In the early hours when everyone was asleep, I found myself walking in the quiet training grounds. There was only one torch lit, but it was enough to see where I was going without any trouble.
"Not sleeping? You've been taking a lot of walks at dawn lately. What are you thinking about? Me?" Isabella spoke to me in a gentle voice, breaking my thoughts. I used to think she had a voice like a train whistle when she demanded things, but now she spoke softly, like a voice actor with a beautiful voice.
"I'm thinking about which part of the territory would be best to develop," I replied.
"That's a boring thought. No fun!" Isabella, who had clear likes and dislikes, flew off in the direction of my room. Of course, her presence as a spirit wasn't the reason I couldn't sleep. I had gotten used to it. It had become normal to wake up and see Isabella staring at me with her big eyes.
"Agriculture is not the answer for now. Lord Obren is working hard in the development department, but the land is barren, so the internal affairs stats are slow to rise. The characteristics are also limited." [Internal Affairs - Agriculture: 020 / 050]
The agricultural sector was indeed hopeless. Even with Obren, who has a special trait of 'Agriculture Specialist A,' the internal affairs only increased by 5 in five weeks. Without the right environmental conditions, no matter how hard you try, it's difficult to make a change.
"I'll focus on agriculture later when I reach a higher level. I'll use divine power to start a project to make the land fertile." I decided to put agricultural development as the lowest priority among the territory's tasks. Right now, even pouring money into it wouldn't solve the problem.
"Weapon making... It's hard to bring about change overnight. To experience a significant rise in the weapon field, I need a named blacksmith. Moisle is perfect for this, but I'd have to travel to the opposite side of the continent to meet him. That's not feasible now."
I shook my head again. Changing the weapon field dramatically right now was also difficult.
"Is commerce the answer?" [Internal Affairs - Commerce: 046 / 050]
Thanks to Avila's efforts, the commerce sector was on the verge of reaching its highest stat. Once it reaches 50, after a slight adjustment period, the maximum commerce stat will increase to 100. This means the territory's potential for commercial development will double, and commerce will become more active.
"This time, I should focus on creation. I have a good item that I can use right away." I thought of making herbal remedies and magic potions.
The herbal remedy was something I made when treating Mary, specifically for the Ronella disease. Ronella disease was a common risk for monster hunters in cities with dungeons. There is a cure, but it's very expensive. Hunters pay a lot for the treatment because if they don't, they could cough up blood and die.
But what if they could get a treatment with the same effectiveness as the expensive one for a lower cost? They wouldn't need to spend a lot of money buying the Ronella disease cure from temples or herbalists if there's a cheaper option available.
"If we sell the treatment made from three herbs exclusively in our territory, more hunters will naturally come here. This will increase income from taxes and entrance fees. Naturally, the villages near the Forest of Nightmares will become lively too."
Monopolizing the supply of the treatment could be a brilliant move. According to the history of <Paradiso>, the Ronella disease treatment doesn't become widespread until much later. If I start selling the treatment now, unless I reveal the recipe, similar products are unlikely to appear anytime soon. The ingredients are common herbs, but the process requires a bit of mana, which ordinary herbalists who can't use mana won't be able to replicate.
"The problem is the skill limit, but I can use the ownership reset bug that I know!" I immediately thought of the potential problem and the trick to overcome it.
According to the basic crafting system of <Paradiso>, there's a limit to how much crafting skill you can gain in a day. No matter how much you produce, the skill won't increase beyond a certain point each day. Once you reach the daily limit, skill growth stops.
"But users have always surpassed the developers' intentions and have been creative." Users of <Paradiso> eventually found a way to overcome the skill limit.
It's called the ownership reset bug. For example, if I made an herb, it's considered my property by the system. The system uses this as a basis to apply a 24-hour cooldown, causing the skill limit. But there's a trick. If I officially transfer ownership to another user, 'A,' through a contract, the ownership of the herb I made goes to A, and it's treated as if I sold the product.
This is not much different from a regular transaction. But if I start crafting again in a new area, away from the first crafting location, the skill increases regardless of the previous limit! Users of <Paradiso> called this the 'ownership reset bug.' Many users used this method to infinitely increase their skills.
