Adam examines the array of items I've set on the counter, looking more than a little impressed. There are now four 3oz glass bottles set out. One of them is the blue-tinted mana potion I originally shared, one contains another blue-tinted liquid, one contains a yellow-tinted liquid, and one contains a green-tinted liquid. The last three are ones I don't normally carry.
[Magic Boost Potion] Tier: 7 A potion which boosts one's magical power. Magic Boost: +20% Duration: 30 minutes
[Stun Resistance Potion] Tier: 7 A potion which boosts one's resistance to the stun effect. Resistance: +20% Duration: 30 minutes
[Poison Resistance Potion] Tier: 7 A potion which boosts one's resistance to the poison effect. Resistance: +20% Duration: 30 minutes
The main difference between a ring which boosts one's stat and a potion which does it is that the ring requires the user to input mana into it to activate the effect – and maintain a steady rate of flow into it. My skill in enchanting is good enough that I can make them cost 3 MP per second, which is pretty high for one who uses a lot of MP for their Skills, especially if they have a lower pool of it.
However, the rings are also cheaper and can be used multiple times since all ones has to do is stop putting mana into it to stop the effect. When they do that, what's left of its duration can be used later by activating it again. With a potion, you have to drink nearly all of the bottle to gain the full effect and it only works once. There's no stopping it once it's begun, no "saving for later".
Potions don't just free up one's mana, they also free up the mental attention and magical ability that would be devoted to inputting mana into a ring. They have to constantly input mana to maintain the buff from a ring. Most Awakened switch to potions once they can afford it.
Rings also tend to have an upper limit of around 10% and 10 minutes, maybe 15% and 15 minutes if the enchanter is good enough. The best potions I've heard of go up to around 30% and 30 minutes.
There's a big trade-off there, and potions require a more expensive crafting to create, which increases their cost to buy.
"Damn," Adam finally says after examining them. "I take it you're a higher Rank and have several craftsman Classes? Your Daily and Weekly Dungeons would focus on harvesting materials. You're an [Alchemist] for sure."
"[Magic Craftsman]," I tell him. "But yes, my Daily and Weekly Dungeons have a lot of loot compared to the norm, from my understanding."
I've known about crafting Classes before, but the Awakened who visit my shop are hunters, not craftsmen. The Dungeons from the Daily and Weekly Quests that I've heard about were focused more on hunting monsters, maybe with a little bit of loot added in.
It seems that for a craftsman's Daily and Weekly Dungeons, there are rarely any monsters at all, and the Quest is to collect a certain amount of something in a set time frame or locate a specific item. So far, all of mine have been to kill something but were in a Dungeon which contained a lot of resources. I'm sure today's Daily Dungeon and this week's Weekly Dungeon will be the same.
"That's your Class?" Adam asks. "Anything else? These," he gestures to the potions. "Imply Rank 5."
"Four mage-type Classes, including [Nature Mage]."
"You're ridiculous."
"Aren't you a Rank 5 who's still going to a starter shop?"
"Point taken," he chuckles. "Can I get ten of each of those? And a gallon of mana potion which restores 3,500 MP per ounce?"
The boost and resistance potions are sold by the dose, which is 3oz each. Their bottles are designed for fixing onto belts and drinking straight from, though are also often stored in packs when not needed. Starting with Category 3, Dungeons can have environmental hazards which can necessitate needing a resistance buff, not just monsters which can use the afflictions like the stuncap lords from Saturday.
"Sure," I put the potions away. "Though there's more goods in stock."
I pull three scrolls out of my [Dimensional Storage]. The paper they were made from was crafted using an older style rather than for common commercial use, so they're a little bit on the thicker side than printer paper and have rougher, less-even edges. Flax that was separated and beaten in a special treatment solution based on what the scroll is meant for, then screened and pressed into sheets before being hung to dry.
While their edges could have been snipped so they were straight, traditional craftsmen like the one who made the papers dislike doing that. Scroll-makers like myself prefer their more natural edges as well.
