Chapter 132: Redemption

“Alright, I understand. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take him over now!”
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Drury waved his hand, signaling the two to leave.

Brenda led Hughes through a small door.
Once inside, Hughes realized it was a large laboratory where many wizards were busily working on various tasks.

“This is our potion division’s assignment. Every month, a set quantity of potions is distributed to us to complete. Since the potions we receive are generally of high grade, you can imagine the pressure,” Brenda explained with a hint of helplessness.

“So, you’re the ones who haven’t been meeting the quotas!” Hughes’s mouth twitched upon hearing Brenda’s words, realizing that the group Enno had mentioned earlier was indeed them.

“I don’t know why the team leader assigned you here, but since you’re here, you have to follow the rules.”

“I understand!” Hughes wasn’t bothered. Brewing potions was his area of expertise, and ever since joining the Silver Rose, he had acquired many new recipes.

“Will I be living at the Silver Rose headquarters?” Hughes noticed there weren’t many wizards in their group, only seven including Brenda.

“If you want, you can. The Silver Rose will provide you with a place to stay, but you’re also free to return to your own place, even bring materials back to brew—just make sure you meet the required quantity in the end!” Brenda gestured for everyone to gather.

“That opens up significant benefits inside,” Hughes thought. If he brewed the potions himself, all those materials would be his to keep, which meant a substantial amount of magic stones.

“This is Hughes. From now on, he’s part of our team!” Brenda introduced Hughes to the group.

“A newcomer at last! Things are finally looking up!”
“Yeah, no more cramming every month!”

The other wizards brightened at the arrival of a new member. No matter what, Hughes joining meant their workload would lighten.

“All right, everyone get back to work! I have something to discuss with Hughes,” Brenda said. After the introductions, the others returned to their posts, resuming their tasks.

“Give me your badge!” Brenda approached a crystal orb and reached out for Hughes’s badge.

Hughes promptly removed the badge and handed it over.

Brenda’s fingertip traced the surface of the crystal orb, sending a white light into Hughes’s badge before returning it to him.

“Everyone who joins the Silver Rose receives newcomer contribution points, and the amount isn’t small. You can use these points to exchange for resources and knowledge.” Brenda then handed Hughes a map.

“This is the layout of the entire Silver Rose. Feel free to explore. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t accompany you. The new month starts in three days—come back then to collect your tasks,” Brenda patiently explained, clearly relieved that Hughes’s arrival eased some of her burden.

“This…” Hughes held the map, uncertain of what to do next, especially since Drury didn’t know yet.

“I’ll inform the boss. Just come on time,” Brenda reassured him, understanding his concerns but affirming her authority.

“Thanks for the trouble!” Hughes was eager to check out the exchange area of the Silver Rose, as resources were his primary goal.

Following the map, Hughes soon arrived at the exchange zone.

The hall was sparsely populated, which actually worked to Hughes’s advantage.

“Hello, I’d like to exchange some items,” Hughes said politely to the wizard behind the counter, who appeared partially elemental in nature.

“Give me your badge!” The wizard didn’t look up, simply extending a hand.

Hughes handed over his badge.

“Hm, 1000 contribution points. You must be new,” the wizard said, placing the badge on a stone slab that displayed the number 1000.

“What would you like to exchange?”

“I want ice elemental energy crystals, and also to know the price for advanced knowledge,” Hughes replied. He had initially planned to exchange for lightning elements, but reconsidered since lightning energy crystals were rare. If the Silver Rose didn’t have them, it would be suspicious if he later exchanged for other elements.

“Energy crystals cost one contribution point per gram. Advanced knowledge costs fifty points per volume,” the wizard replied lazily.

“Then I’ll take 800 grams of energy crystals and four volumes of advanced knowledge!” Hughes decided to spend all his points at once, prioritizing strength.

“Alright, let me check… Ice element…”

“Got it! Here you go!” The wizard handed Hughes a hefty cloth bag.

“You’re lucky. Energy crystals are scarce, and the ice element crystals are more abundant only because there are few ice element wizards here. If you asked for others, especially lightning, I might not be able to get them—they don’t even have any in the Silver Rose!”

“Good thing I exchanged what I did,” Hughes thought, pleased with his initial choice of lightning elements; otherwise, this would have been troublesome.

“These are your four volumes of advanced knowledge!” The wizard swept his hand, and the number on the stone slab dropped to zero.

“Thank you!” Hughes, clutching his new acquisitions, was eager to return to his villa to absorb the energy crystals.

“You’re having fun spending now, but when you start earning contribution points, you’ll see!” The wizard at the counter seemed uninterested in Hughes, returning to his book.

“Is it that hard to earn contribution points?” Hughes inferred from the tone.

On his way back, Hughes naturally used the teleportation array. He had planned to scan the array’s structure with his chip, but the chip informed him it would take at least three days to fully analyze.

Seeing this, Hughes decisively gave up. A few minutes would have been fine, but such a long time would be suicidal to linger there.

When Hughes returned to his villa, night had fallen. He once again entered his laboratory, preparing the energy conversion ritual to absorb the energy crystals he’d just obtained.

With prior experience, setting up the energy conversion ritual was effortless for Hughes.

“Let’s begin!” Hughes activated the ritual, absorbing the energy crystals.

The temperature in the lab immediately dropped, and frost formed on many surfaces.

“Chip, list my data!” Hughes felt no adverse effects—in fact, it was quite comfortable.

*“Beep! Hughes Bruke: Level One Wizard. Bloodline: Abyssal. Strength: 7.12. Agility: 8.91. Constitution: 10.97. Mental Power: 52.31. Mana: 52.31 (mana synchronized with mental power). Spiritual Elementalization Progress: 30%. Status: Healthy!”*

“That’s quite a boost!” Hughes had thought his spiritual elementalization progress would cap at around 20%, but it had jumped directly to 30%.

*“Beep! Reason: Abyssal Bloodline!”*

“Alright then,” Hughes muttered, feeling the chip was being a bit dismissive.