“Alright, I think that’s enough for today,” Elijah said. “Let’s head back to the Tranquil Oak Tree to pick up the others then we can all head home.”
Over six hours passed since Elijah and the others left the village. There was still plenty of time left in the day to visit another location. In fact, they could probably visit two. However, Elijah didn’t want to become a leader that worked his people to the bone and decided to take things easy.
Plus, Elijah was being mindful of the amount of money he had to spend. He didn’t have enough astral energy to pay the upkeep for all the natural resources he found. It was best to hold back and save his money for the natural resources that would be the most beneficial.
For example, the astral stone mine that Elder Jamal’s group found. When Elder Jamal told Elijah about the mine, although he was expecting it, Elijah couldn’t help but laugh out loud from the joy he felt. The astral stones that came from astral stone mines were desired by everyone and they had a wide variety of uses.
Unfortunately, the mine was currently being inhabited by a very difficult enemy. Slimes. Their difficulty didn’t lie in there, intelligence, defense, strength or speed. No, their difficulty lied in their invisibility and their corrosiveness.
When Elder Jeb found the astral mine, he was investigating a cave emitting a large amount of astral energy. The cave was large and deep, but it didn’t have any light. This was the perfect conditions for the slow-moving slimes, and they were able to launch several attacks on Elder Jamal’s group from the darkness.
After suffering from several corrosive attacks, the group decided to retreat and try again in the future. Elijah was a bit annoyed that Elder Jamal didn’t return to the village to tell them about the discovery. If he had, they could have made preparations the night before and take the mine today.
For this reason, Elijah emphasized that Elder Jamal’s group return to the village every day and share the information they obtained. Also, Elder Jamal’s mistake was another reason for Elijah to end the day of natural resource hunting early. He wanted to discuss what their next steps would be with his people and begin making preparations.
…
“Well, its sounds like you had a very successful hunt,” Elder Jeb said.
After Elijah returned to the village, he called for meeting with the elders and other people in leadership positions. It took a few minutes for everyone to finish what they were doing and gather in the communal building. Once everyone arrived, Elijah began to give them a detailed account of their search for natural resources.
“Hehe, I definitely thought so,” Elijah said. “I knew we would get some good stuff, but I didn’t think we would do so well on the first day.”
“We may not be able to manage all the natural resources we find over the next few weeks,” Elder Jeb spoke with a slight frown on his face.
“We shouldn’t be too greedy. It's fine if we miss a few.” Outwardly, Elijah responded to Elder Jeb with a calm smile. Internally, Elijah was already affected by the sin of greed, and he didn’t want to let a single natural resource go.
Elder Jeb smiled. “It looks I got a bit too excited.
“Look at you, losing face for us elders,” Catharine said. “Look at our Chief. He’s able to remain calm despite the great fortune in front of us.”
“It was a small mistake.”
“A small mistake is still a mistake.”
“Alright, alright, let’s calm down and focus on the important stuff.” Elijah reached into his storage bag and took out one of the armadillo shells. “These are the shells that we got from the armadillos.” He held up the brown shell for everyone to look at. “Catharine, I know your son is a skilled craftsman. Do you think Caleb could make armor out of this?”
“Probably, but if you want the best armor my son isn’t the person you should ask. This is something that falls under Melissa’s specialty.”
“Let me take a closer look at it.”
Melissa was a middle-aged woman with tan skin and black hair. She wasn’t a jaw dropping beauty, but her beautiful green eyes were able to capture the attention of the average person. She was sitting down more than a few seats away from Elijah and had her hands stretched out for the shell.
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Without much thought, Elijah tossed the shell over to her. The moment it left his hand he became worried that she might not be able to catch it, or it might end up hitting her in the face. Thankfully, Elijah’s worries didn’t bear fruit and Melissa easily caught the shell.
For the next few seconds, everyone silently watched Melissa examine the shell. Her hands and eyes moved across the shell focusing on different points. She looked at the outside and the inside before she gave an answer.
“I can turn this into armor, but it will take some time. Maybe a few days.”
“Days? Elijah asked with a frown on his face. “I wanted to use this armor in the astral mine. Can it be done sooner?” Part of Elijah knew if Melissa could do it sooner, she would have said so. However, he still asked her again in the hopes that her answer would change.
