Chapter 153: The true value of the Boutique 1

Adam resumed preparing dinner.

This time, he deliberately forced his mind to stay focused on what he was doing.

The shop could wait a few minutes.

The vegetables, much less.

He finished chopping them, then divided them between two preparations.

One portion went into a large pan with the already seared meat.

The other was used to accompany the rice.

He added mushrooms, a few herbs, and a slightly creamy sauce, adjusting the seasoning as he went.

Nearby, the potatoes were finishing cooking.

Adam roughly mashed them with butter and a little cream.

Simple.

Nourishing.

And above all...

Enough for nine people.

He tasted the sauce.

"A little more salt."

Then he thought about it.

Added a small amount.

Tasted it again.

"There."

Behind him, he could still hear the conversations in the living room.

Selene was clearly talking about the journey to the Black Abyss.

Elena was replying to her.

Vespera and Elaria had already started talking about runes and materials again.

Adam smiled slightly.

"They never stop."

After a few more minutes...

Dinner was ready.

When Adam returned to the main room with the first courses, the conversations ceased almost instantly.

Selene looked at the food.

Adam looked at her.

"Don’t say anything."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face did it again."

Astraea laughed.

The Chamber conjured a large table, big enough for the whole group.

Adam placed the dishes on the table.

Simmered meat with vegetables and mushrooms.

Lightly fragrant rice.

Mashed potatoes with butter.

A creamy sauce served separately.

And several roasted vegetables.

Shiora looked around the table.

"You call this simple?"

Adam sat down.

"Compared to yesterday, yes."

Astraea nodded immediately.

"Yesterday was more elaborate."

Lyriana looked at her mother.

"You say that as if you became an expert in two meals."

"I’m a quick learner."

Everyone started serving themselves.

For the first few minutes...

The conversation almost completely stopped.

Adam wasn’t even surprised anymore.

He took a portion himself.

Then he waited until Selene finally stopped eating long enough to talk.

It took longer than expected.

Finally...

Adam put down his fork.

"I discovered something while I was preparing dinner."

Vespera immediately looked up.

"What?"

"My Power Shop."

Shiora stopped.

Adam looked at her.

"I’m talking about a real shop within the system, not a business opportunity."

"Never mind."

"I thought I’d give you a heads-up."

Isadora smiled slightly.

"What did you discover?"

Adam began to explain.

The six items he had when he was level three.

Then the 1,081 items he had just found now that he had reached level forty-six.

He then explained his calculations.

"Level one: one item."

"Level two: two new ones."

"Level three: three new ones."

Elaria understood immediately.

"So the total is cumulative." "

"Yes."

Adam nodded.

"And at level forty-six, the sum of all the numbers from one to forty-six is ??exactly one thousand and eighty-one."

Vespera thought quickly.

"So each level up adds as many items as the level reached."

"That’s my conclusion."

Isadora asked,

"And why hadn’t the Shop ever changed when you checked it in Valoria?"

Adam smiled.

"Because I’d never gained a level."

Selene chuckled.

"It seems obvious now."

"Now it does."

Adam took a bite.

Then he continued.

"But that’s not the most interesting part."

He then explained what he had noticed on the list.

Food.

Weapons.

Ores.

The crystals.

The potions.

The ingredients.

Even the products he himself had made.

"Everything that appears has something in common."

Lyriana understood quickly.

"You’ve already met him."

"Exactly."

Elaria put down her fork.

"Meet how?"

"That’s precisely what I want to determine."

Adam began to list.

"Some objects, I bought."

"Some, used."

"Some only handled."

"Others were actually mine."

"And some were only in my hands very briefly."

Vespera frowned.

"You have objects that you only observed?"

Adam thought for a moment.

"Not just looking from afar." "

He corrected himself:

"Those I’m certain of have all been in physical contact with me at some point."

Elaria sat up slightly.

"That’s a first condition."

Shiora also put down her fork.

"Let’s make a list."

Adam looked at her.

"For once, I agree."

The Chamber conjured a sheet of paper and a pencil.

Shiora took them.

"Let’s start with the first six items."

Adam recited:

"Water bottle."

Shiora wrote it down.

"Bread."

"Small dagger."

"Medicinal herb used on Elena."

"My multi-tool."

"And the fish I caught."

Elaria thought for a moment.

"They had all been in your possession."

Adam nodded.

"Yes." "

"Even the water?"

"I obtained it and kept it with me."

"The bread?"

"Same here."

Lyriana asked,

"And the items from the Tower of Mages?"

Adam gave several examples.

Crystals.

Small components.

Training equipment.

Vespera immediately asked a question.

"The ones I simply showed you without giving them to you?"

