Selling Drugs in the Dungeon should be a profitable business, no? Chapter 4 (Patreon)

“I still don’t like this.” I sigh out towards Kirin, her amicable smile growing warmer at my words.

“I understand, but this is simply us helping you get started. Investing in a business we want to support is completely normal, no?” Tch, she’s very good with her words.

And the small hidden smirk on her beautiful face tells me that she knows very well her words are effective.

I sigh out again, this time through my nostrils. “Will there be a time limit to the debt?” I ask, and Kirin swiftly shakes her head with a light smile.

“You can repay us slowly at your own time once you open up shop.” That’s nice then.

Still, I don’t like this, but I need their help if I want to get started. “Fine, you smooth-talker.” Her mature response is to blow a raspberry at me.

I scrunch up my nose, then ignore the ache in my bones and body as I reach over to grab a large scrolled up paper and notebook.

My spar against Alfia told me that the Dungeon isn’t completely full of weak as hell monsters.

Perhaps the beasts deep within can actively give me a challenge, seeing how incredibly strong Alfia was.

She’s actually even stronger than me, and the only reason I even won is because of how us Sword Cultivator won.

Each blow contains the full power of our whole body. We don’t hold anything back.

And the fact that she forced me to actively use the Martial Art I train in actually made me excited.

I want to spar with her again, so that I can test the Kunpeng Style even more.

There’s so many Martial Styles, all based on mythological beasts like the Dragon, which is immense power and toughness.

The Phoenix Style, which is nimbleness and swiftness.

The Tiger Style, which is made of quick and ferocious attacks.

The Eagle Style, mostly an aerial type fighting style consisted of jumping and diving down towards the target.

And the one I picked, the Kunpeng Style. It’s ferocious, powerful, quick and has immense energy consumption.

I had to ignite ten Qi Strands just to unleash that one move against Alfia, and it left my body aching.

Which is nice. I like this kind of ache.

“This is the most important thing I need.” I start as I spread the paper on the table before us, showing the blueprints to a large Pill Furnace. “I want only the most competent of Blacksmiths to handle this, as any small mistake can make it blow it up during the refining process.”

Kirin frowns and nods as she inspects the blueprints before her, clear interest in her eyes. “Fire and Lightning type materials?” She suddenly questions curiously.

I nod. “Every ingredient has something called ‘Impurities’ inside of them. Through heating, a great deal of them are purged, and bathing the final batch of Pills with lightning will purify them even more.”

“If too many impurities gather inside the body, then not only will the Pill slowly lose effect, but it can lead to very bad health problems.” Agnodice pauses at my words, then cutely pokes at her chin for a second before rushing towards one of the cabinets in the corner.

I came to the infirmary to see what ingredients they had on hand before Kirin approached me.

Kirin leans back and crosses her arms beneath her own large bust, nearly making those orbs bounce out of her loose kimono. “Then, do Potions also hold these impurities?”

I nod yet again. “Everything, even food, has Impurities. Hell, they can even weight you down and lower your combat capabilities.” Her eyes widen at that tidbit.

And Agnodice approaches us just as I say that, placing down a small vial with a dark red liquid down before me. “Here, this is a Potion.” I give the Milf a thankful smile before grabbing the vial.

I pop it open and take a sniff, then frown. This is already not good.

And taking a sip just makes things worse. “Can you tell me how Potions are usually made?”

The tall and mature Elf is the one that answers my question. “We first grind the ingredients in a pestle until they are powder, then add a bit of water and grind them some more.”

“Next, we pour the mix into a cauldron of boiling water for around an hour.” The grinding process is good, but adding water during it?

That fucking dilutes the effects of the ingredients.

“How many ingredients are used during the process?” I question again, and from Kirin’s look, I can tell that she sensed something wrong.

“The more ingredients, the higher the grade of the Potion.” The Vice Captain answers, then jabs her chin towards the vial in my hand. “That’s a High Grade one…”

I lean back with a sigh and palm my face. “Who made this?”

