After Toln left for a nearby inn, I moved to a spot where no one could see me and quietly made a second batch of the medicine. In the next moment:
[Herb crafting completed!]
[Your skill in herb crafting has greatly increased, reaching level 3!]
[You've reached the maximum skill increase for the day. Further improvement is not possible for 24 hours.]
My skill level went up! Despite the system message earlier saying I couldn't increase my skill for 24 hours, it happened again.
"Great!" I thought. The setup for my skill-grinding trick was definitely in place. Now, all that was left was for the first customer to experience the effects firsthand.
Two hours later.
Thud, thud, thud! Thud, thud! Thud!
I saw a huge crowd racing down the street, led by Toln. Haze and Aki were there too.
"Those people, they're not running towards us, are they?" Haze asked nervously.
"Sis, seeing Uncle Toln at the front, it seems he's already spread the word. They're all hunters I know!" Aki replied.
"Wow," I exclaimed without realizing it. At least 50 hunters were rushing towards my stall, shaking bags full of gold coins and shouting in unison.
"Medicine! Sell me the medicine too! Hurry!"
"Hey, move! I'm going first!"
"You idiot, I'm first!"
"Get lost if you don't have money!"
"I'm buying first!"
The hunters who ran up to Jared were all shouting to buy the medicine. Toln was a well-known hunter in the Ronella territory. Many of his comrades were worried when he couldn't join dungeon raids after catching the Ronella disease. But the fat man from the Crevia territory, Jared, made a medicine that cured him! Toln testified that not only did his cough stop immediately, but his weakening body also improved rapidly.
At first, his friends didn't believe it. But when Toln showed them how he could use his energy for swordsmanship, they all believed him. Among the hunters who came running were those who had the Ronella disease and those whose friends or relatives were affected. Each had a reason to buy the medicine.
Jared spoke carefully to the gathered hunters. "It'll take some time. Is that okay? I'll be making it on the spot, so it will take a while."
He worried that some might leave, but it was a needless concern. Instead, they settled in front of the stall and started chatting.
"Who cares about time? How on earth did they develop such a medicine in Crevia territory?"
"It's a blessing from the gods. The gods must have blessed Crevia territory!"
"Come to think of it, wasn't there a Nightmare Forest in Crevia? I heard it's a pretty good dungeon."
"That's right! I didn't go because the territory was poorly managed, but recently I heard the lord got his act together! The fat guy must have straightened up!"
"Lord, are you okay?" Haze whispered cautiously from behind, and Jared nodded with a smile.
The hunters' reactions were normal and objective. If he could change their minds, the future of the territory would change drastically, with the medicine being the starting point.
Jared, excited, kept making the medicine, signing ownership transfer contracts after making each one, then moving to another spot to make more. Meanwhile, Haze tirelessly promoted Crevia territory.
"In Crevia territory, we sell high-purity specialty products, Crevia magic stones! They boast 99.9% purity!"
"The medicine is only on sale here today! After today, if you want the medicine, you must visit Crevia territory!"
"The Nightmare Forest still has few hunters, so there are plenty of monsters! It'll be a fun playground for hunters!"
"If you buy the medicine in Crevia territory, you can get it for 39 gold, cheaper!"
And Arkenes sold the medicine for 49 gold, naturally including a magic potion.
"You know that medicine in the Itima Empire costs 100 gold, right? This is less than half that price! Just 49 gold for the medicine and a basic magic potion as a bonus!"
Even though 49 gold wasn't a small amount, compared to the cheapest medicine on the market at 100 gold, it was a bargain. The hunters opened their wallets without hesitation, and Jared spent three hours making medicine, grinding and mixing herbs tirelessly. If he hadn't prepared enough materials, it would have been a disaster.
But a problem arose. During those three hours, people who experienced the effects of the medicine spread the word. More buyers began to appear in droves. As a result, Jared had to keep making medicine without a break until sunset when the merchant street officially closed.
A total of 250 customers! Sales revenue: 12,250 gold. In terms of past life value, it was like earning about 1.22 billion won in half a day.
"Snore... Phew..."
"Snore..."
In the deep night, Haze and Aki were sound asleep in a spacious room at an inn they had rented for a fair amount of money. Although they initially said they shouldn't sleep in the same room due to their different statuses, I said it was fine. In public, it was right to observe the etiquette and rules between nobles and commoners, but I didn't want to be strict with my people. As long as they didn't cross the line, I found the current situation quite pleasant.
I sat at a table by the window, reviewing the day's achievements.
"All 500 maps to our territory are gone. Bringing those old maps from the basement was a stroke of genius!" Thanks to the hunters eagerly taking the maps, there were none left. They asked more about our territory than I expected, showing particular interest in the medicine. I promised that if they bought the medicine in Crevia territory and took it right away, they could get it for 39 gold, a 10-gold discount, preventing them from reselling it elsewhere. It was a subtle promotion for the territory.
Some hunters even decided to head to our territory immediately after hearing my words. So, I planned to return to the territory before dawn to sell the medicine to visitors.
"My crafting level shot up insanely. Honestly, I never imagined it would rise this much."
I looked at the crafting level I had raised using a reset bug and the perks that came with it, with a surprised expression.
[Mixed Herb Crafting – Lv. 35]
[Crafting Level 30 Reward]
[You've obtained the blueprint for the automatic production process of the 'Ronella Disease Medicine.']
[Using an initial cost of 5,000 gold and 10 Crevia magic stones, you can set up an automatic process that produces one bottle of medicine per hour.]
[Potion Crafting – Lv. 35]
[Crafting Level 30 Reward]
[You can craft 'Intermediate Magic Potions.']
It was a huge success. I achieved in one day what developers focused on crafting herbs and potions would take years to accomplish. By raising the crafting level, you get perks like blueprints for automatic production processes or the ability to craft higher-level potions. If I couldn't use the reset bug, it would have taken over a year to reach crafting level 30, assuming I crafted diligently every day.
But thanks to the trick, the work was finished in a day, and I got the blueprint in one go. An initial cost of 5,000 gold is very cheap. Hiring people to research the blueprint and set up the process directly would cost more than ten times that budget, not to mention the enormous time consumption.
"Producing one bottle per hour means 24 bottles a day. At a unit price of 39 gold, that's 936 gold in daily revenue. Even after deducting labor and production costs, a daily profit of 900 gold is guaranteed. Good!"
It seemed like it wouldn't take even a week to recover the production process investment. At this rate, the medicine would become our territory's identity and a business flowing with milk and honey.
"So this is the taste of creation!"
I looked at the system window with a satisfied expression. Crafting is closely tied to territory management. While it starts with medicine and potion crafting, there are many things I can try making in the future, like armored golems. These will all become significant assets for the territory and my strength.
"Now that I've confirmed the possibilities, I'll make our territory the go-to place for buying medicine and magic potions. Anyone wanting these two items will have to come to our territory."
I felt a surge of determination. The stage was already set. With the word about the medicine spreading to nearly 250 hunters in this dungeon-famous territory in just one day, our territory's fame would rise quickly.
"Our relationship with the lord of Ronella territory might worsen a bit, but they won't care. To them, our territory is still small and powerless."
I was already looking forward to it. After using the profits from this venture to set up the automatic production process, I planned to establish Aki's merchant group as a direct unit under the lord. With special traits like Trend Prediction S and Keen Intuition A, success as a merchant was guaranteed. Aki's chances of failure were zero.
Aki would definitely succeed. And his success would also mean success for me and the territory.
"A warm spring breeze is finally blowing through our cold territory."
I looked out the window with a satisfied expression. It was the first time I saw heavy snow since waking up in this life. Seeing the white snow covering the world seemed to quickly heal my mind, which had been filled with worries and complications.
"Next is the artifact. Since I got the Staff of Mudidus, I should acquire more artifacts elsewhere. It's about time to level up."
I thought about my next plan: the artifact heist! It was a scheme to rob the lair of an old, evil lich waiting to die after losing its Life Force Vessel.