Melissa immediately shook her head “I might be able to have one built by tomorrow, but I will need a few days to create armor for everyone else.”
“We can always take the mine later and focus on other areas for now,” Elder Jeb suggested.
“We can’t!” A man named Shawn shouted. He was Melissa’s brother and was seated next to her. Everyone turned to look at him and he immediately shrunk into his seat before he responded with a much lower voice. “What I meant was, astral stones are very useful to our cultivation, and it would be a shame to lose such valuable resources.”
“It would be a greater shame to see our people die for these resources,” An elder responded with more than a hint of rebuke in her voice. “Especially since we don’t need them at the moment. We have more than enough astral energy in the air, and the Chief gave us cultivation techniques to speed up our cultivation. What more do you need?”
“While my brother’s words may seem a bit insensitive, I don’t think he’s completely wrong.” Melissa said in Shawn’s defense. “The Chief gave us cultivation techniques, but he gave cultivation techniques to the other new people in our village. If we had astral stones, we would be able to improve the stages of our cultivation techniques and improve faster. Although I know we are supposed to treat them like our allies, I’m not sure they view us that way yet. It only makes sense for us to look for more resources to improve our cultivation, so we can defend ourselves against them should they nurture violent thoughts.”
Once Melissa was finished speaking there was a period of silence in the room. Although it wasn’t often brought up, everyone felt a great deal of caution and some fear to the new humans in the village. It would be great if everyone could live together peacefully, but everyone in the communal area was old enough to know how violent the world truly was.
“Mellissa has raised a great point,” Elder Jeb said. “Another thing we should consider is the growth rate of the slimes and the other beasts. If they are left unchecked, we might have dozens of astral beasts on our doorstep. At the very least, taking control of the natural resources will be a lot more difficult.” More than a few people voiced their agreement with what Elder Jeb said.
“Although I would like to have the armor for the astral mine, I don’t think our lives would be in danger if we tried to take the mine without it,” Elijah said. “Tomorrow, Justin and I will lead our warriors to take the mine, so please have the torches prepared. Now, let’s discuss the other natural resources.”
…
“Caleb, you’re looking good,” Elijah said.
“It’s all thanks to you, Chief,” Caleb replied with a smile on his face. “Once again I have to thank you for the cultivation technique you-”
“Okay, okay, I know your excited about having a suitable cultivation technique, but there’s no need to thank me every time you see me.”
Currently it was dinner time, and everyone was eating in the communal area. After the goblins and new humans joined the village, the villagers stopped eating in their private homes and preferred to gather for dinner in the communal area. The villagers ate together before the new people came but they did so much less frequently.
Elijah finished his meal and was making his way around the communal area talking to different people. One of these people was Caleb, who previously had trouble cultivating due to weaknesses in his body. When Elijah gave the villagers cultivation techniques, Caleb chose the Lunar Water technique which tempered his body in a gentle way.
“I can never thank you enough. If it wasn’t for you I-”
“If you’re not going to stop, I’m going to leave.” Caleb immediately shut up after he heard Elijah’s ultimatum.
Elijah smiled over his small victory and continued speaking to Caleb and the others nearby. Elijah didn’t only speak to the original villagers, but the new villagers as well. At some point in the dinner Elijah met up with Cole, one of the men he met when he went to heal the new villagers’ children.
“Hey, Cole. How have you been?” Elijah greeted him with a smile on his face.
“Chief,” Cole looked a bit startled when he saw Elijah. “I, I’ve been well. I-it's good to see you.”
“Jenny told me that the children are doing a lot better now. It won’t be long before she is finished healing them and moves on to helping you and the other adults.”
Cole flinched when Elijah brought up the children. “Yes, well, that…” Cole’s voice gradually trailed off before he fell into silence. Even the most imperceptive person would be able to tell that Cole was feeling guilty. He was practically oozing it.
Seeing Cole’s head hung low Elijah was confused by his behavior. He didn’t know why Cole was feeling guilt, but Elijah had a feeling that it was related to him, and it was something important. Instinctively, Elijah activated his Supreme Speech skill and put his hand on Cole’s shoulder.
“Cole, what’s bothering you? If you need help or have any worries, you can let me know. Like I said before, while you reside in my territory, I will treat you like one of my own.”
Cole underwent an internal battle for a few seconds before he finally decided to speak. “Chief, I have something to tell you. It’s about Bart.”