"Why are these crystals so expensive?" Leilin couldn't help but ask out loud. "And there's even a limit on how many you can buy?"
In his view, at this kind of price, the elemental crystals were probably some of the most expensive items on this catalog—second only to the spiritual power potions.
He had spent four months in the Four Seasons Garden. Each month, the stipulated contribution points were 10, meaning that even if Leilin did absolutely nothing, he would still receive 10 contribution points from the Four Seasons Garden every month. Additionally, after joining Martin's group and completing each task, he would also earn a certain number of contribution points.
But even adding it all together, he still couldn't buy much.
"Although elemental energy crystals have significant side effects, there's no denying they can rapidly boost a wizard's strength. Naturally, they're highly sought after…"
The female wizard seemed to have heard this question many times before and answered without hesitation.
"I'll take 50 grams of energy crystals, plus these two advanced academic knowledge packages!" Leilin thought for a moment and pointed to several lines on the catalog.
He realized his mistake—the Four Seasons Garden's monthly resource allocation quota didn't stack. It was fixed each month.
In other words, Leilin could only exchange for 50 grams of elemental crystals each month here, and couldn't combine several months' worth of quotas into one lump sum.
Even if he had known, he couldn't have accumulated much anyway, since as a newcomer, he didn't have that many contribution points to begin with.
"Total: 80 contribution points!"
The female wizard swiped Leilin's nameplate against a black machine behind her, and a flash of red light flickered past.
She then handed Leilin the items he had selected from behind the counter.
"Thank you!"
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable about it, Leilin tucked the items away and walked out of the plaza.
"Leilin! Leilin!"
A small wizard under a meter tall, with a head that resembled a goblin's, scurried up to Leilin.
"Perfect timing—come with me! Martin's looking for you!"
Leilin knew this small wizard. They were both temporarily assigned to Martin's group and had partnered up to complete quite a few potion-making tasks. They had a decent relationship.
"What's going on?" Leilin asked curiously.
Martin, as their group's leader, mainly just organized tasks and such. Beyond that, he had virtually no presence.
"It's about this month's tasks!" The small wizard's face broke into a proud grin.
"Ever since you joined, Leilin, our Third Group's task completion rate has shot straight up. Martin really made an impression on Lord Tigette! And because our group has been performing exceptionally well lately, Tigette has started giving us some tasks with really good rewards and great cost-efficiency…"
"This time, it seems to be about exactly that…"
"Other tasks?" Leilin was curious.
After joining Martin's Third Group, the tasks he'd received had always been potion-making assignments, like crafting Frost Potions.
Thanks to the Chip, which had begun showing its unique advantages in such complex and tedious work, Leilin's completion rate was astonishing.
As a result, even though Leilin had deliberately held back his progress and made a few intentional mistakes, his contribution to the group was plain for all to see, earning him the respect of many teammates.
Leilin followed the small wizard through several narrow side passages until they arrived at the Third Group's gathering area.
Bang! The iron door swung open.
"Leilin!"
Martin was hunched over a long table, writing something with a red pen. When he saw Leilin, he paused his work and flashed a warm smile.
For Martin, Leilin had been a timely savior. Thanks to Leilin's joining, he had not only completed his own tasks ahead of schedule and secured his resource quota for the year, but had also secured several excellent tasks for his group.
He was now starting to believe that Leilin was his lucky star.
In the spacious room, several other members of the Third Group were also present. When they saw Leilin, they all smiled warmly.
"Alright! Everyone's here—let me tell you about this month's tasks!"
Martin proudly pulled out a scroll tied with golden ribbon from inside his robe and slowly unrolled it before Leilin and the others.
"This month's task is to maintain a designated area inside the Secret Realm. The reward: 50 contribution points per person!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Though they had expected the task to be good, the wizards below still erupted in surprise.
"We're actually going into the Secret Realm! This is really…" The small wizard's face was flushed with excitement.
Leilin, meanwhile, looked somewhat surprised as well. "That's a generous reward. And it's a Secret Realm?"
A Secret Realm was shorthand for those areas isolated by wizardry, originally established by ancient wizards as resource sites or laboratories. So it seemed that a major power like the Four Seasons Garden had access to such things as well.
"I almost forgot—Leilin, you haven't been here long, so you might not know much about Secret Realms yet…"