Chapter 43: Acquiring Clan Contribution Points and Exchanging Skills!

After a brief explanation, Frank discovered that Contribution Points had a value of around ten dollars per one, and each Magic Crystal from the Goblins gave him one hundred contribution points, as he exchanged twenty, he got two thousand contribution points.

The Club's price was two hundred thousand dollars, the 40% in money that Frank wanted 80.000 dollars that converted into over eight million yen. The other 60%, which were 120.000 dollars in value, were converted to 12.000 Contribution Points, giving Frank a whooping 14.000 Contribution Points in a single night.

Frank glanced at the cash with a crazed expression… on his phone, of course, as Matsuo had done the direct deposit into his bank account.

"With this money, I can buy anything I want now…" muttered Frank.

"Well, it's not like it is much anyways, you'll be needing way more for anything useful," laughed Matsuo.

"Yeah, but this money is enough for me… if I can earn this much every day, does a college or anything even matters anymore…?" wondered Frank.

"Anyways, let's go to the shop, so you can see the items in our store and if anything interest you…" said Matsuo, as both of them walked around the buildings, reaching a large building resembling an ancient Japanese castle, where many people were walking in and out, they were all members of the clan, some even brought giant monster corpses, while others large sacks filled with magic crystals, they were clearly bigger grinders than Frank.

"Ah, today's a busy day, it seems~," said Matsuo leading the way, Frank entered the building as he was greeted by a young girl with black hair and golden eyes.

"Ah~ Welcome, welcome, dear clients! Ah, Matsuo-chan! …Huh? Oh! You must be Frank James, the newbie!" said the little girl with a pleasant smile, she was wearing a typical Japanese kimono with white and yellow colors, her hair was also carefully tied with beautiful gold ornaments.

"Hello, nice to meet you, miss," said Frank politely.

"Ah~ And he has such good manners! It is hard to find a young boy with such manners nowadays~" said the girl, talking as if she were an old woman.

"Hello, Hinata, I brought Frank here to introduce him to the Contribution Points Shop, he just sold me a bunch of stuff, so he's packed with around fourteen thousand Contribution Points, do you believe there is something to help him out with that amount?" asked Matsuo.

"Oh, I see~ Fufu, I believe it is enough for a few newbie items… Accompany me…" said the young girl named Hinata, as she walked towards the storage, Matsuo followed her and so did Frank behind Matsuo.

Frank entered the storage room which was filled with all kinds of items and artifacts, several wooden boxes contained different types of concoctions or materials. There was also a giant butchery area where various Clan Members butchered the monsters bought by the shop for their body parts, which served as materials.

Hinata led the pair towards a different, smaller room, where small items and other thingies laid around, Frank glanced with amusement at the marvelous items, there were many metallic accessories such as rings, bracelets, and necklaces, alongside many types of books or scrolls for people that wanted to learn special techniques or magic spells, although it was depending on the people's affinity if they could even learn such abilities.

Frank then stopped as he glanced at a strange Skull laying over a shelf, it was a completely white skull, however, its eye sockets had red-colored jewels inside, which shined with a mysterious and magical essence.

"That's a special artifact that can store Spirits! It cost over thirty thousand contribution points, Frank-kun," said Hinata with a smile.

"I guess I can't afford this for now…" muttered Frank.

"Here, come here, I got a few items that you can afford~," said Hinata with a pleasant smile as Frank walked towards where she was with Matsuo, there was a small table that had a few items over, all of them were very small, and although they leaked some kind of magic essence, they weren't as strong as those found in the rest of the storage.

"Here I got you these Newbie Magic Accessories that enhance the power of your Magic by a small amount. I hear you were a healer and as Matsuo just told me, you're also good at offensive magic, so they might be ideal for you as of now… And there are also these books, which you can read to perhaps grasp some knowledge and learn any spell that might be compatible with you…" said Hinata.

Frank glanced at the items, there was a bronze-colored Ring with a blue gem, a necklace with a purple gem, a pair of earrings, both with tiny yellow gems, and even bracelets… Frank grabbed them with Hinata's permission as he managed to see their stats. Just like she had said, these were very newbie items, only giving small amounts of Mana or Magic, not surpassing five points at the most.

Then, there were the books, there were five different books, each one seemed to teach a technique or a certain spell to the reader. There was a Body Aura Technique Book, a Bronze Skin Spell Book, a Lesser Self-Regeneration Spell Book, a Light Ray Spell Book, and a Basic Magic Martial Arts Spell Book.

"Each of these books cost eight thousand Contribution Points, but I can lend you two for the price of your fourteen thousand Contribution Points~ Call it a newbie discount!" said Hinata, realizing that Frank seemed more interested in the Books than the accessories.

"Choose carefully, I believe that you can learn any of them, but it might take you a while to grasp the Skill," said Matsuo.

"I see…" said Frank, as he began to think about which book to choose from.

"I can give you a brief resume of them…" said Hinata.

"Ah, I would appreciate it…" said Frank.

