Novel Full Chapter 3421: Grades
Chapter 3421: Grades
Alex walked away from the room where the Grade 1 insects were kept and arrived at another place where Grade 2 insects were kept.
“This grading system reminds me of the profession’s grading system from long ago,” Alex said. “I know Alchemists used to have Grades 1 to 10 before they co-opted the new system. Is there any relation?”
The Insect Sage contemplated the question. “It certainly comes from the same time period, but I can’t say for certain if one took from the other. There may yet have been something before that they both took from.”
Alex nodded in understanding and looked inside the room where the Grade 2 insects were kept. Once again, he saw a plethora of insects, but this time there was more order to the whole thing. The insects were more separated, with distinct regions created for each type.
“Could I ask you to explain how these beasts are Grade 2?” Alex asked. “For example, how does that red-spotted slug count as a Grade 2 insect? On that matter, I wasn’t aware slugs were considered insects as well. There are definitely some slugs that have beast cores.”
“We use the term Insects very loosely here. The better word for them would be bugs, but Bug God or Bug Sage doesn’t sound good, does it?” the man asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. “Most people can’t tell the difference between them either and will call anything an insect. So we do the same. It just makes everything less of a hassle.”
“Oh? That makes sense,” Alex said. “And the grade?”
“The grade… well, let’s see,” the man said and turned toward the slug that climbed the side of a wall. “A Dotted Crimson Slug gives birth to very few offspring in its lifetime, so its Reproduction score is only 2. It is relatively easy to take care of, but not too easy, so it scores 6 on Ease of Handling. Finally, the slug grows slowly, and all it can do is secrete a corrosive slime that isn’t even that good, so its potential ends up coming down to a 1. Overall, that places it in the Grade 2 rank. If it were any more difficult to handle, it would easily be in Grade 1.”
Alex turned toward the slug, watching it slowly climb the wall as he thought through the Insect Sage’s words. “So, let me get this straight. It can’t really do much, can it? It’s useless to bond with, isn’t it?”
“Not necessarily,” the man explained. “While yes, it is a low Grade and thus practically worthless if you plan on using it in a dangerous situation. But if you’re a starting disciple who can’t afford much, you can buy these slugs and take care of them. Because they are so easy to take care of, you can learn how to handle insects without having to worry all the time. If they do end up giving birth, you can sell those back and earn enough to go for a higher-grade insect. That’s why we keep Grades 1 and 2. Even though they aren’t useful in a real situation, they are an excellent teaching tool.”
Alex blinked. He hadn’t had the slightest thought of considering any of that at all. He nodded as everything made sense to him just then.
“That is certainly useful. My apologies for questioning you, senior.”
“No, please question as much as you want. There is nothing wrong with being ignorant. It’s only wrong when you don’t try to change that.”
Alex smiled. “Could you please tell me more about how these other ones grade lower?”
“Of course,” the man said and started pointing at a few of the insects inside and explaining why they ranked low.
These insects always lacked in either two or more sections. If they were good at reproducing, they were usually difficult to take care of and didn’t have good potential. If they were easy to take care of, then they weren’t good at reproducing and had weak potential.
They never did, however, have good potential. It was always weak and never above 2. It appeared that while those with weaker potential could be ranked higher, they could never be ranked lower.
So there were absolutely no insects that scored 3 on potential in the Grade 2 section.
After those insects, Alex moved on to the rooms that held Grade 3. The insects were now kept separately, each not mixing with other groups. There were people around here, choosing their insects.
Alex looked around for a while before moving on. He had to get to the later grades before he could spend any time on these insects.
“What grades do disciples usually get from here? And what about the elders?” Alex asked.
“To learn, they never go above Grade 3. To actually own one, our disciples never go below Grade 5 if they can help it, and even go above if they can afford those insects,” the man explained.
“Do they have to pay for it, or is there a contribution system?” Alex asked.
“A mix of both. They do have to pay, but that is not the only kind of affording I am talking about. They need to be able to take care of them afterward too, and some of the ingredients that go into the food for these insects end up being quite expensive.”
Alex nodded.
“As for the elders,” the man continued, “they tend to go for the insects above Grade 5 as well, usually Grades 6 and 7 since they can afford them. A few go for Grade 8 too.”
“What about Grades 9 and 10?” Alex asked.
“Almost nobody. In the last 300 thousand years that I’ve been here, only 2 people have taken any insects from Grade 9 and been successful with them. Me and the Beast God. A few overconfident folks have tried, but none of them have succeeded in raising them, so that’s been a warning for the rest.”
Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. “And what about Grade 10?”