Chapter 80: Priorities

Ain returned home by noon, with the new storage ring hanging from his neck.

Following a quick meal, he gathered most of his valuables and arranged them neatly on the bed.

The storage ring's storage capacity was 125 cubic meters, larger than his living room. Despite the AMDs stored inside, there was still sufficient space for Ain's current needs.

Glancing at his belongings, Ain began storing the items related to alchemy. First were the various pill bottles containing Rank-1 medicinal pills. Among them, the ones he personally concocted were the Spirit Recovery Pills, Spirit Condensing Pills, and Blood Refinement Pills. They were all high-grade pills, with the Blood Refinement Pills being the latest addition to his alchemical arsenal.

Aside from these, there was another pill bottle containing the Essence Heart Pills he received as a reward from the interclass competition. After regular consumption, the original fifteen pills had dwindled to just six.

Besides the pill bottles, there were special containers filled with alchemy ingredients necessary to concoct the medicinal pills as well.

Next, Ain glanced at the alchemical tools and instruments. These partly came from the beginner's alchemy set and partly from independent purchases. Except for the most commonly used, he stored everything else.

Finished with the alchemy-related items, Ain's vision turned to his only resource for Nox, bottles of Ectoplasm.

Nox was considered a genius among spirit pets, with its rank never lagging behind Ain's. On the contrary, Ain's own rank had impeded Nox when he was at Beginner Rank-1. It had yet to reach the limits of Intermediate Rank-1, but Ain was confident of its ability to do so before he did.

Once his abilities as a spirit tamer were sufficient, he would further augment its abilities by concocting tailor-made medicines and potions.

There was also the recently purchased Rank-2 Ghost Pearl. Nox didn't directly absorb its energy but loved to linger around it. Hence, Ain used it as a motivational tool for his spirit pet.

Following these resources was his equipment, which had been silently serving its purpose. Safety wasn't an issue within the city, so Ain only used it during his trips outside the city.

The equipment included a chestplate, gauntlets, boots, dagger, and a black spear.

The gauntlets and boots were crafted with Advanced Rank-1 Metal Golem Cores, granting them excellent spirit energy conductivity. The chestplate, on the other hand, used Rock Golem Cores.

These armor pieces were crafted after Ain's first trip to the Rocky Region, where he obtained only two Metal Golem Cores. In hindsight, he had been too impatient back then. By waiting another week, the chestplate could've been crafted with a Metal Golem Core as well.

Moving on to the weapons, there were only a dagger and a black spear.

Unlike the armor, Ain's requirements for the dagger were low, so he purchased it directly from Liberty Firm. Moreover, it had been replaced a few times already.

The black spear, crafted from Advanced Rank-1 materials, was retrieved alongside the two pups from their cave. It had accompanied Ain on his recent trips, expanding his skillset. Even without proper techniques, his physical control, combat awareness, and martial arts talent allowed him to exhibit great skill with the weapon.

Aside from the black spear and the pups, Ain had also retrieved three Heal runestones from the cave. These runestones always remained within his pockets.

Leaving the runestones as they were, the rest of the equipment was placed into the storage ring.

What still remained on the bed were all books. There were two meditation technique manuals, a body tempering technique manual, a few spell books, the Blood Origin Technique, and the spirit master inheritance book.

Ain momentarily paused on the Blood Origin Technique. This technique only served as reference material, as he didn't plan to practice it. Moreover, the book contained the alchemy formula for the Blood Potential Potion, which was worth studying in the future. It would be troublesome if this book was found in his possession, but Ain's curiosity compelled him.

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Soon, the books also entered his storage ring. Afterward, Ain moved his numerous bags, some empty, some filled with supplies, into his storage ring as well. Now, only his daily necessities and some miscellaneous items were left outside.

Ain observed his room while returning the storage ring to his neck. When his gaze landed on the alchemy instruments, he revealed a pondering expression.

Ain had achieved a delicate balance between his training and studies, progressing in both simultaneously. Originally, he had shelved the AMD research for this reason. However, with recent events, Ain began reconsidering his priorities.

Above all was his training as a spirit tamer, which would never change. What required reconsideration was the balance between his studies as a spirit master, alchemy, and the AMD research.

"I've always dedicated more time to alchemy, as it's essential for spirit masters. With my current standard, I can consistently concoct high-grade Rank-1 medicinal pills.”

