Chapter 25 : Plain Looking Merchant

"A merchant?"

The girl nodded.

"Plus an alchemist?" Raka looked at her disbelievingly.

The girl nodded again, but it was more vigorous than before.

"My goal is to become a great alchemist who can sell my own products!" She was saying her dream in a manner that was comparable to a young little girl.

Ragna was a bit startled when he heard it directly. Players who tried to become a dual specialist were very low in number. Well, the idea might seem doable. While selling their goods, they could increase the proficiency of their crafting skills. Then, the goods they got from crafting could be sold instantly. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, while players were crafting, they couldn't do anything else. If you tried to interact with customers, then the crafting process will be failed. You have to choose whether to stop crafting or to tell your customers to wait. Obviously, no one wanted to wait when there was another similar merchant nearby.

Furthermore, because you had to divide your attention towards two different things, you wouldn't be able to achieve great results in both of them. The proficiency for both of those skills would pale in comparison to someone who concentrated on only one path. To put it simply, it wasn't effective.

At least not until the later part of the game, when you could build a shop and assign someone to be your clerk.

Ragna started to make some prejudice toward the glasses girl. He thought that the girl was a bit naive, trying to tread the path that no one dared to. Though, he had a slight respect for her. Her courage was something commendable.

"So.. what should I do to help you? And.. um.. what should I call you? You can call me Ragna" Ragna just realized that they haven't exchanged name yet. In Maya, player's IDs were hidden from other players, unless there was a special occasion.

"Ah! I forgot to tell you. My in game ID is Lily! White Lily! Let's add each other"

"Sure, now tell me what is it that I have to do for you"

"Hehehe" The girl grinned "I assume that you already understand the problem we, dual specialist have, it's the lack of the time we have"

"In this expedition, us non-combatant can gain contribution points by selling things to the players who are related to the expedition. Unfortunately, non-combatant can't enter the gate unless the general asked us to. That's why we can only wait for the players when they exited the gate. The problem is, no one will know when the quest will be over for that day. It could be right before sunset, or maybe late at the night"

"If I have to wait there since afternoon, it wouldn't be good for my growth. However, I can't waste this chance. The rewards must be huge considering that it's a special event"

The girl pointed her small finger toward Ragna.

"That's where you will come in! By telling me right before the expedition ended, I  could return to the city on time. It will increase my efficiency because I need to go out to gather material and concoct my Potions. Do you understand?"

Ragna nodded at the girl's word. This girl had a point. It slightly increased his opinion toward her.

"I see, but I have two question. First, why can't you just gather the material early and concoct your potions later while waiting at the gate? That should solve the  problem. Second, why me?"

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"Umm. The truth is, I can't make my potions in a crowded place. I'll lose my concentration easily and as a result, the quality will be decreased" The girl answered immediately, it was as if she had predicted what question Ragna would ask.

"As for the second question. Hehehe"

The girl opened her bag, showing him a blue colored Potion with a quite beautiful radiance. It seemed a bit extraordinary.

...

'What a weird girl' Raka mumbled while playing with the blue colored potion in his hand. It was the potion that Lily showed him.

Elementary Mana Potion (U)

Restore 360 points of Mana. Increase innate mana regeneration rate by 10% for 30 seconds

Cooldown : 60s

The potion Lily made was stronger than a normal Potion. Normal potions could only replenish 300 points, it also didn't have the special option to increase the regeneration rate. Unfortunately, the price was also a bit higher. It was about 30% more expensive.

In Maya, the only currency was gold. Normal potions sell for 10 golds. Naturally, Lily need to make some profit for herself. That was why she had to sell them for at least 14 golds.

A Potion which could restore 20% more mana with the price being 40% higher? Of course, it wasn't popular. She had trouble selling them. That was why she asked Ragna to help her.

She wanted him to endorse her potions!

She said that it was because of Ragna's superb acting skill that she believed in him. She was sure that he could somehow promote her potions and introduce her as the seller. Of course, Lily herself didn't have that much expectation. She only said that if he could do it then she will give him a discount when he wanted to return his debt.

Obviously, Ragna understood her intention. He was a freshman at the best University in Bandung, majoring in management on top of that.

'But how to do it...' Ragna was having a hard time figuring the right way to do it. In then end, he shrugged the matter off. At least he had a lot of time to figure it out.

On the bright side, he had managed to borrow 5 health potions and 15 mana potions. As a mage, he needed more of the latter. The deal had been written in a contract parchment. He needed to return all of them at least before the expedition was over.

If the contract was violated, players will be given a penalty to their level and stats proportional to the violation severity. The money wouldn't be reimbursed. To be eligible for that, players had to make a contract with a third party such as banks. Naturally, it would cost some money.

Ragna and Lily made the contract without the third party. It was a lose-lose condition if he decided to run away.

Ragna rubbed his backpack. Although it was far from plenty, it was quite enough for him to last for few days. Even without Potions, he was able to slay a sentinel, right?

He was ready for the expedition!