Chapter 289
After returning, Zeon didn’t step a single foot outside for four whole days and simply lounged around the house.
Naturally, Brielle and Levin also stayed home the entire time.
Brielle had always preferred researching indoors rather than wandering outside, and Levin, having finished his revenge, no longer had any reason to go out either.
So the three of them stayed at home, each spending their time in their own way.
The only difference was that there was now one extra baby whale added to the household.
The one who brightened up the most after Gaia arrived was Brielle.
Brielle had always carried a shadow over her face.
Gaia’s arrival chased away the darkness that constantly lingered in her expression.
“You see this? I made it recently.”
—Beii?
As Brielle shook the bottle filled with blue liquid, Gaia tilted her large head.
The sight was so adorable that Brielle broke into a bright smile as she spoke.
“Ta-da! It’s a mana recovery potion.”
—Be?
“What’s different from the old one? Of course it’s the efficiency. I concentrated a huge amount of mana into this single bottle. Honestly, making this is why I couldn’t follow Zeon. If I had gone along, I would’ve met you sooner.”
The potion she was holding now was different from the previous versions she had made.
Compared to earlier mana recovery potions, its efficiency had improved drastically. If consumed, it could restore fifty percent of a C-rank awakened one’s mana within two hours.
At first glance, fifty percent might not sound impressive, but when someone had completely exhausted their mana, recovering even half of it was a massive difference that could determine life or death.
It only seemed unimpressive because Zeon possessed the overpowered item called Elura’s Tears. Normally, recovering fifty percent was extraordinary.
For A-rank or B-rank awakened ones, whose mana reserves were enormous, the effect was minimal. But for C-rank awakened ones and below, this level of performance was practically another lifeline.
Naturally, D-rank and E-rank awakened ones recovered even more mana.
It was the result Brielle had produced while shutting herself in her room during Zeon’s absence. Still, she deeply regretted not meeting Gaia sooner because of it.
Seeing Brielle’s disappointed expression, Gaia lightly patted her with her pectoral fin as if to say it was okay.
—Beii!
“Right! I think so too. Anyway, we’ve met now. Ah, I got sidetracked again. The important thing is that this potion’s efficiency is amazing. The ingredients are easy to obtain too. So the co— cost-efficiency is really good.”
—Bebbi?
“What’s so good about that? Of course it’s good. You can make it cheaply and sell it expensively. Then you can earn tons of money.”
—Be?
Gaia tilted her head again.
She didn’t understand what was so good about earning a lot of money.
As a spirit lifeform, Gaia had no concept of “money” in the first place. Naturally, she couldn’t understand why having a lot of it was beneficial.
“If you earn a lot of money, life becomes comfortable. You can do everything you want and buy whatever you want. We could even expand this house. And another good thing is…”
Brielle enthusiastically rambled on while Gaia listened attentively beside her.
At that moment, Zeon spoke.
“You said you were going to sell that recipe at the Goblin Market, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s go now. I’m heading to the Goblin Market too.”
“Okay!”
Brielle immediately stood up and threw on her robe.
Levin also put on his clothes as he said,
“Then I’ll come too. I was thinking of getting some fresh air anyway.”
And so, everyone finally stepped outside.
Gaia entered Zeon’s subspace.
There was no telling what the awakened ones might do if they saw a baby whale flying through the air.
For Gaia’s safety, it was better not to attract people’s attention.
Fortunately, Gaia didn’t seem to mind.
Spending time outside with Brielle was nice, but Zeon’s subspace was also a very comfortable resting place for Gaia.
The three walked down the street side by side.
Perhaps because it had been so long since they’d gone outside, both Brielle and Levin looked to be in very good moods.
Zeon felt fairly good as well.
Staying cooped up at home had been nice, but going out like this wasn’t bad either.
“How’s Dongdaemun these days?”
“It’s quiet.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I don’t know if they received a warning from City Hall or something, but anyway, they haven’t even come near Sinchon.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But…”
“Why?”
“They’ve become much more closed off. Before, people could still come and go freely, but now the inspections are stricter. Anyone who seems like they might harm Dongdaemun isn’t even allowed inside.”
“Then I guess I’ll never be able to enter Dongdaemun again.”
“Congratulations, hyung! You’re probably at the very top of Dongdaemun’s blacklist.”
“Thanks.”
Chatting and joking like that, they soon arrived at the Goblin Market.
All three of them were VIPs there.
The guards recognized their faces immediately and let them pass without issue.
The moment they entered the Goblin Market, they could feel the bustling atmosphere.
Not only the merchants, but even the people shopping looked full of energy.
Brielle tilted her head.
“What’s this? There are way more awakened ones than usual.”
“Yeah. Did something happen?”
Levin also noticed that the atmosphere at the Goblin Market felt different than usual.
The market had always been lively, but today it felt even more overheated than normal.
At that moment, someone answered their question.
“Zeon didn’t tell you? A new mana stone mine was discovered.”
“Huh?”
“A mana stone mine?”
When Levin and Brielle turned around, they saw Yoo Sehui standing there with Black Lion.
Zeon greeted Yoo Sehui.
“It’s been a while.”
“Seriously. I thought you’d come visit right away… I didn’t expect you to disappear completely for four whole days.”
“I wanted to rest thoroughly.”
“Well, you must’ve been exhausted. So, are you fully recovered now?”
“More or less.”
“That’s good!”
“You said this commotion is because of the mana stone mine?”
