"Mhm. After seriously considering it, I believe your region is more suited to produce it. Furthermore, transportation is not that big of an issue, with Wanderers capable of moving everything via Waypoints."
[Indeed.](Mira)
[What about the Clear-Heart Oak seeds?](Beatrice)
[I'll have them all ready. We'll also sell them cheaper since it will benefit us long-term.](Natalia)
"In that case, did you decide on the roads already?"
[Yes. Fractured Peaks will connect to Scosglen, Dry Steppes to Scosglen, Kehjistan to Scosglen and Dry Steppes, Hawezar to Kehjistan and Fractured Peaks.](Aylin)
"Based on economic power. That makes sense. When will construction start?"
[I have already brought the other girls to see what the road you mentioned looks like, and we built a small patch for testing. We should have sufficient material to send to everyone in two to three weeks and start building.](Mira)
With the conversation reaching a fruitful end, everyone went home, and Michael retreated to Helen's room.
He found it amusing how suddenly clingy she was in bed but said nothing and just cuddled with her.
'I can't blame her. Even I am a bit anxious. After all, I'll have to put in lots of extra work if I don't want to use her saved-up gold coins. I want to start a new business that could get me lots of funds, but I need to ensure it's not something toxic to society's development in the Sanctuary. There are restaurants, but they won't generate profit for a while, and with Lilith causing mayhem and destruction, not even the nobles will have time to enjoy good food. So, what can I do?'
The more he thought about it, the more difficult it got. After all, this continent was an enclosed biome that evolved and developed its society in a specific way, mostly around magic and Wanderers.
That's why it was almost impossible to find something that would generate profits without implying a change in direction, which the Sanctuary wouldn't like.
'In the end, advertising might be the best option, but I already gave the newspaper business to the girls. It would damage my reputation if I asked for it back or wanted some of the profits. But, no matter how I think about it, organizations are the best source of income in every world since population is one thing that will never be lacking. Organizations, huh?'
An idea took embryonic form based on the many novels he had read in the past, but more research was needed before he could implement it properly.
The foundation also needed to be laid, but he had the best 'material' dozing off next to him.
Not wanting to disturb the pretty tigress, he hugged her tightly, and they both fell asleep soon after. It had been an exhausting day for them both.
While enjoying a cup of warm tea alongside jam and toast, Michael explained Scosglen's overall situation based on the few towns and outposts he had visited so far.
As for the Stronghold they had to take care of, it was northwest of Cerrigar, so far away that it might as well be a new region altogether.
[Gonk is coming with us as well?](Evelyn)
"Mhm. We'll meet up with him near the Waypoint after breakfast. Since we're near the same level, I can share the Side Quests I've gathered with you, and we can finish them today. After all, you must be bored with only clearing Nightmare Dungeons daily."
[Yeeeees!](Evelyn)
[Ugh... I never thought I'd be jealous of someone's low level before.](Tia)
"Don't worry. We'll catch up soon. Then we can kick Gonk and party together."
Everyone was laughing, and Michael sighed in relief, seeing how much Neyrelle had changed.
She looked brighter and was more outspoken. Furthermore, she was just as hardworking as ever, as she was reading something with Hella and Aylin—probably some old manuscript that needed translation.
'Right! I almost forgot about my skill points. They went up to four, huh? Uhm... what should I even invest in at this point?'
Initially, he thought it would be a good idea to wait until after his Second Class Awakening since he would open the Paragon Board and decide then and there.
But now... there was no point in waiting anymore. Ultimately, he could reset the entire Skill Tree after incurring some losses to his purse, but it would be much safer to increase his overall survivability.
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'My inventory is also almost full, so let's visit Zivek before leaving. Ugh... I had to do that anyway since all my equipment is at his place for repairs.'
He also planned to visit Artair today, and before that, he tried contacting Iveta as promised in case she wanted to tag along. Strangely enough, she didn't 'pick up the phone.'
Thinking that she might also have been recalled or sent to another place as reinforcements, Michael planned to visit her directly and see what was going on. After all, his circle of friends was quite small, and losing some people would make it even smaller.
After paying 15,000 gold coins for the repairs at Zivek's, he opened up all his stored caches and salvaged the items he didn't need, including the useless Legendary items.
The results were 47 Iron Chunks, 9 Silver Ores, 29 Rawhides, 7 Superior Leather, 10 Veiled Crystals, 1 Baelful Fragment, 2 Coiling Wards, and 2X Expertise Elixirs.
[ Expertise Elixir (requires Level 36)
--------------------
Reduces resource cost by 10% and Experience by 5% for 30 minutes. ]
Then, before leaving, he distributed the three skill points into Spiked Armor, maxing it out, and another one into Reaper's Pursuit, maxing it out as well.
Reaper's Pursuit only increased his movement speed to 15% for 3 seconds when enemies were affected by his Darkness skills, but it was sufficient to reposition himself in fights, such as the one against Astaroth.
Without those short bursts of speed, he would've been trampled by the three-headed dog multiple times.
As for Spiked Armor...
[ Spiked Armor (3/3)
--------------
Gain 336 Thorns and 15% additional Armor. ]
It is a rather simple skill, but his overall defense increased quite a lot, similar to adding another piece of equipment.
