Ch.122122. Summer Logout

“Thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you. Ah, but I can’t do it right away. I have some business to take care of.”

“Of course. Please let us know if there’s anything we need to do.”

“If you have nothing to do, maybe hunt some crocodiles or something.”

“…The Naru tribe has difficulty hunting crocodiles.”

“Oh, really?”

“How are you so good at catching crocodiles?”

“You saw?”

“How could I not notice when you’ve been slaughtering crocodiles in the swamp for days?”

Chunbong pretended not to know but then asked me as if he knew everything.

Perhaps he’s becoming more comfortable with me.

Well, when a stranger shows up claiming they can solve tribal problems that have remained unsolved until now, it would be insane to trust them immediately. I wondered where this sudden trust came from, but it seems they’ve been watching me from afar.

While my stats are high, they’re not high enough for me to notice half-elves observing me from a distance.

He explained that they shot arrows as a warning when I entered deeper into the swamp toward the half-elf village.

As if arrows from people who couldn’t even hunt one swamp crocodile and had to flee to higher ground would be threatening.

“Anyway, I’ll help you when I get back, so prepare to relocate.”

I came here to test the effects of the Greatsword of Madness +3, but I ended up catching an unexpected prize.

Returning to the cabin in good spirits, I found Ji-hyun preparing a meal.

“What’s this? Did you get some sleep?”

“I got plenty of rest today, meeting the deadline.”

“So you can leave tomorrow then?”

“Yes. I’ve packed everything.”

She had finished making the elixirs and hair loss treatment.

Sleep had definitely improved her complexion.

Looking at Ji-hyun like this, she’s actually quite pretty.

She’s modest and unadorned, wearing no makeup, yet her features are distinct.

If she wore makeup, she might get asked for her number walking down the street.

And yet she spends all day making potions in this cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Some people say making potions with skills isn’t that difficult.

They think alchemists don’t actually research and experiment with various combinations like in animations, but just click buttons.

That’s half right and half wrong.

Alchemists use mana when using skills.

It’s possible to make potions without using mana.

You can use precise alchemy recipes and tools, but this method requires more delicate and precise measurements than skill-based production, making it harder to create equivalent-grade potions.

The only advantage is that it doesn’t consume mana.

The problem is that high-grade potions require a lot of mana, and you have to wait to recover that mana.

To produce potions without waiting, you need high magical power, which requires either innate talent or investing level-up points, creating a vicious cycle where you can’t improve your alchemy skills.

So even Ji-hyun makes potions using skills until her mana runs out, then manually crafts them while waiting for recovery.

Even using skills requires production time.

“Is making potions okay? Not too hard?”

“It’s tough. But it’s fine. If I think of it as earning money, this is actually a blessed job.”

Having lived a difficult life, Ji-hyun seemed more passionate about her work.

“I’ve decided to give myself a vacation. When I log out, I’m planning to travel for five days.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Since the login cooldown is five days, a basic five-day vacation is given.

There might be days when logging in earlier is necessary, but unless the cabin is on fire, during logout time we need to sell farm goods and purchase necessary items, so it’s usually at least five days.

Especially for Ji-hyun, since her work is at the cabin, she had nothing particular to do in reality, so traveling was perfectly fine.

“When I get back, I want to try making potions with purified recovery herbs. I’ll prepare samples of mud potions too, so I can bring them out during the next logout.”

“Sounds good.”

Having such a competent employee meant I could only respond with praise, without needing to give feedback or make demands.

I had nothing more to add.

She did everything on her own and even submitted plans without being asked.

“So I’ll probably stay and work during the next logout.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Boss.”

“Huh?”

“You’re smiling too much.”

“Oh, am I? Sorry.”

With employees who do well on their own, I find myself telling them to take it easy.

I believe employees need to stay healthy to work longer.

And so, as summer began, before the real summer arrived,

My camping trip with Ji-hyun came to an end.

————————

As soon as Ji-hyun returned, she grabbed her suitcase and left for vacation.

“Oh my. Ji-hyun, did you go traveling with Su-hyun?”

“Hello, mother. It wasn’t travel. I was working. I’ll see you next week.”

She was now coming and going from our house like half a family member, and my mother seemed comfortable with her.

Kim Su-jung was sprawled out in her room.

“Su-jung came back the day before yesterday and has been sleeping all day.”

“The day before yesterday?”

She must have enjoyed her American trip.

I thought she’d been gone a long time, but considering I was logged in for just under a week, it was an appropriate amount of time for a trip to America.

Still, I was worried she might travel for a whole month, but she returned around the same time I did, showing she was quite sincere.

After a few hours, she came into the living room with a drowsy face, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, oppa, you’re back? You were gone a while this time?”

“I had to prepare for summer. Had a lot to do.”

I didn’t bring back much this time, but I accomplished quite a lot.

Actually, I thought I wouldn’t have much to do this time.

Making potions was Ji-hyun’s job, and I was just planning to finish mapping the Level 0 biome, do some village side quests, and maybe push into the Level 1 biome if possible.

That was the extent of my plan.

But I completed Kukum’s hidden affinity quest while making the hair loss treatment, did some thrilling enhancements, and the biggest gain was obtaining the Chaos Stone Purification Cauldron and learning where to use the Chaos Energy.

I also leveled up the Purification Energy a lot.

And discovering the Naru tribe in the Level 1 biome was an unexpected bonus.

I even considered delaying my logout to push through to the swamp.

“Really? You were busy.”

I briefly told Kim Su-jung about what happened and that we could now log in with two people.

Though she’s somewhat of an errand girl, Kim Su-jung is my agency manager.

She needs to know what abilities I have and how I can use them so she can plan and prepare what to bring when visiting the farm.

“I missed the farm so much during my trip to America. I have so many breeding methods I want to try. And I’ve come up with several business ideas too.”

“Sounds like you had too much fun.”

“I did have… a lot of fun. But in the evenings, with nothing else to do, I seriously planned things at Kelin’s hotel. That place is amazing. I could live there forever.”

“…You stayed there?”

“Yes. Kelin told me to make myself comfortable, so I really did treat it like my own home. Hehehe. You’re her lifesaver, so honestly, I deserve to enjoy that much, right? It would be a waste not to enjoy what you’re too busy to enjoy.”

“Good for you.”

Right. She’s already received plenty, but if she stayed comfortably with a thick skin, it makes sense to milk it for all it’s worth.

Every time I see her, I’m reminded how shamelessly different she is from me.

“But how are you going to auction these, oppa? This is going to cause huge waves. The weapons too.”

“I’ll divide it into VIP and VVIP grades. VIP for individual members and VVIP for corporate members. This auction will be VIP only, with just four items: two permanent hair loss treatments and one Greatsword of Madness.”

“So permanent hair loss treatment really exists. Have you tested it?”

“I used it on Kukum and his hair became fuller.”

“Wow, really? Is that dwarf guy a hair monster now?”

“Soon his beard will be flourishing too. I’m going to milk him for all he’s worth.”

“Amazing.”

We can’t auction all the hair loss treatments.

Auctioning the one-year treatments every time would not only be troublesome but might actually reduce demand.

Besides, the one-year treatment will be a steady revenue model for our Farming Company, and if consumers learn about the permanent version, they might be disappointed.

Beyond all these reasons, the biggest reason was to set a high psychological price ceiling.

If the market price of the one-year treatment skyrockets at auction, it could cause problems when selling wholesale.

Who would buy at auction if we sell separately at lower prices after charging exorbitant amounts at auction?

“We really need to promote this properly. Without test results…”

But that’s not a concern since dad, who heard the news, told mom he’d be working late tonight, assuring us not to worry.