As a result, specialized crafting users emerged like bamboo shoots after rain. They were non-combat users with significantly lower combat abilities, but they were called gods in crafting. This bug hasn't been fixed. It even became an official growth path for crafting users. The official website didn't call it a bug but packaged it as a 'Crafting Spirit' buff. The bug found by users became the norm!
Anyway, using this method, I can also increase my crafting skill without limits. The rise in crafting skill helps activate automatic production processes and produce high-purity potions. For me, who wants to lead the commercial revival of the territory through herbal and magic potion crafting, this is the best move.
"Starting with traveling sales would be good. It's great for promoting our territory and using the crafting trick. Traveling sales are the best for killing two birds with one stone." I decided to sell the crafted items in a neighboring territory, not ours. It's a kind of bait shop. Show the monster hunters the treatment and potions as samples, and if they want more, guide them to our territory!
Moreover, if I make and hand over the products on-site without revealing the main recipe, trust will increase significantly. There are many unscrupulous merchants who sell old, spoiled potions or potions diluted with water. If I show them the honest manufacturing process on-site, there will be no room for doubt!
"I should leave as soon as the day breaks. There's nothing particularly problematic about leaving the territory for a day or two anyway." The territory was peaceful, and everything was progressing smoothly. Of course, there were hostile forces in the surrounding territories that were concerning, but they hadn't shown any signs of threatening us yet. Since the situation could change at any time, it was best to move quickly while there was time.
On the way to the neighboring Ronella territory. The only person with me in the carriage was Hayes. Well, if you count her, Isabella, who was invisible to Hayes, was also there.
Clatter. Clatter. As the carriage moved over uneven ground, the potion bottles and herb containers we brought along rattled. After a long silence, Hayes asked me.
"Lord, why are we suddenly going to Ronella territory?"
"I explained in the morning. We're going to sell herbs and magic potions. The herbs are for the Ronella disease treatment, and the magic potion isn't special, but it's a very cheap potion."
"Lord, you never made such crafted items before, right? I've never seen it."
"That's true. But now I can make them. Don't worry."
Hayes keenly noticed the difference between the past and present me. As she said, I could now make them. After working hard on basic skill creation since dawn, I barely acquired the 'Herb Mixing' skill and the 'Potion Making' skill by morning. With these two crafting skills, I could significantly reduce the defect rate of making treatments and potions. Without the skills, making potions by eye would have an estimated defect rate of 50%, but with the skills, it's less than 1%, so I had to make them.
"Wow, it's really unbelievable! Ever since I felt the change in you, Lord, every day has been full of surprises. These days, all I hear in the mansion are praises for you, Lord. Really! It's such a happy thing!"
"Really? What are they saying?"
"Some maids say you're regaining your noble appearance, and others are touched by the changed treatment!"
"Oh?"
"The head maid keeps emphasizing to maintain neat appearance and behavior to match your dignity, Lord!"
"If they're saying that much, I must have really changed."
"Really a lot! So I'm so happy. I knew you'd come back, Lord!"
Hayes looked so cute, being so happy. I wondered if she really liked me that much, but well... That's how feelings are, right? There's no cure for unrequited love.
"Lord, what role should I play? Should I just sell the items you make?"
"Yes, and one more thing. You must emphasize that the herbs and potions we're selling are from the Krivia territory. Do you understand?"
"Oh! So after selling the items as samples to the hunters, we're guiding them to visit our territory, right?"
"Exactly. Hayes, you're quick to understand."
"Hehe! I've been serving you closely for 10 years, Lord. I know you well!"
"Enough already. Stop flirting with my husband," Isabella, who was oblivious, glared at me, and I gave her a sharp look, making her snort and back off. When she mentioned a husband last time, I thought it was a joke, but she seems more certain now. I don't want to like or get involved with anyone yet.
Just then, I heard a very faint sound outside the carriage, like someone drawing a bowstring and an arrow flying. It was a fleeting moment, but my ears reacted first, and my body followed immediately. It seemed like my enhanced senses, thanks to the family's mana technique, had picked up on it.
Ting! I easily caught the arrow that pierced the wall with a simple first-class magic, Shield. It looked like a bandit ambush, but if they thought they could catch me with such arrows, they were greatly mistaken. They didn't even seem to know who was inside.
Several more arrows flew in succession, but none could penetrate the shield.
"Lord!" In the meantime, Hayes jumped and tried to protect me from the arrows with her back. Please. Don't use your healer's dedication trait like this!