We ended up waiting two days before setting out. I was able to increase my cooking skill to level 10, which earned me so very nice rewards.

Congratulations! Your skill Cooking has leveled up. Cooking has reached levels 8,9 and 10. The taste of all dishes you create are improved by 18%. Your success rate of creating a meal has improved by 18% Due to your hard work and dedication, you have advanced a skill rank.

Your Cooking skill has advanced from Amateur to Student. Beneficial effects of food you create now last 10% longer. The detrimental effects of ingredients used are 10% shorter

I still didn’t have any good recipes, but when I got some I should be able to use them well. I wanted to try some things from home but the meat they had didn’t work well. I tried to make a hamburger out of it and not only did it taste wrong, a prompt didn’t appear, so it had no stats. Tenebris still ate it, so it wasn’t a complete loss. The planning was much more detailed than I initially thought. It broke down to sending a total of fifty people. Twenty of which would act as guards for the workers. The mine would be the focus, but they would also start building Ifrit homes inside the canyon wall.

The plan was to have it change into a proper embassy when I met the requirements. They also agreed to build a forge and smelter. The strangest thing we discussed was that I couldn’t just make gold coins. Or rather I could, but they would just be golden disc they wouldn’t be like “money”. I needed to build a bank for that. Unfortunately, no one knew how to build a bank, so that was another thing that I need to research. Either way, there wasn’t much I could do about it now. I fastened my saddle on Rex before climbing up onto his back. Once I was situated, I took a look around.

We arranged the caravan a bit like an arrow. Ten guards flanked the right and left sides while the equipment, workers and other important things lined up in the middle. I pulled Rex into a trout to take my position at the front of the formation.

“I am a bit worried your familiars are going to slow us down.” Zakia’s pulled up next to me on her mount. It was similar to Rex, only a bit bigger and a dark grey color. She did not look pleased as the two dragons darted through the air above us. The problem wasn’t the dragons themselves, it was the fact that everyone couldn’t stop watching them. “I don’t think it’s their fault.” I chuckled before calling them both to me. They took their spots on my shoulders a moment later.

“Right. Either way, we need to get moving. I don’t know the levels of the monsters near your place, but the ones near here can be dangerous. Especially as it gets dark. I assume you don’t need anything more before we head out?” I shook my head while checking my straps. The thought of getting pulled off of Rex was frightening, but the additional skill levels would be amazing. Once I was ready, I nodded to her and the group formed up. The beasts pulling the equipment were going to slow us down so we wouldn’t arrive there for two or three days.

“Alright everyone! Stay close together. Do not separate from the group for any reason. If you get lost, we will not go looking for you. Once we reach the safety of the Suzerain’s lands, we can relax a bit. We will go at a slow pace to preserve stamina.” She barked out the orders like a drill sergeant taking command of her troops. I made a mental note to do the same when it was my turn. Once everyone had double and triple checked everything we set out. I instructed Sanaa and Tenebris to scout the path ahead.

The journey was uneventful. Most monsters gave our group a wide berth, preferring to attack something that would be easier to chew on. We reached the borders of my land a full day and a half later. We stopped for a few minutes so I could recast both of my state spells. Once the sun and the light flooded the canyon, the last bit of apprehension left the group. It was weird when everyone crossed the boundary. I could feel as each person entered. I couldn’t detect the beasts, which confirmed that it was based on intelligence or, I guess, awareness. I was able to detect both Sanaa and Tenebris. Once we were inside my domain, we faced our first issue. A group of the big mosquito monsters tried their luck. Once of the older Ifrit was lagging toward the back, but the guards settled the problem before either myself or Zakia could get there.

Once we reached the wall, everyone sat down to take a break and I let Rex and my familiars go hunt. I grabbed a seat next to Zakia. “So, what do you think?”

She didn’t answer at first and I was considering asking her again when she beat me to the punch. “The canyon is beautiful. The small lake and waterfall you have might make a dependable source of water for you. Your symbol is a bit large for my taste. It feels arrogant, though, that seems to be a theme with this place. I am not sure how defensible it will be. You should consider building a wall and probably a shield. Someone might get to the canyon wall and drop things down on you.”

I stared at her as she went on about the rest of the potential defenses. When she started discussing the potential for an underground attack, I had to step in. “No, no, I meant how are you feeling? Is it nice to be here?” I realized that she had technically answered that question and just sighed. “Will you be coming with me to the mine?”

She nodded. “Yes, I have a decent mining skill and grandma says that I can take a portion of our share if I mine it myself.” She said that last part with a joyous laugh. “I want to buy a new sword.”

“Why can’t you get one made?” She stared at me like I had grown a new eye in the center of my forehead. Once, it was clear that I wasn’t going to take back my question, nor was I going to move beyond it. She sighed and began to speak. “We don’t have any enchanters and the items for sale in Afrium are unique. Adventurers from all over the world come through the city after their trips. They might have something strange for sale. Something spectacular.”

I nodded. “So you are hoping that you can get a special sword instead of one that you could get at home? What kind of sword? Long or short? Scimitar? Khopesh?”

“I don’t know what a “Khopesh” or a “Scimitar” is, so no? I prefer light swords. Blades that I can use in each hand. I would like something made out of glass if possible." That made me raise an eyebrow. Thankfully, she continued before I had to ask. “It’s a stronger material than most metals and the way it looks in the sunlight is stunning. I would imagine someone like you would seek out something like that.” She said that part with a slight laugh.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I chuckled back.

“It is said that a Suzerain is as much their Place of Power as they are a person. The fact that such a place was given to you implies that you are right for it.” I shook my head at that. “I got this place by accident.” Before I could continue, she stopped me. “You believe that you found the tomb based on chance? That you got your Place of Power because those are just being given away? You received this because it was meant to be yours.”

A strange intensity fell over our conversation, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. “I didn’t take you to be someone who believes in Fate or Destiny. I figured you would be more of a ‘My life is under my control’ types.” She shrugged before getting to her feet.

“The spider spins his webs. It is our duty to follow the path. What would be the point of opposing the threads of fate?” I watched her leave and considered her words. An icy chill went down my spine as I considered what that would mean. I hated that idea. I decided to put those thoughts behind me and got up. The group started to reform, this time at half the size. The other group started unhooking the equipment from the animals. It was a bit weird watching all this “ancient” stuff being pulled out, but that was the lay of the land here. I decided to leave Rex hunting, but called Tenebris and Sanaa back to me. Once everyone had gathered up, we sat out.

We arrived at the entrance of the mine a couple of hours later. Telling time was becoming much more difficult with two suns in the sky. I made a note to buy some kind of watch, or clock when I got to the city. When we arrived, the miners got themselves situated. I grabbed Zakia and did a run-through of the mine, making sure there were no new monsters inside. Thankfully, everything was as I left it. I ordered that no one enter the lower level of the mine until I had time to clear it out. Based on the hungry looks at the gold veins all around us, no one really mind. Setting up the makeshift miner’s hut took another hour, but it was worth the time and effort. It wasn’t going to be comfortable by any means, but it would house ten people per night. We quickly broke into shifts so that we could work the mine through the night.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I decided to rest alongside the first shift. I also chose to sleep outside with the others since it was a bit too compact for me. Thankfully, Sanaa and Tenebris were more than willing to fly around and keep watch until they passed out. When I woke up, I realized another issue. “Morning” and “Night” didn’t really have a meaning anymore. I could see the actual sun rising over the horizon, but it didn’t change anything. It wasn’t a problem yet, but based on the groggy and annoyed grumblings, it was going to become one. The sun would affect how people knew when they should rest. If that was thrown off...Well, it was a problem for another day. I took a quick swim in the lake in order to get some of the dirt and grime off of my body.

After I was cleaned up, and dripping water, I entered the mine. I grabbed a pickaxe and realized I literally had no idea what to do. I considered just swinging the axe and hoping for the best. I quickly decided against that. If I missed, I might accidentally stab myself and I wasn’t sure if lethal wounds would automatically kill me. I decided to ask a burly-looking man who was working in a corner by himself. He was nearly a foot shorter than me, had no hair, and was sporting a nasty scar on the right side of his face.

“Hey would you mind giving me some pointers? I am a bit new to the whole mining thing.” He looked me up and down and then made a series of signs with his hands. It took me a second to realize that the man was mute and not just angrily making hand signs at me. “You can understand me, though?” He nodded and then made a new series of signs. He then pointed at the vein on the wall. I nodded at him and placed the axe against the bottom of the vein. When he started signing again, I focused on the ways his hands moved. A moment later, I grinned. My ability started translating the words.

“Put the axe below the vein and give it a good hit. You should receive the skill. You won’t ruin the vein.” I laughed and nodded. I then signed back, thank you. Once I realized I could sign as well, he looked relieved, then irritated and finally angry. I considered explaining that I just learned how to do it but I didn’t think it would help. Instead, I backed away and found a different corner to work in. I flinched when the axe met the stone. The impact made my hands ache, but the new notification pushed the pain to the back of my mind.

Notice! You have learned the skill Mining. Mining is the process of taking rare and valuable materials from the ground beneath your feet. Your level in the skill determines the ability to extract materials. Trying to mine high level materials with too low a skill level will result in the destruction of the item. Each level of this skill increases mining speed by 2%. At the Amateur rank you are able to work with common and uncommon rank minerals.

You have found: Gold Ore

Details: A valuable soft and malleable metal.