Two of the scrolls have a very faint blue tint to them, while the third has a more vibrant yellow than a more normal faded yellow-cream. The first two have blue ribbons with a blue wax seal keeping them rolled up, while the third has a yellow ribbon with a yellow wax seal keeping it rolled up.
[Scroll of Barrier] Tier: 7 A scroll which creates a magical barrier when used. Strength: 12 Magic Size: 10' x 10' Duration: 10 minutes
[Scroll of Barrier Cube] Tier: 7 A scroll which creates a magical barrier cube when used. Strength: 12 Magic Size: 15' x 15' x 15' Duration: 30 minutes
[Scroll of Shock Burst] Tier: 7 A scroll which releases a burst of electric magic to shock and stun those within its path. Strength: 12 Magic
While the Strength values themselves can be found somewhat easily due to a lower Tier, the duration I've managed for the first two scrolls are in the upper range. However, the Tier itself isn't common, meaning the options for where to buy them are rather limited.
None of my stuff will be useful in his Daily and Weekly Dungeons, but they'll work for many of the Dungeons he gets called into.
The [Scroll of Barrier] and [Scroll of Shock Burst] are semi-common scrolls that can be found, but the [Scroll of Barrier Cube] is rare. There's only one shop outside of guilds which sells them, according to my research. Now two, with mine.
Adam asks for two of each of the three scrolls, then I put my display scrolls away and head into the back to prepare his order.
"Thanks for coming," I say after he pays, sliding forward the bag with his purchases. "And remember, I'm only offering the higher stuff to customers I know and trust."
"No worries," he says as the bag vanishes, stored away in his own [Dimensional Storage]. "I won't tell anyone about the really good stuff."
While I knew he had the Skill, he's never actually used it in front of me. That was probably just to show me how serious he is about keeping it hidden.
"Thanks," I say. "Oh, and I wanted to let you know that I'm changing one of my rules."
"Which one?" He asks.
"I implemented the 'no relationships, whether platonic or not, with customers' rule when I first started," I say. "Partially as a protective measure against customers trying to get an advantage and discount through connections. However, it's been four years and some customers have earned trust from me. Basically, if someone has earned my trust and liking enough I'll share with them my more advanced stock, I don't mind having a non-professional relationship, including talking or hanging out outside of the shop."
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Relaxing this policy for long-time customers might work out or it might turn badly, but I'm hopeful things will be fine. The long-term customers I'm going to offer the extra stock list to all seem trustworthy, and most of them do like making small talk beyond just what I find from most customers. It's given me the impression that they do want to be friends but are attempting to be respectful of my policy.
With Adam… I'm also sure it might turn into at least one hookup, possibly even another friends-with benefits. He's probably not aware that I've noticed him checking me out when he thinks I'm not paying attention.
"Oh, cool!" Adam flashes a happy smile. "I can give you my personal number, then."
The number I have on file from when he's placed orders for later pickup is his hunter's number. Many people have separate phones for their personal and professional lives, myself included. We exchange our personal numbers, then Adam leaves, waving as he goes.
I return to reading my book. That's two customers today, so I can probably expect only one more customer in the next three hours, or by the time I close for lunch. Even if I don't receive any, the purchases Adam made will more than pay this week's bills for the shop.
While it could technically be considered pure profit, I did still have to buy new brewing supplies to handle the higher-quality goods, I still needed the fire magic crystals and dousing wand, to replace jars and bottles that aren't returned, to sanitize things, pay my own wages, pay for the shop's power and water bills, and so on.
There are also times where I have to purchase additional things myself, such as reagents I wasn't able to source. The lower-quality reagents for the weaker mana potions I made first yesterday, for example. Or the scroll papers for the scrolls. I don't make the jars and bottles, either, and I order the bags I put purchases into, the register tape for the receipts, and so on.
Making higher-quality goods means spending money on higher-quality supplies as well.
The extra earnings will also allow me to upgrade my security system, as I want that boosted even if I'm only telling trusted customers about the more secret stock I now carry.
