Chapter 18 Points, Points
After submitting the sales audit for the refined gold, Benjamin couldn't help but feel proud for a long time.
He had already begun to imagine himself making a fortune through refined gold, then improving himself through the points he earned, forming a perfect resource cycle, and finally becoming an almighty powerful being.
Occasionally, when he saw those apprentices working hard for points, although he didn't show anything on the surface, Benjamin couldn't help feeling complacent in his heart.
"As expected, without unique skills and means of production, you're just being exploited. This kind of work, with its high points and low pay, is truly unfitting for a dog..."
…
…
"...Do it! If the dog doesn't do it, I'll do it. I fucking love doing tasks!"
In the No. 3 distillation tower area, Benjamin's expression was a little distorted.
The air here was filled with a strong, sickening mixture of rotting plants and spoiled potions.
Jieming was wearing a heavy protective suit, tight goggles and a mask, and holding a long-handled scraper issued by the workshop and a rag soaked in pungent solvent.
His task was to clean up the extremely huge metal distillation tower in front of him, which was at least ten stories high.
No one knew what had happened before, but there was a black, sticky substance like tar left inside the distillation tower.
It is said that this thing is very sensitive to energy factors and cannot be removed by witchcraft, so it can only be removed by pure manpower.
He needs to crawl into the small interior space and scrape, scrub and wash it bit by bit...
As for why I came here to complete the mission, it would be too painful to talk about it.
He once thought that by refining fine gold and finding one of the materials most needed by wizards, he could solve the resource problem once and for all.
But reality hit him hard again.
The worst possibility that Benjamin had originally thought of was that no one was interested in the sale of refined gold, and it was lost among a large number of similar isolation materials.
But the reality was even harsher than he imagined—he hadn't even gotten to the stage of selling the product!
The submitted "tin-based insulation material" was displayed with a glaring "in testing queue" in the workshop's magic network system.
No matter how many times he checked it every day, the status remained unchanged, as if it had been forgotten in some corner.
If the product fails the test, it cannot be put on the shelves for sale, and it is not even qualified to be rejected by others, let alone earn points.
This secret way to make money that was discovered by chance is now blocked by an unexpected accident.
But Benjamin's need for points is as urgent as breathing.
As your studies progress, the demand for points becomes increasingly higher.
Want to continue practicing shaping with other special materials after class?
Okay, first go to the material warehouse and use points to exchange for new rations.
Want to try to use the knowledge you just learned to analyze an unknown ore?
Sorry, a more detailed "Material Properties Atlas" requires points to unlock access rights.
Want to find a slightly better crucible with mental assistance to conduct more complex experiments?
No problem, please pay the points rental at the Magic Network terminal.
Everything in the academy is related to points!
The alchemy workshop does not keep idle people.
They provide basic food, accommodation and knowledge, but more than that, they require you to exchange your labor and results.
"What the hell, what a bullshit, inefficient bureaucracy!"
Benjamin cursed inwardly in anger, but he could only put on his protective suit and prepare to work.
The work is monotonous and hard.
The protective suit blocked out most of the smell, but it also made his movements slow and clumsy. The extremely high temperature in the distillation tower was uncomfortable even for someone with such a strong constitution.
Sweat evaporated inside the protective suit, and the harsh sound of the scraper rubbing against metal echoed in the tower.
"So fucking tired..." Another apprentice next to him grumbled softly, his protective suit covered with a layer of dirt that was difficult to remove.
Benjamin nodded in agreement, without complaining, but just repeating the actions mechanically. He seemed to have lost interest in conversation due to the heavy workload.
But in fact, his powerful mental power is active in secret.
He carefully sensed the internal structure of the distillation tower, the complex pipe connections, the carvings of energy transmission runes, the splicing of different metal materials... these were all living teaching materials.
He quickly fed back the information he perceived to the Da Dao Book Pavilion, and asked it to find similar knowledge for comparative research based on the information he provided.
"This energy interface design... bears a striking resemblance to the basic refining techniques found in the Dao Library. It also seems to utilize the principle of spatial folding... However, the core is still rune energy transmission. I need to memorize this aspect. It seems I must quickly study runeology as well."
In such a difficult environment, while enduring boredom and fatigue, Benjamin integrated the knowledge of the wizarding world into his own cultivation system.
After a day's work, Benjamin returned to the dormitory and collapsed on the bed.
Although he felt extremely tired mentally, his body did not feel overly exhausted. In fact, the true energy in his body became more condensed.
What's even more terrible is that he can feel the energy in his body accumulating crazily, and the barrier of the first level of Qi training has become fragile and may be broken at any time!
Getting up from the bed and assuming a meditation posture, Benjamin looked into his spiritual sea.
In the seemingly endless ocean, three complex patterns emitting brilliant light occupy three points around the ocean, and a steady stream of elemental power is absorbed into the body from the outside world.
In more than a month, he had unknowingly engraved three runes of truth in his spiritual sea, completing the engraving of the runes representing the core concepts of alchemy, namely "transformation", "fusion" and "refining". His meditation progress had reached the peak of a first-level apprentice in the wizard system!
The spiritual sea has more than doubled in size compared to when I first entered school, and my spiritual power is condensed and active.
Next, as long as he successfully meditates and engraves the fourth rune of truth, he can officially become a second-level apprentice.
But at the same time, the spiritual power brought by Benjamin's "talent" was also exhausted.
Now, he could only absorb the external elemental power through meditation to replenish and accumulate more mental strength to support him to impact the next rune.
This can be considered as an advantage for geniuses. A talent like his can be promoted to a first-level wizard apprentice effortlessly. Benjamin speculates that those top geniuses at level eight or nine may not exhaust their natural spiritual foundation until they become second-level wizard apprentices.
The accumulation of mental power is not something that can be achieved overnight, so the progress of meditation is not something that Benjamin needs to worry about now.
The real trouble is that Benjamin's cultivation level is on the verge of a breakthrough!
It was only two months away from him breaking through the first level of Qi Refining, but now it was imminent for him to break through to the next level.
The energy in the body could no longer be suppressed, as if it would explode in the next second.
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(End of this chapter)
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