Tepo’s eyes wandered over the materials he had on hand. Most of them were various kinds of plants. The young man could only identify a few of them.

For better selection Line activated his [Scan]. He focused on one spell after another. But his luck wasn’t great. After sorting through the materials, only three with six-runed spells remained.

As a six-circled aspirant, Tepo was able to learn many new spells. The fourth, fifth, and sixth ring were separated in eight segments respectively. This allowed Tepo to keep his current three-runed spells and learn four six-runed spells if he wanted.

Right now, I don’t have a great system. The Lonarzium Skin’s defense doesn’t feel up to par. The [Chaotic Evasion] is also difficult to handle. Only [Infectious Flames] and [Rapid Pierce] showed great effects.

On the other hand, one’s foundation will only be set upon forming nine-runed spells. Most warriors build their fighting style around powerful nine-runed spells. Until then I still have time to collect a lot of spells.

But maybe I don’t need to do so. I’m lucky enough to join a strong organization. The Web probably has more spells than I would ever be able to find. I only need contribution points.

Just as Tepo’s thoughts reached this point, he was suddenly surprised. His eyes fell on a small bell-shaped piece of metal.

It shimmered mysteriously under the turquoise light. Tiny, ancient images were engraved on its surface. They told of a wandering tribe. Stars accompanied them, protected them. Entire worlds welcomed them.

Tepo was enthralled. A reverence appeared naturally in his heart.

A moment later the young man shook himself awake. Awe remained in his eyes.

Tepo knew what he was looking at. This was the Ahiluscendum! A legendary material was impressive indeed. Although it might be that this was Zarim’s doing.

But what amazed Tepo even more was the small bell’s spell circle. It was nine-runed, almost aligned in a straight line.

From his trip to the library Tepo already knew that nine-runed materials were rather rare. Even if he bought one from the Web it would cost a lot of contribution points.

What a windfall. Now I understand why the assassin planned so much for the Ahiluscendum. Many warriors would never be able to get their hands on a nine-runed spell and can only engrave multiple six-runed spells.

I have to hold onto the Ahiluscendum. When I become a nine-circled aspirant I can directly build a fighting style around it. As long as the spell doesn’t have terrible synergy with the Core of Time there is no reason to reject it.

Tepo was in a great mood after this revelation. With fondness in his eyes did he focus on the little solid bell. He didn’t dare to keep it in his storage bag. It was better to store it in the tower.

The other materials I have on hand aren’t very useful. I don’t recognize two of them and the other’s spell isn’t impressive. Getting stronger under sunlight? Doesn’t sound appealing to me.

Since none of these appeal to me, let’s just sell them in the intelligence area. I hope they have some good spells for me.

With a decision made, Tepo stored everything. Since his ship was left outside the tower, he at least had some space in his storage bag again.

A few stairs later the new recruit arrived at the intelligence area. He rapped the wooden counter. Immediately a masked figure appeared from the adjacent room.

“Ah. Web. Great to see you again.”, spoke Tepo warmly.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The masked figure stayed silent for a moment before answering with their emotionless voice.

“Welcome back. Line.”

Hmm. One day I will find out if you’re always the same person.

“I came to hand in some materials.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you able to evaluate them by yourself?”, asked Tepo with a friendly smile.

“Don’t worry. Just let us do our job.”

Tepo was amused by Web’s attitude, but he didn’t want to push too far. He waved his hands.

Immediately the counter was filled. Piles of books took most of the space, even covering some of the floor. A variety of plants, some remains of beasts, metals, and stones, were scattered over the counter. Even a few dark roots laid at the side.

Web moved their head. Their eyes scanned everything without any reaction. Nothing Tepo took out was impressive to such an extensive organization like the Web.

But suddenly the masked figure stopped for a moment. Tepo was surprised. He looked in the same direction, his eyes finding the dark roots.

“Are those roots worth something?”

“They should be.”, spoke Web surprisingly with slight uncertainty. “But in this contaminated state their worth diminishes a lot. Now they are only interesting for research.”

Tepo nodded faintly. In his mind he tried to move the Core of Time. Maybe it could purify some of the roots.

But unfortunately, the willful core ignored its host. Tepo didn’t know if the Core of Time couldn’t do it or simply wasn’t in the mood.

He could only regretfully let this opportunity to get rich slip away.

“What a pity.”, whispered Tepo.

“Yes.”, answered Web, referring to the dark root’s worth.

“Well. I can’t do anything about it.”, spoke Tepo with a jab at his core. “Just tell my how many contribution points I can get.”

“Wait a moment. We need to calculate.”

With those words the masked figure took everything into a storage bag before vanishing behind the door.

Tepo felt an itch in his heart. He really wanted to barge into this mysterious room. But he held himself back.

A few seconds passed before the intelligence agent returned.

“This must be your lucky day. The metal bar you brought is the target of a mission.

With this we can offer you 900 contribution points.”

The masked figure congratulated Tepo but their distorted voice contained some disinterest. 900 contribution points couldn’t impress them. Those weren’t much compared to what Quill and Anvil could earn in a day.

But Tepo nodded, satisfied. Not like he could change anything.

“Sounds good, thank you. Also, I have a few pieces of intelligence which might be worth something.”

Met by Web’s stare Tepo wasn’t discouraged and reported a few of the things he experienced.

When the warrior mentioned the ruw or the odd behavior of the two kingdoms, Web didn’t react at all. Their unmoving eyes even seemed to reveal a hint of mockery, certain that Tepo couldn’t know something the intelligence agents hadn’t heard about.

But as the young man told of the solved dungeon, Web was surprised. After a moment of silence, they spoke up:

“We can offer you another 100 points for a thousand in total.”

Immediately Tepo’s thoughts churned. He made some estimations. A strange idea came to his mind.

“Say, Web.”, asked the warrior with a contemplative tone. “If I were to ask for all information we have about the ruw’s conspiracy. How much would this cost me?”

Silence fell on the room. Web’s mood was difficult to discern.

“No comment.”

Tepo rose his brow slightly.

“Why? I’m just asking a question.”

“But you can’t afford the answer.

Suddenly Tepo took a sharp breath.

This means information about a conspiracy exists, doesn’t it? Was Tenro right all along?

Tepo was surprised. But in the end, it didn’t change anything for him. It wasn’t his job to deal with the ruw. And anyways, the situation was certainly more complex than he could guess now.

Shaking his head, Tepo focused on himself again.

“Ok. Thanks for the information. Appreciate it.

Let’s go with a thousand contribution points then.

Can you give me a list of spells I can buy with this many points please?”

“No.”

“Why?”, asked Tepo with an exasperated sigh.

“This is the job of the mission area.”, answered Web dryly.

“Isn’t this a bit arbitrary?”

Web hesitated for a second. They didn’t want to admit it, evading answering directly:

“In bigger towers there are more areas.”

“Whatever. Then goodbye. I guess.”

With those words Tepo took a few steps towards the mission area as Web disappeared in their room. Annoyed, the young warrior could only knock on the counter. A masked figure appeared again.

“Good. Can I get a list of spells I can buy with my contribution points now?”

“Of course. Let us check your current account.”

Immediately Web vanished again, leaving Tepo behind with his teeth gritted in annoyance.

Is it fun playing this game? As if you don’t know how many points I have! How many of you can there be in this small room?!

Finally, a masked figure appeared again, a small notebook in hand. They handed it to Tepo as they explained:

“These are spells up to a thousand contribution points. They are three- and six-runed. Take your time.”

Tepo only listened halfheartedly as he immediately scanned the notebook. To his surprise it contained hundreds of spells. The warrior could only begin with forming an overview for himself.