Durability: 20/20

Item Quality: Average

Item Rarity: Common

Weight: 3oz

Thankfully, Gold Ore was a common material. It meant that I should have no issues mining it. I grinned and threw myself into mining with the fervor of a prospector that had just hit pay dirt. I pushed myself for an hour before I had to stop. The pain in my hands had become too much for me to ignore. “I am going to have blisters.” I spoke out loud as I slumped down against the stone. I pulled out my normal water skin and took a swing. I had no idea how everyone else was still going. “I am going to have to apply more attribute points into Strength and Endurance? I wasn’t sure if Endurance or Vitality would help more. My actual Stamina was over half and was refilling at a good rate. Neither seemed to do anything for the tired I was feeling.

“Don’t you know it would be better to do the working before spending the points?” I looked up as a woman rounded the corner into my alcove. One side of her head was shaved while black and white smoke flowed down the other half. She had ashen grey skin with dark red eyes. She had a pickaxe in one hand and was missing the other. “I thought most adventurers already knew that, though?”

It took me another second to process what she was talking about. “Well, I am not really from here, so I am missing quite a bit of knowledge.” She nodded. “In that case, I would recommend working on physical attributes. In the beginning, it’s possible to raise them through hard work. Once you start raising them, though, it becomes harder and harder to do that.”

I nodded as she finished. I remembered getting that boost to some of my attributes earlier and couldn’t find fault with what she said. I looked at the wall and sighed. I was going to have to push myself in order to get my strength up. She laughed before turning around. “I was told to let you know that the little dragon things are looking for food.”

I sent a quick message to Tenebris and Sanaa, letting them know they were free to range a bit further out to hunt monsters. Their desire to hunt was a bit creepy coming through our bond, but it was better that the feeling be pointed elsewhere instead of at me. Once that was done, I turned my attention back to the grind. “Let’s get er done” The resounding sound of pick axes filled the air. I worked in the mine for two more hours before deciding to give it a rest. There was something else I needed to do before I could devote myself to the mining. I summoned the basilisk poultice from my ring and made my way over to Zakia.

"Would you mind joining me? Just in case someone wakes up and is a bit more aggressive than I am expecting?” She nodded and warned the other guards of her departure. We made our way to the base of the canyon wall, where each of the statues waited. Seeing them was incredibly creepy. I decided not to think about it too much. I made my way over to the first one and covered their body in the milky white paste. It was strangely warm. We had to wait ten minutes before anything happened. Once the time had passed, the stone just faded into dark brown skin. The statue turned into a woman who immediately fell to her knees. She wore a long black and green robe with dull grey circlet on her head.

She pat the ground as if she couldn’t believe that it was real. “T-thank you!” Her voice came out soft, as if she hadn’t had a drink of water in who knows how long. I pulled out my water skin and handed it to her.

“You should drink slowly. I don’t know how long you were stone, but it too much water might make you sick.” The woman nodded and took a sip. It was clear she wanted to drink more, but she listened. While she got control over herself, I moved to the next person. The process repeated until the last person turned back to normal. The group was diverse, from dark ashen skinned men to caramel skinned women. Each one wielded a different weapon, though spears were the most common. I decided to address the group while they were still getting themselves together.

“Hello, I am not sure how long it trapped you in the dungeon, but I killed the beast and bring you back. My name is Darterrius Solomon Maximilian, though you can call me Darterrius. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to offer you in terms of hospitality. If you would like to drink from the lake, you may. I am told that Afrium is not too far away.” At the mention of the city, several faces paled, though no one spoke up. “If you would like to travel there or to anywhere else, you are more than welcome. If you would like to stay here, you may. There isn’t much here, but we are building a home for ourselves. I will be going to Afrium in a couple of weeks for business if you don’t wish to travel.”

“If we wish to stay here, do we have to do anything?” The person who spoke was androgynous and looked a bit like a dark elf. They were missing their right eye and looked a bit frail. Based on the intensity of the stare, they weren’t the only person with that question.

“If you stay here, I only ask that you work along with the rest of us. We have a mine where you are welcome to work. We can always use more guards to deal with the monsters. We are also looking for more skilled individuals to help with building or any of the other resources. Make no mistake about it. If you stay, I expect you to stay cordial and cooperative with each other and the Ifrit who are our guests. You have until I leave for the city to make your decision.” I gave them a moment to ask me any additional questions. When no one did, I nodded to them and stepped away with Zakia.

“Do you think you can trust them?” She asked while glancing back at the group. The former basilisk victims had grouped up and were talking quietly. I wasn’t sure what the answer to her question was. I didn’t think they were a danger to me. The only problem they posed was that they would fight each other. Or that they would go home and tell people about this place. “I think so. I don’t think they will be a threat to me. At least not now.”