My first small castle is ‘Bucket’s Shop – Lily’. If it didn’t have its signboard, it would probably look just like a normal house.
The main products that it sells are iron gear. They’re quite popular and people often times end up lining up in front of the store to buy the items before we run out of stock.
From time to time we also end up getting complaints from customers that arrived late and couldn’t get the items they wanted, but no real problems come from that, as the store’s clerks are all veterans who know how to handle this kind of troublesome customer.
That aside, we also sell quite a few other items, like my beloved Magical Formations, as well accessories made with Magic Ingots.
And then, there are some 3* processed materials as well. Those are the things made by the homunculus that I summon, Homun and Lady Tsuru. Summoned homunculus can only use half of my skill level for their crafts, so it can’t be helped that their results aren’t that great.
Nonetheless, their products still do sell. Properly processed material is very useful even if it’s not at a high rank… Though of course, items below 3* cannot be sold, as their effectiveness is way too low at that point.
But at 3*, it’s pretty functional, as properly processed materials are crucial for making new items. And while processing the material yourself is an efficient way of increasing your skills levels, it’s a time-consuming process that many crafters dislike, so they prefer buying the already processed material to them make an item with it.
And due to all this, the demand of the items I’ve been selling is quite high. My first castle seems to be quite prosperous today as well.
And my second castle is stated diagonally behind my first castle. It’s ‘Bucket’s Workshop’. My own personal workshop that has all the production equipment that I need.
Though of course, it was quite expensive to not only purchase the land, but also the building and the equipment, but I worked hard to gather the funds for it!
And the result, was that I was able to install the wonderful Intermediate Equipment that was not available at the Rental Production Facility.
I really needed that, because I was able to fully experience the amazing feeling of using intermediate equipment while I was training at the Kederick Workshop… After that wonderful experience, there was just no way I could go back to the beginner blacksmith equipment!
Moreover, the intermediate equipment makes a huge difference on the quality of the final product. I couldn’t make anything above 3* iron gear with beginner equipment, but 4* items are starting to come out regularly now that I have intermediate equipment available to me.
And then, I also got the recipe for the ‘Intermediate Blacksmith Tools’ as part of the reward for the training at the Kederick Store. I was screaming with joy when I saw that recipe! Nobody had found a recipe for anything better than ‘Improved Beginner Tools’, so it was amazing to have access to the Intermediate ones!
And of course, the tools are just as important as the equipment when crafting. The rank of the material and the skill level are, of course, extremely important as well, but it will be hard to make something good if we don’t have good equipment and tools available to us.
And the results of changing to the Intermediate Tools was visible. If the Intermediate Equipment allowed me to reliably craft 4* iron gear, the Intermediate Tools let me start creating iron items with Options on them!
Of course, not all items come with Options, and what Option the item gets is random, so you won’t always get what you want no matter how hard you try.
And then, together with all that, there are the smithing techniques I learned from the master at the Kederick Workshop. They aren’t the same as the techniques you’d use when blacksmithing outside the game, so it would be really hard to learn the proper methods without someone teaching you. We can only improve by learning from our predecessors after all!
But well, even with all that, I’ve only recently started becoming able to make iron items with Options in them… And as I prioritize giving good gear for my acquaintances, only the items with subpar Options are put for sale at the store.
Nonetheless, that is still quite something. With 4* Iron Gear appearing on the shelves, and some of them even having Options, the customers will surely pay attention for when an item with an Option they want ends up becoming available for sale.
… Though well, getting the right Options really depends on luck in the end. But as I always announce what items are put for sale on my blog in advance, people can always line up in front of the store if they notice that I’m selling an item that they care for… And featured products surely get quite a few people lined up for them!
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Most of the area of my second castle is occupied by production equipment. Beginner equipment doesn’t take much space, but Intermediate equipment requires a lot of it.
Sadly, not all the equipment I purchased was intermediate-level due to a lack of funds, so I had to buy some beginner equipment too… However, as I definitely plan to upgrade those to intermediate as soon as possible, I made sure that my workshop would have enough space to accommodate it.
And the rest of the space of my second castle is taken by a somewhat large living room. There’s no need for a bedroom, toilet, bath or anything like it because it’s a house within the game.
… Well, they still exist within the Room though.
Either way, my best friends Mika and Hime are together with me in the living room right now.