Adam thought for a moment.

Then he mentally reviewed what he had seen in the Shop.

"No."

Vespera sat up.

"Interesting."

Adam continued,

"However, some of the crystals you let me handle are here."

Elaria looked at Shiora.

"Physical contact confirmed."

Shiora wrote:

Probable Condition #1: Direct contact with Adam.

Selene then put down her fork.

"My weapons?"

Adam checked mentally.

"Some of them."

"Which ones?"

He listed several that he had actually used during his training.

Selene nodded.

Then he asked,

"And the ones you only picked up once before giving them back?"

Adam searched.

He found a few.

"Yes."

This time, everyone focused more intently.

Elena asked,

"How long did you keep them?"

"A few minutes for some of them."

Lyriana frowned slightly.

"So the duration probably isn’t important."

"Not terribly, anyway."

Astraea thought for a moment.

"But why don’t some of the things you touched seem to be showing up?"

Adam had noticed the same problem.

"That’s where I think there’s a second condition."

"Which is?" Isadora asked.

Adam picked up his cup.

"The object probably has to be considered as being in my possession."

Silence.

Elaria understood.

"Even temporarily."

"That’s it."

Adam gave an example.

"If I touch a table in a tavern, it’s not mine."

"I’m simply in contact with it."

Then he pointed to Selene.

"But if Selene gives me a sword and says, ’Use it for your training’..."

Selene nodded.

"During that time, it’s your responsibility."

"Exactly."

Lyriana added:

"Even though legally it still belongs to Selene."

"Yes."

Adam smiled.

"Power seems to have a rather flexible definition of possession."

Shiora completed the list.

Probable Condition #2: The item must be entrusted to Adam or considered to be temporarily in his possession.

Vespera asked:

"And the number of items?"

Adam thought for a moment.

"Here too, I think we need to distinguish between two things."

He raised a finger.

"Entering what I would call the potential catalog."

Second finger.

"And actually appearing in the Shop." "

Elaria nodded slowly.

"The level determines how many items become available."

"Yes."

"But the items you’ve owned determine which ones can be selected."

Adam smiled.

"That’s exactly my theory."

Shiora put down her pencil.

And suddenly...

She smiled.

Adam looked at her.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because I just realized something."

Adam immediately sensed the danger.

"What?"

Shiora looked at the others.

"We can choose what we put in her potential catalog."

Silence.

Then—

Elaria sat up.

Vespera did too.

Isadora looked at Adam.

Lyriana smiled slightly.

Selene slowly put down her fork.

Adam looked at each of the eight women in turn.

"Oh no." "

Shiora smiled more broadly.

"Oh yes."

The conversation changed completely.

Dinner continued.

But now...

Everyone started suggesting items.

Isadora was the first to bring some order to the discussion.

"Not just anything."

Shiora nodded.

"Obviously."

Adam looked at her.

"I don’t believe your ’obviously.’"

Isadora continued:

"If future levels select items from what Adam has owned..."

She thought for a moment.

"Then it’s best to increase the proportion of hard-to-obtain items in this potential reserve."

Adam nodded.

"Exactly."

Elaria immediately raised a hand.

"Rare ores."

Adam looked at her.

"I could have bet you’d start with that." "

She ignored the remark.

"Mithril of the highest purity."

"Adamantite."

"Orichalcum."

"Certain conductive crystals."

"Ores whose known deposits are nearly exhausted."

Then she smiled.

"And if I manage to obtain more samples of good-quality Black Iron..."

Adam interrupted her.

"You want me to touch them so that one day the Shop might be able to sell them to us."

"Exactly."

Vespera immediately agreed.

"The materials would probably be one of the best uses."

"Unlike a single weapon, we could buy several units if the price remains reasonable."

Elaria nodded.

"And some of the materials could unlock research that would otherwise be impossible."

Adam was beginning to see the logic.

A lost or extremely rare material...

Once registered...

Could potentially become a renewable resource.

Provided you have enough PS.

Then Elena spoke up.

"There are also stat gems."

Adam turned to her.

"Like my Luck Gem?"

"Similar."

Isadora explained:

"There are gems that can permanently increase certain stats."

She counted.

"Strength."

"Agility."

"Endurance."

Vespera added:

"Intelligence and Spirit, too."

Adam stopped eating.

"And are they common?"

Eight glances answered him before he could even speak.

"No," Elena said.

Adam smiled.

"I suspected as much."

Isadora explained:

"They remain extremely rare."

"But not on the same level as a Luck Gem."

Shiora added:

"A great nation might possess a few ordinary stat gems in its royal reserves."

"Some very old noble families as well."

"The wealthiest guilds might occasionally see one."