NOVEL NEXT Chapter 90: Item (1)
The next day.
The next day, exactly one day after Kim Hyunwoo began seriously using skeletons to produce Magnifying Glasses, he couldn’t help but be astonished.
That was because the skeletons had produced around 10,000 Magnifying Glasses in 24 hours.
Of course, this might have been because the skeletons had been operating for 24 hours, as a significant portion of the Magic Stones filled behind them had disappeared. However, Kim Hyunwoo didn’t particularly care about such details since he had already produced over 10,000 Magnifying Glasses.
This was because the material cost for the Lowest-grade Magnifying Glasses was so cheap that, even after adding the cost of the Magic Stones used by the skeletons, a significant profit was still made upon calculation.
Moreover, since the skeletons could produce Magnifying Glasses to this extent, Kim Hyunwoo no longer had to make the Lowest-grade Explorer’s Magnifying Glasses himself.
“Buying skeletons was the right decision after all.”
Kim Hyunwoo marveled anew at the skeletons’ work performance, but about three days later, he was even more startled by what he heard from Elena.
“…All 10,000 Magnifying Glasses were sold out?”
“Yes, My Lord. I saw a guard moving to report while I was receiving reports, so I listened on your behalf and am delivering the message.”“Oh, really? They could have just come up together.”
“The guards have their duties.”
Kim Hyunwoo thought it wasn’t really necessary since there were only two guards without much work to do, but he nonchalantly nodded his head as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“All 10,000 Magnifying Glasses sold out…”
Honestly, Kim Hyunwoo had never imagined that all 10,000 Magnifying Glasses would sell out.
Even though the number of mercenaries in Lartania had surpassed 10,000 a long time ago, it didn’t make sense that all 10,000 would be sold.
After all, not every mercenary in the Lartania territory would buy a Magnifying Glass.
Moreover, while one Gold Coin may not seem like a lot of money to Kim Hyunwoo, who manages the territory, it is quite a significant amount for the mercenaries.
‘Of course, I did wonder if adding the ceiling system after already selling out 4,000 a day without fail would work, but I never expected it to this extent.’
As Kim Hyunwoo was pondering this and nodding, Elena cautiously asked.
“But, My Lord?”
“Hmm?”
“So, this time, the Ceiling Magnifying Glasses cannot be purchased separately and can only be obtained by purchasing 80 Magnifying Glasses?”
Kim Hyunwoo nodded in response to Elena’s question.
“Well, we could sell them, but the plan is to keep the Ceiling Magnifying Glasses as a bonus for purchasing 80 regular ones.”
The Magnifying Glasses currently being marketed under the name ‘Ceiling Magnifying Glasses’ were originally called ‘Low-grade Explorer’s Magnifying Glasses’.
Unlike the Lowest-grade Magnifying Glasses that drop various miscellaneous items, these guarantee the drop of weapons or armor.
Of course, being labeled as low-grade meant the probability wasn’t high, but compared to the lowest grade, the odds were significantly better.
And naturally, these Ceiling Magnifying Glasses were produced by Kim Hyunwoo after he tasked the skeletons with making the Lowest-grade Magnifying Glasses and purchased the blueprint with the Red Stone he obtained from a Labyrinth break.
“If we sell the Ceiling Magnifying Glasses at a higher price, wouldn’t mercenaries rush to buy them?”
Kim Hyunwoo nodded in response to Elena’s question.
“Certainly, that’s true.”
“Then why…?”
“Because I thought this would be much better in the long run.”
Kim Hyunwoo specifically bought the blueprint to make the Low-grade Magnifying Glasses to create a ceiling system.
“If this were a game where a ceiling item would automatically appear every 80 or 160 pulls, that would be one thing, but this is reality.”
Thinking this, Kim Hyunwoo spoke to Elena.
“If we were to sell the Ceiling Magnifying Glasses outright as you suggested, it would indeed generate more profit. But then, what about the Lowest-grade Magnifying Glasses?”
“Surely demand would decrease?… But if we differentiate with Gold Coins, wouldn’t there still be a consistent consumer base?”
“That’s true. But the problem here is the division of the consumer base. It means splitting the people buying the Lowest-grade and Low-grade Magnifying Glasses.”
Kim Hyunwoo continued,
“But if we keep selling the Lowest-grade Magnifying Glasses and give a Low-grade Magnifying Glass for every 80 purchases, we don’t necessarily divide the consumer base. Plus, it could also stimulate purchases.”
“…Purchase stimulation effect?”
“Yes. As you know, until now, the Magnifying Glasses lacked a ceiling… meaning there wasn’t a guaranteed probability of getting good items.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, excluding the few mercenaries who manage to get good items, the majority who end up with nothing or nothing worthwhile feel the unfairness and disillusionment here.”