[ Class: High Necromancer
Attack Power: 986
Armor: 5,598
Life: 2,442
--------------
Strength: 286
Intelligence: 345
Willpower: 384
Dexterity: 340 ]
When he would enter a fight, and the Aspect of Disobedience on his pants activates, it will increase his Armor by an additional 48%. He would reach around 8,000 points, making him unbeatable against melee Minion and Elites, possibly giving him a high advantage even versus Bosses.
Satisfied, he motioned to the other three people in his party.
"Now that all that is done, I will share the first Quest with you."
[ Side Quest issued - Daughter of the Oak
Objective: Take a Root Cutting from the Underroot
Warning: Stronghold must be conquered first
Description: You met a Druid named Albard, the keeper of Vasily's Tree. He says the tree is ill and needs a piece of the Great Oak, taken from the Underrot beneath Túr Dúlra. Who knows what you will find down there? ]
Among the party members, only Gonk was unfazed after seeing the Quest since it didn't matter much to him what backstory it had. It would eventually be completed as long as he could smash things with his hammer.
On the other hand, Evelyn and Neyrelle were incredibly excited, each for their own reasons.
[The Great Oak planted by the Ancients!? We'll see that amazing Tree!?](Evelyn)
[I heard Túr Dúlra was destroyed, though. Interesting. There should be some books left behind. Maybe we can fill in the blanks of what happened back then.](Neyrelle)
The group teleported to Cerrigar, where they again met with the Druid Albard. When the man saw Evelyn and saw that she would be helping with the Quest, he became much friendlier and even gifted the girl with some special seeds.
Gonk also saw some acquaintances but simply waved and grinned at them from afar.
After checking in with Albard and making sure everything was still the same, they summoned their mounts and proceeded to the marked location.
"I say... why do you two have pure white horses!? Also, when did you change your mount Gonk!? Why the hell are you riding a bear!?"
[Eh? I got it from my father. He said that even if I left, through meeting you, I helped the tribe. So he lent me his mount since he doesn't leave very often.](Gonk)
"..."
[[Aylin bought them for us.]](Evelyn & Neyrelle)
Keeping quiet while soothing his mount who apparently felt his jealousy, Michael decided to find a proper ride in the future. Showing off was also a part of life, and he was falling behind in this aspect.
There were some pitstops on the way, where the girls killed whatever goatmen and other types of monsters popped up while Michael and Gonk took care of the brigands who tried to rob them.
'Fortunately, we have enough Sacred Fire potions. It's already the fifth group of bandits. Celeste said they have a problem, but it's more serious than I initially expected. It seems that I can push forward the idea I had last night a bit earlier and experiment with it in Scosglen. If it goes well, I could create another power that can easily rival the merchants and the church.'
As for what the idea was, it was guilds. Yup. Like in the games and novels he read. Guilds where players join and get benefits and Quests but also have to work toward developing their chosen organization.
He concluded that it would work after realizing how scattered the Wanderers are. Even with Mira, Celeste, Beatrice, and Natalia representing their regions, they could only count on a handful of Wanderers in cases of emergency.
'But if they manage to draw in more people and centralize that power around them, specific projects would be much easier to complete, like cleaning an entire region of goatmen. As for what the Guild could offer, there were many things. First, it was a place where they could socialize and meet new people. For those lacking party members, they could find new ones. It was also a place where they could trade items, Aspects, materials, etc. But the benefits didn't stop there. Quests! A Guild could actually provide 'Quests' by tasking multiple parties with specific jobs, such as patrolling certain areas and killing everything they find there or clearing certain Dungeons repeatedly for a timeframe. They could even provide compensation in the form of items and gold coins. Also, caravans would need escorts once the roads between regions are completed. Guild members can be given priority.'
The more he thought about it, the better the idea sounded. He was aware that most Wanderers prefer freedom and don't join organizations because they don't trust them, but like he said last night, the best material to show them the Guilds are trustworthy is the representatives themselves.
If they join, or even better, create the Guilds themselves, a large majority of Wanderers are sure to jump ships. Then, in the long term, the others would do the same.
For now, Michael put the idea aside and focused on the road ahead. There was always something odd about Quests involving Strongholds, so he was preparing mentally for whatever the Sanctuary threw at him this time.
--------------------
Sitting in a room illuminated by candlelight, Lorath was writing his thoughts in a thick book. His eyes glowed strangely as he penned the words on the pages.
[Lilith and Astaroth had made a deal, and we were the ones to pay the cost. Our presence was no coincidence. Everything happened exactly as Lilith wanted. We just danced to the music.
Donan was shattered, his mind on grief, not her. Not answers.
No one knew what Lilith was truly after or exactly what Astaroth had promised her. But we needed to recover quickly... and we needed to stop chasing her phantoms.]
Putting down the quill and rubbing the bridge of his nose, Lorath took a deep breath, and the strange glow in his eyes disappeared.
Looking northeast through the open window, he could only hope that the price he paid would be sufficient to avoid Sanctuary's demise.
-------------- END OF ACT II: The Knife Twists Again --------------