Agnodice gulps and shares a glance with Kirin. “The Dian Cecht Familia… Why?”

I flare my nostrils and stare into the woman’s beautiful eyes with barely restrained annoyance. “This is an insult to medicine.”

“Not only are the ingredients they used clearly dying, or in the withering process, but they also tried to cover up the acidity that comes with it with artificial flavors and scents, which also dilutes the healing effects even more.”

“And adding water during the grinding process makes thing even worse!”

I click my tongue and move my small Pill Furnace closer, which I had luckily already bought out before I got into the infirmary.

I pop the cork open and pour the Potion inside, then let the Pill Furnace heat up to great temperatures for a few seconds.

Then, I once more open it up and dip my fingers inside.

Kirin’s face blanches when I bring them out coated in a sticky, foul smelling black gunk. “These are the Impurities held within that Potion. This is what they are making you drink.” Her white face now goes green, and both Kirin and Agnodice nearly throw up on the spot.

I really want to grab this Dian Cecht and beat the ever loving shit out of him for letting this bullshit go on.

This literally goes against everything I follow in Alchemy, where quality is everything that matters.

“We’ve drank hundreds of them…” Kirin wheezes out, holding a hand over her lips and one over her stomach as I grab my notebook.

“Agnodice, I need you to find this plant as soon as possible, and as many as possible.” I ask the older woman as I open the notebook I’ve always carried with me, bringing it to a page where the drawing of a wheat like plant resides.

“It grows near very hot places and even flowing rivers of magma.” I let her grab the notebook with a frown.

Kirin takes a peek at it herself, then nods at the older woman. “Make a copy of it and send some of the girls to check our storage.” She then glances at me with a raised brow. “What do you need this for?”

“To expel the impurities within your bodies.” Her eyes widen at that. “It’ll be a very painful process, but you’ll feel a lot better afterward… But I need this to be made first.” I tap the blueprints, and Kirin nod as she stands.

“I’ll send someone to get the Hephaestus Familia’s best Blacksmith on it.” I blink at her, and she gives me an amused smile. “Our Hera Familia helped the Hephaestus Familia get settled in and grow centuries ago, so we have a massive discount with them.”

“And if you were to go, they’d rip you off.” Hah, I knew it.

Oh well, at least we can save on some wealth and not make the initial debt outright enormous.

Which also makes me think… “Shall I write down what Pills I can make? So that you can let me know what you want.” Kirin pauses at that.

“Yes, please. That would be perfect.” I nod and let the two older women leave to take care of these things while I instead swiftly clean my hand, and then my furnace.

That damn Potion was ninety-percent Impurities, for the love of all the Gods above and below.

He’s supposed to be a God of medicine, no? Then can’t he see how horrid and low quality the things he is selling are?

Or is he doing that on purpose just to fill his pockets with money?

If that’s so, me and him are gonna have a talk in the future.

Packing my things, I leave the infirmary and go back to my room, then grab a notebook and pen to get started on an inventory list.

Healing Pills are easy to make, with Tier One Healing Pills only requiring around five or so ingredients to make them.

With a Tier Two Pill Furnace, that’ll be five ingredients for a batch of a hundred Pills that will surely reach the Sky Blue Tier.

A single Sky Blue Healing Pill might as well last around two days with how potent and rich the medicinal energies within them is.

Healing Pills, Detox Pills, Temperature Resistance Pills… Hm, the Dungeon should be deep, right?

So they should take a long time to reach their current limit, which means they also require a lot of food on the way…

And I can make a Fasting Pill, which can let them go a whole month without food or water, keeps them sated, and they won’t even need to go to the bathroom.

And all I need to make these Pills is… just three ingredients, with one of them being wheat. Huh.

Kirin’s gonna love this, I think.

I mean, they might not even go that deep and I’m just overthinking things, but I’ll write it down either way.

Speaking of simple Pills… I should really make a simpler and cheaper Healing Pill. Not for the Hera Familia or other adventurers, but of the civilians.

