"What's this new notice that's got everyone so flustered? Can't you be calm like me?"
Don't you see Brother Qiang is here! With such behavior, our Far Voyage Adventure Group has certainly fallen further in Brother Qiang's eyes. The hope of luring Brother Qiang into our group has just dropped a notch.
Pot Lid Head, with a face full of grievance and eyes filled with resentment, said, "The adventurer guild's new notice states that they're going to categorize adventurers and adventure groups into star ratings. Raising your star rating allows for the purchase of more items and even offers discounts and other benefits. I glanced over it briefly, and even those Puppets from the Sanctuary are on the purchase list."
"What! You can buy Puppets?"
He Yuanhang was astonished. "What a great deal! What are we waiting for? Hurry, hurry, hurry! If we're too late and others get ahead, that won't be good."
He dragged Pot Lid Head by the arm and sprinted off.
Completely forgetting who it was that said not to be hasty just a moment ago.
Pot Lid Head's resentment grew deeper.
The adventurer guild's urgent notice sparked the curiosity of many registered adventurers, all of whom were resting and hadn't taken on any missions.
Even those who were in limbo, hesitating whether to settle in Green Shadow or brave the perilous wastelands to reach the safer Lindong, gathered around after hearing the news.
Whether they stayed or not, it didn't hurt to check it out.
By the time He Yuanhang arrived, the place was buzzing with people.
The good things must have all been snapped up.
Inside the guild hall, several screens were scrolling the subtitles of the new notice.
He Yuanhang stood in front of a screen for a while, gradually understanding.
On top of the original foundation, registered adventurers could use the credits they earned from missions to exchange for equipment and supplies. Once their total credits reached a certain amount, they could rank up in stars.
The credits already spent didn't affect the total towards star advancement at all.
Higher-ranked adventurers had priority in taking on missions, and some advanced missions required a certain star rating to accept.
Similarly, more equipment and supplies became available for exchange as the stars increased.
He Yuanhang took a brief look and saw that adventurers were categorized from one to nine stars, but currently, only the first five levels were open. Items available to one-star adventurers were the same as before, but as soon as one rose to two stars, the items available for exchange increased significantly.
The standard Warrior Puppets were right there on the two-star adventurer's exchange list.
The required credits weren't much, only twenty, even cheaper than the standard swords!
He Yuanhang's eyes lit up.
The people around were also talking excitedly.
"It seems the Sanctuary has really put out a lot of good stuff this time, not just Puppets, but even the enhanced version of the standard swords are available for exchange. Those used to be exclusively for the Patrol Team."
"Just at two stars, adventurers can exchange for so many more items, a lot of which are incomprehensible to us. There's even access to training camps. Two stars allow for the exchange of Intermediate training equipment, and at three stars, you can get Advanced. We haven't even seen the Intermediate ones, right?"
"Isn't anyone paying attention to the prices? There are discounts for two-star adventurers when exchanging items—nine-point-five percent off for two stars, nine percent off for three stars… all the way up to a sixty percent discount for nine stars. Although nine stars aren't available yet, the Sanctuary has said it, so it's just a matter of time. The thought alone is exciting!"
"Stop talking. I had saved up a few dozen credits thinking of exchanging them for a Combat Saber. Now, with so many pieces of equipment and items available for exchange, I don't even know what to choose. This is going to kill anyone with decision paralysis!"
This sudden release of new items by the Sanctuary was completely unexpected to them.
Some of these people were those who didn't want to be constrained. Although they envied the benefits of the Patrol Team, they still chose to be free adventurers. Others simply wanted to join the Patrol Team but couldn't.
It had been many days since there was any news of the Patrol Team recruiting new members.
He Yuanhang pulled Pot Lid Head by the hand, "Let's hurry and line up. I still have over thirty credits in my account, enough to exchange for a Warrior Puppet."
"Uh, Commander…" Pot Lid Head, the member, hesitated to move.
"What's the matter? Speak up, don't dawdle!"
Pot Lid Head finally spoke, "Commander, your credits are probably not enough to rank up to a two-star adventurer. Including our adventure group, we can't exchange for those Puppets yet."
Adventure groups also had star ratings. In reality, most Awakeners operated in groups when they were out in the field. When accepting missions, they often did so as a whole group. The rewards could be distributed based on each member's contribution or according to a specific method on the mission.
The total sum of credits accumulated by all members of the team represented the highest credit score of the adventure group, equating to the "experience" needed for ranking up. Once reaching a certain amount, the adventure group's star level could be elevated.
After ranking up, team members automatically enjoyed the benefits brought by the Mercenary Corps.
The Pot Lid Head member glanced at his Commander and said weakly, "It takes 100 credits for an individual to advance to two stars. For small adventure groups like ours, we need 400 credits to rank up. I've already checked, and our Far Voyage Adventure Group currently has 386 credits, just a bit short of upgrading."
Small adventure groups consisted of five members. Based on the credits, if the five team members were of equal strength, the adventure group's ranking speed was faster than an individual's. It was akin to a party experience bonus, faster than solo leveling.
If their Far Voyage Adventure Group could expand to an Intermediate size, gaining twenty-five member slots, once they filled up those slots, both mission completion and upgrading efficiency would be much faster than a small adventure group's.
Unfortunately, expanding the team size came with a fee… Pot Lid Head quietly glanced at the Commander. With his daily indulgence in alcohol, he feared their adventure group would remain small forever.
"We're just short of a few credits? What are we waiting for, let's quickly take on a mission then!"
He Yuanhang immediately said, "Go and inform the others. No, let's just accept the mission first to make sure there's one left for us."
He wasn't the only one with this line of thought. All these people, who had been resting from their missions at the Sanctuary, immediately thought that, well, to hell with resting, it's time to take on missions and earn credits. Every second wasted was a major loss!
The thought of others already being at two stars, happily exchanging credits for those enviable items, while he was still stuck at one star, only able to watch dryly, unable to even accept missions to rank up…
He Yuanhang shivered and hurried to the window, and upon looking, he finally relaxed. Today, in addition to releasing more items for exchange, the Sanctuary had also added many missions. Otherwise, there might not have been even soup left for him.