Alexander shuddered upon hearing the last phrase, but since he was too tired to get fully excited about it, he simply returned to his room, took off most of his dirty clothes, and collapsed onto the bed.

  The next morning, he ended up waking up early because he had forgotten to close the curtain on the window and the sun rays invaded his room, for if it were up to him, he would sleep for at least another 10-12 hours.

  Although sleep provided him with a much better recovery than any rest, Alexander didn't feel revitalized. He only felt energized enough to maintain a calm and peaceful routine.

  Even though not being very willing, Alexander was still in a good mood due to the gains obtained the previous night. Such a large and rapid increase was definitely a good thing. He became even more excited upon remembering that the rewards from the city defense mission still awaited him.

  『 Missions 』

  Defend the city

  Mission Type: Extermination.

  Mission Description: Defend the city from the Wave created by the stampede. Completion Evaluation: {S}

  Reward(S): (109,200 XP Points), (5 Growth Points), (25 free attribute points) and (1x Random Reward Card).

  Extra Task: Personally kill the Wave's leader. Completion Evaluation: {Failure}

  Ding!

  [You completed the mission: (Defend the city)]

  [You received: (109,200 XP Points), (5 Growth Points), (25 free attribute points) and (1x Random Reward Card)]

  Ding!

  [You leveled up, but due to the interference of the special skill |Attribute Control|, all your attribute increases upon leveling up were denied and converted into free attribute points.]

  *[+30 free attribute points]*

  *[+1 growth point]*

  "It seems all the adventurers involved in this mission were placed in a kind of temporary group and my assists for the kills counted as much as the kills themselves for this mission, otherwise the rewards wouldn't be so abundant," analyzed Alexander. "Because it's simply impossible for me to have killed 546 creatures alone."

  His analysis wasn't far from the truth. As had been said, the mission consisted of the teamwork of all adventurers against the Wave. The very nature of the mission already had cooperation in a group as its purpose.

  Taking advantage of having the system open and being in the room, he decided to allocate some of his accumulated free attribute points to make his status more balanced and have the possibility of obtaining even better rewards in future (random reward cards).

  [20 points added to Strength]

  [50 points added to Defense]

  [50 points added to Dexterity]

  [15 points added to Charisma]

  [10 points added to Luck]

  As soon as the effect of this attribute increase subsided, Alexander got up and went to the bathroom to bathe Ocean, clean his clothes and himself, all using |Invigorate|, since that spell was his best way to clean something.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  With everything and everyone clean, he decided to test if his will was really capable of altering his status interface while he waited for his body and clothes to be minimally dry. And to his surprise, it was indeed possible, but there also seemed to be limitations to prevent him from becoming extremely disorganized, at least that seemed to be the limitation.

  When his clothes and body were dry enough for him to go to the reception, it was already late and the reception was practically empty.

  Taking advantage of the tranquility of the place, Alexander looked for the receptionist he always talked to, but didn't find her, possibly because of a day off, as she worked late the previous night.

  With no other option, he began looking at the attendants and chose a familiar face, the one who delivered his identification to the receptionist on the first day and whispered something to her.

  "Good morning. I'm here to recover my identification, which was collected so I could be promoted, and to receive my reward for participating in the emergency city protection mission," said Alexander to the attendant, who gave him a strange look.

  "All right. I know who you are," replied the attendant lightly before getting up to fetch something, still looking at him strangely.

  Without knowing exactly why the attendant was acting like that, Alexander decided to simply ignore it, as he felt no hostility.

  As soon as he returned, the attendant handed him his identification with 2 silver medals, thicker and heavier than the previous ones, and a small cloth bag with a substantial monetary reward.

  "Each adventurer's reward was given based on their rank," explained the attendant. "Your reward corresponds to that of a silver-rank adventurer."

  According to the attendant, the division happened as follows:

  All adventurers are entitled to an equal share of the value obtained from the common creatures.

  All bronze-level and above adventurers are entitled to an equal share of the value obtained from the 1st evolution creatures.

  All silver-level and above adventurers are entitled to an equal share of the value obtained from the 2nd evolution creatures.

  Only the group that fought the 3rd evolution monster is entitled to receive a share of the value obtained from its sale. But they will not receive any value for the other creatures, because the value each of them will receive will be greater than many, or even all, of the others.

  Upon hearing the receptionist's explanation, Alexander understood why his reward was substantial. The previous night, several 2nd evolution creatures were slain, and the 2nd evolution is very special for most creatures.

  During the 2nd evolution, a power core is formed and filled with the energy the creature has the greatest affinity for. And this confers a high market value to any creature that reaches this level of evolution, or higher.

  The price varies depending on the core, as there are various kinds of differences, even among those of the same species. Therefore, its value depends on the type of energy it contains, as well as its quantity and quality. All these variables depend greatly on the creature's species, its race, its energy affinity, its previous evolutions, and who knows how many more things.

  Alexander, who didn't want to think about the matter anymore, asked the attendant about his reward, so he could form a basis for the future, and he was told it was 9 small gold coins related to what was obtained from the slain creatures, and 1 small gold coin for participation.

  After receiving the explanation, he bid farewell to the attendant and went to the kitchen to ask for the food to be taken to his room.

  With everything settled, Alexander returned to stay with Ocean and wait for the food to arrive, but not without first thinking about the information he received: "It seems the Guild doesn't pay very well for mandatory defense missions. The true reward lies in the value obtained through selling the slain creatures."

  When they finished eating, he went with Ocean to the Black Moon store, as he needed some items, and asked her to wait for him at the door. As expected, Ocean didn't seem to like the idea much, but some pieces of meat and a little affection helped convince her.

  As soon as Alexander washed his hands and entered the store, a friendly saleswoman smiled a little at him and came to assist him at the entrance counter. "How can I help you?"

  "I need some clothes," replied Alexander. "Would you have some of my size readily available? I can't take long, because my familiar is outside and it will be problematic if someone provokes her."

  "I understand…" said the saleswoman with an ambiguous look and a smile that wasn't a smile. "But you don't need to worry about that. Our store has guards," continued the saleswoman, maintaining her "smile." "Those who deliberately interfere with our business tend not to have an easy life."

  "This store really isn't ordinary," he thought while reassessing the saleswoman before continuing: "Since that's the case, could you show me some clothes of different sizes? They are for a friend."

  "Of course," said the saleswoman, returning to her serene smile. "But you don't need to call me madam, as our ages aren't that different. I just turned 15."

  "15?" Alexander was surprised in thought, but somehow still managed to remain almost unchanged. "Her features are already those of a woman who began maturing at 18-20 years old, at least."

  "Wait a minute… How does she know she's older than me?" He asked himself. "I look to be well over 15 years old."

  "Sorry for the curiosity, but how did you know you were older than me?" Alexander asked. "I don't think my appearance gives me away that easily."

  Upon hearing his words, the saleswoman just smiled lightly and explained: "I'm a salesperson, I see various people every day. You've lost almost all your childish appearance, but I can still tell you're younger than me. If I had to guess, I'd say you're 14 years old and some months."

  "Correct," said Alexander, who absorbed each piece of information deeply to consider them: "It seems Earth's age/appearance standard doesn't match this world's. A simple and crude conversion of months, days, and hours x appearance also doesn't, or my appearance wouldn't be much younger compared to what I had on Earth… I have to get used to this new standard as quickly as possible."