Elemental Cats

Eventually, the cats had all recovered from the fatigue they built up during their continued fighting on the battlefield. Since Toz was busy with the grimoire, he didn't notice it at first, but the cats were quickly growing restless. But because of the changed atmosphere in the base camp and the impending deadline for the execution of the general's plan, they didn't want to leave the camp and Toz.

But the cats didn't really try to hide their boredom, and Toz noticed before long. So, because he understood their feelings, Toz agreed to at least leave the tent with them and take a walk around the camp.

It would allow them to stretch their legs, but they could also take the opportunity to try and eavesdrop and find the reason why everyone in the camp had become so diligent.

Toz and the cats didn't just wander around the camp without a goal. Although they stayed in the base because they didn't want to miss the opportunity to participate in the general's plan, that didn't mean there was nothing to do at the camp.

There were a couple of recreational facilities, but they were to motivate or help the traumatized soldiers. They weren't really places that Toz wanted to bring the cats to, and they weren't designed for beasts, so Toz ignored them.

Instead, he went to the place that wasn't that different from a market or shopping center.

The Resource Center.

As its name said, the Resource Center was a center for resources. It was the place where Hassandra got the grimoire she used to complete her end of the deal with Toz. But grimoires weren't the only thing one could get from there.

Food and weapons, like Vatel's spear, were also common goods. There were also leisurely items like toys and books. But one of the most appreciated wares one could exchange contribution points for from the Resource Center was training materials.

Toz and the cats hadn't used any during their training and travels while together, mostly because they couldn't be bothered to spend money on things that weren't strictly necessary or that they really wanted. Scrael and Asilean had gotten ahold of suitable materials to use for their training before they met Toz. But afterward, there hadn't been a need for it.

With Toz's inclination sharing and amplifying their talent for magic, he and the cats didn't need to rely on mana crystals or potions to speed up their training or increase their mana control.

Instead of scrounging around for money and wasting time looking for the right attribute on the mana crystals or potions effective enough to make a difference, it was more worth it for Toz and the cats to train if they wanted to progress.

Not to mention how none of them wanted to rely on external means to progress. That would get rid of all fun in progressing or succeeding.

But other than materials that helped mages increase their level quicker, there were also natural treasures that could help deepen the mage's understanding of their attributes. Compared to mana crystals and potions, those kinds of natural treasures were a lot rarer, so Toz and the cats hadn't stumbled upon any. Unfortunately, they weren't so rare that they would be precious enough to end up in the Blue Lounge League's treasury.

Though, Mindle's egg could probably have been used as a consumable for a fire mage if she had ended up with a different fate. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

Toz and the cats were going to the Resource Center mostly because it seemed like the only place in the camp that would have anything interesting yet easily accessible. The other interesting places were hidden away or under strict surveillance. Toz and the cats looking for something fun in those kinds of places would only spell trouble.

Going to the Resource Center was the best option. And if they were lucky, they might even find some kind of natural treasure that suited one of them.

Toz told himself and the cats that they shouldn't get their hopes up. With how active the camp was, the valuable items that people wanted were bound to sell like hotcakes. And if they were still available, it was probably because of their price, which meant that Toz and the cats might not be able to afford them.

However, as they headed toward the Resource Center, Toz and the cats couldn't help but walk with steps filled with expectation. It wouldn't be weird if there were one or two things that they wanted and could afford, right?

Toz didn't know if it was the beginning of their luck or simply a coincidence. Maybe it was even a sign of bad luck. But the way to the Resource Center was only sparsely trafficked with people going to and fro with shiny spatial rings or bulging spatial bags.

Hopefully, people were too busy diligently following military orders to spend their contribution points on items in the Resource Center.

Though it could just as well be the opposite. After picking their lazy asses up off the ground, people started getting more and more contribution points. And since there was no real value to those points, everyone went to the Resource Center to get something useful instead of contribution points that would lose all value as soon as the war ended.

Hopefully, people were only buying smaller things that should be equivalent to the value of simply doing menial tasks and chores. That would leave all the good stuff to people who had more contribution points, like Toz.

After capturing two tribespeople from the Tribe of Death, Toz's contribution points skyrocketed. He and the cats had also defeated and killed a lot of demons and demonic beasts, which helped bring up his score to a significant value.

Renting the tent had brought it down a bit. And Toz would certainly have had more if he and the cats had spent all their time on the battlefield instead of trying to follow the general's whim.

But the only way they could find out if there was anything Toz could use his contributions points on, or if they were enough, was to actually enter the Resource Center.