Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 37. Money Troubles

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“This ridiculous.” Nox sighed. Recipes, letters, and coins lay littered on the table before him. “What kind of stupid institution charges five hundred gold coins per semester?”

"This one, apparently," Lillin answered, recounting their coins for the third time. "We have two-hundred-and-twelve gold. Delivering the latest batch of Trap Foam and empowering potions will bring our total to just over three hundred."

"Let's just say we'll have two-hundred-and-fifty after the material and energy costs for our next batches. That's half of what we need, and we only have one month to collect the remainder." The University required the semester's second installment a week before the third month's beginning. "I get how the nobles, famous mage families, and politicians afford it. Almost half the student body is upper-middle-class commoners. How do they afford it?"

"I had the same question and asked around," Lillin said. "Turns out dungeon studies is the only department where almost all students pay the full tuition. It's the reason why commoners are so few or far between."

"The Imperium and city-states have contracts and alliances with Woodson University. These are mostly non-aggression pacts that ensure they won't attack the city, involve it in their internal and inter-nation strife, and if any armies attack, they'll provide protection. In exchange, their students get discounted entry to the war mage department. They have similar agreements with the production department. Alternatively, artisans can get significant discounts if they agree to service contracts. These involve a service of three-to-ten years to the city."

"Tuition in exchange for service sounds like an amazing deal for any commoner."

"They need to display exceptional talent, already hold the apprentice rank, and family connections help, of course. I hear some have shared secret recipes, spellforms, and techniques with the university to benefit from such privileges."

"What about the research department?" Nox asked.

"It's mostly got nobles who don't mind paying the full tuition. They're often the third or fourth born who have no hope of inheriting significant family assets and are too cowardly to play war or delve. The Imperium and city-states also present their exceptional scholars to Ygg. If their ruler doesn't give them full scholarships, the university often subsidizes a lot of things. I suppose they value minds who can further arcane and dungeon research.

“Apparently, Pudge was an orphan stable boy who impressed higher-ups with his magic and its use in animal rearing. They're paying so he can help produce war beasts, delver companions, and blight-resistant livestock. The research department makes almost the same amount of coin as the production department through patented spellforms. They make tens of thousands by imprinting spells in lazy mages' minds and also receive funds from nations to further study in many fields. Ygg's presence makes the mana clean enough to conduct a lot of arcane research safely."

"I suppose we don't get the same benefits since we have shorter life expectancies than war mages." Nox sighed. "Most rulers, including my mother, care more about containing dungeons and exploiting their resources instead of putting them down. They'd rather deal with the diseases and blights than exterminate the larger ones."

"That's not the worst for me. When I'm a Dungeon Lord, I want to find sustainable methods of feeding and ruling that won't draw the ire of any major powers. If more dungeons chose cohabitation instead of expansion and war, delvers wouldn't need to exist. Currently, they only serve to contain or exterminate threatening dungeons seeking widespread death and destruction."

"I'm aware," Nox grumbled, arranging their gold in neat stacks. "I have no problem with beast-run dungeons as long as they're not wild, breaching, or spreading disease. Most, if not all, the formerly divine dungeon lords are a whole other story. They hate humanity for losing praise, worship, and sacrifice. They want us to pay for their fall. I want to put these bastards down before we fall victim to their wrath."

"Who do you think they'll pursue if humans fall? The gods are a vengeful bunch. The bastards will war over the earth and specifically target Dungeon Lords without divine pasts. I'll probably be amongst the first to die, given Mother rules an archon dungeon."

"That's assuming either of us lives long enough to see such a future." Nox sighed. "I wish the dungeon studies department had scholarships or subsidized some part of the tuition. Five hundred gold per person for four months is way too much. I could have a new Ratra's Bow or something from the inner vault made yearly for that kind of money."

Nox knew the claim wasn't strictly valid. The objects in his mother's vault were unique artifacts, and individuals capable of replicating them were almost as rare. Some were born of gods, others used materials from the depths of archon dungeons, the creation of many demanded long-lost techniques, and others used spellforms even a prodigy rune scholar would struggle to decipher. They were priceless, and buying one in the open market would be equivalent to several years of tuition, if not more. Most people who benefited from the inner vault's contents remained in the Trade Empire's service. The queen often reclaimed the artifacts following their demise or expected the inheritor to receive them out of merit instead of familial relation. A thousand gold coins would almost get Nox a cheap imitation which demanded frequent, expensive repairs or mana gem investments. Such creations were also prone to critical failure when overloaded with multiple mana fields.

Despite their uniqueness and power, most weapons and tools in the inner vault became outdated only a short time after the user crossed the journeyman rank. They typically had the strength of the same rank and served to round out the wielder's shortcomings or expand their basic abilities. The average practitioner rarely made it to adept, making the problem negligible for most.

Not all weapons, like Ratra's Bow, grow in power with the wielder's mana system. However, it was a very high-skill weapon, dependent on the wielder's arcane control, weapon mastery, and compatibility with the tool. It was more a complicated spellform than a weapon capable of functioning independently. Nox often wondered if he had relatives across the Sapphire Straits. If they existed, he imagined they were master alchemists and artificers, making such tools every handful of years.

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Nox pushed idle thoughts aside and focused on their money troubles. Lillin had gone around selling materials collected during the delve. After giving Annabelle her share, they had made about fifty gold. A couple of more rift clearances would've made paying tuition possible. He imagined dungeon studies students without wealthy parents relied on sponsors for the first couple of semesters and then paid their own way with regular delves. Unfortunately, he didn't have the same luxuries. They needed to find new avenues for expanding their earnings.

