"Code red sixteen," Harold shouted, and the hunters immediately released their arrows before retreating, while all the farmers currently in the garden retreated into the first layer, each grabbing a spear as they climbed the walls.

A few more orders, and the outpost was ready to face a vicious swarm.

A successful drill.

"Very good," I shouted. "Speedy response, and excellent work. You can return to your jobs."

Harold gave several orders before he approached me. "How was it, sir?" he asked.

"Good, but it can be better. Make sure to continue practicing, especially with the new intake. I don't want them to die halfway."

"Understood, sir," he replied. "By the way, the carts you have asked for are already here. Would you like to see them?"

I nodded, and he brought me inside the second wall, where three different carts were waiting for me. The cart portion was done well, but the same couldn't be said for the connection between the pedals and the wheels.

It looked like I wasn't the only one struggling with the more mechanical aspects. It was workable, but in a way, it struggled with the same problem most of my equipment did, high-quality material used to replicate smart design principles.

It looked like I either needed to find someone that was trained as a mechanical engineer, or start studying the mechanical engineering aspects more seriously.

Before I could leave the outpost for another trip, a guard had called. "You're here, sir Arthur. Excellent. Lady Maria requests you for a meeting."

I looked at Harold. "Make sure that everything goes well. Make sure to add another pool to expand the gardens, and handle the shift change," I said. "Also, be extra alert for the possibility of sabotage when I'm not in the dungeon."

"As you wish, sir," he responded. I nodded. I appreciated Harold's efficiency. He was competent enough to rely on for a lot of things.

I ditched the guard, not wanting to lose too much time moving at a slow pace. While I couldn't improve Nurture to the degree I wanted, it didn't mean I had nothing to do. If nothing else, I could try to get more Epic skills. While I probably couldn't activate Quake Hammer before my Strength reached a hundred, making preparations wouldn't hurt.

Then, there was the issue of the iron ore deposit about to be depleted. I could recycle some of the equipment like the old experimental devices if needed, but I much rather find a new one.

Just like my primitive poison refining setup had shown, I didn't know when I would suddenly need a lot of iron for another step. Not to mention, as the arrow consumption increased, I would need more and more of it.

The trip back to town was not eventful. I used the facsimile of the Fleeting Step I had long learned thanks to the Perk guiding me, and merely ten minutes later, I was at the town. To my surprise, Maria was not at the headquarters, but at the outer town that was going through rapid construction, watching the show.

"Impressive, right?" she asked.

"It certainly is," I said, but truthfully, I wasn't sure. Yes, watching the people juggle weights measured in tons through direct application of their physical might was impressive, but it couldn't rival what we were able to achieve before the Cataclysm had destroyed our technology.

Even before, I felt that we had been too hasty to abandon that path, and my own experience in the dungeon had only confirmed it further. Yes, the skills were amazing, but that didn't mean we had to give up on the benefits of the scientific method.

We watched the show silently before Maria waved her hand, and created a bubble to block sound. "I have good news and bad news," she said.

"Let's start with the bad," I said.

"Alright. We were only able to get three hundred more crossbows."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "It was not a problem I expected to encounter. Was it Thomas?"

Maria sighed. "This time, no. We underestimated the guilds that are trying to get involved. They swept the market and purchased all of them. A few of them are trying to sell them with absurd markups, while the others want us to sell them arrows."

"Still, buying all of them…"

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She shrugged. "Crossbows are rare weapons to begin with. Often, magic or melee are the better options. Moreover, most archery classes prefer a bow. They are much more efficient."

"True," I said. "Still, altogether, it's not too bad. The first problem is a bit annoying, but could be acceptable depending on the markup. If they want to purchase arrows, it's even better. I can even sell them to you in bulk, and you can resell them. However, just note that my stocks are not infinite, so don't sell them cheaply," I said.

"But, it would reduce your profits."

"Not necessarily. As long as I can add a little profit to the sale, I should still be making enough to sustain the guild. Don't forget that I'm only earning two silvers from each shell, which is just above my cost. As long as you sell it for two silver coins, I'll be making a small but sustainable profit. And, I doubt that even if you're willing to sell, an agreement can be done in a few days."

"True," she said with a chuckle. "They are pushing their luck a lot, thinking that we have no choice but to fold to their demands just because most guilds are not interested in a weak dungeon that's too far away from the trade routes. We're lucky that the System shop that accepts the shells is not too far away."

