Litmus was known to be a very peaceful country. However, no matter how tranquil it was, there were bound to be mishaps along the way. Conflicts did happen. A swarm of falcons attacked the caravan Cecile's group was traveling with.
"Hide! Don't get into the carriage! Hide under it!" one of the mercenaries yelled desperately to the travelers. Everyone did as they were told.
"Hm? Are these falcons really that dangerous?" Cecile asked one of the mercenaries. Instead of hiding, Cecile and Nana chose to help the mercenaries fight off the incoming swarm.
"These falcons dive like arrows shot from a ballista. Unless they hit an iron shield, they can puncture even leather armor. It's often a fatal blow to the one got hit. These falcons would die when they hit an iron shield, so focus on defense." the mercenary replied.
"Got one!" Nana shouted as she shot down one of the birds with her new bow. Sensing that this was a precarious situation, Hiro enhanced Nana's dexterity with his amphetamine skill.
Hiro watched as the falcons folded their wings. Like a volley of arrows, they dived at the mercenaries. He was amazed by the sheer force with which they collided with the bronze shields, shattering into pieces upon impact. The strike was powerful enough to dent the bronze.
Hiro couldn't understand why these birds had such a suicidal tactic. He slithered out from Cecile and formed a thick iron plate armor on her head using his iron reserves. Nana was already agile enough not to need armor—she might lose her speed advantage if he encumbered her, so Hiro only armored Cecile. Thankfully, everyone was either looking at the sky or hiding under the wagon. None saw how Hiro slithered out from Cecile.
Afterward, Hiro slithered out and began eating the talons of the fallen birds. They were mostly made of calcium, and Hiro wasn't sure how he would use it, as his knowledge of chemistry was limited to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water. Still, he figured it was better to have some in reserve. He would experiment with it later. However, Hiro couldn't collect too many beaks, as it would draw attention. He had to wait for moments when Cecile and Nana weren't being watched to collect the beaks for later consumption.
However, the beak had some traces of tin. Hiro had seen a smith at work in this world before. If only he could procure some copper, he thought he could make bronze. He had some doubts because he couldn't make steel yet. He thought steel was made by combining carbon and iron, but he wasn't sure which kind of carbon was needed. Was it coal? He didn't have any coal in his storage.
Hiro wondered if he needed a specific forging skill to make alloys. If that were the case, it meant he wouldn't be able to create any alloys until he acquired such a skill.
"I noticed Hiro was swiping some of the birds' remains. Here, I picked up all the beaks and talons from the arrow falcons," Cecile said, handing him what she had collected in a rucksack.
As the group traveled leisurely, Hiro shifted his consciousness to Marissa. Marissa's village was far away, and Hiro had to focus on shifting his consciousness there. When he succeeded, he saw Marissa was working in her office beside a barrel filled to the brim with scales. Hiro silently apologized for abandoning her and slithered out to resume his duties. Noticing Hiro at work again, Marissa pointed to another barrel.
"There are more scales from other animals. Brother Seraphine wondered what kind of metal you could extract from these. Be careful, though; my brother said the scales could ignite if scratched with metal."
After Hiro ate one of the scales, a list of materials that could be extracted appeared before him.
[Materials: Trinitrotoluene, iron, calcium, silicon, magnesium]
Hiro tilted his head, wondering what Trinitrotoluene was. Nevertheless, he chose it, as it seemed unique. Soon, a cube of orange rock was spat out of his mouth. Hiro played with it with his tentacles, and the result was disappointing. The name sounded complex and interesting, but the result was just some orange stone that looked grainy, almost like sulfur. He wondered if it had any uses for the Litmus kingdom. His 9,000 GB of "academic materials" had failed him, and he had no idea what Trinitrotoluene was good for, aside from the fact that it had a fancy name.
