As the saying goes, when one problem is resolved, another would surface.
Rino should have known that the uphill battle was only starting when he built that storage solution. Gathering five hundred hemp plants might be tedious, but it was manageable and somewhat mind-numbing once the initial difficulty was overcome. The lich lost count of how many times he had to jump through the teleportation pads and kick hemp plants into neat stacks in his newly built storage pit but eventually, this was how much he collected.
===
Side Quest #2
Objective: Gather the materials.
Cotton - 20/20 pods
Flax - 300/100 stalks
Hemp - 601/500 stems
Silk - 0/5 meters
Tutorial here.
Reward: Unlock location for an undiscovered mine.
===
Happy with his surplus and three more hours left until midnight, he only had to collect five meters of silk from the monster silkworms.
That in itself became a problem.
"Does he know that side quests do not have a time limit?" Ace asked after noticing how stressed the lich looked.
Ever since he arrived in the small world, Rino had always done things his way without a care for consequences. He even delayed finding this new location for building the kingdom until the very last moment while exploring his new dark magic abilities. While Stephanie and Ark might find him annoying, Rino was starting to grow on Ace. Seeing the lich gnaw on his fingers made the God in charge of prayers feel uncomfortable.
"He will figure it out in due time," Ark replied, and Ace remained silent.
They wouldn't be wasting a lot of divinity to send just one message to inform Rino about how the side quest system worked. However, seeing how everyone else in his project team disliked Rino, Ace couldn't say anything. He just hoped that Rino wouldn't take unnecessary risks tonight to battle the hatching moths and their parents.
Monster moths were nocturnal creatures. The easiest way to harvest their silk was to wait for morning to arrive. There was no real need for Rino to fight the monsters. The Gods didn't choose a location for the sake of endangering their chosen builder. If they really wanted Rino to die as soon as he was given a new life, they would not have chosen a lich's body for him. Becoming an undead was a unanimous decision because of the perks it provided. It was the best species to entrust their chosen builder with.
Unaware of the divided opinions of the Gods watching over him, Rino could only weigh his options. These moth monsters were not difficult to hunt. They were extremely weak to heat and fire, something Rino had the upper hand in.
However, it was not a subjugation request this time. In fact, eliminating these monsters would do him more harm than good. The monster nest was very small, and repopulating was difficult for these nocturnal creatures. Even if they were huge and terrifying, they only ate plants. It wasn't as if human lives were endangered. Rino had no right to massacre them. Besides, they were the producers of the best underwear material ever. Why would he do such a dumb thing?
The only question now was how he would retrieve the monster silk without alarming the adult monster moths or disturb the hatching cocoons.
If Rino still had a heart, it would be working overtime without pay right now. Thankfully, he was undead. The most that happened was the uncontrollable shaking and sound of his knee knobs knocking into each other.
How could he distract the adult monster moths for a long enough time to make a dash for that sweet cocoon silk? Rino thought long and hard.
Then, he had an idea. There were many ways to use fire. IF controlled poorly, fire becomes the master. If used skillfully, Rino was fire's master. Moths were drawn towards flames. Surely monster moths would be attracted to it as well, right?
In any case, it was worth a shot.
Ace watched with bated breath as Rino attempted to smoke the bees while stealing their honey. It was a scummy move but brilliant if executed correctly. He worried over nothing and felt a little silly. Yet, this was one more reason to support Ark's decision to bring such a troublesome but massively talented person into this small world.
Armed with a plan, Rino wasn't afraid. He hopped onto the teleportation pad and moved to the kemp forest, which was the closest point to the monster moth nest. There were preparations to be made.
The first thing Rino needed was a good place to hold a bonfire while not being too far from their nest. The moment the adult moths came to check the bonfire out, he would cancel the fire and replace it with an illusion for a bit before hopping onto the teleportation pad for a mad silk dash. This could be done after the new moths came out of their cocoon.
Once he reached the monster moth pit, he would use shadow tendrils to grab pieces of the broken cocoons and pull them back with him to the teleportation pad. They might be too big to fit, but it was alright. Rino would dig a hole with earth magic to toss them down temporarily and seal it up once the cocoon was secured. After that, the lich could leisurely make a tunnel to retrieve the cocoon and expand the space underground as he needed to bring the huge silk bundle back.
The plan was perfect, but the clock was ticking. Rino hated to be rushed, but there was no use in complaining now. Nobody was here to listen, and the Gods were unsympathetic.
Ace felt slightly bad for Rino, who was working hard to complete this second side quest in the most unusual method. There was no doubt about its guaranteed effectiveness. Rino thought everything out very well and planned ahead. However, it felt a little like bullying Rino, and if Ace didn't know Ark better, he would accuse the project manager of being petty.
Ark didn't say anything as he continued to observe Rino. The lich was finally showing his true capability, and the project manager didn't want to miss a second of this silk heist plan. It was the most exciting thing they've seen someone pull off since the last world exploded. He was going to savour every single moment.