On the other hand, Utility and Knowledge Skills were available for each type of awakened. He had already bought [Assessment] before, so he didn’t need any other for now.
After all, he might encounter beasts and plants and objects he hadn’t encountered before. It would be great if it were all just brootrats and brindlejaws, but they couldn’t all have what they wanted.
Considering his remaining budget, he went straight to the [Potions] section to get the required potions. Sadly, other than the fixed HP and Mana potion, the rest were useless to him. He really wished there were more beast-repelling potions. He didn’t think what he had left would last long.
[Special Healing Potion]
[Information: Concentrated reddish liquid infused with vitality. Capable of restoring 20 HP and an increased HP regeneration by 10% for 10 minutes.
Cost: 1 Gold
Purchase Limit: 5/5 (refillable every 5 hours)]
.
[Special Mana Potion]
[Information: Concentrated blueish liquid infused with magia. Capable of restoring 20 Mana and an increased Mana regeneration by 10% for 10 minutes.
Cost: 1 Gold
Purchase Limit: 5/5 (refillable every 5 hours)]
Each bottle was about as big as a small test tube in his palm, and he added them in his space. Healing and Mana potions were fixed in the market, and he had kept what he bought in his space. He would buy a few bottles every so often, so a good portion of his small space was actually filled with these.
Unlike the beast-repelling potions, diluting it (yes, he tried) would invalidate its effects. It was fortunate they were always available for purchase, even if he had to wait hours for one sometimes.
As for the Beast repelling potion he bought from last time, he only had 3 bottles of those left. Indiluted, that was 15 hours. Diluted, around twice of that.
He also brought in a lot of lunchboxes. Tumble’s bento and box-making was superb, and these lunchboxes were amazingly isolated despite the available materials.
Ranran also prepared very good insulating blankets for him. They were made of Glecksmar coat, which was quite fluffy after Ranran had done her way with it.
These things filled up his small space which was just a bit bigger than his luggage, so he wished he had more space.
Fortunately, there was a [Backpack] available in the Market. It was part of the [Accessories] tab, and he almost missed it. It cost him 30 gold and 500 Hearth points though.
As for why it was expensive, it was because it was actually relatively special. The bag itself doubled as a defense equipment—with a pretty decent durability—and could hold a bit more than it looked. It could also lower the weight of what was inside.
After testing it a bit, the backpack, which just looked like a typical hiking backpack—the small one—could actually carry nearly twice its mass. It also lessened the weight by around half of what it should.
It also had a stabilizing function that would protect the bag’s contents even after force was applied. Though he had the fragile stuff like the potion bottles in his space, he might carry things like berries and fruits, and he could use as many anti-squish functions as he could.
It also had insulating properties, so he didn’t have to worry about monsters smelling what was inside. Of course, it’d be a problem when he got hungry and had to eat out of his lunchbox, but he’d cross that bridge when he got there.
He took a look at the map he got from Syl. Fortunately, Syl gave it to him and even pinpointed a rough distance from the dungeon. The Level 2 area associated with the Kaelmorr dungeon was approximately 60 kilometers northeast of this place, and it was safe to assume the mission area was around midway or less. After all, he was already meeting Brootrats all the way here.
As for the operations of the Inn, the goblins could handle it. If they encountered racist customers, he believed dragon-Pang would be able to handle it.
He had never actually seen him deal with anyone, but he could only hope for the best.
He also placed a container where people could place their gold or the essence cores as payments on the Front Desk.
Finn bought improvements for Front Desk, one of which linked the inn to his wallet and anything dropped here on the counter would be placed in his own wallet.
If they didn’t pay, Pang said he had the ability to implement the Rules, provided that he set it in the Rule Maker. Only then did he know that it was actually the spirit who would implement it.
He still remembered questioning this. He didn’t think it’d still be done manually.
"Of course it’s me. Do you think a building could discern these things?" he had asked him and Finn had to admit he had felt silly.
Anyway, Tumble and Ranran would take care of the rest, including the gardens. Many of the older shrubs and trees had already borne fruit, and soon the gardens would as well.
To avoid wasting some ripe and overripe fruits and other things, he had taught them before to place them in wooden barrels (made by Tumble) and then place them in the cellar. He’d process them into jams or maybe even wines when he got back.
After preparing many things, he left the Inn a few hours after dawn. He couldn’t help but stare at the inn and the landscaping they had slowly curated.
It had only been a few weeks, but he had already gotten used to his routines. Despite facing monsters, he honestly had never felt as leisurely and relaxed after he lost his parents.
It made him really reluctant to leave, even if it would only be for a few days.
This would be the first time he would go beyond a few hundred meters... would he really be alright? Then again, did he have a choice?
Sigh
Well, off to an adventure... or towards death.