Hall watched Furan's receding figure; for the first time, he felt how the wealthy lived.
They would open a path with money for even a slight interest, and then stop learning as soon as that interest waned, completely disregarding the money previously invested.
It made someone like him, who had struggled with all his might to survive in Apprentice City and finally secured a stable job, sigh in sentiment:
"It's so good to be rich!"
If he ever became rich in the future, he would definitely learn to be an Apothecary—a profession he had longed for in his early years—and throw around dozens of silver coins just to make others cater to his whims.
Meanwhile, Furan's spending spree hadn't stopped; she asked around and found a large society of Magic Craftsmen.
During her recent practice, she had discovered that engraving inscriptions onto weapons was the correct way to train.
[You have successfully engraved a rune on a weapon. Rune Craft proficiency +3]
[Your attempt to engrave a rune on a weapon has failed. Rune Craft proficiency +1]
Now, she had a very bold idea in mind. Perhaps it could directly push her Rune Craft to Mastery... no... maybe even higher than that. She wondered what the level above that was actually called.
"Hello, may I ask what you would like to have custom-made?"
The Receptionist stood up and asked politely.
A Magic Craftsman utilized magical means to create objects with various structures. For instance, if Furan asked them to cut rifling, they might actually be able to pull it off.
However, this trade was also extremely dependent on the individual Artificer's proficiency because every item required a significant amount of fine-tuning.
Many mages would seek out these Artificers to customize items with special structures whenever they had a whimsical idea. For example, those two modified beastmen from last time must have had gadgets made by a Magic Craftsman.
Furan took out a blueprint she had just bought from the 'Second Weaponsmith' society; it was a blueprint for a dagger.
"The item I want made is on here. It needs to be made of baishan copper."
baishan copper was a mixed metal composed of copper and a small amount of mithril. The metal had half the magic conductivity of pure mithril, making it an excellent material for crafting runic equipment and magical creations.
Because copper was very common and the required mithril was minimal, its cost was low. Combined with its excellent properties, it was very popular among apprentices.
The Receptionist was very familiar with this material—three out of every ten requests asked for it—so it wasn't much of a surprise. However, when he saw the contents of the blueprint, he was stunned.
It was a simply styled dagger, only slightly widened to leave a space where something could seemingly be engraved.
He looked at the blueprint, truly unable to make sense of it. He had seen extremely complex structures with a mountain of parameters, and blueprints with nothing marked but a single shape.
But he had never seen a blueprint in this format. The structure was incredibly simple, and the parameters were clearly marked, but... was this really the kind of work they were supposed to do?
The Receptionist hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Customer, are you sure you haven't come to the wrong place? We aren't actually blacksmiths. The result might not have the effect you're looking for."
This was clearly a weapon. It wasn't that they couldn't make it—in fact, they could produce it much faster than a blacksmith.
But this was where the difference between them and blacksmiths lay. When making a weapon, a blacksmith would use various techniques to make it sturdier and sharper, even customizing the handle to the user's habits and adjusting the weight balance.
The blueprint here was clearly for a dagger, even if the shape was a bit strange, and it used the relatively soft baishan copper.
If they were to make it, it would likely deform after a few hits in an actual fight, whereas a blacksmith would have plenty of ways to make even baishan copper sturdy.
"I came here specifically to order from you. The blacksmiths are too slow; by the time they're finished, who knows what year it'll be."
"Also, I want two hundred of them made."
"How... many?"
Upon hearing this quantity, the Receptionist's brain instantly stalled, and he didn't know what to say.
"I'll go find the President." After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out those words.
When the President arrived, he also took a cursory glance at the blueprint. Once he confirmed that the Receptionist hadn't misread it, he said:
"Um, excuse me, are you sure you want to have these made here?"
The President wanted to confirm one more time. Such a large quantity was indeed a major order, and he wanted it.
"Yes. If finished within a month, I can pay two gold coins."
When he first heard 'finished within a month,' the President frowned, feeling the timeframe was a bit tight, and was already thinking of how to decline.
But as soon as he heard the sky-high price of two gold coins, he instantly discarded all other thoughts. This was equivalent to one silver coin per dagger.
In reality, having a dagger made by a blacksmith would cost about the same, but the blacksmith would have to use various other materials to maintain stability and sturdiness. Here, there were no special requirements other than making the shape.
So, including material costs, the cost per dagger for them was actually only around 40 copper coins, and purchasing in bulk could make it even cheaper.
After distributing the labor costs to the members below, he would still have a massive profit.
"Here is a deposit of 60 silver coins. I will come to collect the goods in a month. Make sure to provide something for storage."
"We will certainly have it ready. We look forward to your next visit."
The President saw Furan off with great enthusiasm, causing the nearby Receptionist to roll his eyes and say irritably:
"President, why does she want so many daggers? What for?"
"I don't know either. If you were making weapons for an army, you'd make spears. I don't understand why she's making daggers, but as long as there's money to be made, it's fine."
After Furan left, she found another Magic Craftsman society, pushed open the door, and said:
"Two hundred pieces of this blueprint, using baishan copper."
---
Inside the Apothecary Association of Cuilan Academy.
A man wearing ornately decorated robes walked in from the entrance and approached the Receptionist.
The man placed his hand, adorned with four rings, onto the counter. The gemstones on each ring were different, appearing exceptionally dazzling under the Association's bright lighting.
He said quite arrogantly:
"I am a special commissioner for the Association. Give me the sales and purchase records for the potion materials."
The Receptionist said with some confusion:
"But shouldn't you have arrived last week? Why are you only coming now... According to the regulations, I cannot show them to you."
The man grew somewhat irritated and pulled a badge out of his pocket.
"I was delayed by some matters, that damned Lixi... This is my Association Committee member badge. According to the regulations, even without the status of a special commissioner, you should still show them to me..."
The Receptionist had no choice but to hand over the record book. The man glanced at it, then pushed it back, saying:
"Why haven't this week's records been organized? There are only individual sales and purchase records. Where is the summary? I came to see the summary. Give this back to me after you've finished organizing it..."
"But that was last week... Fine, I'll organize it right now."
The Receptionist knew there was no use arguing with the person in front of him and could only begin the organization work at the counter.