Chapter 6: A New Service (1)

For a late lunch, I steamed some Creamy Potatoes and Candy Sweet Potatoes to eat.

Just as it had been with the pie, the taste was incomparable to ordinary potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Even though I had simply steamed them, the texture was fluffy and flaky, and the subtle creamy and sweet flavors that wafted from them were truly top-notch.

“Burp. For some reason, I feel like I’m living better now that I’m stuck at home than when I was free.”

Patting my stomach with satisfaction, I brought up the status board.

This was to check if the Candy Sweet Potato Pie recipe, the Creamy Potatoes, and the Candy Sweet Potatoes had all sold out.

[The limited edition Candy Sweet Potato Pie recipe has sold out.]

[Today’s stock of Creamy Potatoes has been completely depleted.]

[Today’s stock of Candy Sweet Potatoes has been completely depleted.]

I smiled with satisfaction at the results, which were exactly as I had expected.

Everything was sold out.

Nothing remained.

[Lumi, the farm owner, is satisfied with her entry into the Rocket Store.]

[Affinity with the Halfling race has reached Level 1!]

[(Achievement!) You have completed the First Step of being Everyone’s Friend.]

– Stamina stat increases by +1 permanently.

Separately, the number of new users for the Rocket Store was also rising sharply as I steadily helped hunters who were caught in crises.

The Rocket Store was growing by the day, moving along a smooth path to success.

Suddenly, I was curious about my accumulated profit.

Exactly 1,000,000 Tower Coins were recorded.

It was an amount of coins that could buy a staggering ten thousand of the low-grade potions I had first purchased.

For coins earned in just two days, it was a massive sum.

“I’m rich!”

I clenched my fists and let out a cheer.

The related achievement had also been cleared.

[(Achievement!) You have achieved an accumulated profit of 1,000,000 Tower Coins.]

– Magic stat increases by +1 permanently.

[The Rocket Store Owner’s Exclusive Shop has been unlocked.]

“My own exclusive shop?”

I immediately tapped the icon for the exclusive shop.

I was very curious about what it might be selling.

“I’ve gathered a fair amount of coins. I hope there are items worth investing in.”

[Request Reroll Tickets]

▶ General Reroll Ticket (100,000 Tower Coins)
: Replaces one request on the current list with a new random request.

▶ Specified Reroll Ticket (250,000 Tower Coins)
: Allows you to select a specific keyword to increase the probability of a request matching those conditions appearing.

▶ Reward Reroll Ticket (1,000,000 Tower Coins)
: Increases the probability of a new otherworldly race appearing as a trading partner for the next request.

[Contracts]

▶ Dispatch Contract (100,000 Tower Coins)
: Available for purchase when Affinity with an otherworldly race reaches Level 1 or higher. It allows for specialized services by dispatching otherworldly experts hired by the store to The Tower where users are located.

[System Expansion and Strengthening]

▶ Limited-time Discount Promotion (2,500,000 Tower Coins)
: Applies a discount to specific items for a set period. (The system covers the cost of the discount.)

▶ Silver Member Grade Expansion Ticket (5,000,000 Tower Coins)
: Provides the authority to establish a Silver Grade for members.

▶ Emblem Buff Enhancement Ticket (2,000,000 Tower Coins)
: Enhances the buff abilities of the emblems held by members by one stage.

▶ AI Secretary Navigator LZ-01 (100,000,000 Tower Coins)
: An artificial intelligence secretary that manages the overall operations of the Rocket Store and recommends optimal answers for various requests.

“There’s quite a lot.”

My jaw dropped, especially when I saw the price tags for the items being sold.

Every single one of them required an enormous amount of coins.

“The cheapest reroll ticket is 100,000 Tower Coins. This is insane.”

I wasn’t rich at all.

“What kind of AI secretary costs 100 million coins?”

The 1,000,000 Tower Coins I had earned suddenly seemed meager.

With this money, I couldn’t even properly buy the items here.

“I need to earn more money.”

I clenched my fists, strengthening my resolve.

A goal had formed—I wanted to buy everything in this shop at least once.

“To do that, I’ll need requests, of course.”

New products that neither I nor the other hunters on Earth have ever seen before sell like hotcakes every time they are stocked.

Securing new inventory.

Currently, that was the best way to make money.

After solidifying my resolve, I touched the hologram screen to check the updated request list.

The other requests had not been refreshed yet, and I had only just barely managed to clear the remaining request from the Lamia.

[Affinity with the Lamia race has increased slightly.]

