The item market, located in the Academy's Department of Alchemy area.
Even if the faculty and students of the Department of Alchemy were all a bit mentally unstable in terms of personality and research direction, they still held a pivotal position within Glory Cael Magic Academy and the entire royal capital's magical community.
The reason was simple: this group's money-making capability was utterly terrifying.
The alchemical items they crafted and refined included small items like dust-cleaning handkerchiefs that automatically cleaned stains (5 silver coins).
On a larger scale, they offered elemental protection potions capable of temporarily boosting specific attribute resistances (ranging from 10 to 50 gold coins depending on the element and duration).
They even produced single-use magic scrolls that could replicate the effects of High-tier attack magic (80 to 200 gold coins). All of these were heavily favored in the market by adventurers, nobles, and even the military.
Furthermore, according to an internal agreement between the academy and the Department of Alchemy, twenty percent of the profits from every transaction made in the academy market area had to be handed over to the academy as venue and management fees.
This was an immensely lucrative source of income, sufficient to support numerous costly research projects and infrastructure maintenance throughout the academy.
Suffice to say, if not for the astonishing profits brought in by these eccentrics, Headmistress Olivia, given her lazy and casual personality, would likely have lined them all up for execution long ago, unable to stomach the constant explosions they caused every few days.
“Still, now that you two finally have a fortune in your hands, are you really not going to treat yourselves to a meal at the Golden Crucible restaurant and order their signature Dragon's Breath Flame Roast Meat set meal? Are you truly planning to throw it all into boring study instead?”
Greg asked Victoria and Silvia beside him as he walked along the bustling street of the alchemy item market, where the air was thick with all sorts of peculiar scents.
“Hmph, do you think we're like you, just delinquent students planning to loaf around?”
Victoria puffed out her flat chest, her gray eyes slanting a glance at Greg as she spoke in a proud tone:
“We are people with lofty goals and concrete plans!”
Silvia was more practical. She unconsciously rubbed her fingers together, a hint of worry in her pink eyes as she softly explained:
“Actually... it's mostly because Victoria and I stayed in a small rural village before, so we never came into contact with proper alchemical items. If we don't take advantage of having money now to buy some basic ones to study their principles, effects, and methods of use, I'm afraid both of our theory scores will fail when the practical exam for Basics and Applications of Alchemy Items comes around...”
She paused, her voice dropping even lower. “If that happens, we might not be able to choose a good Instructor...”
“Oh, so that's why.”
Greg had a sudden realization, only then recalling that according to the original game's storyline, it was indeed almost time for the first-year students to undergo the mutual selection of Instructors.
When he played the game back then, he had simply followed community guides for this section, choosing whichever Instructor triggered more events or gave better rewards, quickly skipping through it.
As for which Instructor Victoria could choose based on her own ability, he had no idea whatsoever.
In any case, in his memory, those selectable Instructors had pitifully low presence in the main storyline. Aside from occasionally giving side quests or offering some conveniences, they played virtually no key role.
Thus, in his view, it didn't seem to make much difference which one was chosen.
Seeing her dashing declaration so ruthlessly exposed by her friend, Victoria couldn't help but curl her lips. Turning to Greg with a somewhat annoyed air, she retorted:
“What about you? After finally coming into a windfall, instead of improving your life or saving it up, why are you so intent on buying these money-draining alchemical items? Hearing how detailed you were about the Golden Crucible's set meal just now, even knowing the price, proves you definitely had that plan originally, doesn't it?”
“Yeah, I really did plan on it at first.”
Greg admitted straightforwardly, a mix of nostalgia and regret surfacing on his face.
Back when he stayed up late playing the game, the descriptions of the magical delicacies at the Golden Crucible restaurant—whose mouth-watering aromas almost seemed to leak through the screen—had caused him to drool over his instant noodles more than a few times.
If given the chance, he genuinely wanted to go taste them in person.
But for now, that plan had to be postponed, as he currently had places where money was far more urgently needed.
Silvia acutely picked up on the shift in Greg's tone and asked softly:
“Is it... because of the dungeon that you changed your mind?”
“That's right.”
Greg straightened his expression and nodded, his tone growing a bit serious:
“The situation on the second layer is definitely much more dangerous than the first layer, so making extra preparations never hurts. Who knows when it might play a critical role?”
In reality, Greg's goal this time wasn't merely to dabble in exploring the second layer.
If the timing and conditions allowed, he intended to try triggering and hunting down a hidden mini-boss on the second layer.
Although the trigger condition was troublesome, defeating this hidden mini-boss gave a chance of dropping a special item that would be extremely helpful for clearing the second layer's Area Lord.
Greg didn't know whether the game developers had intended it that way from the start or if it was tied to some unexplored side quest.
But regardless, the value of that item was worth making targeted investments and preparations for.
The 'Strong Paralysis Venom Gland' he intended to purchase was prepared specifically for this agile hidden mini-boss.
A high concentration of paralysis venom could effectively restrict its movements, creating a precious window to unleash damage.
The three of them chatted idly like this along the way, casually dealing with small unexpected incidents triggered by Greg's damned -10 Luck stat.
