Kapitel 17: Consumption
"Purchase." Bai Yi was already familiar with the process here.
He glanced around. This was the second floor of the Hall of Knowledge, an area reserved exclusively for alchemists.
In the Hall of Knowledge, each major profession has its designated floor. Some less common professions, like fortune-tellers and druids, conduct their business in the public area on the first floor.
The Hall consists of six floors, corresponding to Mage, Warrior, Assassin, Alchemist, and Divine Art.
Although the Dawn Federation doesn't have an alchemy sage, there is a master of alchemical technology in the Parliament. This individual, a Gold-level practitioner, played a pivotal role when the legendary swordsman brought mechas for border defense from the Star Federation—along with the manufacturing blueprints for this very Temple of Knowledge. This also included the famous Dawn Badge.
If any alchemist creates something powerful, it's protected. For example, should someone attempt to steal or access the knowledge without permission, the Temple will self-destruct, unleashing its full force. The message would be clear: the power created by an alchemist is not to be trifled with.
"Okay, please wait," the mechanical assistant said.
A hand emerged from the tiny robotic figure, and a screen materialized. Data streams flickered across it, and an endless catalog of knowledge appeared before Bai Yi's eyes.
The screen displayed knowledge across a variety of professions, including elemental mages, space mages, and even necromancers. As long as the knowledge had been documented in the Federation, barring a few taboos, it would be available for purchase in the Hall of Knowledge.
In the Age of the Fall of Gods, intelligent creatures faced immense crises. Continuing the knowledge blockade was no longer a method of control, but rather a form of self-destruction. The Federation's leaders now openly encouraged the rise of super-geniuses to help safeguard the survival of the Xia continent in future crises.
"Select the profession: Alchemist, and display the knowledge Bai Yi has already acquired." Bai Yi instructed calmly.
"Understood, please wait a moment."
The mechanical voice continued as the data flowed across the screen. Soon, Bai Yi's profile appeared:
[Name: Bai Yi
Occupation: Alchemist
Rank: Lower Silver
Potential Assessment: S (previously A-level, now updated)
Purchased knowledge: Bronze-level Alchemy Basics, Silver-level Alchemy Material Knowledge, Silver-level Poison Alchemy, Basic Combat Knowledge, Basic Assassination Knowledge, High Explosive Energy Alchemy]
Seeing his potential assessment, Bai Yi smiled. Although the system couldn't detect his panel, an S-level potential was already in the third tier. With an S-level rating, Bai Yi would receive a 20% discount on all knowledge, and a 50% discount on SSS-level talents. The better the talent, the better the Federation's treatment.
Next time, Bai Yi thought, perhaps his potential would increase even further.
With a sigh, he glanced at the Dawn Badge, noting the 530,000 points in it. It was time to shop.
[Silver Alchemy Technology, Energy Knowledge: 40,000 Contribution Points (20% off)]
[Silver Alchemy Pharmacy, Curse Knowledge: 24,000 Contribution Points (20% off)]
[Silver Alchemy Pharmacy, Knowledge Increase: 40,000 Contribution Points (20% off)]
[Silver Alchemy Transformation, Flesh and Blood Knowledge: 18,000 Contribution Points (20% off)]
[Silver Alchemy Transformation, Mechanical Knowledge: 56,000 Contribution Points (20% off)]
[Silver Divination, Spiritual Training Method: 2,800 Contribution Points (20% off)]
Bai Yi scrolled through the list, his mouth twitching. The prices seemed exorbitant. He couldn't help but feel the sting of the soul essence he'd given Orr earlier. Thirty gold coins were enough for a hundred, if he'd been more frugal. Had he saved more, he could have accumulated tens of thousands.
It was clear: talking about salary increases in the future might be a bad idea.
Bai Yi sighed, paying the 200,000 contribution points and feeling his assets halved.
"Your contribution points have been deducted: 200,000. Your knowledge is being printed. Please wait."
The data stream on the screen flickered wildly. Across the first-floor hall, lined with metal textures, a silver light began to pulse. A small, high-level transmission device activated, and faint mechanical whirring could be heard.
As time passed, books began to materialize from nothing, their material transformation visible in the air, creating an almost magical sight.
When the silver light faded, several boxes of books appeared in the corner. Each category of knowledge was contained in one or two boxes, each about half the size of a person.
Bai Yi stepped over to the silver device next to the boxes and counted them. There were a total of nine boxes, each a meter high.
He took out his Dawn Badge, tapped it on the device's screen, set the parameters for the teleportation, and selected the option to transfer the items.
"Your 27 contribution points have been deducted. Item transfer is about to begin. Please vacate the transfer area within ten seconds."
A mechanical voice announced as Bai Yi moved back to his original position. He watched the books—worth a total of 200,000 gold coins—slowly vanish into the teleportation beam. Although he wanted to complain, he knew there was little to be done.
While knowledge might not seem as costly as it appeared, especially considering it only needed to be paid for once, the real challenge was turning knowledge into power. For an alchemist, resources are never enough. Even with vast knowledge, material costs are astronomical.
Take the worker bees, for example—one set costs about 30,000 yuan. The difficulty of their creation is immense, and even Bai Yi had failed twice. While he could recycle some of the materials, the total cost for a single set of worker bees came close to 70,000 yuan.
With the additional materials and daily operational expenses, Bai Yi looked at his remaining 300,000 contribution points and knew he had to spend prudently.
His focus needed to shift to enhancing his combat power. Once he dealt with the Scarlet Sect, he could worry about other matters.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Bai Yi resisted the urge to delve into more advanced alchemical studies and turned to leave.
As the transmission wave rippled around him, a cold breeze filled the air, and snow began to fall again, unnoticed at first.
Bai Yi tightened his windbreaker, preparing to leave, but then a figure caught his attention. A girl, her clothes tattered and face dusty, stood just a few steps away. She gazed at the Hall of Knowledge timidly, as though she wanted to enter.
Bai Yi didn't give her a second look. He turned away, heading back to the commercial street. While the inner city was largely restricted to civilians, the Hall of Knowledge was an exception.
The Federation's leadership might exploit the common people, but they also made it clear how to escape their predicament: become extraordinary. Even basic, bronze-level knowledge could be acquired with silver coins. It was clear that the leaders of the Federation believed the creatures of Xia continent needed more extraordinary individuals—and that anyone's potential would only be revealed after reaching level ten.
From five meters away, a faint mechanical hum interrupted his thoughts.
[Ms. Luo Ning, welcome to the Hall of Knowledge.]
Luo Ning? The name struck a chord.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein