Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 108: I reiterate. My money sense is ruined

My debt to Erick is mainly due to the sword with three skills and the runes merged into the chain mail, the sword, spear, and bow. Initially, the debt was 22.8 gold coins, but because of the weapon identification, this decreased to 15.3 gold coins.

We had a deal where I would pay him with labor, specifically with the weapon identification. But now that I can't constantly come to Erick's Blacksmith Shop, we agreed to cancel the debt in one payment.

And yes, what he said earlier was just a joke. He didn't charge me any interest.

"You're my only customer whose transactions are worth their weight in gold."

That's what he said.

Apparently, I'm the only one who spends a lot of money at his store. I can't help it. Since I discovered the gold labyrinth, my money sense is ruined.

After paying the debt, the money in my inventory is 94.6 gold coins and one copper coin.

'Now then, it's time to bring out the heavy artillery.'

With my right hand, I removed all the arrows from my inventory, and with the left hand, I did it with the runes.

"There are 30 arrows and 29 runes. I want a rune fusion on each of the arrows. As for the last rune, do you have a Snow Wolf rune?"

Erick: "..."

Erick: "MP Potions are at your disposal."

I withdrew all the MP potions I have in my inventory and handed them over to him.

"This is enough. Come back at dusk."

"Okay."

'Is it my idea, or does Erick have dead eyes? N- Nah, it must be my imagination.'

Before I sold the runes, I always kept some, just in case. The first time I kept 5 [Snow wolf runes], then 8 runes of [Infernal Cat Rune], [Hypnotic Bat Rune], and [Silent Wind Rune] respectively, making a total of 29 runes.

Since I only had five snow wolf runes, I bought one more to even the scales a bit. An archer possessing 30 arrows with skills. Are you afraid?

I've been thinking about this idea for a long time, but since I never needed it, I didn't give it much thought. But with what happened today, everything changed. What would have happened if, in the fight with the group of soldiers, I had more powerful arrows?

The answer is simple. I would have managed to decrease their quantity even more.

In the best-case scenario, I would not have had to come down from the tree to fight.

Now that I am part of the reconnaissance group, I will have to fight periodically. Since the enemy groups usually consist of 20 soldiers, fighting them once will allow me to deliver 10 remnants for two days in a row, so I must be prepared for battles where I am outnumbered.

The same labyrinth's logic applies to warfare. Spending money on rune fusions is much easier than getting status points.

After leaving Erick's store, I peacefully walked to the library and, along the way, bought the materials Delia asked me to make the necklace. Only then did I enter the library and look for the book [Encyclopedia of Loot].

'Well, it's time to lighten up a bit on this mountain of pending things to do...'

[Golden Feather], [Mane of Fire], [Aged Root], [Eagle's Tear], [Invisible Claw], [Iron Fur], [Centennial Carapace], [Magnetic Rock], [Fragile Thread], [Concentrated Mana], [Golden Leaf], [Apple of Life], [Hidden Bamboo], [Milerd Leaf], [Energy Apple], [Fang of Lisz], [Green Mist Flower], [Poison Apple], [Cursed Bone], [Possessed Paper], [Corrupt Apple]

'Too many materials to collect! And that's the first upgrade… I don't even want to imagine what the second one will be like! Ha…'

Before this, the upgrade system sounded incredibly cool and convenient. But now that I see all the things to do, it sounds like a tedious system. Even though I know nothing in life is free, I can't help but want to throw the table in the air.

'Let's start with Delia.' 

All her magics require materials that can only be found in the great Altamira labyrinth, from floor 10 onward, and, of course, in the No Man's Zone. According to the encyclopedia, very rarely do monsters come out to fight adventurers. So, if I want to get the materials, I must either enter the No Man's Zone or buy them at auction.

In this case, the latter option seems to be the most feasible.

And as for me, I can only upgrade Counter Attack and Space Travel. Whose materials are [Golden Feather], [Mane of Fire], and [Aged Root] for the former; and [Centennial Carapace], [Magnetic Rock], and [Fragile Thread] for the latter.

All the materials can be obtained in the gold labyrinth, and there is something very important that I have just discovered regarding the latter.

