The process that had led to the creation of the box was quite interesting. Initially, Daneel's idea had been to somehow harvest the mosquitoes for ether or energy. In any case, the first step was to observe the mosquitoes so that Phenomena Analysis Module-1 could answer his questions.
Thus, he and Elanev had set off to the forest to catch the mosquitoes. After some time spent observing the peculiar insects, the system was ready to answer his questions.
Sadly, his hopes of using the mosquitoes as a source for unlimited wealth became dashed. This was because he had found out about the energy modification that took place which led to the energy going back to the earth just like in the case when humans ingested the energy present in Ether.
Thus, he had no choice but to think of alternatives. Any product thrived on demand and supply, and in Lanthanor, there was an enormous demand for barriers to protect energy stores from being depleted.
Realizing that this was the case, Daneel started to think about ways in which he could solve this problem. These mosquitoes were actually quite similar to the ones that plagued humans back on earth, so he was instantly reminded of a simple home-made trap used in many houses.
Honey or sugar water would be placed in a bottle to attract the mosquitoes and trap them in the solution. This simple concept had to be applied in Lanthanor.
This had led to him buying various materials to test with in the marketplace.
Testing each with the mosquitoes he had caught, he realized that honey was the best option. The only problem was that it was not sticky enough to trap the mosquitoes.
Although he knew he had to find a way to solve this problem, Daneel had no idea how to. Of course, the more pressing problem was regarding how the honey would act as more of a temptation than the energy materials that they loved so much.
Ether, which was the most common material, could not be crushed and mixed into any solution, as this would result in the energy being depleted when the blocks became too small.
Also, it was not feasible to mix small chunks of ether in honey. The mosquitoes could simply devour these and move on to the actual materials.
With no idea about how to proceed, Daneel took to recalling everything he knew about Ether and energy in this world. Suddenly, he was reminded of the instance where he had absorbed energy from the public fountain to heal himself when he had first entered this world.
"System, is it possible to mix energy in honey in the same way that it was mixed in the water in the public fountains?"
On asking later about the process involved, Daneel had been told by the system that although the concentration of energy had been low in the water, it was possible to extract this energy and utilize it for healing due to both the system's capability and his body's weak state. Later, this concentration was too low and there had always been much better alternatives. In fact, he had only been capable of this because of the existence of the wondrous system in the first place. This was why the low concentration of energy didn't have the same effect on any of the commoners.
Thus, he had been hoping that the system could somehow infuse energy in the honey in the same way that it had extracted it in the first place.
[Negative. Tool "Technique Development-1" required. Cost: 2000 EXP.
Technique Development-1: Allows the host to develop new techniques/spells. At Level-1, only simple variations of spells can be developed.]
Daneel had seen this tool before in the store. Initially, it had excited him, but on finding out what exactly "simple variations" meant, he had had to give up on it temporarily.
"Simple Variations" meant that only simple spells like the fireball spell could be modified, and that too only to the extent where the shape or size could be changed.
Although modifying a fireball into a thin line would give it explosive penetration power, it was too flashy. Such spell modifications could only be done by those well experienced in the path of magic, mostly after rising at least to the level of an Exalted Mage. But, figures that powerful rarely used modifications of simple spells because they had much more powerful ones in their arsenal.
"System, how does the tool work? Can I give exact specifications of what I need to spell to do?"
[Affirmative. At Level-1, two specifications can be given.]
"What kind of specifications can be given?"
[Any simple technique/spell that the system is capable of can be infused into the spell, although the spell can never be as effective as the system.]
This was exactly what he needed. Hence, he chose to buy the tool without hesitation.
[Tool purchased. 2000 EXP deducted. Remaining EXP: 350. Thank you for shopping with the system!]
"Develop a spell which can infuse minimal amounts of energy into honey and also make the honey sticky enough to trap mosquitoes which enter it."
[Parameters set. Spell modifications accepted. Beginning Spell Development. Time Required: 3 hours.]
After the 3 hours went by in a breeze, Daneel found himself pointing his hand at a jar of honey and commanding the system to cast the newly developed spell.
As he did so, the gooey, yellow honey shone a golden hue before slightly solidifying.
In advance, Daneel had already borrowed some Ether blocks with a small portable barrier from Elanev for testing as he had stored his in the Natural Training Chamber.
Placing the barrier along with the ether blocks on a table, Daneel carried the modified honey jar over.
Praying to all the gods in this world, Daneel opened the jar containing the mosquitoes and switched off the barrier.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, the mosquitoes had all assaulted the honey and become trapped in them.
Success! Whooping in the air with joy, Daneel kissed the jar of honey in happiness.
On asking the system for the reason, he found out that as the modified honey was an amalgamation of both of their favorite foods, it was so much more tempting than any other materials present in the vicinity.
The rest had gone smoothly. The minister had been equally shocked on seeing the incredible effectiveness of the solution. After thoroughly testing the effectiveness, he had called over his trusted financial manager and entrusted the task to him.
The idea to give free samples had become ratified after Daneel gave his assurance that the solution could not be replicated by anyone. This was, after all, a totally new spell developed by the system.
The design of the box was also suggested by this manager, who had apparently worked in Elanev's home for the past 30 years. So far, the only people who knew that he was the creator of the solution were the minister, Elanev and the manager.
The decision was made that the shop would open in 10 days after deciding on the name. Now, the only task he had left was choose the name.
Daneel had already started development of some variations of spells that he had in mind ever since reading about the tool.
Tomorrow was the day of the unveiling, and Daneel could not wait to see what his first income would be.