Chapter 395: Salary Increase

Helag took out his communication stone and sent a message to Pruis: “I’ve advanced to a crystallized wizard.”

He remembered that advancing to a crystallized wizard would likely improve his benefits.

Currently, Helag’s monthly salary was 1,000 magic stones, set when he first arrived in Silvermoon City based on his abilities.

With each advancement, his salary would increase slightly. While it might seem insignificant to Helag, it was better than nothing.

“You’ve advanced to a crystallized wizard??” On the other end, Pruis was shocked by the message.

If he didn’t know Helag well, he might have thought it was a joke.

Pruis knew Helag had been meditating at home for the past two years, not leaving Silvermoon City or taking any missions.

He assumed Helag was taking a few years off after surviving the life-threatening experiences in the polluted zone.

For wizards, three years is a brief period, and taking a break is common.

Pruis hadn’t expected Helag to focus entirely on compressing his mental power and advance to a crystallized wizard so quickly.

In his view, Helag would need at least 20-30 years to reach this stage, which would already be considered fast.

“Just lucky,” Helag replied.

“…”

Pruis: “You think I haven’t advanced to a crystallized wizard? There’s no luck involved in this.”

Every crystallized wizard painstakingly compresses their liquefied mental power until they succeed.

Helag laughed, “I heard advancing to a crystallized wizard improves benefits?”

“Those benefits aren’t much. A crystallized wizard gets only 1,500 magic stones a month. Instead of focusing on that, think about earning more contribution points to prepare for advancing to a second-level wizard,” Pruis advised.

“That’s stingy, only 500 more magic stones for a crystallized wizard,” Helag commented.

“With so many wizards in Seranthiel, who could afford high basic benefits?” Pruis explained.

As a large wizard organization, Seranthiel had countless wizards.

Helag’s 1,500 magic stones were unconditional, as long as he was alive.

This meant even if he did nothing, he’d still receive 1,500 magic stones monthly, though few wizards would choose to do nothing.

With so many members, the expenses were substantial.

Helag wasn’t concerned about the magic stones; he just wanted to inform Pruis of his advancement.

In an organization like Seranthiel, with so many members, resources were limited and prioritized for the most outstanding members.

If Helag kept quiet, he’d miss out on resources, slowing his advancement.

Resources came in many forms, including opportunities.

Helag replied, “I’m also worried about contribution points. If you have any good leads, don’t forget me.”

“Don’t worry, if there’s a good mission or something, I’ll let you know,” Pruis assured.

Helag’s rapid advancement to a crystallized wizard showed his potential.

For an organization like Seranthiel, the method of improvement wasn’t as important as the final result; excellence garnered more attention.

Helag asked, “How many contribution points are usually needed to exchange for a Rule Key?”

He wanted to know the exact cost; 3,000 points was just the threshold, but the exact exchange rate was unclear.

Pruis replied, “It varies. Different Rule Keys have different prices, and they change over time. You should prepare at least 4,000-5,000 points, and it depends on approval.”

“What’s the approval criteria?” Helag inquired.

“Approval checks if you’re trustworthy, ensuring you’re not an Abyssal cultist or an infiltrator. It also considers your contributions to Seranthiel, which is crucial.”

“Typically, if you’ve made significant contributions, approval isn’t an issue,” Pruis explained.

Helag asked, “What counts as significant contributions?”

“It’s hard to say, no set standard. Usually, it’s doing something important for Seranthiel,” Pruis said.

Helag felt this might be challenging; with his current abilities, he couldn’t accomplish much, being just a first-level crystallized wizard.

“When you have time, come to city hall for registration to update your benefits,” Pruis suggested.

After talking with Pruis, Helag pondered how to earn contribution points.

So far, his points were mostly from dealing with Abyssal cultists; other methods were too slow.

Most Seranthiel members advanced slower than Helag, earning points through routine activities, usually having enough by the time they advanced to second-level wizards.

Helag’s rapid advancement meant his points couldn’t keep up, making them seem scarce.

Helag sighed; it couldn’t be rushed, so he continued meditating.

Abyssal cultists weren’t encountered daily, so urgency was futile.

Helag left his meditation room, finding Reese in the kitchen, wearing an apron and checking a pot of soup.

She’d learned various cooking skills to prepare meals for Helag.

Reese, a noble from the Terchy family, had never done such tasks before, but learned for Helag.

Helag hugged Reese from behind, softly saying, “I’ve advanced to a crystallized wizard.”

Reese dropped her spoon into the pot, turning in surprise, “You’ve advanced?”

Helag hadn’t shared his progress, so Reese didn’t know when he’d reach this stage.

In Reese’s mind, it would take many years to become a crystallized wizard.

The Terchy family had crystallized wizards, but all were over a hundred, some two or three hundred years old.

Helag, at just 24, was exceptionally young.

A crystallized wizard in their twenties would be extraordinary in the Barren Lands.

In the Land of Dawn, it wasn’t as remarkable, but still marked him as a prodigious talent.

In the Land of Dawn, talented individuals from various wizard organizations, supported from a young age, could advance to crystallized wizards in their twenties or thirties, even becoming second-level wizards.

But they had unique advantages and exceptional talent to achieve such feats.

Helag, from the Barren Lands, achieving this was truly remarkable.