[In return, you have obtained 5,000 Tower Coins and access to Narcia’s Magic Shop.]

“That certainly took a long time.”

I had been waiting for new requests since all the others were completed yesterday, so I wondered why it took so long to clear just the Lamia’s request.

Red Wolves were monsters that appeared as early as the 3rd floor of The Tower.

“I need to analyze this.”

I sat down and thought about the cause.

Perhaps the reason was that Red Fangs were rare loot, so few hunters possessed them.

“But even considering that, the supply speed was too slow compared to the Glow Mushrooms.”

Since they were rare loot, they might have been popular as alchemy materials and sold immediately upon acquisition.

“Does that mean they felt it was a waste to use them as payment for using the Rocket Store?”

If that was the case, I would have to increase the purchase price to secure similar rare materials in the future.

It was frustrating because the system decided both the purchase and supply prices uniformly.

“I might be given authority later, but for now, considering the turnover rate, rerolling similar requests might be the way to go.”

Anyway, for now, I should first use the magic shop access I gained from clearing it.

I immediately looked through Narcia’s Magic Shop to find items worth stocking in my store.

▶ Mid-grade Antidote: 1,500 Tower Coins
: Cures poisoning status effects of mid-grade and below.

▶ Silence Removal Potion: 1,500 Tower Coins
: Cures the silence status effect.

▶ Fear Removal Potion: 1,500 Tower Coins
: Immediately cures the fear status effect.

She was selling various status removal potions cheaper than the market price.

“But these are mediocre. They’re too common.”

Considering the limited value of Tower Coins, not many hunters would invest their coins in these types of potions.

“They might buy them in an emergency, but isn’t there a special potion that can only be found in a Lamia’s shop?”

I scrolled down to check further.

There were many types of potions I couldn’t purchase yet because my membership grade was low, but I finally found it.

Of course, there was no way there wouldn’t be something.

▶ Lamia’s Deadly Poison Potion: 3,000 Tower Coins
: When thrown and hit against a monster, the Lamia’s deadly poison spreads, dealing continuous damage.

▶ Snake Scale Shield Potion: 3,000 Tower Coins
: Upon drinking, the skin becomes as hard as a Lamia’s snake scales, temporarily increasing defense against physical attacks.

▶ Vigor Recovery Potion: 1,000 Tower Coins
: A potion that slightly recovers Vigor when consumed.

The first two were exactly the kind of potions I expected would only be available in a Lamia’s shop.

“Is it because they’re made from scales and poison? They’re twice as expensive as other potions. But what is Vigor, and why does it cost a thousand coins?”

Considering a low-grade recovery potion was 100 Tower Coins, it was very expensive.

And as far as I knew, the power hunters used for skills was Mana.

I had never seen anything like Vigor in the stats tab of the status window either.

“I’ve never heard the word Vigor used outside of games.”

It was a point of concern.

Hunters might not need it, but what came to my mind was, of course, the existence of other otherworldly races.

“Does this mean there’s an otherworldly race somewhere that uses Vigor as a cost?”

Let’s just keep that in mind for now.

Since I now knew where to get it.

First, I planned to buy one Snake Scale Shield Potion and register it in the store.

When I did, a warning message popped up.

[! If you purchase and register this product, it will be registered as a Limited Item.]

[! If you propose a negotiation to the relevant otherworldly race and receive a supply of the product, you can register it as a regular trade item. Would you like to propose a negotiation?]

“Ah, right. Look at me.”

I was only thinking about O’Donnell’s case and had briefly forgotten the possibility that Narcia’s Magic Shop was also a shop capable of entering the store, just like Lumi’s.

I immediately proposed a negotiation.

However, unlike Lumi, Narcia’s reaction was lukewarm.

– We have only just finished our first trade. My trust in the Rocket Store is still insufficient for a full partnership.

I was slightly flustered by Narcia’s firm refusal.

I suppose it wasn’t something that always worked.

“Isn’t our trade guaranteed by the system? I guess Lamias are a suspicious race.”

Instead, Narcia made a different proposal.

– Instead, if you choose one potion, I will try supplying it as a trial. We shall see how it goes.

Even that was something.

I accepted Narcia’s offer without hesitation.

I had already narrowed the candidates down to three, so it was just a matter of choosing.

“Let’s go with the Snake Scale Shield Potion.”

The Deadly Poison Potion wasn’t bad, but its utility could drop depending on the target.

On the other hand, the Snake Scale Shield Potion was a potion that could be useful to anyone, at any time.

