Riley's phone was already buzzing when he woke up.
Aria had sprinted into his room at stupid o'clock, flopped on his bed and shoved the screen in his face before he'd even finished blinking.
"WAKE UP, OH GREAT AND SUSPICIOUSLY COMPETENT BROTHER," she said. "You're internet famous."
He squinted at the light.
A forum thread was open.
> Dawnview Global — FIRST HARD CLEAR ALREADY?? CHEATERS OR GODS?
Video link: Grant party vs Verdant Bloom Tyrant
Comments: 1.2k
Reactions: fire 🔥 🔥
He groaned into his pillow. "Oh no."
"Oh yes," Aria sang. "Look—people are arguing about whether you hacked the boss AI or secretly devoured a dev."
Sofia appeared in the doorway, clutching a mug of tea with both hands like a shield.
"Aria… don't harass him the second he opens his eyes."
"I'm not harassing," Aria said. "I'm delivering IMPORTANT NEWS."
Riley took the phone. Scrolled.
Comments flickered past.
> No way that was legit, they barely had any armour.
Look at the positioning though?? That's not RNG. That's skill.
Who's the bow guy? His Light arrows are cracked.
That baby dragon… is that a cosmetic or a real Spirit?
His stomach sank and fizzed at the same time.
Fame. Suspicion. Attention.
Exactly what he'd tried to avoid in his last life.
Exactly what he'd just sprinted into with both feet.
Sofia slipped onto the edge of his bed.
"Um… there's more."
She tapped to another notification.
> KIPP:
RILEY
RILEY
R I L E Y
YOU NEED TO LOG IN
THIS IS NOT A DRILL
THE POTIONS
THE POTIONS SOLD OUT
ALL OF THEM
PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING IN THE AUCTION CHAT
I'M SCARED
ALSO WE'RE RICH???
Riley sat up properly.
"Okay," he said. "Now I'm awake."
Breakfast was a blur of toast, tea, and Mum trying to understand why strangers on the internet thought her son was a game-breaking demon.
"So… people are mad because you did well?" she said slowly.
Aria dramatically draped herself across two chairs. "They're jealous of our greatness, Mother."
Sofia smiled into her cup. "We worked hard."
Riley shrugged. "It's fine. Once they see the full fight video, they'll realize we didn't cheat."
Mum narrowed her eyes. "Nobody online is allowed to bully you. Got it? I'll… I'll make an account."
All three kids shouted, "NO."
Mum sniffed. "Cowards."
They finished eating in a flurry of nervous energy.
Aria bounced on her heels.
"Dungeon cleared, forums exploding, Kipp screaming about money—today is going to be BEAUTIFUL."
Sofia tried to look calm… but her eyes sparkled too.
Riley's mind was already running numbers.
Dungeon payout. First auction batch. Market panic.
Two days.
They had maybe two in-game days before everyone adapted.
Before the Mirage Draught went from miracle to standard prep.
He pulled on his headset.
"Let's go see just how rich we accidentally became."
Dawnview loaded in with a rush of colour and sound.
The plaza near the dungeon entrance was rammed.
Players clustered in noisy pockets—arguing, recruiting, shouting offers.
Floating announcements still shimmered in the air above the square:
> SYSTEM NOTICE:
Party Grant has achieved FIRST HARD CLEAR: Verdant Bloom Cavern.
Bonus rewards applied.
> SYSTEM NOTICE:
Hard mode unlocked for all future challengers.
As soon as Riley, Aria and Sofia materialised, a few heads turned.
Someone pointed.
"That's them—"
"No way—"
"Oi, Bow Guy! What build are you running?!"
Aria leaned over. "Don't worry, I'll handle crowd control."
"Please don't," Riley said.
She cupped her hands around her mouth. "NO AUTOGRAPHS, WE'RE BUSY."
That did not help.
They ducked down a side street before anyone could swarm them, slipping past a group of recruiters yelling:
"Two slots open—hard clear only, level nine plus!"
"Paying ten silver to any healer who joins our run!"
