SWDnovel Chapter 1097: Two and a Half Apples
Chapter 1097: Two and a Half Apples
He’d been ecstatic when he first saw the glorious number, but the more information they uncovered, the more conflicted the initially jubilant dungeon owner became.
And it was most definitely ironic.
"I-I don’t understand this pricing strategy..."
Honestly, he probably shouldn’t have been feeling this way.
And yet, for some reason, the little money-grubber couldn’t stop feeling slightly guilty every time he looked at the numbers floating before him.
Luca wasn’t exactly the smartest person when it came to business.
But having been fortunate enough to meet so many capable people, the curious critter had also learned to pay attention whenever those with successful enterprises spoke.
Partly because he genuinely wanted to learn.
But in truth, mostly because he still felt responsible for the spectacular pricing blunders he made when he started.
It had been quite some time since then, but the memory of getting financially gutted was still difficult to forget.
Sure, even now, many of their products remain priced significantly lower than what they should actually be charging.
The difference was that back then, those prices came from inexperience and a lack of market knowledge.
Now, it was a deliberate choice.
They were keeping prices low for the welfare of the people, but also because they were reaching a position where they could afford to do so.
Through careful planning, actual infrastructure, reliable supply chain processes, and a focus on long-term sustainability, they were slowly building a foundation capable of supporting that decision.
Naturally, they were still far from reaching the point where they could generously provide for everyone without concern, but he was already proud of their progress.
It was so different now from the time he was simply eyeballing everything that would appear in his small online store.
The Trove, however...
The Trove appeared completely insane.
A single apple for 2,000 CP?!
And a dozen apples for 24,000 CP!
"..."
"..."
That basically meant a Basic Constitution Manual—which had cost corruption, sweat, tears, and approximately half of Luca’s initial lifespan to purchase—was apparently only worth two and a half apples from their orchard.
In fact, putting things into perspective only made it worse.
Selling a single dozen apples would practically allow him to mark off an entire Farmland plot.
Insane.
Completely insane.
He really wanted to ask why and how, but somehow, the pricing only became more absurd from there.
Not only did the system completely ignore economies of scale, happily offering 20,000 CP for the smallest honey jar, 40,000 CP for the medium jar, and 60,000 CP for the largest one...
It also appeared to have no concept whatsoever of wholesale versus retail pricing.
Even worse—or perhaps fortunately, for their little group—it actually increased the combined value of an apple and a small honey jar by an additional 3,000 CP when bundled together.
"!!!"
It literally offered a bonus.
As though it particularly approved of what they’d done.
This transaction... Would it even be ethical?
Luca had so many questions after seeing the final numbers appear while Xavier continued loading the products they had prepared for sale.
For a brief moment, the little dungeon owner genuinely hesitated.
However, before he could overthink himself into paralysis, Ollie unexpectedly spoke up.
"Brother," the blonde said thoughtfully, "I actually think this might be a double-edged sword."
That immediately caught Luca’s attention.
It was a rare moment, but the mop who remained a Mylor through and through looked genuinely contemplative.
In fact, he even raised one finger dramatically like he was about to reveal something groundbreaking.
"Our initial assumption was that this worked like consignment, right?" Ollie began.
Luca nodded.
"So we’re not really even sure if the Trove is showing us the actual consignment list price or if it’s yet to add its own mark-up outside of the Overcharge skill."
The little star looked surprisingly serious.
"And if you find this a bit too expensive then what’s to say you’re the only person with such an opinion?"
"..."
"Oh."
That was true.
Luca blinked.
Ollie pressed on.
"And more importantly, just because we can list products doesn’t actually mean someone will buy them."
"But because it’s priced like this, selling even a few would already be a good thing, right?" The blonde continued to point out.
"The moment someone gets curious enough to buy one, we’re already making a little profit even if most of the stock ends up sitting there unsold."
He paused before nodding to himself.
"So really, I think it’s fine! At the end of the day, it’s their loss if they pass up something that’s guaranteed to be good!" Ollie declared confidently before punctuating his statement with a loud, triumphant, "Hmph!"
The blonde’s eyes sparkled with absolute conviction.
Unfortunately, his confidence was immediately met with a pinch from his forever handler.
"You’re already saying that even though you haven’t actually tried it yet?" Kyle accused.
"Ha!" Ollie looked utterly unconcerned. "Like I need to taste it to know it’ll be good? My brother had a hand in it, so how could it possibly taste bad?"
Then he dramatically pointed toward the jars.
"And with a scent like that? I might even be able to survive on the smell alone!"
The two continued bickering as Kyle practically threatened the wiggling blonde with a good time.
Meanwhile, standing beside them, Luca had actually fallen into the middle of a realization.
That was actually a very important point.
"You’re right, Brother!" Luca exclaimed.
He had gotten so distracted by the shocking numbers that he almost forgot the most obvious issue.
To begin with, they didn’t even know their target market.
Nor could they verify that anyone out there actually wanted honey or apples.
After all, whenever Luca personally browsed the Trove, there were countless products available.
And as a prudent individual deeply concerned about bankruptcy, he actively avoided looking at everything because he feared losing control and buying things he couldn’t afford.
So what was to say someone else wouldn’t completely ignore their products in the exact same way?
With that in mind, the group eventually agreed to treat this as a trial run.
Only half of their prepared stock would be listed.
Partly because they wanted data first.
But mostly because Luca had practically formed a blood pact with his sworn brother to make honey butter using their first harvest.
Some things simply couldn’t be sacrificed.
The final arrangement was relatively straightforward.
The small honey jars would be split into two listings.
Twenty individual jars.
And twenty-five bundled together with a dozen apples each.
As for the apples themselves, they ultimately settled on listing twenty-five dozens.
Because after some discussion, everyone unanimously agreed on one thing.
Anyone who tasted Luca’s apples would almost certainly want another one.
So if they had the supply available, they might as well sell them that way from the start.
Thankfully, loading the products didn’t take particularly long thanks to the Imperial Crown Prince who was set on doing it for his wife.
If anything, the bridge itself appeared suspiciously eager to finish the transaction.
In fact, the moment the process was completed, the platform retracted so quickly it almost felt as though it was worried someone might try to rob it and had decided to hightail out of there before anyone got any ideas.
"Is there really a need to rush that much?!" Ollie complained as the bridge abruptly began retracting.
Unfortunately, his question went unanswered.
"Ack!"
The blonde immediately screeched because the moment the landing platform disappeared back into the strange room, the massive gate suddenly slammed shut.
BOOM!
The sudden movement made both Luca and Ollie jump in surprise.
Then, almost immediately afterward, the same blinding light burst from the surface of the gate as another prompt appeared.
[UPLOAD STARTED...]
[33%...]
[67%...]
[100%]
[UPLOAD COMPLETED]
[BRIDGE CONNECTION ENDED]