Much to Danica's expectations, the party indeed spent the time she had estimated to reach their desired location, cries of birds in the sky and a distant sound of large bodies slithering along their way could be heard even from the place they found themselves in. Much like the scenery before, the island was lush with vegetation, Large trees blotting out the sun while smaller shrubbery and plants covered the lower levels of the forest ahead of them. Still, much like with the forest of giants, though not quite so grand ins scale, the location teemed with life, and most of it was non hostile- simple birds and insects going about their way. The real danger here were the large creatures, each and every one both powerful and aggressive.

Much like he had been doing for a while now, Rex controlled their surroundings, his focus laser sharp and his control over the blood chains and constructs he made of them impeccable. And with that aspect of their party play covered, both Eve and Danica could go wild, one getting into the thick of things, bloodthirsty smile on her lips, while the other woman was using the opportunity to practice her ability to form mana arrows, all while under the scrutinizing eye of Rex. He had promised to help her out on this regard and to do so he had to be aware of the flaws and mistakes she made during her own practice.

With the items needed to be acquired from the two monster types- seven point vipers and snake eating vulrams- being on the rare side, the team did not expect the results to come any time soon, resolving themselves for multiple days of constant hunting. Rex also left Snek to his own devices, well aware that a night's watch was quite mandatory at a location that they were now in and besides, the party was performing well enough at the moment, not warranting the need to disrupt the rest of their setup.

And so, day after day went by, the party doing the same thing over and over again. They would make a full circle of the island that was the central location to spawn their targeted monsters, then, once they had done so, slaughtering all they encountered, they would path towards the next island where they would then continue their hunting while awaiting their previous location to be populated again. It was rather monotone and repetitive task, though if one looked at their expressions and overall content appearances, they would have no indication that the task they were performing was anything the like.

And so, at the end of yet another day of the same, the party returned to their temporary camp. built in a rather well positioned location. Besides the ocean, that was very close by, only a hundred meters away or so, there was also a small spring passing by their campsite, filled with crystal clear and almost sparkling water providing them with plenty of drinkable liquid of life. It was also thanks to this spring that the girls could enjoy the fresh water of the ocean, rinsing themselves with the spring water afterwards to ensure no saltwater would hurt their precious skin.

While the girls were enjoying a quick dip in the water, Rex prepared a simple meal from the ingredients at hand, using some of the edible ones they had acquired during their grind. Rex did test them out beforehand, understanding the nature and taste profile of each item he wanted to try and cook. It was only natural to first test the new ingredients on their own before adding them into dishes he would prepare. Since he was not aiming to create some sort of a masterpiece, deserving of a place on the tables of kings and nobility. And since his cooking skill was at the very least decent, by the time the girls came back, both after their little dip and rinsing off, their hair still wet from the earlier activity, he was also done, the simple yet filling meal ready to be consumed.

"Pretty good actually." Danica hummed as she dug in her portion, smiling towards Rex. Eve, while also taking a bite, even she seemed a bit too cautious with her attempt, kept her opinion to herself, though she neither whinced nor spat it out. She was somewhat used to what was generally used as a quick to prepare and nutritious enough rations for adventurers needs, though her background still shone through just a bit.

"I have had worse. My apologies." she spoke honestly after a while, Rex's and Danica's gazes having almost choked her, or so she herself felt at the moment. "I do not mean it as an offence or anything of the sort. A bad habit from my upbringing."

"Don't sweat it." Rex laughed light heartedly. "In comparison to what I have had the privilege to taste, one could indeed compare this to rather bland and unappetizing sand, or worse. But as far as commoners food, it is solid, if not in the upper end of that particular category, all while covering the basic needs of our bodies." With that said, he joined Danica in wolfing down their own portions and so did Eve. A few minutes later though, she asked another question that had been bugging her for the entire week.

