'I didn't expect to receive such useful items, but I am not complaining,' Alex thought, looking at the new item in the Ruler shop.
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Entry Token: A one-time usable item that teleports its user into the Malefis Domain. (Price: 1 Ruler Coin)
[The Ruler must select a teleportation location for the token to work.]
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Superior Entry Token: The toke could be used for (Ten) back-and-forth trips from Human Continent into the Malefis Domain. (Price: 100 Ruler Coins)
[Restriction: Only Immortal Adventurers can utilize the Entry Tokens.]
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'This is an invaluable item, and If I use it correctly, it can help me solve quite a few problems many clans are struggling with.'
'I also don't need to worry about the Ruler coins as I will be continuously earning them with this new mission, or at least I hope I do,' Alex thought, with a bright smile opening the Ruler mission section.
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The Domain's Rejuvenation
Objective: Bring Prosperity and Harmony to Your Subjects.
Time: ∞
Reward: Rewards will depend on the positive impact your efforts have on the lives of Domain Inhabitants.
Description: All Clans, small or Big, have struggles similar to the dwarven clan, and as their Ruler, it is your duty to bring prosperity and harmony to your subjects by addressing their Struggles and challenges to the best of your ability.
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"Domain Ruler, We have reached the palace treasury," Varon said, a bit intrigued seeing Alex lost in thought with a bright smile.
Alex came to his senses and stopped walking, and before him stood a giant door reaching close to fifty meters in height, built from a dark diamond-like material with intricate carving of a majestic griffin.
The griffin was massive and had a life-like appearance carved on the door in a suspended position with the four pairs of wings on his back stretched wide with its dark, cold eyes looking down.
Alex looked into the griffin's eyes, impressed with the craftsmanship, and just as he lowered his gaze, his surrounding turned to pitch darkness which startled him, and looking ahead, he saw a creature of pitch darkness.
Alex felt surprised seeing the majestic dark griffin same as the one carved on the treasury door, standing before him with its pairs of wings spread wide, staring down at him, his eyes filled with intelligence.
"This Loyal Servent Greets the New King," The Griffin lowered his head before Alex with his beak touching the floor as an emotionless voice echoed in Alex's ears.
Alex's sight turned dark for a moment, and he was back in the empty corridor, standing beside Varon before the treasury door.
"He is the treasury Guardian named Hecaterus, and he belongs to the extremely rare race of Ephemeral Mindweavers, a race with unparalleled control over souls, mind manipulation, illusions, and other esoteric arts," Varon said as he moved toward the treasury.
'The treasury has a hell of a guardian even though I don't think anyone could even reach this place with the other protections in place,' Alex thought, remembering the various barriers he passed through before arriving at the palace treasury.
Alex had come to the palace treasury, which held all the possession of the Kingdom of Abrus, and his reason for doing so was the vast collections of materials.
Alex was going to utilize the materials from the treasury to unlock the skills of the Ancient Red gem to finally test if its skills could cure the Devourer curse.
Varon was well-informed on the Ancient Red gem and its ability to cure the devourer Curse, and like Alex, he also wanted to test the capabilities of the incomplete artifact before devising a plan to acquire the remaining part of the true artifact.
Alex walked behind Varon, passing through the open gates and entering the treasury, feeling very excited as this was his first time seeing a proper treasury belonging to a kingdom.
The treasury inside was built from reflective marble, mostly in dark and gray color with a hint of a darker shade of gold in a few places with a few light crystals embedded in the ceiling making the whole area shine like a diamond but still pleasing to the eyes.
The walls were covered in simple long lines that consumed any light touching them, appearing to be oozing with darkness, making them stand out while still blending with the room's aesthetic.
There were sixteen Vaults in total, eight on each side, with the vaults completely blended into the wall making the room look clean and empty.
Alex located the Vault position because of his unique eyes that he started using after seeing the empty treasury.
'Let's see what grand treasures these vaulted chambers hold,' Alex thought as he walked toward Varon, who stood at the end of the room before one of the Vaults.
Varon placed his hand on the Vault, and after a few moments, the vault door opened, and following right behind Varon, Alex entered the chamber and was greeted with the sight he had only imagined in his wildest dreams.
The chamber stretched in each direction for hundreds of meters, and there were mountains of various materials ranging from ores of every quality, Alchemy ingredients, Crystals, Gemstones, forging metals, and so on.
"Domain Ruler, You should use materials from the stash in the left corner, as that side has the Uncommon and Rare quality materials," Varon said after giving Alex a few seconds to reel in his shock.
Alex shook off his surprise and walked toward the left corner of the room, appraising things at random, finding many Legendary and exotic quality materials.
'Let's start with burning through these rare materials,' Alex thought, smiling as he used the Red gem Devour skill.
The red gem embedded into the bracelet on his wrist shined with intense shine and started releasing a red mist that covered the fifty meters radius around Alex in a thick blanket of red energy.
Alex delved into the tedious task of repeating the same process every few minutes while seeing the energy point number climb higher and higher.
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"19 Hours Later,'
Alex first focussed on upgrading the gem quality to enhance the existing skills and pushing it to the Unique quality, and then he spent hours burning through materials to unlock the skill he wanted.
'This was more boring and mentally challenging than I thought, but in the end, it was all worth it,' Alex thought, looking at the newly unlocked skills.
⁌━━━━━━⁍
•➊-Material Refinement: The skill encompassing all aspects of Material Refinement, Including Purification, Unlocking Potential, Enhancing Traits, and Promoting Quality.
•➋-Bloodline Refinement: The skill encompassing all aspects of bloodline refinement, including purifying bloodlines, unlocking ancestral knowledge and abilities, enhancing inherited traits, and promoting overall bloodline potency.
•➌-Selective Refinement: The skill allows the user to refine a specific attribute of a larger entity or object [Living/Non-Living].
⁌━━━━━━⁍
'Now I need to repeat the process for a few more hours to gather more energy points which I will need to use the selective refinement skill,' Alex thought as he returned to repeat the process he had been doing for hours.
Alex spent four more hours doing the tedious task, and once he had a few million energy points, he stopped the process and walked toward Varon, a bit anxious and excited to find out the results.