Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 559: Contribution Settlement

Duke stood by the sea, watching the waters ahead regain their calm, while pondering another issue in his heart.

It has always been the Sea Race that sought him, but he had no means of contacting them himself.

"Next time I encounter someone from the Sea Race, I must inquire about it; otherwise, it’s too passive to reap the benefits," Duke mused.

Currently, he could only wait passively for the Sea Race to seek him out, unable to take the initiative in contacting them.

However, Duke didn’t plan to exploit the Sea Race recklessly. If he provoked them, there would be nothing to gain in the future. Sustainable development was necessary.

...

A few days after the moonlit interlude, Duke received a notice from the Black Sail office on Green Grass Island to settle the final contributions for the long-term eradication mission.

The office was a building constructed from solid obsidian and magical timber, bustling with people inside. Many wizards were queuing to settle or hand over tasks.

But when Duke stepped into the quiet room specially reserved for senior members’ settlements, the noise was left behind.

The person in charge of the settlement was a stern-faced middle-aged Warlock, with a badge symbolizing his identity as a chief accountant, named Lu Xiu.

He produced a thick stack of parchment documents detailing Duke’s combat reports during this task period, task completion status, and battle results confirmed by the regiment’s adjutant and the Sea Race.

"Duke, I must also say," Lu Xiu’s tone carried a subtle hint of respect, "According to the statistics, your accumulated contribution in this deep-sea Void Insect Race eradication task stands at ninety-three thousand seven hundred points."

Upon hearing this number, Duke couldn’t help but slightly raise his brows.

This figure far exceeded his previous expectations.

It’s worth noting that a typical Level 1 Wizard would consider accumulating ten to twenty thousand contribution points from such a task to be quite substantial.

This contribution was more than what Duke had earned in some plane war tasks before, and the task was executed in just three months, which was shorter than the time cycle of plane wars.

Although Duke didn’t know how many contribution points Simon had gained this time, it certainly wouldn’t be very high.

Generally, a Level 1 Wizard wouldn’t gain much contribution in this action; the biggest advantage actually came from what they acquired during the battlefield cleanup.

Once Duke reviewed his contribution report, he roughly understood why the amount was so generous.

Most of the contribution came from the regimental command bonuses and surpassing strategic objectives. According to records, he commanded the 79th numbered Slave Creature Legion independently for more than eighty percent of the time.

The standard configuration of this legion included fifty thousand heads of various slave creatures. Not only did Duke maintain a high survival rate for the legion, but he also exceeded targets in seventeen major eradication tasks and thirty-four auxiliary reconnaissance and interception missions.

According to regulations, a regiment commander could earn up to a thirty percent additional contribution bonus based on the regiment’s overall performance.

Seeing Duke perusing the report, Lu Xiu pointed to several tasks highlighted on the report: "In these missions, you led the regiment to successfully eradicate three deeply hidden and heavily defended Level 1 Nests, and provided early warnings to help the main forces evade two large-scale insect swarm ambushes. These were evaluated as high-value strategic objectives, with contribution rewards multiplied by several times the base value."

This contribution of over ninety thousand was a comprehensive acknowledgment of his strength, command ability, and the value of that unique scouting magic.

The key to Duke receiving such a high contribution lay in his role not just as a combat wizard but mainly as a commanding officer for the legion.

Utilizing the precise intelligence provided by Water Flow Shadow and his keen understanding of the battle situation, he directed the Slave Creature Legion to achieve the greatest results at minimal cost.

The accumulation of these achievements, combined with command bonuses, naturally amounted to an impressive figure.

This is also one of the roles of status; without the Black Sail Honor Medal, Duke would not have had the opportunity to command a Slave Creature Legion.

Without this Slave Creature Legion, Duke would not have been able to capitalize on this advantage to obtain so many Hearts of the Insect Race.

These Hearts of the Insect Race were true treasures, and if stockpiled, they would undoubtedly become more valuable in the future.

Since the Void Insect Race could no longer invade the Wizard Plane unless they rediscovered its current plane coordinates, Hearts of the Insect Race would become increasingly scarce. These resources, rich in life energy, are extremely useful for wizards and applicable in many fields.

Currently, many wizards are researching methods to cultivate Hearts of the Insect Race. If successful, it could lead to mass production.

However, developing this is not easy, because even if mass production becomes possible, it depends on how many resources need to be invested.

If the input resources greatly exceed the output, the research would lead to a loss.

Duke thought of when he took the Wizard Apprentice examination and encountered Desert Lizardmen in that desert.

In fact, that entire desert site was called the Desert Lizard Cultivation Chamber; although vast, it was merely a place for cultivation experiments in the eyes of a wizard.

Cultivating the Void Insect Race would likely adopt a similar approach due to their aggressive nature and destructive impact on the environment, along with environmental pollution and other concerns.

These issues necessitated the creation of a specialized environment for breeding the Void Insect Race. Otherwise, any experimental mishap could lead to environmental contamination in the Wizard Plane.

Duke had heard that some wizards even purchased low planes or small planes specifically for experiments.

This allowed them to create a special plane entirely according to their own ideas and needs, conducting various experiments.

Many of the beings residing in such planes might never know that during their entire lives, they were merely living in someone else’s cultivation chamber, providing experimental data from birth to death.

Occasionally, however, highly gifted life forms might emerge from these planes, and they could have the chance to become a slave servant to a wizard, breaking their own limitations and witnessing a broader world.

But this might not always be a good thing; sometimes, knowing too much becomes a burden.

...

Once again, night fell over Green Grass Island as the gentle waves softly lapped against the shore’s rocks, creating a rhythmic swishing sound.

Duke was resting in his temporary abode, reflecting on the day’s contribution tally and planning how to maximize the utilization of these resources.