Atelier Tycoon Episode 4
“Still, what if I hadn’t done it?”
She might have only realized much later that there was a tutorial in this place she possessed, or she might never have known at all.
“If I get back to my original world, I’m going to give the game company a piece of my mind!”
From the company’s perspective, it might be unfair, but Lilife was a victim too. It was already a company that received a lot of criticism, so one more complaint probably wouldn’t make a difference. They’d probably live long and prosper anyway.
Putting the complaints aside for now, she decided to carefully consider which reward to choose. If she weren’t trapped inside the game, she wouldn’t have hesitated and would have chosen the 1,000 Gems without a second thought—
“Choosing Gems right now feels a bit off. Maybe opening the store instead?”
Not just the portals, but the store was also in a ‘Locked’ state.
The store was as important as the tutorial in the early game, as you needed to trade with it to make money.
Furthermore, to craft items, a proper work environment was needed, and the store made that possible.
Also, various materials and items, including workbenches, could be purchased from the store.
“It’s a shame the store is locked, but I don’t have anything I need to buy immediately.”
She could be self-sufficient for most things, so she’d pass on the store for now.
Choosing Gems as a reward wasn’t particularly appealing either.
“I have plenty of money already.”
In Atelier Tycoon, the amount of gold and gems you possessed was displayed at the top of the screen, but this was the game world itself.
The numbers for gold and gems didn’t float before her eyes like in the game screen, but Liliphe believed her funds remained intact.
The luxurious three-story mansion instead of the beginner’s shabby house. The materials and items still present in the inventory boxes.
‘Just looking at this, I can tell my play data from the real world has been perfectly reflected in this game world.’
She couldn’t remember the exact amount she had, but she knew it wasn’t a small sum. Plus, if she had acquired those 7,777 Gems, there was no need to choose the mere 1,000 Gems.
Therefore, the remaining options were the portal and the familiar.
Other users in Atelier Tycoon kept multiple familiars to handle tedious tasks. But Liliffe was the type who enjoyed grinding, so she handled most of the tedious work herself.
“If this were still a game, the familiar would be the least useful option.”
If this were a game, Liliphe wouldn’t have even glanced in that direction, but now her finger pointed towards the ‘Familiar’ option.
“I can unlock the portal myself. More than that, I need someone to talk to.”
How many days had she been living alone? It must have been well over a week. If this continued, she’d end up making a volleyball and naming it ‘Wilson.’
Even if it wasn’t a human but a familiar, two was better than one, so she decided to unlock the familiar.
The reward was written as ‘Unlock 1 Familiar,’ but she only ever had one familiar in Atelier Tycoon anyway.
While other users, finding grinding tedious, would almost always purchase familiars if they spent real money, Lilife found it a waste to use Gems on that, reserving them solely for character styling and decorating the atelier.
Thus, the only familiar she possessed was the one provided by the game for its 1st anniversary.
True to Atelier Tycoon’s reputation for being stingy, the familiar provided by the company was a 3-star one. It might be useful for beginners, but most players who had progressed somewhat considered it useless.
Since Atelier Tycoon had no gacha elements, most users who did spend money bought 4 or 5-star familiars.
“If this already criticized game had random loot boxes too…”
As she clicked her tongue, imagining the game turning into a pay-to-win nightmare, a system window popped up, announcing the familiar was unlocked.
The window flickered briefly before transforming into clusters of small lights, which then gradually coalesced into a single human form.
She made eye contact with a boy in his mid-teens with reddish-brown hair.
His appearance was identical to the familiar she had seen through the screen. Aside from the disconnect between 2D and 3D, the face from the illustration was perfectly recreated.
‘He looks just like the CG. Especially that docile-looking part.’
The boy was looking at Liliffe without saying a word. She could see his pupils shifting uneasily.
‘Is he startled because he’s looking at someone with puffy eyes?’
Feeling awkward about meeting him in her disheveled state, she offered an awkward smile.
“Xeno, right?”
Lilype spoke to the familiar first. Upon hearing his name, the boy immediately dropped to one knee before she could stop him.
“My Master.”
Hearing the word ‘Master’ so suddenly, Lilype’s pupils shook as she looked at the kneeling boy.
His dark, glass-bead-like eyes looked up at her, making her feel flustered.
She didn’t know why he had knelt so suddenly, but having him stay like that was burdensome, so she took hold of Zeno’s arm and pulled him up.
“My Master?”
“You can just call me Lily.”
The word ‘Master’ hadn’t seemed strange in text, but hearing it directly made goosebumps rise on her arms.