"Recruiting Frost affinity! Fire synergy preferred!"
Sofia winced. "It's… intense."
"Welcome to launch week," Riley muttered.
Lumi floated just above his shoulder, radiating smugness.
Luna trotted at his heels, her scales catching the morning light.
They passed the apothecary, the blacksmith, and a makeshift billboard where guilds had started posting recruitment posters.
He ignored all of it.
There was somewhere more important to be.
Kipp's Alchemy Nook sat just off the main square—half cottage, half greenhouse, all chaos.
Today, that chaos was turned up to eleven.
The door burst open just as Riley reached for the handle.
A cloud of fragrant steam poured over him. A small plant blurred past his face.
"RILEY!" Kipp yelled from inside. "GET IN HERE BEFORE THE MOSS EATS THE WALLS!"
Mossling tottered out, trailing glowing vines and looking very pleased with itself.
Aria gasped. "It has evolved into a menace. I love it."
They squeezed in.
The workshop looked like an explosion in a potion factory.
Cauldrons bubbled on every flat surface.
Shelves full of herbs lined the walls in haphazard stacks.
Three different UI panels floated in the air, all filled with timers and progress bars.
In the middle of it all, Kipp spun like a caffeinated tornado.
His hair stuck up at wild angles. His eyes were bloodshot. His grin was feral.
"You came," he breathed. "Good. Look."
He flung open a sales ledger UI.
> MIRAGE DRAUGHT times 30 — SOLD
Final price: 20 silver each
Total: 600 silver
Riley's brain did the conversion automatically.
Six. Gold.
From one batch.
Aria made an unholy noise.
"WE'RE LOADED."
Sofia's jaw dropped. "T–that's… that's more than the dungeon paid."
Kipp nodded so hard it looked painful.
"And that's just the first run! People are panicking, Riley. They're calling it 'cheat juice'. Every hard-mode group wants some. Everyone who wiped at the mini-boss is begging for stock."
He clicked another tab.
Messages spammed down the screen.
> [Whisper] TankMain42: 5 draughts, 25silver each, right now. I'll pay extra.
[Whisper] GuildLeadNova: We'll sign exclusivity. Name your price.
[Whisper] AngryHealer: Did YOU invent this? My party still died, but I lived longest, so… thanks???
Aria wiped a fake tear. "We're changing lives."
Mossling hopped onto a crate and flexed a leaf.
Even it was feeling itself.
Riley whistled low.
"Prices will stabilise," he said. "But for now… we ride the wave."
Kipp nodded. "I know. That's why—uh—I did a thing."
He waved frantically at two figures near the back, who had been quietly bottling potions and trying not to look overwhelmed.
"Guys! Come say hi! This is the crazy bow guy I told you about."
A petite girl with short curls and ink stains on her fingers stepped forward, giving a shy wave.
"Lila," she said. "Enchanter, part-time brewer. Kipp pulled me in yesterday."
Next to her, a broad-shouldered boy with spectacles pushed up onto his head raised a hand.
"Bram. I… do numbers. And stirring. Mostly stirring."
Lila smiled nervously.
"Um… we've been helping Kipp with basic extracts. He said you… might let us in on the Mirage recipe under contract?"
Riley glanced at Kipp.
Kipp nodded, eager.
"They're good. Careful. And they didn't leak when I strongly hinted that our potion was behind that clear."
Bram coughed. "You shouted it while standing on a crate."
"Marketing," Kipp said.
Riley huffed a laugh.
He flicked open the contract UI.
ALCHEMY COOPERATIVE — PROPOSED TERMS
Recipes: Mirage Draught (shared), future Verdant-based formulae
Profit Split , after ingredient costs):
• Riley: 40%
• Kipp: 40%
• Lila: 10%
• Bram: 10%
Confidentiality: Recipe details cannot be shared or transferred without leader approval.
Duration: 30 in-game days, auto-renew.
He turned the panel so they could all see.
"That work for you?" he asked.
Lila stared like he'd just handed her a crown.
