Chris let out a sigh upon hearing that only Fifth Grade Vitality Essence was available. Although Flameforge was the largest city within a hundred-mile radius, it was considered a small town in the grander scale of Aethelgard.
He asked, “What are the prices for Vitality Essence here?”
The attendant replied, “First Grade Vitality Essence costs ten Essence Stones, Second Grade is twenty Essence Stones… Fifth Grade costs fifty Essence Stones.”
Chris was stunned. He hadn’t expected Vitality Essence to be so expensive. No wonder alchemists were the wealthiest profession in all of Aethelgard.
After a moment of thought, Chris said, “Give me ten Fifth Grade Vitality Essences.”
The attendant’s face lit up with a broad smile. Most Aetherbinding practitioners only purchased First Grade Vitality Essence, but this man had asked for ten Fifth Grade Vitality Essences in one go. Clearly, he was someone of means.
Chris handed over five hundred Essence Stones, and in return, the attendant gave him ten small bottles, each containing one Vitality Essence.
Although Chris had mined a total of ten thousand Essence Stones, they weren’t all his to spend. Even so, spending five hundred Essence Stones on ten Fifth Grade Vitality Essences made his heart ache. Essence Stones truly were a precious resource, and traveling through Aethelgard without them seemed impossible. Still, he was curious to see how the Vitality Essences would affect his body.
Later, Chris arrived at one of the best inns in Flameforge. This time, he hadn’t brought many people with him-only Oriana. Because the underground tomb incident had drawn the attention of every major Aetherbinding faction in Verdantia, Chris had ordered Tiger and the Death Guards to stay hidden for the time being.
Chris’s main objective in Flameforge was to find Emily. His secondary goal was to learn more about the culture and customs of Aethelgard.
At the inn, Oriana joined him. Seeing her, Chris asked curiously, “Miss Silverstone, have you found your sister?”
Oriana shook her head, disappointment written across her face. “No, I still don’t know where she’s gone.”
She had searched all over Flameforge but found no trace of Emily. Chris sighed. Emily was a clever and mischievous girl, making her difficult to track down.
For the next few days, Oriana continued searching for Emily, while Chris stayed in the inn, consuming the Vitality Essences.
The effects were remarkable. Just a few Vitality Essences significantly improved his physical condition and enhanced his overall strength.
One day, Chris decided to take a walk around Flameforge on his own. As he strolled, a massive building caught his eye. Hanging above it was a sign with four large characters: “Mission Hall.”
Mission Halls were scattered across Aethelgard. Anyone could post a task, and anyone could take on a task. Tasks were categorized by difficulty levels, from First Grade (the easiest) to Ninth Grade (the hardest and most dangerous). Naturally, the rewards increased with the difficulty level.
Tasks ranged from assassination to alchemy, herb gathering, and more. Intrigued, Chris entered the Mission Hall.
Inside, the hall was vast and bustling with people. It was one of the most lively places in Flameforge, packed with individuals posting or accepting tasks.
To post a task, one had to pay a deposit. If someone failed to pay the promised reward after a task was completed, Mission Hall would confiscate the deposit and ban the individual from posting tasks in the future.
Chris had heard that the organization behind the Mission Hall was incredibly powerful, with many strong individuals under its banner. Causing trouble here was essentially a death sentence. Because of this, everyone felt safe conducting business within the hall.
Of course, the Mission Hall wasn’t a charitable organization. For every completed task, it took a 10% commission in Essence Stones, making it a tremendously wealthy institution.
Chris looked up and saw a massive crystal wall on one side of the hall. It resembled a display screen from Earth, showing a real-time list of available tasks. As soon as someone posted a task, it appeared on the wall. When someone accepted or completed a task, the information was updated accordingly.
Anyone could choose a task from the crystal wall, but to officially accept one, they had to go to the designated task counter. Each task came with a time limit. If the task wasn’t completed within the allotted time, it became available for others to accept.
Chris scanned the tasks on the wall. Most were simple, with low rewards. First Grade tasks typically offered only a few Essence Stones, which were of little value to Chris. He was more interested in the highest-level tasks.
At the top of the list was a Ninth Grade task with a reward of fifty thousand Essence Stones. Chris was stunned. His entire army had spent considerable time and effort to mine twenty thousand Essence Stones, and yet here was a single task offering more than twice that amount.
Examining the details, Chris discovered that the task was only available to Sixth Grade Hunters.
Like alchemists, hunters in Aethelgard were ranked by grades. Their rank corresponded to the level of beasts they could successfully hunt.
– First Grade Hunters could hunt First Grade beasts.
– Second Grade Hunters could hunt Second Grade beasts.
– Third Grade Hunters could hunt Third Grade beasts, and so on.
A Sixth Grade Hunter was someone capable of defeating Sixth Grade beasts.