Andre paid no mind to what was happening in the laboratory, instead using the Teleportation Array on the War Mother Ship to return directly to the Morning Sky.
The Otherworld he was in had now entered the second phase of the expedition: colonization.
This wasn't a matter he could interfere with, not even as the disciple of one of Klein's own disciples.
Nor was it something a mere Level 2 Wizard like himself could meddle in.
What he had to do now was collect as many benefits as possible before leaving this world for the next.
"Karina, where are you?"
Andre contacted Karina through the Morning Sky. He wanted her to take him to the Tomb of the Giant Elephant.
"I'm busy right now!" After a moment, Karina's projection appeared before Andre.
"Busy? What could you be busy with?" Andre frowned.
After the last few days of bombardment from the Star Realm Battleships, the Second Expeditionary Corps had nearly wiped out the entire Multi-Body Race.
'Under the circumstances, what could she possibly be busy with?'
"You don't know?" Karina blinked, looking at the clueless Andre.
"From the way you're talking, is there something I'm supposed to know?"
Karina's words left Andre feeling a little lost.
"You really don't know?" Karina stared at Andre's reaction, stunned for a moment before asking again.
"What is it I'm supposed to know?" Andre retorted, seeing Karina's astonished expression.
"Didn't your grand-master tell you?"
Karina continued to press him. Seeing her act like this, Andre couldn't help but sigh internally.
"What in the world is going on? Just spit it out."
Andre took a few deep breaths before speaking seriously.
He was sick of all these roundabout, feigned-confusion questions.
"We're calculating Merit Points!" Seeing Andre was getting impatient, Karina quickly explained what she was doing.
"Merit Points? Isn't that stuff supposed to be calculated after we return to the Main Institute?"
Andre gave Karina a puzzled look.
"The rules changed. We can calculate them now. Where are you?"
Karina said, looking at Andre in surprise.
"I'm on the War Mother Ship!"
"Then why haven't you come to calculate your Merit Points?"
Karina blinked, not quite understanding what Andre was doing.
"Nobody told me! How was I supposed to know?"
Andre rolled his eyes, then promptly returned to the War Mother Ship via the Morning Sky.
He soon met up with Karina, who was waiting for him.
"Are you done with your calculations?"
Andre asked, looking at the faint smile on Karina's face.
Karina nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Of course. I've already calculated mine. I earned 12,000 Merit Points on this expedition. Yours will probably be double that."
Karina said with a smiling nod, revealing her total.
"Only 12,000? Isn't that a bit low?" Andre blinked.
"Don't tell me you don't know the actual exchange rate for Merit Points!"
Karina asked, seeing the dismissive look on Andre's face.
"What do you mean?" Seeing Karina's reaction, Andre knew there was yet another thing he had been left in the dark about.
"One Merit Point can be exchanged for 1,000 Magic Stones!"
"One thousand Magic Stones... you mean Medium Magic Stones?"
"What are you dreaming of? Medium Magic Stones? Do you think the institute can afford that?"
Karina rolled her eyes at his question.
"So, 12,000 points... converted to Magic Stones, that's only enough to forge a few Witchcraft Artifacts. Is that really something to be so happy about?"
"Why would I be this happy if Merit Points could only be exchanged for Magic Stones?"
Karina shot Andre an eye-roll.
"There are other uses?" Andre hadn't paid any real attention to the details before.
He had always assumed that Merit Points accumulated during the expedition would be tallied after returning to the Main Institute.
"Of course. During the expedition, all Wizards assigned to the expeditionary forces get a 30% to 50% discount when exchanging for supplies from the institute.
...That includes Magic Plants, Magic Stones, Witchcraft Artifacts, materials for forging artifacts, Witchcraft Arrays, and Witchcraft Array Maps."
"If I use my Merit Points for Witchcraft Artifacts, I can get four whole pieces."
Karina looked at Andre smugly.
Andre shook his head and followed Karina to the Merit Point calculation station.
When Andre arrived, he saw a long line.
"This many people?" Andre's eyes widened.
"Well, the Second Expeditionary Corps arrived on the War Mother Ship, so there are over two hundred of them here this time."
"And that's not even counting the other personnel on the War Mother Ship."
Karina explained when she saw his surprised expression, then once again asked where he'd been.
"What have you been doing for the past few days? Did really no one tell you about this?"
she asked in surprise after explaining the numbers of the Second Expeditionary Corps.
"Nope. I've been busy on the continents I'm in charge of, and I also spoke a bit with Qiu Ze'Er."
"Qiu Ze'Er? You should probably keep your distance from him."
The moment Karina heard Qiu Ze'Er's name, a look of disgust crossed her face.
"You know about his debt?"
Seeing her reaction, Andre knew that word of Qiu Ze'Er's debt had already reached her.
"Five hundred million Magic Stones, and Medium Magic Stones at that! If it were five hundred million elementary-grade ones, that would be one thing. But five hundred million Medium Magic Stones... that's a debt that could crush someone to death."
Karina looked horrified just bringing up the debt Qiu Ze'Er owed.
Right now, she was terrified of running into him.
"It's not so bad," Andre said after a moment's thought.
"'Not so bad?' That's easy for you to say. You Casters and Alchemists have ways to make a fortune, so of course you'd think it's 'not so bad'."
"But for ordinary people like us, that's a sum we couldn't pay back in several lifetimes."
"Wait a second... you didn't lend him money, did you?"
Karina looked at Andre with a hint of suspicion.
"Me lend him money? Am I that rich?"
"You're not rich? You're probably one of the wealthiest people in the entire Expeditionary Corps, and you're asking if you're rich?"
Karina rolled her eyes at his words.
"As far as I know, you're the only Master Alchemist in this Expeditionary Corps."
"I don't know if any other Master Alchemists will join later on, but for now, you're the only one."
"If you let it be known that you're a Master Alchemist, there's no telling how many people would come begging for your services."
Karina rolled her eyes, looking at Andre with a speechless expression.
'This guy is showing off his status again.'
"I really don't think being a Master Alchemist is anything special!"
Andre's remark left Karina stunned.
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