Chapter 18: Contribution points. Training!!

At the guild hall...

I had just arrived here, waiting for my turn to sell the monster core belonging to 'Zorat King'.

The guild was still packed with adventurers trying to get their job done in the guild. Some were here to pick up the mission suitable for their party, some were trying to get rewards for completion of the mission, while some were like me, here to sell the loot obtained from the dungeon.

Almost everyone in the line was from a raid party trying to sell the loot before dividing the money among themselves. Although this place was packed with rowdy adventurers who feared nothing in this world, they were sitting in line in an orderly manner, following every rule pasted on the board just beside the counter.

Even I was amazed by their obedience inside this particular hall. "Not that I hadn't seen several transcendent-ranked warriors acting as guards, ready to throw anyone out if needed." Still, these rowdy people being obedient was a feast to anyone's eyes, especially mine as I had worked with several adventurers while working as a laborer for them. They would even scold the lord of this town if they were upset, despite being much weaker than the current ruling lord.

After waiting for about half an hour, my turn came. I presented the staff behind the counter with a single monster core, much to their surprise.

___________________________________

"No wonder you're here with a single monster core," the staff said, inspecting the core with flashing eyes before nodding and looking at me curiously.

"Are you new here?" His question was somewhat peculiar, but I responded with a nod.

"All right, that answers the question," he scrutinized me before returning to his work.

"Do you want money or contribution points?"

______________________________________

"Contribution points," I replied without any hesitation. It was actually an easy answer for any adventurer working under a guild; the value of contribution points was much higher than money for them. Money could be earned easily by adventurers with a certain level of skill, but contribution points were harder to come by. They could only be earned by accomplishing the hardest missions or anything deemed worthy of contribution points by the guild.

The easiest way to earn contribution points was to hunt the boss monster of any dungeon. This was also the reason why there were so many adventurers ready to camp outside the dungeon; they were there to be the first to enter the dungeon, killing the boss in the process. Normal monster cores provided a lot of money without any contribution points, but boss monster cores were the hot commodity even in the guild making them worth the contribution points they were purchased for.

" All right, show me your ring." He nodded to me.

I showed the ring while infusing some mana on it. The 'N' engraved on the ring flashed twice before stopping. 

Only after seeing the engraved 'N' flash twice with my mana did he transfer ten contribution points to my identity. This was the use of registered mana, as it allowed the workers at the guild to verify the authenticity of any adventurer who sells or purchases anything in the guild. Each ring was bound to a specific attribute of mana unique to its owner, varying from person to person. Even individuals with the same affinity emitted slightly different mana fluctuations, which the guild used to create a unique ring for every adventurer registered in their guild.

Although the ten contribution points I earned today might seem less, these ten contribution points held immense value within the guild. They were far more valuable than money because many items and privileges within the guild could only be obtained using these points, not currency. And the research paper on dungeons that I wanted to obtain definitely wasn't something that could be obtained with money, any research paper on dungeons was securely protected and not accessible to normal adventurers without a certain level of authority and contribution points in the guild.

I was aiming for both authority and contribution points, as they were necessary if I wanted to learn more about these seemingly normal wonders of the world that were protected by several high-tiered runes.

After obtaining ten contribution points, I returned home, placed my mask on the bed, changed into lighter clothes, and went to have lunch at a street vendor.

"It was a satisfying lunch," I said as I lay down on my bed, rubbing my bloated tummy. I wasn't even trying to do anything else today except for sleeping right now.

______________________________________________

I only woke up the next day because I had to attend to the nature's call.

After having a delicious meal, I started swinging my longsword, drawing on my experience of killing monsters from the dungeons. Although my gait was somewhat inexperienced, the strength and fluidity with which I swung my sword were passable for someone who had been using a longsword for only two days.

Every rune on me had been activated, making me essentially invisible to the eyes of mortals and 'awakened' warriors, with Nightmare levitating in front of me. My control over it was still lacking, but I wasn't going to be stopped by mere lack of soul power, although it was the main reason I couldn't train with Nightmare for now. Ten seconds was the maximum limit for me to control Nightmare with the soul power I had. Although ten seconds may not seem like much, the refinement of my control over soul power during that time was phenomenal.

After training with Longsword for almost an hour, I was drenched in perspiration. It was now time for scribbling the outline of runes that had been seen by me, either inscribed In my being or my equipment.

Having the ability to perfectly sketch anything I wanted was going to be very useful. The first sketch was a 'Simple Lotus' representing the 'Rune of Tranquility'. I drew around ten lotuses before adding a 'spiral' in the center of the lotus, symbolizing the 'Rune of Confusion' inscribed on Nightmare.

Next, I sketched a 'Crystal Ball' for the 'Rune of Insight', followed by a 'simple-looking quill' representing the 'Rune of Inscription', and lastly, I drew the symbol of the 'Rune of Strength', a ferocious-looking bull. I repeated these sketches about ten times each before finishing with the outlines using a normal pen and paper.

I didn't try using mana because I had forgotten to purchase the paper made from the monster's hide from the guild, as I was totally spent on energy and feeling sleepy yesterday.

"I'm going to require several stacks of paper for training with runes." 

____________________________________

I could only smile wryly as the training regiment I was forced to follow was totally different from the training regimens other adventurers go through.

Others would try and strengthen their physique trying to pack as much punch as they could in their bodies through extreme methods while I could gain the same level of strength with a single rune. It was a passive rune that would always be active even without my will.

They would focus on sharpening their combat arts through several battles filled with risks, I could just confuse them with a single touch, killing my opponents with ease, all because of some rune. 

The moment techniques they learn after going through hardships, just a single rune 'Rune of Stealth' overpowered such movement techniques. I was invisible even while scribbling the 'Symbol' belonging to the runes I had on me. 

Trying to comprehend and gain insight on several skills and abilities they had could frustrate anyone, but I had the perfect rune for such predicaments: the 'Rune of Insight,' which was always active. It was still giving me insight on unnecessary topics, and since my proficiency with it was increasing, I decided not to deactivate it for now.

I could do anything with my runes, but the prerequisite for all these was my ability to create suitable vessels for the meaning of runes to be stored within. If my vessel was faulty and imperfect, I wouldn't be able to achieve the desired effect with the meaning stored inside it. Hence, drawing the perfect outline became my first priority. It even helped me increase my proficiency with the 'Rune of Inscription,' which was a plus point for me.

I wanted to obtain skills related to drawing as it would help me with the process of outlining the symbols for the runes I would create with better precision and fewer imperfections.

The use of contribution points had already arrived, as 'skills' were also products that specifically required contribution points to redeem them from the guild. And they weren't cheap; even common-ranked skills started with double-digit contribution points for redemption.

———————————

I didn't wait any longer and went straight to the guild, eager to get the skill for myself. I didn't even bother putting on my long coat or mask to hide my identity, as my mind was preoccupied with the possibility of purchasing the skill from the guild if I was lucky enough and the skill was cheap enough.