I paused. "I recommend searching for alternative System shops that might purchase those shells. Now that the production issue is solved, it's the best point to exert pressure from."

She looked tense. "Do you think that will work?"

"Maybe. Better safe than sorry," I said. Silence stretched for a moment while she considered my words. "So, what's the good news?" I asked.

"The silver delivery is arranged. Five tons. Moreover, I managed to get almost two hundred pounds of raw gold for you to experiment with, though I had to pull a few favors. I even went to the trouble of bringing the gold with me. The silver will be delivered with the next caravan."

"That's excellent news," I said. "How about raw platinum." However, even as I asked that, I wasn't very hopeful. She would have mentioned it if she had managed to acquire that.

"Unfortunately, we failed to find any," Maria responded. "The price at the System shops is simply too high, all the platinum had been long sold. That's true for the gold as well. You're lucky that using gold as decoration is back in fashion, so it's not impossible to find."

I nodded. While the absence of platinum was a bummer — I was looking forward to using it to push my skill forward aggressively — the gold delivery was excellent news. I should be able to create a setup that would allow me to push it to the limit, which would hopefully trigger another evolution.

I needed that before I reached level fifty. The opportunity for a class upgrade was simply too valuable.

"Speaking of the dungeon, is there a way to trigger class upgrades for Farmers?" I asked. "I have a few Uncommon and Rare Nurture skills I collected while exploring. I wouldn't want them to go to waste."

"You can, but I wouldn't recommend it," she replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"Not really worth the effort," she said. "Even if you use Rare Nurture for class upgrades, the results are underwhelming."

"How bad?" I asked.

"One point of Strength or Dexterity for every five levels bad," she said with a shrug. "Not exactly worth the effort."

"And, how about pushing the skill to the limit," I said.

She shrugged dismissively. "Who would go through all that trouble," she said. "Ultimately, Nurture is the cheapest Rare skill you can find on the market by far, merely going for a few gold coins. Also, Rare skills grant better perks."

I thought about asking for more, but I could see that she was already getting bored. I decided to end that talk. "It's disappointing. Still, even a point every five levels is useful, at least for the ones I hire for my new guild. At least, I could do some proper hiring. No need to waste time."

"Your call," she said, utterly uninterested.

"How about a chess game or two before I returned to the dungeon," I offered, and her disinterest was replaced with a smile.

"Perfect. But only a few games. I have a lot of work as well. B3," she said, starting the game with an unconventional opening. I responded, and our discussion had shifted away from the dungeon operations.

I was happy with her lack of interest in the potential of the Farmer class. Once again, her bored answers allowed me to understand what was common, and what was not. Just the confirmation that Rare Nurture could be used to give them Strength or Dexterity was valuable enough.

It meant that I could help them improve their class without raising suspicion.

Dexterity would make it so they can use Basic Shot more efficiently — too bad the Common variant required Perception — while Strength meant that they could actually use Combat skills. In this dungeon, especially, having a Hammer skill could be a lifesaver against a swarm, as I knew from first-hand experience.

Especially if I armed them with weapons of my own making. Together with some stronger crossbows, they could actually operate independently on the third floor safely, opening a lot of interesting possibilities.

Of course, while she dismissed the value of letting Nurture develop naturally, I wasn't exactly sure. My meditation had evolved automatically, maybe due to the adverse conditions. It meant that the setup I had created to increase the concentration of poison from the swamp could be used to make their skills evolve as well, maybe even unlocking better classes in the process.

However, that couldn't be used without a basis for trust — and before I understood just how big of a secret it was.

Between the first and the second games, I decided to ask her another question. One that I couldn't ask the guards without ruining the identity of an experienced dungeon delver. "Quick question. Is there any way to see more through the dungeon mist?"

"Without spending a lot of mana, or spending a fortune on alchemical boosters?" she asked. I nodded. "No, not for this dungeon," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"In other dungeons, you can always travel to the last floor to kill the domain creatures, which gives you a crystal. This crystal, when absorbed, allows one to see farther through the dungeon mist, but with the way the fourth floor is, it's not really a viable path," she said.

"Can't you just use the crystal from a different dungeon?" I asked.

"No, that's unique for each dungeon," she said.

I nodded, adding that to the topics to be researched.

But, that was for the future.

Tonight, I had another date with my skills, to see whether my Mana Forge or Nurture would reach Epic first…