“The frustration of seeing others succeed where they did not, the disillusionment of spending so much money without getting anything good in return. Of course, those who are already hooked on Magnifying Glasses might not care, but others would naturally hesitate to buy again.”
“…Because it would feel like losing money all over again if they follow the same path as before?”
At Elena’s words, Kim Hyunwoo nodded and added,
“But what if we give a Ceiling Magnifying Glass as a reward every time 80 Gold Coins are spent here?”
“…Presumably, they would like it because they’re getting something much better than the previous Magnifying Glasses for free, right?”
“More precisely, it creates a reason for consumption.”
“A reason for consumption?”
“Mercenaries, no- people in general, basically look for a reason to spend. Even if it’s gambling, they want to believe their spending is justified and want to attribute rationality to it.”
“Of course, the Low-grade Magnifying Glasses themselves don’t have the merit worth 80 Gold Coins. On average, even if they don’t produce anything good, they can yield items worth more than 20 Gold Coins, but that’s not equivalent to 80 Gold Coins. However, is there anywhere else selling the Low-grade Magnifying Glasses besides us?”
“No, there isn’t…”
“Then that’s enough. In the end, the seller who has the monopoly determines the value of the item, and even if it doesn’t have the value of 80 Gold Coins, if it ends up selling for 80 Gold Coins in the market-”
“…It’s worth 80 Gold Coins, is what you’re saying?”
“Exactly. So, in the end, mercenaries are misled into thinking they’ve made a rational purchase here because even if they fail with 80 Magnifying Glasses, they still have the Ceiling Magnifying Glass left. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the Magnifying Glass will yield success.”
Kim Hyunwoo wore a bitter expression.
“That’s right… there’s no guarantee of success.”
Suddenly reminded of a 1.5 million won gacha he hit the ceiling on five times ten years ago, Kim Hyunwoo felt dizzy and quickly turned his gaze away.
Mercenaries disappear after getting their number of purchases checked by clerks, who separately keep track of the Magnifying Glasses produced by the skeletons in real time.
Every time he sees this, he feels a strange sense of déjà vu, as if overlapping with his own past from ten years ago.
‘Is this the feeling that producers experience?’
Watching money being duplicated in real time, Kim Hyunwoo wore a complex expression for a while.
“Ah, by the way, do you have time this evening?”
“Huh? Time?”
Elena asks with a slightly brightened expression.
“Yeah, I messed up cooking last time, so I was thinking of learning to cook from Lani today and making some food together. Would you like to join us?”
Kim Hyunwoo explained the situation.
“Ah.”
Elena let out a slight, intrigued exclamation and then nodded with a smile.
“Okay, then, see you in the evening.”
Around that afternoon,
Considering Lartania was practically renowned as a Labyrinth city and the presence of numerous mercenaries made business better than expected, Adria, who had been staying for a few days, was slowly preparing for her next schedule.
…More precisely,
“Should I just leave too?”
“Huh?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just go out…”
“Dragon Lord… Didn’t you say you shouldn’t go out?”
“It’s not allowed, but…”
Due to the Red Dragon, who was elongating its words and expressing deep gloom, Adria was eager to leave quickly.
Ever since discovering that the blacksmith who had returned was indeed the same one from ten years ago, the Red Dragon had been in a notably poor state.
Therefore, having left Lartania more hurriedly than initially planned, Adria soon found herself unable to go any further and had to stop because of this condition.
The reason was,
“…Is it true that the blacksmith has really returned?”
“That cheeky little one who kept bothering their Master with pointless questions to draw attention dared to…!”
This was because Merilda and Rin had barged into where Adria was.
“That woman is so presumptuous… She’s already cozying up to the master?? I even heard rumors that she held the Master’s hand recently???”
“Gasp…!!”
“This, this little ground-crawler…!”
Adria, whose body had been taken over by her Guardian, was stunned by what her Guardian was saying.
‘…Such words hadn’t spread, it must have just been something Dragon Lord thought.’
However, Adria’s thoughts had no effect on the former heroes of Lartania, who had already started to believe what they wanted and were becoming angry.
And then,
“…It seems like now is not the time for us to be doing this amongst ourselves.”
“Yes, I definitely think so.”
“We have no choice until we push that blacksmith out.”
It didn’t take long for the former heroes of Lartania to form an alliance.
However, Adria, who was observing the former heroes of Lartania forming an alliance, felt uneasy there.
That’s because, as a merchant who has always dealt with everyone from nobles to common farmers, Adria could immediately sense the covert glances and thoughts of Merilda and Rin.
‘This is definitely a betrayal…!’
However, the reason she did not speak up, despite realizing this, was because the Guardian possessing her body seemed all too willing to commit betrayal as well.
“…Can this alliance even last a day?”
Seeing this unprecedented survival-of-the-fittest type of alliance, where from the moment of its formation, everyone was thinking of betraying each other, Adria felt her head spin.