He threw the rock into a pot beside the box and continued working on the other materials. Hiro sighed inwardly. He wished it had been sulfur instead of some random, difficult-to-pronounce substance. He vaguely remembered sulfur having various uses beyond cosmetics but couldn't recall the specifics. His knowledge was specific, and he didn't have access to the internet here.
"Are you done? Thank you, Hiro!" Marissa caressed him. Now that his work was complete, Hiro returned his consciousness to Cecile's group, who were sleeping peacefully inside the carriage.
The capital soon came into view. This was Hiro's second time here. From sense sharing, he knew Marissa did not like the city at all, understandably so—she had faced discrimination here as the disabled daughter of a duke.
Litmus had a fairly modest capital. The walls weren't taller than those of Daneswald, and overall, the city felt mediocre. However, Hiro noticed something unusual—there were no homeless people or slums. Some citizens appeared poorer, but there was an evident lack of beggars and thugs. Everyone seemed lively, always smiling.
While Cecile strolled past the shops, a blue glint caught her eye. She stopped and saw a blue sword in a shop window. Hiro sensed her heart skip a beat when she saw it, and she immediately approached the shop to ask for the price.
"Mister, how much is this sword?" Cecile asked. The blue straight sword seemed to be to her liking—it contrasted nicely with Nana's red bow.
"It's four gold coins."
"Is this sword enchanted? That seems pretty cheap. What material is it made of?" Rebecca asked.
"There is no enchantment, young miss. That sword is made of steel dipped in nightingale liquid. It glows in the dark—helps light the way a bit at night. But most warriors don't want it for obvious reasons." The shopkeeper shrugged. "Do you still want it?"
"Yes!" Cecile nodded.
"Alright! Would you like to trade your iron sword? I can give you one gold for it."
"Well... HIEEK!" Hiro nudged Cecile's stomach from the inside. "I think I'll keep it as a spare, just in case. Hehe."
"My apologies, you're right. Anyway, the sword won't emit any light while it's in its scabbard, so it's a good choice either way."
The trio continued on their way merrily. As they visited the local adventurer's guild, a scout suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs about an impending dungeon.
"A dungeon has appeared!!" the scout shouted.
"Really? Yes! A new gold mine!!" the adventurers cheered, and everyone lined up eagerly to apply for the dungeon raid.
Dungeons sometimes appeared in areas with dense mana. They were often called miracles from the gods or trials from the gods. Dungeons spawned monsters, and if left unchecked, there could be an overflow. In return, dungeons also provided drops, treasure chests, and sometimes valuable ores and crystals. So, adventurers and even soldiers and knights often explored and cleared them before it became a problem.
"Are you applying for the dungeon adventure, too? By the way, apart from our usual commission, we've received word from the kingdom that they are willing to buy several kilograms of any scales or bones from the monsters," the receptionist announced.
"Anything? Even goblin's teeth?" one of the adventurers asked.
"Well, that's what it says, so yeah," the receptionist nodded. Hiro wondered what this was all about and suddenly realized that it must be because of him.
It was true. The king had ordered samples of all kinds of monsters to be fed to Hiro. The previous dragon scales were a success, but dragons were rare and powerful. One could collect scales when they molted, but that carried risks since dragons often ate their own molt.
With the stampede season over, the king had to find other sources of minerals or materials for Hiro to extract. The pens for the iron armadillos were slow to yield results, and the production was minimal. The king needed more if he hoped for Litmus to become self-sufficient regarding the iron ore supply.
On the day of the dungeon raid, Hiro almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who was leading the raid—it was King Angus himself. Hiro then remembered that the king also had a symbiote, and most symbiote holders were formidable combatants. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of power the king possessed. Marissa's brother was like a living, uncontrollable explosion, and Hiro imagined King Angus's power might be just as extraordinary. However, he couldn't glean any power Angus and Malus might possess from their interaction with Marissa before.
"Greetings, citizens of Litmus! Today, the gods have given us a trial, and we shall conquer it! Let us venture into the treacherous domains of the daemons. By working hard, we shall triumph and be rewarded!" the king declared.
