City of Sin

Book 8, 106

Reward Point System

Taking a last look at the map that marked out the defensive situation, Richard sighed and turned to Nasia. The paladin nodded and took out a list, “Now, for the spoils of the last battle.”

Those present immediately perked up. While this battle was tough, Richard and his sea of druids had inflicted massive casualties upon the attacking dragons. Every single lizard was like a moving treasure chest, and with so many dead and injured they all stood to profit. They had even managed to capture four dragons live; a sky saint would get a greater offering’s worth at a minimum.

Nasia slowly read on, “As customary, the dragons are currently in processing and will be turned into materials. As for contribution, the points you have accumulated are as follows: Romney, 120 points...”

A slender assassin suddenly whistled in excitement. The current exchange rate was a hundred points for a greater offering, and 120 was enough for a grade 3 rune. The anticipation from the others present grew immediately; the assassin was only a saint, so the rest of them immediately got their hopes up.

“... Lambest, 190 points. His Excellency Rakis, 310 points...”

The rewards left everyone grinning brightly. Even the strongest of them all, veteran mage Rakis, nodded in delight. He now stood at 500 points in total, which was enough for a top-tier offering. He would normally have to explore a plane for a few years or maybe even a few decades normally to get a top-tier offering.

Nasia finished with the list and continued, “The redemption process is considered active. You can decide what you would like to have and let us know as soon as possible; as always, special items will need approval or waiting time. Here is the newest list of rewards.”

She took out a stack of forms as she spoke, handing them out to those present. Everyone took one sheet each and skimmed through the options, discussing amongst themselves as they left the room.

“Heh, so many more dragon materials! I can get ten teeth and create a powerful dagger!” the assassin named Romney exclaimed.

A sky saint archer snorted contemptuously, “You fool, what’s the point of using so many teeth for a dagger? Just get a single fang from a metal dragon, it’ll crush everything else.”

“I only have 130 points, you know,” Romney groaned, “I can’t afford the 150 for the fang. I still need 20 more after that to get it crafted by the Deepblue.”

“You literally got 120 points in a single battle, is it that hard to wait a few more? You might even just get enough points next time. Imagine I hadn’t called you over, you’d never have such a chance. Aren’t you regretting your hesitation now?”

“Yes...”

In the distance, the legends present completely ignored all the dragon materials. They had no need for that; what truly attracted them was at the bottom. There had only been a handful of items before, even if each one was enticing, but now there were over a hundred!

“Three top-tier offerings! I might be able to get what I need this time.”

“There isn’t as much equipment as I expected. Just a legendary spear, I’m not even trained in those.”

A mage snorted in disdain, “What point is there in getting equipment? You can buy from Norland, or just craft something from the materials here. Two sub-legendary items are going to be better than just one, or just get a few offerings and try that.”

“A few offerings?” the original warrior frowned, “Not everyone can just amass them, you know. What would I be doing here if I had so many?”

“Enough, stop arguing. Did neither of you look further down?” another warrior interrupted.

“What, it’s just runes. Nothing special at... wait!” The mage suddenly exclaimed.

A nearby assassin took a close look and gasped, “A saint rune?! Are you looking to get it, Ironshield?”

“No, the requirements are a little too high and it seems like we don’t get to decide which one it is. What if we don’t get what we want?”

The assassin smirked, “Nor a problem for me. Looks like I’ll need to work to kill faster.”

It took a moment, but the legends present understood what he meant. Richard had showed off Stealthwalker at his very first saint rune convention, which was a perfect rune for assassins. Having made one already, he could definitely make another.

However, the assassin’s joy didn’t last very long. Ironshield nodded, “I could use Kingsteel myself.”

The assassin’s gaze turned icy as he glared at the warrior, but the latter didn’t mind and returned the favour. The atmosphere immediately charged up; while the assassin was a level higher, Ironshield had powerful defences to negate sneak attacks.

Saint runes were very rare even amongst legends, something that they couldn’t afford to be picky about. Most of the time, obtaining even one needed a good amount of luck, regardless of if it synergised with their abilities. It was common knowledge in Norland that a saint runemaster took about a year per rune, and it hadn’t been long since Richard’s saint rune convention. This meant he would be making these runes to order, and a year-long wait was something none of these people wanted to try. After all, they couldn’t even be certain that the option would even come up again.

The assassin eventually calmed down and nodded, “Then we’ll just have to see who’s fastest at killing. Good luck.”

Ironshield shrugged, “You’re faster, but can you compare to a mage? Nobody said we can’t borrow points from friends.”

“You’re... not wrong,” the assassin’s eyes narrowed. Powerful guardians were always a welcome companion for most mages, and Ironshield was exceptional at the task. Many mages would gladly give him points if he were to act as their protector in exploration or combat. However, he quickly regained his cheer, “Indeed, there is no rule to prevent us from buying points.”

This time, it was Ironshield’s expression that changed. Assassins always found it easy to amass wealth, the one ability in which even most mages lost out. They could stealth in and out of many dangerous locations with little harm, and robbery was always an option as well.

The two silently exchanged gazes for a while, and the atmosphere turned cold. Thankfully, one of the mages present noticed the strange mood and changed topics, turning to Rakis, “Your Excellency, you’re the one with the most points now. What are your plans?”

Rakis was a legendary mage known for his tremendous offensive power. Having lost himself in the list, he quickly looked up and smiled, “I’m not like you folk, I don’t really lack anything. But I do have a family, and I’m planning to get some things for the children to play with.”

There was a section for this at the absolute bottom of the list, containing military supplies that could be bought in bulk. Things like a hundred sets of enchanted armour, refined frostiron ingots that weighed a hundred kilograms each, and various other resources were listed for fair prices. This was a good choice for those who wanted to strengthen their families, but it would be of little help to individuals. Most hadn’t even looked at the options.

Now, everyone stared at those options and found two new items that almost had them jump in surprise: Rose Barrier and Rose Strike, each coming with a mount! These were Rosie’s version of the Savage series, each one was a powerful rune knight!

Unlike the Archerons, most other families were bottlenecked in rune knight production by the availability of runes. One rune set only required 30 points, and there were a limited 20 sets up for sale. No matter how knowledgeable these legends were, they immediately fell into a struggle. This was two squadrons of rune knights, and the same ones the Archerons were so famous for! Such military force exceeded the full savings from a long line of earls!