Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100

Damian frowned slightly. ”Even here?”

”Of course,” Anna said. ”This base belongs to our side, but resources still aren’t free. The rooms are protected by formations, and the mansion gives you safety, basic information, and access to internal notices. Twenty Bronze Marks a day is already cheaper than most inns outside.”

”What about better rooms?” Revona asked.

Anna gave a faint smile. ”Those cost a lot more. Rooms with stronger cultivation formations, private protective barriers, or recovery arrays can cost fifty, one hundred, or even several hundred Bronze Marks a day, depending on their quality.”

Max nodded without speaking.

Anna went on. ”The second thing is food and recovery items. Ordinary food is cheap, but most people here don’t eat it unless they’re trying to save marks. Spirit meals, beast meat, dishes that nourish the bloodline, tea that soothes the soul, and pills that restore energy all cost marks. If you fight often, you’ll end up spending marks just to recover properly.”

She raised a third finger. ”The third thing is cultivation facilities. A normal cultivation chamber costs about one hundred Bronze Marks a day. It gathers energy faster than an ordinary room and helps stabilize your cultivation, but it’s still considered basic.”

Damian’s eyes flickered. ”One hundred a day?”

Anna nodded. ”That’s the standard price. Specialized chambers cost even more.”

She looked at Max for a moment before continuing. ”For example, a Cosmic Path Training Chamber costs around two hundred Bronze Marks a day. It helps people comprehend laws, refine their pseudo cosmic paths, and stabilize their understanding. People who have already formed a cosmic path use it quite a lot, but the cost adds up fast.”

Revona’s expression grew thoughtful.

”There are also body tempering chambers, bloodline training rooms, soul refinement chambers, weapon comprehension halls, and battle simulation rooms,” Anna continued. ”Each of them has its own price. Some cost Bronze Marks, some require Gold Marks, and some require both marks and special qualifications.”

Max’s gaze sharpened slightly when she mentioned the body tempering chambers. Anna noticed this, but she kept going without pausing.

”The fourth thing is information. The basic newcomer information package is cheap, but anything valuable costs much more. Maps of dangerous regions, the locations of newly discovered ruins, details on nearby trials, records of strong opponents, information about members of the Bloodstone City Rankings, and clues about Ascension Trials can all be expensive. Sometimes good information costs more than cultivation resources.”

Damian nodded. ”That makes sense. In a place like this, knowing where to stay away from might matter just as much as knowing where the opportunities are.”

”Exactly,” Anna said. ”One wrong step outside the city can get you killed. If you try to save a few marks on information and end up walking into a beast’s territory or a trap set by another race, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life, assuming you even survive.”

She raised another finger. ”The fifth thing is Battle Space wagers. You’ve already seen how those work. The Battle Space is one of the fastest ways to earn marks, but it’s also one of the fastest ways to lose them. Plenty of newcomers think they can make easy gains there, but after a few losses, their marks are gone, their abilities have been exposed, and their confidence has been crushed.”

Her eyes settled on Max. ”And don’t look so pleased with yourself. I’m talking to you in particular.”

Max put on an innocent look. ”I didn’t say anything.”

”You didn’t have to,” Anna replied. ”I can tell from your face that you’re already thinking about using the Battle Space to farm marks.”

Damian gave a light cough, and Revona smiled.

Anna ignored both of them and continued. ”The sixth thing is entry fees. Some trials, ruins, and special zones charge Bronze Marks just to get in, and the better the opportunity, the higher the cost. Some places ask for a set number of marks, while others require you to hold a certain mark grade. That’s one of the reasons people eventually need Gold Marks, Sacred Marks, and even higher ones. Bronze Marks are useful, but they can’t open every door.”

Max looked at his wrist. ”So Bronze Marks are what you use for daily survival, training, information, and basic opportunities.”

”That’s right,” Anna said. ”That’s why I told you not to condense them yet. If you turn all one thousand of your Bronze Marks into a Gold Mark now, you might look better on paper, but you’ll struggle with everyday spending. You’d have status but no usable currency.”

Revona frowned a little. ”Then when should we condense them?”

Anna leaned back and considered the question for a moment. ”Most people wait until they have more Bronze Marks than they need for daily use. Some only condense after saving one thousand plus several hundred extra. Others wait until they need a Gold Mark to get into a particular place or opportunity. There isn’t one perfect answer, but condensing too early is usually a mistake for newcomers, because Gold Marks are hard to come by.”

”And what about people who already have Gold Marks, like you?” Damian asked.

Anna smiled faintly. ”Once you reach the Gold Mark level, you usually start dealing with more valuable things, such as better cultivation rooms, higher-level information, entry into stronger trials, and privileges at your race’s base. Basically, you can get everything that Bronze Marks buy by using Gold Marks instead, but Gold Marks are very rare and difficult to earn in the outer layer.” ℴ

Max nodded slowly.

The mark system was harsher than he had first imagined. Bronze Marks weren’t simply the lowest form of currency, because they were the foundation of survival in the outer layer. Without them, a person couldn’t live comfortably, train efficiently, gather information, or take part freely in many opportunities.

On the other hand, spending them too freely would push the Gold Mark threshold further away, and condensing them too early would make everyday life difficult.

The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage forced people to make choices at every step.

Anna looked at the three of them. ”Remember this. In Bloodstone City, strength keeps you alive, but marks decide how far you can go. If you have strength but no marks, you’ll waste your time. If you have marks but no strength, you’ll become a target. You need both.”

Max smiled faintly. ”Then all I have to do is keep collecting marks.”

Anna stared at him. ”You make it sound easy.”

”For me, it might be,” Max said.

Anna closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow breath. ”I really shouldn’t have promised you those four hundred Bronze Marks.”

Revona laughed softly, and Damian smiled.

Max looked down at the bronze mark glowing faintly on his wrist. He had reached the threshold of one thousand Bronze Marks, but after listening to Anna, he knew that now wasn’t the time to condense them. For the moment, Bronze Marks would serve him better.

He needed food, lodging, information, cultivation chambers, and access to trials. He also needed to understand the outer layer properly before deciding how he would make his way toward the inner layer.

The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage was expensive, dangerous, and cruel. Yet as long as there were marks to earn, battles to fight, and opportunities to seize, Max had no intention of slowing down.