Axel knew how useful Auto Crafting could be. After all, it would allow him to free his hands while making items for selling! But of course, first, he studied how it worked... by asking Navi, who governed the system!
Thankfully, the explanation was direct and not so long-winded, making it easy to understand.
"So, this auto-crafting will continue making items that are in my recipe list as long as I set a target quantity?" he summarized after a while.
[Yes, you got it!]
Navi nodded approvingly.
[As for the materials, if they're available in your inventory, then they'll automatically get consumed. If not, then they will be crafted using materials available, down to the rawest, cheapest material. If you still don't have that, then it will automatically buy materials from the shop at the lowest price available!]
Axel nodded, grasping what the little penguin meant.
"So that means crafting a complex item would start by crafting the required parts. Then, if I lack materials, it'd spend money to meet the requirements... right?"
[Exacto~ly!]
"Hmm..."
It was convenient in many ways. However, if the price of raw materials spiked for some reason, then the base cost of production would increase too. And the biggest drawback was that...
"The auto-crafting is slower than manual crafting."
Manually doing it finishes the item instantly. That was how it went. However, auto-crafting has a designated "crafting time" per item, which Axel deduced to be based on their selling price and/or the complexity of their recipe.
For example, a Voodoo Doll will take 1 minute to craft. Adding to it, if you don't have sticks available already, then it will automatically dismantle a tree trunk down to sticks, each step taking from 5 to 20 seconds. If you don't have a tree trunk either, then you will buy one directly from the shop.
In short, without any items available, he could make one Voodoo Doll every 2 minutes!
The Substitute Doll is mostly the same in crafting time, being one minute. However, since it has a more complicated set of raw materials needed, its total crafting time could expand up to 2.5 minutes.
But one thing that he was thankful for was that...
"Each item has its own crafting queue. So I can craft all items in my recipe book at the same time!"
Of course, items that use the same raw materials would end up using the same queue, so they might get delayed, but still, that doesn't change the fact that this was a lot more convenient in many ways!
"Now, if only Concoction gets unlocked and has its own auto-crafting function...!"
His lips curled into a grin, imagining a future where he's earning a windfall while doing nothing but sitting under a parasol, drinking a Four Seasons cocktail by the beach!
Well, he didn't know if there's a beach in this world, but who said he's not allowed to dream?
"Sir Axel, about breakfast..."
"Hmm?"
Axel turned behind him as a voice called. It was Cherry, who looked sorry.
"I apologize, but could we trouble Sir Axel for more ingredients? With more mouths to feed, the leftovers from last night alone aren't enough."
"Oh..."
Axel sighed, realizing something.
First of all, he already had millions of Colts. As such, is there even a need for them to keep eating nothing but gruel?
NO!
As such, he didn't hesitate and bought various vegetables, ingredients, and such. All in all, he spent about 10,000 Colts for them, as they're sold in bulk. Then, he slowly took out a batch from his inventory and passed it to Cherry—enough that everything could fit within her arms.
"Take these and make a feast for everyone!"
"T-This many ingredients?!" the poor maid gasped in shock, almost dropping the items. "Are you sure, Sir?! Wouldn't we run out of provisions like this...?"
The girls were thinking that Axel only had those items stored in his storage magic. However, in truth, they were all freshly bought from the shop! As such, as long as they have money, there should be no fear of running out of food!
"No worries," he said, smiling. "There's a lot more where that came from!"
"I-I see...!"
Cherry's expression brightened as a smile returned to her face. "Then, please wait as we make a feast for everyone! Look forward to it, Sir Axel!"
He let out a playful grin and replied, "My tongue's hard to please, you know? I'll keep my hopes high."
After bowing one last time, Cherry jogged back to the center of the camp.
Axel, left alone, instead began to ask the floating penguin beside him a serious question.
"So... any ideas how I can increase my crafting recipes?"
Almost all of his recipes were things that Navi told him about. Some directly, while some were left to his trial and error to figure out. However, strictly speaking, ignoring the bolts recipe, he only had two items in particular in his crafting list right now: Voodoo Dolls and Substitute Dolls.
[Of course there is!In fact, you still have five more free recipes you can get from me~!]
"...Wait, so there's a limit to the number of recipes you can tell me?!" Axel gasped, shocked by this revelation. "Then, how should I get recipes after running out of chances?!"
The penguin showed a suggestive smile, a flipper to her chin, and another across his chest. Then, he said with a cool voice... [The shop, of course. Where else do you think?]
"..."
Axel felt like an idiot for asking.
It was obvious if he just thought for a moment, after all.
Prompted, he quickly checked the shop, searching specifically for recipes he could use and...
"One million?!"
The price of the cheapest recipe was a million Colts!
Curious, he searched for the recipes he already had. However, bolts weren't included anywhere. Instead, he found the Voodoo Doll and Substitute Doll recipes sold for a shocking 50 million and 300 million Colts each, respectively.
At that moment, Axel thought:
"I only have five chances to get a recipe from Navi... Then, I'll get four of the most expensive ones, and one for the most needed one!"
His decision was almost instant.
He swiped toward the end of the recipe scrolls list and found the most expensive recipes, each breaking past 5 quintillion Colts in cost.
"Navi! Give me the recipes for [Trismus 0.01% Solar Mass Singularity Warhead], [Trismus Ver. 5.5 Warhead Launcher], [Kalbi Model 88 Interdimensional Teleporter], [Krypton Energy Solutions Void Core Energy Generator Mark 3], and finally, a normal [PGM Hecate II 0.5 Caliber AMR]!"
[Contractor... are you sure about your choice? You can still change your mind, you know?]
Navi's penguin face was a little pale, but Axel didn't care. He smiled, giving a thumbs-up decisively. "Nope. That's what I want!"
A total expense of roughly 20 quintillion for free! Who wouldn't want that?
[But it could be dangerous—] Navi continued, only to get interrupted the next moment.
"I don't care! Do it!"
After a moment of hesitation, the poor penguin sighed, shrugging its small shoulders.
[Just to note, contractor... I warned you, alright? Don't blame me for what's coming next...]
"Huh?"
Just when Axel felt something was amiss, his crafting recipe was quickly updated.
Five new items were added to it...
And at the same time, a red warning window appeared.