Roughly thirty-five minutes after Adam leaves, the door to my shop opens and a tone sounds out. Will today be a busier day, then?
When I look over to see who the customer is, I find myself pleasantly surprised to see that it's another attractive customer who's been coming for here for a long time and who's earned my trust and liking.
Rather than his usual outfit of a tight-fitting t-shirt and jeans, Ryan's wearing a tight-fitting light green sleeveless with dark khaki shorts and athletic shoes. It's the first time I've ever seen him in shorts, and those smooth legs of him just as toned as his torso. Remaining professional, I don't let my eyes go down to them or the abs that are clearly outlined by his shirt.
As much as I'd like to.
"Hello, Ryan," I greet him as I place a bookmark in the book. "This is a little bit of a surprise."
"I heard you're carrying higher-quality potions now," he says. "Up to 500 MP per ounce. I thought I'd take a look to see if Adam was pranking me. He does that sometimes."
If Adam's pranking him "sometimes", then they're probably friends.
"You know Adam?" I ask.
"Yeah," he answers. "We've been called to run Dungeons together a few times. There are a few of us who group up to run Dungeons on our own, too."
If that means what I think it means…
"Do you mind if I ask your Rank?" I ask. "I know it's a little bit rude to do that, but the implication there…"
"I'm Rank 5," he confirms. "Though I'm actually a decent bit higher than him in Level, at Level 28. If you're selling potions at 500 MP per ounce, I'd like to buy some. I wasn't buying too much on the old maximum here since I knew your stock was mostly for beginners, but I usually needed to tap into other sources. I'd prefer to buy here if possible, though."
"Alright," I check out the window, then look at Ryan. "By the way, since you're of a higher Rank, and you're a customer who's earned my trust and liking over the years, I do have a special stock available to you. It's something I'm only telling such customers about, and they're the only ones I'm offering it to."
"A special stock?" He frowns. "Is your shop doing that badly with the Dungeon drought?"
His tone is more concerned than suspicious. This is something I've done before, when I was expecting the Dungeon dryness to last a long time. I didn't sell anything illegal, just goods with a higher risk on the investment. Ryan was one of the customers I offered the stock to back then – it was actually the same three scrolls I showed to Adam earlier, though at a lower Tier and weaker in strength back then.
Adam wasn't a customer back when that happened as the shop was still fairly new the first time and I only got that worried once more after, when Adam was still a fresh Awakened, so he wouldn't have known that I do this.
"It is," I admit. "But this is actually unrelated. I Awakened on Friday and was able to harvest plenty of materials from the Daily and Weekly Dungeons I've done so far. The extra stock is made mostly from materials I harvested. That means the stock might vary from day to day or even week to week, based on what I can harvest, what I want, and what I can acquire from selling or trading the goods."
"Oh," he looks relieved. "What sort of extra stock is it? I probably won't be able to use it due to a difference in Tier needed for the Dungeon Categories I can do, but I do sometimes get called for lesser Dungeons."
"They're all Tier 7," I tell him. "I Awakened at Rank 5. The first of them is this."
I summon the bottle of 3,500 MP per ounce mana potion and set it on the counter, and Ryan examines it, looking impressed.
"I do want to be clear," I tell him. "That I'm not trying to take business away from other shops, so please don't feel as if I want you to purchase only from me for when you need such items."
"That's fine," he says. "I prefer the Celestial Droplet over others, so if I can buy stuff here, I'd prefer to do so."
"You prefer my shop?" I ask.
"Yeah," he answers. "You're the most likable traditional alchemist within a good distance from home and your skill with it is honestly the best. The scrolls and I rings I buy off of you are top-tier for their Tier as well."
The only time he's ever bought scrolls off of me, it was when I was desperate for cash because of my concerns about the future of my shop. That's been a couple of years.
"Speaking of the rings," I say. "If you're Rank 5, then I doubt you need them for Dungeons at the Category levels they can handle. Mind if I ask what you do with them?"
"Gift them to novice adventurers who do a good job listening when I instruct them while running a Dungeon," he answers. "Same with the potions."
