Chapter 14 (part 2/2) - Market Analysis

  In his mind, the next project was already decided. Truth be told, he had not even visited the dispensary yet. He had not tried to buy herbs on his own, nor did he know exactly what each one was used for. Still, that ability to detect a need without fully understanding the market was what had turned him into the magnate he had been in his past life. His instinct was still sharp, and he was certain this was a real demand, something he could supply just by observing the black market.

  I should see who I’m up against…

  That said, getting to know the competition could wait. He decided to visit the dispensary first before continuing to scribble ideas. These small kiosks were neither as large nor as strange as the Forge and its warehouse of rare artifacts. They were scattered every few floors and supplied husks and low ranking resurrects with basic goods, from personal hygiene products and sweets to items meant for cultivating magic.

  The nearest dispensary was located within the same cluster of dormitories where the husk barracks stood, hidden in a narrow corridor between the common room and the dining hall. This kiosk catered mostly to husks and low rank resurrects. Vincent was still wearing husk clothing, so he did not expect any special treatment. To his surprise, the young woman behind the counter greeted him with a smile.

  “Hi, can I help you with something?”

  She said it after noticing Vincent scanning the products with his eyes.

  Caught off guard by the sudden display of kindness, it took him a few seconds to recover. His distrustful nature made him think, for a brief moment, that she might be mocking him. When he realized there was no ill intent, he answered.

  “Hello. I’m looking for herbs, or whatever is used to improve one’s control over magic. In particular, I need to increase my flow.”

  “Oh, in that case you’ll want a flexibilizing incense,” she replies, pulling out a small pouch filled with purple incense pellets.

  One silver for so little material…

  Vincent notes as he glances at the price tag on the shelf she took it from.

  It’s not her fault. She’s not trying to rip me off.

  Vincent steps closer to the counter and takes the pouch. There are five pellets inside. From this distance, he can’t help but notice how charming the girl is. The shopkeeper is clearly Asian, someone from Earth. She hasn’t stopped smiling for a moment, and her straight black hair shyly covers one of her eyes as she looks at him with her head slightly tilted.

  Without realizing it, Vincent takes a step back, caught off guard by her beauty. In the past, he would never have reacted like that, but the loss of his memories had dulled his experience with women.

  “Would you like me to show you something else?” the girl asks, still wearing that disarming smile.

  This girl… she’s a shark.

  “Sure. What else do you have to offer?”

  “Well, there’s Zarathro leaf herbs. They’ll increase the strength of your meridians,” she says, gesturing as if squeezing something tight.

  So it’s not all about quantity… capacity and output strength matter too.

  “You can also get this potpourri of petals and fungi to improve meridian permeability, which helps with absorption. And this other incense, made from roots, helps recover your meridians if you overexert yourself again. Its effect is limited, though. It won’t save you if you try to puncture an artery.”

  “Oh. So you know who I am.”

  “Rumors travel fast around here. There’s no television in this world, so we don’t have much else to entertain ourselves with,” she replies with a mischievous smile, nudging the pouches toward Vincent to encourage him to buy them.

  “It feels unfair that you know me, and I don’t even know your name.”

  “Wow, that was smooth…” she answers, teasing him lightly about the way he said it.

  Vincent couldn’t help but blush. His mind was a jumble of half-formed memories and incomplete experiences. He had the lines and the inventiveness, but not the lived confidence to deliver them properly.

  “My name is Rin. Nice to meet you, Vin.”

  This girl… I’m sure they use someone this charming because otherwise they’d lose the entire market to the parallel trade. She’s about to make me spend at least four silver towers.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “The pleasure’s mine.”

  Rin’s demeanor felt deliberate, but at the same time genuine. If Vincent’s memories still held less maturity, he would probably have already fallen for her.

  “Can I help you with anything else, Vin?”

  “Yes… show me your pipes.”

  “Okay… ahhhhh.”

  Rin replied by opening her mouth and giving an exaggerated demonstration of her “vocal pipes.”

  The assaults on his heart continued for a while. By the time it was over, Vincent had spent around twelve silver towers, buying a small burner and a couple of pipes with different designs, along with herbs and other products. They were expenses he needed to make anyway, yet he couldn’t help feeling defeated, and a little embarrassed by how much he had enjoyed her attention.

  Back in his small room, he laid the items out on the table. He first disassembled the pipes, then toyed with the burner, observing how it handled temperature. Using the notebook already in the room, he began jotting down the different temperatures needed to vaporize each herb, fungus, and incense.

