A Wizard’s Secret

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Headquarters is divided into the Combat Team, Logistics Team, Research Team, and Investigation Team! The Logistics Team and the Research Team stay in the headquarters all year round, while the Combat Team and the Investigation Team perform their tasks outside.”

Lotus explained the headquarters situation to Merlin. Phantom Headquarters comprised of the four teams, and the ones in charge of battles were the Combat Team and the Investigation Team.

As for the Logistics Team and the Research Team, they never faced danger as they always stayed in headquarters. For the Logistics Team, they mainly received all kinds of resources from the royal family. They were quite lax, but they held real authority.

It was no wonder that Heroult recommended Merlin to join the Logistics Team. Merlin’s current state was considered strong as a third-form Host. His parasite was only a mere low-grade almighty beast will, so it would be very dangerous if he went to the Combat Team.

Soon, Lotus and Merlin reached the Logistics Team. The entire Logistics Team did not have many members and only comprised of a dozen people or so. However, most of them were female and they were all slim and charming. Seeing Lotus entering with Merlin, they all had shocked looks on their faces.

“Team leader, this is?”

A woman wearing a large red robe asked while looking at Merlin.

“His name is Leon. From today onwards, he has officially joined our Logistics Team. Belle, go input Leon’s information into our Logistics Team and submit it to headquarters tomorrow.”

As the team leader, Lotus had unquestionable authority in the Logistics Team.

“Understood, team leader. My my, Master Leon, what family did you come from? You’re so young but you have managed to join the Logistics Team directly. Call me Belle. Just ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand!”

Belle charmingly flirted with Merlin, but Merlin turned a blind eye and merely nodded politely.

“Leon, come with me.”

Lotus looked at Merlin coldly. She seemed to have some hostility towards him which Merlin found puzzling. Did it have something to do with Heroult?

Following Lotus to a small room, the smell of her perfume wafted into Merlin’s nose. Although he always disliked strong perfume, he liked faint and light scents. However, he did not find the smell of Lotus’s rich perfume objectionable and felt that it had a strange lure instead.

“Leon, Heroult left for a secret mission. It’s very dangerous and we can’t be sure if he’ll return. Before he left, he specifically told me to bring you into Phantom, but I really don’t understand. You’re just an experiment to him, so why does he care so much about you? However, I’ll carry out what Heroult entrusted me to do in any case, but whether or not you can gain contribution points in Phantom will depend on your own skill. I won’t be helping you. Do you understand?”

After listening to Lotus’s words, Merlin finally understood. Lotus did have an unknown relationship with Heroult. As Deputy Commander, Heroult had to perform a dangerous task, which showed that this mission was very important.

Lotus was merely displacing her anger at Heroult for bringing danger to Merlin.

“How do I earn contribution points? How can I exchange contribution points for resources?” Merlin asked in a low voice. This was his greatest concern.

“The Logistics Team is the lowest with only ten contribution points per month. If something goes wrong, a deduction of contribution points is possible. The team with the highest contribution points is the Combat Team. They get a hefty amount of contribution points for each task they perform but the death rate is also very high. If you enter the Combat Team, you’re seeking your own death!”

Lotus said that coldly without paying heed to Merlin’s feelings. In her opinion, Merlin’s current strength of being a third-form shifter, but his almighty beast’s grade was too low. He would be at the bottom rung even if he went to the Combat Team.

“Alright, you can ask Belle for the details.”

Lotus waved her hand and let Merlin leave.

Merlin could not get any specific information from Lotus, so he went straight to Belle. This charming woman clearly regarded him as the child of a prominent aristocrat in Bay City.

It seems that it was not easy to join the Logistics Team. Without a prominent status and a strong background, it was impossible to enter the Logistics Team.

“Miss Belle,” Merlin called out calmly.

“Master Leon, how may I help you?”

Belle’s eyes brightened. She was well endowed and her skin was very fair with a very rich scent of perfume. However, it was not as sensual as the smell on Lotus’s body, so Merlin disliked it instead.

“Miss Belle, I’d like to know about contribution points and exchanging them for resources.”

“Oh? Contribution points you say… Aristocrats like you usually come to Phantom for resources. After all, the various resources in Phantom are directly provided by the royal family.”

Merlin’s heart moved. It was no wonder many aristocrats wanted to enter Phantom. It turned out that all these resources were provided by the royal family.

Although the royal family of the Holy Dragon Empire was no longer able to control the entire empire due to bloodline issues, their connections were something that no other force could compete against. Over the centuries, the various resources accumulated by the royal family were countless.

Even if it was the Nourishment Pond formula materials that Merlin needed, they were not even worth mentioning to the royal family. It was also because of these huge resources that there were still many aristocrats that supported the royal family in the Holy Dragon City, despite the confusion of war in the empire.

“It’s no wonder Heroult could produce 20 portions of Nourishment Pond materials in one fell swoop. It turns out that all these materials were provided by the royal family.”

Many people still regarded the royal family as an unconquerable giant. With the royal family’s collection, it was not necessary to purchase materials from thousands of miles away like some business guilds do. The stock in the royal family’s treasure was almost inexhaustible.

“How many contribution points are needed to exchange a set of these materials?”

Merlin listed some of the ingredients in the Hermani Nourishment Pond formula and showed it to Belle.

Belle gave it a cursory glance and hesitated for a moment before she said, “This is a Nourishment Pond formula, right? There are some Hosts in Phantom. There are none in the Logistics Team, but there are many in the Combat Team. They also often exchange Nourishment Pond materials. These materials of yours can be exchanged with only ten contribution points. Even if there are some inconsistencies, the estimation won’t be too far off.”

“Only ten contribution points are needed?”

Merlin’s heart was filled with joy. He did not expect one set of materials to only cost ten contribution points. Although he hid a portion of the materials, the final amount most likely would not exceed too much.

“Of course. In fact, the materials the royal family provides are almost one-tenth of the market price, or perhaps even lower. However, they can only be exchanged using contribution points. This is the royal family’s way of winning the hearts of the people. As for resources, the royal family doesn’t have any lack of them.”

Belle was very calm at Merlin’s surprise. It seemed that this was not the first time she experienced such a situation. Many people who came to Phantom for the first time were shocked by how ‘cheap’ the exchange was.