The Item Market in the Department of Alchemy area of the academy.
Even if the faculty and students of the Department of Alchemy were all somewhat mentally unstable in their personalities and research directions, they still held a pivotal position in the magic world of Glory Cael Magic Academy and even the entire royal capital.
The reason was simple: the money-making ability of this group was terrifying.
The alchemy items they manufactured and improved ranged from small things like Dust-Removing Handkerchiefs that could automatically clean stains (5 silver coins).
To larger items like Elemental Protection Potions that could enhance specific attribute resistances for a short time (ranging from 10 to 50 gold coins depending on the attribute and duration).
And even one-time magic scrolls that could simulate high-tier attack magic (80 to 200 gold coins). These were all highly favored by adventurers, nobles, and even the military in the market.
According to the internal agreement between the academy and the Department of Alchemy, for every transaction made within the academy's market district, the Department of Alchemy had to hand over twenty percent of the profit to the academy as site and management fees.
This was a staggering amount of revenue, enough to support the academy's many costly research projects and infrastructure maintenance.
It could be said that if these eccentrics didn't bring in such incredible profits, given Headmistress Olivia's lazy and casual personality, she probably would have had them all lined up and executed long ago for the explosions they caused every few days.
"But since the two of you have a rare windfall now, do you really not plan to go to the Golden Crucible and splurge on their signature Dragon's Breath Flame Roast Meat set to enjoy life? Do you really plan to sink it all into boring studies?"
Greg asked Victoria and Silvia as he walked down the bustling street of the Alchemy Item Market, which was filled with all sorts of strange smells.
"Hmph, do you think we're all like you, delinquent students who just plan to coast through life?"
Victoria puffed out her somewhat flat chest and glanced at Greg with her gray eyes, her tone full of pride.
"We are people with ambitious goals and practical plans!"
Silvia was more down-to-earth. She unconsciously rubbed her fingers together, her pink eyes filled with a bit of worry as she explained softly:
"Actually... it's mainly because Victoria and I used to live in a small village in the countryside, and we've never been exposed to any proper alchemy items. If we don't take advantage of having money now to buy some basics to study their principles, effects, and usage, I'm afraid our theory grades for the 'Basics and Applications of Alchemy Items' course will really fail during the next practical assessment..."
She paused, her voice getting even quieter. "If that happens, we might not be able to choose a good mentor..."
"Oh, I see."
Greg realized what was going on. He remembered that according to the original game's progression, it was almost time for the first-year students to undergo the mutual mentor selection process.
When he played the game, he had always followed community guides to choose mentors who could trigger more events or provide better rewards, skipping through the dialogue quickly.
As for which mentor Victoria could choose based on her own abilities, he had no idea.
In any case, in his memory, those selectable mentors had pitifully low presence in the subsequent main storyline, barely playing any key role except for occasionally issuing side quests or providing some convenience.
So in his view, it didn't seem to make much difference which one they chose.
Seeing her cool declaration being so heartlessly debunked by her friend, Victoria couldn't help but pout. She turned to Greg with a bit of annoyance and asked back:
"What about you? You finally got a windfall, yet instead of thinking about improving your life or saving it, why are you thinking about buying these money-burning alchemy items? Seeing how detailed you were about the Golden Crucible's set meal, even knowing the price, proves you definitely had that intention originally, right?"
"Yeah, I did have that intention originally."
Greg nodded and admitted it frankly, a trace of nostalgia and regret flashing across his face.
Back when he stayed up late playing the game, the descriptions of the magical delicacies at the Golden Crucible, whose aroma seemed to waft through the screen, often made him drool over his instant noodles.
If he had the chance, he really wanted to taste them in person.
But for now, that plan had to be postponed because he had a more urgent need for the money.
Silvia keenly caught the change in Greg's tone and asked softly:
"Is it because... of the dungeon that you changed your mind?"
"Exactly."
Greg's expression turned serious, and he nodded. "The situation on the second layer is definitely much more dangerous than the first, so there's no harm in being more prepared. You never know when it might play a crucial role."
In reality, Greg's goal this time wasn't just to explore the second layer superficially.
If the timing and conditions allowed, he planned to try and trigger and hunt a hidden mini-boss on the second layer.
Although the trigger conditions were troublesome, once this hidden boss was defeated, there was a chance it would drop a special item that was extremely helpful for conquering the second layer's Area Lord.
Greg didn't know if the game developers had intended it this way or if there was an unexplored side story behind it.
But regardless, the value of that item was worth his targeted investment and preparation.
The 'Strong Paralysis Venom Gland' he planned to buy was specifically for this agile hidden mini-boss.
A high concentration of paralysis toxin could effectively limit its movements, creating a precious window for damage output.
The three of them chatted all the way, occasionally dealing with minor sudden accidents caused by Greg's damn -10 Luck stat.
They soon arrived at the Item Market of the Department of Alchemy.