"That's… really fair," she whispered. "Most people would demand more."
Bram exhaled slowly. "We accept."
SYSTEM:
> Contract signed.
Alchemy Cooperative unnamed founded.
"Name later," Aria said. "Money now."
Riley grinned.
"Alright, team," he said. "Here's the play. For the next two days, we go all-in on Mirage Draughts and whatever Verdant recipe you're testing."
Kipp brightened. "You saw the Leafguard Tonic?"
Sofia leaned over his shoulder.
The new recipe shimmered on a separate tab:
> NEW ALCHEMY RECIPE: LEAFGUARD TONIC
Effect: +10% Nature resistance, minor bleed reduction.
Duration: 20 minutes.
Projected Dungeon Demand: Medium-High forest and poison zones
Riley nodded.
"That'll be big in later areas. For now, Mirage is our star. But keep tinkering—we'll need a portfolio when people stop paying stupid prices."
Aria raised a hand.
"Question. On a scale from 'we can afford snacks' to 'we can buy the sun', how rich are we right now?"
Bram actually opened a calculator.
"Between dungeon payout and current potion earnings," he said slowly, "your personal share sits at just over three gold already. The rest of the party will get their cuts from the dungeon later. If prices hold and we hit, say, another forty draughts in the next day… we might be looking at double that."
Sofia's eyes went wide. "That's… a lot for launch week, right?"
Riley thought of storage fees, spirit food, weapon upgrades, future property, guild registration.
He nodded.
"It's insane," he admitted. "But it won't last. Other alchemists will eventually work out similar evasion buffs. We have a window. We use it."
Kipp clenched his fists.
"I'll brew until my hands fall off."
Mossling patted his ankle in solidarity, then waddled over to sniff Luna.
Luna booped it gently on the leaf.
A tiny spark of faelight danced between them.
Aria slapped the table.
"THIS IS IT. THIS IS OUR VILLAIN ARC. WE BECOME THE POTION CARTEL."
"No," Riley said.
"THE ETHICAL POTION CARTEL."
"…closer."
Sofia giggled.
"Riley," she said softly, "what do you need from us today?"
He looked around the cramped workshop.
Cauldrons bubbling, helpers bottling, Mossling tending herbs.
"Honestly? Kipp's got the brewing covered," he said. "If a few of you can do ingredient runs between training sessions, that helps. But I don't want everyone chained to a workbench."
He met Kipp's eyes.
"You're the heart of this," Riley said. "You lead the craft side. I'll lead the field side. We both get everyone paid."
Kipp swallowed.
"Deal," he said quietly.
System pings chimed as another batch of potions finished.
> MIRAGE DRAUGHT x6 — Auction listed. Starting bid: 15silver.
Current highest bid: 19silver… 20silver… 21silver…
Aria watched the numbers climb with wild delight.
"Is this what the stock market feels like?" she whispered. "Because I get it now. I want more."
Riley laughed.
Lumi drifted down to bump his forehead against Luna's, sparks of light flashing between them.
Alpha.
Beta.
Their tiny, growing empire.
"Alright," Riley said, rolling his shoulders.
"Let's make as much as we can before the world catches up."
By the time they finally stepped back out into the Dawnview sunlight, the cooperative's potion racks were refilling, the auction was on fire, and Riley's account balance looked like it belonged to someone much, much higher level.
Aria whistled low.
"Dungeon cleared. Potions booming. Coin bags about to burst."
Sofia smiled up at him, eyes bright.
"What now?"
Riley glanced toward the vendor district, where armour gleamed and weapons sparkled in the afternoon light.
"Now?" he said.
"Now we go spend the dungeon money like responsible adults."
Aria punched the air.
"SHOPPING SPREEEE."
Lumi flashed like a tiny firework.
Luna chirped in excitement.
And for the first time since launching the game, Riley let himself relax—just a little.
They'd survived the dungeon.
They'd cracked the early economy.
For a moment, the future looked wide open, glittering with possibilities.
He intended to use every single one.