Chapter 11: The Correct Usage of Furniture Mastery
"Seriously? I haven't even started making money with this tavern and I'm already losing it? Five Primogems? Why don't you just rob me?" Although Roshin knew this system was his own talent, he couldn't help but feel angry at it.
Roshin always felt this thing called itself a talent but behaved more like a system, though it truly was a talent.
If it were a system, Roshin could curse it out for having no conscience, no beginner's gift package, being a black-hearted scam! But since it was his own talent...
[Would you like to acquire Bartender Mastery, along with corresponding bartending equipment and 10 sets of ingredients?]
Just as Roshin was fuming, another line of text appeared on the talent panel.
"Hmm?" Roshin raised an eyebrow.
This seemed somewhat more reasonable.
"But this isn't going to cost money too, is it?" Roshin felt he should ask first.
[5 Primogems plus 1,000 CNY]
"...Damn it!" Though Roshin still wanted to swear, he had to admit this was much better than that outrageously priced bottle of wine for five Primogems.
It's just...
"Why does a stupid talent need cash?" Roshin couldn't understand, he truly couldn't understand, nor could he accept that the 1,000 CNY he just obtained would disappear like this.
And Roshin's talent still didn't respond, as if playing dead.
"Fine, fine, take it if you want it. Here you go." Roshin sighed as he looked at the unresponsive talent panel.
Though he was reluctant to part with the cash—after all, having an extra mouth to feed would surely increase expenses—he wasn't too worried. Roshin had always been good at saving, and with the Herrscher of Sentience out doing her heroic deeds, he wouldn't have to stress about money for a while.
Besides, even if he did run into financial trouble, he could always ask his parents for extra allowance under the pretense of buying figurines.
Where were the figurines?
Oops, they accidentally broke.
While Roshin was short on cash, he wasn't desperate enough to trade Primogems for money.
After nodding in agreement, Roshin watched as the 1,000 yuan in his Inventory vanished—along with his last five Primogems.
Damn it, now he was truly broke.
Maybe he could sell that Barrett rifle for some cash.
That thing had to be worth a fair bit, right?
Then again, dealing in firearms wasn't something Roshin could actually bring himself to do.
[Bar equipment has been placed under the counter.]
Seeing the prompt from the talent panel, Roshin hopped onto the bar counter and vaulted over. Since there was nothing on top, he didn't have to worry about knocking anything over.
Peering into the compartment below, he spotted a new set of bartending tools.
But Roshin wasn't sure if the equipment had always been there and the talent panel was just scamming him, or if it had actually purchased the set with his money.
[Ten portions of ingredients have been added to the shop interface. Mix and match as needed for drinks.]
Following the prompt, Roshin opened the bar's shop menu and found a list of various liquors, all of which could be used as ingredients or sold as standalone drinks.
The "ten portions" meant that no matter how many types of liquor he used to mix a standard-quality drink, it would only count as one portion.
At the very least, this was far more affordable than that 5-Primogem drink.
Sure, that 5-Primogem concoction was probably amazing, but Roshin didn't have the startup funds for it.
Besides, he didn't even know how to mix drinks. How was he supposed to run a bar without bartending skills?
Though he hadn't yet reaped any benefits from owning this bar, he could guess its potential.
This was an interdimensional bar—if he could meet people from other worlds, then he could probably take on their requests too.
"Wait, what about the bartending skills? That's the real prize here!" Roshin asked the talent panel when he realized the expected reward hadn't been delivered.
[As long as you treat the Zero Point Bar as your home, the bartending tools count as household items. Thus, you naturally gain proficiency in mixology.]
"...That's it?" Roshin stared blankly for five seconds before dumbfoundedly asking.
The talent panel remained silent.
"You—those few words cost me four Primogems?! What the hell does a talent panel even need Primogems for?! Get out here so I can beat you to death!" Roshin's rage meter was about to explode.
Yes, just these few words are worth 4 Primogems. As for the material cost, Roshin glanced at it—one Primogem could be exchanged for ten portions of materials.
After expending great effort to convince himself not to be angry with himself, Roshin finally calmed down.
Although he had been tricked by the talent panel, it seemed to have opened the door to a whole new world for him.
The Zero Point Bar was a derivative of his talent, so it was his shop. And since it was his shop, that meant it was his home. If it was his home, then everything inside counted as household items—including the bartending tools and equipment.
After painstakingly straightening out this logic, the moment Roshin touched those bartending tools, he suddenly felt as though he could fully control them and mix all kinds of drinks.
"This is insane. I thought 'Household Item Mastery' was just a cooking-related skill, but turns out it's actually a causality-based skill." Roshin was stunned when he realized that applying this logic actually worked.
Before this line of thought, Roshin hadn't even known how to handle those bartending tools, let alone their proper names—he only recognized them as cups, various kinds of cups.
But now, after clarifying the logic, he had somehow mastered them.
What did "Furniture Mastery" mean? This was it!
If that was the case, then extending this logic further—if he learned martial arts, wouldn't that make him part of a martial arts family? And wouldn't weapons like swords, spears, and staffs in such a family also count as household items?
Did that mean he could also master the use of weapons?
For example, didn't Theresa have that cross called Judah? Surely some families kept crosses at home—did that count as a household item?
And more—even though Roshin had quit the game, he vaguely remembered that the Raiden Shogun and Raiden Ei were two separate people.
If so, could the Raiden Shogun's puppet be considered a life-sized body pillow? And weren't body pillows household items?
This was incredible. Truly incredible.
This "Furniture Mastery" seemed genuinely extraordinary.