Chapter 396: Concerning Calculations [1] Noah pulled up his system interface mentally, reviewing the current status of his automated production facilities while his friends discussed the new items among themselves. [Auto-IceTea Maker: Level 5 | 8/Hr | Max Stock 192 | 325/1000 EXP] [Auto-Baker: Level 5 | 16/Hr | Max Stock 384 | 1000/1000 EXP] [Auto-ProteinBar: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 77/100 EXP] [Auto-EnergyDrink: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 74/100 EXP] [Auto-BeefJerky: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 74/100 EXP] [Auto-RiceCake: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 60/100 EXP] [Auto-InstantCoffee: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 40/100 EXP] [Auto-HerbTea: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 40/100 EXP] [Auto-RoseCandy: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 4/100 EXP] [Auto-LuxurySmoothie: Level 1 | 0.5/Hr | Max Stock 12 | 4/100 EXP] Reading through his production capabilities, Noah performed quick mental calculations to determine his total daily inventory. The math was straightforward enough with his enhanced intelligence. The Iced Tea maker at level 5 produced 8 per hour, generating 192 units daily. The Baker produced 16 loaves per hour for 384 daily. Each of the newer tier 1 and tier 2 items produced 0.5 per hour, yielding 12 units daily per product line. The total came to 672 items produced daily across all his automated systems. These items naturally fell into distinct pricing tiers based on their power and rarity: Tier 0: Iced Tea, Bread - Basic consumables with minor benefits Tier 1: Protein Bar, Energy Drink, Beef Jerky, Rice Cake - Moderate enhancements Tier 2: Instant Coffee, Herb Tea, Rose Petal Candy, Luxury Smoothie, and soon the Warrior’s Protein Shake - Premium items with transformative effects Noah ran the revenue calculations, starting with his most basic offerings. The bread sold for 15 golden coins per loaf. With 384 units produced daily, that generated 5,760 golden coins from bread alone. Iced tea cost 30 golden coins per bottle, and with 192 units daily, that contributed another 5,760 golden coins. But these tier 0 items weren’t really the financial concern. They sold consistently to common folk and provided reliable base income, but the real challenge—and opportunity—lay in the higher tiers. The tier 1 items were already becoming difficult to move in the human kingdom’s market. He typically sold these for 1,000 golden coins each, which was affordable for wealthy merchants and high nobility but represented a significant investment. With four different tier 1 product lines each producing 12 units daily, that was 48 total tier 1 items. If he managed to sell all of them at full price, the daily total would reach 48,000 golden coins. But the tier 2 items presented an even more extreme challenge. Even selling at reduced prices compared to what he could charge in wealthier markets, the numbers were staggering. Instant Coffee and Herb Tea at 1,500 golden coins each, Rose Petal Candy at 2,000 golden coins, Luxury Smoothie at 5,000 golden coins, and his soon-to-be-released Warrior’s Protein Shake at 3,000 golden coins. Currently he had four tier 2 product lines operational (five once he added the Protein Shake), each producing 12 units daily. That meant 60 tier 2 items available for purchase each day. The daily revenue from tier 2 items alone, if he could somehow sell everything, would be absolutely staggering: - Instant Coffee: 12 × 1,500 = 18,000 golden coins - Herb Tea: 12 × 1,500 = 18,000 golden coins - Rose Candy: 12 × 2,000 = 24,000 golden coins - Luxury Smoothie: 12 × 5,000 = 60,000 golden coins - Warrior Shake (once added): 12 × 3,000 = 36,000 golden coins That totaled 156,000 golden coins daily from tier 2 items alone. Adding everything together—tier 0, tier 1, and tier 2—his total potential daily revenue if he sold out completely would be approximately 215,520 golden coins. At the exchange rate of roughly $100 per golden coin, that translated to $21,552,000 per day. And this was just at current production levels. The numbers would literally double within days as his tier 1 and tier 2 auto-makers gained enough experience to reach level 2, increasing their production rates. Noah’s mind boggled at the long-term projections. If he did the hard calculations assuming all his auto-makers eventually reached level 5 and he somehow managed to empty his stock entirely each day, the theoretical maximum revenue would be catastrophically high. At level 5, each machine would be producing at vastly accelerated rates. Running those numbers: Total daily production would increase dramatically to thousands of items. If sold at current prices and assuming complete market saturation, Noah’s theoretical maximum daily income would reach approximately 3,264,000 golden coins. Which converted to roughly $326,400,000 per day. The number was so absurd it didn’t even feel real. Over three hundred million dollars daily from a single shop selling magical consumables. Of course, this was purely theoretical, and Noah found it genuinely hard to believe he could ever actually achieve those numbers, especially in the human kingdom. The entire nation’s economy probably didn’t have enough liquid wealth flowing through it to sustain purchases at that volume and price point. Common people couldn’t afford tier 1 items at all. Minor nobility could maybe purchase one or two tier 1 items per month. Only the wealthiest merchants and major noble houses could realistically afford tier 2 items, and there simply weren’t enough of those customers in Esta to clear his inventory daily. In fact, even the elven kingdoms—despite their greater overall wealth and larger populations of high-rank practitioners—would find it extremely difficult to purchase his level 5 auto makers, such massive quantities of premium items on a sustained basis. The market simply couldn’t absorb that volume of high-tier magical consumables, no matter how transformative their effects. Which meant Noah needed to think strategically about distribution, pricing tiers, and potentially expanding into multiple markets simultaneously to actually monetise his production capacity effectively.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ "Noah? Are you with us?" King Aldric’s voice cut through Noah’s mental calculations, bringing him back to the present conversation. Noah blinked and refocused on the faces looking at him with varying degrees of concern. "Hm? Yeah, sorry. I just dozed off for a moment there." "I see," Aldric said with understanding. "So, regarding these items and your expanded inventory—how are you planning to sell them? The quantities you mentioned earlier suggest you’ll have significant stock to move." Noah rubbed the back of his neck, genuine uncertainty showing on his face. "To be honest, I’m not entirely sure yet. There are some logistical challenges I’m still working through." He gestured for everyone to settle in more comfortably. "Let me explain my concerns. Right now, my production capabilities are limited but functional. I can generate a decent daily supply of items across different tiers—the basic consumables like bread and iced tea that common people can afford, the mid-tier enhancement items like protein bars and energy drinks, and the premium products like the Rose Candy and Luxury Smoothie we just discussed." Noah pulled out a piece of parchment and began sketching rough numbers. "Currently, I’m producing around 672 items daily. That includes 384 loaves of bread, 192 bottles of iced tea, and then smaller quantities of the higher-tier products—about 12 units each of the premium items."