  I’m going to need a thermometer for this…

  Due to its larger size, the burner could sustain operation for much longer, a necessary condition for its usefulness, since it didn’t need to be constantly fed with energy. The pipes, by contrast, heated the material far too quickly to allow immediate inhalation, and their price reflected that limitation.

  The design is very simple… and that’s why it’s so cheap.

  If he used the same marbles as the burner, the base cost would rise too much. Ideally, his vaporizer needed to sell for around five silvers, which meant the manufacturing cost couldn’t exceed three.

  If they’re going to use it immediately anyway, I don’t need to worry about energy absorption. That saves me on gems. I just need one capable of acting as a heat catalyst, another small one to regulate it, and one more to move and cool the air.

  Vincent took another sheet of paper and began sketching a prototype.

  It shouldn’t rely so heavily on gems… I could cool the vapor naturally using the pipe itself.

  He erased the first design and moved on to the next.

  If I use a marijuana vaporizer as a reference, it should be built in two parts. The first chamber, where the material is heated, would sit inside, along with a radiator to cool the air, all enclosed within a small casing to contain it.

  The second design was solid, but not easy to manufacture. Not at small scale, and not with the tools he had access to.

  Would it really be impossible to do this with magic?

  He knew it was possible to shape clay with energy if he focused hard enough, but the moment it began to follow a pattern or engraving, the intent shifted. The design he wanted required precision and work in very tight spaces. The vaporizer’s casing would need to be carved from the inside.

  “…”

  “What if, instead of controlling energy, I control an object?”

  He rummaged through his satchel for the small gems left over from his first project, the first computer. He took the smallest and most abrasive one and placed it on his palm.

  Magic isn’t simple enough to be commanded by intent alone, but something this small should be possible…

  Simple forces like inertia, position, light, and heat were easy to load into spiritual energy without special mantras. The problem was that using them required a much greater flow to achieve anything practical. Something as crude as making a marble spin in the palm of his hand was something even Vincent could manage. It took focus and practice, but after a while he was even able to make it levitate.

  If I can make this marble spin fast enough to act like a drill bit, maybe I can use it to carve complex engravings…

  In theory, it was possible. His fine control over spiritual energy was one of his greatest strengths. Doing it outside his body was harder, but as long as he maintained visual contact, he could keep the marble spinning for quite some time.

  It took an hour of practice to move the marble from the center of his palm to the tip of one of his fingers. With intense concentration, he guided the spinning marble, keeping it levitating a centimeter from his fingertip.

  Then, with extreme care, he pointed his finger toward one of the pipes, driving the marble to spin rapidly against the ceramic to test whether it could erode it, but the speed was not enough.

  I think this would be a good moment to make use of those herbs…

  Vincent took a handful of each and placed them in the burner. With that small boost to his abilities, he was able to use the marble like a lathe, carving small inscriptions into the pipes without losing control.

  If I really concentrate, I can move this small sphere however I want… I can even shift it precisely along an axis, at the exact distance I choose. How is it possible that the energy itself understands these concepts?

  Magic was a strange and incomprehensible thing to him. It seemed to possess a will of its own and a capricious logic. Even so, if the task was small enough, he could load it with intent and move the marble as he wished. In his mind, three dimensional directionality was simple. He could anchor it in space using gravity and the planet’s hemispheres, and he understood the concept of millimeters through the time it took light to travel.

  If only my meridians weren’t atrophied…

  There was no point in dwelling on it. He was already satisfied with his progress, so he took a short break. In any case, he needed to eat something and return to the circle workshop. He had already handed in the corresponding plans, but the swelling in his bracelet told him that was not enough. He also wanted to check whether what he had done with the marble was mundane, innovative, or outright foolish. Perhaps when carving complex circles, control was lost, and that was why the technique was not used.

  If that were the case, magical drills and lathes wouldn’t work, and I’ve seen those in the workshop.

  On his way to the circle workshop, Vincent continued thinking of indirect ways to find out whether his ability was something special or not. Unfortunately, Lily had not yet returned from her expedition, so he would have to gather information by other means.

  As he passed through the dining hall, he took an apple, paying simply by bringing his servitude bracelet close to a small circle on the kitchen counter. The resurrected had no limit on how much food they could consume, unlike the husks.

  Reassured that he could fill his stomach again later, he continued on toward the circle workshop. He now understood how to use the elevators, so the ascent was quick. When he entered the workshop, Dodoon was already waiting for him.