsh, as expected.
"Hmm, Nel, is this expensive?""It is, but it's a fair price for the product.""Really?"
If Nel, who's studying to be a merchant, says so, then this must be the average price.
"Is what we're looking for over here?""Probably. Let's take a look."
Thinking there might be some hidden gems, we search the board for the items we're interested in.
"...No way."
I can't help but mutter when I find the section.
The section we're looking for is easy to find, with prices for skills like Sword Mastery, Fire Magic, and Throwing Mastery listed as extremely high. But for some reason, Alchemy is missing.
Sword, Shield, Water Magic, and other combat-reted skills start from the lowest tier, but production skills like Bcksmithing, Alchemy, Tailoring, Sewing, and Carpentry start from the intermediate tier, with no basic tier avaible.
Maybe they're stored separately? It makes sense that starting from a higher tier would be more expensive, so I was about to give up when I found it.
"Wow, it's so cheap!""Yeah, why is that?""I don't know either."
It's like a clearance sale, or more accurately, a bargain bin.
There are two bulletin boards with very few people around. Curious, I take a look and find that one of them lists only two scrolls: Sword Saint and Earth Magic, both at exorbitant prices.
The amount listed is something we could never afford, so we quickly move on.
The problem is the other board.
"But we've hit the jackpot."
It seems to be a list of unusable scrolls. There are a few people around, but they leave after a quick gnce, as the skills listed are mostly junk.
But among them, there it is.
**"Alchemy, 120 Zeni."**
What a low price, what a great deal. If pyers saw this, they'd buy it up immediately.
It's unbelievably cheap. I can't help but double-check.
"Could it be...?"
Among the mostly useless skills, Alchemy is hidden there.
And then, as if it's not enough...
"Found it! This too!? At this price!?"
One bargain after another keeps popping up.
Skill Scrolls that were unthinkable in the game era are appearing.
"Kuhahahahahahaha!"
How could I not ugh?
"Hey, what's going on?""Liberta, people are staring.""Ah, sorry."
Nel and Amina are taken aback by my sudden ughter and scold me, but...
"When I think about the future, I can't help but ugh."
The skills listed on the board:
**"Fishing, 80 Zeni"** **"Expansion, 65 Zeni"**
Finding these two skills made it impossible for me to stop smiling.
"Change of pns."
