The racial artifact system made it clear that only a specific race had the right to purchase these powerful items, and they came with significant growth potential. However, once dropped and picked up by another race, the artifact could be converted, gaining even more power and becoming a direct counter to the original race.
This was practically a recipe for starting wars!
Alex couldn't help but ask, "So how exactly do you complete the conversion?"
Ethan squinted slightly, almost smiling as he replied, "Equipment conversion is an incredibly difficult skill, but fortunately, I have it. However, the item must be SR-grade or higher and requires 10 SR-grade enhancement gems of different attributes."
The conditions for conversion were certainly harsh. SR-grade equipment was rare, and finding 10 different SR-grade gems was worth over 10 million points. But for Alex, that wasn't an issue.
Earlier that morning, Alex had purchased 12 "R-Grade Gem Packs," netting 20 SR-grade gems and 102 R-grade gems, more than enough to meet the requirement.
Just as he was about to hand over the items for conversion, an idea struck Alex. Curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "By the way, can pets equip weapons too?"
Ethan blinked in surprise, responding automatically, "Yes, they can, but it requires the same conversion process for them to use any gear. However, the cost is astronomical. Without immense wealth and resources, it's hard to raise a pet properly."
After a brief pause, Ethan's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, Lord Alex… do you already have a pet?!"
Alex chuckled, rubbing his nose. "Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that expensive. Just a simple pet egg."
Seeing Ethan's stunned expression, Alex decided not to reveal that he had obtained a rare "Sky Serpent." It seemed better not to shatter Ethan's worldview yet again.
Ethan opened his mouth but decided against pressing the issue. After all, Alex's power had grown to a level even he couldn't fully comprehend, and asking too many questions might annoy him. So, he simply nodded in acknowledgment.
As for the massive cost associated with converting pet gear, Alex saw that as a blessing. His only current problem was having too many points and nowhere to spend them.
For someone as wealthy as Alex, the biggest frustration in a pay-to-win game was having money but nothing to spend it on.
At first, Alex considered converting his "Dragon God" set for his pet, the Sky Serpent, but then remembered that the set was already bound to him. Even if it could be converted, without the "Dragon God's Might" and "Dragon God's Flame" effects, its power would be significantly reduced. It wasn't worth the trouble.
With that settled, Alex handed Ethan the "Behemoth Fang" and 10 SR-grade gems for conversion.
Before starting, Ethan warned him, "SR-grade equipment can only be enhanced during its first conversion. If you later decide to convert it for use by another race or a pet, you'll need 10 more SR-grade gems, but it won't provide additional enhancement effects. Are you sure you want to convert this 'Behemoth Fang' into a human weapon?"
Alex thought for a moment and nodded. He had more than enough resources, and even if it was wasted, it wouldn't make much of a dent in his wealth.
Seeing Alex's carefree attitude, Ethan shook his head slightly and began the lengthy conversion process.
Unlike the usual equipment upgrades, conversions took much longer and required more effort. Alex took this time to browse the city's marketplace to see what he could spend his growing fortune on.
Having just completed the capture of 8 resource points, Alex's wealth had significantly increased again. With 8 S-level mission evaluations, his skill points had risen to 232, and his super skill points to 67. He also gained another 800% in growth value.
Adding the 1.35 million merit points earned from each of the 8 monster nests, Alex's total merit points had nearly reached 4 billion—sitting at 3.965 billion to be precise. His team, including Jessica and the others, had managed to sell off the resources they gathered, repaying Alex for the points he had lent them earlier.
Without even counting the resources he hadn't yet converted, Alex's current total points stood at 2.93 billion.
These enormous figures were part of Alex's current dilemma. After a moment of thought, he decided not to wait for the next special discount and spent 900 million merit points in one go, buying a slew of items including SR-grade beast eggs, R-grade source stones, spiritual stones, R-grade skill progression scrolls, and SR-grade gem packs.
Spending 900 million merit points, the equivalent of 9 billion credits, meant Alex had spent nine times the amount of his previous purchase spree!
This insane spending spree immediately unlocked the highest reward tier for the current event, allowing Alex to claim one of only two available "Ten-Billion Merit Packages."
To his surprise, the "Billionaire Package" offered even more rewards when spending thresholds of 3 billion, 5 billion, and 7 billion merit points were reached. In the end, Alex received three SSR-grade skill progression scrolls, each capable of raising a skill to the "Ultimate" tier.
As for the ultimate prize from the "Ten-Billion Merit Package," it only contained one item, but it was incredibly valuable—an SR-grade spiritual stone!
[SR-grade Spiritual Stone: Can be used to elevate an SR-grade bloodline to SSR-grade.]
Realizing that equipment could potentially be destroyed, Alex also purchased over a dozen sets of "Champion" gear as backups. At 5 million credits per set, it was as trivial as buying a new outfit for Alex.
Unfortunately, Alex couldn't buy multiples of the "Behemoth," "Dragon God," or "Holy Angel" sets, as these unique sets were restricted. Otherwise, he would've bought several—one to wear, one to store, one to collect, and another to give away.
But Alex wasn't easily deterred. If he couldn't get better gear, he'd just strengthen what he had!
After purchasing the SR-grade gem packs, Alex's highest-level gems were now SSR-grade, giving him the ability to upgrade all his R+9-grade equipment to SR-grade or even SSR-grade.
Of course, this would take a lot of Ethan's time, but as a city guide, wasn't it his job to serve the people?
Unaware that Alex now saw him as his personal blacksmith, Ethan spent nearly an hour completing the conversion of the "Behemoth Fang." When he finally finished, he handed over the gleaming golden blade, his voice filled with pride, "Lord Alex, the conversion is complete!"