NOVEL NEXT Chapter 165: Menchi’s New Business Venture
"Well, Menchi… congratulations. You are incredible. Seriously, I'm almost a bit jealous," Alex admits. "You've got all three of your skills at the third rank now, with two of them already close to reaching the fourth Expert level. That's insane. Also, I understand the whole supporter system a bit better now. Once we reach the main Realm, I'll buy you two skills for your open slots."
"Thank you!" Menchi replies, her face lighting up with a gleeful expression.
"So, 1337, one last question," Alex continues. "I'm already guessing the answer, but supporters can't use player equipment, right?"
[Correct. Supporters have their own base equipment, which is an intrinsic part of their strength or weakness. For example, Menchi's knives are her primary weapon. These knives are exceptionally powerful and are comparable to weapons of Purple quality.]
"That makes sense. You told me these knives were gifted to you by Linne, right?" Alex asks, glancing at Menchi.
"Yeah, I'd never give them away. They're as much a part of me as my hands," Menchi replies, her tone resolute.
"Besides the knives, though, you don't have anything else, do you?" Tereza asks.
Menchi shakes her head.
[Menchi's outfit is considered a type of armor. It offers minimal protection but significantly increases her mobility and evasion. There are certain items that can improve both weapons and armor. Menchi's weapon rank is at the Purple level, while her armor is at the Light Green level. These items can be upgraded using specific materials. Additionally, consumable items, such as healing potions, can be used by supporters just like players; Supporters have their own inventories]
"This is getting a bit overwhelming… I need a status screen just for Menchi at this rate," Alex mutters.
In response, 1337 immediately projects a compact, detailed screen in front of him:
[Menchi]
Level: 12
Rarity: Purple
Free Skill Slots 2/2
Support Skills: Cooking (Advanced +), Dismantling (Advanced +), Synthesizing (Advanced -)
Weapon rank: Purple
Armor rank: Light Green
"Hey! This makes me look like a damn item!" Menchi protests, clearly offended. "I'm a human being, not a tool!"
"It is kinda demeaning…" Tereza agrees, crossing her arms.
Even Alex nods in agreement.
[Humans and their weak psyches are illogical. Menchi is a supporter, while you two are players. Regardless, all of you are human beings. Accept your roles.]
"I'm kinda glad it's this short," Alex says, ignoring 1337's blunt comment. "Managing your entire inventory and skills would be a nightmare. This is relatively easy to track. Imagine wasting weeks just organizing my own and my followers' equipment!"
"Followers?" Menchi and Tereza ask simultaneously, raising their eyebrows.
"Yeah," Alex replies. "Thanks to an item I received in Heavens Arena, a random item of mine got copied. Thanks to my insane LUK, I still have a [Destiny Supporter Token] left. By the way, it was a huge windfall that someone as powerful as Menchi joined me. Her level is eight levels above my own! Not to mention her skills are insanely useful."
Alex looks directly at Menchi and adds, "Menchi, I hope you realize how much I'm depending on you! I only have a ridiculous amount of those useless [Healing Potions] left—no other recovery items. I hope you can use your skills to cook up something the system recognizes. I think at first you'll need to get used to your abilities, but once you gain more experience, I hope you'll be able to create useful items for us. Healing items are invaluable during missions, and it'd save me a ton of FC in the long run."
"I see! So that's what you stuffed into your mouth during the fight with Darius. Yeah, I'll do my best… but how am I supposed to obtain ingredients?" Menchi asks.
"First of all, here." Alex opens his inventory and transfers 50,000 FC to Menchi. "That's an insane amount for the tutorial, and you should be able to buy a lot with it. You also have your own version of an inventory, right? Maybe try experimenting with real-world food items too. I'll explain online shopping to you later so you can order whatever you need."
He continues, "Of course, check the market rates in the Realm first. Then, I guess, just experiment. In the best-case scenario, you'll be able to cook up so many useful items that you can even sell them. That way, we can earn some extra FC, and it'll be a win-win."
Menchi nods, her expression determined. "Got it! I'll make sure to put everything into this."
Alex suddenly has a small realization: "Shit! I realized something. During my missions, I picked up various monster parts! For example, I got a spider corpse, a bird corpse, a bear corpse, and a wolf corpse last time. All these monsters I crudely butchered, and the system recognized those items! I sold them all for tokens to exchange for other things. Now I realize that these items could have been given to Menchi instead. Maybe some players have a few of those corpses left? That's what you need to aim for, Menchi! That also reminds me… take these items as well."
