After stepping down from the raised platform of the 3rd stage, Aksai and his team settled down for a quick respite.
He took this chance to break the silence, glancing at his teammates as he asked, "So, what's the deal with these rewards? Do we get to keep what we find here?"
The team leader let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head.
"Nope, not quite. Nothing we earn here can be kept without a price," he replied. "That's the whole point of exploring the cave in groups. When we're out, everything we collect goes to the group leader."
"Wait, everyone who enters through the various tunnels…they're all handing over their treasures, too?" Aksai asked, a bit taken aback.
"Exactly," said the leader, leaning back on his hands as he spoke.
"Once we're out, we deposit everything with the group leader, who'll then exchange each item for contribution points based on its value. And from there, those points become our 'earnings' for clearing stages."
