Chapter 35: The Alchemy Emporium and a Shrewd Deal

After leaving the cafeteria, I pulled out my phone and found my friend, Mu Shibai—the senior student I’d met at the material shop earlier.

While she had seemed eager to forge a friendship with me back then, it was, after all, our first meeting. Such overt enthusiasm on a first encounter usually stemmed from superficial attraction.

However, I suspected she valued my talent more, actively trying to win me over by offering incense at a reduced price in exchange for friendship. Would she truly be unaware that I might acquire it cheaply only to resell it for profit?

She likely knew, yet she was merely a shop assistant there.

I sent her a simple greeting, but after a moment, no reply came.

‘No reply means she’s busy, then?’ I mused. ‘Perhaps I should just go there directly?’

‘I could also check the prices of incense ingredients while I’m at it. With my inherent talent—or rather, my achievements—I’m confident that after a few days of diligent practice, even if I don’t master alchemy, I can surely grasp the technique for crafting incense, right?’

After all, it was always good to gauge the market.

I returned to the commercial street. According to my memory, this was roughly where I’d found the material shop before, wasn’t it?

Scanning the row of shops, I finally located the “Witch’s Alchemy Emporium.”

Despite its modest name, it was actually the largest alchemy shop in the vicinity. Its extensive inventory—raw materials, semi-finished goods, finished products, available for both retail and wholesale—spoke volumes about its substantial financial backing.

Upon entering, I immediately began searching for the senior student I’d met previously. After all, she was the only one I knew here; I didn’t recognize any of the other seniors, and they might not even give me a discount.

I quickly spotted her.

“Senior Mu Shibai, we meet again.”

“Hmm?” Mu Shibai visibly paused, clearly surprised. As someone who greeted countless customers daily, she typically only remembered her regulars.

However, she had seen me just yesterday, even using her own authority to sell me a box of incense at cost price, essentially deducting it from her own salary.

“Oh! It’s Junior Ren!” she exclaimed, her memory clicking into place. This was the talented junior she’d met yesterday! To her surprise, they were meeting again so soon.

“Are you here today to finally decide on buying incense?”

“Uh… something like that, I suppose?” I replied. “But I also wanted to inquire about the prices of transcendent materials. Our class today touched upon alchemy ingredients, so I thought I’d come take a look.”

“Oh? Transcendent materials? Are you planning to pursue alchemy?” Mu Shibai asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “Alchemy is heavily reliant on talent. Without a massive amount of materials for practice in the early stages, you can’t expect any results. And your meditation talent is so high!”

“I’m just curious,” I explained. “I wanted to check the market for transcendent materials.”

“Is that so? Well then, I’ll bring over the catalog for transcendent materials, and you can browse it yourself,” she offered. “Honestly, in the early stages, unless you’re specifically pursuing an alchemy major, it’s best not to dedicate too much attention to it. To be frank, unless you’re incredibly wealthy, alchemy is truly a money pit. You can throw all your academic credits into it and not even hear a chime.”

“Don’t worry,” I assured her, taking the transcendent materials price catalog. “I’m just looking. At least for now, I have no intention of specializing in alchemy. Besides, my academic credits wouldn’t support it anyway.”

Upon opening the price list, I found it densely packed with names, corresponding prices, and accompanying illustrations.

My main goal was to ascertain the cost price of incense. Considering it involved 32 different transcendent materials, even under ideal conditions with zero errors, crafting 100 portions of incense would require materials totaling at least 10,000 academic credits! Factoring in material price fluctuations, the cost would only increase.

And then there were the losses from failed attempts… it seemed like there would be little to no profit left.

‘They said alchemy was highly profitable, didn’t they? Why is this the case?’ I wondered. ‘If one’s technique isn’t good, they wouldn’t even recoup their costs.’

Moreover, I had little time to sell them myself. If I were to sell in bulk to other shops, the prices would be driven down even further.

‘So, alchemy isn’t actually very profitable, is it? Or is it just incense that’s like this?’

Silently, I handed the price catalog back.

“So, what do you think? Finished already?” Mu Shibai asked.

“Yes, I’ve already given up,” I said with a sigh of resignation. “Today in class, I learned the incense formula from my teacher and wanted to see what the costs were like. Now, I’ve completely lost interest.”

“It’s better to give up early,” she advised, displaying a surprising amount of knowledge. “Those who make big money are all alchemy masters. The market for low-level alchemists has long been saturated, and competition is fierce now.”

“Besides, you’ve only just started with alchemy, haven’t you? Don’t assume that knowing the formula is enough to complete the alchemy. I, your senior, walked the same path and also stumbled in alchemy. It’s no longer even assessed in later courses, so there’s no need to put your mind to it.”

“If you have time, focus on strengthening yourself and earning academic credits. With enough credits, you’ll naturally have plenty of alchemists willing to provide you with alchemy products.”

“You’re right, Senior Sister,” I acknowledged with a nod. Then, I cautiously inquired, “Um… Senior Sister, about what you said yesterday, about selling me incense at the original price… does that still count?”

“Of course it counts~ But it’s limited, you know,” Mu Shibai replied with a smile. “With my authority, I can only sell you a maximum of 200 standard portions at the original price.”

“Don’t blame me for not letting you ‘shear the wool’ more, but these past few days, incense prices have been changing daily. You probably know that the profit margin for incense is very low, and the total supply is finite.”

“If we hadn’t stocked up in advance, selling it a bit more expensively these past few days, our inventory would be even lower. After all, under normal circumstances, the demand for incense rarely fluctuates; supply and demand remain balanced. That’s just how it is, and the specifics aren’t really my concern.”

“I understand,” I said, putting on a show of comprehension, though a surge of pleasant surprise also coursed through me. Two hundred portions meant a considerable amount of academic credits could be earned from the price difference.

“I won’t make things difficult for you, Senior Sister. My own demand for incense isn’t large; it’s mainly the class that has a high demand. I simply wanted to seize the opportunity to earn some academic credits.”

“You’re being so honest with your Senior Sister—aren’t you afraid I won’t sell it to you?” she teased.

“So, will Senior Sister sell it to me?” I asked, feigning a pitiful expression as I looked at her. ‘Acting? I’m quite good at that,’ I thought.

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm~ If I don’t sell it to you, who else would I sell it to?” Mu Shibai replied, nodding repeatedly, clearly pleased.

“Thank you, Senior Sister!” I immediately expressed my gratitude, fearful she might change her mind. “I’ll go back and ask my friends. If all goes well, I’ll try to bring the academic credits over tomorrow.”

“I’ll be waiting for you~”

“Then I’ll head back now. See you tomorrow, Senior Mu Shibai.”

“Call me Sister Mu!”

“Alright, Sister Mu! It’s a deal then.” Only after saying this did I prepare to leave, but not before I specifically checked the current price of incense.

It was no longer yesterday’s 599; it was now 699! There were even cheaper, loose incense portions being sold.

‘This is truly squeezing every last academic credit out of the new students,’ I mused.

‘Will it rise again tomorrow? But what does it matter?’ I thought. ‘My own demand for incense isn’t high anymore. In fact, I’m already calculating how many academic credits I should resell it for to the ‘big spenders’ in my class.’

Just then, the part-time senior students in the shop, now free, came over to chat.

“Mu Shibai, who was that who made you give up 200 portions?”

“Yeah, aren’t you keeping any for yourself?”

“Isn’t that why we work part-time here? You’re so generous today! How about you give me next month’s share? I can warm your bed and even act cute~ *Ying ying ying!*”

“You ‘Ying-ying monster,’ take this punch.” Mu Shibai offered no explanation, simply joining her sisters in playful banter.