[Wave 5 cleared in 38 seconds.]

Aelira placed herself in the second rank of the Foundation Stage Monster-Combat Leaderboard.

And these two names started making waves.

...

This Rainstar Institute had everything merit-based.

If students wanted resources or any kind of help, they had to earn merit points.

Rudrean and Aelira acquired merit points based on their rank in the Monster-Combat leaderboard.

Rudrean got 10,000 Merit Points, and Aelira got 9,000 Merit Points.

Their Adventurer cards were upgraded and modified, now connected to the functionality of Rainstar Institute as well as the general Adventurer Guild.

To put it simply, their card was a phone, and they had just installed an app called Rainstar Institute of Adventurers, which connected them to the facilities and functionality of the school.

"When you want to pay merit points for anything, just swipe the card," Wuzai said as he led them somewhere. "Next, we will be going to your residency. Usually, I don’t guide students, but your Headmaster became my friend, so I promised I would at least guide his students."

"Oh, so you are his friend." Aelira blinked.

Rudrean wryly smiled. "We didn’t realize."

Wuzai twirled his mustache. "Well, I am not anything important in this academy, but all Foundation Stage people between the ages of 18 to 25 are allowed to enter this institute. However, each student must gather 100,000 Merit Points in their first month here. If they fail, they are expelled."

"So 90% of the students can’t last anyway."

"Oh, is it hard? How do we gather merit points?" Aelira fired questions, her eyes curious.

"You will find out soon. For now, this hill spanning a 5-kilometer radius is the area for Foundation Stage students."

The hill was massive.

From the base, Rudrean could see it stretching upward in a long gradual slope, dense with small but aesthetic buildings near the bottom, thinning steadily as the elevation rose, until near the peak where only five magnificent mini-manors with private training grounds and gardens lay.

Wuzai led them through the gate at the base without slowing.

"Residency is merit-based as well," he said. "Where you live on this hill is determined by how many merit points you have accumulated in total. For the top five dorms on the peak, you need to earn 100,000 Merit Points. If one person owns a dorm, that person can invite others to live together. There is no restriction on the number, except for the physical limitation of the place."

"By the way," Rudrean blinked. "What if we want to live in the city with our own private property instead of dorms here?"

"True. We need a house in the city here." Aelira grinned.

Wuzai paused and turned to the duo, his eyes narrowing.

"This planet is a 5-star planet, belonging to Rainstar Guild, and this city is the only city here, but it is also a major trading and adventurers hub. You two Foundation Stage kids can’t afford to buy anything in the city yet."

[Isalyn: It’s fine. I have enough money to buy. Don’t tell him anything. We can check out the city broadly ourselves.]

’Alright.’

’Sounds good.’

Aelira and Rudrean agreed.

"So let me take you to your dorm." Wuzai continued walking. "After that, you will have to navigate this institute yourself. You can wander in the city and do whatever you want. You have complete freedom over your life..." Wuzai’s voice turned somber. "But make sure you don’t court death by breaking the rules of this city."

...

Right after Wuzai left them at their dorms, Rudrean and Aelira also left.

"We got such a detailed city map in the card. It’s amazing." Aelira looked at the holographic map. It showed the name and details of each area down to every store.

"That looks like a good residential area. Very luxurious, but remote, quiet, and private." Rudrean pointed to a place on his map.

Aelira looked over, her eyes shining. "Wow. It’s really private. The whole mini-mountain is just for 22 mansions? I wonder why the number is 22."

Rudrean nodded. "See, each mansion also comes with layers of protective formations, anti-scanning and anti-detection, as well as having solid defense. But it says each mansion costs 100,000 Tier-4 Mana Stones or 100 Tier-5 Mana Stones."

[Isalyn: Perfect. I have around two thousand Tier-5 Mana Stones. That would last us for a long time and help us in many things.]

"Damn, you are so rich, sis." Aelira giggled.

Rudrean was amazed. "That’s a lot."

[Isalyn: Naturally. All twelve of us looted as much as we could before we defected and escaped. Since they dared to betray and harm us, we decided to bite back. I took this artifact, a bunch of resources, and two thousand Tier-5 Mana Stones, hehe. Master knew things could go sideways, so he gave us a way to access the treasury of the guild.]

"Awesome. Let’s go buy our new house!"

Aelira and Rudrean promptly left the dorm area, and then the institute grounds.

Nobody even bothered to check or scan their cards as they exited the institute, but it was because they were already being recorded by a much more advanced AI powered by data and magic.

...

They simply flew like many others and arrived at the base of the mountain, owned entirely by a real estate company called Rainstar Estates.

As soon as the two entered the building, a staff member walked toward them and greeted them.

"Hello. How may I help you?" The lady smiled, her eyes moving to Rudrean and not blinking. ’God, how can someone be that handsome?’

"We want to buy a luxurious mansion," Aelira said plainly with an indifferent face, acting like a real young lady from a powerful family.

"Here’s the money." Rudrean extended his hand, holding a small storage pouch. "There are 100 Tier-5 Mana Stones inside."

The lady was stunned.

Five minutes later, their blood samples were taken and fed into a magical key, which also turned into a tattoo of the number 22 on their hands.

"Now you may enter the barrier without any obstruction. Pleasure doing business with you."

As Rudrean and Aelira left, they became the topic of discussion among the people working in the building, wondering about the background of these two good-looking and rich kids.

...

Right after they entered the mansion, Isalyn exited the pocket dimension, still cautious as she had the Astral Veil spell activated.

She scanned the whole mansion and all formations to ensure there was nothing suspicious.

’All clear, it seems.’

Isalyn finally appeared visibly, her black silky hair flowing softly in the wind as her amber eyes rested on Rudrean and Aelira with a smile.

"Now then, what should we do first?"

Aelira cheekily grinned. "Is that even a question, right, darling?"

"We check out the..." Rudrean blinked, then chuckled. "Bathroom?"

"Bingo!"