As far as I saw, this city is a cesspool. The Elysian Gardens are clearly well kept because of Hera, but the rest of the city, as far as I saw, is dirty as hell.

The hygiene here is beyond low, so there must also be a lot of sicknesses.

I can’t really create a vaccine, but I can make Healing Pills that are cheap and will easily heal any and all sicknesses, no matter how grave or horrid.

As for Meteria and Alfia’s sickness, that still leaves me perplexed.

It’s like a tumor, just… somehow filled to the brim with magic, which I now know how it feels due to Alfia’s Spell.

Their sickness is something that seemingly mutated with magic, and magic highly rejects Qi, which is inside the Pills.

Usually, but this is a mere assumption and theory of mine, the two would fight and grind each other away, giving me the choice of having Meteria wait it out until the battle of attrition leaves her sickness weakened and feeble.

But that doesn’t happen. Her sickness is filled to the brim with magic, so much so that my Tier One Healing Pills can’t even do anything to it other than pushing it back and create a defensive ward around Meteria’s lungs and hearth.

The magic within her sickness is insanely dense, so maybe if I truly want to achieve something against it… I might actually need a Heavenly Healing Pill.

A Pill that impresses the very Heavens and gets baptized by Heavenly Lightning, granting it sentience and mystical might.

But can I even reach that grade with a mere Tier One Healing Pill?

Meteria might be able to handle Tier Two Pills if I give her all the Body Strengthening Pills I know, but then the new and better ones will only be achievable when I turn my Gaseous Qi into Liquid Qi.

Which… shouldn’t take long, since I’ve already upgraded my Qi Palace a second time, and gathering Qi has become even easier.

By my estimates, I should have three-hundred strands within two days, with or without the use of a Qi Gathering Pill.

Speaking off… I exhale a heavy breath as I ignite ten strands at once, spreading the immense waves of energy through my whole body, bones and organs.

Yet once again, my body doesn’t get strengthened that much. Actually, it’s even lower than last time.

Even the strengthening from the Heavenly Lighting wasn’t that much. If I had to compare myself to the me of before fighting Alfia, then I am… around thirty-percent stronger.

Just that little increase in strength.

As I thought, Pills for strengthening the body are a must for Cultivators, huh?

Albeit I can only take them once, it should be more than enough to increase my strength even more.

The next Heavenly Lighting baptism will very likely strengthen me by around ten-percent or less, and so will the next ones.

All the energy will be focused on my Qi Palace, so it ain’t that bad.

I don’t have much knowledge on how Cultivation actually works and what’s normal and what isn’t, so I don’t know if this is something the other Cultivators also faced.

Oh well, not that I might. I’ll be able to conserve my Qi like this and won’t need to waste it on strengthening myself even more.

It’s also probably because I’ve purified my body as much as I possibly could with Qi alone.

Once I’ll use the Pills, I’ll have basically reached the peak physical might that is possible within the first Realm.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by a few gentle knocks at my door.

Is it Meteria? She did kinda chase after her sister after she ran away from me, for some reason…

I hope she doesn’t hold a grudge for winning against her.

Setting down my pen, I stand and walk to the door, then blink when I open it and stare into a pair of very beautiful heterochromatic eyes.

Alfia’s cheeks instantly catch on fire as she lowers her gaze, her gloved hands shyly fidgeting over her lap. “M-May I come in?” She whispers out softly, in a very cute way.

“I… Of course.” Wonder what this is about…I step to the side, letting her walk into my room while I peek outside and down the hall.

My eyes land on Meteria, who gives me a massive grin and two big thumbs up, then mouths ‘Make her scream!’at me.

Before turning around and ‘Nyooom’-ing away.

Did she just give me the go ahead in fucking her sister?

The sweet, adorable Meteria?

What the fuck?

I just sigh and shut the door, a bit glad and a bit disappointed that when I turn around I don’t find Alfia naked on my bed.

