Nessyra took charge after the lengthy discussion on how to distribute the contribution points. It took a half hour of back-and-forth before they reached an agreement.

"So, we all agree: the realm catcher, the AI Core, and the bloodline trait are essential. These total 1300 points, and Riseth, Alistair, and James will each contribute 100 points," Nessyra summarized.

James, having received a masterful rating for his individual score, had an additional 100 points, putting him at 300 contribution points total. He was adamant about acquiring the AI Core. While there were other ways to create a Network, an AI Core was the best solution. Even with advanced documentation from the subsections, it would likely take James years to figure out how to create one, as it wasn't his specialty. They also lacked a core to reverse-engineer, which would have sped up the process. The required programming was presumably beyond his current capabilities. The Kaiakos project had been easier, mostly involving transplanting core components from one hull to another to create a functioning spacecraft. Riseth's Cosmic Pathfinder topic provided detailed instructions that greatly simplified the process. An AI Core would simplify everyone's lives, especially Nessyra's and James's, by handling tasks like communication, logistics, and coordination.

"I still think we should contact that Adam person you mentioned. Perhaps they would be willing to exchange that kit or self-replicator for another realm catcher or, better yet, the means to produce them," James suggested.

James had been arguing that point for a while, and Nessyra was also in favor of that idea. However, both Alistair and Riseth were hesitant. While receiving more of those realm catchers would be incredibly useful, most of the clan would miss out on their boons, and they both felt the boons would be a great means to strengthen the weaker members of their clan. They also doubted Adam and his faction would have these treasures at hand, and it would take quite a lot of time for the Synth Alliance to pay them back. Offering them the kit or self-replicator just to deny them if their offer was insufficient could also come with unforeseen consequences they would rather do without, particularly since they did not fully trust the Synth Alliance as they were outsiders to their universe and could only guess their agendas.

After listening to their arguments, Nessyra continued, "These are all just points to leverage for increasing our compensation. We could demand interest rates based on how long it takes them to repay us if they can't offer anything immediately."

Alistair still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, so he sent Riseth a private message. "She's your sister. I'll let you make the decision."

"Your brother is in on this, too, but that's fine; I'll make the call," Riseth responded as she leaned back on the couch they were sitting on.

"Fine, go call Adam or whatever contact you have of the Synth Alliance, but be sure to make clear what we are missing out on and what kind of impact this could have for us," Riseth said.

Nessyra and James exchanged looks. Nessyra smiled, her eyes growing focused as she presumably contacted her Synth Alliance connections. They continued talking among themselves while she engaged in the negotiation, her expression mostly blank with the occasional smile. At one point, they visibly watched her recoil before she leaned forward, deep in thought.

Since it wouldn't change their plans, they spent their points to buy the agreed-upon items, and they appeared in a flash of light on the table nearby. Since James was the resident expert on magitech, Alistair requested that his brother inspect the items. James eagerly agreed, standing up and heading to the table where the two items were placed. He opened the casing for the AI Core first, revealing a perfectly spherical object covered in ever-moving magitech circuitry glowing with a deep blue light. The core looked almost like a mechanical brain and felt almost alive to Alistair's senses, and James initially hesitated to pick it up. Once he got over his initial hesitation, James picked it up to examine it more closely; he noticed a cable connected to the bottom of the sphere with glowing connectors that shifted in size and shape, clearly designed to adjust and plug into any machine.

"It looks like a machine brain," Jessica commented.

"It kinda is," Simon added.

"Yeah, it's a good thing we got this. There's no way I could create something like this anytime soon, even with perfect memory and the system's skill assistance," James admitted.

James then put the core back in its casing before casting a glance at Alistair, who gave him the go-ahead as he stored the core in his inventory. He then opened the second casing for the Realm Catcher and sucked air through his teeth as he put his eyes on the fragile-looking cube inside. Unlike the AI core, the cube seemed to be made of interlocking platings and circuitry, and Alistair presumed it was hollow from the angle he was looking at it. The item was also clearly inert, and James closed the case without touching the cube.

"This is even worse. I can't reverse-engineer it. It's clearly built with countermeasures to prevent tampering. If I try to take it apart, it will definitely break," James said, a note of disappointment in his voice.

"Can't you use your vision skills to figure it out?" Alistair inquired.

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"I already tried that; it's like trying to take an X-ray through a lead wall," James said. "You should just take it with you. If you find a good realm during your travels, bring it along to whichever planet we end up choosing."

"How does that thing work?" Alistair questioned as he stood up and picked up the casing.

"From what I can tell, you take it out close to a realm and inject mana into the catcher until it is sufficiently powered," James explained.

