Apprentice Mercenary

After Jianos left, Qi Tian entered the villa. After resting for a while, he headed to the public area to look around.

After a short flight, Qi Tian arrived at the dormitory district, where several tall buildings stood. Quite a few elite Star Level trainees were walking around nearby.

"Look, a Universe Level trainee. Don't they all have their own little courtyards? What's he doing over here by the dorms?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's just passing through to visit someone."

Qi Tian heard their discussion as he flew by, but paid it no mind. He crossed several rows of dormitory buildings and continued onward.

Before long, he spotted a huge lake on a vast grassland, surrounded by numerous tents that looked like yurts.

Even before he arrived, Qi Tian could see elite trainees of varying strengths leisurely strolling around.

Only when he flew closer did he realize how enormous the tents were. They stood twenty or thirty meters tall and were nearly as wide as a soccer field.

Signs on the tents read things like "XX Restaurant," "XX Drinks," and "XX Treasures Exchange," along with "Freight Pickup and Drop-off," and so on.

As Qi Tian walked among them, many people were eating delicacies made from precious ingredients inside the tents, while others sat around outdoor tables, drinking wine and beverages.

Their strengths varied, but they all wore badges of different colors on their chests.

Here at the Beihua Branch, every elite trainee wore a badge corresponding to their rank.

Red represented Third Grade Elites, silver represented Second Grade Elites, gold represented First Grade Elites, and black represented Special Grade Elites.

Although Qi Tian technically counted as a Special Grade Elite, his circumstances were unusual, so he did not have a badge representing his rank.

After walking for more than ten minutes, he noticed, to his surprise, that there was almost no sign of technology here. It looked just like a grassland camp on a native planet.

"Universe Mercenary Alliance service center?"

As Qi Tian walked along, he spotted a tent bearing the Mercenary Alliance insignia. Curious, he went inside to take a look.

"Welcome."

The beautiful staff member inside the tent saw Qi Tian enter and immediately greeted him with a bow.

Qi Tian smiled and nodded. As he glanced around, he spotted the only piece of technology in sight on the circular counter: a medium-small detector.

At that moment, an elite trainee at the ninth rank of Star Level was taking a large pile of silver metal out of his Space Ring. A staff member nearby was scanning it with the detector.

After scanning the pile of ore, the staff member drew up a table for the Star Level trainee to review, then asked him, "Trainee, you submitted 47 pieces of 'Snow Silver' ore this time. We've calculated that they contain 1.67 kilograms of Snow Silver, worth a total of 1,670 points. Would you like to exchange them?"

"Exchange them!" the Star Level trainee replied with a nod.

"Exchange complete. Please check your points in the Mercenary System," the staff member said with a smile.

"Thank you."

After completing the so-called "exchange," the Star Level trainee turned and headed outside.

As he turned, Qi Tian saw a silver badge on the chest of his battle suit. It bore the Virtual Universe Company insignia, indicating that he was a Second Grade Elite.

Here at the Beihua Branch, every elite trainee wore a badge corresponding to their rank.

Red represented Third Grade Elites, silver represented Second Grade Elites, gold represented First Grade Elites, and black represented Special Grade Elites.

The Star Level Second Grade Elite trainee also noticed Qi Tian standing by the entrance. Although he saw no badge on Qi Tian, he still bowed slightly in greeting.

Qi Tian was a little taken aback, but nodded back to him.

It looks like the hierarchy is just as strict here. Trainees with lower ratings have to bow to those ranked above them.

After watching the trainee exchange his ore for points, the staff member who had greeted Qi Tian asked, "Trainee... are you here to exchange something for points?"

Qi Tian had no idea how things worked here. He had only come inside on a whim, so he asked the staff member, "This is my first time at a Universe Mercenary Alliance service center, and I haven't registered as an adventurer mercenary. Sorry for the trouble, but could you explain how it works?"

The staff member was a little surprised to hear that Qi Tian had reached Universe Level but still wasn't a mercenary.

However, she was highly professional and immediately put on a polite smile. "If you're interested, you can register as an adventurer mercenary here. And since you've reached Universe Level, you can skip the Apprentice Mercenary Assessment and become an Apprentice Mercenary directly."

Qi Tian's eyes lit up slightly. That would save him some trouble, so he nodded in agreement.

"Sorry for the trouble. Please register me as a mercenary."

"It's no trouble. This way, please. And kindly provide your identity information."

Qi Tian provided his citizen information, and she completed his registration in short order, handing him a badge bearing a pattern of crimson waves.

"Trainee Qi Tian, would you like me to explain what mercenary points are used for?" the staff member asked with a smile as she handed him the badge.

"Thank you, but there's no need to trouble yourself. I'll look through the mercenary handbook when I get back."

After speaking, Qi Tian gave the staff member a polite nod and turned to leave the Mercenary Alliance service center.

After he left, another female staff member behind the counter teased the one who had helped Qi Tian. "He's so dignified, and he doesn't put on airs at all."

"Don't even think about it. He's a Universe Level trainee still training at the branch, so he must be a Special Grade Elite. At the very least, he'll become a powerful Domain Lord someday. He's way out of our league."

After leaving the Mercenary Alliance service center, Qi Tian wandered around nearby. Once his curiosity was satisfied, he returned to his villa.

After logging into the Virtual Universe Network, Qi Tian appeared in a small villa on Beihua Island. He sat down in the study and looked over the information on mercenary points.

After quickly skimming the handbook, he understood what the Star Level Second Grade Elite at the service center had been doing when he exchanged ore for points.

It turned out that after mercenaries obtained valuable treasures in mission worlds, they could either sell them in the universe themselves or submit them to the Mercenary Alliance in exchange for points.

Once they accumulated enough points, they could apply for a mission to raise their mercenary rank.

Points could also be used to exchange for rare treasures that were hard to find or difficult to purchase through ordinary channels.

However, the number of points awarded for a treasure would certainly be lower than its actual value, discouraging people from trying to resell supplies for a profit.

Most adventurers used their points to exchange for secret techniques, since these cost the Mercenary Alliance almost nothing.

Of course, sharing the secret techniques they obtained was forbidden. If the Virtual Universe detected someone using a secret technique with more than 70% similarity without any record of purchasing or receiving it as a gift, an investigation would be launched.

After finishing the handbook, Qi Tian opened the point exchange list and looked it over.

But since he was only an Apprentice Mercenary and had zero points, the secret techniques and treasures he could exchange for were all common goods in the universe.

Qi Tian only needed one glance to see that there was nothing worth exchanging for.

It looks like if I want valuable secret techniques, I'll have to raise my mercenary rank—or enter the Virtual Universe Company, take on secret-realm adventures, earn points, and exchange them for what I want.