Delan, in a room of a two-story stone building.
Richard watched as the writing on the Star Pattern Paper on the table completely disappeared, then reached out and put the paper away.
The place he was in now was no longer the temporary residence he shared with Bobbobovic. After returning from exploring the ruins, Joseph arranged for him to stay in a luxurious residence under the Truth Society’s command.
Thinking about the words he had written on the Star Pattern Paper earlier, he paced around the room, feeling that he should be able to help the black-faced old man Oscar and that Level 4 Wizard’s guard Zong Hu escape their predicament.
For him, this was a good thing.
After all, the old man had significant influence, and with minimal cost, assisting him might bring rewards secondarily. Most importantly, it could potentially solidify the cooperative relationship between him and the old man. If he were to fall out with the Truth Society, the old man might provide considerable support.
Personally, he disliked trouble and wasn’t interested in establishing a massive organization before reaching a certain level of development. However, going it alone was not advisable, especially against a presence like the Truth Society, so aligning with other forces was undoubtedly the most sensible choice.
Of course, to be clear, his current focus wasn’t on falling out with or dealing with the Truth Society but on taking advantage of his performance in exploring the ruins to successfully infiltrate the Truth Society and try to uncover some of its secrets.
If he guessed correctly, by tomorrow, there should be results regarding these matters.
A thought formed in Richard’s mind.
Quickly, the next day arrived.
In the morning, not long after sunrise, there was a knock at the door.
Richard walked to the door and opened it, unsurprised to find Joseph standing outside.
Joseph held a box, twenty centimeters square, in his hand. Seeing Richard open the door, he greeted him with a smile: "Good morning, Wizard Richard. I imagine you know what my presence here means."
"My application to join the Truth Society has been approved?" Richard asked.
"Exactly," Joseph replied. "After all, your strength is considerable, your performance in the ruins was outstanding, and you also have research in Magic Rune Magic. How could we not approve your application? By the way, Wizard Vici’s application has been approved as well."
After a pause, Joseph continued, "So, starting today, we’re colleagues. I’ve come to bring you some things for organization members. Shall we talk inside?"
"Sure, please come in." Richard made an inviting gesture.
Joseph stepped into the room, placed the wooden box on the table, and opened it. From inside, he took out a silver badge, three centimeters square, featuring a peculiar eye pattern, and handed it to Richard.
Richard took the badge, feeling its coldness and sensing a faint mana fluctuation inside, likely a small magic to prevent forgery. The eye pattern on the badge was peculiar, quite slender, with a nearly triangular pupil. If stared at for a long time, it seemed the pupil would move, giving a dizzying effect.
"Is it a deliberately designed visual mislead, with a little imperceptible Illusion Technique?" Richard thought to himself.
Joseph spoke up, explaining, "Wizard Richard, what you’re holding now is the identification proof of the Truth Society. Having it means you are a formal member of the organization. Although this badge’s symbolic meaning exceeds its practical use, I hope you’ll keep it safe, as its creation is quite troublesome.
However, if you lose it, it’s no big deal; we can always issue you another one. Additionally, if you work hard and rise to the core level, you’ll receive an even better form of identification."
Saying this, Joseph showed a ring on his finger: "Look, one. I won’t spoil its specific function for now to avoid surprising you too much. But I assure you, you’ll find it invaluable."
"Alright, I look forward to it," Richard said, though inwardly he wasn’t excited at all.
He knew exactly what Joseph was talking about—the Space Iron Ring. Previously, he might have found it useful, but now he already had hundreds and had no interest in acquiring yet another empty one.
In fact, he was tempted to ask Joseph if the Truth Society would be interested in buying back such Space Iron Rings.
If they did, and the price was right, he could sell a batch to them.
Of course, he ultimately didn’t voice this thought, only musing silently.
To minimize suspicion, he carefully handled every detail when interacting with the Truth Society. Therefore, he secretly stored all the Space Iron Rings and used them discreetly, avoiding any verbal mistakes.
Joseph looked over again and said, "By the way, Wizard Richard, apart from the badge, there’s something else for you. After you sold your Casting Materials to the organization, the payment due to you. But the reward isn’t in Gold Coins or Crystal Coins; it’s been converted into points you can use within the organization."
