The finishing sequence came when Alissa’s enhanced reflexes allowed her to slip inside the minotaur’s guard, her blade finding vital arteries.
Blood immediately erupted like a fountain, spraying the forest floor with deep, dark blood.
The massive creature collapsed with a final roar, its magical aura dissipating as life faded.
She made it look almost easy.
But the battle hadn’t been completely one-sided. A large scratch marred Alissa’s left arm where the minotaur’s claws had found their mark during one exchange.
She’s hurt. Not seriously, but she needs healing.
Noah immediately reached into his storage ring, withdrawing a loaf of magical bread. "Here, this will help with the wound."
Alissa accepted the offering with obvious gratitude, understanding exactly what Noah was providing. "Thank you."
After watching Alissa and Kip fighting additional minotaurs in the area, Noah had gained valuable combat experience. Observing what practitioners at higher ranks could accomplish provided insights that no amount of theoretical training could match.
The demonstrations had shown him techniques, timing, and approaches that would take time to discover through personal trial and error. Each battle revealed new combinations that expanded his understanding of what was truly possible.
It had been about two hours since he’d left his shop, and Noah decided it was time to return.
When he announced his intention to head back, surprisingly, Valeria and the others were also ready to conclude their hunting expedition. The timing worked perfectly for a group return to the city.
"Good timing, we are heading back too," Valeria said as they began their journey back. "I wanted to visit your shop anyway. Princess Elara mentioned you have some new items in stock."
Noah raised an eyebrow with curiosity about what exactly Elara had told the guild master.
"She didn’t provide specifics, but if the princess says something is good, it must be exceptional." Valeria continued.
Noah smiled before replying. "You’re welcome to take a look."
The return journey passed quickly. Valeria proved to be an excellent instructor, providing commentary that helped Noah understand the finer points of what he’d witnessed.
Arriving at the store, Noah unlocked the entrance and gestured for his companions to enter first.
Valeria stepped inside and immediately froze. Her expression moved from interest to complete shock as she read the descriptive placards.
"These items...Permanent enhancement regardless of rank? That’s impossible," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her eyes moved from one display to another—protein bars promising permanent strength increases, energy drinks offering permanent agility enhancement, and beef jerky providing permanent vitality improvement.
"Noah, why didn’t you tell me about these?" she demanded, her voice climbing several octaves. She was unable to contain her excitement; the items in front of her simply blew her mind.
Noah shrugged. "There wasn’t really an occasion to mention them."
"Occasion?" Valeria’s voice rose with disbelief. "What occasion? These are legendary artefacts! If I had missed the opportunity to acquire such items, I would regret it for the rest of my life!"
Valeria had been so focused on the impossible item descriptions that she hadn’t yet noticed the pricing information. When her eyes finally found the cost details, her expression changed from excitement to devastation.
Her eyes began watering as if she was about to cry, the emotional whiplash of discovering perfect items only to realise they were completely beyond her financial reach.
"One thousand golden coins," she whispered with the tone of someone reading her own death sentence. "For a single protein bar."
The guild master’s shoulders slumped as the harsh reality crushed her dreams of advancing to master rank. Even as the leader of a successful mercenary organisation, she didn’t possess the kind of wealth required for permanent attribute improvement.
Well, she did have enough to purchase one item. But she was saving that money for her younger brother’s improvement. He had the potential to reach the adept rank by the next year, and she needed to have enough to fuel his development.
Furthermore, as the guild master, she treated those in the guild like her family. Even Alissa, her advancement had been paid by Valeria herself, she had treated Alissa like her younger sister, advancing her to the adept rank in such a short time. Most of her savings had been depleted to fuel Alissa’s development, and still, even after seeing this item before her, she didn’t regret fueling Alissa’s development.
Even if she had the chance to return in time, she would still do it again without hesitating. The cat-girl had become something akin to her younger sister.
"I don’t have enough, not even close," she admitted quietly.
Noah watched her emotional journey with sympathy but without surprise. Premium enhancement items commanded prices that reflected their true value, making them accessible only to royalty, master-level practitioners, or extraordinarily wealthy merchants.
"The pricing reflects their permanent effects," he explained gently. "Items that provide lasting improvement naturally cost more than temporary benefits."
Despite his words, Noah was starting to rethink his strategy of selling these items. Initially, he had decided to implement the same pricing approach he had used in the demon kingdom inside the human kingdom. As time passed, Noah was beginning to realise that the strategy was fundamentally flawed.
Different kingdoms had different economic realities, different income distributions, and different capabilities. The humans in this kingdom had suffered for a very long time under the siege of extremist demons, their economy weakened by constant warfare and resource diversion toward defence.
Even buying his bread and iced tea represented a significant expense for most citizens. Only very few could afford his premium items, and the evidence was becoming undeniable.
Staring at the progress statistics for his premium auto-makers, Noah frowned with growing concern about his business approach.
Production Rate: 1 bar every 2 hours
The protein bar had been sold to the king and a few other wealthy customers, yet even then, progress remained minimal at only 4/100. The slow advancement demonstrated that his target market was extremely limited.