Noah watched as Lola departed the store to announce the auction timing to both kingdoms’ representatives, her confident stride suggesting she was looking forward to the chaos that competitive bidding would create.
With some time to himself before the auction began, Noah decided to make productive use of the idle room’s daily availability. The expensive training facility had proven invaluable for accelerating his skill development beyond what normal practice could achieve.
Rather than spreading his training across multiple abilities, Noah had concluded that focusing intensively on single skills produced superior results. It was better to concentrate his efforts on advancing swordsmanship to its highest possible rank rather than making incremental progress across various disciplines simultaneously.
In a few more days, my swordsmanship will enter adept rank, Noah calculated with growing anticipation. That advancement should trigger significant attribute increases that will enhance my overall capabilities.
If he distributed his idle room sessions across different skills, the scattered progress wouldn’t generate the major breakthroughs that came from achieving new ranks. Concentrated advancement promised both immediate skill improvements and the substantial attribute bonuses that accompanied rank promotions.
Noah accessed the idle room interface and allocated his maximum daily allowance toward swordsmanship enhancement, knowing the investment would yield exactly one level increase despite the substantial cost.
[$400,000 has been deducted!]
The financial impact still made him wince slightly, but his enhanced earning capacity from the elven kingdoms meant such expenditures represented investments in future capabilities rather than crippling expenses.
My avatar will spend the next four hours perfecting sword techniques whilst I settle back and enjoy my auction income,
With his training initiated, Noah turned his attention toward expanding his product catalogue. He had enough money to purchase the next item, and it was rather stupid not to buy it and possibly add it to the auction as the second item.
Premium items commanded astronomical prices when marketed to the right customers, and the elves were the right customers.
He accessed the shop upgrade interface to examine the next available item in his expanding inventory options.
[Item: Rose Petal Candy]
[Effects: Upon first consumption, permanently increases Charm attribute, enhancing the user’s natural charisma and ability to subtly inspire loyalty and admiration in others. Permanently grants +50 Vitality points and extends lifespan by 10 years. User gains an enchanting floral scent that emanates naturally, producing mild calming effects on those in close proximity for 24 hours.]
Noah studied the description with growing interest, recognising that while this item wasn’t heavily combat-focused like his previous offerings, it possessed utility that could prove invaluable in the right circumstances.
Whilst it wasn’t combat-focused, its price remained high, similar to the luxury fruit smoothie. Noah speculated that it was because the item offered a few permanent enhancements.
Charm enhancement for natural charisma and loyalty inspiration, he analysed thoughtfully.
The ability to subtly influence others’ attitudes and reactions could provide advantages in negotiations, leadership situations, and complex social dynamics that pure physical enhancement couldn’t address.
Plus fifty vitality points represents substantial health and endurance improvements, Noah continued his assessment. And ten years of extended lifespan... that’s literally buying additional time to enjoy wealth and power. Billionaires on earth would spend half of their health just to get such an item.
The longevity aspect alone would make this candy incredibly valuable to ageing rulers, wealthy merchants, and anyone whose mortality had become a pressing concern. Queens and kings would pay fortunes for guaranteed life extension.
Unfortunately, the ageing effect did not go well in the current environment. Giving the elves an item that had to do with lifespan? That was absurd, unless they had a dying elder, no elf would buy such an item because of their long lifespans.
It was like giving a turtle a shell.
The enchanting floral scent with calming effects adds an interesting twist, Noah recognised. Twenty-four hours of naturally producing mild tranquillising effects on everyone nearby.
Such an ability could prove useful in any situation where reducing others’ aggression might provide advantages.
His mind drifted toward less serious uses. He pictured a husband sneaking one of those candies before heading home. The man would stroll through the door, sit with his wife, and for once the evening would pass without nagging complaints or arguments. Just calm conversation, laughter perhaps, and the peace most men secretly craved after a long day at work.
Then, Noah smirked. It wasn’t only husbands who could exploit such a trick. He imagined a wife slipping the same candy past her lips before her husband returned. The usual grumbles about bills, chores, or work stress would simply vanish. She’d simply lean into his shoulder on the couch, smile at his work stories, and let the small annoyances roll away. One evening of unshakable patience, unmarred by bickering that came from stress.
Of course, Noah wasn’t blind enough to think this favoured one side. In his mind, it was less about husband or wife and more about balance. The candy offered what most couples rarely found without effort—a day where neither partner’s tongue turned sharp, a truce without words.
The rose petal candy represented a different category of enhancement compared to his usually combat-focused items, but its social and longevity benefits would appeal to customers seeking influence and extended life rather than pure physical power.
Noah nodded with appreciation for the diversified market appeal that his shop was starting to have. It was good that his items weren’t only focused on combat, but on beauty, too and health, too.
The candy would expand his customer base beyond warriors and mages into the broader population of wealthy individuals seeking social advantages and life extension that money typically couldn’t buy.
I will add this item to the auction as an appetiser. I don’t think it will attract much since it’s not being sold to its target audience, but having a daily income and an automaker for it would be good nonetheless, Noah thought with appreciation for the new product line.