“Although I've found the research direction for the supreme traces, manipulating attribute traces requires a higher technical standard. I need the ability to consistently produce some perfect-grade Rank-1 medicinal pills. At that point, my technical standard should allow me to precisely manipulate the attribute traces and accelerate the supreme traces research."

In the past few days, Ain's alchemy research had indeed progressed, but his alchemy techniques were the barrel’s shortest plank.

There were numerous alchemy techniques recorded in the inheritance book, and Ain had only learned a small number of them, which wasn't a bad thing, as the techniques themselves had rank requirements.

At Rank-1, only a few alchemy techniques were available, and Ain had learned most of them. This was already a great achievement, considering the short time since his awakening. What was even more monumental was his ability to concoct high-grade pills so soon after learning alchemy.

There were multiple factors influencing this, such as his mentor's teachings and Ain's innate talent, Wisdom Root. Without Analysis and Deduction, he would be hard-pressed to reach his current level. And similarly, with these abilities, Ain was confident in improving further. It just required time. As such, unlike the previous case with the AMD, Ain didn't intend to discontinue alchemy.

"I'll limit alchemy to only an hour each day and focus solely on improving my alchemy techniques. My spirit master studies will also continue, with two hours each day. I need to reach a standard where I can begin nurturing Nox more proactively. The remaining time, aside from my training, will be dedicated to the AMD research."

After taking everything into consideration, a tentative schedule appeared in Ain's mind. On average, he dedicated seven hours each day to his studies. According to his plan, Ain would spend four hours researching the AMD. Like puzzle pieces, a clear plan for the future was pieced together, and he turned to focus on the task at hand.

His new schedule was to take effect after the group trip tomorrow. For now, Ain planned to dedicate the remaining day to his training. Tranquil Thoughts and Invigoration had recently entered his spell arsenal, making them his current practice targets.

Due to the nature of the spells, Ain didn't have to move to the park.

Just like that, the sky gradually darkened amidst the embellishment from the stars.

…

The next day, Ain accompanied the rising sun, riding the rays of dawn toward Forest Gate.

As the sky gradually shed its orange hue, he arrived at the Spirit Tamer Association branch near Forest Gate, their chosen gathering point.

Looking at the tall structure, supporting the white, blue, and yellow of the Spirit Tamer Association, Ain arrived at its entrance before glancing around.

The entrance was bustling with activity as spirit tamers went about their day. With a quick check on his hololink, he moved toward the side and leaned against the tall walls.

"So, I'm the first one…" Ain thought to himself as he began observing the crowd. There were numerous spirit tamers in groups, chatting and laughing, as some seemed to have returned from dangerous encounters, with wounded bodies and pale faces.

Various spirit pets accompanied their spirit tamers, either on the ground or floating beside them. Flying within the city limits was prohibited, both for spirit tamers and their spirit pets. Of course, this didn't apply to high-rank spirit tamers and those with special identities.

As Ain observed these interesting sights, ten minutes quickly elapsed, and he spotted Hugo's figure approaching him.

"Ain!" Hugo shouted with a big smile on his face, but his voice was quickly drowned in the cacophony of sounds in the vicinity.

Hugo was adorned in light armor, a sheathed dagger on his waist, and a bow on his back, appearing much better than Ain on his first trip. He also carried a few bags, some empty, others filled with supplies.

In truth, Hugo's financial situation didn't allow him to afford the armor set, so, along with some advice, Ain also lent him some star coins. Conversely, the dagger and bow were obtained by Hugo himself.

Ain was also carrying some bags, albeit fewer than usual. His storage ring was securely tucked under his shirt and armor; he didn't openly reveal it. After all, having a fortune without the ability to protect it was a crime.

The black spear was also tied behind him, and the dagger was on his waist.

After the initial greeting, Hugo mimicked Ain and leaned against the wall. With hints of nervousness and excitement, he animatedly conversed with Ain while waiting for Frans and Paula. They had arrived earlier than the stipulated time.

Amidst their conversation, time quickly flowed by.

As the designated time approached, the pair leaning on the wall saw a rover approach the Spirit Tamer Association. This wasn't a rare sight, as rovers were the most common personal vehicles within the city.

The rover floated over at a moderate speed, eventually landing only a few meters away from them. The windows were tinted black, inhibiting their view of the passengers, but Ain and Hugo were already speculating.