"Points? What are points for?" Richard asked.
"Theoretically, points can be used for everything. You can think of them as currency circulating solely within the organization. You can use them to exchange for gold coins or crystal coins at a fixed rate, but not vice versa. Because the issuance, circulation, and exchange of points are strictly monitored by the organization, one aim is to maximize utility while minimizing certain risks. As for what they can specifically be used for, you can take a look at this booklet."
As he spoke, Joseph took out a book heavy enough to knock someone out from the wooden box on the table.
Richard took it and flipped through a few pages, discovering a variety of options.
Included are exchanges for various magic tools, casting materials, and magic scrolls. For example, exchanging for a Level One Wizard level magic tool called "Enamel Ring" requires 100 points. Exchanging a casting material like "Mistom Pollen," a standard quota is 5 points. Exchanging a Second Circle Spell Scroll called "Wolf Soul Guardian" needs 250 points.
Additionally, you can create your own tasks and request other organization members’ assistance. The minimum task starts at 100 points, with no upper limit.
Furthermore, you can request special services from some members in the organization. For example, you can have a member who is proficient in Prediction Magic to divinely search for lost items or request a member skilled in magic runes to repair damaged magic tools.
After viewing, Richard asked a very crucial question to Joseph: "How many points do I have now?"
Joseph quickly answered, "1,000 points, 750 of which are payment for your casting materials, and the remaining 250 points are a reward for your exploration of the ruins. Don’t be surprised; anything within the organization comes with compensation—it’s absolutely fair and impartial, ensuring you don’t lose out.
So, if you want to earn more points, just keep completing the organization’s tasks. Of course, you can use your expertise in magic runes to provide services to some members of the organization and earn points.
Oh, after joining the organization, you’ll probably return to Jialan City, right? In Jialan, the organization’s influence is still relatively weak, and you can help it expand there. By then, you’ll receive a monthly stipend—though not much, it’s better than nothing.
If during the development process, you make significant contributions to the organization, such as recommending qualified people to join, appropriate rewards will be given. The organization is interested in how you obtained the casting materials previously. If you can provide enough clues, there’s also a reward, and it won’t be small; you might want to consider it."
After hearing these words, Richard nodded again, flipped through the exchange booklet a bit more, then looked at Joseph and asked, "The exchange items in this book aren’t everything, right? If I join the core level, will there be more astonishing exchange items?"
"More or less," Joseph smiled, "I can’t reveal too much information about levels you haven’t reached, but I can give you a hint. Which means, if you enter the core level and have enough points, you can, in a sense, achieve eternal life."
"Eternal life?" Richard gently raised an eyebrow, "That’s interesting."
"If possible, I’d like to ask two more questions," Richard continued.
"First question: Regarding the box in the ruins previously, I’m curious, what exactly does it do, and if I wanted to exchange for it, how many points would it take?" Richard asked.
"For this..." Joseph hesitated for a moment, "Technically, the related level of that box also exceeds your current identity. However, since it was retrieved from the ruins, you had a hand in it, I can tell you about it.
The box possesses a temporal spell effect, allowing casting materials placed inside to mature, making newly harvested materials as if they’ve grown for decades. And as for the points for exchange, at least a hundred thousand."
"I see," Richard nodded, "Second question: What about the situation to the northwest yesterday, are there any updates?"
"The situation to the northwest, well, there’s no need to hide it from you," Joseph said, "I’ve looked into it; it was a few people from the Soma Alliance trying to spy on an important stronghold of ours, and they were given a great lesson by a big figure in our organization."
"So, they were all killed?"
"Um, well, no," Joseph awkwardly admitted, "Some members executing the mission weren’t very elite, and the others were too crafty, ultimately escaping inexplicably during the pursuit, even though they were severely injured."
"Alright," Richard said, "I’m wondering if it would’ve been better if I had joined the chase yesterday?"
"I maintain an optimistic view," Joseph clearly dissatisfied with yesterday’s mission participants, "I believe, Wizard Richard, had you been there, even if the target still managed to escape, they certainly wouldn’t have escaped so easily."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"I’ve asked all my questions. Wizard Joseph, do you have anything else to give me?"
"No, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go over to Wizard Vici to inform him of his application approval."