Settling the Gains

Adventurer "Bright Moon Reflecting Snow" obtained "Tank Zombie Essence Soul" from the Raging Tide Secret Realm. Your Mental Strength -30!

Deploying a Tank Zombie cost 20 Mental Strength. Extracting and materializing its Essence Soul from the secret realm incurred another 30 Mental Strength, for a total cost of 50 Mental Strength!

That was no small loss for any rookie lord!

Qi Ji felt no pressure.

Instead, his spirits lifted!

Doomsday Frenzy generated an extremely high amount of Mental Strength. Today's conservative estimate was over 1,500 Mental Strength—what did a mere loss of 50 points matter?!

Not only was this not a bad thing, it was excellent news!

The adventurers immediately gathered around to inspect it.

Tank Zombie Essence Soul, a Five-Star Gray Essence Soul...

"Sure enough, it's a Five-Star Essence Soul!"

"This must be worth at least fifty Common Zombie Essence Souls, right?"

"More than that. This Essence Soul is of extremely high quality. Even among Five-Star Demons, it should be top-tier. Its value would only be higher if taken to Black Stone Town!"

"Sister Mingyue is so lucky!"

"That's way too enviable!"

"..."

Yet Bright Moon Reflecting Snow made a decision that stunned everyone. "I request to turn in the 'Tank Zombie Essence Soul'!"

"Huh?"

"Turn it in?"

"Common Zombies are one thing!"

"You're turning in even an Essence Soul like this?"

"Have you gone mad? This is something you might not be able to buy even with money!"

"..."

Cat MeowMeow said, "Sister Mingyue, why would you do that? Even for you, this Essence Soul is incredibly valuable!"

White Little Deer hurriedly said, "That's right, Sister Mingyue. Even if you don't absorb it yourself, you could trade it for plenty of Essence Soul materials. That should be enough to help you advance to the Second Order!"

"Miracle City is a Dungeon that has only just started. If I take away such a high-grade Essence Soul, it would be too great a blow to the Dungeon!"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow said, "As long as this Dungeon remains, why should I fear not being able to farm Tank Zombie Essence Souls in the future?"

Everyone looked at her with respect.

She was worried that Miracle City would be driven into bankruptcy.

That was why she was willingly turning in the Essence Soul.

This was called sustainable fishing the pond dry. Everyone gave Bright Moon Reflecting Snow a thumbs-up and praised her actions.

Qi Ji was equally baffled by the situation.

No.

Why was everyone so worried that I would go bankrupt?

Did you guys misunderstand something? Your understanding of our respective strengths was seriously flawed.

Did I really look that broke?

Forget one—even ten would be nothing!

Of course.

With such a good thing offered up.

Boss Qi would not refuse.

He had wanted to reclaim this Essence Soul anyway.

The adventurer voluntarily turning it in saved him the trouble of arguing over it.

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow said, "Although I'm willing to turn in this Essence Soul, we need to discuss the terms!"

Adventurers and lords were always locked in a battle of wits and negotiation. When important resources or Essence Souls dropped, it was perfectly normal to negotiate with the lord.

Qi Ji said, "No problem. As long as your conditions aren't excessive, this lord can offer some concessions!"

"First, I want 300 Contribution Points. Of those, 150 will go to my three teammates. They contributed a great deal in this battle."

"Agreed!"

Contribution Points were merely numbers.

Qi Ji held the right to mint them, so he could issue as many as he wanted. Besides, 300 Contribution Points for a Five-Star Essence Soul was not excessive at all.

"Second, I saw that the territory has already built an Essence Soul Altar, so I want to apply to become Miracle City's first Contract Adventurer!"

This condition.

Caught everyone completely off guard.

Cat MeowMeow hurriedly said, "Sister Mingyue, this is such an important matter. Isn't this decision too hasty?"

White Little Deer also quickly said, "Yes, Sister Mingyue. How will you explain this to the Old Dean if he finds out?"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow said, "I have my own judgment. I believe in my choice!"

The other adventurers were all shocked.

Sleeping in the Wind and Lonely Swordsman both admired Bright Moon Reflecting Snow's decisiveness.

How important was this decision?

To fully understand its significance.

One first had to understand the Adventurer Rank System and Cultivation System.

Adventurers cultivated differently from the native races of the Chaos World.

The native inhabitants of the Chaos Continent cultivated in a manner closer to traditional cultivators, while adventurers, as a special profession, based all their cultivation on Natal Essence Souls.

First Order Adventurers could fuse Gray Essence Souls as their Natal Essence Souls.

Second Order Adventurers could fuse White Essence Souls as their Natal Essence Souls.

And so on.

After contracting a Natal Soul.

They needed to continuously strengthen their Natal Essence Soul Fusion Degree.

Farming secret realms gradually increased their Fusion Degree. Another method was to absorb and refine other Essence Souls.

For example.

Suppose a First Order Adventurer contracted a "Common Zombie Essence Soul" as their Natal Soul.

When this Essence Soul was first contracted, its Fusion Degree was only 0%. They could continuously farm secret realms and use the Essence Soul's power to gradually increase its Fusion Degree, or they could purchase various Essence Souls to feed their Natal Essence Soul.