I am a man, yes… But I’d rather this doesn’t become a damn thing. It feels I am making use of the girls feeling instead of actively conquering them and whatnot.

“So…” I start, turning my chair towards her as she takes a seat on my bed, still avoiding my gaze as she does so. “What can I help you with?”

Alfia remains quiet for a few quiet and, for me, awkward seconds.

But when she speaks, she does so in a low whisper. “Can you train me?” I blink and pause at that.

Of all things I expected her to say or ask me, this wasn’t one of them.

“Why?” I ask right back. Rude, but eh. “Why do you seek to become stronger than you already are?”

She doesn’t answer instantly, and her hands keep fidgeting with each other.

She chews on her lower lip and exhales through her nostrils, then finally, slowly lifts her gaze up to meet mine. “I don’t know.” Is her whispered answer.

“It’s…” Alfia breathes in, and I don’t even need my sharp senses to hear her hammering hearth. “Meteria… She told me about the… The ‘Dao’.” I blink slowly at that.

Then lean forward with slight interest. “Then, do you seek Inner Peace? Or what is it that you truly desire?” She falls silent once more.

She’s a strange woman, giving me vibes of someone who has never socialized.

Who has never wanted much from life, and who never had or has dreams of grandeur and things like that.

She’s… kind of like me, in a sense.

“I really don’t know what I want…” She finally sighs out, sagging her shoulders in the process and earning a chuckle from me.

“Your emotions are still in turmoil, so give yourself some time.” I reassure her softly with a gentle smile. “Leave your and Meteria’s sickness in my hands. Don’t even think about it.”

“Just think about your future, go out with your sister now that you can.” I shrug. “Enjoy the little things that you couldn’t before.”

Her eyes widen, clearly not having thought of that. And perhaps the fact that her sister is now well and truly safe hasn’t fully sunk just yet.

Or maybe it has, but she’s been denying it.

“I’m so confused…” Alfia sighs out softly, making me feel bad for her.

I just can’t imagine how she is feeling. She lived her whole life thinking that neither her or her sister would live long, and being even tried to gain strength with that horrid sickness bearing down on her just to heal her sister.

Not herself. But her sister.

I can tell with just a look that she loves her sister very dearly and would happily give her life away for her.

I’m very jealous of that.

“If you seek Inner Peace…” I start, taking in a breath as I do. “There must be something troubling you.”

“And the first step to finding peace is… knowing what it is that is troubling you, and facing it head on.” Her gaze falls to her lap. “Do you know what it is?”

Alfia tilts her head and closes her eyes for a few short seconds before answering. “Noise.” Yet again, her voice is a light but pleasant whisper. “It’s something that has plagued me since I was young.”

Noise, huh? So she is sensitive to sound? Or is there something deeper about it?

“My hate for this is so strong that… That I gained a Spell about it. One that dampens the ‘Noise’ I and the others make, while also weakening my own magic.” So then her Spell…

“A condensed block of sound, that was your… Gospel, right?” Alfia nods, and I hum softly.

The Falna, if I remember it’s name right, is somewhat sentient, turning Alfia’s hate into a Spell.

“If you really hate it so much, then why are both of your Spells sound based?” I question curiously, giving her pause.

“I… Have a third one.” She whispers lightly. “It has the sound of small chimes.”

“Case in point.” Her cheeks slightly flush at my smile. “You are very sensitive to sound, yes?” She nods, and something kind of clicks.

“Then, perhaps, you don’t really hate all ‘Noises’, but just a certain one?” Alfia raises a brow at me, so I just give her a gentle knowing smile. “Meteria.”

The sharp intake of air is very much expected, as is the widening of her beautiful eyes.

She very likely grew up while listening to her sister’s harsh breathing, gasps, pained breaths, faint and strained heartbeats.

“Do you enjoy the sound of birds chirping in the morning?” I question, and Alfia slowly nods.

All the noises her sister made while bound to the bed made Alfia unable to enjoy her life.

Enjoy the world and the small beautiful things in-between.

