Megumi Kato was left utterly speechless by Ren's response. She couldn't help but mutter, "Ren-kun, magic electrofishing is illegal. If we were outside, you'd be arrested and lectured."
Fishing itself wasn't illegal, and chumming the water was even encouraged, but using magic to bomb or electrocute fish was a strict violation of the law. The regulations in this world were quite similar to those in Ren's previous life.
In his past life, you couldn't use technology to cheat at fishing; in this life, you couldn't use magic. There wasn't much of a difference. However, they were currently inside a Dimensional Rift, far beyond the jurisdiction of the outside world.
"But we're inside a Dimensional Rift, so it's perfectly fine!" Ren shrugged. There were no signs prohibiting magic electrofishing in here, so it was fair game!
His logic left the girls not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but it did make a twisted sort of sense. The three of them decided not to bother arguing; Ren could do whatever he wanted.
While they were cooking, the other teams gradually arrived at the lake. Seeing Ren's group already sitting around a campfire cooking a meal, the other students were stunned.
*Was this even allowed? Why did Ren's group bring a cooking pot?* Everyone else had packed dry rations, yet these guys had brought pots and pans?
Anyone would be dumbfounded by this sight. Was this a Dungeon dive or a camping trip? The other students awkwardly greeted them before wandering off to find their own spots to set up camp.
Once the food was ready, Ren's group ignored the onlookers, picked up their bowls, and dug in. Being able to eat a hot, freshly cooked meal in a place like this was pure bliss.
After they had eaten their fill, Asuna and the others began washing the dishes, while Ren jogged over to the edge of the lake. A few students who were playing by the water looked at him in confusion.
"Everyone out of the water! Don't blame me if you get electrocuted!" Ren shouted at the classmates splashing around.
His warning left the students bewildered. What did he mean? Despite their confusion, they hurriedly scrambled out of the water, curious to see what Ren was up to. Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, Ren made his move.
A golden Magic Circle materialized in midair, and a bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, striking the surface of the lake. In an instant, everyone understood.
Ren was using magic to electrocute fish! This immediately amused quite a few of the boys. It was a well-known fact that boys loved messing around, and something as chaotic as electrofishing was right up their alley.
Watching Ren unleash his magic, everyone craned their necks, eagerly waiting to see how many fish would float to the surface. Under their expectant gazes, the [Lightning Strike] slowly dissipated.
However, the bountiful harvest of floating fish they had imagined never appeared. Ren's magic had done nothing but make a loud bang. Seeing this, the male students, led by Leo, burst into laughter.
Leo pushed up his glasses and grinned at Ren. "Ren, you got skunked! I don't think there are any fish in here."
It was absolutely hilarious. Getting skunked even when bombing the water with magic was the ultimate joke, and many others chuckled at his comment. Ren, on the other hand, was incredibly depressed.
"Such a huge lake and not a single fish? That's so freaking weird!" It would be a lie to say Ren wasn't frustrated. He had fully expected this floor to have fish or aquatic monsters.
Instead, a bolt of lightning went down, and absolutely nothing came up. Refusing to believe his bad luck, Ren tried again, firing off several more [Lightning Strike]s in succession.
The result remained the same. Not a single fish appeared—not even a tiny shrimp. Ren finally gave up completely. What a massive waste of time.
"Forget it, I'm done playing. Everyone, how about we talk business?" Abandoning his electrofishing dreams, Ren turned his attention to his bored classmates.
It was already evening, but there didn't seem to be a night cycle on this floor. The glowing stone suspended in the sky remained as bright as ever. Since that was the case, he might as well take this opportunity to have everyone gather herbs for him.
Hearing Ren's words, the crowd looked confused. Sora looked at him curiously and asked, "Ren, what kind of business are you talking about?"
Everyone was intrigued and waited for him to elaborate. After all, if they could earn a little extra on the side, they were more than willing to participate.
"To tell you the truth, I know how to craft Red and Blue Potions, and this floor is full of herbs. Since you're all just sitting around anyway, why not go gather some? Bring them back, and I'll make potions for you," Ren said, flashing his classmates a bright, business-like smile.
Hearing this, many students' eyes lit up. They eagerly stepped forward. "Elaborate! What kind of herbs do you need? How are we splitting the potions?"
If they could actually get a batch of Red and Blue Potions from Ren, they would gladly do the work. Many of them hadn't brought enough supplies, so having Ren brew some on the spot was a perfect way to restock.
Foraging for herbs wasn't difficult, and the vast majority of the students were highly interested. They quickly gathered around him.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Ren immediately listed off the series of herbs he needed and explained the terms of their transaction.
"As for the distribution, it depends on how many materials you can gather. I'll trade five potions for every five pounds of herbs." Ren had carefully thought this exchange rate through.
Five pounds of herbs was enough for him to brew a massive batch. Back at the shop, he had only purchased five pounds of each herb to begin with. Trading one pound of herbs for one potion meant Ren was walking away with a staggering ninety-nine-potion net profit per pound.
*Yep, absolutely nothing wrong with this logic.* The herbs picked here were fresh and required processing before alchemy, so charging a little "handling fee" wasn't excessive at all.
Everyone readily accepted Ren's proposal. They had no idea what the actual material cost of a potion was. To them, trading a single pound of foraged weeds for a life-saving Red or Blue Potion was an absolute steal.
"No problem, I agree! Our team is going to gather some right now!" Someone quickly accepted the deal and immediately rallied their squad to head out.
There really were a lot of herbs on this floor. The students could easily recognize the common ones. As for the ones they didn't recognize? They would just bring them back anyway.
Whether they were useful or not, they would dig three feet deep and bring back whatever they could carry. What if it turned out to be valuable? Driven by this thought, many teams sprang into action.
Meanwhile, the three girls who knew exactly how little material Ren actually consumed wore incredibly weird expressions. Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't hold back anymore and whispered to Asuna, "This guy is a total profiteer!!"
He was a black-hearted scammer of the highest order. They knew his consumption rate all too well. He literally just extracted the essence, watered it down, and called it a potion! One potion for a whole pound of herbs? *Tsk, tsk, this guy's heart is pitch-black!*
Yukino recalled her first encounter with him at school—the fight where he hadn't hesitated to punch her squarely in the stomach. That memory only cemented her conviction: this man was bad news!
Yukino Yukinoshita was someone who held serious grudges. It was just a pity she couldn't beat him in a fight. Ren's talent was simply too absurd. Heaven only knew when she'd finally be able to avenge that punch!
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