Chris is wearing a blue shirt, gray trousers and a black suit, with an ankle-length black robe on top. In today's era, the robe has become a fashion trend, and people often match it with Old Era's popular clothing (such as suits).
He looked at his perfect holographic projection, checked his neatly combed hair, and then walked out of the apartment.
Chris knew that this was a very important meeting, so he went to his destination through space Transit Gate. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at Central Arcane Bank.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, someone notified him to come for an interview.
"Mr. Qiu," said a man from Somalia Region. He shook hands with Chris and then said, "You can call me Hassan."
"Mr. Hassan, nice to meet you."
Hassan motioned to Chris to sit down, and then he also sat down.
"You are a somewhat old-fashioned gentleman, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Most people born in the new era prefer to handle almost everything online. But people born before the advent of Magic Era tend to be more traditional."
"I'm also trying to adapt to this new era. But sometimes, I still fall back into old habits unconsciously," Chris replied.
"At least you are trying hard. The most difficult thing is to deal with the older generation, who will only complain endlessly that the world has changed beyond recognition," Hassan said while unfolding a holographic computer in front of him.
After a brief exchange of greetings with Chris, he quickly got into work mode.
"Mr. Chris, you are applying for a Arcane Merit loan. In accordance with our regulations, we have thoroughly investigated your background, including criminal record, educational experience, family situation, personal achievements, etc. Then, we let artificial intelligence comprehensively evaluate all the information collected to determine the amount of merit that the bank is willing to lend. This is the final number we came up with."
"Only 150 points of merit," Chris looked at the screen and whispered.
This amount is nothing compared to the merit required to purchase even a bottle of First Tier Dragon Potion.
"This is already a huge sum of money."
"Yes, but it's still not enough."
"You should have been mentally prepared. With your qualifications and resume, the bank is absolutely willing to lend you any amount of Arcane Coins. However, the nature of Arcane Merit is completely different."
"I thought with the recent announcement of 'War Readiness Status' things would be different."
Hassan shook his head.
"Merit System was created for two main purposes: one is to inspire people to develop and contribute to the Empire; the other is to attract those powerful Arcanist, prevent them from keeping their research results for themselves, and encourage them to share them in exchange for rare resources strictly controlled by the government.
"However, this system is flawed in its core logic. Most of the time, it only benefits scholarly arcaneists, scientists, and engineers. When it comes to lawyers, politicians, historians, writers, or 'those who have not directly contributed to the development of civilization,' its flaws begin to be exposed."
When Hassan said this sentence, he deliberately made a quotation mark gesture with his hand, because this is the rhetoric that some people often use to criticize the flaws of this system.
"We live in a society that values knowledge and innovation. So, it's completely logical," Chris nodded in agreement.
"That's right. However, knowledge and innovation alone cannot support the comprehensive development of a civilization. The government is also aware of this, so they passed laws such as <Good Citizen Act>, so that everyone can obtain merit by maintaining good attendance and work performance in ordinary positions. Or the recently introduced <Artist Recognition Clause>."
Chris once read reports about <Artist Recognition Clause>, which was a bill passed by Supreme Council about three years ago.
Before the bill, writers, filmmakers, video game designers, and other creators in the field would only receive credit when someone brought an idea in their work to life. It could be a spell used by a character in a book, or even a completely new concept conceived in the mind of a fantasy author.
But now, <Artist Recognition Clause> has significantly increased the remuneration they can receive through creativity, greatly encouraging people to create and innovate. Not only that, as long as the idea is novel enough, these creators can get some credit in advance even before the concept is transformed into an actual invention.
"I understand that in a few months there will also be some new laws that will be passed that will make it easier for people who do non-research jobs to get merit."
"Oh? Can you elaborate?"
"I don't know much. But these bills are definitely tailor-made for people like you. For example, if a legislator proposes a bill that has a positive impact on the Empire, they will get Arcane Merit. If they solve a difficult problem, or find a loophole in the Empire laws and their jurisdiction, they can also get merit."
"In the long run, this is definitely a good thing for the Empire. As long as Merit System is not completely corrupt, this type of law can have an extremely far-reaching impact," Chris commented.
"That's true. As for the corruption problem in the system, we can only leave it to time to test."
Chris did not continue this topic. After chatting briefly with Hassan, he stood up and left.
He took the train to work, but everyone could see that he was in a terrible mood.
After get off work, he finally could no longer suppress his emotions and allowed the disappointment and frustration of today to completely overwhelm him.
A mere 150 points of Arcane Merit can only shorten the accumulation time he needs from 63 years to 58 years. If you include the recently announced price reduction policy of Potions, he still needs to work hard for a full 46 years.
However, he simply cannot expect this discount to last for long, because the news has clearly hinted that this price reduction is entirely implemented temporarily because Milky Way Galaxy is about to usher in a chaotic situation that may lead to a large-scale war.
After taking a shower, Chris did not immediately go to exercise and practice as usual. Instead, he took out the "Fire Source Liquor" he bought and drank it.
This is a special spirit brewed specifically for Qi Martial Artist by a family in the Korea region. It contains extremely unique ingredients that can use the Battle Aura in the drinker's body as fuel to produce a chemical substance that quickly makes people drunk.
The reason why this kind of wine is extremely popular is that it has no restrictions on the realm of the drinker. As long as you have Battle Aura in your body, it will work.
Chris was drinking and thinking about his future. For some reason, he felt that his future was bleak and there was no hope. He was extremely eager to change his life, but he didn't know how to do it.
"Master, your vital signs show that you are drunk," Angela reminded.
"I know."
"I recommend that you detoxify before exercising. If you are not going to detoxify, go to bed immediately. In your current state, it is extremely not recommended to engage in any high-intensity activity."
Chris ignored her, and Angela did not continue to pester her; she silently went to perform other housework, while constantly monitoring Chris's vital signs to ensure that his life was not in danger.
At this moment, Chris suddenly remembered the phone call a few days ago, so he dialed that number again.
"Okay, let's meet at that diner."
The next day, he took the train to the Japan area and arrived at his destination in just thirty minutes.
After walking into the restaurant, Chris immediately noticed the many details around him. The place seemed to completely retain Old Era's style. There was no trace of any technological equipment, robots or magic here: it was just an ordinary cafe that you can find everywhere in Old Era.
He found a seat and sat down, and a young Japan waiter came over and asked him what he wanted to order.
Chris noticed that she was communicating with him directly in Japanese, rather than using the generic Arcane. What Luck noticed was that Japanese happened to be one of the languages he knew, so he didn't need to use a translator at all.
"I'm waiting for my friend," he told the waiter, who said he would come over to order when they were all together.
Half an hour later, another middle-aged man walked into the cafe and sat down opposite Chris.
"Cruz, how have you been lately?"
"Same old, same old."
"What happened to you? After the Arcane Empire was established, you completely lost contact. I even thought for a while that something bad happened to you."
The two were extremely close friends when they were young. However, after Dementor Invasion and Arcane Empire were established, Cruz mysteriously disappeared, and Chris did not hear news about him again until many years later. But by that time, their relationship was no longer what it was. Except for the brief phone call a few days ago, they had not had any in-depth conversations for a long time.
"A lot of things have happened. I have been trying to find my place in this ever-changing world, trying to adapt, and trying to survive. Don't talk about me. How have you considered my proposal?"
Chris frowned, but he did not ask for those details. "Tell me about this race."