Chapter 226: The Right Fit is the Best
Watching adventurers rush into the shop, eagerly spending their gold.
Two hundred "Ruins Adventure Kits" quickly sold out.
Village Elder Field hurriedly sent a communication spell to Ralph, the steward of Bay Town:
"All sold out, hurry and restock!"
When Ralph received the message, he was skeptical, but after confirming several times, he quickly agreed.
Ralph rushed to Bay Territory's factory district.
Indeed, the "Ruins Adventure Kit" was produced in Bay Territory's factories, not in Matthew's arcane lab.
Ralph found the production manager as quickly as possible.
He urged them to speed up production and ordered them to expand the scale.
Ralph was excited because the "Ruins Adventure Kit" was highly profitable!
Though Bay Territory earned plenty from the "Vitality Potion," its revenue was too dependent on it, creating financial instability.
If the "Ruins Adventure Kit" became another pillar product, Bay Territory's growth would accelerate.
Ralph urged the factory to ramp up production and said to the manager:
"Whatever you need, just ask—fully staff the production line..."
After confirming that production was on track, Ralph hurried back to the Lord's Manor and knocked on the door of Matthew's dining room.
A rich aroma greeted him.
Seeing the table full of food, Ralph felt his stomach rumbling.
"The high-end chefs the lord hired from Farsico are truly living up to their reputation!"
With this thought in mind, Ralph eagerly reported the sales situation of the "Ruins Adventure Kit" to Matthew, then anxiously added:
"Lord, with the kit being so popular, won't others try to copy it?"
Ralph's concern was valid. In the face of profit, not even cooperative noble families could be trusted.
Even the Netheril Empire and their honorable ally, the Cole Elven Kingdom, once clashed over the Loken Mine's underground veins.
If the "Ruins Adventure Kit" sold well, many nobles of Blood Moon City, and even the Carlisle family, might step in without hesitation.
Matthew understood Ralph's concern, smiled, and invited him to sit down. After giving Yaya half of a black fish, he casually said:
"The 'Ruins Adventure Kit' isn't easy to copy. I improved it based on the Blood Moon City lord's designs..."
Mentioning the lord of Blood Moon City, Ralph immediately remembered the magical items Matthew had purchased recently.
"Ah, now I see why the lord spent so much on those seemingly flashy magical items."
As if reading Ralph's thoughts, Matthew pulled two rods from his storage belt.
One was the mini detection rod.
The other was a thick rod, nearly two meters long.
Covered in intricate runes and made of peachwood, known for its excellent mana conductivity, it looked sturdy enough to be a weapon.
Matthew laid them out and carefully explained:
"This larger detection rod has a complex structure. The lord of Blood Moon City solidified 'Detection' and 'Tracking' spells into it."
"She cleverly combined them so that both spells trigger simultaneously, creating a 1+1>2 effect."
"Once activated, it can automatically detect targets within a 200-meter radius."
Ralph, familiar with magical tools, inspected the large rod but couldn't understand the runes or mana pathways.
Seeing Ralph's confusion, Matthew pointed to the large detection rod and continued:
"As you can see, the lord's methods are ingenious, and her arcane knowledge is profound. Even I couldn't combine two spells so perfectly."
"So why didn't such an effective detection rod sell?"
Hearing this, Ralph thought carefully while examining the rod.
He frowned slightly, then looked at the smaller detection rod and suddenly realized, exclaiming:
"Is it the cost?"
"The first-tier 'Detection' spell isn't complicated, but the fourth-tier 'Tracking' spell is expensive..."
"The lord's skill allowed her to combine them, but it must have required many rare materials..."
"And while the detection rod is effective, the materials make it far too costly!"
"Adventurers, the main buyers, simply can't afford it!"
Matthew nodded in approval, tapping the detection rod as a pale blue mana structure diagram appeared in the air.
Ralph marveled at Matthew's display, increasingly awed by his lord's capabilities.
This was fantastic news!
Yaya, curiously glancing at the complex spell model, quickly shook her head and happily returned to her roasted chicken.
Eating was most important!
Matthew then explained to Ralph:
"High-quality peachwood costs 2 gold coins on the market."
"Enchanting a first-tier spell costs 1 gold, solidifying it costs another 1 gold."
"Enchanting a fourth-tier spell costs 100 gold, solidifying it costs 150 gold."
"Carving runes costs 3 gold, and the spell's energy consumption costs 5 gold!"
"With a 50% production success rate, this naturally increases the cost."
"The base cost alone is nearly 600 gold coins!"
"Including the creator's investment and a markup for profit, the sale price must be at least 1000 gold coins!"
"And that's not all—recharging the rod costs at least 3 gold each time."
"The fourth-tier spell activation limits it to mid-tier adventurers or higher."
"With all these limitations, it's no wonder the detection rod didn't sell..."
Matthew's detailed analysis made Ralph realize many things.
He now understood the importance of Bay Territory's centralized factory layout.
The lord's emphasis on innovation, streamlining production, and offering high rewards for cost-saving ideas and techniques.
The focus wasn't on expanding production quickly but on cultivating skilled workers.
Matthew patted Ralph's shoulder and confidently picked up the mini detection rod, saying:
"The mini detection rod I modified costs only 2 gold to produce. Even with just one-third the effectiveness of the larger rod, it bridges the price gap by hundreds of times."
"For most adventurers, this is a price they can easily afford!"
"The right product is always the best product!"