My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse-Chapter 976 - 974 Spiritual Stone

That was precisely why most master alchemists relied on special artifacts, furnaces, or auxiliary tools to boost their chances. Mastery granted unparalleled insight and refinement, but even that alone was rarely enough.

For Kisha, however, possessing such a high success rate without relying on artifacts was an extraordinary advantage. In the Murim world, she wouldn't merely be valued; she would be regarded as a living treasure, a true golden goose capable of producing miracles time and time again.

Through reaching the mastery level, a 45%–50% success rate might have sounded low, but it was actually the best she could hope for. Lower-level alchemists attempting high-tier recipes would likely achieve a 0% success rate.

This meant that leveling up her proficiency wouldn't just unlock new recipes for Kisha, but it would also increase her chance of success. With her natural talent and high luck value, just thinking about it made her giddy. Each step forward gave her better odds at crafting successful pills and potions.

"Host! I've found some useful items, but most came from the Sales Channel. That means the 50% discount coupon won't work, since it's only valid in the System Mall…" 008 suddenly popped up in her mind to report that it had finished searching for everything she might need.

"Then… what can we buy from the System Mall?" Kisha asked, curiosity lighting up her voice.

"We could buy ingredients like Spiritual Grass and Level 1 to Level 5 Beast Cores. Then, we could produce as many Ascension Pills as possible and sell them in our store. Those in the Murim World might even buy them and resell them in their own world, since Spiritual Stones, their currency, can be used either as money or to boost their cultivation."

"Besides, there are plenty of low-level cultivators around, so there would be no shortage of customers eager to buy Ascension Pills to grow stronger. It could be a very profitable venture."

"After all, even though the Ascension Pill is only a Level 1 pill, it's difficult to make because it requires a Beast Core. Beast Cores contain a lot of impurities and strong energy, which makes the melting and melding process very challenging for alchemists to control…" 008 explained.

As Kisha listened, she picked up key information about pill-making, details 008 likely mentioned unintentionally or didn't realize would be so useful. She had always thought that success rates depended mostly on controlling the fire and properly infusing Spiritual Energy during the process.

But now it seemed that the ingredients themselves were just as crucial. To improve her success rate, she needed to understand every ingredient she used and how it would react during the process.

For example, 008 had mentioned that a Beast Core contains impurities and strong energy, which could cause the pill-making process to fail, or even explode, if the alchemist lacked experience or control.

Even though the Ascension Pill only required two ingredients, an inexperienced alchemist might have only a one-in-ten chance of success. Such a low probability made producing the Ascension Pill a risky business, as more ingredients could be wasted than pills successfully created.

But at the same time, if her success rate was higher than other alchemists, it would mean she could produce more pills successfully and earn significantly more. The low overall success rate would also justify a higher selling price for the Ascension Pill, increasing her profit even further.

On top of that, more customers, especially those in the Murim World who might see selling Ascension Pills as a lucrative opportunity, would be drawn to her store. This pill could open a whole new window of opportunity, helping her shop level up and expand its influence.

008 continued, seemingly unaware of Kisha's thoughts as it busily scanned around, mumbling about everything. Or perhaps it was deliberate; maybe 008 wanted to boost Kisha's success rate even further. After all, the more Kisha sold in their store, the more it would benefit 008, increasing its promotion and rank.

"And because of this," 008 explained, "there are very few alchemists. Talent is the key requirement for mentoring, and cultivators suited to alchemy are rare. Unlike sword cultivators or martial artists, who are plentiful, talented alchemists are scarce."

"That's why pill prices are sky-high. Alchemists with exceptional talent are rich, but wealth also depends on their success rate and technique. Not every attempt succeeds, so thousands of ingredients can be wasted making just one pill, and most of these ingredients are precious and expensive…"

Kisha now suspected that 008 had said all this intentionally. It wanted her to understand the importance of attention to detail, using the Beast Core as an example to drive the lesson home.

And sure enough, it helped Kisha tremendously. The Alchemy Manual she had obtained from "The Rogue Blender" was a basic one, and it didn't go into the deeper details of the ingredients. Most novice alchemists wouldn't have had the capacity to understand such nuances anyway, and they usually had mentors to guide them, teaching them step by step.

Kisha, however, had no mentor to explain things, no one to check if she truly understood the deeper meanings in the manual, and no one to teach her gradually. Without 008's guidance, she could have failed countless times, never knowing why. That would have meant wasting enormous amounts of ingredients and system points, before she even had a chance to succeed.

And since 008 was just as thrifty as she was, it probably realized the same thing, and subtly reminded her so she could stay vigilant during the pill-making process.

"Alright," Kisha decided, "if some of the equipment can only be bought from the Sales Channel, so be it. We'll focus on buying as many ingredients as we can from the System Mall and then sell our finished products in our store."

"We'll first list the pills as regular items, not in the bidding section, so customers can experience their effects and judge their quality for themselves. Once sales pick up, we'll remove them from the regular listing and switch them to bidding."

"Host! That's a great plan," 008 chimed in. "It also prevents merchants from waiting to buy everything at once and reselling it at a higher price…"

"Don't worry. We've already decided to sell our goods at a higher price, so even if they buy as much as they can, once they put the items in their own stores, they'll have to raise the prices to make a profit. And when that happens, the customers will feel ripped off and start looking for other stores selling the same products, until they find ours."

"Unlike those merchants, we produce most of our products ourselves, so our supply isn't limited. We can meet demand while still selling at reasonable prices. When the other merchants realize their items aren't selling as expected, those products will sit unsold for a long time." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"And even if they get a few customers, they won't cover their expenses. Their finances will suffer because their costs, especially since they are sourcing more products, will outweigh their profits."

"And when that happens, who'll be at a disadvantage? It'll be them," Kisha explained to 008. "By then, they won't have enough finances to keep buying all our stock, so we'll be able to serve real customers. They might even approach us for a proper collaboration and profit-sharing deal instead of their usual tactics. This way, we secure a reliable distribution channel to the Higher Realm and a steady income."

The more 008 heard, the more excited it became. After all, the more these merchants bought and resold their products in the Higher Realm, the less likely their store would be noticed by real customers.

There was even a chance that other merchants might suppress their store, while convincing the customers that they were selling counterfeit goods. If that happened, high-level merchants could easily annex their suppressed store's stock, claim it as their own, and even lower the prices to the minimum.

With their reputation that was just starting to build up, their store would surely lose most of their customers to the higher-level merchants from the higher realm, leaving them dependent solely on those merchants to be able to sell their products, and they would be highly vulnerable to being exploited.

Kisha's ruthless approach now was for their own future. They couldn't let the higher-level merchants think they were easy to bully or exploit.

If those merchants saw Kisha's store as a golden goose, they might try to suppress them, keeping them under control while secretly sourcing high-quality products from them without paying much, and then rebranding those products to claim them as their own and make Kisha's store look just a wannabe.

"Then, Host, should we create a brand for our products? We could register it in the system so customers would know exactly where each item comes from," 008 suddenly remembered and suggested.

"Wait… there's a feature for that too?!" Kisha almost exclaimed.

"Yes, Host. So far, whenever our customers buy our products, they see them as unbranded items."