Free Web NovelChapter 18: Three thousand merit points!
[Author’s Note: The other civilizations will most likely be introduced through events that occurred during the first week after transmigration. As the story progresses, the timeline will gradually catch up to the present, where they will eventually interact with the main protagonist.]
An isolated wooden house stood quietly at the edge of the Reinett village. Before long, three figures approached it—Ryven, Samminah, and Fred.
Without a word, the three stepped inside.
Once inside, Samminah opened her delicate mouth and spoke bluntly.
"I’m going upstairs again, don’t bother me unless it’s something urgent." After saying that, she turned around and went upstairs
Ryven’s eyes twitched helplessly.
He opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.
Never mind... It would be better if she focused on making herself stronger.
After all, after secluding herself for about a week, her stats had increased tremendously.
Ryven glanced at the clock and realized that nearly a full day had passed by the time he finally returned to Reinett Village.
During traveling, Ryven also witnessed Fred’s new ability. Whenever he used it, Fred would pause for a brief second before taking a thrusting stance.
After that, he would burst forward like a bee preparing to sting its enemy. His speed will be increased by doubled, making it difficult for opponents to dodge his attacks.
That wasn’t the only benefit of the ability.
Once the enemy suffered enough bleeding, their body would gradually weaken, while their mind slowly became irrational and unstable.
Thinking about the benefits of the trip, Ryven’s mood significantly improved.
He first stretched his body before resting on the couch for about five hours.
After having enough rest, and some of his fatigue was elevated. He took out the pouch from his inventory.
The pouch he carried contained the flesh of the Third-Stage Mother of the Blood Skull Spiders.
They only need some evidence that they killed an abomination.
After inspecting the pouch, he left Fred to watch over the house while he went out.
Eventually, he arrived at the main part of the village and headed toward a large hall with a billboard labeled ’Merit.’ It was the place where people usually claimed merit points after completing missions.
"Hey, Ryven!"
Suddenly, he heard a young voice call out to him. Turning around, he saw Hans approaching.
Ryven was slightly surprised to see him here out of nowhere, considering they hadn’t met for an entire week.
"Oh, it’s you, Hans. It’s been a while. What happened to you this past week?"
Ryven greeted him with a warm smile while asking the question.
Hans looked away awkwardly, appearing slightly embarrassed.
"Uhm... I was imprisoned in the underground prison for about three days. After I got out, my father strictly trained me."
Noticing the awkward look on his face, Ryven decided to change the conversation elsewhere.
"I see... Anyways, I’m here to collect my first mission reward. Would you mind helping me out with it?"
"I still don’t really know how this works."
Ryven asked bluntly as they walked toward the Merit Hall.
"Sure, it would be my pleasure."
Hans replied, sounding somewhat pleased.
Entering inside the Merit Hall, Ryven and Hans lined up alongside the others waiting for their turn.
Ryven handed the pouch to Hans.
The moment Hans peeked inside, his eyes widened and he nearly dropped it.
"W-wait... What creature is this? And what stage?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Inside the pouch was a severed limb. It was pitch black, covered in thick, sharp fur that resembled spikes. It was obvious that this was only a small part of the legs, since the creature’s full body would never fit inside the pouch.
Ryven blinked.
"It’s a small piece from the Mother of the Blood Skull Spiders."
The moment Hans heard that, he completely dropped the pouch.
"W-what?! You actually killed the spiders around that cave?!"
After nearly shouting those words, everyone’s attention shifted toward Ryven and Hans.
Curious gazes quickly gathered around them.
"Did I hear that correctly? Someone actually completed that mission...?"
The people were doubtful, but after seeing the pouch that had fallen onto the ground, the murmuring only spread further.
Noticing everyone staring at him, Ryven grew slightly confused. He had assumed this was merely an easy way to earn a thousand merit points, considering the enemy was only a Third-Stage abomination.
Although the battle had been harder than expected, they still managed to defeat it.
Hmm... Maybe everyone had been eyeing this mission, and I accidentally stole their opportunity?
No, that couldn’t be right... The mission had apparently been there for an entire week. Surely someone else could’ve completed it already.
Hans, noticing Ryven’s dazed expression, massaged his temples helplessly.
"To be frank, you did nothing wrong. In fact, Ryven... What you did was extremely impressive."
He looked at him with admiration and continued explaining.
"The thing is, three days ago, the reward for that mission was massively increased to three thousand merit points."
