Woohoo—taking off

"Killing over thirty werewolves, plus the double loot drop, tonight's haul is even more than the last three days combined!" 

This just proves the old saying: rather than working hard to make money, it's better to lie in bed and count it. 

The unexpected boon for Alex was this group of werewolves; if they attacked every night, Alex would gain an even greater advantage. Of course, being somewhat intelligent creatures, the werewolves probably wouldn't dare leave the snowy mountain again.

Alex was a bit surprised that a normal werewolf should drop 20 units of food, but this level 9 werewolf only dropped 19? 

After some analysis, Alex realized that part of the wolf's body had been burned away by her black flames, hence the 19 units of food. The rules of this world were quite strict.

However, Alex also discovered that it wasn't guaranteed for creatures above level 5 to drop an Essence Shard—it was a chance drop... 

The previous consistent drops were just good luck, leading her to a mistaken assumption. But with the night's double loot drop, even a single shard dropping would double, and Alex ended up with 40 Essence Shards, making a fortune.

Alex had amassed 1438 units of elite food, 130 magic crystals, and 40 Essence Shards, enough to upgrade her Barracks. 

Perfect timing to complete the upgrade before dawn, and then summon new troops on the fourth day—sweet!

Curious about the elite food, Alex decided to try it out in the kitchen, assuming it must have some special effects. 

The system hadn't indicated any difference, so personal testing was necessary. 

Soon, Alex walked out of the kitchen with a plate of roasted werewolf meat, blowing gently on it before taking a bite. 

Chewed on the left, then the right. Hmm, not tasty. 

It seemed no different, but Alex felt a warm flow from the elite food, an indescribable sensation.

[Using elite food, gain two experience points!]

What?! The effect of elite food was to provide experience points. 

With over fourteen hundred units of elite food, that meant she could gain 2800 experience points! 

What a concept—Alex guessed this could boost her directly to Commanding level!

Tempted by the prospect of rapid power gain, Alex headed to the Warehouse but stopped dead in her tracks upon opening the door. 

Faced with a mountain-like pile of elite food, she was dumbfounded. How long would it take to eat all this? She'd probably burst before leveling up...

Better to trade it, she thought, realizing her naivety. 

Checking the time, there was still a while until dawn. She decided to list the elite food for trade immediately, hoping it might be sold by tomorrow.

[Hamburger initiates a trade!]

[One unit of elite food, trading for 2 magic crystals or 1 iron ingot.]

[Remaining quantity: 1437 units.]

[Note: Consuming elite food grants two experience points.]

Alex chose to trade for magic crystals and iron ingots, as she wasn't short on wood or stone, and it was still early days for upgrading her castle to a town. To speed up the trade of the elite food, she even highlighted the note in bold...

As soon as Alex's trade went live, it exploded among the Lords chatting in the World Chat. Some were still struggling with regular food, and elite food was unheard of. 

[Seban]: "Holy fuck, what's elite food? Dropped by high-level monsters? That's awesome, are all Big Shots this strong?"

[CtrlAltDefeat]: "Are you kidding me? It's only day three, and I was just feeling proud about barely scraping by. Now I'm already being outclassed by a Big Shot."

[BigBreastGirl]: "Big Shot, my pussy's a bit itchy, can you help scratch it?"

[SirLaughsALot]: "Can you not be disgusting, please? I'll say it again, there's absolutely no Yuri here. Also, aren't you guys missing the point? Consuming elite food grants two experience points!"

[NONTR]: "It's that damn Hamburger merchant again, isn't she charging too much? What the hell are iron ingots? If I had those, would I care about the two experience points from your elite food?"

[CheeseLovingMouse]: "Iron ingots aren't valuable, anyone who can smelt them will definitely trade for elite food. It's a great opportunity to level up oneself and troops without risking combat for experience."

Alex watched the World Chat with a 'just as I thought' expression. 

To her, a few experience points might not make a big difference since her undead army was constantly fighting, and she had the 1.5 times experience bonus from the Bone Throne. But for weaker Lords, those two experience points were a huge temptation.

For example, Sophie in [QuartzStriker] castle was completelyflabbergasted by Alex's move. She looked at the food in her hand, suddenly finding it less appealing. 

She was about to throw it away but then thought better of it; for Sophie, food was still the most crucial resource.

"Why is it that everyone starts from zero, but the gap is so huge, sigh," Sophie mused, sitting in her chair, resting her head on her hand, a look of melancholy on her face. 

She thought they were friends, but Alex hadn't even asked her about it. Sophie sighed again, feeling a bit naive. 

After all, a verbal promise doesn't mean much when there are no strings attached, and in a world without constraints, all Lords are essentially enemies.

Sophie wondered if Alex still had any elite food left, but seeing the 1437 units listed on the trading post, she guessed Alex must be out of stock. 

"What to do, this [Hamburger] Lord is really strong, even managing to get elite food," Sophie mused. She looked at her own situation; the dwarf artisans and humans didn't have much difference in their lifestyle, needing sleep at night just like everyone else.

Just out of the forge tonight were five hundred iron ingots. Sophie pondered whether to trade them for elite food, tempted by the prospect of gaining two experience points per unit of food. 

Most of Sophie's dwarfs were around levels 2 and 3, very weak in combat, making leveling up through fighting a fantasy. Mining and smelting provided no experience, their only advantage being their numbers.

"Hmph, I'll trade. Iron ingots can be smelted daily, but who knows when elite food will be available again." 

Sophie finally decided to trade five hundred iron ingots for five hundred units of elite food, equating to a thousand experience points—enough to level up both herself and the strongest dwarf in her castle.

Sophie, holding a friend position with Alex, noticed two additional features besides [Chat]: [Alliance] and [Submission]. 

She wondered if forming an alliance with Alex might improve her situation. 

"Just don't know what her attitude would be," Sophie sighed.

Unlike Sophie's sighs, Alex was thrilled. She had thought no one would recognize the value of her elite food. Yet, less than ten minutes after listing it, she had already traded five hundred units. 

It seemed there were still some smart folks around, marking another unprecedented large transaction. 

"Woohoo—taking off!" Alex exclaimed, excited about her successful trade strategy.