Chapter 418 Investment

"Why would I have to pay 100,000,000 contribution points for an ability that can be procured in an Origin dungeon??" Nial was baffled by this and his first reaction to the price the merchant told him was to call him a fraud.

However, the merchant just shook his head with a bitter smile on his face.

"I can understand your concern but 100 million contribution points is already a very competitive price considering that so many people seek this ability. Not many can upgrade this ability properly but those few, who have the capabilities and the necessary time to improve are bound to become true powerhouses provided they don't die!" The merchant said before he added a few more facts,

"Furthermore, you'll only get one [Mental Control] ability crystal on average for conquering the dungeon 10,000 times!"

Nial had no idea if the information he received was valid but he knew that if a merchant was found out to be extorting his customers to an inhuman degree, they would have their business license revoked.

Thus, even if the price of 100 million contribution points was high, it was probably still their acceptable norm according to the regulations of Alliance City.

'I thought that I was rich with all the contribution points I've accumulated in the last few months but it looks like I will have to save up more to buy the remaining two abilities…and more resources…' Nial though not without feeling bothered that he would have to shell out his entire fortune to buy a single ability crystal.

"It seems that accepting and completing the Runicier missions with the highest pay was needed…" He mumbled while reaching out his free hand to touch a small orb that was placed right in the center of the counter.

"Transfer 100 million contribution points!" Nial ordered and a holographic screen emerged above the insignia of the Thousand Bodies Refinements Dojo the count that had been at 101,563,400 changed rapidly as 100 million contribution points were deducted.

The merchant looked at the screen in utter dumbfound for a few seconds before he opened the insignia of the shop where a hundred million contribution points had been added.

"I can leave now, right?" Nial asked as he removed his hand from the orb before he turned around.

"Y-Yes…Sir! If you ever need something again, just come to me and I will help you at once!!" The merchant replied enthusiastically while bowing deeply to Nial.

The business had taken a hit in his case lately because too many shops with unique ability crystals had cropped up like mushrooms while there were only a handful of Originals who were in actual need of expensive ability crystals.

Thus, Nial's purchase was like a dream come true for the merchant, and as if his prayers had been finally answered. The merchant's eyes got teary and he imagined that a holy halo surrounded Nial even if that couldn't be further from the truth.

Even if Nial didn't feel like using 99% of his fortune to buy the ability crystal, it was quite obvious that the [Mental Control] ability would be something extremely terrifying upon becoming a linked ability.

He had been looking for a linked ability for several months and it was the first time for him to get his hands on an ability that reacted solely to his Mana core.

Mental Control sounded like a pretty useful ability as well, which was even more reason for Nial to accept investing all his savings into it.

The result would definitely be good enough to make the purchase worthwhile!

"The Dojo has an isolation room…but I need more mana to bind the ability…If I use my remaining points, I shouldn't need to deprive my surrounding of mana and make everyone worry that some sort of powerhouse has arrived to destroy Alliance city," Nial mumbled to himself. His companion Ryu chirped and was pulling at his master's sleeves to gain his attention.

Nial turned his head to look at Ryu and saw that the wingless Gryphon was eager to show him something. He revealed the darkish-blue gem that was attached to the necklace the wingless Gryphon had received from Nial quite a while ago.

"You want me to take a look inside?" Nial asked and Ryu nodded his head faintly. Thus, Nial closed his fingers around the gem before he inserted some of his mana inside to access the storage space of the spatial necklace which had a much bigger storage space than Nial's spatial ring.

"Damn…you're rich Ryu!" He exclaimed when he saw just how many corpses, weapons, ability crystals, Origin crystals, and unique drops were stored inside the storage necklace.

Ryu chirped out while pressing his head against Nial's chest, demanding rubs as payment instead of praises.

"Do you want me to sell all of this?" He asked while caressing the Gryphon who chirped out again, agreeing to whatever Nial said.

"If I exchange everything with Origin crystals and I use the remaining saved-up points, I will definitely have more than enough to purchase everything I need to bind the Mental Control ability crystal to my mana core!" Nial was getting excited because he knew that the more mana was used in the binding process of ability, the smoother everything would go.

There was even the possibility of his ability evolving, which was something that existed only for linked abilities. All of Nial's bound abilities changed after getting bound to him, but he always presumed that to have been caused by the Odyssey seed.

This was not wrong, but it was not the only reason, especially since the Odyssey seed had merely increased the chances of his ability evolving upon getting bound.

With various thoughts running wild in his mind, Nial rushed to the Guild hall, and sold everything Ryu had collected, including the corpses that belonged to members of other races.

Ryu killed them because they had attacked him first and by sharing that note, he was giving the higher authorities of the said races the opportunity to help their dead brethren to break the shackles that tied them to the mortal world and travel to the afterlife.

They would sell the corpses of their brethren to exorcist or burn them which was why the Guild hall would buy them for a specific number of contribution points without asking any questions to the Adventurers who sold them.

Their identity would be kept secret to prevent the higher authorities of the deceased's race from finding out about their people's killers and taking revenge.

That was also why Nial had been willing to sell the corpses.

After he earned enough contribution points, it was time to purchase a large quantity of high-quality Origin crystals.

Once that was done as well, he reserved the isolated space below the Thousand Bodies Refinements Dojo for three days, just to reach it a few minutes later.

He met a few Valxians and greeted them politely but he didn't strike up a conversation with them because he was way too excited to bind his third ability to his mana core.

Nial was slowly getting closer to his goal and that feeling was quite pleasant. This was even more so the case because he could tell that working toward something with all his might prevented the nightmares of his mother to haunt him whenever his body forced him to fall asleep.

That was good but it was also not a perfect solution to the problem of having recurring nightmares whenever he took the shortest possible break.

He knew that his condition was far from good and that he should attempt to figure out who he was, what he wanted, and much more by leaving behind the humans from Jundra and the Forest of Life.

However, it was not as if that was easy as he made it sound in his mind.

In the isolated space underground, Nial spread out the Origin crystals while leaving only a small space in the center. He spread out his range of perception and his mana sense after sitting down in the center of the isolated space.

Ryu lay down next to him before he went to sleep.

Nial smiled at this but he didn't allow anything to disrupt his full focus as he accessed every single Origin crystal around him at once. He released a strand of the purest mana from the Origin crystal before circulating them through the [Mental Control] ability crystal that began to heat up in his hand.

Nial took a deep breath before he removed the power of the ability from the ability crystal that crumbled as the power of the ability shot through his body, appearing right in front of his Mana core.

"Don't create too much trouble, and we'll become good friends, buddy!" Nial mumbled to the [Mental Control] ability but Ryu opened his eyes before he tilted his head, wondering what Nial wanted from him.

"Kyue?"