"However, the chief had to temporarily cancel the mission after a well-known group of hunters, all at least all around level twenty, never returned from the cave."
"Because of that, no one dared to take the mission anymore, even with such a huge reward."
Hearing the explanation, Ryven was left somewhat speechless. Only then did he realize that the information Thomas had given him was already outdated.
"O-oh... Three thousand merit points, huh...?"
Ryven stood there with a dumbfounded expression.
After the commotion finally settled down, Ryven eventually reached the counter. Once he did, Hans quickly stepped forward to assist him.
"Your Mana Tablet?"
As Hans spoke, Ryven immediately took the Mana Tablet out of his inventory and handed it over.
Hans took the tablet and walked toward the receptionist. The two spoke for a while before Hans also handed over the pouch containing the proof of the mission was successful.
After several minutes of waiting, the receptionist finally returned the Mana Tablet to Hans.
When Ryven received it back, the number displayed on it had increased by three thousand merit points.
"If you want to know how claiming merit points works, all you need to do is give your Mana Tablet to the receptionist, along with the proof."
Hans explained calmly.
Ryven listened in silence before giving a small nod. Fortunately, the explanation wasn’t as complicated as he had initially thought.
Even so, that wasn’t what concerned him at the moment. With everyone’s eyes still fixed on him, he wanted nothing more than to leave the hall as quickly as possible.
After Hans finished explaining, Ryven excused himself.
"I’m heading out now. I still need to use these merit points to buy a few things."
After saying that, Ryven quickly left the Merit Hall, while Hans prepared to head in a different direction.
Just before they parted ways, Hans suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right. My father asked me to pass along a message if I ran into you."
He paused briefly before continuing. freewebnøvel.com
"He wants to meet with you three days from now."
"Actually, he told me that two days ago, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I checked your house several times, but you were never there."
"So, if possible, you should go see him tomorrow."
Ryven simply nodded in acknowledgment before the two finally went their separate ways.
Not long after, Ryven arrived at the blacksmith shop where he had borrowed the spear and shield.
"Master Yuan?"
He knocked on the door and waited patiently.
This blacksmith shop was one of the few blacksmith shops within the village, though it was also the least popular among them.
Simply because the weapons made here were far too expensive. When he borrowed the spear and shield before, he only later realized that the two had already cost him five hundred merit points.
However, Ryven wasn’t disappointed. After the fight against the Blood Skull Spiders, he realized that the weapons here were of extremely high quality.
Moments later, the door creaked open.
"Who is it?"
A deep voice resounded in his ears as a man in his thirties appeared. He stood over seven feet tall and held a hammer in one hand.
At a single glance, anyone would have surely felt intimidated by him.
"Master Yuan, I’m here to repay my debt."
Ryven spoke calmly. The blacksmith owner paused, seemingly trying to remember who Ryven was. A moment later, recognition
flashed across his face as he snorted coldly.
"It costs seven hundred merit points now, since you borrowed them for quite some time."
The blacksmith owner said coldly. His tone was firm and fierce, perfectly matching his intimidating appearance.
The corner of Ryven’s mouth twitched helplessly.
"W-what now? Can you at least be reasonable...?"
Ryven replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Seven hundred merit points was already enough to buy food for at least two weeks.
However, the blacksmith owner merely glared at him fiercely, leaving no room for negotiation.
Seeing the man’s firm attitude, Ryven could only helplessly took out the weapons he had borrowed, the spear and shield.
Despite being used in battle, the two weapons were still in excellent condition.
"I won’t buy these anymore, you can keep them. I’ll just pay for the time I borrowed them. How about that?"
Ryven stretched out his hand and returned the two weapons.
"Two hundred merit points, then," The blacksmith owner said in a harsh tone.
Upon hearing that, Ryven gritted his teeth before taking out his Mana Tablet. He bitterly transferred the two hundred merit points.
After the transaction, he immediately left with a heavy heart.
I should’ve found another shop. If I keep buying weapons there, I’ll end up completely broke...
Although he had three thousand merit points, it didn’t mean he could freely buy whatever he wanted. Everything had its limits.
For the next few hours, Ryven could only bitterly search through other blacksmith shops.
Eventually, he entered a far more popular blacksmith shop filled with flashy weapons.
Unlike the previous place, this shop even had servants attending customers.
However, after examining the weapons for a while, he realized that while they had decent quality, they still weren’t close to the spear and shield from earlier.
"Dear customer, it seems ordinary weapons don’t interest you?"
"How about purchasing a Treasure Weapon?"