Lillin's flirting had sold all of their recovery brews. Unfortunately, the profits weren’t as high as Nox would’ve hoped. The general stores that fell for her feminine wiles lacked the funds to pay the kind of coin Nox desired. Meanwhile, apothecaries and alchemists had shown little interest besides professional curiosity in his creations. None of them believed there was a market for his products.

Most of Nox’s sales came from his peers. After watching his duels while empowered by his brews, several people had put in orders for his cocktails. They couldn’t afford much, and Nox got as much as possible out of them. The rest of his profits came from selling trap foam. Again it was his classmates who purchased it. The party of journeymen delvers hadn’t returned for more despite having his address. Their financial situation felt more hopeless with every passing day. His desperation grew until Nox went to the people Kris had advised him to avoid.

The busy schedule took Nox to every department of Woodson University except the war mage department. They belonged to the philosophy that dungeons were valuable sources of resources for the world’s many nations. Containing the beasts and preventing expansion was the extent of their duties when not engaging in wars of conquest, expanding into magical-beast-dominated territory, or fighting over their rulers’ petty squabbles.

Conflicting goals often sparked arguments between them and delvers. Nox believed that if it weren’t for rifts, dungeon breaches, and blight spreaders, war mages would exterminate their dungeon killers. He had heard rumors around the dungeon studies department that several greater powers on the continent also had ties to Dungeon Lord Cults, making them extra hostile to delvers.

Nox and Lillin visited the war mage department together. They had heard from the glass mages that the quartermaster often bought recovery potions directly from journeyman alchemists. The production department only gave beneficial rates to their own people. Everyone else got market rates. Aspiring artisans, especially commoners, had no qualms about undercutting shops and named sellers to move their goods and make a profit.

Much to Nox’s surprise, he found Edward engaged in a hushed, heated conversation with a woman in the quartermaster’s office. Several minutes passed before he noticed the pair. Edward froze, looking horrified. He whispered something to the woman behind the desk and stomped past Nox without meeting his eye.

“Can I help you?” she asked, stacking the many sheets of paper scattered around her desk.

“I was hoping to have a word with the quartermaster,” Nox said.

“There’s four of us.” Her eyes studied Nox and Lillin before focusing on the delver’s badge on her lapel. “If you’re looking to transfer departments, the forms are by the door.” She pointed at a shelf by the office’s exit. “If you wish to transfer as soon as possible, the cut-off is in two days. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait until the next semester. I’d advise you to opt for the latter if you want sponsorships or scholarships.”

“That’s not why we’re here, Lady Quartermaster.” Nox put on his best smile and removed four containers from his desk. “Healing, stamina, and mana pills.” He pointed at each bottle as he named them. “This one is a cocktail of Sniper’s Eye, Feline Grace, and Sprinter’s High. The last is my creation. It staves off fatigue and keeps the body pushing harder. I hear the lovely war mage trainers like to use training aids to prepare their students. And I—”

“You’re with the production department?” The quartermaster raised an eyebrow.

“That’s correct,” Nox answered.

“What are you doing with a delver?”

“Lillin is an old friend. An artisan needs connections in all departments to acquire materials at the best price. Procurement is challenging if one chooses to be economical. Don’t you think so?”

The woman’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and her expression softened. “Gatherer delvers are the best kind of delvers,” she replied. “My uncle made a living as one for decades near the Yellowrock Wastes. Smart of you two to form a partnership this early.”

“Thank you,” Lillin said. “It's hard to find good artisans without middlemen who eat half your profits.”

“I’ve heard that before.” The quartermaster picked up each container and studied them closely. “Since when is the production department creating pills? I hear it doubles the workload, and the shops out in the city demand a hefty markup for them.”

“I’ve developed a process which simplifies the process considerably,” Nox replied. “Infusing a pill with volatile mana before consumption will dissolve instantly and grant more instantaneous results. I believe the war mage department could benefit greatly from my products. Especially the empowering brew.”

“I’m sure the other quartermasters and dean will appreciate the pills, but brews are terribly inefficient. They cost too much for the average war mage to use effectively. You’ll find only commanders and the like have deep enough pockets to benefit from them.” She swirled the liquid in the bottle and breathed it in deeply. “Leave these with me, along with your name and address. I’ll consult my colleagues and send a message with a page.”

“Thank you for your time.” Nox shot her his best merchant smile before leaving.

“That went smoothly,” Lillin stated once they were out of the building.

“I hope so. Unless they put in big orders, I doubt our profits will be enough to pay for the rest of the semester.”

“Maybe you should branch out from brews that mages need and think about luxury products as well.”

“What do you mean?” Nox raised an eyebrow. “Like pheromonal perfumes and skin cleansing ointment?”

Lillin shrugged. “The city is full of young, beautiful women, and there aren’t many boutiques that cater to them. The few that store such products have a monopoly on the market and markup their products enough to profit handsomely. It might be worth considering.”

“I never thought about brewing cosmetics and beauty treatments,” Nox mumbled, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of the mostly untapped market. “I wouldn’t know where to begin, though. I’m not familiar with the necessary recipes or materials.”

“Perhaps talk to some of Pudge’s partners,” Lillin suggested. “They might use beauty products. If they’re willing to give you samples, you could reverse-engineer the recipes and reproduce them. Maybe even produce superior products and then sell them significantly cheaper than what the boutiques stock. I doubt you’ll face much trouble for undercutting them.”

“Perhaps it's time I take Pudge out for a drink,” Nox said, and the pair returned to their quarters.

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