Also, two members of the clan I’m part of, Works, are also here. Lilalulu Lalalu, our clan leader who specializes in making clothes, and Lulu, a members specialized in making sweets. We’re in the middle of a very fulfilling girls-only gathering.
“Those are the best…” Hime muttered.
“You really like Marrons, don’t you?” Mika asked her.
“They’re supreme…” Hime murmured as she ate another Marron.
“It’s embarrassing to have them complimented like that…” Lulu muttered.
“Definitely quite the shy person, aren’t you?” Mika said.
“Uuu…” Lulu seemed to have a hard time replying.
Lulu only started joining our girls-only gatherings recently, as my first meeting with her was when Works was inaugurated.
Nonetheless, she is very popular as she always brings new sweets on each time we gather… Though she also makes sure to bring the marrons that Hime loves so much.
We had eaten her sweets before as Lolita brought them as souvenirs on our previous girls-only gatherings, but all of them are way too delicious, so I can’t help wanting more and more.
Though I already ate my portion… That’s so unfair.
That said, sweets aren’t very efficient at reducing our Hunger status, so it can’t be helped that we have to eat a lot of them, right? We have to make sure our hunger doesn’t get too high after all.
Also, her recent creations are starting to give temporary extra effects to us, which is probably because her skills are raising in level. The ones Lolita used to bring as souvenirs didn’t give any effect other than reducing Hunger.
Much more important than that though, those sweets look gorgeous, delicate, and are very delicious.
“By the way, Yuri, I’ve started seeing Iron gear on stalls.” Mika commented.
“Ah, yeah, I noticed. Took them a while, but they’re getting there.” I replied.
“Nobody can catch up with you who already makes items with Options though.” Lolita commented.
“It’s quite something.” Hime muttered.
“Is steel next…? Amazing…” Lulu asked.
“I think I’m quite far from it? Even with a recipe, it’ll probably take a while before my Improved Blacksmithing is at a high enough level to guarantee stable 3* steel gear.” I replied.
Even though other crafters have grown enough to make iron gear, I too am growing… And as I can stay more time online than most, I end up being ahead on what products I can craft.
However, the Improved skills level really slowly, so even if I have better equipment and tools, as well as more funds and time, my advantage over them will probably slowly dwindle… But for a while longer, I’ll remain one step ahead.
Also, I do enjoy the processing a large amount of materials, which is something most crafters don’t like doing, so that also helps me.
I have no plans of losing just yet!
“Ah, I’m getting a call.” Hime commented.
“Oh? I guess it’s about time for us to wrap up then?” Mika said.
“I also have to go to my store, so I think it’s a good time.” Lolita said.
“Me too…” Lulu commented.
“I also have to go back to work, so…” I told them.
“See you!” We all exclaimed.
And like this, our girls-only gathering ended with Hime getting a call. It’s usually Mika that receives the calls that ends our meetings, but Hime is very important on the event, so people keep requesting her help.
Meanwhile, me, Lulu and Lolita basically never get this kind of call, but we’re also busy anyways.
On a side note, Lolita opened her store right next to mine. She’s selling primarily light clothes on the lolita fashion that she loves so much. It’s quite helpful for players that want light equipment, as I don’t provide this type of gear.
And well, her clothes are also very cute, so they tend to be really popular with women that love this kind of fashion, like Hime. Lolita’s store seems to be quite popular right now because of that.
And Lulu’s shop is right behind Lolita’s store. It has a calming atmosphere due to being farther from the main street, but it’s still fairly well-positioned while also having amazing products, so her store ends up being quite popular too… And it’s also really close to my workshop!
That said, the stores of the other members of Works are in different locations. Lolita’s store being next to mine was on purpose, but Lulu’s being there too was a complete coincidence… But well, that makes it very easy for her to participate on our girls-only gatherings, so she seems to be quite happy about it.
And with this, I saw everyone off. The living room, that was quite noisy before, now became completely silent.
And the table cloth was also tidied up already, since everyone ate their part, and dirty isn’t left behind due to the convenient game system.
Well then, it’s time to resume my work. There are lot of people who want my items, and I’ll gladly provide them!
Besides, the clerks are the ones who will handle any complaints, so they’ll be troubled if I don’t make a lot. I don’t wanna bother those girls that have been working so hard for me, so… I’ll do my best!