"Why do you two have such large appetites?" her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her. The amount of food the other two consumed was easily three, or even four times what she did. Don't get her wrong, Eve was not worried about their supply stock since Rex had purchased the supplies as the party leader after explaining that their earnings would always be split in a number of party members plus one. This extra share would then be used to cover for their inn, food, equipment upkeep and other miscellaneous expenses, leaving each member to do what they please with their own, actual share of the earnings. Danica did comment that Rex was currently performing the task of at least three members- namely a couple of tanks and one supporter. And if one wanted to make a case for it, the role of a healer as well, what with him ensuring that no actual damage is delivered to the girls as they do their own job. And then there was the fact that he was also the scout, as well as tamer. The latter of course could not even be considered a single position, since his two falcons shaved off weeks of traveltime purely by existing. Even Eve, who has spent quite a bit of time among not only the noble elite of her own nation, but even among other nation dignitaries, and even she had not heard of any of them having such impressive flying mounts at their disposal. Even less so when she had seen just how obedient and well behaved the two were. It was as if they were willingly and happily doing what Rex wanted of them.

"Because our bodies need it. Simple as that." Rex just shrugged and replied, not bothering to elaborate on the subject matter. Danica, following Rex's lead just shrugged her shoulders and left it at that, deeming Rex's answer all that needed to be said, and seemingly not the least bit interested in maintaining this particular subject, asked something else she wanted to know.

"So, how are we faring so far? I know we still need that damn vulram golden feather, but how is it looking for the loot in general?"

"Great actually." Rex replied after a quick mental check of his space storage where he had been placing the loot acquired during this particular trip "We have collected whooping ten seven point viper ruby eyes. Talk about skewed luck. And while on the subject, I would like to try something tomorrow when we encounter the next pack of vulrams. I think it could solve our current roadblock, though its not guaranteed. I would assume there to be at least some rumors about the method being a valid choice."

"Ow? Do tell." Danicas eyes sparkled, more than eager to listen to whatever came out of that dangerous head of her lovers.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Have you noticed that the vulrams have a single, golden feather at the tip of their tails? Not all of them, sure, but there have been at least one in every ten to maybee twenty birds."

"Now that you mention it, yes. I have noticed said feather at least a few times."

"So, much like me draining whatever blood I acquire when I wound the monsters during the herding process, with said blood remaining once its spilled and taken by me, what if we could do the same with those golden feathers? What if that is the only way to actually reliably collect them? Not like there are detailed accounts of how the people learning of the golden feather were hunting the monsters. Besides, not like trying will cost us anything but a couple extra minutes on that first time. After that we can just continue as we have so far, if the method does not word as hoped."

With a pleased grin Danica nodded in agreement, more than happy to change their tactics if it meant a larger chance of succeeding in their current task. She would be much more happy, were they to continue to advance, her last raid here having moved just an extra island further than they had so far, showering her with new, unexplored land and new and unseen monsters to fight with. Danica was nowhere near the level of grinder like Rex, but she did enjoy fighting new and unknown opponents, be it beast or man, though she was also well aware that the latter would now forever be out of her reach, replaced by hordes of monsters. Not that she minded it all that much. What she had gained in return was more than worth the loss. Then, once the food was dealt with, the group went back to monster hunting, repeating the same route as they had for the last week, though employing the new plan Rex had proposed as soon as able.

Turned out, Rex was right, for the most part at least. Plucking out the feather was indeed the way to acquire it, though there was a slight caveat. The feather became quite dimm few moments after it was torn out, marking it as less than optimal ingredient. Sure, it would still fetch a decent price from the alchemists, but it was nowhere near the quality that they wanted for the quest. It took them another day after a good night's rest and some additional planning on Rex's part, followed by another few hours, up until lunch in fact, of constant experiments with his modified techniques to eventually achieve their desired result. Rex held in his hand a pristine, shiny fold feather, seemingly alive when the slightest of breezes moved, making it saw with its direction.

"Alrighty then!" Rex smiled, stashing away the feather as he looked towards the two women "I suggest we continue as we have until dusk, acquiring as many of these feathers as possible. We can hand in the requested one and then keep the remaining ones for a cloudy day or for negotiations with whoever we might need to engage in such an action."

Receiving two affirmate nods, the group quickly got to their lunch, stuffing their bellies with food and then promptly returned to their task, once again using the same tactic as they had for more than a week. By the time the sun hid behind the horizon, they had managed to acquire a whooping number of twenty six golden feathers, all in pristine condition, promising a rather hefty payday once sold. Then, once back at the camp, their supper devoured and with the trio still sitting around their campfire, Eve asked another question that had been bugging her.