“Physical attacks are the most basic danger that can come from any monster in The Tower.”

[The trade has been established. From now on, the Snake Scale Shield Potion will be sold to hunters through the Rocket Store.]

[The Snake Scale Shield Potion is stocked in the Rocket Store under a 7:3 contract.]

It had to sell well for me to expand the trade with Narcia.

“In that regard, this potion is something even those who aren’t tanks might buy for insurance.”

As soon as the trial trade with Narcia was concluded, a new request was refreshed.

A firework effect occurred, just like when I received the special request for the World Tree Seed.

However, the scale was much smaller.

[! You have received an Affinity-related request for the first time.]

“An Affinity request?”

It seemed to be a request received because Lumi was happy and I had reached Level 1 Affinity with the Halfling race.

This request was from the Halfling Chef, Finch.

[Halfling Chef Finch’s Request]

Requester: Finch

Details: My long-time regulars at my humble shop are going through a Taste Slump, and lately, they are looking for stimulating foods. However, having spent my whole life only cooking gourmet cuisine, I have no such talent. Please send some stimulating dishes from your world that will satisfy my customers.

Reward: 10,000 Tower Coins and regular trade.

After checking the request details, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“Taste Slump? What on earth does that mean?”

It was then.

[Tutorial – Dispatch Service]

[By building affinity through steady trade with otherworldly races, you can receive their special abilities.]

[Resolve Halfling Chef Finch’s worries and propose a Dispatch Cook for the Rocket Store!]

“That startled me. I thought the tutorial was over, but I guess not.”

I knew the basic operation methods, but there was still more I didn’t know.

I was actually grateful that it appeared again now.

“But a dispatch service?”

If it meant what the words implied, only one word came to my mind.

Jackpot!

I had already seen great success with the Candy Sweet Potato Pie provided by O’Donnell, so the Halflings’ cooking skills were proven.

“And a Halfling chef provides an on-site service?”

Taste was one thing, but considering the Halflings’ food provided buffs, it would be like getting a buff from a buffer before a boss raid.

If done right, eating a Halfling chef’s meal to get a buff might become a mandatory routine.

“I can’t just clear this request; I have to make it a grand success to satisfy Finch!”

But there was a problem.

“What is a Taste Slump?”

The system responded to my question.

[! Providing relevant information specifically during the tutorial.]

– Halfling Taste Slump
: A Halfling’s sensitive palate can perfectly distinguish delicate flavors, but it also experiences extreme taste fatigue. Halflings who have indulged in top-tier cuisine their entire lives occasionally experience a ‘Taste Slump’ where all flavors feel bland and dry.

When this period arrives, they crave bizarre and extremely stimulating food instead of complex and deep flavors. This is akin to an unconscious act of trying to forcibly reset their palate.

“Aha! Simply put, it means they’ve lost their appetite. Why call it a ‘Slump’ so grandly?”

When the sweltering heat of summer arrives, there are times when I don’t feel like eating either.

“At times like that, you do crave stimulating food that’s spicy, salty, and sweet.”

Of course, the fact that gourmet-seeking Halflings had specific periods where they sought stimulating food was an unexpected side to them.

“Anyway, you’re saying you need stimulating dishes?”

To help the Halflings overcome their Taste Slump, I researched the most stimulating foods and bizarre foods on Earth.

“Then fermented food is the best.”

Sweden’s Surströmming, China’s Stinky Tofu, Iceland’s Hákarl, Italy’s Casu Martzu…

And of course, Kimchi couldn’t be left out.

Fermented foods boasting notorious smells and tastes that even some locals couldn’t eat.

Next was the turn for extremely sweet desserts.

Turkish Delight, Kaymak, Indian Gulab Jamun, Baklava.

Should I throw in some Korean Taffy and Yakgwa as a bonus?

“When it comes to stimulation, spicy, salty, and sour can’t be left out either.”

China’s Mapo Tofu, Thailand’s Rambutan, Peru’s Lime Pepper, lemons, and so on.

Using internet searches, I added not just dishes but also things like fruit and poured them all in.

“Should I add some Fire Chicken Stir-fry Noodles too?”

Since these were things difficult to purchase in Korea, my balance decreased rapidly, but it wasn’t a waste.

If I succeeded in hiring Finch, I would earn much more.

“This should be enough to satisfy Finch.”

If he isn’t satisfied, I’ll have to sue him for fraud.

I gathered all these things together and made a large package.

Ah, and of course, I wrote ‘Handle with Care’ in huge letters on the outside.

***