Chapter 55: The Role of Experience Evaluations
The Exchange Hall was a quadrangular structure, a single-story building. Yet its design was rather peculiar—after circling around it, Sikong Xu found not a single window. It seemed to be completely sealed, lending it an almost eerie appearance. In truth, if not for the bustling hawkers outside and the unsettling lack of windows, the building itself would have appeared rather grand and magnificent.
Stepping through a watery, mirror-like entrance, Sikong Xu felt as if something had seized him; in an instant, his entire body was drawn into the shimmering gateway. Upon entering, darkness fell before his eyes, and a strange energy swept over him, making him deeply uncomfortable.
When Sikong Xu opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a small, isolated room.
“What’s this…?” He had only just set foot inside the Exchange Hall, so why did he now find himself in a tiny chamber upon opening his eyes? No matter how he puzzled over it, he could only conclude that some mysterious force had relocated him.
The room wasn’t large, but spacious enough for him to roll about if he wished. Most notable was the projection screen that materialized before him—a technology with which Sikong Xu was already familiar: the three-dimensional projection system provided by the Dawn Intelligence Core.
By now, the wonders of Dawn Academy no longer startled Sikong Xu. After a brief daze, he turned his attention to the screen, which displayed four options: Skills, Equipment, Items, and Bloodlines.
It was immediately clear—“Skills” would contain all manner of strange abilities, “Equipment” would offer powerful weaponry, and so on.
Driven by curiosity, Sikong Xu selected the “Skills” category. Instantly, the screen shifted, and a long list of skills and abilities appeared before his eyes.
He tapped on a skill called “Eagle Eye.” The screen shifted once more, displaying its rank and a detailed description.
Eagle Eye
Type: Passive Skill
Grade: D
Description: To hunt and scout from great heights, the eagle’s vision surpasses that of humans by five to seven times. Its retinas have evolved two foveae, allowing simultaneous observation of both the front and periphery. This skill enhances vision and grants an eagle’s perspective, adapting to the user’s personal constitution.
Exchange Price: 400 Academy Credits
“Damn, four hundred credits just for a D-rank skill? The academy’s highway robbery!” Sikong Xu cursed after reading the description.
He currently had only seven hundred and fifty credits; to redeem a single D-rank skill would cost more than half his balance. Why was everything so expensive?
He then checked the Equipment, Items, and Bloodline categories. Each was just as exorbitant. The Bloodline section was particularly staggering—a lowest-tier E-rank “Barbarian Bloodline” cost fifteen hundred credits. Outrageous.
At this, Sikong Xu recalled some relevant details from the Student Handbook: Skills and Bloodlines were graded from E (lowest) to S (highest), while Items were unranked. Equipment, on the other hand, had a more complex hierarchy: Whiteboard, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond, from lowest to highest. Though the system seemed crude, it was the standard across all dimensional academies, including Dawn Academy.
After scanning through the available options, Sikong Xu’s face darkened. Seven hundred and fifty credits might have seemed a fortune, but he’d barely be able to afford the most basic exchange.
However, the academy’s exchange system was not entirely merciless. While the credit requirement was steep, there was one thing that could be used to offset the cost: the evaluation points awarded for completing training missions. Each evaluation earned an appraisal point.
An E-minus evaluation point could offset ten credits when exchanging for Whiteboard equipment or skills and bloodlines of the same grade; E and E-plus points were equivalent to two and three E-minus points, respectively.
A D-minus evaluation point could offset fifty credits for Black Iron equipment or equivalent skills and bloodlines; D and D-plus were worth two and three D-minus points, respectively.
A C-minus evaluation point could offset one hundred credits for Bronze equipment or equivalent; C and C-plus equaled two and three C-minus points.
A B-minus evaluation point could offset two hundred credits for Silver equipment or equivalent; B and B-plus were worth two and three B-minus points.
An A-minus evaluation point could offset one thousand credits for Gold equipment or equivalent; A and A-plus matched two and three A-minus points.
An S-minus evaluation point could offset five thousand credits for Diamond equipment or equivalent; S and S-plus equaled two and three S-minus points.
Lower-grade evaluation points could not be used for higher-grade exchanges, though higher-grade points could be used for lower-grade exchanges at the original offset value.
This realization lightened Sikong Xu’s mood considerably. He happened to have an S-minus evaluation point—worth five thousand credits. Just like that, he was suddenly flush with wealth.
“Haha! Now I’m truly a rich man!” he crowed.
After basking in his good fortune for a while, Sikong Xu didn’t rush to exchange anything. He had only come to see the place and broaden his horizons. If he really wanted to exchange something…
He decided he should first sell the “Basic Giant Bloodline Potion” in his possession. Bloodline items were always in high demand—even the weakest bloodline could bring about a dramatic increase in power.
To this end, Sikong Xu checked the exchange price for the Basic Giant Bloodline—three thousand credits. Given the potential of a giant’s bloodline, the price seemed reasonable.
After reviewing the prices of several other exchange items, Sikong Xu left the room. The moment he stepped out, he found himself once again at the entrance of the Exchange Hall.
“Amazing…” No matter how many times he experienced such teleportation, Sikong Xu found it astonishing.
“Now, I just need to find a place to sell this potion. That’ll net me another handsome sum in credits.”