Unable to overcome my curiosity, I accessed the Lamia perfumer Carmina’s Perfume Shop through my membership.
Although I couldn’t see it in person and could only view it through a hologram, it was an incredibly luxurious and beautiful place.
On the elaborately carved sandalwood shelves, perfume bottles filled with liquids of various colors were neatly displayed.
Each perfume had a different color, such as red, blue, or green, and the bottle caps were decorated with different gems, making their beauty stand out even more.
“It’s a shame that I can’t actually smell the most important part, the scent.”
Of course, I wasn’t actually trying to buy perfume or air fresheners, so it wasn’t a major issue. I put my disappointment behind me and read the descriptions of the perfumes on display.
In addition to general perfume products, the items I was looking for naturally existed as well.
**[Ogre’s Breath: 3,000 coins]**
**Description: A perfume that artificially recreates the body odor of an ogre. Monsters weaker than an ogre will feel extreme terror.**
**Effect: When used, monsters within a 200-meter radius that are weaker than an ogre lose their will to fight and enter a state of Pressure.**
“Pressure? That’s amazing.”
Pressure was an interference-type debuff that partially lowered all stats. It was a skill mainly used by powerful elite monsters or Boss Monsters.
No matter how many fierce guard dogs there are, they will pee themselves in front of a tiger. In front of an elite monster with a Pressure-type skill, numbers were meaningless.
‘Of course, the skills that bosses mainly use are Intimidation or Oppression, which are superior versions of Pressure.’
The common skill books of the Fighting Spirit category, which top-tier Hunters learned to overcome this, cost hundreds of millions as a base price for a reason.
“To think that a Hunter can use such a skill, even if it’s a lower-tier version. In certain combat situations, this alone could change the tide of battle.”
Whether it was clearing lower-level rifts or dealing with the troops guarding a Boss, there were many uses for it.
Of course, there was the minor disadvantage of having to spray the disgusting body odor of an ogre on one’s body, but there would be more than enough Hunters who wanted it.
**[Ghoul’s Stink: 3,000 coins]**
**Description: A perfume that recreates the body odor of a corpse-eating ghoul. It deceives the senses of undead monsters, making them perceive the user as a fellow undead.**
**Effect: When used, undead monsters within a 200-meter radius will ignore the user. (Similar to a Stealth effect)**
“This! …I’m not so sure.”
I understood the ability to make undead recognize the user as one of their own, but I couldn’t quite think of how it could be utilized.
‘Maybe just for scouting among the undead? Since the undead usually have a commander.’
I had heard that the method of dealing with them changed depending on whether the commander was a Knight-type or a Lich-type. Other than that, maybe for avoiding unnecessary battles? Surprisingly, it seemed like a better perfume than I initially thought.
**[Vanishing Mist: 5,000 coins]**
**Description: Completely erases all of the user’s body odor for one hour.**
**Effect: Perfectly deceives monsters that rely on their sense of smell.**
‘Hmm, if I have this, I won’t get ambushed by beast-types.’
I had heard that Hunters in charge of scouting have a hard time when dealing with beast-type monsters that have a developed sense of smell. Particularly, feline beasts are skilled at Stealth and ambushes, so combat is often unavoidable.
**[Hunter’s Trail: 125,000 coins]**
**Description: Creates a tracking scent visible only to the user’s eyes.**
**Effect: Provides great help in complex maze-type dungeons or target tracking requests.**
This perfume had a peerless price compared to the previous ones. However, once I saw the contents, I understood why it was so expensive.
‘A scent only visible to the user’s eyes. This will be a money-maker.’
In general maze-type rifts, more time is wasted wandering the same path than fighting monsters. But with this perfume, one would know which paths had already been taken, making it incredibly useful.
In addition, it would be the best item for specialized tracking Hunters, whether it was for tracking fleeing monsters or preventing delivery accidents.
I wanted to display these perfumes in the Rocket Store right away, but there were still steps I had to go through.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
Is it true what they say about bad hunches being right? The perfumer Carmina rejected my negotiation proposal.
**[It’s an interesting proposal, but large-scale supply is difficult starting from the first transaction.]**
Her rejection message was strangely similar to Narcia’s. Did the Lamia race have a manual for handling rejections? Being suspicious seemed to be a racial characteristic of the Lamia.
However, since I had already dealt with one before, I knew how to coax her.
— Then, would it be possible to supply just one item as a trial?
**[That much is fine. However, Hunter’s Trail is difficult to make, so please exclude it from the list.]**
That was a shame. It was the perfume that seemed like it would make the most money. That left three choices. I was drawn to the Ogre’s Breath, but this was too important a choice to rely solely on my intuition. There was no guarantee that I would be lucky again if I acted purely on a whim this time.
‘Snake Scale Protection Potions were purely a matter of luck.’
Last time, the Association’s Strategic Analysis Room had just packaged it well.
‘Ah! That’s right. I have a connection with the Hunter Association now.’
At times like this, I should seek the advice of an expert. I immediately contacted the person who would likely have the best grasp of Hunter trends, Team Leader Yun Tae-seong. I explained the situation to him and asked which potion would be of the greatest help to Hunters.
Yun Tae-seong remained silent for a moment at my question, then told me some unexpected information.
**[This is the latest information provided by the US side that has not yet been released to the public. It is said that a massive number of undead appear on the 25th floor of the Tower.]**
— Undead, right?
**[Yes. It is a vast army that cannot even be compared to the escort guards led by the Kobold Queen. If you face them head-on, you will reach the limits of your stamina and mana before you even reach the Lich. However, if assassination using the scent of the undead is possible, the story changes.]**
— In that case, wouldn’t Ogre’s Breath be better?