The stalls on the outermost edge were filled with a dazzling array of goods, but most were crudely made with weak mana fluctuations. The prices were also relatively cheap, usually ranging from a few silver coins to one or two gold coins.
These were all practice works from the alchemy department's freshmen or failed products discarded by upperclassmen. Their cost-performance ratio seemed high, but their stability and effects were questionable.
Greg didn't dare gamble with his life. He only took a cursory glance before calling Victoria and Silvia to continue deeper into the market.
After passing through several alleys, the decor of the shops on both sides clearly began to become more sophisticated.
The items displayed in the windows also emitted a stronger magical luster, and of course, the numbers on the price tags became more and more staggering.
5 gold coins for a Swiftness Potion, 8 gold coins for a Stoneskin Potion, 15 gold coins for Flash Dust... Victoria and Silvia were gradually becoming dumbstruck.
Greg's gaze quickly swept over the signs and displays of each shop, but his brow furrowed slightly.
He had already reached the end of the fourth-year area and was about to enter the high-end shop area directly managed by mentors or opened by elite alchemists who had stayed at the academy after graduation, yet he still hadn't seen a Strong Paralysis Venom Gland that satisfied him in terms of quality and price.
Just as Greg began to seriously consider the 'if all else fails, win by quantity' plan, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a shop diagonally ahead.
Only three items were displayed in the window. One of them was a thumb-sized crystal bottle containing a viscous, dark purple liquid.
The label on the bottle was written in extremely neat handwriting: "Strong Paralysis Venom Gland, 92% purity, excellent activity preservation."
It was exactly what he wanted!
And just by looking at the color of the liquid, it was much better than the ones he had seen before!
Greg was delighted, but his gaze then fell on the small price tag below the label—
25 gold coins.
"..."
His joy was instantly dampened by more than half.
His entire net worth was only 20 gold coins; he was still short by 5.
Victoria and Silvia's money also had clear educational uses, so he felt embarrassed to ask to borrow from them.
Moreover, with that gray-haired brat's personality, she would probably take the opportunity to mock him mercilessly...
"It looks like I can only try to haggle..."
Greg took a deep breath. With the mindset of a desperate man trying anything, he walked into this shop that was almost excessively clean.
There was only one girl in the shop wearing a second-year Department of Alchemy uniform. She was sitting behind the counter, focused on a thick alchemy tome, showing no reaction to a customer entering.
Greg walked to the counter and lightly tapped the surface.
The girl didn't look up, only asking flatly, "How can I help you?"
Greg cleared his throat, pointed at the bottle of Strong Paralysis Venom Gland in the window, and tried to look like an expert as he began to apply the haggling skills he had learned from market aunties in his past life:
"This bottle of Shadow Spider extract—I took a look, and while the color is purple enough, it seems... the sediment is a bit obvious? Was the impurity removal not thorough enough during your extraction process?"
As he observed the girl's expression, he tried to pick out a flaw before changing his tone:
"So I think the price of 25 gold coins is a bit unreasonable for a product with such potential flaws. Look, the similar product at the Alchemy Star shop nearby, although only 85% pure, only costs 16 gold coins. How about this? I won't haggle too much—20 gold coins. What do you say? If the quality is truly as good as the label says, I'll be a regular customer in the future."
After Greg finished speaking, he didn't know if this girl would be fooled by his combo move.
The flaws he mentioned were actually very common in alchemy products, especially with biological extracts like this; a bit of sediment wasn't a problem at all.
He was purely bullshitting to see if he could intimidate this girl, who looked like a bookworm, into selling it cheaper.
Sure enough, after hearing Greg's words, the girl's expression changed instantly.
Her gaze snapped away from the book. Behind her thick lenses, her originally dull eyes suddenly sharpened as she stared at Greg, her voice rising slightly with emotion:
"What?! You actually said this Shadow Spider venom gland, extracted under the personal supervision of our Representative, has flaws? Do you have any idea that the temperature was strictly controlled during the extraction of this venom at—"
Her rebuttal came out like a rapid-fire cannon, but halfway through, her gaze seemed to finally focus on Greg's face, seeing his appearance clearly.
In an instant, her excited speech seemed to have been paused, and her voice came to an abrupt halt.
The anger and desire to argue on her face quickly receded, replaced by a mixture of surprise, realization, and... a hint of nervousness.
"S-Sorry!"
Her tone shifted abruptly. She even lowered her head slightly, her voice becoming hurried:
"Please wait a moment! I-I'll go get someone who can make the decisions!"
After saying that, without even waiting for Greg to respond, she hurriedly closed her book, stood up, and almost ran as she lifted the curtain to the back room and dove inside, her figure quickly disappearing behind the curtain.
Greg was left standing alone in the empty shop, looking at the swaying curtain with a look of bewilderment, starting to wonder if his bad luck was acting up again.
Rate on N.U.