Alex hands her 10 [Diluted Gel's Panacure].
"These are antidotes of light blue quality. I've sto… obtained them during the second exam. They're created by Gel, the legendary Poison Hunter and Zodiac member. Perhaps you can use these to create food with the ability to get rid of or weaken poisons. Anyway, I have no use for them because my poison resistance is already at 70%, and these only work to cure common poisons. Stronger poisons will only get weakened a bit."
"You can also take all my remaining 8 [Healing Potion]; they're as good as useless for me."
"Wow, thanks, Alex. These things might enhance any dishes I make. If I can synergize these special effects with the food, I may create something useful. I need to experiment a lot, so these items will be perfect. For now, I won't use the blue-quality items; I fear I might ruin them," Menchi says, genuinely thankful for Alex's huge trust in her, giving her so many items and a considerable starting budget of 50,000 FC. She even gives him a hug, no trace of teasing involved this time.
Tereza wraps her arm around Alex and smirks, saying, "You're doing the right thing, investing in my sweet Menchi. I believe in the long term, she'll be our goddess."
You are delusional, if you think she's yours!
"Well… let's check out the market for now. Rishi will probably sleep for a few more hours," Alex suggests.
The group walks toward the market, and Menchi catches curious looks from several players. A few of them even seem to recognize her.
One of them loudly exclaims, "This Alex guy is a cheater! Obviously, he managed to capture an NPC. How can this be possible in the tutorial? Not only was he inside that world for a week, but he also managed to bring out an actual character from that world!"
Alex, Tereza, and Menchi choose to ignore him, but Alex makes sure to memorize his face, silently wondering when he might have the pleasure of seeing this guy inside a different world.
The trio enters the trading Hub, where, as usual, a long row of player merchants have set up their small stalls, each doing their best to sell various wares. Alongside the player stalls are a few NPC vendors and stores, mostly selling the bare essentials, white-quality items of almost every type imaginable.
"Hmmm, it's not that large. I expected a bit more," Menchi comments, looking around the bustling market.
"There exist many tutorial Realms like this one, Menchi," Alex explains. "The real market will become available after our next mission. That one's bound to be around 100 times as large as this. For now, though, this should suffice. Let's take a look."
The three wander through the market, and as usual, Alex spots a variety of items originating from different games, movies, comics, and anime worlds. It's interesting, for sure, but most of the goods being sold are white-quality, with the occasional green-quality items here and there. These are just the surplus items that other players have found and are willing to sell. Rare items like the [Yubashiri], [Nimbus Cloak], and [Champion Belt] are far more uncommon. Alex remembers how much time and effort it took him to acquire items of such high quality. The bargaining process was always grueling, and in the case of [Yubashiri], he'd even had to let it go—the item's owner had already moved on to the main Realm.
Menchi suddenly perks up and quickens her pace as she spots a player selling a variety of meats. Alex and Tereza follow her and take a closer look at the stall.
[Kulu-Ya-Ku Leg], [Kulu-Ya-Ku Head], [Kulu-Ya-Ku Tail], [Kulu-Ya-Ku...]
"Oh, I know that thing," Alex says, recognizing the name immediately. "Damn, its head is fully intact. That's a Bird Wyvern from Monster Hunter World! One of the easier bosses to hunt, if I remember correctly. Looks like these different pieces are all at least green quality. And they're quite large… might be worth buying."
"Wow, I've never seen meat like this… I want to cook it up!" Menchi says, her eyes lighting up with curiosity and excitement.
The player selling the meat looks bored, his face blank as though he hasn't had much luck attracting buyers.
"Wait a minute, Menchi. Perhaps it's best if I handle the trade instead…" Alex starts to suggest, but Menchi has already walked up to the stall and is talking to the player.
Or not… Alex thinks, watching as Menchi confidently engages the merchant.
Thankfully, the player doesn't recognize Menchi and has no idea that she's a cook who probably desires the Kulu-Ya-Ku meat more than anything else in the market.
Just a few minutes later, and with 5,000 FC less in her stash, Menchi's inventory is filled with enough monster meat to feed an army.
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