Chapter 71: The Task

**Chapter 71: The Task**

He paused, eyeing Jie Ming with a hint of approval. “The academy hopes you can produce as much refined gold as possible. We’ll act as intermediaries to sell it, free of charge. All points from sales are yours.”

“Sell?” Jie Ming raised an eyebrow. “The academy’s basically restocking its inventory.”

“You could say that, just without fees or middlemen,” Clark nodded reservedly.

After a moment’s thought, he smiled, his gaze deep. “The academy needs refined gold—for returning wizards, our own reserves, and research. We provide raw materials and channels; you provide the skill and labor. It’s a partnership.”

Jie Ming pondered. “How much refined gold does the academy need?”

“Well…” Clark didn’t answer directly, repeating, “These wizards are from the Shadow Plane.”

Jie Ming’s eyes twitched, understanding Clark’s implication.

In plain terms, he needed to prepare for an assault on an entire world—a staggering amount of refined gold!

“This task is impossible even if it kills me!”

“You’re overestimating yourself,” Clark shot him a look.

“Who said we’re relying solely on you? You’re just a small part of the war effort, and refined gold is only a fraction of the anti-corrosion materials. The real work falls to the high-rank alchemy wizards. Just deplete the academy’s material stock.”

Jie Ming blinked, pulling out his portable Magic Network terminal to check the inventory.

Though the academy didn’t know refined gold’s exact method, they surely knew its primary raw material was gold, despite Jie Ming’s efforts to mask it with other materials.

Glancing at the inventory, his hand trembled, nearly dropping the terminal.

Tens of thousands of cubic meters of gold!

Even with his improved strength, refining that much gold into refined gold in a short time would drain him dry!

“…Can I back out now?”

“Absolutely not!” Clark’s tone was resolute. “If you hadn’t seen the inventory, maybe. But now that you have, you’re not escaping!”

“Why?!” Jie Ming was baffled.

“Why?”

Jie Ming could’ve sworn Clark’s smile turned sinister.

“Three days ago, the academy’s gold stock was barely a hundred cubic meters,” Clark said, leaning closer with a chilling grin. “Gold’s not very useful and hard to gather. Guess how the academy amassed tens of thousands of cubic meters so quickly?”

Startled by Clark’s smile, Jie Ming stepped back, swallowing hard.

Noticing the faint dark circles under Clark’s eyes and the alchemy badge on his chest, Jie Ming suddenly understood: “Al… Alchemy Technique?”

“Smart!”

Clark’s grin widened as he grabbed Jie Ming’s head like a chick.

Holding him face-to-face, Clark’s weary tone carried the exhaustion of a corporate slave: “I was dragged from my lab to slave away for three days. If you dare ditch this task, I’ll refine *you* into gold!!!”

“Alright, alright, I get it! I’ll take the task!”

Jie Ming clutched Clark’s hand, legs flailing helplessly.

Though Clark’s grip was measured, easily escapable with effort, seeing his mentor’s resentful, “drag-everyone-down” expression, Jie Ming decided to go along.

Besides, the task wasn’t a bad deal—the academy would buy at market price and provide raw materials for free.

It’d just be grueling for a while.

“Sigh…”

Seeing Jie Ming slump like a salted fish, Clark relaxed, releasing him.

“Don’t be so glum. This task comes from the academy’s workshop. Complete it, and you’ll earn 10 military merits. Tsk, tsk, it’s a juicy deal—others would kill for it.”

“Military merits?”

“High-tier ones, at that.”

At those words, Jie Ming’s eyes lit up, his salted-fish demeanor gone, replaced by vibrant energy.

The military merit system was similar to Noren Academy’s point system, with slight value differences.

In terms of redeemable resources and knowledge, academy points and low-tier military merits exchanged at roughly ten-to-one, while high-tier merits could reach a hundred-to-one.

The main difference lay in their scope.

Academy points were only valid within Noren’s workshop, unrecognized elsewhere, while military merits had broader use.

Low-tier merits, issued by the Star Ring Federation, could be redeemed for resources across the federation.

High-tier merits, issued by the Star Orbit Tribunal, were usable across all factions in the wizard civilization.

Ten high-tier military merits equaled 1,000 academy points, enough to redeem formal wizard-level knowledge.

The wizard civilization, aside from the unique Star Orbit Tribunal, had four main factions, each with distinct philosophies and technologies.

While not entirely isolated, acquiring their unique technologies or materials was challenging.

Jie Ming’s second-level training protocol included clauses for connecting sales channels to other factions, but in practice, the effect was mediocre.

Other factions often bartered, heavily undervaluing unique resources, and their exclusive knowledge was out of reach.

The merits’ practical value wasn’t sky-high, but they gave Jie Ming more options.

Most importantly, high-tier wizards needed high-tier military merits to qualify for frontline deployment.