00013 [Part 1] [The Good-for-Nothing Wizard] ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
There were largely five ways to obtain desired items in C.Y. First, purchasing from shops run by NPCs. This had the advantage of allowing one to buy standardized items. Even if they were the same item, each had different stats; but when bought from a shop, one purchased items with standardized stats set to average values, meaning one would never end up with an item that had low stats.
Second, obtaining them from monsters. Defeating monsters yielded money and items. This was something found in any game. Items obtained from monsters could not be purchased in shops, and depending on the monster’s rank, one could acquire items with stats or bonus skills. However, obtaining items from monsters required luck.
Third, obtaining them through quests. One could acquire items by completing certain quests. In this case, the stats of the obtained items were also standardized.
Fourth, exchanging items with players. The downside was that one had to find a player who had the item one wanted. Additionally, one could kill a player—so-called player killing—to obtain the items they possessed, but in that case, one would be branded with the mark known as Slayer and treated as a criminal by the people of the game world.
And finally, fifth, buying items from players. In this case, one might get swindled, but one could obtain good items—such as those not sold in shops or items produced through a player’s production skills.
The method Last chose after leaving the general store was precisely this fifth one. He thought that if NPCs had colluded to raise prices, players would be taking advantage of this opportunity to sell potions.
Full Moon Village was a small village with few players, but when he stepped out onto the main road, he could see several players sitting on straw mats lined up along the roadside.
“Are you going to buy potions from those people?”
“Buying from players will be cheaper and better quality.”
Aran, who had been silently trailing behind since leaving the store, spoke up as if worried. Last answered nonchalantly and approached the player nearest to him.
“Welcome~! These are the items our shop is selling.”
When the player spoke, a catalog window appeared before the two of them. It contained detailed records of the items for sale, including basic descriptions, abilities, and prices.
“Hmm… Ah, found it.”
Last examined the items and discovered a potion designated for beginners. When he clicked it, detailed information about the potion was displayed.
[Beginner Recovery Potion
Recommended for players Level 10 and under. Recovers 15% of the Health Gauge.
Price: 100 Donghwa]
“Huh?”
“Is something wrong, customer?”
Last inspected the Beginner Recovery Potion and furrowed his brow.
“This potion recovers a fairly small amount. Don’t you have anything else?”
“15% is all I have. If you’re looking for 30%, you’d be better off going to the general store.”
“15% is all you have?”
The Beginner Recovery Potions sold at the general store recovered 30% of the Health Gauge. However, the potion sold by the player before him only raised it by 15%. Even if it wasn’t a standardized item, the value was absurdly low.
The player picked up on Last’s confusion and shrugged his shoulders as he answered.
“You can find people with high crafting skills in weapons, but it’s hard to find anyone with high crafting skills in potions.”
“That may be so, but making potions shouldn’t require a high level of crafting skill proficiency, so the recovery amount is too low.”
“Ah, you didn’t know. Potions just don’t turn out well when players make them. That’s why there aren’t many people with the potion crafting skill either.”
“What?”
As Last listened, this was the situation. Production-class skills rarely received good treatment. The only skills that received any semblance of respect were weapon and armor crafting skills. Weapons and armor were indispensable items for surviving in this world. Moreover, as long as one repaired them, items could be used permanently.
But the potion crafting skill was different. One could defeat monsters without necessarily using it. Furthermore, it was a consumable item. Once used, it disappeared. Using potions in the middle of combat was no easy feat either. It was better to just chew on medicinal herbs while fighting. That was why it was said there weren’t many people who learned the potion crafting skill.
The bigger problem was that items made with the potion crafting skill were said to fall far short of the standardized products sold on the market in terms of performance. The reason was the manufacturing process. There were many factors to consider: timing of ingredient additions, surrounding environment, amount of ingredients, and so on. Moreover, the amount produced was a mere single potion. It was better to just buy in bulk from a shop even if it cost money. There was no time to research crafting techniques, no time to make them one by one, and no real need to do so, so demand for people who learned potion crafting skills was extremely low.
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
There were players who specialized in production classes. If so, there should also be people who specialized in potion crafting skills. However, since demand was already low, there would be even fewer capable people among them. There would be limits to the potions those people could make, and there was no reason to spend time and effort making beginner recovery potions. Even if they made advanced potions, there would be no buyers, so their very reason for existing became blurred.
“True. Among the people I know, there’s no one who uses potions or makes them. I don’t use them either during combat because they’re inconvenient.”
“Well, yeah.”
Last looked around elsewhere. However, he could not find any potion exceeding 15%. In the end, he had to spend all his money buying 15% recovery potions.