With a quick nod, Alistair stored the casing containing the Realm Catcher before questioning Riseth about the information her topic had on realms. Riseth, who had already read extensively on this subject, explained that realms were somewhat rare but could be found almost anywhere, even within asteroid fields. Some planets had multiple realms, while others had none at all. They came in many forms and names; cultivators called them secret realms, while others referred to them as rifts or pocket dimensions. She knew that incredibly high-grade beings could create them and that they occurred naturally, particularly in mana-rich environments. As to how exactly they formed or were created, she could only guess. Though they were highly varied, these realms almost always contained special environments that allowed for unique and incredibly valuable treasures to thrive. Upon Alistair's question about whether they were related to the shards of reality within the summoning planes, she just shrugged.

"I don't really know. It makes sense to me; for all we know, reality shards could be the remnants of created or destroyed realms or perhaps the building blocks for realm formation. But from what I’ve read about natural dungeons and their creation magic, I doubt that," Riseth remarked.

After some prodding from Melissa, who was quite interested in the topic, Riseth expanded on natural dungeons and what she knew of them. Riseth smiled warmly as she shared the information over the Akashic Link skill. A quick skim over her topic's information revealed that natural dungeons were described as powerful crystalline beings with an extraordinary affinity for creation magic, able to transform their surroundings to fit their needs and desires. If that were true, they should be able to transport them without using the realm catcher as they were technically living beings, just not as they understood it. Based on the vague information provided, their best guess was that some dungeons created their own realms around themselves rather than expanding into whatever location they spawned in if they did not find them to their liking.

During a lull in their discussion, Nessyra clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention to her, a wide predatory smile on her face.

"The Synth Alliance representative spat credits over himself to convince us to get the kit and the replicators," Nessyra began. "They offered to reimburse us for the lost stats with potions that double the stat value we missed out on. They'll grant us free access to any dungeons under their control or use their connections to provide access to make up for the lost skill points. Additionally, they'll give us a realm catcher for each replicator and two more if we hand over the Synth Lord Kit. Plus, they'll pay heavy interest in USC until they fully reimburse us."

"This seems almost too good to be true. How can we be sure they won't back out after getting what they want?" Simon asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

"I Talked with Mitana about that, and her faction, the Lyraxis Ascendancy, would act as an arbitrator in this trade." Nessyra continued. "She assured me that to the Synth Alliance, it's chump change, and the increased power we offer their followers is almost invaluable to them, so I managed to cut us some additional favors."

"Wouldn't the natural god of Eldarion Prime intervene in whatever they tried?" Simon asked, somewhat confused.

"It's not just religion that matters in a natural god's formation," Riseth explained. "Beliefs, in general, are important. There are multiple species and religions on that planet, and a lot of them resent the status quo."

"I wouldn't be surprised if whatever deity spawned was a bit split on its priorities. Besides, a natural god can't kill lower-grade individuals without facing heavy karmic repercussions."

"Wait, does that mean you've already agreed to their terms?" Alistair interjected after digesting what Nessyra had said.

"Of course not," Nessyra replied. "But I strongly recommend we accept the trade. It’s a long-term investment that could pay off significantly. We are in a very stable and strong position. Temporarily missing out on these stats is definitely worth the payoff. Plus, it would do wonders for my records."

"What do you think?" Alistair asked Riseth.

"Business is business, and this seems to be a good opportunity for us. From what we know, they're fighting imperialistic slavers, and worse. I couldn't care less how they use the automata against them," Riseth replied, her tone pragmatic.

After a brief discussion, everyone agreed that the long-term investment was the better call. With Alistair and Riseth's consent, they spent their points to acquire the Kit and three self-replicators. They planned to keep one and potentially sell it later. This expenditure cost them most of their leftover points but left enough for the lowest earners, like Isabella, to spend her 100 points on receiving the boons despite her protests.

Nessyra stored the two cubes containing the self-replicators and the kit before hurrying out of the room. She shot James a glance and made a quick gesture, a flicking motion using her middle finger, signaling that he should take over from here. Alistair was about to explain what it meant when James apparently understood on his own.

"Speaking of doing wonders for records, I have an announcement to make," James said, drawing everyone's attention. "I officially finished working on the Kaiakos, and while I can't disclose half the titles I earned, I can say the payoff was huge."

This elicited a round of cheers as James informed them that they would hold a party in half a week for the clan and everyone involved with the construction of the spacecraft to celebrate the end of the trial and the construction of the Kaiakos. Alistair and Simon questioned whether the Kaiakos would be displayed as they had some security concerns. But James reassured them that he would store the craft after an initial reveal as Nessyra would not risk the craft being sabotaged, as unlikely as it was. People from Neshan took security very seriously, as sabotage was rather common on their planet, so it wouldn't raise any eyebrows if they were to store the craft shortly after its reveal. Since most of them had marked the last week of the trial for relaxation and planning it, Alistair wasn't overly surprised that the people from Neshan insisted on holding a party to celebrate, and he half expected to be invited to some other parties and functions before it all came to an end.