"Why did you agree to my request? To allow me to tag along?" she bit her lip, slightly worried and a bit confused since the initial reasoning she assumed the duo had for accepting her seemed to be wrong as neither of the two had made any attempt to pull her into their bed at all. She was not even sure if she was relieved or pissed off about the fact, her womanly pride having received quite the slap. She was sure she was a drop dead gorgeous woman, especially in the looks department. And sure, Danica was in no way any less beautiful than her and could even be considered a greater beauty among certain group of men due to her larger assets and exotic nature as a wolfkin, but men were simple creatures as far as she had seen, and seldom would any man of true power pass up the opportunity to pull another beauty into their bed.

"Yes. Why did we?" Rex asked, his eyes moving from Eve towards Danica, the wolfkin woman being the main, and most likely only reason she was even here among them, Eve realised. She remembered how Danica was the one who actually expressed her agreement to the request made. She did think Rex was simply keeping his own, lecherous reasons to himself back then, but now, well, she was not so sure anymore, his voice firm and filled with curiosity as he addressed the question hanging in the air. "You did say that the second reason would be disclosed when there were no other ears present."

Danica simply shrugged, as if saying 'fine, take it then' before replying "I did explain how my sixth sense had grown stronger. It was precisely because of how I saw her back then and have already explained. I felt she would become more and more suffocated, pressed down by the expectations and tasks she would continue to push onto herself due to her inability to delve into what she truly desired- adventuring. With us however, she could do exactly that while still fulfilling her role as a princess of her nation, strengthening the relationship with immensely powerful A ranked adventurer party." then a playful grin appeared on her face as she added, almost devouring Eve with her eyes "And she is pretty to boot."

"Huh. Okay. That sounds acceptable alright." Rex just shrugged, his gaze returning towards Eve. "And there you have it. Satisfied?" Rex stretched as his mind was moving towards other subjects, considering how to proceed come morning, all while Danica rose up and disappeared into the tent and Snek took spot for the night's watch. Eve, emboldened by the rather calm and relaxed atmosphere, asked another question she now had, before Rex too retired to the tent, her voice quite low, escaping Danica's sharp ears while still reaching Rex's.

"And what is it that you would expect of me?"

"Learn and grow better. That's all for now really. What we are taking on is most likely what any other A ranked party would consider the pinnacle of what there is to fight, but we know better. For someone like me, this is just the beginning. After we have set up shop here and the few people I find myself calling friends or acquaintances are well protected and know how to contact me, we will leave and travel deeper inland, looking for more powerful and numerous monsters, new dungeons and more treasures. There is only so much variety we can find in such a small nation, all things considered."

"And what about me? Would I be allowed to travel with you two?" Eve asked, more than just a little intrigued and hopeful.

"That depends. If you work hard enough and we find you to be a pleasant company? I don't see why not. For all intents and purposes, Danica already seems on your side, what with her being the main reason you are with us here and now. And all I care about is that you do not drag the team down and try to integrate. And I find the latter to be rather easy at the moment, what with only me and Danica here. Is that clear enough of an answer?"

"Yes. Thank you!" beaming, replied Eve as a giant and heartfelt smile adorned her face. "You will not regret it!"

"We will see. We will see indeed." Rex added, a calm and relaxed expression on his face "Im off. Get some rest, we will need to work hard come morning."

With that said, Rex disappeared inside the tent, leaving Eve alone to her thoughts as she already could picture many different adventures they would go through, the enormous beasts and monsters they would slay and the priceless treasure they would find. Eve spent another fifteen minutes before she too calmed down and with content smile on her lips crawled inside the tent, tucked herself inside her own sleeping back, shot a glance in towards Rex and Danica, happily nuzzled in each others arms, huffed lightheartedly and went to sleep as well.

The next morning started as expected. Rex was the first to wake up and as such he got to what he did best, at least as far as their little group was concerned- preparing a nice and proper breakfast so their track back out of the dungeon would not be nearly as annoying as it could become. Sure, they were all in quite a good mood, making such a grumpy mood quite unlikely, but Rex was well aware that he is traveling with two other people, women no less. Rex made some baked eggs along with meat skewers, roasted over the campfire. Once again nothing fancy, but it served its purpose to sate their hunger and provide plenty of energy to ensure their ability to return in a timely manner. And, as they trekked back, Rex inquired about the dungeon they would have to visit next, their royal beef awaiting their arrival.