“Yeah! News spread that Neo Seoul’s Pathfinders discovered a candidate site for a new mana stone mine.”
Of course, Zeon already knew that.
He had personally helped Pathfinder Team 3 confirm the existence of the mana stones.
With a puzzled expression, Zeon asked,
“What does that have to do with all this?”
“You really don’t care about this sort of thing, huh? Do you know how enormous the interests tied to a new mana stone mine are?”
“Ah! So the awakened ones are moving first to seize those interests.”
“Exactly! If they make a huge contribution, the rewards will be enormous too.”
Mana stone mines were practically Neo Seoul’s lifeline.
The moment the supply stopped, Neo Seoul would regress back to the medieval era.
That was why Neo Seoul was risking everything on developing new mana stone mines.
Nothing had been officially announced yet, but rumors were secretly circulating that an assault force would soon be recruited to successfully develop the mana stone mine.
Because of that, countless groups, including dungeon raid parties, were buying up supplies in hopes of joining the assault force.
Thanks to this, the Goblin Market was enjoying an unprecedented boom.
The merchants’ stockpiled goods were nearly sold out.
As a result, the merchants themselves were now scrambling to secure more supplies.
Up until then, Brielle had remained quiet, but she finally opened her mouth.
“What’s selling the best right now?”
“There’s a rumor that the magical beast in the mana stone mine might be S-rank, so emergency supplies like potions are selling especially well.”
“So potion-type items are selling well, huh?”
“Kid, you made something again, didn’t you?”
At that moment, Yoo Sehui’s eyes sparkled.
This wasn’t their first or second encounter.
A significant number of the potions circulating through the Goblin Market had been created by Brielle.
Because of that, the Goblin Market actually treated Brielle as a more valuable guest than even Zeon.
“So what did you make this time?”
“A mana potion!”
“What’s the effect?”
“It restores fifty percent of a C-rank awakened one’s mana within two hours.”
“Seriously?”
“We’d need to test it for exact confirmation, but according to my calculations, yes.”
“What about manufacturing costs?”
“They’re not that expensive.”
“Really?”
Yoo Sehui could smell it.
The strong scent of money.
“Kid! This is a chance to make a fortune.”
“I know.”
“Hand over the recipe. We’ll pay you well for it.”
“You think I’ve only been doing business for a day or two? Make the first offer.”
“Your elf ears must’ve fallen off somewhere… Aren’t elves supposed to be a race without greed?”
“I realized you need a lot of money to survive in this damned city.”
“You sound like a corrupted elf.”
“Don’t forget that you played a part in corrupting me too, ajumma.”
“Ajumma?”
“Then forget I said anything.”
“Grr!”
Yoo Sehui’s face twisted.
She usually didn’t show her emotions much around other people, but somehow she always ended up getting dragged around whenever Brielle was involved.
Barely calming herself, she said,
“Fine! I’ll add another five percent on top of the existing terms.”
“Ten percent!”
“That’s ridiculous! We’d be the ones losing money then. Six percent!”
“Then let’s settle cleanly at seven percent. If you won’t accept that, I can’t hand over the recipe either.”
“Haah… You’ve become human down to your bones.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Fine! Seven percent. Now hand over the recipe already. If we’re going to mass-produce this starting today, we need to hurry.”
“Here!”
Brielle handed over the recipe sheet she had prepared in advance.
Yoo Sehui immediately passed it to Black Lion and said,
“Tell them to hurry production. Even pulling all-nighters for several days won’t be enough if we want to meet demand.”
“Yes, miss!”
Black Lion took the recipe and ran deeper into the Goblin Market.
With a puzzled expression, Brielle asked,
“You’re going to start production immediately without even verifying the recipe?”
“I know your skills. That’s separate from your rotten personality.”
“Heh!”
Brielle crossed her arms with a smug expression.
Rather than finding it irritating, Yoo Sehui found it oddly cute and let out a short laugh.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re the best.”
“Hehe!”
“I swear, I can’t compliment you at all.”
“Right! Did any attribute-related items come into the Goblin Market?”
“Attribute-related?”
“You know, those rare items that have elemental attributes attached to them.”
“…Hmm.”
Yoo Sehui frowned.
A large portion of the items circulating through the Goblin Market were made in Neo Seoul’s workshops.
Items made in workshops rarely possessed attributes.
Unless they were crafted by exceptionally skilled enchanters or master artisans.
The best items were those excavated from dungeons.
Dungeon-made items occasionally possessed unimaginable attributes. But because such attribute-bearing items were extremely rare, they almost never circulated on the open market.
No matter how impressive the Goblin Market was, obtaining such items wasn’t easy.
“You need an item with an attribute?”
“You’re not going to ask why, right?”
“Yep!”
“Damn elf.”
“So, do you have one?”
“There should be one that came in recently. It’s called Kona’s Bracelet. Unusually enough, it has fire resistance attached to it. In simple terms, wearing this bracelet lets you endure fire-related attacks a bit longer.”
“How much?”
“It’s dungeon-made, so it’s pretty expensive. Are you still buying it?”
“Yep!”
“Okay! Then I’ll deduct it from your mana potion profits.”
“Do that.”
Yoo Sehui found it strange that Brielle, who had bargained so fiercely over the mana potion recipe profits, agreed so easily this time.
“What are you planning to use an attribute item for?”
“To give to a friend.”
“A friend?”
“Yep! A friend!”
Brielle answered with a bright, innocent smile.