**[The Pressure from Ogre’s Breath wouldn’t be bad either, but ultimately, if you kill the commander unit, the undead can be easily collapsed, so I think the other is more useful.]**
— All right. Then let’s go with Ghoul’s Stink as the first product.
**[Thank you for trusting my judgment.]**
I chose the Ghoul’s Stink potion as promised. This potion’s ability to safely pass through a horde of undead would play a more central role in raiding the 25th floor than any other item.
‘Since Condition 2 is guaranteed to be achieved at this rate. If the 25th floor raid is successful, everything will be peaceful this time too, right?’
“Guardian! It’s an emergency!”
“What is it, Aria?”
After finishing my conversation with Yun Tae-seong and registering the Ghoul’s Stink in the store, I hurriedly went outside at the sound of Aria’s urgent voice coming from the living room. Aria was crouching in the middle of the living room, pointing with a troubled expression at the pile of minerals I had traded with the Gnome Kajlak last night.
“Is this… already?”
I thought it was certainly a sufficient amount. However, Mago had already devoured more than half of the mineral pile.
*Crunch! Munch!*
Mago was breaking and swallowing the minerals as if they were snacks, seemingly unable to stop his gluttony. He had a much more vigorous appetite than I had expected. I felt a sense of anxiety that it might be difficult to keep him fed with the minerals I obtained this time.
“I have some Magic Stones left, but I’ll have to urge Kajlak again.”
Mago licked up even the last of the mineral dust and let out a satisfied burp. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Will he go back to sleep?’
However, having filled his stomach, Mago soon flew toward the World Tree with a light movement.
‘Why is he going there?’
Mago approached the World Tree, which had grown significantly. Then, a squirrel spirit that had dug a burrow and settled under the roots hopped outside. Had it caught Mago’s scent?
“Kyuu…?”
The squirrel spirit raised its tail warily at the appearance of the unfamiliar Mago. Mago also sniffed the air, seemingly curious about the squirrel spirit. In the brief moment of silence, it was Mago who moved first.
Mago poked the squirrel spirit’s tail with his front paw, and the startled squirrel spirit began to run around here and there. Mago playfully chased after the squirrel spirit.
“Gao! Gao!”
The squirrel spirit initially made sounds as if it were flustered, but it soon became accustomed to Mago’s playfulness and began to frolic, spinning around the area. Mago was busy chasing the squirrel spirit, and Aria smiled brightly as she watched the two of them.
“Guardian, look! The two of them have become close already!”
“I see. Is it because they’re still young? Never in my life did I think I’d see a dragon and a spirit playing together.”
This kind of peaceful daily life was nice. If I had been alone, it would have been quite lonely. With Aria, Mago, and the squirrel, there was never a dull moment. I even briefly forgot the fact that I was stuck in a corner of my room and smiled.
It was then.
**[A Rocket Store member has discovered a recipe.]**
**[Would you like to extend a new proposal?]**
What was this now?
***
Kim Ju-il was once an assistant chef at a famous restaurant, but now he was a chef who had opened his own shop solely to focus on culinary research. What had completely changed his life was a Halfling-style sweet potato pie that a friend had bought. The taste of the pie was so shocking that it felt like his entire career as a chef was being denied.
‘This taste…’
After that, he secured all the Halfling recipes that appeared on the Rocket Store, even if he had to pay extra. Since then, he had shut himself in the kitchen day and night to delve into those recipes. Recently, upon hearing the news that a new lunch box had been added, he ordered it every day to figure out the recipe.
“I ate it all again under the pretext of research because there was no separate recipe? I’m going to become a pig before I figure out the cooking recipe.”
However, he wasn’t just making excuses and not doing research. Although the lunch box had limitations because there was no recipe, Kim Ju-il continued his self-study by inferring the cooking process based only on the taste and appearance, utilizing his experience.
However, the biggest obstacle was still the ingredients.
“Is it impossible to get them unless they come into the Rocket Store?”
So, the dish he was currently focusing on was a side menu of the lunch box called Potato Puree. Since Creamed Potatoes could be obtained from the Rocket Store, practice was possible, which is why he chose the menu.
“All right, I’ll perfectly recreate at least this Creamed Potato Puree!”
For the past few days, Kim Ju-il had stayed up day and night clinging to the Creamed Potato Puree. He experimented dozens of times to see what ratio of milk and butter to add to the mashed potatoes and at what temperature to cook them to get that smooth taste. Finally, he found the perfect golden ratio.
**[You have discovered the recipe for Creamed Potato Puree.]**
“This is it! I did it!”
Kim Ju-il tasted the finished puree with a deeply moved expression. It was a discovery rather than a development, but since it was a Halfling’s dish, that was perhaps natural. More important than that was the next message.
**[Rocket Store wishes to sell your recipe on your behalf. If you agree, a portion of the sales proceeds will be shared with you.]**
“The Rocket Store is going to sell the Creamed Potato Puree recipe I discovered on my behalf?”
As a member, Kim Ju-il knew the status of the Rocket Store better than anyone. Because of the new Halfling-style dishes and recipes pouring out day by day, chef Hunters were saying it was too late even if they paid extra, and were seriously trying to climb the Tower to become Rocket Store members.
There was no reason to hesitate. The fact that the recipe he discovered would help other Hunters and that he could even gain profit in return was incredible. Kim Ju-il immediately pressed the accept button.
“When the revenue comes in, I’ll reinvest it to discover more recipes!”
Just as Go players study related records with the appearance of AI, he was certain that chef Hunters could also develop their cooking more quickly if they researched the culinarily superior Halfling dishes.
“If I raise my Rocket Store membership level, I’ll be able to obtain recipes faster, right?”
Kim Ju-il harbored hope, dreaming of a future where he became famous.
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