The Chemistry Laboratory building didn't have a requirement in particular. However, thinking logically, he couldn't just make a random building and label it as such.

After all, working with chemicals could get dangerous.

That's one of the reasons why he moved the lab's site to the edge, trying to make it safer for the others, even in the case of something bad happening—like a failed experiment, with dangerous chemical fumes spreading through the air.

"Just like with the workshop, I need good ventilation without allowing dust to enter..." He muttered as he skimmed through the Housing Panel.

However, maybe due to his low level or something, none of the available buildings fit his needs. Not willing to give up, he tried searching again, lowering his requirements a bit, but still got nothing out of it.

"...No choice!"

Axel harrumphed.

"I'll just modify one that's available!"

The Housing Panel allows one to buy the materials for a predetermined building. However, that's not all of it. It also has a function that allows him to edit "any part of a building"!

If he took advantage of this feature, then he could turn any kind of building into one that matches his needs! But of course, doing that poses a new problem altogether, and that is...

"Using this feature tires me out mentally real fast..."

Before, he used it to create the "roof" of the bandits' prison area. And just that was enough to make him feel as if the world was turning upside down. Now, he needed to modify an entire building, so he expected to feel much worse!

[That's because you have low mana, and the Housing Modification uses mana.]

"Whoa?!"

Axel jumped at the sight of a little penguin dropping from above his head. "Navi, don't pop out like that! I thought my heart would jump out...!"

[Hmm?]

Although the little penguin was playful, it didn't have such intent in the first place. Axel getting the surprise of his life was simply because he was shocked by the sudden appearance of something that was inches away from his face.

"A-Anyway, mana, you said?" Axel tried to gather his wits, clearing his throat. "What is that? Do I need more mana to use the function or something?"

[Exactly! Although, to be more specific, it's that you don't have enough spare mana, as most of it is used to maintain the Harem Settlement System~!]

"Huh?"

It was quite rare for the little penguin to continue speaking unprompted, so Axel decided to just listen to him first. And long story short, it seemed that 99% of his current mana is being reserved by the system, thus leaving him with only 1% to spend.

Hearing this, Axel became curious about his specific stats, but there was nothing he could use to check.

"Don't you have a status panel?" He grumbled. "This system is too unwieldy..."

[Such a function isn't installed... but you can buy a Level Scanner from the market. Only 10 billion Colts, really cheap~!]

But hearing the cost, he could only shake his head. "What's cheap? Your mother's cheap!!!"

[I don't have a mother, so that's not an insult to me!]

"Shut up, birdbrain!"

[Hey! I'm smarter than you, at least! I have a processor speed of 666 THz!]

"Fuck, that kind of child-like insult works on you!?"

[Shut up! I'm no birdbrain! I'm smart!]

As they continued their quarrel, of course, Axel didn't waste his time on just that. Instead, he also checked the item that Navi spoke of—the Level Scanner. To his surprise, the price was accurate... no, it'd be more correct to say that the weakest scanner was priced at 10 billion, with the "common" version being 100 billion in price!

'No way I can afford that anytime soon...'

"Alright, enough!" Axel stopped their banter and asked, "So, Mr. Smart Penguin, Navi. How do I increase my mana?"

[Hmph! Flattery this late in the game? I'm not that easy!]

Navi harrumphed, crossing his flippers before his chest.

[...The fastest way is definitely by consuming elixirs or tonics, though.]

And revealed the method not long after.

"Tonics!" Axel roared, recalling that such things existed.

He found them long ago and thought he couldn't buy them anytime soon, as they're priced at a hundred million a piece. But now that he had a billion Colts in his wallet, it wasn't that impossible for him to afford anymore.

Axel visited the section for the tonics and searched for the mana tonic. And then, without a hint of hesitation, he bought five of them in one go!

[Wait, why did you buy more than one?!] Navi roared, shocked.

Axel just grinned, then teasingly whispered, "Why? Jealous about my financial prowess now...?"

[No, you idiot. It's that tonics lose efficacy after every vial consumed. The first one will give 100%, and the succeeding ones will reduce that by 90%. So by the fifth bottle...]

"Down to 65% effect?!"

Doing a simple addition, the five tonics would only give him the effect of four if they came without the degradation. In short, he wasted a lot of his money!

"My 100 million...!"

[Not my fault. You fucking didn't ask before buying all that.]

"..."

Axel remained silent.

He was still lamenting his excessive, wasted expenditure. However, he considered failures as a part of attaining success.

"Fuck this shit!" Axel cursed as he popped the caps of all five tonics.

[Wait, no...!]

Navi seemed to want to stop him, but he had already swallowed their contents in one gulp before the penguin could finish. Navi's face turned solemn, staring at Axel's face with pity and resignation.

[...Rest in peace, Contractor.]

"Huh, wha...?"

Just as he was about to clarify what Navi meant, he felt it.

"UGH!"

Inside his chest, his heart beat louder and louder. With every pump, he could feel a mysterious cold energy circulate through his body. Even without having to think, he figured out what it was... the mana he gained from the tonic!

[Normally, one would consume a single tonic across a full week for safety, and you downed five in one sitting...]

Navi continued explaining, but Axel's mind was in no state to listen to him.

"GRAAAAGH!"

Pain.

Every part of his body was screaming in pain.

Wherever the cold, soothing stream of "mana" passed through, he felt a surge of rushing heat the next moment. He felt as if his nerves were burning!

Axel crumpled to the ground, trying to hug his body tighter to bear down the pain.

However, that barely helped.

"Sir Hexel!"

And just as he was rolling on the ground like a worm, a familiar figure rushed to his side.

"What's happening?! Your mana is rampaging!"

And she figured out what his ailment is at a glance. Although Axel wanted to speak, the pain would make his head go blank with every passing moment. His life was hanging by a thread!

His survival was now in the hands of a lone, little girl—Princess Teruria!

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