Soon, they arrived at the Department of Alchemy's item market.
The stalls on the outermost edge were crammed with an eye-boggling array of goods, but most were crudely made with faint mana fluctuations. Their prices were relatively cheap, usually labeled from a few silver coins to one or two gold coins.
These were either practice works by first-year freshmen of the Department of Alchemy or discarded failed experiments by upperclassmen. While they seemed cost-effective at first glance, their stability and effectiveness were doubtful.
Greg didn't dare gamble with his own life. After casting a brief glance over them, he called Victoria and Silvia to continue walking deeper into the market.
After passing through several alleys, the store decorations on both sides noticeably became far more refined.
The items displayed in the shop windows radiated stronger magical glows—and, naturally, the numbers on their price tags grew increasingly jaw-dropping.
5 gold coins for a Haste Potion, 8 gold coins for a Stoneskin Potion, 15 gold coins for Flash Powder... Seeing all this, Victoria and Silvia gradually became dumbfounded.
Greg's gaze rapidly scanned the signs and displays of shop after shop, his eyebrows knitting slightly.
He had already walked to the end of the fourth-year area, on the verge of entering the boutique section run directly by Instructors or elite alchemists who remained at the academy after graduating, yet he still hadn't found a Strong Paralysis Venom Gland with quality and pricing to his satisfaction.
Just as Greg began seriously considering the backup plan of 'winning through sheer numbers if worse came to worst,' his eyes were suddenly drawn to a shop diagonally ahead.
Only three items were displayed in the shop window, one of which was a thumb-sized crystal bottle containing a viscous liquid that shimmered with a deep purple glow.
The label stuck to the bottle read in neat handwriting: “Strong Paralysis Venom Gland, 92% purity, excellently preserved activity.”
It was exactly what he wanted!
Moreover, just judging by the color of the liquid, it was vastly superior to anything he had seen earlier!
Joy flared in Greg's heart, but his eyes immediately landed on the small price tag below the label—
25 gold coins.
“...”
Most of his joy was instantly doused.
His entire net worth right now was 20 gold coins, 5 short.
Victoria and Silvia's money also had clear academic purposes, so he felt embarrassed to ask to borrow from them.
Besides, knowing the gray-haired brat's personality, she would probably seize the chance to mock him mercilessly...
“Looks like I can only try haggling...”
Greg took a deep breath and entered the excessively clean shop with the mindset of treating a dead horse like a live one.
Inside, there was only a female student wearing a Department of Alchemy second-year uniform sitting behind the counter. She was staring intently at a heavy alchemical tome, paying no mind to the entering customer.
Greg walked up to the counter and lightly tapped on the surface.
The girl didn't look up, merely asking in a flat voice, “Can I help you?”
Greg cleared his throat and pointed at the bottle of Strong Paralysis Venom Gland in the shop window. Effortlessly trying to look like an expert, he began deploying the haggling skills he had learned from market aunts in his past life:
“I took a look at this Shadow Spider extract. The color is deep purple enough, but... the sediment seems a bit noticeable? Did you guys fail to thoroughly remove impurities during the extraction process?”
He watched the girl's expression while trying to pick out a flaw, before shifting his tone:
“So I think 25 gold coins is a bit unreasonable for a product with such potential flaws. Look, a similar product at the neighboring Alchemy Star shop is only 16 gold coins, even if its purity is only 85%. Tell you what, I won't haggle too hard: 20 gold coins, how about it? If the quality really is as good as the label says, I'll be a returning customer in the future.”
Having finished speaking, Greg didn't know if the girl would be fooled by his combo.
After all, the flaws he mentioned were actually quite common in alchemical products, especially biological extractions like this, where a little sediment wasn't an issue at all.
He was purely talking out of his ass, hoping to intimidate this bookwormish-looking girl into selling it at a discount.
Sure enough, upon hearing Greg's words, the girl's expression instantly changed.
Her eyes snapped entirely away from the book. Behind her thick lenses, her originally lifeless eyes suddenly turned sharp, staring fixedly at Greg as her voice raised slightly with emotion:
“What?! You actually claim that this Shadow Spider venom gland, extracted under the personal supervision of our Representative, has flaws? Do you have any idea that during extraction, the temperature of this venom was strictly controlled at—”
Her counterarguments poured out like rapid gunfire, but halfway through, her eyes finally seemed to focus on Greg's face, taking in his appearance.
In an instant, her impassioned speech was as if hit by a pause button, her voice coming to an abrupt halt.
The anger and urge to argue on her face rapidly receded, replaced by a mixture of surprise, realization, and... a trace of nervousness.
“I-I'm sorry!”
Her tone shifted abruptly, and she even bowed her head slightly, speaking with a touch of urgency:
“Please wait a moment! I-I'll go get someone who can make the decisions!”
Without even waiting for Greg to respond, she hastily shut her book, stood up, and practically jogged over to lift the curtain leading to the back room, ducking inside as her figure swiftly vanished behind it.
Leaving Greg standing alone in the empty store, staring at the swaying curtain with a bewildered look, he began to wonder if his bad luck was acting up again.
Rate on N.U.