“Do you enjoy the sound of chimes that ring when the wind blows against them?” Alfia nods yet again, this time with screwed shut eyes.

It must’ve really been hard living like this.

But now, for the final blow! “And finally…”

“Do you enjoy the cute and adorable little ‘Nyooooom~!’ sounds from Meteria?” Alfia’s lips twitch lightly, then again.

A faint snort escapes her.

And finally, she laughs.

And laughs.

Her hearty, happiness filled laughter fill my room as she falls back on my bed, her screwed shut eyes now slightly teary, and a massive smile on her beautiful face.

I chuckle softly and lean back as her laughter dies down into faint chuckles and soft breaths, her eyes now opening to stare at the ceiling.

Soon, she closes her eyes again, takes in a deep breath, then whispers; “Ataraxia.”

I feel something come off from her, fading away like a liquid and dispersing in the air, making her presence far more clear to my senses.

Before, she was blurry, almost like she wasn’t fully there, like a murky image in the water.

But now, she’s clear, and I can tell that she is fully and truly there through my senses.

That’s probably the Spell that dampens the noises and her powers, and whatever else it does.

“It’s all so loud now.” She muses softly while still laying down on my bed.

I can’t help but raise a curious brow. “Am I loud too?”

She nods without even wasting a second. “Very much so.”

I deadpan. “Excuse me for existing, milady.” She snorts softly, her lips pulling up into an enchanting smile once more.

My eyes never leave her form as she sits up, then stands and approaches me.

Her cheeks flush as she removes one of her gloves, then uses her bare hand to reach forward and rest it on my chest.

Yet again, her eyes fall shut, and she takes in a slow but deep breath.

Is she listening to my heartbeat?

Seconds trickle by, and her smile somehow grows warmer and warmer.

“Yeah…” She breathes out and pulls her hand away, much to my confusion.

Her seemingly sparkling eyes lock with mine the next second. “I think I found the fourth sound that l love.”

I really need to know how I am doing what I am doing.

I am somehow pulling girls without even meaning to?

Is this the power of a Trap?

The door slowly creaks open, drawing our attention.

Meteria very slowly peeks in, her bright eyes landing on us as she does so.

Her smile falls into a flat, deadpan look.

“Big Sis, I told you to drop the dress, not the glove.”

“Meteria!”

“So that’s why I wasn’t hearing any screaming… Tch.”

“Meteria!”

“Yeah, like that… Just, it’s Riley’s name you’re supposed to scream, not mine.”

My lips thin as I watch the younger twin be disappointed that her older twin didn’t follow her perverted advice to get laid.

Which… Might have actually worked, not gonna lie.

“See? He’s thinking about you naked!”

That actually breaks Alfia, who passes out while standing.

And she’s foaming at the mouth too…

Jesus Christ, Meteria is dangerous.

Her small hand pats me on the shoulder, and I lift my gaze to stare at her face as she nods with a knowing smile.

“Don’t worry, my Hero!” She actively deepens her voice to make herself sound… more adorable? Somehow? “I shall help you with the Harem you came here to gather! Starting with Big Sis!”

I’m so fucking done…

                                                                     xxxXXXxxx

“Haven’t the Hera Familia girls been too quiet recently?” A member of the Zeus Familia suddenly points out to the rest of his team.

The eyes of another member widen at that. “Yeah, I haven’t see them around much now that you mention it.”

“I wonder what’s up with-” Their musing was cut short by the sound of heavy and pained coughing coming from right behind them.

They turn their heads as one, staring towards the entrance gates to the Olympus Mansion, where the dirtied up, bloody and beaten stumbling form of a seemingly homeless man was.

The Adventurers instantly recognize their homeless- Their God, who crumbles face first into the ground right before their eyes.

“Lord Zeus!”

“What has happened to you!?”

“These injuries… What kind of monster could ever do this!?”

“Tell us, Lord Zeus! We shall gather everyone and avenge you with our whole might!”

