CH483 Travel Delay and Progress

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A week passed in a flash.

The expedition party had to delay their journey deeper into the Hollowcrest Wildlands, remaining in Camp Red Rock while Alex busied himself with finalising the design for Zora's new rune—and the upgrade to her old one.

That said, the party didn't remain idle just because of the delay.

Sugud cobbled together a makeshift forge, which he used to produce modular mechanical enhancement parts for the crossbows used by the party's crossbowmen, based on his prior discussions with Alex and feedback from the crossbowmen themselves.

Unfortunately, he couldn't produce new crossbows from scratch with facilities this poor.

Mordor spent his days challenging swordsman after swordsman in the camp. As long as someone used a sword, the orcish sword fanatic would hunt them down and demand a duel.

Although his magical cultivation didn't improve, his Sword Intent sharpened significantly—nearing the next tier—making him a shaman whose sword expertise was just shy of a Tier III Sword Expert.

Still, there was someone whose cultivation rose.

Mogal.

The Dravo tribe barbarian capitalised on the comprehension he gained within the nest and pushed his cultivation to a new height, becoming the first of Alex's followers to reach the Elite rank.

Mogal's advancement lit a fire under Kavakan.

The hulking weretiger made it his mission to raid Camp Red Rock's berserk beast nest again and again, wielding his twin 'babies'—now repaired by Sugud—in hopes of finding his own breakthrough.

Unfortunately, while the weretiger left a trail of beast blood and corpses in his wake, he still couldn't find that final spark to progress.

According to him, the beasts in the nest had become too weak to fuel his desire for the hunt—to get his blood pumping and force the evolution of his Wild Heart.

At first, the other members of the expedition assumed Kavakan was just saving face.

But before long, they confirmed it for themselves.

The beasts in the nest were indeed weaker.

The cause seemed to be the reduced energy levels within the space. Both mana and berserk energy were thinner than they had been during the first raid—especially the latter.

With the significant drop in ambient energy, the beasts were noticeably less aggressive… and undeniably weaker.

Of course, 'weaker' was relative.

While it made the nest far easier for the expedition members to clear, it didn't mean the beasts had become so feeble that just anyone could waltz in and slaughter them.

Still, that reality didn't stop people from trying.

Especially not when someone was offering rewards for it.

Eleanor placed an open bounty on corrupted berserk beast cores, offering five times the market price. With that, the usually discarded cores suddenly became worth the effort.

After all, the beasts were going to be killed anyway. A core that would normally be tossed aside had turned into extra income.

To the Copper-skinned orcs' surprise, this simple demand caused an influx of people into the nest. More adventurers meant more money flowing into the camp's coffers—from the nest entry tax, equipment sales, food stalls, and other sources of income.

It also created an abundance of meat in the camp—so much that supply shockingly surpassed demand.

The camp's leadership had to step in, buying up the excess stock and preserving it through various means.

Although magical technology in Camp Red Rock was nothing compared to what the expedition party was used to, the presence of mana still made their preservation methods far superior to anything from Alex's previous life.

The meat would lose some of its magical and metaphysical properties over long storage, yes, but it would still sate hungry mouths for months… and if necessary, even years.

More than that, Eleanor had inadvertently taught the orcs a lesson in economics.

With one simple action—incentivising an ignored resource—she had improved supply chains and indirectly boosted the camp's overall economic growth.

And it cost little beyond paying a fair price for the incentivised effort.

Still, no matter how hard the adventurers and residents of Camp Red Rock tried, the biggest suppliers of corrupted berserk beast cores were the crossbowmen—thanks to Sugud's modifications.

The crossbows were no longer just stronger.

With the introduction of cartridge-loaded bolts—and by extension, multiple firing modes—they had become absolute killing machines… especially against weaker prey.

Silver's eyes glittered every time she looked at them.

At one point, the crossbowmen genuinely feared she might snatch one for herself.

Fortunately, that never came to pass.

Not because Silver had exceptional self-control…

…but because Alex stepped in.

The expedition leader revealed to the female archer that the crossbows were still in development—far from their final iteration—and assured her that she would be among the first to receive one once the design was complete and ready for mass production in Verdantis.

Yes.

Mass production.

Alex had an ambitious goal in mind for the crossbows.

For now, however, Alex opened his stash of materials and passed Sugud what he needed to improve the archer's bow.

Fortunately, some of the methods he had comprehended while tinkering with the crossbows could be translated into Silver's bow as well.

While the other members of the expedition party focused on improving their strength, Alex's wives focused on increasing their knowledge of the Wildlands, so they could better serve as his advisers.

And while Alex busied himself inside the Sanctuary, working on Zora's new rune, the three women didn't remain idle.

They read through the information Rolfe and Bram had provided, absorbing everything they could about the Hollowcrest Wildlands.

They also acted as Alex's representatives on multiple occasions, negotiating with various powers within Camp Red Rock.

Zora secured a trade agreement with Azgrug and the Copper-skinned orc tribe, obtaining goods that would aid the expedition's journey deeper into the Wildlands.

Udara finalised a discreet arrangement with Rolfe and Bram, turning them into external agents of a newly forming intelligence network.

Eleanor, meanwhile, leveraged her standing with the elves—as a high elf—to purchase precious books and parchments on sigils and talisman-making.

Technically, it was a renegotiation of the existing trade agreement between the expedition party and the Lightfinder group.

Unfortunately, according to Yerion, the elves weren't deeply invested in talisman-making. They didn't have many specialised texts on the subject, and most of what they did have were basic books already circulating across the continent.

Still, while the trade wasn't as fruitful as Eleanor had hoped, it wasn't without value.

At the very least, it left a strong impression among the higher-ups of the Lightfinder party's home settlement.

In fact, the leaders of Yerion's village seemed almost eager to host her.

That alone made the imperial princess realise something important—

High elves likely held an esteemed position within elven settlements in this world as well.

And in a world where all elves—regardless of race—lived together in harmony, that was a powerful advantage to possess.

Before leaving, Yerion and his party also provided a means of communication, should Eleanor ever find herself close to elven territory.

Suffice to say, even with Alex spending most of his time in the Sanctuary to complete Zora's rune tattoo design as quickly as possible, the expedition party continued to move like a well-oiled machine, one that no longer required his constant micro-management.

And finally, after a week of hard, exhausting—and often frustrating—work, Alex finished the design for Zora's Rune Tattoos.

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