"Fufu, sure~ The Body Aura Technique Book teaches you Body Aura, the ability to use your Mana to create an Aura around your body that can enhance your basic capabilities, although it often works better at close combat,"

"The Bronze Skin Spell Book is an old spell made by our ancestors that lets you make your Skin as hard as Bronze, giving you a nice resistance to physical attacks! It's a good Spell for newbies who commit mistakes while training in the Hunting Domains and might end up stabbed or attack by the tiny critters~"

At this, Frank remembered how the Goblins managed to stab him or hit him a few times despite doing his best to evade their attacks. If he were to have this Skill, such annoyance would no longer be a problem.

"The Lesser Self-Regeneration Spell Book, teaches you the Lesser Self-Regeneration Spell, which you can use to passively restore your health without the need to conjure your healing spell over yourself, this spell can be left activated into your body, and it will drain Mana whenever it restores Health, but will remain without doing so if there is nothing to restore, very useful, isn't it?"

"I recommend this one," said Matsuo while nodding.

"The Light Ray Spell Book teaches you the ability to harbor your mana into your fingertips and to conjure the attribute of light into the mortal world with it. This is a favorite spell of our clan, many newbies use it, and it is very useful and efficient for long-ranged fighters!" said Hinata.

"You already saw me use this one several times, didn't you? It is an amazingly useful Spell, even for newbies, it is also faster than your Mana Bullets, and doesn't take a few seconds to form into your palm, as its activation is almost instant," said Matsuo.

"Oh, I might take that one…" thought Frank.

"And last but not least, the Basic Magic Martial Arts Spell Book teaches you Magic Martial Arts, it is the ability to use your Mana to perform superhuman feats through martial arts, like the fighters from your Street Fighter Games~," said Hinata with a cat-like smile.

"Now, choose carefully," said Matsuo.

Frank had considered grabbing the combination of the Body Aura Technique Book, and the Bronze Skin Spell Book, so he could get a good foundation into his physical power and defense but was also considering improving on his magic and long-ranged skills.

It was a bit frustrating for him, but in the end, he chose the Skills that his heart desired.

"Well, I can always buy more tomorrow as long as I farm enough Contribution Points…" thought Frank, as he grabbed the two books he wanted.

"Certainly! An interesting choice! Perhaps you desire to become more than a Mage, Frank-kun~ I will be seeing your progress from now on, fufu~" said Hinata, as she gave Frank the Body Aura Technique Book, and the Bronze Skin Spell Books.

The moment she did, Frank's crest shone brightly over his hand as an essence was taken away from within, the number of his contribution points then lowered to zero.

"And it's done, thanks for your purchase, dear guest~!" said Hinata.

"You surprised me with those choices, but- Huh?!"

"Eh?!" said Hinata.

Flash!

In front of Matsuo and Hinata, the books that Frank was holding in his hands dissipated into yellow and white fragments of light, as they were infused into Frank's body.

Frank felt the infusion of new knowledge and abilities awakening within himself.

"What?!" asked Hinata in surprise.

"That's… what did you do with the books?" asked Matsuo.

"I… learned them, the Skills…" said Frank.

Ding!

[You learned the [Body Aura: Level 1], and the [Bronze Skin: Level 1] Skills!]

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[Name: Frank James

[Race: Human, (???)

[Titles: World Traveler.

[Gender: Male.

[App Points: 190

[Clan Contribution Points: 14.000 > 0

[Mana Core Cultivation: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)

[Job: Farmer.

[Job History: None.

[Level: 7

[Health Points: 50/50 > 60/60(+10)

[Mana Points: 43/43 > 49/49

[Strength: 36 > 41 (+5)

[Defense: 31 > 36 (+5)

[Magic: 38 > 44

[Resistance: 28 > 33 (+5)

[Agility: 28 > 33(+8)

[Passive Skills: [World's Traveler Body: Level -], [Gift of Life: Level 2], [Curse Resistance: Level 1], [Hypnosis Resistance: Level 1], [Divine Brand of the Monk Family of Tokyo: Level -], [Mana Control: Level 3], [Fire and Burn Resistance: Level 2] (Level up!), [Abraddon's Divine Protection: Level -], [Abraddon's Champion Divine Crest: Level -], [Mana Core (Gray): Level 1]

[Equipment: [Farmer's Jeans (F)], [Leather Gloves (F)], [Leather Boots (F)], [Farmer Shirt (F)], [Straw Hat (F)], [Silver Needle (C)]

[Active Skills: [Farming Technique: Level 2], [Spear Technique: Level 2], [Gray Magic (Innate): Level 2] (Level up!), [Dirt: Level 1], [Sewing: Level 1], [Body Aura: Level 1] (New!), [Bronze Skin: Level 1] (New!)

[Relationships: [Matsuo Family (Tokyo Shrine Clan)]

[Tamed Monsters: [Rank 1: Lesser Flame Salamander: Ruby: Level 4]

[Worlds Visited: Earth, Terra (Farm Town App).

[APP Special Functions: Inventory, World's Gate, Quest Board, Monster Pet Nursery, APP Gacha (Locked), APP Shop (Locked).