"Yes!!" the adventurers shouted in response.
"Good! Let us march!" The king led the way as they all marched together. Once the group arrived in the middle of the forest, they found a stone door standing there. The door was opened, and beyond it lay a staircase leading up. Despite there being nothing around the door, once you entered and climbed the stairs, you found yourself in a massive cave filled with goblins.
"Let us begin!" they all split into their respective groups. Hiro thought the king would charge straight in, but apparently, he and some of the higher-level adventurers stayed behind.
The reason was simple: it was a decree from the king that the floors with weaker monsters were to be left for beginners. This rule was intended to allow beginners to gain experience and earn some income. Cecile's group was among the beginners. They were tasked with clearing the first floor and scouting the second floor. In Litmus, any combatants below level 20 were considered beginners.
Goblins and similar creatures were never a problem for Cecile and Nana. Even Rebecca was able to dispatch them with ease.
"Fireball!" Rebecca cast her spell. Hiro wasn't sure if she had improved, but her casting speed was noticeably faster.
What mattered to Hiro wasn't the goblins themselves, but their drops. Goblins in dungeons often wielded crude iron swords or other metal weapons instead of the sticks carried by goblins in the wild. Hiro wanted those metals—copper or anything else he could give to Cecile and Marissa.
However, looking around, Hiro could see that he wasn't the only one interested in the goblin drops. The other beginner adventurers were also collecting their scraps.
"Let's put these into the bags. The guild will buy these weapons, HIEEK!" Rebecca said before Hiro stopped her. When Hiro slithered out from her and hugged the brass and bronze sword, Rebecca understood. "You want it? Well... I guess it doesn't matter. We are paid highly as knights right now."
"I wonder why the monsters like goblins disappear, but their weapons don't?" Cecile muttered innocently.
"Sometimes the weapons do disappear. But when the goblins drop them, they usually stay behind. We wonder about that too," Rebecca shrugged. "Maybe it's because the weapons are created by the dungeon. Magic, theoretically, can do anything after all."
Hiro suddenly felt foolish for overthinking it. That's just how things work in this world. He just needed to abide by it.
The group continued hunting goblins. As they ventured deeper, orcs began to appear, but the group dispatched them with ease, thanks to Nana's new bow. Cecile's new glowing sword also helped. It was too bad they couldn't harvest any meat—the bodies disappeared after all. Hiro considered skinning them alive, but he had no way to tell the girls to do that.
As they continued deeper into the dungeon, they encountered another party—a group of five people: three swordsmen, a mage, and an archer. They were being overwhelmed by over fifty ghouls.
"Wait! Don't jump in yet. We need to kite them towards us. If you leave, who will protect me and Nana?" Rebecca stopped Cecile from charging in recklessly. A shot from Nana managed to kill one of the ghouls with a headshot.
"Help us!" one of the adventurers shouted.
"We'll draw some of the monsters towards us! Keep going! Let's fight them together!" Rebecca called out.
"Right! Thanks!"
"Hiro, boost, please," Cecile pleaded.
Hiro obliged. After the battle was over, a blue notification appeared, informing Hiro that he had leveled up. Cecile had leveled up three times, Nana twice, and Rebecca four times.
This was a fruitful adventure!
[You have leveled up to Level 11]
- Air compressor
- Sleeping injection
- caffeine injection
[Level up achieved!] STR: 31 -> 32
DEX: 30 -> 32
MAG: 0
[Cecile has leveled up to Level 16]
Level: 16/100
STR: 61 -> 72
DEX: 60 -> 75
MAG: 2 -> 4
[Nana has leveled up to Level 17]
Level: 17/100
STR: 24 -> 28
DEX: 80 -> 93
MAG: 0
[Rebecca has leveled up to Level 17]
Level: 17/100
STR: 8 -> 10
DEX: 12 -> 15
MAG: 45 -> 60
They were leveling up nicely