“That’s not preferential treatment, but...” An Wen lowered his voice. “Your rule is so weak, it doesn’t even deserve restrictions.”
“You have to understand that the weaker a rule is, the lower its potential. Naturally, the number of sublimation stones it can absorb will be fewer, and even the effects of each sublimation won’t be that great.”
“Over the years, I’ve gone through a lot of materials and seen many dungeon bosses myself. As far as I know, the difference between the maximum and minimum number of sublimation stones a rule can absorb is five!”
Zuo Lin'an was startled. That much of a difference?
An Wen gestured the number six with his fingers.
“The strongest rules can use six, while the weakest hit their limit after using just one.”
Zuo Lin'an listened with great interest.
Honestly, he really wanted to know what kind of rule would hit its limit after only using one.
But seeing that An Wen had no intention of elaborating, he didn't press the matter.
“Then...”
He suddenly thought of a question.
“If all my rules are sublimated to their limits in the future, and I keep opening dungeons to earn Contribution points, won't I end up with too many points and nothing to spend them on?”
An Wen widened his eyes slightly, looking at him with a hint of surprise.
“By the time you actually have that many Contribution points, who knows how long it will have been. I might have already died of old age.”
Zuo Lin'an blinked and made a suggestion.
“Instructor, you're so capable. Why don't you go to Sin Hunter City and become a Human-Specter Symbiont?”
With An Wen's skills and intellect, passing the Sin Hunter City assessment should be a breeze.
However, when he said this, An Wen slowly shook his head.
He let out a soft sigh.
“Not everyone wants to become a Human-Specter Symbiont.”
“I admit, it does sound great.”
“A youthful body, an endless lifespan... As long as you don't cross the bottom line of the supernatural world, you can exist for as long as the world does.”
“But I'm not just by myself. I have a wife and children.”
“I want to spend my life with them.”
“Instead of watching my parents, wife, and children pass away one by one, until I'm left entirely alone.”
Hearing this, Zuo Lin'an was quite surprised. He hadn't expected Instructor An to be so sentimental.
But...
He thought of something and followed up with a comment that might not have been very appropriate for the current atmosphere.
“Instructor, I remember your daughter is An Mu?”
“Isn't she already a Human-Specter Symbiont?”
The atmosphere An Wen had just built instantly shattered.
Zuo Lin'an watched him take a deep breath and then rub his temples.
Was he supposed to say that he and his wife were deeply in love and had promised to grow old together, while their children were just accidents and could do whatever they pleased?
“Student Zuo, you truly deserve to be good brothers with Xu Youyou.”
Zuo Lin'an instantly felt something was off.
“Why does that feel like an insult?”
An Wen waved his hand. “Alright, let's not talk about that. As for what you said about having too many Contribution points to spend?”
“Forget it. That's impossible!”
“As far as I know, the work phones you have contain a system's mall, right?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
“Yes, there is a system's mall. It has a lot of items, practically everything you could think of.”
An Wen tapped the table.
“Then what's the most expensive item?”
Zuo Lin'an answered without a second thought.
“The most expensive ones are the 【Rule Sublimation Stone】 and the 【Sin Hunter City Entry Application】. They both cost one hundred Contribution points each.”
An Wen spread his hands.
“Doesn't that prove my point?”
“The most expensive items are only one hundred points. Didn't you find that odd?”
Zuo Lin'an pondered for a moment.
“Do you mean there are hidden, more expensive items in the system's mall, Instructor?”
An Wen nodded.
“Supposedly, the system's mall will unlock better and more expensive items based on certain criteria. However, I'm not sure what those criteria are. You can take out your work phone and check.”
“After all, you now possess two rules and have become a Two-Star dungeon boss. There might be a message sent to you.”
Zuo Lin'an hastily pulled it out to check.
Sure enough, he actually saw one!
【Mr. Zuo, congratulations on promoting to a Two-Star Daily Dungeon boss. Please complete the renovation of your dungeon as soon as possible to welcome the next batch of players in your best state.】
【The system's mall functions have been partially unlocked. You may check it if needed.】
Upon seeing this, Zuo Lin'an opened the system's mall and found that there were indeed a few new items.
Among them, the one that surprised him the most was...
【Focus Card: Restores the memories of a naturally converted specter's past life.】
He glanced at the price.
Five hundred points!
Zuo Lin'an shook his head repeatedly.
“Can't afford it, definitely can't afford it!”
Besides, he had no use for such an item right now. If he had five hundred Contribution points, it would be enough for him to acquire his other four rules and even exchange for a Rule Sublimation Stone.
Hm?
He hadn't looked closely earlier, but now he noticed that the price of the Sin Hunter City Entry Application had changed to two hundred Contribution points.
“Instructor, why did the price of the Sin Hunter City Entry Application go up?”
An Wen paused before speaking.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The Sin Hunter City Entry Application costs one hundred Contribution points for the first purchase, and each subsequent purchase increases the price by one hundred points.”
Zuo Lin'an wanted to say something, but An Wen ignored him and continued.
“Don't worry, the Rule Sublimation Stones... are the same!”
Zuo Lin'an froze.
He had thought An Wen would say that Rule Sublimation Stones were different and would always cost one hundred Contribution points each.
But if that was the case...
He did some quick math on how many Rule Sublimation Stones he would need in the future.
First of all, he definitely needed to possess five rules. If each rule could absorb six Rule Sublimation Stones, that would be thirty stones.
Later, when his Death Rule advanced into a Domain Rule, it would free up three auxiliary rule slots. He would have to come back to Sin Hunter City to obtain three more rules.
That would be another eighteen stones.
Wait, after the fusion, wouldn't the Domain Rule be considered a new rule?
Could it also continue to use sublimation stones?
“Instructor, after successfully fusing into a Domain Rule, can I still use Rule Sublimation Stones to continue getting stronger?”
An Wen thought about it. “Yes, but the limit is still six.”
Zuo Lin'an added those six stones.
That meant... fifty-four stones.
How many Contribution points would that require?
The first stone cost one hundred points, and each subsequent stone was one hundred points more expensive than the last. It was a very simple math problem.
A total of 148,500 points!
When this number popped into his head, he felt like his future was completely dark.
And...
This didn't even factor in the Contribution points needed to purchase the city entry applications.
Seeing his silence, An Wen seemed to guess that he was calculating the points and added another comment.
“Actually, a powerful specter boss can even possess a second Domain Rule.”
“After you finish converting the three auxiliary rules related to time, that last backup Death Rule can be set as the starting point for another Domain Rule.”
“Once the Domain Rule related to time is successfully fused, it will free up three rule slots. You can set aside another one as a backup Death Rule.”
“Then, formulate two auxiliary rules for the previous Death Rule...”
Rate on N.U.
