Chapter 180: Four Categories
The opening notice for the Dimensional Exchange.
Elma had apparently seen the same alert, because she murmured with a faint smile.
"Ah, the timing worked out nicely."
Opening the moment their conversation ended.
Walfred, on the other hand, tilted his head. Only the Dimensional Exchange had opened, and the words "Dimensional Auction House" were nowhere to be found.
"How do I get into the Auction House?"
"Once you connect to the Dimensional Exchange and a little time passes, an invitation will arrive. Then you just touch the entry button and go in."
Ah, so that was how it worked.
Walfred nodded as if it made sense, then touched the button to connect to the Dimensional Exchange.
And a moment later.
-----
[Dimensional Exchange]
[The Exchange is now open!]
[We hope you enjoy your shopping.]
[Entry condition]: 50,000 coins or more in your possession
[Potion purchase limit]: 2 bottles per person
[Skill book purchase limit]: 1 book per person
-----
Along with the guidance message.
An enormous list of goods unfolded.
The one odd difference from [Regular Sales] and [Limited Sales] was that the product list didn’t refresh.
But that hardly mattered.
There were well over several hundred items to begin with.
’The first things I need to buy are...’
Skill books and potions.
The items with limited quantities.
There was a saying in the community that when the Dimensional Exchange opened, you bought skill books and potions first, no questions asked.
Walfred started with the skill books.
-----
[Name]: Skill Book - Random
[Effect]: Open the book to randomly learn one skill suited to your attribute.
※Maximum purchasable quantity: 1/1
※Current remaining stock: 1,985/3,000
▶Price: 1,000 coins
-----
It wasn’t much different from the skill books handed out as loot for exterminating Elite-class monsters.
The price, though, was absurdly cheap.
As if to prove it, more than a thousand skill books had already sold since the Exchange opened. Walfred bought one without a second thought.
[Purchase complete.]
▶[Skill Book - Random]
[Price: 1,000 coins]
Flash!
The skill book appeared out of thin air in a burst of light.
It landed on the ground with a thud, but Walfred made no move to pick it up. Buying potions took priority.
’Two types of potions.’
Healing Potions and mana potions.
The purchase limit on potions was two bottles per person.
He could buy one of each, or double up on a single type.
’But I don’t need Healing Potions.’
Wounds healed automatically anyway, thanks to the [Rune of Healing] attached to [Frost Domain].
Mana recovery potions, on the other hand, he did need.
Margaret, the administrator of the Philadelphia shelter, had once told him that various penalties kicked in if your mana dropped below a certain percentage.
’Found it.’
And not long after.
He spotted a decent mana recovery potion.
-----
[Name]: Special Mana Recovery Potion
[Rank]: Rare
[When consumed, instantly restores a set amount of mana at fixed intervals for the duration.]
[However, once the maximum mana recovery cap is exceeded, no further mana is restored.]
▷Duration: 900 seconds
▷Activation interval: 10 seconds
▷Mana recovery: 1 to 2%
▷Maximum mana recovery cap: 30,000
※Maximum purchasable quantity: 2/2
※Current remaining stock: 3,607/5,000
▶Price: 1,500 coins
-----
What Walfred had found wasn’t a potion that restored a huge amount of mana the instant you drank it, but the type that kept restoring mana continuously throughout a fight.
It was less popular than the instant recovery kind, but he judged it a better fit for him.
’Nice that I won’t have to drink it mid-fight.’
Digging through a backpack for a potion in the middle of a fierce battle wasn’t realistic.
This one, though, could be downed before the fighting started and would keep restoring mana on its own, which meant no time spent pulling out of the fight.
Walfred bought the mana potions immediately.
[Purchase complete.]
▶[Special Mana Recovery Potion] x2
[Price: 3,000 coins]
That covered every item with a quantity limit. Letting out a breath, Walfred packed the skill book and potions he’d just bought into his backpack.
Elma had apparently had the same idea, since she’d bought a skill book and a Healing Potion. She must have set aside just enough coins for that much.
Just then.
’Hold on.’
Something occurred to him.
Walfred narrowed his eyes.
’Now that I think about it...’
The Dimensional Exchange had its priority buys. Wouldn’t the Dimensional Auction House have something similar?
Turning the sudden thought over, Walfred looked back at Elma and spoke up.
"There’s something I want to ask."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Like with the Dimensional Exchange, is there anything at the Auction House I should prioritize buying?"
The instant the question left his mouth.
Elma’s eyes went wide.
"Oh, I completely forgot to mention that."
Her expression said she’d dropped the ball.
Looking a little awkward, as if it had only just come back to her, she began to explain.
"You’re right. Just like you said, there are items you should be going after first at the Auction House."
"Which ones?"
"Four categories, broadly speaking."
Elma held up four fingers.
Then she launched right into it.
"Skill books, runes, marks, and elixirs."
Runes and marks he already knew about, so those he could skip.
Elixirs were something he’d never heard of, but he could ask about that later. Skill books as a top priority purchase, though?
Walfred tilted his head.
Just then.
"For the record, the skill books I’m talking about aren’t the ordinary kind you get from the Dimensional Exchange or from exterminating Elite Monsters."
Had she read his mind?
Elma spoke with a smile on her face.
"They’re what people call attributeless skill books, or universal skill books."
"Universal skill books?"
"Yes. They’re loot you can only get by taking down an S-rank or higher Boss Monster, and they’re worth about as much as an ultimate skill book."
Skill books with no attribute restrictions.
Since anyone could learn from them, their versatility was apparently staggering. That made them one of the most sought after items at the Auction House.
"There is one thing to watch out for, though."
"What’s that?"
"Universal skill books don’t give you a random skill. The skill is spelled out on the book itself."
Elma said it like a warning.
With ordinary skill books, you got a random skill of your attribute the moment you opened it, but with universal skill books the skill was already engraved in the book.
"It could be a great skill, or it could be a bad one, or one you have no use for, so I’d recommend looking carefully and bidding with caution."
Walfred nodded, satisfied.
With that question easily settled, he asked about the last thing she’d mentioned, the elixirs.
"So what’s an elixir?"
"Same deal, a consumable you can only get from an S-rank or higher Boss Monster. Eating one permanently enhances your base physical abilities."
The moment he heard that.
Something flashed through his mind.