009. Hourly wage 8,720 rin Meal provided (2)
Looking back now, the game D/Z SAGA had many really strange parts.
Of course, it’s not a great game. Of course, it’s not a crappy game either.
Just a game like that? It was a game with a lot of things to do. In particular, recruiting companions, completing quests, and seeing the ending was quite enjoyable.
But apart from that, there were quite a few sub-quests and mini-games.
One of those things that I would call ‘the idiots’ was the ‘beans collector’ title.
This is a real life-size figure, but if you mix the beans that exist in the game and create a result, it will be filled in one by one in the Collector’s Guide, and if you fill it all out, you will be given a title.
The total number of items that need to be combined is probably around 1,500. However, the title performance is quite good. It increases the effect when using Beans. There are also stat enhancements.
Anyway, during the game era, you could buy a lot of beans and play, but when I asked Yggdrasil, it seemed like beans weren’t as popular as I thought and there weren’t many items.
So, I went to Beans’ garden myself and made the ‘Whipping Beans’ recipe that had the stamina recovery effect. At that moment, a system window popped up before my eyes.
【Combination Great Success!】
【Whipping Beans】
【Title: ‘One who entered the path of Beans’ is obtained.】
【Effect: You have learned the Beans recipe. A Beans Collector’s Guide is created. You can taste the taste of Beans more sensitively.】
There are no additional statuses or skills. In fact, all the initial titles are like this. As I said before, Zephrin is a game that gives ‘rewards in proportion to the effort put in’.
This is actually the hidden piece I was aiming for. But if you collect all 1,500 of them, the title effect is really good. It may not be the ending, but it’s at the semi-ending level.
Anyway, what awaits me is one thousand five hundred endless hours of hard work. And the fruition that will come at the end.
“Actually, that was the good part. There was the fun of trying, and there was also the fun of being rewarded for the effort.”
I shrugged. It’s better than nothing, so let’s change the title. I thought so and manipulated the panel, but another window popped up below.
【First time running a mix bean combination】
【The following rewards will be given.】
【You are given dexterity status 1.】
and
【The first successful combination of beans】
【One of the 7 Tier Beans will be randomly awarded.】
【Energy Beans are given.】
“uh?”
***
Anyway, it was the eastern forest, so there was no reason for anything big to happen.
I didn’t even finish the count, and on the way back I just hunted a goblin and that was it.
Of course, I had that body.
In front of the mercenary office, Nefty and I finished settling accounts. Five minutes had passed since our departure time, but when I counted him as having worked for an hour, Nefty’s expression was strangely bright.
“thank you.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes, yes!” And I ate it gratefully. It was a meal that was truly satisfying, just as you said.”
“I see.”
“By the way, that’s interesting. Beans are a dangerous crop that can explode or cause poisoning if not handled properly.”
“yes.”
“The beans were combinable. It was a technique I had never seen before in my life.”
“Wait. What did you say?”
“Yes? Oh, thank you. I said the food was delicious.”
“······No, not that. Didn’t you say it was a technique you were seeing for the first time?”
“Yes. It was truly a mysterious technique.
“Let me ask you something. Is it true that the classification of beans is not accurate?”
“Who would classify beans? There are hundreds of different types, all similar-looking, and they grow everywhere.”
“······.”
Once again, the dissonance between the game and reality is finely tuned.
Beans are legumes that grow literally anywhere, but there are easily hundreds of species.
Is this the difference between a reality where you can’t even imagine using it for food because there’s no clear classification and a game where you get a name and description the moment you get it?
I’ve been thinking about why I got the title of the first bean mixer, and there was a reason for this.
“But you ate what I gave you without hesitation?”
“······.”
“Were you that hungry?”
“······.”
Nephthys never answered.
He just bowed his head and went his way.
***
I came back from the convenience store and opened the status window.
【Wolfram von Lohengrin】
【?T】
【Status:
Strength: 4
Talent: 6 + (1)
Stamina: 2
Horsepower: 3
Will: 4】
【Skills possessed:
Imperial bloodline.】
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“···I really have status.”
A status that can be attached to a talent.
What’s even more exciting is that this isn’t an immediate status, but something I can raise whenever I need to.
Going from status 6 to 7 is easier than you think. On the other hand, going from 60 to 61 is a whole other level.
Let’s take a picture of this later.
“You won’t get any status benefits even if you invest right away, so keep it for now.”
Next up are the Energy Beans, tier 7 beans that came as a reward.
It has a pretty good effect, but making mixed beans with it requires a pretty high level of dexterity and knowledge. Otherwise, it may not succeed, but rather fail miserably and even explode.
Neither of them is available for use right now.
But they were good rewards that allowed me to dream of the future.
But more important than those two rewards was the information that I was the first.
“···It’s strange. No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange.”
It seriously bothered me that no one had thought of combining beans.
***
A few days later.
Ayla came to the grocery store.
“Is the candy business going well?”
“Not bad.”
“I see. But there are still no customers. Why did you open a convenience store in a place like this?”
“······Isn’t this building your building?”
“Ugh.”
If you buy something and it doesn’t sell, that means you have a hole in your eye. Ayla’s hands trembled as she thought about it. Thinking about it, she’s a strangely stubborn person compared to her ambition.
“I heard a rumor. You went out drinking with a famous commoner from the Knights College?”
“That’s right.”
“Nephterian. I heard he’s a student of the Knight Academy from the West who is trusted by the commoners.”
“Is that so?”
“But she said, Wolfram is a pretty nice guy. We might be misunderstanding.”
“···It’s unnecessary praise.”
