48 Determined to Finish the Advancement Quest

Ever since Astur returned to the Sea of Trees, Aeternum has begun to feel more like a city rather than a small settlement in the forest. With the extra helping hands that the members of the Warband supplied, rudimentary roads have been constructed that lead out from Aeternum and towards the exits of the forest closest to the towns of Hadrow and Dawn. More and more people have begun to show up and move into Aeternum. Most of these new inhabitants are of the Demon races but there are a few Beastfolk and Humans as well.

Of course, all the new people had been required to go through a basic check to see if they were spies or had other ill intent towards the other residents. Though it wasn't a foolproof plan as there were a few trouble makers, they didn't last long and weren't heard from again. On the other hand, Spies aren't ones to cause trouble, at least openly, and would rather send information back to their respective organisations. And while spies are a bit harder to catch, this is only for normal people. Both Astur and the players have their own ways of finding spies. The way the players identify people is unique. Depending on the relation an NPC has with a player, the name in the System Interface will change colours and the icon on their maps will also be of that colour. Spies, being classified as hostile, would appear red to the players, making it very easy for them to spot out spies. But this only works for spies have from the beginning had meant to sabotage things, for more passive spies whose purpose was to send out information, they were for Astur to catch. She would simply know about them the moment they tried to send out any information regarding her, requiring next to no effort on her part and only needing to send someone out to deal with them.

Between catching spies and the various other quests that the players have been completing, they've finally racked up enough excess EXP to spend on Astur's shop while also keeping up with the average level. Although, most players have only just barely gotten past level 10, with the players closest to Astur in the lead with Blaze currently being the highest level player in the game at level 16. Mostly thanks to the high rewards from Astur's quests, the players in the Holy Oulvgar State can keep up with the average and even surpass it while also spending their EXP on items from Astur.

Just as Blaze, Nero, and Woden had done previously, the other players are lined up en masse, all looking to buy the Enhanced Basic EXP Potion as well as a wide range of other items. While the EXP potion is by far the most popular, to her surprise, the next most popular items from Astur's shop are her unusual healing items, such as the Healing Knife or the Heal Bat. And after those come the more personalised weapons like swords.

By the time she finishes selling off her goods, Astur looks at her Status screen to see an increase of 46,300 EXP, bringing her up to 70,579 EXP. Unfortunately, she isn't able to use any of it as all her Classes are at their limit.

But looking at her inventory, Astur decides to reconsider her pricing. Astur had nearly sold all the items she's made since her arrival in this world and had completely sold all of the Enhanced Basic EXP Potions. And this was only towards the relatively few players that are around her. Once the game officially releases, with her production rate, Astur would run out of items before all the players are satisfied. Astur's first amendment is an increase in prices across the board, and the EXP Potion especially. Bringing the price of the EXP Potion up to 3,500 EXP while raising the lowest cost item, a regular Blast Ball that Astur made, up to 1,000 EXP. The second change Astur decides to make is a change to when people can buy from her as well as limiting the amount she sells per day.

The reasoning behind the price change is simple, she wants the high price to deter the players from buying more and even to deter the less well off players from buying anything. Although it's a bit counterintuitive to what a shop should do, Astur is trying to limit the number of people buying from her since she doesn't want to risk running out of things to sell nor does she want to increase her rate of production. The second change is meant to both give her time to restock on goods while also providing a hard cap on how much gets sold when she opens shop.

Shifting her focus to her Advancement Quests, Astur lights the fire beneath her cauldron, showing a rare determination to get things done.

"I have the Big Blast Ball, the Enhanced Basic EXP Potion, the Exploding Sword, and the Heal Bat. These four are Rare Grade items that can be made immediately, but what else do I have? I don't have the means to make the Grand Evolution Elixir right now and that's the only other thing I know that is at least Rare Grade. Oh, now that I think about it, I should have plenty of Skill Books to use now that my level is higher. Maybe there's a skill to increase an item's Grade."

Going through her storage ring, Astur finds a couple of Alchemist Skill Books to use as well as some general Skill Books that can be used by any Class.

[Evacuation LV.1 (Active)]: Gain a 100% bonus to your AGI when running away. Cost: 100 ST. Cooldown: 1 minute.

[Lucky Star (Passive)]: Gain a 1% chance to penetrate defences, turning your attack into a critical hit.

[Trait Application (Active)]: Can only be used during Synthesis. Guarantees an item has at least 1 trait inherited from ingredients. Cost: 500 MF. Cooldown: 1 hour.

"Trait Application looks useful, but the other two seem to be somewhat mediocre. Not like mediocrity will stop me from learning them," Astur says, spending 15 skill points to learn the three skills.

Astur doesn't have high hopes for the last three Skill Books she can use right now, but upon seeing them, she is delightfully surprised by them.

[High Stakes (Passive)]: Gain a 30% bonus to all stats when HP is at 20% or less. Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 6 hours.

[Item Mimicry (Active)]: Mimic an item that is either in hand or within a held storage. This item's effectiveness is reduced by 70% and item quality is reduced by half. Cost: 2,500 MF. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

[Field of Wisdom LV.1 (Toggle)]: Allies within a 5-metre radius have 15% increased resistance to status ailments, reducing both the chance of affliction and duration. Cost: 30 MF per second.

'High Stakes' is a general skill that can be learned at level 50 and is a skill that can completely turn around a close fight.

Item Mimicry is an Alchemist skill that is learned after reaching that maximum level for the class. Although it reduces item effectiveness by a large margin, its usefulness is unparalleled when it comes to saving resources while in combat.

Compared to the previous two, Field of Wisdom isn't as impactful as far as Astur is concerned, but nonetheless remains a decent skill, one that can only be learned by an Alchemist with the Scholar Subclass.

"I can't say I'm not satisfied with the outcome, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for… oh well, not a big deal. I can just take a nap instead," Astur thinks, losing all her previous determination to get her Advancement Quest finished.