"Celina's Heavenly Beautification Products" was Daren's idea. Celina laughed when she heard the name but did complain as she wanted to humiliate him in front of others.
She would take responsibility for the products but she's definitely telling everyone that the name was his idea.
Outside their eye-catching store was a woman holding an umbrella. Yes. An actual modern umbrella.
Daren knew that the rainy season was coming so he had the system not only produce his various cleaning items but also things like raincoats and umbrellas.
He knew that if he introduced things like that into this world, he would have a flock of customers and sell them out like hotcakes.
The woman was yelling and shouting out phrases to attract customers.
"NEEEVEEER GET WET AGAIN. USE OUR UMBRELLAS AND RAIN WILL ONLY FALL AROUND YOU AND NOT ON YOU!!!. CHEAP PRICE OF ONLY 15 COPPER. GET YOUR UMBRELLA RIGHT NOW. LIMITED TIME ONLY."
The middle-aged woman repeated these words as the very few customers ran past in the rain. They were only in the market for daily necessities. They wanted to buy what they needed and run back home.
One of these people who were running home was named Coleslaw. He was a 40-year-old man with 3 kids and a loving wife. They had run out of vegetables this morning and so he ran out to get some.
On his way, his clothes were getting wet as one should expect them to when walking through the rain without any protection.
That is when the view of a middle-aged woman entered his sight. She was standing in the middle of the road, virtually dry. There were only a couple of wet spots near the hem of her dress due to the water plashing for the ground.
When the man heard what she was yelling, he looked at the strange metal rod that was curved at the handle to make a small U shape.
On top of the rod was a dome-like structure that was see-through and was made from some never seen material. The water just slid off the material smoothly and just fell to the floor around the woman.
None of the water from above was touching her. It looked like a miracle to the man. He had only seen umbrellas made from paper that the nobles used to block the sun out.
He might as well buy an umbrella since it looks like it would work well. He might even buy a couple of extra so his family can have an easier time going out during these two hellish months.
The man walked into the store that the woman was advertising next to. Inside were large rows of shelves that were stacked with various kinds of soap.
The inside of the store smelling like a heavenly garden. He just remembered that the name of the store indicated that they sold beauty products like skin cream and body soaps.
He goes to the sales counter when he could not see any umbrellas on the display. There he sees a handsome young man in a white shirt and black pants sitting down on a chair. The young man had icy blue eyes and short, aqua hair.
"Hello, there young man. Do you have any of those umbrellas that the women out front were displaying," asks Coleslaw.
The young man gets up and puts his hands under the counter. He takes out a folded umbrella similar to the one made shown outside.
As he puts the umbrella onto the counter, he asks "How many would you like sir? It's 15 bronze for buying one. There's also a special discount of 5 bronze if you buy 2."
After a couple of seconds of deliberation, the man says " I'll take 2. ". The man with wrinkles on his face and wet clothes took one umbrella. and put it his vegetable sack and another in his hand.
He paid 25 bronze for the two and then tried to figure out how to unfold the umbrella. The man was struggling to open it as all he could feel was the restraint of the metal bracing.
The young man then said "Sir, you should press that small, black button that's shaped like a square. When pressing it, you should face the top of the umbrella away from others and toward the sky."
The man did as Daren said and then was startled by the sight of the umbrella springing open in the front of his very eyes.
"This is such a wonderful creation young man. Where did you get it from?"
"Haha. I didn't get it from anywhere. This was made by my wife. She's quite the genius. She even made the soaps that we sell in this store. How about taking on with you. We have free samples to try from."
Daren then proceeds to take out a basket with small bars of soap that are 9 cm by 5 cm. They had a thickness of 3 centimeters.
There were three colors of soap that each represented a different smell. Daren explained to him that the red one was rose-scented, the blue one was blueberry scented, and that the green one is a refreshing herbal scent.
Daren guaranteed the man that once he tried this soap, he would definitely come back for more.
The man reluctantly took the rose-scented piece of soap. He put it near his face and sniffed.
BANG!
The man's nose was filled with the aroma of a rose flower. His brain was practically assaulted with the image of being in a rose garden.
The man could not wait to go home and try the soap. He rushed back home.
Daren stood there for a second as he watched this customer depart. He then proceeded to sit back in his seat while feeling the ice element in the air.
He was doing a form of partial cultivation that he created to allow him to cultivate just a little faster than just sitting and doing nothing. This method was still slower than fully focusing all his mental strength into cultivating.
Ever since the 5 hours earlier, when Daren had opened the store, the same scene repeated over and over again in his small store.
Someone running past would take notice of Ms.Mason yelling out in the rain. They would then notice the marvelous invention of the plastic umbrella and would then come into his bright pink shop.
Here, he would sell them an umbrella and then let them take a small sample of soap home.
This exact procedure was repeated 145 times that day. 87 of those people bought 2 umbrellas at the discount. That meant a pure profit of 3045 bronze coins. That was basically 30 silver coins.
30 silver coins are considered a small fortune in this world as it would let a small family eat quite decently for a while. It was even enough in some places to buy a small plot of land or a house.
