...

Meanwhile...

〈System Alert: Welcome Player Izroth, to Realm of Myths and Legends!〉

'I hope too much didn't happen while I was away.'

With Fang Qiu's personally overseeing the renovation at the orphanage, Izroth had peace of mind that things would get done correctly. Therefore, he chose to return home and log into RML.

The camp near the Rosentarus border where Izroth logged out had been cleared and most likely moved—no doubt in preparation for the upcoming assault on the Night Lord's Crypt.

Upon logging in, the first thing Izroth did was check the event leaderboards.

Although he was only gone for a bit more than half a day in the real world, that was the equivalent of 36+ hours in RML.

Needless to say, there was a lot that could occur within that frame of time.

『Top 100 Event Leaderboard:

1st: Izroth - 4,786.57 contribution points

2nd: ??? - 3,825.92 contribution points

3rd: Ewan - 1,958.99 contribution points

4th: Dragon - 1,876.12 contribution points

5th: Reaper - 1,742.10 contribution points

6th: Igazanali - 1,735 contribution points

7th: Azalea Wraith - 1,644 contribution points

8th: Mariposa - 1,608.02 contribution points

9th: Road - 1,552.63 contribution points

10th: Valkyria - 1,491.13 contribution points

11th:...』

'Oh? There are quite a few familiar names on this list.'

The top 100 event leaderboards was no longer an empty wasteland. All 100 spots had been filled!

But, that did not mean that everything was set in stone. In fact, the list was constantly being updated, and ranks shifted as players gained contribution points.

Izroth was surprised to discover that out of the top 10 players; he knew all but four of them. The 2nd ranked mystery player, 4th ranked Dragon, 5th ranked Reaper, and 6th ranked Igazanali.

Though to say he did not know all of them was not entirely accurate. In truth, he had some memories about the player named Dragon.

Dragon was the name of Broken Exile's guild leader, one of the top ten guilds in RML.

Izroth had never run into someone from Broken Exile since their base was not set up in Amaharpe like many of the other top guilds, but from what he understood, the members of that guild were an arrogant and prideful bunch.

But, seeing as how the quality of their members was said to be on par with that of Cross Haven's, Izroth did not find their arrogance unusual or even necessarily bad.

Izroth believed that those who possessed the strength to back up their arrogance deserved the right to display it—as long as they knew who they could and could not afford to display that arrogance in front of.

As for the second place mystery player, while Izroth had no definitive proof, he speculated that they were the same individual he met at the end of the second team's selection, Law.

'It looks like I won't be able to slack off.'

Since Law was strong enough to take 2nd place in the second team's selection, he surely had the power to gain that many contribution points in such a short period of time.

Izroth was also amazed that Sleeping Gardenia occupied two spots in the top ten—this was something no other guild had done so far!

'Well, I suppose they are not the only guild with two members in the top ten.'

Izroth's gaze landed on Azalea's name.

Even though Izroth's guild was newly formed and unknown, with Azalea's presence, it also had two players that were in the top ten!

As for the rest of Izroth's official guild members—every last one of them was within the top 100 on the event leaderboards!

While they were a relatively small guild, having every member listed within the top 100 players for the event was still an incredible feat!

'I was a bit worried those two would lag behind, but it turns out my concerns were unwarranted.'

The Blacksmith Gu Chao and the second Pill Emperor Worldly Skies did not have particularly high levels since their main focus was crafting. However, it appeared that the Resource Management Division was treating them quite well and putting their skills to good use, given that both had already accumulated over 1,000 contribution points.

'I'm glad to see everyone is holding up on their own. Hopefully, they will continue to climb higher in the rankings. Though I suppose the newest addition to our guild remains absent.'

After Izroth finished looking over the event leaderboards, he navigated through the event interface until he came across what he was searching for.

'I have nearly 5,000 contribution points. This should be enough to purchase something decent from the event shop.'

Izroth glimpsed over the event shop before; however, this would be his first time actively looking through it.

Players could use their contribution points to buy all types of items from the event shop.

In addition, even if they spent contribution points, it would not affect a person's standing on the event leaderboards.

The event leaderboards kept track of the total amount of contribution points a player earned. But, it did not penalize them for acquiring items from the event shop.

That's why whenever a player spent points at the event shop, it would subtract the amount from their "Available Contribution Points"—not their total.

The next moment, a transparent board emerged in front of Izroth. It resembled the walls at the auction house that enabled players to purchase items. However, the layout for this particular board was different in several ways. There was no buy or sell section. Instead, there were two options.

The first option was for players to trade in items for contribution points. But, this feature was currently unavailable as it required players to physically trade in their items at the nearest allied outpost.

This feature was mainly for craftsmen, and it acted as their primary method of acquiring contribution points outside of war objectives that matched their profession's requirements.

Izroth had yet to use the trade-in feature; however, from what he understood, craftsmen could only gain contribution points with this approach for items they crafted themselves.

If anyone attempted to turn in another person's work and claim the contribution points as their own, the points would not go to them. Instead, they would go to the creator listed on the item!

This was to prevent players from trying to actively buy contribution points with gold coins.

The second option allowed players to browse through the items in stock within the event shop.

Next to each item was the name, quantity, the number of contribution points it cost to purchase it, and a "Review" button that revealed more in-depth details about the item.

There were tens of thousands of items to select, ranging from weapons and armors to potions and crafting materials. Of course, there was also a feature that helped players find specific things.

But, despite the large volume of items to choose from, several high-cost items were on a first come first serve basis with a limited quantity of one. And, the cheapest among these items cost a massive 50,000 contribution points!

Izroth quickly combed through the items he could purchase with his contribution points. However, by the time he reached the end, he could not help but sigh in disappointment.

'It's not that these choices are bad, but...'

In truth, there were many valuable things Izroth could purchase with his available contribution points, but none of them grabbed his interest.

'Forget it. It's not like my contribution points are going anywhere. I can always return later once I collect more.'

With that, Izroth closed out his event interface and set his sights forward.

...

'I would like to head back to the Mystical Realm Palace and check on the Blood Moon's progress, though with the assault on the Night Lord's Crypt growing near, now is not exactly an ideal time. Then, should I just rejoin Commander Aurie and General Solomon's group?'

Just as Izroth was pondering his next course of action while traveling through the Rosentarus forest at incredible speeds, he suddenly sensed a familiar presence after a brief scan with his Energy Vision Sense.

'Oh? This presence is... There's no mistaking it. Judging by their flames, they seem to be in the middle of a battle. But, what are they doing all the way out here?'

The main allied outpost near the Rosentarus border had already moved, and with it, all the surrounding assignments and war objectives.

The hunting grounds in this area were also relatively barren. Therefore, all players should have long since left to a better location.

'Then... shall I drop in and see what they're up to?'