Once the Fusion Degree reached 100%.

The adventurer would completely master the Essence Soul's power.

This was equivalent to filling the Experience Bar. They could then contract another Second Order Natal Essence Soul, thereby breaking through from a First Order Adventurer to a Second Order Adventurer. By repeating this process, they could continuously advance in rank.

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow's grandfather was White Crane Hermit.

Black Stone Town's former number one adventurer and the current dean of the Adventurer Academy.

Under White Crane Hermit's instruction and guidance, Bright Moon Reflecting Snow had already fused several First Order Essence Souls despite having just turned eighteen. Her Natal Essence Soul Fusion Degree had reached 70%!

And the choice she made now.

Was equivalent to giving up most of her cultivation.

Binding herself to Miracle City and starting over.

Each adventurer could only contract the power of one Dungeon at a time.

Once Bright Moon Reflecting Snow signed a contract with Miracle City, she would be deeply bound to this Dungeon. If the Dungeon collapsed in the future, she would lose all the power she had gained in this city!

Although she could still bind herself to another Dungeon.

She would inevitably have to pay an enormous price in time and resources!

Qi Ji saw Bright Moon Reflecting Snow in a new light. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "This young adventurer is truly bold. This lord has no reason to refuse this request, and I believe it will be an absolutely correct choice!"

"You flatter me!"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow smiled faintly. "Third, I want to contract a Witch Zombie Essence Soul. So if my lord obtains a Witch Essence Soul in the future, I want you to contract it for me immediately!"

This woman was clever!

By this calculation, she was essentially exchanging the Tank Essence Soul for a Witch Essence Soul of the same quality. Not only would she contract an Essence Soul of the same rank for free, she would also earn several hundred additional Contribution Points.

"Agreed!"

Qi Ji nodded. "This lord will make an exception only this once!"

It was not a loss. Although he had agreed to contract a Witch Zombie Essence Soul for Bright Moon Reflecting Snow, that was a future Essence Soul, while the Tank Essence Soul he had received was already in hand.

Furthermore, as Miracle City's first Contract Adventurer.

Qi Ji ought to give her some benefits. He could treat it as a reward for her courage, set an example for the other adventurers, and spend a fortune to attract talent!

You reclaimed "Tank Zombie Essence Soul" +1!

The transaction was complete!

A powerful Five-Star Essence Soul was now in hand!

Today's gains were enormous. The 160 adventurers had exhausted all their energy in just seven hours, so Qi Ji could close up early and tally today's gains!

The total number of Doomsday Frenzy challenge attempts today was 1,024.

Mental Strength generated: 2,112.

Soul Crystals generated: 845.

The high Mental Strength income.

Showed that the adventurers had played to their hearts' content and had a great time.

As for why the Soul Crystal income was lower than the total number of challenge attempts, it was because some Wool Party adventurers were repeatedly farming the beginner stages. If adventurers cleared the stage without dying, they would not drop Soul Crystals.

When necessary in the future.

Qi Ji would restrict the beginner stages.

For example, challengers might be unable to continue after a successful clear, or their daily number of attempts might be limited.

There was no need for that yet, because the Dungeon needed a large number of Essence Souls. Although these Wool Party players did not contribute Soul Crystals, they could produce plenty of Essence Souls.

As long as the reclamation rate was high enough.

Qi Ji could fully earn it back through foreign trade.

A Common Zombie Essence Soul could sell for quite a few Magic Crystals, making it even more profitable than directly harvesting the adventurers.

Today's Essence Soul gains:

Common Zombie Essence Soul 110/185.

That was 185 produced, with 110 reclaimed.

This reclamation ratio had reached an outrageous level.

Enough to make other Dungeon Lords green with envy.

So sometimes, having a small Dungeon could actually promote Essence Soul reclamation, because adventurers needed large amounts of Contribution Points to ensure they would not be squeezed out by others while waiting in line.

Hunter, Smoker, Spitter, Boomer, Jockey Essence Souls: 4/8.

Charger: 0/1.

Tank: 1/1.

Total Mental Strength Expenditure: 300.

Mental Strength Net Income was 1,912. Adding the 45 Mental Strength left over from yesterday, his current Mental Strength was 1,957.

There were 172 Soul Crystals left from yesterday.

Adding 162 in extra income from selling Essence Souls.

And today's operating income of 845.

He currently held a total of 1,179 Soul Crystals.

These resources were no small fortune, enough to further develop the territory and further improve the remaining stages of the Raging Tide Secret Realm.

The adventurers' stage-clearing progress appeared likely to be faster than expected.

Since that was the case, it was time to create more stages, especially by adding material from the Resident Evil Inspiration Crystals. Tyrant Trackers, G-Creatures, and the like should all be thrown in.

It would enrich the content.

Lay the groundwork for Story Mode.

And give these country-bumpkin adventurers a proper eye-opener!

Thanks to ChunJie Nan for the 500 Qidian Coins and Dark Knight King for the 100 Qidian Coins reward!