You have discovered a natural resource. The daily upkeep for this natural resource 15,000 points of astral energy. Do you wish to pay the upkeep for this natural resource? Yes, or no?
Natural Resource: Rejuvenating Pond
Tier: 0
Description: Transformed by astral energy this pond now has the powers of rejuvenation. Bathing in this pond for an hour will permanently increase an individual's vitality and endurance stats by five points. This increase will only be granted once, but bathing in this water for an hour can grant an individual the Alert Mind and Rejuvenated buff.
Alert Mind
Description: An individual’s mind enters an energized state. For an individual’s Job, experienced gained from all sources is increased by 10% for the next three hours.
Rejuvenated
Description: Your body has been rejuvenated. For the next three hours, your body will recover health, stamina, and mana 10% faster.
“Yup, this is going in the keep pile.” Elijah didn’t hesitate to select yes.
“This, this is amazing,” Tevin shouted.
“If the other natural resources or half as good as this then everyone in the village will have a period of explosive growth,” Justin stated.
So far. Elder Jamal managed to locate seven natural resource locations. Of those seven locations, two were guaranteed to have natural resources, three were very likely and two were unknown.
“Alright, that’s enough talking,” Elijah said. “Let’s test this pond out.”
Next, Elijah split the warriors into two groups. One group would keep watch while the other group would enjoy the pond. Justin and Elijah were put in separate groups and Elijah had his group take the first watch.
For both groups things went very smoothly. They were able to get in and get out without anything attacking them. By the time two hours passed, everyone had fully recovered from the energy they lost fighting the hyenas and they were stronger than they were before they entered the pond.
Once everyone received the benefits from the pond it was time to go to the next location. They didn’t obtain any of the two buffs, but Elijah didn’t plan to stay back and try. Right now, Elijah and the others needed to focus on securing the location the hunters found and they could worry about researching each location in the future.
Before he left Elijah took one final look at the pond. He couldn’t help but admire its beauty. Even if the pond didn’t offer any tangible benefits, he would still try to preserve it for the peaceful atmosphere.
Light was reflected on the surface of the pond, bringing forth a beautiful image. It looked like the blue pond contained hundreds of stars within it. Beautiful flowers grew beside the pond and the green grass looked vibrant and inviting. Both plants released present scents that put the mind at ease. The environment was so peaceful that Elijah was surprised he didn’t receive a biff for staying by the pond like he did for the Tranquil Oak Tree.
Yes, Elijah would definitely be returning to the pond. After taking his last look, Elijah and the village warriors began moving toward the next location. The third location was an area that was very likely to have a natural resource, but Elder Jamal wasn’t sure. Also, that location was occupied by beast.
Armadillo Level 27
Armadillo Level 50
Armadillo Level 35
During their scouting, Elder Jamal’s group found a baren area crawling with armadillos. When they saw dozens of armadillos digging holes throughout the area, they were confident that the land itself was a natural resource or it contained a natural resource beneath the soil. However, they didn’t have a way to verify the exact nature of the natural resource.
Elder Jamal’s group decided to wait and observe the armadillos for a little bit in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the natural resource. What they discovered was that the armadillos would dig underground and come to the surface with a stone in their mouths. They would nibble on the stone once they were above ground, and they would receive an increase in their level once they finished eating it. The increase varied based on the size of the stone and the level of the armadillo.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
In an attempt to learn more, Elder Jamal’s group captured a few armadillos and the stones they brought up to the surface. Capturing a few startled the majority and they quickly escaped into the forest. That brought an end to their investigation.
When Elder Jamal met with Elijah, he showed Elijah the corpses of the armadillos and the stones they collected. The armadillos had flexible brown shells that were covered in spikes. In terms of size, they were about equal to a medium sized dog found in the real world.
As for the stones, Elijah didn’t know what they were. His identify skill told him they were metallic ores, and they were useful for crafting, but he didn’t know what specific type of ore it was. However, he was able to obtain an answer the moment he set food on the land the armadillos were digging through.
You have discovered a natural resource. The daily upkeep for this natural resource 23,000 points of astral energy. Do you wish to pay the upkeep for this natural resource? Yes, or no?