The warriors passionately cried out, manly tears of pain pouring down their cheeks, their teeth gritted and fists clenched with righteous, Heroic fu-

Zeus coughs and wheezes out a few words. “It was Hera…” And suddenly he was all alone.

“So anyway, wanna go grab a bite?”

“I heard a new nice restaurant opened up, I believe they sell western food.”

“Haven’t had some in a while. I hope they have great alcohol too.”

“And women, of course!”

“Heh, some eye-candy is always welc-”

“You bunch of fucking pussies!”Zeus bellows towards them, the right side of his face swollen and purple like weirdly colored watermelon. It even covered his whole eye.

And several of his teeth were missing too.

The mighty God… sobs with pain and despair, hammering his weak fists into the ground. “It’s unfaiiiir!” He cries out righteously, only to pause and blink when two new figures stand before him.

Zald blinks flatly as he stares down at the beaten figure of his God, something that really isn’t shocking.

This is almost a daily thing, after all.

Beside Zald stood a slightly taller and more muscular form with ebony like skin and bright green eyes.

“Ah, Zald, Leonidas, my boys…” The God sniffles, snot pouring down his dirty face together with copious amounts of tears.

The sight makes the two powerful executives cringe back.

“So…” Leonidas gulps and starts, hands in his pockets. “What did Hera do to you?”

Zeus sobs. “The real question should be; What did she not do?”

Both executives cringe back again. “Damn, that bad?”

“She kicked me in the nuts for a whole hour.”

“Attached me to a pair of horses and watched as they dragged me around for yet another hour.”

“Scattered itching powder all over me and cackled as I trashed around.”

“Slid a centipede inside my ear.”

“Then used my skull to hammer a nail into the wall. And she kept missing. On purpose.”

“Then of course she buried me alive in the park.”

With each violent act Zeus recounts, the two executives cringe back more and more, hissing and sharing pity filled glances.

Their God is truly a powerful man to remain sane after so many horrendous beatings.

And he’s been suffering these for nearly a thousand years now…

Perhaps he truly is a masochist after all-

“And worst of all…” The God begins again, drawing the gazes of his two Adventurers.

“There’s more?” Another pity filled look is exchanged.

Zeus hammers his weak fists onto the ground. “This… This is the worst thing she’s ever done to me in all these centuries!”The God cries out, stunning the two.

What could Hera have ever done that could make Zeus look like such a sniveling child?

“She…” The God sniffles.

He raises his gaze to stare at his two adventurers. “She…!”

The two lean forward, actually interested in the vile act that reduced their God to such a state-

“She allowed a man to enter the Elysian Gardens!”Zeus cries out indignantly, righteous fury filling his belly.

“What?” Zald and Leonidas give their God a blank stare, their interest instantly having died at that.

“You heard me!” The beaten Divine whines out pathetically. “There’s a man living in the Elysian Mansion, living our dream! That’s why the Zeus Familia exists!”

“We exist to clear the Dungeon and protect the people-”

“And he has permission to impregnate all of the girls that want him! That fucking Trap!” Tears of blood soon start pouring down Zeus’s face.

“I want that bastard dead! He’s cheatin’! I tell ya, he’s fuckin’ cheating- Wait, where are you going?!”

“You heard about that new restaurant?”

“The one selling western food?”

“Yeah, that. Wanna go try it out?”

“Might as well. I’m famished, after all-”

“You ungrateful sons of bitches! Where’s your Heroic Valor!? Our brotherhood!?”

“That Trap shall steal all the women away if we don’t stop him! We must act quickly!”

“Do you hear that?”

“Listen to me, you fucks!”

“Must be an idiot that has gone senile…”

Zeus coughs up blood and passes out before his very home.

“Mama! Look! It’s a pathetic homeless man!” A nearby child points out, and the mother doesn’t scold him.

The passed out God coughs up blood yet again.

A.N. Bullying Zeus is very fun.

Writing Hera is even funnier.

Also, Riley’s Rizz is unmatched.