[...From the 15th floor onwards, the gold labyrinth has no different monsters......Its diversity stops due to it being a weak labyrinth...]

'Nooo! What am I going to do now?! Where will I get easy, tax-free materials from now on?'

I knew the gold labyrinth couldn't catch up with so many materials to get, but I never thought this one would stop its monster production from the 15th floor onward.

'Haa... Maybe I'll have to risk entering the No Man's Zones? No. It's too early to think about that. I'll leave it to my future self.'

I've finished my business at the library. Now I need to go to the adventurer's guild to stock up on my MP potions and create a quest.

After taking a carriage, I stopped in front of the adventurer's guild.

"I want to buy 10 MP potions. I am not registered with the guild."

Since they cost two silver coins each, the total value is two gold coins.

After finishing the purchase, I headed towards the inn to create the quest. Since there are six materials that I can get from the labyrinth, I need to get access to six different floors. And I put each of them on a mission. This time, the reward will be four silver coins because not all adventurers have made it this far in this labyrinth. And those who have will not accept my mission if I pay them too little.

Since Alessia must be tired from the training, I'll ask my mother for a day off. So I can take the opportunity to gather the materials with her help... 

'Hmm, Alessia might get angry for spending her day off like this. Hm... It's better if I try to collect them with the help of the [Agility] and [Strength] profiles first; that way, I suppose that I will have some degree of success. And if I can't, I'll have to bother Alessia.'

As I left the guild, the sky was already orange. Erick must be about to finish fusing the runes.

I had the nearest carriage to stop and headed for Erick's store.

"Wait a bit, I'll call him right away."

Jack, who was at the counter, said these words and then entered the depths of the store in search of Erick. Everything suggests that he has already finished the rune fusions on the arrows.

Seconds later, Erick appeared... Completely skinny and malnourished.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

From his expression, Erick didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Behind him, Jack appeared with my arrows.

"As you know, I'm not a specialist in arrows, but I did my best to generate a visual change in all of them. Those with the same feather color have the same ability..."

"Let's start with these. Their feathers are red, and they have the skill Incineration. It is an excellent skill, and its effect will only be activated when hitting the target. Thus, the lifespan of the arrow will increase notoriously."

"On impact causes the target to be surrounded by fire. Its difference with the other magics is that the fire can spread if it is not extinguished. Pretty good, considering the other arrows only affect a small area."

[Aluminum-Carbon Arrow (Imbued in magic)] [(Incineration)]

The only difference with the others is its red feather color. But their weight, size, and design are the same as before.

"These two piles of arrows have lead color, but if you look at them, they have different shades. The darker feathers possess the Confusion ability, and the lighter ones possess Silence. I have only vague information about both abilities, mostly because they are not recorded in the books."

[Aluminum-Carbon Arrow (Imbued with magic)] [(Confusion)]

[Aluminum-Carbon Arrow (Imbued with magic)] [(Silence)]

Jack brought him a glass of water, and Erick drank some before continuing.

"As the name implies, Confusion is a kind of illusion that causes the target to mistake friends for enemies. While Silence prevents sound in the attack. You'll have to figure out the rest by yourself. I've heard that Silence is a popular skill, but I have no idea why. I suppose that it is especially used for assassinations."

He separated all the arrows he had already explained and then left only six in front of me.

[Aluminum-Carbon Arrow (Imbued in magic)] [(Freeze)]

"Lastly, those with light blue-colored feathers possess the Freeze skill. The very moment you touch them, their ability is activated. Look..."

With such words, he lightly touched one of the arrows.

Immediately, this one began to exude a cold aura, and our breath became visible due to the low temperature around the arrow.

"These arrows are the ones that are damaged the fastest, as their ability stays active the longest. You must take care of them. As for its effect… as its name implies, it will freeze the area around the arrow. But its magic does not have an expansion effect, like what happens with the Incineration arrows. "

Only now that he had finished explaining, he gathered all the arrows in one place and smiled.

"It's 19 gold coins, dear customer. Thank you for your preference~"

Emir: "..."

'I reiterate. My money sense is ruined.'