Natural Resource: Copper Mine
Tier: 0
Description: An ordinary coper mine capable of producing a thousand pieces of copper ore every day.
The description for the copper mine was shorter than the others, but who said all natural resources needed lengthy descriptions. Once the notification appeared in front of Elijah, he selected yes. The benefits of copper were obvious and paying for its upkeep didn’t need any deliberation.
Next it was time to begin clearing out the area. Since he was paying for the upkeep, he was entitled to all the ore produced daily and there was no need to share it with armadillos. After all, they weren’t his followers.
“Remember to aim carefully,” Justin announced. “Their shells are very strong, and our arrows won’t do a lot of damage.”
After a brief discussion with Elijah, Justin led the warriors against the armadillos. He knew not to attack the shells due to the information Elder Jamal’s group gathered before. Of course, having knowledge and being able to use knowledge were two different things.
Currently, there were two dozen armadillos on the surface. They were happily nibbling on the stones they brought up from below unaware of the danger closing in on them. Once everyone was in position Justin gave the order to attack.
All of the human warriors were able to deal critical damage to the armadillos with their arrows, but the same couldn’t be said for the goblins. Only two goblins managed to hit an armadillo and the damage they dealt was normal. Of course, whether it was critical damage or normal damage it would take more than one attack to kill one of the armadillos.
Once the first barrage of arrows fell, the second quickly followed. The armadillos cried out in pain from the first attack and cried out in fear from the second. Their fight or flight instincts were activated, and the armadillos immediately began to run away, saving many of them from being hit by a third arrow.
Fortunately for Justin and the others, while the armadillos were fast, they weren’t fast enough. The armadillos specialized in defense and weren’t able to move as fast as the hyenas. This didn’t mean they were as slow as snails, but this did mean they were slow enough or the humans to accurately hit them.
Without pause, arrows rained down on the panicking armadillos. Eventually, the armadillos stopped moving and curled up into the ball after their pain and fear reached a certain threshold. Immediately, the warriors moved in to attack with their close-range weapons.
“Be careful they still have the ability to fight back,” Justin said. “Watch the holes for anymore coming to the surface.”
Elijah followed from behind as he observed the entire area with his astral sense. Occasionally, Elijah would take action if he noticed an armadillo coming out from a hole that was far away from where the warriors were fighting. He would use his Mirage Steps skill and his spear to quickly kill the armadillos with a few thrusts to the head.
Unlike the others, Elijah had no trouble with the shells of the armadillo. The others needed to target specific gaps or hit the shell at certain angles to deal damage to the armadillos. If they didn’t attack the shell properly, they would at most deal six points of damage.
For Elijah, his tier one spear pierced through their defenses like paper. Maybe the villagers would have been able to deal more damage if they had his support. Elijah didn’t have his Ruler’s Presence skill active or use any of his other boosting skills.
Doing so, gave the warriors an opportunity to practice fighting without his support. The armadillos weren’t beast that would be categorized as predators, so Elijah wasn’t worried about anyone suffering severe injuries or dying because of his inaction. Blood stained the land and there were more than a hundred armadillo carcasses. The battle lasted for more than an hour, but Elijah’s group easily won with little to no injuries.
Next, it was time for the cleanup. In Elijah’s eyes the carcasses of the armadillos were very valuable. Well, maybe not the entire carcasses, but their shells were definitely something Elijah was very interested in.
Elijah hoped that someone in the village would be able to turn the shells into armor. Maybe they could mix it with the coper ore to create a strong unique armor. This would be a huge improvement on the furs and leather they were currently using. With a strong armor, his worries about his warriors dying as they moved through the forest would significantly decrease.
Yes, Elijah knew that he couldn’t keep all of his people alive, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to do so. At the very least, he hoped that he could keep the original villagers that supported him alive and well. As for the people that came after. Well, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few heads.
Once the warriors were done with the armadillo carcasses, Elijah put the valuable parts into his storage bag. The great a mighty Chief of the Supreme Twilight village had been reduced to a bag boy for his people. Elijah chuckled as that thought passed through his mind.