There was quite the commotion in astera when Alex was spotted approaching from the sky for the first time in close to four weeks. Those with sharp eyes noticed that he was carrying a bundle made of some sort of hide rolled into an airtight ball around it's contents. The commander and admiral both walked outside astera to meet up with Alex as he landed. "Hmm , I can't quite put my finger on it but you seem ... more somehow." the beast of a man that was the admiral said with a slightly confused look. Alex was already used to how freakishly sensitive the man's senses were and nodded at the man 'I have adapted to a few more things and got a few nifty tricks.' he said calmly.
To show off a little Alex held up his right claw and excreted the tiniest amount of explosive poison that quickly popped like a firecracker when exposed to the air. He then shifted his coloration to the sandy grey color of the ground they were standing on before back again. "Alright alright , we get it! jeez , no need to make the rest of us die from envy kid." The admiral said half jokingly half seriously. "You'll be sure to include all of this in your report I assume?" the commander asked calmly and Alex nodded. 'The best part though is that I brought souvenirs back with me.' Alex said with a grin while pointing at the person sized ball on the ground next to him.
"Something in particular catch your eye while you were out sid?" the admiral asked with a bit of excitement as he eyed the bundle. 'As a matter of fact yes there was.' Alex said before rummaging through his satchel until he found the berries he had preserved and stored earlier which he carefully handed over alongside his findings of their effects. "This truly is a good find sid , good work!" the commander said with a happy smile. 'Before you ask where I got all this stuff I'll just tell you that you may want to take a seat first.' Alex said seriously.
The commander shared a look with the admiral before ordering the scholars to get to work on the goodies Alex had brought back and took the conversation back to the meeting area. Once there Alex began to make his report officially. It was clear based on the looks on the people present that this report left them dumbfounded. Alex couldn't blame them either since it was hard to actually imagine that about a days swim up the everstream for Alex held what could be considered an entirely unique biome completely under the ground. Alex talked about the strength levels of the monsters in that area being at the master rank as well as the strangeness of the plants and even how the rain cycle seemed to work. All of this painted an incredible picture in the minds of everyone here and made them very curious to see it for them selves.
"I'm a bit jealous sid , that sounds like an amazing place." the admiral said honestly. 'I might agree if I wasn't aware that the only reason I could see was because of my night vision which you lack last time I checked. That place is a death sentence for hunters and under no circumstances would I advise any to go there.' Alex said seriously. 'The terrantoads I mentioned alone are impossible for even me to notice , trust me I tried. so anyone who came across one would be eaten without a single chance to save themselves.' Alex made it clear that only a monster like him could hope to survive such a place.
"Your warning is heard loud and clear sid , but even still some might try to make their way there regardless. You mentioned living in a self made cave for your stay there , could our own people possibly use it to maintain their safety?" the commander asked seriously. 'I doubt it since I purposefully built the cave high up the wall after noticing the local wildlife sticks to the ground.' Alex answered with a shake of his head.
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I have decided to increase the amount of chapters available to my patrons to five chapters ahead of the those without it to make it more worth it for those who do. Out of the close to a thousand people reading this story I have only eight patrons which bothered me a bit , this was my solution. pa treon.com/user?u=81578854