In the Gigantus Empire, food was cheap but property prices within prosperous cities like Igrit had high property value so it takes at least 2 gold coins to buy a small house.
Buying a piece of land in the central shopping area of a city like Igrit would also be worth an arm and leg due to lucrative business were here. A giant, safe city with a population of over 3 million is quite the market to take advantage of.
Daren was going to definitely take over the markets in this city. Even though his business was slow today, it was fine since he was just getting started.
Unlike the hundreds of shops within the central district that all had a severe competition of survival against each other, Daren's product had no competition.
He was selling umbrellas from the early days of Earth's modern technology phase. That needed plastic and plastic is nonexistent here.
He even had made raincoats and other rainproof apparel like rubber boots. He pretty much owned his own new industry already. His items could not be replicated as it took industrial age technology.
He even made soap that people could not resist once they tried. Daren knew that he was currently selling his umbrellas for cheap but this was just a ploy to gain people's trust and then rob them of their money when it came to his soaps.
Daren knew that the people that would try his soaps today would definitely come back for more tomorrow. He knew that people would only spread the story of such a nice soap and useful tool like the umbrella to others.
Starting tomorrow, a snowball effect would cause everyone in the city to flock to a certain shop. A shop that would let them walk around in the rain without the worry of getting wet and while smelling irresistibly good.
As the rain had been falling for six days already, the city was still covered in clouds for as far as you can see. The city was already dark and gloomy and it got worse as nightfall came and all that could be heard was the pitter, patter of the rain.
"You're bored right?" asks Daren as he walks into the second floor of the shop using the stairs at the back of the shop. There would be a brown door that he kept locked and which lead to the stairs.
The second floor of the shop was not for anything related to the shop. There was a huge, 150 square meters room that Daren had repurposed.
This room was originally used for storage but Daren felt that he did not need storage for his products as he had the system's inventory.
He made this wide room into a luxurious bedroom. He even had a builder come in and install a bathroom by walling on the east side.
The bedroom had a large wardrobe and multiple display cabinets on the west side. The cabinets were mostly empty but Celina was planning on display things she liked.
This would mostly include precious jewelry and accessories that she planned to have Daren buy once they had lots of money. Celina could have anything she wanted if she let the system gather enough energy.
She would rather only use the system to make money. Spending money was actually very fun for her and it seemed like it would become a strong habit once she could get her hands on tons of wealth.
"Yeah. This rain makes my mood gloomy. How can you like the rain so much? You were practically jumping like a goddamn bunny when you learned about the human realm's rainy season." replied Celina as she was laying down on her stomach, looking at the rain through the large windows that were placed on the north wall.
" Rain is what brings life back to the soil and what keeps the food abundant in the human realm. After this rain is the spring season in which the humans raise a year's worth of food to harvest in the fall."
"So to you, rain brings life. That's why you like it so much?"
"No. That's just what I think most people like about the rain. I like how the atmosphere of gloom it creates. There are also so many accidents that happen in the rain. I just like the misfortune that rain brings to many and the money it's going to bring in to me."
"Hahhahhahhahah." Celina knew what Daren was like. Daren could appreciate the beauty in things but he always liked the darker side of those things more.
The two outsiders of this world laughed together as they start to remember the events that happened on the night before the rain descended.
< The Night Of Eating at the Marquess >
Daren had already killed over 32 men tonight. This time, fewer people were sleeping and more awake and on guard. The situation still wasn't hard for him to manage as he had absorbed the blood, souls, and set up the scene by dismembering certain body parts of his choice.
This time, he had refrained from cutting off their d*cks since he felt a sort of mental pain due to being a male himself.
This was as easy as it was going to get. Probably after tonight's slaughter-fest, either there would be a total rework of the thieves hiding spots or they would get quiet and stop robbing for a bit.
They might even setup up a trap for their pursuers if they were crazy and desperate enough.
Daren had gotten 7 blood more than he needed and unlocked his prize.
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The user has received 57/50 blood needed to unlock [ Internal Factory ].
7 of the blood has been moved to feeding the system and awaking the hidden prize.
Progress for the prize is at 7/100 blood.
The user has changed the goal to hiding ( Hiding Cultivation Level ).
The user has delivered 32/100 souls needed to unlock [ Soul Masking ].
Congratulations and keep up the good work!!
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Daren got to his inn room as fast as he could, after he secured the surroundings that are.
He quickly sat down on the bed after taking off his cloak, shirt, and boots. It was time to check out how effective the system is at production.
"System, how much energy would it take you to produce 1000 of the umbrellas I am currently thinking about?"
[For the system to absorb the energy resource of { FORCE }, the system will take it directly away from your inner core. This means that the user would lose levels.
For efficient energy use and to not weaken the host, the system recommends the user to reach Body strengthening, Level 3, Middle Grade.
The system will then extract enough energy from the core and bring you down to a lower grade of level 3. This will be enough energy to make 1000 umbrellas in 15 minutes of processing time. ]
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!! This system is only getting more out of hand. It really likes handing out benefits to me right, left and center. " thought Daren.
The system explained everything in great detail as it always does. It is truly made to assist the user with ease. There were still some more things that Daren wanted to make.