“And another thing. Wolfram uses mysterious techniques, and his escort is worthy of being called. The meals he serves are particularly special, you see.”
“······.”
Was it worth spreading a rumor about?
“So, can you treat me to that special meal too?”
“That’s not difficult.”
“I’ll be waiting, Chef.”
As I looked at Ayla, who had long black hair and shining eyes like black crystals, asking, I placed the whipped beans I had made yesterday in front of her.
“···What is this?”
“Try it. The only thing you can spread on it is black bread.”
“···Ha. Black bread? What do you think of that Ayla Tristar?”
“Anyway, try it. It’ll be pretty good.”
As she said that, Ayla spread a lot of whipped cream on the black bread I had prepared, hesitated for a moment, and then took a big bite.
“Uh, uh?!!!”
I nodded as I watched Ayla start to panic with her eyes wide open.
“That’s the next item I’ll be selling. The bread itself is plain black bread, but the cream is homemade.”
No matter what I said, Ayla ate all the bread. Munch, munch. Yum. Ayla ate the bread with elegance and at an incredible speed.
“Not bad. It was tasty for black bread.”
And then he quietly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
“So where did you get this cream? It really surprises me.”
“This is also a secret.”
“···If you can provide unlimited supply, I can buy it from Tristar Store. It doesn’t taste bad, so I think it will sell well. I’ll pay for it.”
“There isn’t that much.”
“Why?”
“Because there isn’t any.”
“So why?”
No, why is that?
Well, that’s because I get tired and collapse while making it.
“Anyway, it seems like it has marketability. I can start selling it to graduate students tomorrow.”
“What a waste! You might as well sell it all to me.”
“···Wasn’t it just a cream that was okay to eat?”
“Hmm, hm. The unique flavor was impressive. So let’s buy them all.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Why!”
So, I had a fight with Ayla, who was trying to tear off the whipping beans from me in a tone that said, ‘They don’t taste that good, but I can buy them for you.’ In the end, it was Ayla who got tired and fell first.
“···Okay. I’ll step aside for today. But, I will definitely, definitely get it. I···. I won’t give up.”
This is a typical line from a third-rate villain.
“I see. Good luck.”
“···Ugh!”
Ayla clenched her fists and glared at me as if indignant.
What are you going to do if you stare at it?
“Anyway, that cream is quite expensive.”
“Okay. How much should I pay? A hundred thousand lin?”
No, that was too much.
Actually, money isn’t that important. If you’re in a hurry, you can just force Eve to buy candy.
“I have a few questions. I would say market dynamics. Cross-checking information.”
“···Okay. I’ll answer everything to the best of my knowledge.”
“···Are the students of Zephrin going on an adventure? Beyond the school district, heading towards the entire artificial island of Zephrin. Namely, the swamps, the deserts, the grasslands, the canyons?”
“To what extent? I’m doing it to complete the curriculum. Zephrin is focused on practical work.”
I see.
“Then let me change the question. How many students are willing to take risks?”
Ayla opened her eyes wide at my question, then smiled brightly and answered.
“That’s a strange question. Do you want an obvious answer?”
“It’s okay if it’s obvious.”
“No. They don’t go out voluntarily.”
“······.”
“Wolfram. How many students would be willing to risk their lives? If they could just take classes at the academy and get a diploma, they could secure a spot when they return home?”
***
After Ayla left, I took out my notebook and started writing down what I saw and felt when I entered this Zephrine, and I came up with a plausible deduction.
“Potions cost a hundred times more than I knew. Good equipment costs ten times more. ···Mixed beans haven’t even been studied yet, and I’m the first researcher.”
Why on earth is this jaggedness? Several hypotheses were put forward, but Ayla’s words made one of them true.
“It has become a world that is extremely afraid of adventure. … No, you cannot go on adventures. Is that correct? And the reason is probably because life is precious.”
Jeffrin’s world is honest.
It is a world where you are rewarded exactly as much as you put in effort.
“A fair reward for a fair effort. That means… on the other hand, if you don’t take risks, you can’t get the reward. But this isn’t a game, this is reality.”
For example, let’s say there’s a party of warriors who go on adventures across rough terrain and eventually bring back something that will help humanity prosper.
If it were a game, it could be summarized in one line: ‘The hero faced a crisis, but he wisely overcame it, and was healed by the priest’s healing magic and returned to the battlefield.’ What a beautiful game description.
But reality is not like that. If your arm is cut off, the panic that comes at that moment is not a problem of reattaching it. Even if your arm is intact, you can feel hallucinations, go crazy, or even die from shock.
I only have one life, and I don’t want to be sick. Adventure is scary.
The moment this world built its minimum infrastructure, it began focusing on defense and maintenance rather than subjugating monsters or going on adventures.
Moreover, Zephrin is a place for students.
That’s why potions are a hundred times more expensive. Good equipment is ten times more expensive. He said there is no shortage of items.
Of course, it is a world where ‘research is less advanced’.
“Thanks to you, the future direction has been roughly decided.”
I quickly started writing down my future plans.
I make a living by running a convenience store.
2. If possible, learn at least one skill before graduation.
3. Live life without getting entangled with the main story as much as possible.
“The most important thing is number 3.”
If it hasn’t been studied, it means it hasn’t been prepared for.
But how many times do the main characters of this work, Celts and his cheerful friends, risk their lives?
You have to risk your life to play the game from Act 1, and if you die once, you get the bad ending.
So, that is.
I’ll be as scared as possible and then graduate quietly!
“At least they have good status and high tier, but I’ll die in one hit.”
Celts, you live your life diligently. I’ll live my life well.
I swore to the night sky that I would not get involved in the story as much as possible.