Liliffe brushed her arm where the goosebumps had appeared. Zeno, who had been quietly observing her, nodded and offered the term ‘Lady Liliffe’ instead.
“There’s no need for honorifics…”
“I cannot do that to my Master. If you dislike ‘Lady Lilype,’ I can return to calling you Master—”
“Ah, no! Just call me Lady Liliphe. That’s better.”
Seeing the text ‘Master’ in the game had been fine, but hearing it from Zeno’s mouth felt completely different.
It wasn’t a word she’d ever heard in real life, so she couldn’t control her expression.
“Yes, Lady Liliphe.”
Zeno was about a hand’s breadth shorter than Lilype, so he looked up at her.
Choosing the familiar as a reward seemed to be the right decision. Liliphe already liked Zeno.
Atelier Tycoon had familiars of various races. There were humanoid types, but also many animal types that only made animal sounds.
It was a great relief that Zeno was humanoid and they could communicate.
“Do you remember going to Sky Island with Manon, by any chance?”
“Pardon?”
“…Forget I said that. It’s been a long time since I talked to anyone else. Please understand if I say strange things.”
“Ah… It’s alright.”
Perhaps because he had a gentle impression, Zeno looked genuinely kind even with just a slight upturn of his lips. He had a completely harmless face.
Since her play data had been transferred to this world, she was curious if Zeno also remembered Manon, the protagonist of Atelier Tycoon and the character she had played.
If he knew Manon, she was also curious if he had memories of going to Sky Island together.
But Liliphe cut herself off, calling it a slip of the tongue.
Even though he was a familiar and not human, he was still a person. She was reluctant to reveal to him that this was a game world. His wide, round eyes seemed truly unaware of anything.
‘Does he know he’s a game character? It feels awkward to bring it up directly… and there’s no need to anyway. Speaking of which, is there no status window?’
The moment she thought it, a status window appeared beside Zeno. It seemed there was an on/off function, and it only appeared when she willed it.
[Zeno (3-Star++) Lv.49
EXP: 5,345/9,000
Can evolve using a Silver Growth Potion upon reaching Lv.50 (This familiar changes appearance upon evolution.)]<Stats> Farming★★★☆☆ Gathering★★★☆☆ Crafting★★☆☆☆ Luck★☆☆☆☆ Intelligence★★★★☆ Affection: 5/100
Having evolved twice, his stats were quite good for a 3-star familiar.
‘And his appearance…’
When she first received Zeno, he looked like a kindergarten-aged child. Through growth potions, he had evolved step by step into his current form.
Back when she was playing Atelier Tycoon in the real world, Zeno was her only familiar, so she used him incessantly, pouring all the experience into him.
She also had multiple growth potions—items others lamented lacking—and used them on Zeno as soon as he reached the required levels.
As a result, Zeno became a 3-star familiar with stats rivaling those of a 4-star.
Of course, being only 3-star meant he couldn’t keep up if a 4-star familiar used growth potions and evolved, but Lilipe didn’t care. Grinding was her domain, so it was enough if the familiar just assisted her.
‘But why is his Affection like that?’
It was an absurdly low number for his high level. She had given him gifts periodically, so why?
Liliphe stared at the status window with a puzzled expression before closing it.
When a familiar’s affection is high, they sometimes give gifts to the character. There’s a low chance they gather rare materials or craft items of higher quality than their stats would suggest. Of course, Liliphe had never experienced this even once.
“Jeno, do you like potatoes?”
Seeing Zeno’s awkward smile, Lilype finally realized.
Ah, he doesn’t like potatoes.
She remembered giving him large quantities of potatoes as ‘gifts’ because her inventory was overflowing with them. No wonder his affection was low.
While other users searched up what their familiars liked and disliked, Liliffe had always just given them whatever was overflowing in her inventory. This applied not only to familiars but to NPCs as well.
“Then, what about barley? Mackerel? Apples? Copper? Acorns… What else was there… Anyway, how about these?”
“I like apples.”
Finally, Zeno changed his embarrassed expression and revealed what he liked.
‘…So he only likes apples out of all those.’
Liliffe instantly understood why Zeno’s Affection was 5.
Not only did she give him gifts he didn’t like, but she also worked him without rest. It was a miracle his affection wasn’t in the negative.
To Zeno, she must have been like a ruthless employer, so his bright and polite demeanor tugged at her heartstrings.
How could that possibly be the behavior of someone with 5 Affection? If she hadn’t seen the status window, she wouldn’t have believed his affection was so low.
Lily resolved to treat Zeno better from now on.
