Chapter 169: VOL 3 - 7: The Order’s merits.
"Don't tell me that was his excuse for not appearing before the director sooner?" Upon hearing Eleonora, Erik asked somewhat surprised, to which Sigrún responded with a proud smile.
"Hehe, my Erik is the smartest... and yes, according to him, he hadn't shown up because he was stabilizing his progress to the Master level, and while he was advancing, he got a big burst of inspiration to perfect the technique, so he was working on it almost compulsively as if it were his masterpiece. He himself described that as a serious offense and wanted to hand over the technique as a show of his remorse, only asking, in return, that he be allowed to teach it to his disciples."
"That sounds too good to be true..." Erik commented a bit suspiciously, to which Eleonora nodded and added.
"Yes, it really does, but the Director studied the technique and found nothing strange. Plus, the fact that he's given a few Sage-level and Arcane-level bio-mystic techniques to the Order in exchange for merits throughout his life—merits he generally uses to obtain high-level potions, books, or artifacts—makes it more believable.
"Also, he has licensed a good number of Illuminated-level and lower bio-mystic techniques, earning a significant sum over the millennia. Some of his senior disciples have done the same, registering a few bio-mystic technique licenses from the Initiate-level all the way up to the Revealed-level."
"So he's clean... Though it's odd that he'd hand over bio-mystic techniques for merits, since those techniques have considerable strategic value and go for quite a sum at auctions..." Erik commented with some skepticism, to which Sigrún cheerfully responded.
"The truth is, it's not that unusual—in certain cases, the Order's merits are more valuable than money, like when you need high-value items. And as a perfect example, there's us—Eli and I only make potions and artifacts in exchange for merits, since that way we can get interesting things from the Order's cache that aren't available on the open market, like super rare ingredients, books, or specialized commissions for a Master-level artisan.
"That's why those who sell strategically valuable stuff like bio-mystic techniques at auctions are either from another faction or are lower-level and still don't understand the value of merits, since they can get everything they need on the open market. It's very common for people to buy those items, keep a copy, and then hand over the original to the Order in exchange for merits."
"So that means I can earn merits if I hand over the Arcane-level techniques I bought at the auction?" Erik asked, a businesslike smile appearing on his face, which spread to Sigrún and Eleonora, who answered in unison.
""Of course, fufu/hehe.""
"So basically, we can greatly offset the cost of my research..." Erik said with an intriguing smile, clearly pleased, as a couple of ideas came to mind. Eleonora, wearing a mischievous grin, then added.