Duke nodded to Caroline and stepped through the slowly opening door engraved with intricate runes. The sight beyond it made him pause slightly.
What lay before him was not the warehouse or display shelves he had imagined, but a vast sea of stars formed from pure energy.
Countless points of light, some bright and some dim, floated in the boundless void. Each one represented a resource available for exchange: materials, potions, knowledge, and even certain secret pieces of intelligence.
The sense of space within the hall had been distorted and expanded by magic, making it seem deep and boundless.
The floor beneath his feet was made of translucent crystal. The moment he stepped onto it, clear guiding paths of light appeared automatically, pointing toward different areas.
A mental message sounded directly in Duke's mind:
First-rank Arcanist Duke, welcome to the Arcanist Association Resource Exchange Space. Your currently available points: 181. Please select the resource category you wish to browse: materials, knowledge, privileges—
"Materials," Duke said silently.
At his command, the vast sea of stars before him changed instantly.
Most of the lights dimmed, leaving only about a third still glowing. They drifted closer and arranged themselves into a clearly distinguishable grid.
Detailed written descriptions and three-dimensional projections appeared beside every point of light: the material's name, properties, origin, rarity, and the points required to exchange for it.
All these points of light represented resources accessible under a first-rank Arcanist's authority. Resources available only to second-rank and third-rank Arcanists did not appear at all, and Duke did not even have the chance to view them.
Duke's gaze swept quickly across them. A first-rank Arcanist's authority was indeed limited, and the materials he could see were not especially high-grade. Yet their variety and breadth still far exceeded the treasury within