"How much more energy would you need for 50,000 bars of soap, 150 bottles of face wash, 30 raincoats?"
[ The user would need to only reach Body Strengthening Level 3 peak Grade to make the 150 face wash and 30 raincoats.
As the matter needed to create 50,000 bars of soap is high, the user much reaches Middle Grade of Level 4.
The creation of these products will only drop you back down to Level 3 - Lower Grade as promised.]
This meant that cultivating now had a whole new benefit.
Daren had spent the next 5 days doing nothing but cultivating, eating with Celina, and talking to her about life philosophies. There was so much for her to learn about life and the way that humans think.
On the 5th day, Daren had all his product made and he had even added the paint to the list of items without really changing the amount of energy he needed by much.
Since it was raining out, Daren thought it would be impossible to put the paint on originally but the system told him that it could create a paint that dries pretty much instantly.
So Daren went to the carpenter's shop and paid some laborers to move the furniture and shelves to the shop in the rain.
Of course, it cost Daren quite a bit of money to pay for the workers to move so much weight in the rain but he has quite a few gold coins on him still. He didn't need to use the gold coins as it only cost him about 400 silver to pay for the furniture and its placement in his store.
Now that we are all caught up to the present, it's morning now and time for Daren to open his shop for the second day of business.
As Daren opens up the doors, he sees the streets as spare as they were when the rainy season first started exactly a week ago.
He then proceeded to his seat and activated his partial cultivation trance. About 10 minutes later, miss Mason came in and Daren told her that she doesn't have to do the tiring thing he made her do yesterday.
He even compensated her extra for it. Her weekly pay is currently at 3 silvers per week. It was more than enough for her family to eat healthy daily. He even gave her 2 extra silvers for her troubles yesterday.
From today on, miss mason would show the customers the shop and answer their questions based on what Daren had briefed her on.
Soon, the store had its first customer for the day. It was a tall, broad-shouldered man who was slightly drenched from the rain. As the day passes, the rain would only get heavier so he came early.
"What can I help you with sir?" Mrs.Mason greeted that man politely.
"I would like one of those umbrellas that you guys are selling." said the man.
He was then directed to the counter where Daren was sitting. He asked for 3 umbrellas and paid for them.
It didn't even take 2 minutes until another customer came and bought 2 umbrellas. Like this, Daren could not take a break at all the entire day. There was an endless stream of customers that did not let him even sit in his chair.
Before it was dinnertime, Daren had sold all of his 1000 umbrellas. Being priced at around 15 each and only having a small discount of 5 bronze for buying 2 or more, Daren had made around 15,000 bronze.
This was equivalent to 1.5 gold coins. He made an overs gold coin in only 2 days of business.
"Haha. This is only the beginning. Once more people get a try of my soap, I'll be floating in a sea of gold. Heheheehe. "
Some of the customers today were men and women who had tried his small sample of soap yesterday and could not help but stack up on more of it.
They never knew when the store might not have anymore. They had to snag such a cheap yet aromatic soap for themselves. From what they knew, only the nobles had access to soaps and perfumes that had a smell so pleasant and strong as Daren's soap.
Each soap bar was priced at 30 bronze. He sold around 50 bars today of any of his three scents. Rose was sold the most, second was the herbs. No one bought the blueberry one.
The blueberry scent was quite popular in the interstellar era for some reason. This definitely was not the case for this world so Daren's experiment was a failure.
Good thing he foresaw this and only made 3 thousand blueberries scented and the rest of the 50 thousand was split between rose and herbal.
While Daren was working his butt off trying to sell and sell, there was a black carriage parked across the street.
Inside was what could only be described as greedy, greasy, slimy, pig-like humans.
these humans had the ears of a pig while there was greasy sweat pouring down from their pores. Their face was round like a pig but had a human nose, eyes,, and mouth.
There was a sort of mucus dripping down from their hands as they ate a centipede-looking, creature.
"So this the store, oink." said one of the four fat piggies.
"Yeah. My servant brought over an umbrella to work this morning. The umbrella stopped the rain from landing on the user's body from above. Oink! Oink! Oink!" said a much fatter pig.
"There is quite a lot of profit to be made. If we can get our hands on the material for this umbrella, we could sell them all over the human realm and other realms. Every race's territory face's the rainy season but at different times. Oink! Oink! Oink!" said the fattest piggy.
"There will be so much profit. We could eat unlimited Borlon Centipedes for the rest of our lives. Oink! Oink!." said the last piggy who was less fat than the first piggy. He was the least fat and youngest of the four piggies.
"This material which is light and water slips off of with ease has never been seen before. My men are sure that it is a new substance." said the first piggy.
"The other party may not be willing to sell the material as they may have similar dreams of massive profit like ours." said the oldest and fattest pig.
The fatter the pig in this carriage, the older they were and the pink and wrinkly their skin had gotten.
"We will try to buy it off of them first. If they disagree, we will obtain the method of its production by our secret means." said the second oldest pig.
The umbrellas were only sold for two days so far and these greedy pigs had sniffed out the golden opportunity for profit. Too bad for them, Daren is an impossible nut to crack.