Just like Adam does. Now I can't help but be curious about how many of my regular long-time customers do that.
"You're one of the mentors?" I ask.
Some experienced Awakened are asked to mentor fresher ones, but they're usually older Awakened who've been doing it for a couple of decades and might be nearing retirement.
"My Classes are well-rounded," he says. "Mostly close-ranged physical with some magic and some ranged physical. It makes me pretty versatile, on top of being a Rank 5. I usually get asked once a week to be one of the experienced hunters in a Dungeon run with some fresh ones."
People who are truly versatile in terms of Classes and Skills are actually fairly rare. Often, the Classes tend to focus toward one area – like mine focusing on magic – instead of being spread out. I honestly thought he was just a warrior.
"Ah," I say.
"With this potion," he indicates the bottle on the counter. "It's not enough for my real Dungeon runs, but I do training on Monday afternoons, if I don't have anything else that day. They'll help with that. Can I get a gallon of it?"
"Sure," I answer. "I do have other new products as well, for the exclusive customers."
I put the potion away, then show Ryan the next three potions. After those, I show him the scrolls, then grab his order for today and bring them out to ring him up.
"Thanks for coming," I tell Ryan.
"You're welcome," he says. "Have a good day, Evan."
"Before you go," I say as he begins to turn away, and he looks back to me. "The same customers who qualify for the extra stock, I've decided I can relax the non-professional relationship rule with. So if you'd like to be friends or just chat or whatever, want to exchange personal numbers?"
"Sure," he sets his bag on the counter and pulls out his phone. "Want me to use a specific image for you, or just what you've set?"
The message system for phones allows people to set a picture for those in their contact list, but people can also have their own profile image. If someone doesn't set an image for someone, then the system just uses that person's chosen profile image. My image for my professional number is a picture of my face with my shop's sign and name beside me, which is the one he's seen since business images can't be given an alternate by the one adding them as a contact.
For my personal number, the image is a chest-up shot of me sitting on the deck above the shop, wearing a dark blue t-shirt with a light blue button-up with short sleeves over it, left unbuttoned. It was summer in the picture and the planters up there are filled with flowers and other plants in the image.
If I wanted, I could also set an alternate personal image that's flagged as a mature image, and that would only be visible to those who both I approved to see it and who have set to allow viewing it on my specific profile. That's not something I've done, though my friends-with-benefits all have that perm for me.
"You can use another if you want," I pull out my personal phone. "I've got some pictures on my profile that you can check out if you want."
"Alright," he says. "Feel free to use any from my profile if you want."
We swap numbers, then Ryan picks up his bag and wishes me a good day before leaving. As soon as he's gone, I call up his profile to look at what pictures he has that I might be interested in using for his profile. The one he's set is just him sitting down, giving a friendly smile to the camera. It only shows him from the chest-up, and he's wearing a loose red shirt in it.
One picture I find in his feed, he's wearing a pair of black board shorts and nothing else, his shorts clinging to his legs and crotch area due to being wet, his sandy-hair blond darkened from water and orange eyes full of light and a happy smile on his face. His whole body looks wet, probably from the lake he was definitely in, though he's sitting on a large boulder at its edge in the image.
What makes this image interesting is that there's little chance he's in a Dungeon if he went for a swim in a lake. Some people will swim in a Dungeon's waters after they clear the area of monsters, but most won't bring in swim gear for that… or put their weapons to the side.
There's also a monster in the background of the from-above selfie he took, some sort of sea serpent with wounds on its head and a bit of blood leaking out of it. Ryan's giving the camera a peace sign while taking the shot with his catch, and I think he's a little bit insane but also maybe goofy.
He went to a lake, cleared it of monsters, then took a selfie with what was probably the biggest bad of it.
I set it as the contact image for him and the image automatically adjusts so his upper torso and face are in the shot. I adjust that so that his abs are visible as well, even if it makes the sea serpent more visible, then I make a mental note to ask him about the lake the next time we talk casually.
That seems like it might have too much of a story for texting.