Leaving the training room, Ryan returned to the ground floor of the Evo Association using the lift.
After reaching the ground floor, he didn't leave the building immediately. Instead, he first went to the resource counter to inquire about unranked Life Crystals.
Previously, Ryan had tried to buy Life Crystals to increase his Source Points, but because of their rarity, he discovered that they were only sold by the Evo Association and were hardly available on the outside market.
The last time he had come to the Evo Association to get his Evo Identity Card, he had thought of buying some Life Crystals, but he was told that they were out of stock.
Now that a few days had passed, he wanted to check again.
Reaching the resource counter, Ryan operated the holographic screen there and searched for unranked Life Crystals… and surprisingly, there was actually one available for sale.
However, when Ryan saw the price of the Life Crystal, he fell silent.
'Three thousand credits…' He looked at the price quietly, his mouth twitching slightly.
Generally, the price of an unranked Life Crystal was around two thousand credits.
However, rarity determined value.
In a small city like Buka, where resources were scarce, items like Life Crystals were extremely rare.
If it were a larger city, the price would have been much lower due to abundant supply.
'The current price is 50% higher than normal...' Ryan only hesitated for a moment before decisively purchasing the Life Crystal.
It wasn't that he was foolish or had money to waste.
Rather, he knew that the price of Life Crystals was unlikely to drop in Buka City.
If he didn't buy it now, it was entirely possible that the price would rise even further, forcing him to pay more later.
And that was only if the Evo Association in Buka City restocked Life Crystals at all.
If they didn't, he might not even be able to obtain one to increase his Source Points.
There were less than twenty days left before the cooldown of his talent ended.
Once it ended, he would need to mutate his cultivation technique, and it was necessary to gather as many Source Points as possible.
Although he was certain that mutating a technique would require far fewer Source Points than mutating an Aspect, it wouldn't hurt to collect extra points just in case.
After placing the order, Ryan saw a staff member bring out a small, unranked Life Crystal.
He paid three thousand credits, further thinning his already meager savings.
After obtaining the Life Crystal, Ryan didn't linger in the Evo Association any longer and left the building.
As he walked, he slipped the hand holding the Life Crystal into his pocket and silently willed it to transform into Source Points.
The moment he did, the Life Crystal vanished from his palm as if it had never existed.
Ryan glanced at his status window and saw that his Source Points had increased from two to three.
He had only one point left after mutating his Aspect. The second point had come from the Life Crystal he had found inside the rooster's body, and this was now the third.
After that, Ryan didn't return home immediately. Instead, he walked along the roadside, watching the moving vehicles and passing people.
Although it had already been ten days and he had seen similar scenes many times, he still found it novel.
Especially when an Evolver occasionally passed by using some kind of flashy skill.
About two hours later, Ryan returned to his rented home with some vegetables and meat for dinner.
It was already seven o'clock when he returned, and the sun had set, so he immediately began preparing his meal.
Because he had been cooking for himself for years, Ryan was quite proficient, and it took him less than an hour to prepare everything.
He placed all the cooked dishes in front of him and sat down on the cold cement floor, ready to eat.
As he ate, he took out his Evo Identity Card and once again entered the mission section.
Now that he had a better understanding of his strength, he could accept some missions to earn quick cash.
The missions listed were still the same ones he had seen earlier, with no new updates.
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1.---) Mission: Collect and submit three stalks of Heavy Metal Grass that usually grow in the outer area of the Misty Pine Forest.
---) Reward: Five hundred credits and two rank points
---) Mission Level: Unranked
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Ryan looked at the first mission, which was also the easiest among all the available options, and chose it without hesitation.
Since he hadn't started cultivating yet and was still an unranked individual, he could only accept unranked missions or Rank One missions, one major rank above his own.
To accept Rank Two and higher missions, he would first need to increase his own rank.
The reason Ryan didn't choose a Rank One mission, such as collecting the heart of a Fire Lion, was because he was unfamiliar with the areas outside Buka City and would be venturing out for the first time.
Although his current strength was decent, he didn't want to take unnecessary risks before he officially began cultivating and fully grasped the power of his Bloodline Aspect—Infernal War Ape.
Ryan had heard of the Misty Pine Forest. It was located about ten kilometers away from Buka City.
While the deeper regions of the forest were dangerous, with Rank Three and even Rank Four monsters residing there, the outer areas were relatively safe. Many people frequently visited them in search of valuable herbs.
Heavy Metal Grass was a common resource, and as long as his luck wasn't terrible, Ryan was confident he could find it and secure the five hundred credits.
After accepting the mission, Ryan continued scrolling through the list, looking for any other tasks he might be able to take on.
Just as he was browsing, a newly updated mission caught his attention, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
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---) Special Mission: A Rank Three monster cave has been discovered sixty kilometers southeast of Buka City. Preliminary investigation suggests that it is related to Earth Kobolds. A monster cave hunt will soon be organized by the Evo Association. Those interested in participating in the hunt can register.